Being a strong communicator is one of the few key skills that helps you in every single aspect of your life. Good communication helps you be a better colleague, boss, intern, parent, husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, friend, daughter/son, sibling, and the list goes on. 

When I ask you, "what's the best way to be a better communicator" what is the first thing that pops into your mind? Word-choice? Body-language? Thinking through your thoughts before you speak? Talking confidently and clearly?

Actually, I really don't think the answer doesn't have anything to do with talking at all...

Happy weekend, everyone!

This edition of Favorite Friday Finds is coming to you a day late, because this past week has been quite topsy turvy in terms of changed schedules and last-minute appointments- sorry guys! But I've got a great roundup for you that I've been amped to share, because there have been a lot of great reads I've stumbled on in the past two weeks. This will also be an abbreviated version like this one for time's sake (on my end), so you can have some fun weekend reading while sipping that morning coffee 😊

You know that feeling...

More than ever, time has become our most precious commodity. So many professions now don't rely on punching in on a clock-- it's not about how much you're working, it's how much you're producing. Because we all know that busy ≠ productive. In a world where distractions are aplenty, it's really difficult to really utilize your time to the max. We all would love to nail how to be more productive, but working as a small business owner or freelancer can bring unique challenges since you have to be your own boss, secretary, and worker all by yourself. 

Working remotely from home also can make it tempting to run an unstructured day, but this leads to an unhealthy work-life balance because you're...

In the past few years, Nashville has become THE "it" destination for all kinds of weekend getaways: it's Bachelor/Bachelorette party central (seriously, I was on the plane with a crew 10 girls deep that were very awake for a 7am flight), girls weekend destination, couples getaway, you name it.

After a whirlwind weekend in this southern city, it's really easy to see why Nashville is such a hotspot. It's got AMAZING food, an endless amount of options for live music and nightlife, shopping, sightseeing, and it's also relatively affordable to do all that fun stuff. For a quick trip like this, it felt fitting to try out a more streamlined version of my city guides-- so here is my weekend guide on the best eats, drinks, things to do, and places to explore in Nashville!

Before we get to a few personal updates and my Favorite Friday Finds, I cannot not mention the biggest thing happening today.

Today is... an interesting day in our nation and world's history. Without jumping in, I will say that more than ever, I firmly believe that we all rise together. I believe in individual accountability for a greater good. It is ALL of our responsibilities to love harder, empathize more fiercely, speak up louder, and fight like hell for what is just. Today, in a day that many are inclined to feel trepidation, disappointment, fear, I encourage you to actively love on one another because we are stronger and more capable together ❤️️

+ personal updates, and a super edition of Favorite Friday Finds...

It's been one... something of a year.

2016 was something of a gargantuan cluster for most everyone around the world. When you list off all the happenings around the world in 2016, it's hard to believe all that chaos fit into 12 months. It really seemed like one massively disturbing or heartbreaking event after another. The trending memes about this year hit home all too well...

Happy Holidays, my dear readers!

Merry Christmas + Christmas Eve this weekend to those of you who celebrate, Happy start of Chanukah tomorrow to my Jewish friends, and simply wishing everyone a festive and loving time with whatever holidays they celebrate and rejoice in!

Firstly, THANK YOU to you all for your continued love and support this year. From always...

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...

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...

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...

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...