It’s the most wonderful time of the year indeed!

With that said, this time of year can also be particularly tough for some. Family, comfort food, frigid temps and holiday stress can be a trigger for many. Through all the mayhem, many of us subconsciously put our self-care on the back burner (when in reality, it may be the only thing keeping us sane).

That’s why my soul sister Kelley + I crafted up a winter self-care challenge for you to put yourself first again this coming year.

Our 14-day Self-Care Winter Wellness Challenge is all about YOU + will give you all the tools you need to rock 2017. Oh, and they’ll be no talk of dieting, calories or “losing weight” (pinky promise!) – we’re GAINING our health, confidence, and self-love back ladies!

The challenge will begin on Monday, January 9th + includes:

1. Daily dose of positivity sent straight to your email (even better than your morning mocha!) with clear action-steps to implement right away for the two weeks

2. Access to our private ‘Soul Sisters’ Facebook group to hold one another accountable – We’re a firm believer that the main reason we don’t follow … Read More!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year indeed! I have to admit, I’m a sucker for decked out houses with holiday lights, Christmas music & cozy holiday meals.

With that said, this time of year can also be particularly tough for some. Family, comfort food, and holiday stress can be a trigger for many, especially those dealing with body image issues or eating disorders. Personally, in college when I was struggling with body image & a borderline eating disorder, the holidays brought a lot of fear to the surface.

Will I gain weight?

Will my family notice my weirdness around food?

Do my thighs look fat in my new jeans?

Why can’t I just be normal??!

These were the types of thoughts that would rattle through my head. And more recently, similar types of fear have come up for me. Currently, I’m struggling with hypothyroidism, which in the past few months have caused me to gain weight (about 10 pounds!) and feel foggy & exhausted throughout the day. While I’m working to get to the root of the problem and take back my health, it hasn’t been super easy for me.

The other day after spending a beautiful … Read More!

I have a confession: my body is changing.

In fact, to be completely honest, it has been changing ever since I reached my upper 20s. I think for a while I resisted that because I didn’t want it to change. I didn’t want me to change. I was scared of the change.

While I thought all of the body insecurity stuff was far behind me, a part of me was super envious of the body I had at 18, 20, 23. Yes, my thighs were thick but at least I had my super flat & toned belly to fall back on. That was my “thing.” It makes me sad to look back to my 18-year-old radiant self to a girl who still thought she wasn’t “good enough.”

Now at 29, my tummy is getting much rounder, and I have little belly dimples. I can “squish” my love handles, and my weight fluctuates with the seasons (sometimes up to 10 pounds!) My thighs have — gasp! — cellulite.

I am now slowly but surely learning to be OK with this — embracing the change, but most importantly my body.

While some days are easier than others, I realize I have a … Read More!

Self care is one of my utmost favorite topics. In fact, last week I got to spend the evening with the lovely folks at Suffolk University chatting all about self-care for college students!

After all, you can’t pour from an empty cup. (You gotta fill yours first!) With that said, I wanted to share some of my favorite self-care tips for the fall season so you can start practicing too!

1.) Set your Fall intention: Make it bold. Make it about you. How do you want to FEEL this season?

2.) Journal It Out: Take time to journal, especially in the morning. One of my favorite exercises is morning pages, where you free write and let it out on the page. Don’t try to edit or make it “look” a certain way; just write what’s in your heart.

3.) Let go of Negativity + Clutter: Donate clothes that no longer fit you, store away your summer wear to make room for fall apparel, and remove yourself from relationships + situations that are bringing negativity into your life. It’s time for new beginnings!

4.) Spend time in Nature: Do it, daily. Take a fall foliage hike (while you … Read More!

If you’re one of the not-so-lucky ones like me, that time of the month can be a b*tch. I made the personal decision to go off of my birth control pills about six years ago, as I didn’t want synthetic hormones in my body. After going off of it, I started to feel much better emotionally, and also noticed my belly bloat went down tremendously.

However, some of the not-so-fun side effects — like cramping and breakouts — remained. Fortunately, over the years, I’ve discovered some natural ways to keep these symptoms at bay.

FOR YOUR SKIN

If you deal with hormonal skin breakouts, first and foremost I suggest getting to the root of the problem — looking at things like your diet, how much water you’re drinking and even considering an herbal supplement to help balance hormones. (I’m a huge fan of Megafood Women’s One Daily which contains a balancing blend including Ashwagandha, ginger, dandelion, and raspberry leaf.)

But for on-the-spot breakouts, I love the Aztec Secret Indian Healing Bentonite Clay Mask. It pulls out nasty stuff from your pores, and leaves your skin feeling fresh & glowing. You can buy it online or at your local Whole … Read More!

Can you feel it in the air? I don’t know about you, but my body definitely feels these seasonal shifts like WHOA. As we transition into fall from the fiery, fast-paced summer, our bodies are often seeking a break — to ground and press reset.

Fall is the perfect season to slow down, get back to our roots and re-energize. It’s also a great time to boost the immune system, shed unwanted weight and let go of things that no longer serve us.

Here are 7 simple ways to detox your body, mind & soul this season (without dieting)!

SET YOUR FALL INTENTION

Intentions don’t have to be reserved for yoga classes and New Year’s Day. Take the start of a new season as a time to get clear about your intention for the next few months. Do you want to take more time for yourself? Practice work-life balance? Work on your patience with the kids? Be more present when home with your family? Think about the areas in your life you’ve been neglecting lately, and start there. Write it down, set a goal and stick to it.

DE-CLUTTER + RELEASE NEGATIVE ENERGY

Now is the perfect time to get … Read More!

Happy September, beauties! I love the beginning of a month — the perfect time to re-set and gear clear about your vision. It couldn’t be more true this month, as we also have a New Moon to celebrate. Hip Hip, Hooray!

Something I’ve been really focusing on these past few months is my energy levels. I recently became aware that my thyroid levels are a bit out of whack, not enough to put me on medication but still borderline in the hypothyroid range. The first thing I told my doctor was that I wanted to take care of this naturally, so I did my homework and got to work. I’m already feeling much better, and anticipate my next blood test to see what’s up.

Now while many of you may not have thyroid issues, I’m sure most of you deal with energy slumps especially as we’re in the midst of a seasonal shift. As we move into back-to-school fall mode, I wanted to share with you some natural ways you can boost your energy!

LIMIT YOUR CAFFEINE

I know, I know. This one was tough for me. Heck, I even have a tank that says “But First, Coffee.” When I … Read More!

Fall is my favorite season for so many reasons. I love the crisp air, perusing the farmer’s market, picking apples straight off the tree, and the smell of a fresh pot of soup cooking on the stove. It’s the season of apple picking, transition, and also when I got married to the love of my life.

When transitioning from a hot, sweaty, go-go-go summer, fall is also my favorite time to re-set and get back to the basics through lots of self-care, clean eating and slowing down.

Meet the 14-day fall whole foods detox

That’s why I’m going to be hosting a 14-day REAL FOOD group detox group, and the next one starts November 28th (The Monday after Thanksgiving). This interactive program is designed to cleanse and pamper your body from the inside out —improving your digestion and eating whole, seasonal foods that are designed to support your body’s natural processes of detoxification and cleansing.

But as you know by now, I’m so not into dieting, so I made sure this program is chock-full of real, seasonal foods (60 recipes worth!), daily self care tips, a step-by-step guide and even journaling prompts to keep you inspired throughout our journey.… Read More!