I'm that crazy person that thinks of their meals as a grocery cart from those old game shows where contestants would race to fill their carts with as many items as possible in 2 minutes. Whenever I make myself food at home, I think of any and all weird ways that I can boost the nutritional components of it in a delicious way-- it's like a game for me! I especially do this with smoothies, salads, and soups, because they're such easy vehicles for a variety of ingredients. This healing, gut-friendly, anti-inflammatory bone-broth based mushroom super soup is one of my favorites lately when my body is in need of easy nourishment. 

My last real post was May 10th. That was 74 days, or about 2.5 months ago 😱😳😭

Over 100 client training sessions, 12 freelance photography projects, over 20 blogging events, 3 freelance articles published, about a dozen shoots + collaborations, 1 wedding, 3 Hamptons trips for work (and 1 for fun), my niece's 100 day birthday, yoga in Times Square, furniture selling on craigslist, and finally now packing for my big move tomorrow:

This is all the stuff that happened over that span of 74 days. Given all the exciting things that are happening around here that I cannot WAIT to share with you, I hope you guys will forgive me for my going AWOL. I was absolutely taking on too much with my commitments, and I had to hit the pause button on this in order to create space for the other things and to well, not die.

Read more for announcements, ICYMI, and what to expect on the blog over the next few months:

Dear 아빠 / Daddy,

If this were any other year, I'd be writing you a Father's Day card. But this year is the first year of my life that I am not experiencing a hand cramp from writing in such tiny lettering, trying to fit all my sentiments and gratitude within the never convenient spaces that card-making companies tend to leave.

Well. Just did two things I've never done before. I posted a video of myself deadlifting yesterday on my Instagram Stories, and then I just posted a full-body mirror selfie on Instagram for the purposes of this message. Recently I asked one of my old co-workers from Equinox and trusted fellow trainer to train me and program for me. This may come as a surprise or even might make some of you confused-- after all, I'm a trainer, so why on earth would I need someone to train me?

I'm sharing this with you all today because I want to dispel the negative stigma around asking for help. 

Two primary reasons: Firstly, I am busier and more stressed than I've ever been, leaving me very little brain + energy left to be a coach to myself. My second reason is that

I've always felt right at home in Paris, more than any other European city I've been to. Perhaps it's the similar energy to that of NYC's, or the attention to detail in all the beautiful design and surroundings that I love so much. Parisians manage to achieve multiple juxtapositions at once when it comes to design: they're super classic with neutrals, but use pops of color the most sophisticated way; they stay minimal with clean lines and classic silhouettes, yet step out of the box with novel flourishes that blend in seamlessly. And everything oozes romance-- not necessarily in the amorous way, but more so in the romance of the everyday, like a little bit of beauty interwoven throughout in plain sight.

Now taking those notes into account, dream up the most quintessentially Parisian boutique hotel, and Le Narcisse Blanc is exactly that in real life. This boutique hotel is a gem that is nestled right between the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides, a mere few blocks from the Pont Alexandre III bridge over the Seine...

Happy Friday, everyone! What a whirlwind of an April it's been-- I'm jetting off again today! This time for one of my best friend's bachelorette party and I get to see a bunch of friends I haven't in quite some time, which will be awesome. And last week, I finally got to meet Sara of @shisodelicious in person, while I was in London! True to both of our predictions, we couldn't stop chatting and stayed up until 2:30am talking. Lately, Instagram might not be my BFF with all the changes, but I am forever grateful to the platform for connecting me with some amazing people I may not have met otherwise, like Sara.

Sara was my first interview for the Women Who Inspire interview series, and I'm excited to pick back up on the series this month! This week we’re jumping back into things with a very special foodie friend of mine, Dale of @thedaleyplate. This interview is a breath of fresh air and unique perspective, so you will want to read this whole thing through for some major inspiration and bosslady vibes...

First of all, I'm having a bit of whiplash from the disbelief that my trip has already arrived! With all the craziness lately of my life in NYC, this trip totally crept up on me. Now it's time to go off and make some new memories and experience some familiar cities with fresh eyes and see new ones for the first time!

While I contemplated uploading a bunch of pre-scheduled posts for the duration of my trip, I had to stop myself. I haven't taken time away from this space in a very long time, and I need to just cut loose for the time I'm there without worrying about this blog, my baby, back at home. I'm hiring a babysitter, aka this post here, to entertain you guys while I'm gone. Of course you guys should make sure to follow my adventures along on my Instagram if you want up to speed content, but over here in this space, I've rounded up some of my favorite posts in each category-- to keep you busy with reading and growing...

When it comes to understanding ourselves, we tend to stick with what we've known about ourselves or been told about ourselves, rather than thinking about the current reality. 

We like labels. Labels help our brains classify and understand things; psychology research says that upon seeing or hearing something novel, our brains immediately try to categorize it within familiar labels to understand what it is...

Happy Friday, everyone! It finally is starting to feel like spring for real here in NYC, and I couldn't be more thrilled-- of course, it is right as I'm about to jet off for Europe, but still so happy to get a few sunny days coming up. 

Before I head out, I wanted to share one more awesome interview with an amazing woman who inspires! You may have seen her work in Condé Nast Traveler, Wall Street Journal, Travel & Leisure, or Food & Wine, but if not, I'm proud to highlight and introduce a fellow New York creative's work, and who she is on this Women Who Inspire interview series. So happy to introduce Charissa to you guys today, for anyone that has not come across her stunning photos on her Instagram. Charissa is a mom and a NYC-based travel, food, and lifestyle photographer. I love how...

Eating locally has become all the more important to me in the past few years. The more I've gotten educated about nutrition and food practices, the more I've learned what is actually important versus what is just a buzzword. Eating locally has become a bit of a trendy thing, and people lump it into a bunch of healthy buzz words alongside "organic" "all-natural" "plant-based" "non-GMO." Consumers see those words and associate whatever they're buying to be healthy... but that's not exactly true.

Today, I want to share with you guys some things I've learned over the years about eating locally grown produce, and how to navigate those labels so that your dollar actually goes towards what matters and not just marketing speak. My good friend and fellow blogger Jules, of Om and the City, and I teamed up with Gotham Greens to talk about the importance of this and more about their innovative urban farming practices that...

Here's the thing. Living authentically doesn't mean being chipper and happy all the time-- living authentically means owning your reality, facing our fears, and chasing wholeness over happiness. For me, it was only lately that I realized how out of touch with myself I had gotten this past year, because I have been feeling more like myself than I have in a long time. After all, it's only when you come up for air, do you realize you had been holding your breath...

One of my favorite parts of a new season, is welcoming seasonal produce that hasn't been around in some time. And while some produce is available nearly year-round, you'll find that it never tastes quite as amazing (or is as cheap!) as when it is in season. 

Eating seasonally and locally is something that is super important to me (post coming next week on that!), as there are nothing but benefits on all fronts of doing so. It's cheaper because it's easier for your local farmers to produce during optimal conditions for that produce, it's tastier because it's optimal weather conditions to create fresh flavor, AND it's more nutrient-dense during peak season than any other time. 

Healthy skincare has been having a MOMENT for the past two years. Women (and men) everywhere are trading in Saturday nights out for Saturday nights in, with sheet masks and green juices because they have to get up at 8am for their Sunday yoga class. Sound familiar?

Everyone is all about caring for their skin as much as possible these days, and that extends from skincare to makeup to internal well-being and care. So after struggling with so many skin issues, I wanted to share my favorite clean skincare and makeup favorites that have made the biggest difference for me, since I know my fellow sweat-tribe can also struggle with this! 

I transitioned over to all-natural clean beauty products awhile ago because some unique issues. After struggling with exhausting autoimmune issues for the past...

Of all things, a tweet about the recent Bachelor finale got me thinking about how we as a society regard the display of emotions. During the finale, the bachelor had to break up with one girl before he went onto propose to another, naturally (lolz), so this girl gets her heart broken on national television; which, is feasibly quite a mortifying and emotional event.

Then former contestant of the show applauded the runner-up on Twitter as "the strongest bachelorette I've ever seen. She didn't fall to pieces after all that. Bravo." 

...Wait. So if she...

Happy Friday, everyone-- hard to believe it's St. Patty's day, and there is a lot of snow still getting cleaned up here in NYC.

I've highlighted 4 amazing women so far on my Women Who Inspire Interview Series, and while we will certainly be returning with quite a few more awesome women to come, I've been stockpiling some amazing finds that I wanted to share before some of them become irrelevant. So, Favorite Friday Finds is back for this week!

9 awesome reads are coming your way + 1 RIDICULOUSLY cute surprise at the end. So either save it for reading over coffee tomorrow morning, or tear through some of the stuff that will make you feel all the feels, and inspire some thought!

I'm a huge advocate of being forward when it comes to your business. It may go against my introvert tendencies sometimes, but as an entrepreneur or a small business owner, you are essentially your only advocate. If you don't drive your business's train, it just doesn't move. 

When you are trying to create a business or further your career, you can't be complacent and wait for opportunity to come to you. You have to get out there, and yes, that tired word: network. Cold-emailing and asking people for a breakfast meeting or to coffee can be intimidating, because no one likes to be ignored or rejected right?

Well, that chance of rejection is always still there. But today I'm going to help you guys boost your chances at getting responses from people, as well as covering THE most important thing when cold-emailing someone: HOW you ask them. These are absolute musts when cold-emailing, pitching, or asking someone to meet over coffee.

It was International Women's Day on Wednesday, and March is Women's History Month. I am feeling all the amazing female power filling my life lately, and it could not be more inspiring. Not only am I surrounded by strong and wonderful women in my family, but my best friends, colleagues, and clients. Then this wonderfully crazy world of blogging and Instagramming has injected my life with some genuine female friendships that I had no idea would come of all this. Not only have I met so many people IRL thanks to Instagram, but the daily interactions I have on there with amazingly impressive souls spanning the globe is something to be truly thankful for. 

So, continuing on with my Women Who Inspire series! If you're just joining in now, this interview series taking place every Friday...

You hear it's good for you, that you should do it to take care of your joints, so you don't get stiff, etc etc etc. This seemingly simplistic thing is actually far more complex than a simple sit and reach, and it doesn't help matters that every other trainer, instructor, and physical therapist is saying something different.

At the end of the day, every person has different needs, restrictions, and abilities, so this post is not to tell all the best stretch poses-- it's more about giving you the information you need to be able to strive for your goals more efficiently and safely. 

Here are 5 important things you might not know about stretching: