My Top Favorite Micro Homes from the Tiny House Festival in St. Augustine, Florida

My heart has cooled from the rapturous glee I experienced during the Tiny House Festival in St. Augustine so that I may write. Time was needed to sort through hundreds of photos with a stoic, editorial eye! I loved elements of every single tiny house I saw but there's no time to share them all, so we're looking at a countdown of my favorites.

But first, a bit about the Tiny House Festival as a whole. We were unprepared for the size and scope of this event! It was packed even on its final day, many houses had lines for seeing the interiors, and the amount of homes on display was boggling! I was picturing a tiny lot with houses in my head, I underestimated the popularity of micro homes. What was once a subculture now has its own shows on HGTV!

The homes were divided into different sections with adorable illustrated signs, too!

1) The tiny cozy pod micro homes may be my favorite of all. No maintenance. No fuss. Living in one you'd be forced to be outside in the world more. Picture yourself always at cafes, parks, on hikes, at events, with friends, really living. Without having to constantly clean/organize things you would REALLY free up a lot of time to be productive in one of these babies! Not practical and one would probably get sick of it over time but I dunno, something like this calls to me!

The inside of this one is so cozy and womb-like, and I love the natural textures and simple homey touches of the basket and macrame piece.

2) For a more practical living or camping situation, this one has the option of a stove, fridge, and mini-sink all packed in a tiny space!

And the inside has an an air conditioner too! Very cozy living for one in there. Two would be tough!

3) Super bright, shiny, kitshcy retro isn't my very favorite aesthetic anymore, but I'll always have a soft spot for it. I would still take and move into this beauty in the heart beat!

This beauty has an amazing kitchen situation.

A gorgeous bar/storage right next to it.

Cute matching storage above.

The rest is a seating area that converts to beds. This one is pretty damn perfect. Someone sponsor one for me, such a gorgeous creation, this thing.

4) Now for a look less of a "dream" of vintage (the one above exists in a happy never-existed medium of 60s-70s aesthetics) let's look at the real thing. The owner of this camper kept it completely period-accurate down to the accessories inside. This was real 70s camping luxury and it was expensive as hell when it first came out.

I love 70s earth tones, so homey. The neo-colonial styles (perhaps neo-conservatism to combat those damn hippies?) isn't my favorite style but all together something about it really appeals to me.

We had those tupperware! Even though I was born late '86 I remember the world looking a lot like above. Dark, dark wood paneling everywhere, lots of brown and earth tones.

The roped off sleeping area and bathroom beyond. Fully mirrored, lots of gold flecks abound.

 The fern, so 70s! The photo is the owner and her husband in the 70s. She looked pretty much the same so I thought those were her parents!

5) And now an actual micro house! This "big" (by micro house standards) guy was custom built by the owner and clearly loved and lived in with lots of personality.

The spacious top bunk. So cozy! I'll move right into this one too, thanks! I'll always have a soft for turquoise and TexMex/Mexican/Central American art, textiles and style. I'll pull my half-Mexican card out on that one.

Downstairs when you walk in past a little living area there's the kitchen and shower.

The right wall when you first walked in, with the TV you've got everything you need in a tiny space!

6) Gotta give a shout-out to a micro home with self-portraits on the back! Hilarious and perfectly south Florida kitschy tacky galore.

The view straight in from the back. 

Another look at the kitchen beyond. There's a little TV, desk, fridge, microwave, all the comforts of home on the road!

7) This guy has so many details it could really qualify for a post of it's own. Look hard! Note..

It has its own little mini out front, aah! And it's own white picket fence and period-accurate lawn furniture! Minis, I love minis! Forgive my lack of color-correcting today, so...busy...

Rubber chicken, color, kitsch, I love it.

Little dinette, period details, so lovely! They did an amazing job restoring it and adding some modern dreamy kitschy interpretation of vintage Americana.

Love.

8) This is one of the vendors, he sets up at my neighborhood art market, Riverside Art Market with his Renaissance-themed journals and accessories.

He brings the fairy tail micro home with him and it is too damn beautiful! Such tiny tudor on wheels, it is perfection.

* * *

A tiny home-on-the-go couldn't be more in line with Buddha's concept of "The Middle Way", madhyama-pratipad. It's a concept of living in balance. You don't deprive yourself, but you also don't live in excess luxury, either. It allows for maximal concentration on cultivating compassion for others and seeking enlightenment. For spiritual, emotional, and creative reasons I can really see myself living in a micro home. It's so inspiring to have expos to view them in the meantime. Maybe one day...'til then I will continue to inspired by them on the web!

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My Fool-Proof Smoothie Formula: Easy Way to Add More Fruit, Veg, & Health To Your Life

Nearly everyone is trying to add more fruits and veggies to their diet. We're all busy, it's not always easy to prepare three square nutritious meals daily, but smoothies make packing in the nutrients so simple! It's crazy for me to think back just six years ago when I was first learning to change my lifestyle and eat very healthfully. My first smoothies were overly-thick slop made using recipes on the back on my hemp powder and other supplements. NOT tasty. The whole process seemed like an uncrackable mystery, now I've taught multiple workshops on nutritious smoothie creation and made countless hundreds for myself and others.

It was SO fun and rewarding to show them, live, with a batch of greens, fruits, and other goodies behind me, how to make their own smoothies to exactly their tastes at home. They got wrapped up writing exactly recipes, but you don't need a rolodex or books on perfect smoothies to make them. I use the formula below to churn out perfect smoothies each time:

1 Cup Frozen Fruit
1/4 Cup Nuts, Seeds, or Protein Powder
1.5 to 2 Cups Water, Experiment to find the consistency you like
1 Cup Leafy Greens (baby kale, spinach and chard is especially nutritious and tasty)

Optional - 1 Teaspoon Coconut Oil*
Optional - 1 Tablespoon supplement of choice (like maca, beet root powder, hemp or powdered herbs)
Optional - 1 Tablespoon to 1/4 cup fresh herbs (ginger, mint, and basil are especially yummy)
Optional - A couple of dates for sweetness and iron/nutrient boost

*The coconut oil makes your smoothie amazingly creamy and helps with assimilation of the nutrients in your smoothie. With the coconut oil and the nuts it's like you're consuming a milkshake for breakfast, it's delicious! The nuts and water blend to basically make your own nut milk in the smoothie.

I buy bags of frozen fruit usually but freezing in-season fruits and vegetables is an excellent way to go with your smoothies.

Do you have a go-to healthy recipe or smoothie formula/recipe? AJ and I have this formula down to a science, we love to throw one together before leaving the house, as a snack betweens meals or for dinner. I used to have three smoothies per day but fell off from it, maybe that should be a challenge for 2017! Let's get creative and make getting healthier delicious, too.

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5 Step Business KonMari: Boost Sales, Streamline, Stress Less, ENJOY Your Biz

If you're a creative business owner you probably struggle a bit with organization. It's not entirely your fault, you're trying to take on too much on your own thanks to that stubborn independent entrepreneurial streak. You probably struggle with mind clutter, with too many ideas to choose from thanks to right-brain hyperactivity. Let me paint a prettier alternative scenario.

With this method you put everything you own in front of you to confront it, then sort it away for good!

Imagine being in a constant zen state of "flow" with your business. You don't have to stop for minor details and hiccups, you can always just work in an organized beautiful fashion. You design, create, and earn without fuss or stress.

Yeah, I'm not there yet. Is anyone? Can't be, life's not perfect. BUT life and business is 1000% smoother with some excellent organizing systems and the KonMari method is a perfect one to apply to business. I always go back to it to get things back in order. When shit happens, and it often does, it gets me back on track. Business life is not perfect, but I thank this method for being as close to it as it's ever been. I really feel like having this method helped me get from a confused place in my life to having a profitable and rapidly growing business that has a brick and mortar store front and many outdoor markets and workshops around Florida scheduled for 2017! I know I won't shut up about this method but when something revolutionizes your life you're so happy you want to share it and help others with it!

Step 1) Envision the perfect business situation

The KonMari method asks you to start by envisioning your ideal life. What exactly do you want your brand to look like? How often do you want to work? As little as possible while earning as much as possible, perhaps? What kind of clients do you want, I'm guessing, the nicest ones that pay well and don't make negative waves in your life? Write ALL of this down, vividly imagine that perfect business life. Make a pin board of brands, workspaces, and lifestyle things that inspire you.

Step 2) Touch EVERY SINGLE BUSINESS ITEM you own, keep what "Sparks Joy", donate the rest

Bonus points if you do this for EVERYTHING you own and not just business items! This helps you for several reasons:

I) Eliminates clutter which makes operations smoother
II) Aids you come tax season, all your paperwork will be in order by the end of this!
III) As you realize what "sparks joy" you go on a self-discovery journey, discovering what you want your business visual branding and direction to be

You must touch EVERY SINGLE ITEM in order of category which go as follows:

1) Clothing / Accessories

2) Books

3) Papers* 

4) CDs / DVDs

5) Office Supplies

6) Kitchen Supplies

7) Pantry

8) Household Supplies (cleansers, cleaning supplies, etc.)

9) Tools

10) Bathroom Supplies

11) Furniture and Decor

12) Memorabilia

*With papers Marie Kondo's advice is to toss it ALL unless absolutely necessary, she says you will probably always have a small "out box" of things to do. She does, I do too, but that we should strive for it to be empty or near-empty.

You go category by category, laying every single item in that category on the floor in front of you and then holding each item to determine if it "Sparks Joy" or not. Laying it on the floor shocks you with the volume! Go through category by category in order. 

Step 3) Reduce Until it "Feels Right" This Can Take Multiple Runs and Months, that's fine

Reduce until you intuitively feel a space is "just right." You'll refine this as you go on. It may take weeks or months to go through all the categories above, that's fine. You may go through the whole method and then feel like you need to do it again like I did, that's fine, too.

Step 4) Go Back to a Certain Category As-Needed if Clutter Bubbles Up Again

The thing with business like I said before...shit happens! Sometimes you have to put out proverbial fires and another area of the business suffers. This has happened for me, but I go back to the method when I get behind and create a build-up and eliminate the clutter, getting back to delicious, beautiful order!

Step 5) Keep that initial vision in mind, purge what doesn't spark joy as-needed, buy judiciously

Going forward be VERY SMART about what you buy, be sure it goes with your vision for your business. Do a monthly business review. Are you aligning with the vision you started with when you began this journey? Is clutter cropping up again? Look at this honestly and work to correct it.

*By the way, regarding the list-making and paperwork craziness... I want to host 1 or 2 free community workshops per month in the space pictured above. The first meet-up to be one on list-making and planning for the new year. There will be yummy tea and camaraderie. I'll post details on social media. I hope you'll RSVP if you're local :)

I had a KonMari series planned for January but did a detailed retrospective instead. I'll probably be back with more posts on the method in time for spring cleaning season! Do let me know if you have any questions at all on this method or using it for business. And as always, please do share any methods you have for organization, planning, etc. I'm always experimenting with new techniques.

If you're struggling to figures yourself and/or your business' purpose, raise sales, or just life a more stress-free life, I highly recommend trying to KonMari method for everything related to your business! For us prone-to-mess creative types, it's a miracle worker.

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My 5 Simple Budgeting Rules for 2017: Money-Saving and Personal Accounting Techniques

Money is another one of those big resolutions we make for the new year. You want more in the bank. You want to pay debts, save up. Near the end of the year I was determined to make 2017 the year of aggressive earning but I found a wonderful book (more on that later), it reminded me that focusing fiercely on money NEVER works. You focus on quality, you start with passion and care.

That's the first rule of money, the second one is obvious, you MUST track your personal spending, too! It's very revealing not just for your finances but for you as a person. This year I'm sicking to the simple rules below for personal accounting.

1. Saving Every Single Personal Receipt and Recording our personal accounting Spreadsheet

I use Google Sheets

I'll confess, I am diligent with business tracking but never keep up the personal end. It'll be interesting to see the spending that goes on looking at the years going forward honestly. We spend nearly nothing but it still adds up!

2. No eating out unless it's social (a visiting friend, etc.), I'm cooking nearly all meals at home. I'm leaving wiggle room, for instance we sometimes end up in a rush. The groceries is the easiest area to spend smart and save in.

3. Have guides for my "vision" for wardrobe/home/business buying for review before buying. Just like I shared with this post, having a vision for what you want the final result of your home, wardrobe, business, etc. to be helps curb impulse buys.

4. No new purchases unless I've thought on it for a week or longer.

5. Severely limited "for fun" shopping or thrifting. I want to have a purpose in mind when I shop to help curb impulse buys. It also helps to have a friend with me while thrifting to keep me accountable.

Mostly our theme is buy less STUFF and if you do buy reaaaally be wise about it, only buy something I truly feel I will love and use for years. I want to focus on making our creations as beautiful and high quality as possible this year and traveling, and I don't mind living with less in the meantime to make those things happen. AJ and I enjoy the challenge of the tight budgeting, it's all a worthy sacrifice to make big things happen this year!

Full disclosure, I do not pay myself AT ALL. I put all earnings back into the business, giving myself merely enough payout for bills and necessities. It's challenging, but honestly, I'm enjoying the perspective it's given me on minimalism and wise spending. Even when we're earning more, I'm taking the lessons learned from these start-up years with me.

Do you have any particularly awesome budget tips to share? Any challenges you're doing this year? Apps perhaps? Do let me know in the comments.

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10 My Favorite Posts from 2016: Practical DIYS, Productivity Tips, Inspiring Interviews

Planning and creating content is one of my favorite things to do in the world. Combining words and images in a way that "clicks" and aligns with the spatial harmony I've envisioned is so nerdily fulfilling. It's like editing my own magazine. I always have hundreds of ideas floating in my brain to write and photograph, but if a post doesn't "feel" complete I won't post it. 2016 was definitely the year of getting the ball rolling for Body&Soul and getting out there in the world marketing it in-person; I didn't get to blog like I wanted to. Now that I've got more of a routine going I want to get back to my first love, content creation, in 2017!

Despite it being my slowest blogging year since starting this space on the web back in 2009 I have a few favorites:

1) Stephanie's Bus Home + Tips for Fulfilling, Creative Living in Nature, On Your Terms 

I would move into Stephanie's bus home in a heartbeat, it is perfection. Surrounded by nature, cozy, and artistic. Stephanie shared her home and her life as a farmer and artist.

2) DIY Gemstone Wall Art: Turn a Plastic Shopping Bag into a Large Wall Hanging

I loved sharing this technique for other creative magpies that collect things like cocktail napkins and tags because they like the design. I have a napkin from a sushi place I visited in Japan I need to give this treatment to next. This posed is proudly displayed in the shop now, I love looking at it every day.

3) Whimsical Contemporary Folk Art by Robin + Leaving "Conventional" Art Gig to Etsy Success

In Robin I have found my more-talented, more-experienced Etsy spirit animal! She scares her kid with creepy thrifted artwork, it's the same evil whimsical stuff I pull in my daily life. (I just torture/tease my neices/nephews instead.) Aside from our shared love of kitsch and craft she shares some damn good practical tips for anyone who wants to be an artist or Etsy seller full-time and interesting stories from her "conventional" office artist gig of the past.

4) Five Ways Tarot Cards Can Help Your Toughest Business Decision-Making Problems + 3 Tarot Problem-Solving + Learning Techniques for Beginners: No Meanings Needed

I'm always hesitant to share all my woo-woo spiritual craziness on the blog, but these posts are well-received. (My ghost story is still popular, that still surprises me.) One thing my new business has taught me, there's A LOT of us new agers/hippies out there. And there's a Field of Dreams "If You Build it They Will Come" beauty to writing and working in this field. Perhaps this year I'll share more from here. Maybe, just maybe, I'll share the religious experience I had that moved me to tears while I was waiting in line to go down a water slide at Jekyll Island. (I'm serious.) We'll see! But back to Tarot. I've used tarot as a guide a lot this year for myself and interested friends, it's just a fascinating journey into the subconscious and a relaxing way to exercise your intuition. By the way, my friend Patricia, a registered mental health counselor, is giving tarot readings at the shop this month at a discount. Let me know if you're interested! I'm probably going to write-up classes on the subject as well, or consult a more experienced reader to come teach on the subject.

5) Monsters in My Closet: Vintage and Modern Toy and Collectible Store Tour

The moment I saw the Monsters in my Closet sign on busy Stockton Street near my home I knew I would ADORE every inch of the interior. One of my favorite sights in the world is Japanese Robot Toys of the extra primary color rich eye-searingly bright sentai variety. Just look at the beauty it wrenches my heart with rapturous glee! Oh robots, of pop-culture color blitz, I love you. You are my muse. I don't feel the need for my home to be filled with toys anymore, but it's nice to have a space to view it (and contribute to it) in the community.

6) How to Make Cold Brewed- Not Iced- Coffee

My favorite recipes or DIYS to share are the simple few-step varieties. We're all busy, we want high quality goods with no fuss, dammit! Tasty stuff, fast! Cold brew is so easy and satisfying to make and I'm glad people who get acid reflux from their coffee found this method from the blog and reduced their pain.

7) How Do You Stay Focused and Balanced? 10 Weird Artist Productivity Tips

To use the nerdiest analogy ever, if I was a Pokemon, I leveled up in 2016. I started the year as Bulbasaur and ended it an Ivysaur . And perhaps one day I will graduate to becoming the mighty Venosaur. But not yet. I've "leveled up" when it comes to business accomplishments and finding myself a bit more as a creative and with this post I dug deep to share tips on how others creative professionals could also feel more balanced, focused, and productive.

8) My Fully Kon Mari'd Apartment Tour: Earnest Student Shared Space Before/After

The most-viewed post of 2016! I was sharing my apartment with my boyfriend, roommate, and my business at the start of the year and now I'm so blessed and happy the business grew to it's own location. The business was like another person or conscious entity, swallowing up the space! And wow, I've already gotten rid of hundreds more items since posting this at the start of the year! I'll have to do more full tours of the rest the apartment soon. I liked sharing this transitional-home-on-a-budget because there needs to be more honest representations of homes on the web. Not just "finished" spaces, but those awkward in-betweens. I enjoy seeing a gorgeously curated space like most design geeks but I also love it when bloggers share the unpolished realities, too.

9) Tribute to a Favorite Artist: Not a Woman. Not a Man. Something You'll Never Understand. Prince + Eye Attended 2 North Florida Prince Parties and Eye Liked Them. Some Photos 4 U"

Ouch, this one hurt to look back on. Last year the fans mourned an icon. I took it as a lesson. Prince never took a break from "being Prince", he never gave himself the self-care needed after strenuous performances and that shortened his lifespan. Most artists can relate to that relentless drive, let's take breaks and try not to suffer the same fate. You are missed, Prince.

10) 3 Weird Ways to Tap Into Your "Growth Zone" for Exponential Productivity Improvement

I finally articulated some principles I live my life by. With Science! Of all the posts I've written, I'd consider this the must-read for everyone.

This year I took some online business/productivity classes and turned them into blog posts on productivity. My favorites in the productivity series: 

Write it all down || 3 Goals Per Week, 3 Tasks Per Day || Hand Write Before You Type

Honorable Mentions: (1)My Current Favorite Artists: Art Print Wish List for Our Herb Shop and Home (2) Things I Didn't Buy at the Thrift Store: Amazing Warehouse of 1960s-1970s Beauty (3) DIY Re-usable Beeswax Cling Wraps for Leftovers or Packed Lunches (4)The Amazing Black Market Minerals

Not bad 2016, not as bad as I thought until digging in and looking at it! I've already got the editorial calendar (flexibly) filled-out for 2017! If there's anything you want to see in particular please do share in the comments or via e-mail. I want to interview more creative business owners, bloggers, writers, and just awesome people like you so please e-mail if you'd like to be featured! I love writing here, but it's you reading the words, leaving the feedback, and using or learning from posts that makes writing here worthwhile and special. I (and other readers) and learned so much from your comments. It takes a post to another level. I love this connection, it's what makes the web so incredible, it's a medium for greater interaction, communication and discovery. 

Let's use that as consolation when we spend a pinch too much time browsing blogs and social media ;) Thank you for being here in 2016, let's live and learn hard in 2017!

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KonMari Purged Living Room "Before" + Plans for Impact and Coziness on a Budget

Hello (lo..lo...) that's the echo, because my apartment's half-empty! Now that I have a store that houses all my business-stuff my living room is empty as hell! Imagine the scenario, you've been working your ass off selling your wares for years out the small space above, moving boxes from here to there to everywhere in your little workspace to accommodate the volume. You've also spent years decluttering personal possessions.

Now, six years later, you have what you want, you have a store and your home is a sexy minimalist dojo. You could host yoga or karate classes in that lovely zen wet-dream negative space emptiness. What do you do with it? The past year I've casually browsed arts, crafts, design blogs and magazines; carefully curating. The "fun" part is here, I have a new room to play with and shop (small, local & second-hand) for!

Below are my picks for adding maximum impact and coziness to an empty space on a budget. I can't wait to host more gatherings in my living space that is now purely for living and not just working!

1 & 9 ) The Woven Dream Factory : I'm on the look-out for large macrame and/or art tapestries to fill my wall space. My apartment has very tall ceilings and the texture from these earthy wall hangings will 'warm' the space up without a lot of work or investment.

2) Kanso Shelf Perhaps a nice shelf to display inspiring books and curios would be nice. Minimal Mod style, of course.

3) LP Shelving the best record shelving ever would be nice. Just need a shag rug underneath as displayed below. I'm dying at the speakers on all sides in this 60s advertisement! Do the groovy lovers trip over all the wires when they stand up? Does it tangle in their fabulously feathered hair?

Image Source

I'm very tempted to get rid of my tall table and just have a shag rug on the floor to lay on with a pile of books and some Prince and Michael Jackson records. After lots of meditation classes I feel like sitting cross legged or laying on the floor is the most comforting, natural thing.

4 & 5) Lisa Junis & Licorice Moon Studios My eye is out for unique/beautiful pottery pieces and cups/mugs to use in the space.

6) Danish Lounge Chairs I saw these exact chairs at a nearby antique store, they're so beautiful. The size fills a space nicely, they're practical and they're a nice pop of color.

7) Sea Grass Basket A couple of big baskets with plants add that natural element without being too expensive.

8) Handmade Rug I'm probably going to invest in a white fluffy rug. The issue with this is that I would have to roll it up every day when in not in use to prevent Yuko damage. She absolutely cannot be trusted alone with it.

10) Vintage Halloween Latch Rug Always going to keep my eye out while thrifting for anything very unique and kitschy. Especially holiday decor, trying to collect a lot of vintage pieces. Holiday kitsch is pretty much the only thing I'm collecting now.

11) Pam Wishbow Spiritual/unique artist wares like altar cloths warm up a space nicely and add some luck, according to feng shui principles.

Now you see my plan, minimal furniture elements, texture, and handmade to cozy-up a space and add impact for less. You may see some DIY versions of the items above over the coming months, but I'm excited to support some local and Etsy artists along the way. You don't need a whole lot of stuff to make a space feel cozy, I'm excited to share how this space transforms this year. And of course, to use it, too!

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"Weight Loss" Tip "They" Won't Tell You: Don't Make it About Weight Loss. AT ALL.

Every new year most people have the same health resolution: lose weight. In America we keep seeing these resolutions every year because thousands of people fail at this common goal. I've told my weight loss story before, but I'm not sure if emphasized why I feel it worked and stuck. I never gained 30lbs back.

I feel like it worked because I wasn't trying to lose weight at all. Let me explain...

There's a lot of evidence to suggest thinking negatively about your goals is detrimental for actually accomplishing them. Your subconscious thoughts "program" your life. Constantly weighing yourself and beating yourself, punishing yourself for every calorie you eat, what a horrible way to try to lose weight! Of course rebound is common when the term "lose weight" by itself is negative, making you feel bad about yourself and your progress, daring you to just give up and give in.

When I started my health journey I didn't make it about weight loss at all. I'd accepted my weight, I wasn't 100% comfortable with it, but I didn't punish myself at all for it. I set about changing my lifestyle because I wanted to transform my health. I cooked whole, unprocessed foods at home and enjoyed it. I had lentil and veggie soups, oatmeal with cinnamon, whatever I felt like as long as it was whole and unprocessed. I never stepped on the scale, I didn't care. Not long into eating like this co-workers commented that I was losing weight but I didn't believe them because nothing ever worked for me before. I'd only ever-so-slowly gained weight since high school. It wasn't until all my clothes were lose, my skin was finally clear and break-out free (after a stubborn 2-3 year break-out) and I could fit "wishful thinking" one-day-I'll-fit-these-clothes that I realized what I'd wanted for years, weight loss, finally happened.

I didn't struggle, suffer, berate myself, weight myself, or go hungry once for it.

After the initial weight loss I was excited to make additional changes. Over the years since I tried more restrictive diets where I'd feel hungry, some recommended by trained professionals. I now have certifications in nutrition, aromatherapy, reiki, and clinical herbalism. I've talked to hundreds of people about making their lives healthier via my new store and selling herbal ware at outdoor markets. I can and will recommend specific tips that improve health. But I can honestly say those restrictive diets didn't work. I always gained the weight back, not back to my "starting" size before the lifestyle change, but if I lost an additional 10-15lbs, I slowly came back after stopping the restrictive, measured, frequent-weighing lifestyle. BUT if made the "switch" about eating more delicious oranges between meals, or trying a fun new dancing exercise class, something positive, I'd see noticeable differences and keep the weight off.

The first thing to change for better health is practicing changing negative thoughts for positive ones.

If you're trying to lose weight for yet another year in a row, make it about addition and not subtraction. About fun and not deprivation. Try exciting new recipes and ingredients, make it about changing your lifestyle for the better so you have improved energy to accomplish all the things you want in life. Hide your scale. Accept yourself, don't punish yourself. For all the recipes you like, there are healthy alternatives. I have a long list here and there are thousands more on the web. This was initially going to be a list of things you can do to aid weight loss but there's so many of those already (I even have one here), but I feel like making it about positivity and addition of exciting, equally delicious "healthier" food and subtraction of bad ones is the healthiest first step.

If you have any fun tips of recipes to share, please do e-mail me or share in the comments. I'm resolved to making this a year of getting back to making cooking fun after making only rushed 1-pot dishes like I did last year!

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