A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to kick off the season of giving with my feedfeed family with a community Thanksgiving meal with Vitamix in the gorgeous new feedfeed space in Brooklyn and the launch of the Vitamix Explorian Series. Each of us editors were tasked with whipping up a festive recipe, using Vitamix's Winter Spice Seasoning recipe that just screams the holidays with its dizzingly delicious festive scent and flavors full of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, pink peppercorns, orange peel, and more. There's nothing I love more than utilizing my Vitamix to simplify traditionally laborious recipes, so I decided to make an easy and healthy blender holiday spice muffin that has some sweet and some spice!

Struggling with health is not a foreign concept to me. I've had countless sprains, breaks, stitches, 3 concussions, bad allergies, a hip surgery, and an eating disorder. But my Hashimoto's autoimmune disease and journey has been an entirely different animal to live with, for me personally. There are 26 million of you with autoimmune diseases out there, so it is no small crowd. I love the phrase, "autoimmune warrior," as the noun to describe us-- because that is exactly what we are. I'm sharing my story with you today in hopes that anyone who is struggling to find out what is wrong with them, struggling with a new diagnosis, or whatever, can feel a little less alone and a little more hope...

How I start my day is so important to me- having a healthy morning routine in place can totally set the tone for the entire day. Clearer mindset, better mood, and increased productivity are some major benefits you can experience when you have a calmer morning routine established, instead of that frenzied 10 minute rush to get out the door after 5 alarm snoozes that we are all familiar with.

Morning routines are also the perfect opportunity to establish some healthier habits towards a better lifestyle shift. I've written about my 5 easy hacks for a better morning routine, but I wanted to share some specific things I've been doing lately in mine that have made notable differences.

This is 27?? This year, my birthday TOTALLY snuck up on me. Is this what it means to reach your late 20's? 😂

I don't have time to go through old photos to piece together memories from this past year, but I really wanted to notate a few things that I could look back on a year from now, to see how much has happened since then too! 

So on the fly (in no particular order), I'm listing off 27 impactful things that have happened + lessons I've learned this year that I am really grateful for. 

I've been having SO much fun doing my "Feedfeed TV" Instagram Stories takeovers. If you guys haven't been following along yet, it's a little quick series where I show you guys one workout move and a easy, healthy recipe. This week I got to share one of my favorite lazy girl recipes: my Matcha Mini Muffins! They are made with oats and banana in a blender, so it is naturally gluten-free + dairy free, AND there are no added sugars. I also, of course, added my favorite collagen, to boost up the protein content and nutrition factor.

Oh, being an introvert. While I wouldn't trade it for anything, there's no denying that having this type of personality poses for some unique challenges in a world that is more social and connected than ever before. From balancing your own special set of self-care needs with work obligations, not to mention your social life, it can feel like you're constantly struggling in that perilous 5% zone of your battery. It's been a process to learn how to be an introvert in an extroverted world and industry-- and I still don't have it nailed down yet, but I have found things that have helped me thrive.

I have been waiting forever to make this post for you guys! Bone broth is something I had been sipping and slurping since I was a teeny thang, thanks to my Korean roots. In Korean culture, that silky, rich broth is a go-to for cold weather days, sick days, and days after a rough night out. I didn't realize this back then, but bone broth is ridiculously nutrient dense and healthy. 

Bone broth is also one of the foods I credit for helping heal my gut health and managing my inflammation from my autoimmune disease (Hashimoto's), thanks to the abundance of collagen and minerals that get extracted out of those grass-fed bones. So I was...

Overnight oats are always such an easy and delicious breakfast option for post-workout or just a busy morning. My classic overnight oats + pumpkin overnight oats are some of my most pinned recipes on my blog, but I wanted to add one more easy overnight oats recipe to your morning repertoire-- this time, with a focus on protein and those healthy, anti-inflammatory fats!

As usual, overnight oats recipes are highly customizable to fit your dietary needs, but this recipe is inherently gluten-free and dairy-free. The protein champions in this recipe come from my favorite collagen and peanut butter, but there's also some in the pepitas and chia seeds. 

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...

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.