Good morning and happy Wednesday! I’ve been up since 5am, because I’ve been going above and beyond with my Early Morning Challenge for the past week. My plan was to wake up at 6am every day to do my productive hour, but Matt’s been doing 5am since he has to start his work day earlier—so…
Focus on Your Effort, Not the Results
Just popping in today to share an inspirational quote that’s resonated with me lately. If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard from me in awhile, it’s because the topics of food and fitness haven’t really been at the front of my mind. Plus, as we’ve been settling into our new house, there have been plenty…
Health Is Also About What You Think & Say
You can eat an absolutely perfect diet—which, spoiler alert, doesn’t exist—and be in the best shape of your life, feeling like you’re the epitome of good health. But if you’re regularly beating yourself up for things like…splurging on dessert, not losing weight, missing workouts, etc…then you’re probably not as healthy as you think. And I’m…
Unplug for a Few Minutes
Gotta love long holiday weekends. Although they still seem to fly by, they always leave me feeling refreshed as I return to the workweek. Just having a little extra time to relax and…break from routine can be therapeutic. I find myself feeling this way a lot, especially with social media and blogging. Posting regularly feels…
What You Do Every Day Matters More
Ah, Gretchen Rubin. You’re the author I chose to start my goal of making myself read more last year. The Happiness Project was the first of 8 books I read as part of my 2018 goal of “always be working on a book to read.” The quote I’m sharing today is one of her “Secrets…
Do Your Best. Forget the Rest.
Happy Monday morning and second-to-last day of April! If you already feel like you have a million things to do this week, I have a little reminder as you get back to the grind: Don’t stress. Do your best. Forget the rest. It’s all you can do, so take a deep breath. Relax the tension…
Fill Life with Experiences, Not Things
As summer gets closer, there are a lot of birthdays and anniversaries coming up in my life as well as for a lot of my friends’ and family’s. I’ve always appreciated that buying each other gifts has never been a huge emphasis with those close to me. I’m thankful for this because 1. it can…
Plant Your Own Garden
Did you know that spring officially starts this week?! Wednesday is the magical day, and I’m hoping the weather follows suit. Spring is my favorite time of year for many reasons. There’s more sunshine, yet it’s still refreshingly brisk outside. The days are longer, and color is starting to pop up everywhere you look. Pure…
What Your Best Means (And Doesn’t Mean)
As we navigate through life, we’re often told we need to be the best in every role we play… the most supportive friend the most caring mother the hardest-working employee the most loving spouse the best whatever else But when a specific role is especially demanding, we’re using much more of our energy to maintain…
Life Is Delicious Ambiguity
Today’s post was inspired by an adventure Matt and I went on last night in Old Town, Chicago. We saw our first Second City show! I’m not usually a big fan of stand-up comedy (a harsh truth my husband just learned a couple years ago), but The Second City is an improv and sketch comedy…
It’s About Effort, Not Being Perfect
As we transitioned from 2018 to 2019, something clicked for me. Many of us set all these goals for ourselves, saying we’re going to change this year—kicking our bad habits and really committing to what we want to achieve. It’s too easy to just focus on the end result, which makes the journey of getting…
Those Extra 5-10 Lbs.
Now that it’s the middle of January, many of us are working hard in our new routines to try to meet our goals for 2019. For a lot of people, that means trying to improve their health and/or lose weight. Weight loss is a topic I try to stay away from on here, because there…
Believe Something Wonderful Is About to Happen
Good morning and happy NEW YEAR’S EVE!! This is one of my favorite days of the whole year. I mean, New Year’s Day is fine and all, but the last day of the year is something to celebrate about. Whether you’re cheersing to the END of a rough year or poppin’ bottles to what lies…
Be Present and Thankful
Happy Day After Thanksgiving! And Black Friday! And National Cranberry Day! (Head over to my cranberry recipes roundup if you need some inspo for how to celebrate that holiday, at the very least.) I’ve been soaking up the start to this long holiday weekend, as well as spending some quality time with my main squeeze…
Do You Complain a Lot? – 6 Ways to Kick the Habit
Maybe it’s because I’ve started reading books that make me evaluate my character and priorities…or maybe it’s because of what I learned from doing 30 days of yoga—all I know is I’ve become a heck of a lot more mindful over the past year or two. One of the qualities I’ve started thinking about more lately…
