Every year, I always write handwritten holiday cards to my loved ones.

No matter how busy I am, I make sure to prioritize this one thing during the holiday season above all. I know, the holidays are so hectic and it feels like you're always crunched for time.
So why do I go through such effort?

Think about how nice it is to open your mailbox to get a handwritten note via snail mail these days. Nowadays, in the time of infinite texts, snapchats, and other fleeting technological communication, those things feel more disposable. A handwritten card is much more personal, thoughtful, and you physically have something pretty to keep on your desk to perk up your day...

Hey Santa,

Gift Guide #3 (check out #1 and #2) is here, I've been really good this year, and this fitness chick wants everything on this list for some extra holiday cheer!

Okay, I promise, I'm done with rhyming for the rest of this post😂 I carefully narrowed down my ultimate favorites for this gift guide, compiling all my must-have gym accessories to help you get the perfect gift for your fitness-loving gym-rat loved one.

In addition to nicer items like the fitness tracker, compact hairdryer, and the best yoga mat in the industry, I've also included stocking-stuffers that you normally might not think to gift, like the pampering facial wipes, washable tote, or athletic socks. But trust me, these are things everyone is thankful to have in their gym bags after a good sweat session!

Happy Friday, everyone! We are heading at full speed 'til Christmas it seems!

Been busy gearing up for a lot of fun content coming your way for the rest of this month, and I'm thrilled to finally be getting my first weekend at home in over a month to catch up on some stuff. I'm also SO excited to get my new computer next week. That is the understatement of the century haha!

Here are the 7 things that inspired me, that I learned from, and that made me laugh/smile this week:  

Austin, Texas is known for its great local food, music, art, design, and rapidly expanding city. It's become a destination city for fun weekend getaways and bachelor/bachelorette parties. After all, good food, entertainment, and fun things to explore all make for the perfect weekend getaway, no?

While I'll be sharing an entire Austin city guide with you guys soon, I wanted to share my experience at the Archer Austin first because it just surpassed my expectations on every level.

When looking for the best place to stay in Austin, I discovered that the Archer Austin had newly opened. The newest addition to the boutique hotel scene down in Austin, it is located...

Hello gift guide #2 and basically my wishlist this year!

I've done a lot of traveling this year. Like, almost 30 flights this year, and that's not including roadtrips and train rides. Because of this, I've become super efficient at packing the perfect carry-on suitcase and my Lo & Sons weekender bag, along with learning just exactly the minimal items I need while traveling

Using this knowledge, I created a kickass gift guide for the jetsetting traveler in your life! All of...

Happy first day of December!

Because I have been traveling an insane amount which has = ZERO time in the kitchen, I'm bringing you something awesome to stand in for recipes at the present moment:  HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDES.

Yes, I know, just what the world needs, more blogger gift guides. But I pride myself of my stellar gift-giving skills, because I'm darn good at sussing out what people actually use and appreciate. I'll have a bunch of holiday gift guides sprinkled into our usual content over the next few weeks that I really hope you guys find helpful when looking for the perfect gift of all price points. 

My gift guides will all revolve around the central themes of Living Minnaly here:
health, fitness, food, and travel. 

For all those New Yorkers looking for a quick weekend getaway, Beacon and Cold Spring have become the hotspot destinations in the Hudson Valley. Accessibility, nature, good food, and relaxing activities to do all have the makings of the types of weekend getaways that New Yorkers crave after hectic workweeks. 

Per my usual city guide format, I'll be dividing up these differing sections by where to stay, eat, and explore in both Beacon and Cold Spring for the perfect weekend getaway. But I have so many amazing pictures from this trip to share with you, but I'll be formatting this guide a little differently than usual, in the interest of efficiency!

“When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

Hello and Happy Friday! Boy, do I have the best finds for you this week- not only fun and interesting stuff, but some straight-up darn useful stuff for the upcoming holidays!

How unbelievable is it that Thanksgiving is less than a week away now? It's hard to believe that we are already in full-on holiday season mode now, but I actually am already feeling the holiday spirit. I love seeing the holiday Starbucks cups all around, the lights and decor going up, gift guides, and other festive cheer. I think we could all really use the giving spirit of the season in many ways this year after a rocky November for a lot of people in light of recent worldly happenings...

I've switched over. I'm a convert. Even with my being so health-conscious with my food and exercise, I didn't really think I'd one day be using soap that has hemp in it. Or that I'd be parting from my failure-proof aluminum deodorant and delicious-smelling shampoos and hair masks, even though I knew there were things in there that probably weren't too great for me.

How big of a deal could it be, anyway? It just seemed too hard. Too hard to learn which of those unpronounceable ingredients were the bad ones because they all sounded too similar; too hard to dump out all my not-exactly cheap cosmetics and beauty products to replace them with things I didn't know would even work; too intimidating, basically. 

Have you guys felt this way before/now? Switching over to all-natural beauty products free of harmful toxins and chemicals can be really intimidating...

Often in society, bravery is equated to lack of fear. But I think it's just the opposite actually.

I believe that the true meaning of bravery is feeling the fear deeply, and choosing to embrace and face the fear. 

Those who are knocked down then learn to stand up are so much stronger and braver than those who have never experienced being knocked down in the first place. So let yourself fall, I promise, it will be okay...

Happy first Friday of November! 

The leaves are FINALLY turning goldens and reds in Washington Square Park (see on my Insta Stories), and it makes me so happy. The little things will affect you as much or as little as you let them, so let the good little things fill you up and let the bad little things flow away!

Things are looking crazy until straight through the end of the year, and I'm going on half a dozen flights and hitting nearly ten cities by the end of November- whew! As I talked about in my post earlier this week on some autumn reflections, I've been focusing on counting my blessings and also immersing myself in the present.

I've been slipping back into looking at my social media too much and absentmindedly scrolling through feeds, so I've been making an effort to read more real content, less clickbait, and put my phone away altogether to be 100% present when spending time with friends and company. So there are some links below that relate to both of these themes...

It's really hard to fathom that we are now in November, and there's a mere 2 months left of 2016. The leaves are falling, storefronts are all on the Thanksgiving and Christmas trains already, and everyone is left wondering where the time has gone so quickly yet again. 

On the personal front, I'm feeling a bit melancholy these days. While it's easy to just say I'm feeling blue and call it a day, I'm working on digging a little deeper into those feelings, to better understand why I'm truly feeling this way. Which is why I've been ruminating and reflecting, trying to step back to see the bigger picture. It's been awhile since I've done a personal update, and so I wanted to share some of my autumn reflections and intentions with you guys incase any of you might be feeling similarly...

There's nothing worse than feeling healthy going into a trip, then arriving at your destination feeling like you got sick on the plane. Not only is that a good way to ruin a vacation or travel trip, but in some cases on work travel, you can’t afford to be sidelined at all. Whether it's too cold, too hot, or you're eating crummy airplane food, stiff from sitting for hours, nothing about flights do you any favors when it comes to staying healthy, honestly.

With my schedule being on the erratic side lately, it makes the times that I am home in NYC, it's super important to make that time count. But it can definitely be hard to feel connected and productive, when all you want to do after a some work travel or a big project is burrow in bed for a few days. Also, around this time of year, it's easy to feel a bit burned out with most peoples' work seasons being in peak right now.

If any of you are feeling a case of the Mondays, give some of these 8 easy tips to instantly feel more connected and productive a try:

I love New England. There's something about it that feels strangely like home to me, even though I'm not from the area at all. While I've visited several cities in the region for weekend trips, I had yet to check off that weekend trip to Portland, Maine I had been wanting to take for so long. 

When the opportunity came up, I immediately jumped on it to make it work. It's a decent drive (about 5.5 hours with no stops) from NYC to Maine, so I wanted to maximize my time in Portland to fit as much as possible into a single weekend. I'm sure a lot of people feel the same, which is why I curated this weekend guide to Portland, Maine here...

I was starting to put together my weekend guide to Portland, then I realized the post was getting a little too long because I just had too many gorgeous photos to share, just like with the dining experience at Tempo Dulu in Portland. So, I'm breaking it up to do it justice. Today, I'm going to take you guys on a tour of where you should stay if you're looking for a boutique hotel in Portland, Maine. 

Boutique hotel is not what I would use to describe Black Point Inn, as it's more of a classic historic New England Inn gone lux, however it does pop up when searching for accommodations in the Portland area. 

It just doesn't get more classic than this. If you are looking for a gorgeous historical New England inn...

I knew Portland in Maine was a town full of food fanatics, but I don't think I was quite expecting the level of innovation that I experienced. 

That statement might seem ironic, coming from a New Yorker who lives in the epicenter of the home to some of the best restaurants in the world.

But in New York...

Happy Friday, everyone! How's your fall going so far?

It was my birthday on Wednesday, and it's been a time of reflection and evaluation. I've been thinking about all the things I want to experience and accomplish in this next year, and more importantly...