Lifestyle

Do you ever wonder if you made the right choice, if you did in fact choose the correct path in life, if all will be a-OK?

Quite often we spend far too much time focusing on the past, or — the opposite — fretting about the future. We get so caught up in the “what ifs,” the “shoulds” and the “buts” that we lose site of the right here, right now.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not easy to focus on the now but I’ll tell ya what: it’s a heck of a lot less stressful.

I’ve been hearing a lot of conversations lately about choosing the right path or following ones heart, weighing the pros and cons and going back and forth between various scenarios. Be it from relationships to career to spirituality, one thing is sure: this topic is a hot one.

But what if we simply paused for a moment and instead repeated this mantra: “Where I am is exactly where I need to be.” Now how does that feel?

In a life that throws you loops and turns, grand surprises and heartbreak, one can never know if we’re doing it right…all the darn … Read More!

Last week, I celebrated my 27th birthday on Fourth of July weekend. It was quiet + simple yet I could feel the massive love pouring over me from friends and family.

Each year, I enjoy taking some time to reflect on the previous year and set some personal intentions for the year ahead.

This year, I was feeling rather blessed on how far I’ve come in life + love + all the other bittersweet moments. So I’ve decided to share with you — my readers, my friends — 27 things I’ve discovered by my 27th birthday. Enjoy!

1. to love your body, you must first love yourself.

2. giving and receiving go hand and hand. give often + receive with open arms (yes, it’s OK to say “thank you” when someone tells you that you look pretty today)

3. perhaps the most precious time of all is the time you spend for yourself + by yourself.

4. true love really does exist, you just need to be patient for your *moment*

5. plans, goals and vision boards are great but in the end your life is going to look much different than you had envisioned and that’s OK. in fact, … Read More!

I had a major ah-hah moment  the other day. It hit me as I was soaking up some sunshine waiting for the t, completely out of the blue.

I’m on this planet to inspire other women – to connect, to treat their bodies with love, to SUPPORT one another, to live a healthy, happy, juicy (not perfect) lifestyle!

Now let me explain…

You see, a few years ago I struggled majorly with finding my true purpose. I kept asking myself, what the heck am I going to do with my life? I had the passion for certain but didn’t really know how to make use of it.

I worked more part time and full time jobs than any gal I know – from barista to freelancer to event planning to copy editor to fancy spas. Still searching and searching to find my WHY. I’m a certified health coach. I’m a writer. I’m a journalism grad. I’m a sister. I’m a dream-catcher. I’m a cancer. I’m a hard, determined worker.

But I still felt something was missing despite my experience, skills and degrees.

When I finally stopped searching and began to just live my passions out loud, follow my heart … Read More!

Remember when 100+ days ago I posted about my decision to start the 100 Happy Days Challenge? Well, I am proud to announce that this Monday I celebrated my 100-day mark, and I must say the whole experience was quite enlightening.

When I began this challenge back in the beginning of March, it was freezing cold in Boston, I was stressed with work, and I was struggling to find true happiness.

What this challenge made me realize is that happiness is all around us every day – be it from a hot cup of coffee, a lucky penny, or a magic moment – and sometimes you just need to shift your perspective a tad to see it.

Happiness is not something you have or don’t have; there isn’t such thing as “happy people” or “unhappy people.” Rather, I believe it’s something you choose to see…every day.

So in light of the end of my happiness journey (which is just the beginning really), I wanted to share the little moments that made my 100 happy day cut. Since I’ve already shared through photos here on instragram,  now I choose to share through words. My favorite form of art.

1. … Read More!

Last week, I was hard at work as I looked out the window at the sun blazing down from the sky. Little tots were walking around with lemonades + ice cream, women were sporting their new bright-colored lulu tanks with yoga mats in hand free as a bird, and I was cranking out emails and phone calls.

I’m not going to lie: I definitely let that ugly jealousy get to me. “Well, that must be nice,” I thought to myself as I stubbornly continued with my work. It got to me. Hard.

I then took a deep breath, and had a moment. Why was I  judging these fine folks who were simply enjoying their perfectly sunny afternoon (as they should be)? I was essentially throwing myself a pity party because poor me was stuck inside…working.

Then it hit me. I wasn’t frustrated with them, I was frustrated with myself.

And since this was a personal matter, I decided to take it into my own hands. You see, it’s easy to compare and judge and wish things were different in your life. But just as easy is taking a step back and DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

You are the driver of … Read More!

Do you strive to be a real life version of Superwoman? I don’t blame you; I mean she is pretty darn badass. Why wouldn’t we all want to be just like her?

Oh, that’s right, she’s a fictional character. She has special, magic superpowers. She isn’t real.

If you find yourself suffering from “Superwoman Syndrome” trying to do it all (all of the time), it may be time to take a deep breath, and a step back.

I know I had to the other day. I found that I was putting far too much pressure on myself with work. Old habits were coming back, where I was telling myself things like “You’re not good enough.” “You must keep working harder if you want to be appreciated,” “Saying no makes you weak.”

I know now that’s all a bunch of hogwash, but at the time it felt real and I felt the need to over-deliver, over-achieve, and in turn over-work. I got a big hard dose of reality when I broke down one night, realizing it had been weeks since I had some solid “me time” nor time with my man (the future hubby).

As this time, I reached to … Read More!

To do-lists are great. I won’t lie: I love them.

Grocery lists.

Getting-ready-for-vacation lists.

Wedding lists.

Office lists.

Life lists.

There’s something about checking something off that list – be it asparagus, buying my veil (yippee!), or hitting that deadline – that feels so rewarding.

But do your to-do lists ever 100%, completely stress you out? OK, I won’t lie (really, this time). What I meant to say is I love them most of the time. Waking up to a to-do list a mile long (with 5 different colored pens screaming at you!) can be a little scary. OK, a lot scary.

In comes the HAPPY to-do list. In the morning as you sip your cup o’ tea (or coffee) or whatever feel-good beverage you so choose, take some time to write down all your “stuff” you need to get done for the day, you know, your typical “to dos.” Then after you get it all out (the good, the bad & the ugly) write down 2 to 3 things you’re going to do for yourself. A-hah, there’s a catch!

Just as rewarding as crossing all the things off your to-do list, is the ever so satisfying feeling in knowing … Read More!

{cuddle sesh feet pic!}

I often discuss the importance of self care and making more time for yourself. But almost just as important is making more time for your family. Try as we might to spend ample time with our loved ones, sometimes life just gets in the way. That doesn’t make us a bad person by any means; it actually makes us human.

The beauty of it is that we can always work on improving, on become a better person not only for ourselves but for the people we love most. As my man said last night, “We have our whole lives to grow & improve as people.”

Seeing as though I’m getting married in less than 6 months (eek!) I’ve been thinking a lot about taking care of myself & being the best fiancé I can be. It couldn’t be more fitting that this month’s dare for UnitedHealthCare’s Source4Women campaign is “We Dare You to Spend More Time with Family.”

And what better way to get you to do something than by a good ol’ fashioned DARE? 

To participate, all you have to do is enter here, sharing a picture of you spending time … Read More!