The Weekly Well Vol. 2
Anyone else feel like the weeks are just flying by? It feels like I just sent out last week’s newsletter, but here we are again.
This is honestly the first time I’ve ever been into writing in my entire 36 years of life. Growing up I was always a math nerd, acing my calculus exams while nearly failing English and really anything that required an essay. Something about math just made sense in my brain - something about there always being a right or wrong answer - whereas English there was not.
At my last company, Model Meals, my role was CFO, but being a bootstrapped startup I was constantly pulled into operations, having to deal with employee drama, and basically all of the “oh shit” moments (we had a lot). After we were acquired, the “oh shit” moments became more of my reality as I was now dealing with audit deadlines and other duties that come with being CFO of a bigger publicly traded organization. I was literally a ball of stress at all times, working all hours of the day and barely sleeping. I left that role in November 2022, knowing I needed to slow down in order to truly heal the hormone, gut, and autoimmune issues I had been dealing with since I started Model Meals in 2015.
Although time is flying by, my day to day life is a bit slower paced these days and I couldn’t be happier with it. The 5am wakeups straight to the coffee pot and computer have been replaced by slow mornings with no alarm, cuddling with my dog, and circadian walks. My previous approach to entrepreneurship has shifted to the “minimalist entrepreneur” (highly recommended read) approach. My obsession with to do lists and productivity has shifted to an obsession with distraction free days where I can set my own schedule. I finally feel like I have the time and space to write and share about my experience. To finally express myself creatively after a life of numbers, to do lists, and right or wrong answers. Writing is helping me connect the dots and truly understand the message behind things I care about in life and as an entrepreneur.
And with that, I’m trying out a new format for the newsletter this week. Here are 5 things on my mind this week - things I’m loving, products I’m trying, and my take on “clean eating”:
The perfect summer sweater
I’ve been searching for the perfect cotton sweater for what seems like years now and I finally found it at Jenni Kayne. She’s sustainably made from 100% organic cotton in the the perfect creamy off white color. Lightweight enough for summer, and slightly oversized but not too much. I’ve been wearing it everywhere - the farmers market, working from home, as a light layer on morning walks, and I’m excited to bring her on my trip to Turks & Caicos next week!
Here are 3 ways to style it:
The Foster Cotton sweater from Jenni Kayne in Ivory (wearing an XS)
Make eating clean cool again
As I’ve been reading books on wellness culture (more specifically, it’s criticisms), one thing on my mind this week is the unfair labeling “clean eating” often gets as orthorexia, aka an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy foods. I’m not denying exists, but I do think people are quick to jump to labels these days. It’s like you’re all of a sudden an outsider if you choose to not eat processed foods, abstain from alcohol, and want to stick with a regular sleep schedule. I have personally dealt with this from both family and friends.
I love this post by Dr. Will Cole:
A post shared by @drwillcole
It’s so true. Unhealthy, ultra processed foods have sadly become the “normal” in our society. And the reason is that we have the FDA, healthcare and big food companies telling us to eat these foods, ultimately so they can profit from us getting unhealthier and sicker.
More on this to come!
Face Tape, a natural alternative to Botox
Face tape is kinesiology tape that claims to smooth out wrinkles on your face (and really anywhere your body). Nothing against fillers or Botox if that’s your thing, but they can be pricey and don’t feel sustainable to me. Plus, I’m a bit hesitant of injecting anything foreign into my face so I’m always down to try a natural alternative. I’m using it to hopefully smooth out my crow’s feet and an annoying forehead wrinkle.
Face tape is inexpensive and also super easy to multi-task with. I wear mine either overnight, while I’m working from home, or walking my dog. Some say results are immediate but I’m going to give it a couple weeks. Stay tuned for my review!
Follow @facetapebible for tutorials
The face tape I’m using
New salt & electrolytes
I’m a bigggggg salt and electrolytes girl — I typically drink 2 LMNT’s per day, liberally salt my food, and am obsessed with any kind of salted dessert. And because of the amount of salt I consume, I want what I’m using to be high quality. This is how I discovered Crucial Four. Their salt is hand harvested and tested for purity so you know it’s free of toxins like heavy metals and microplastics. And their cherry limeade electrolyte mix is SO GOOD. It’s made with their high quality iceland flake salt and without artificial sweeteners, and I love that they use real cherry and lemon instead of natural flavors. I feel like LMNT will always be my go-to for traveling since it comes in those convenient sticks, but Crucial Four is now a staple in my at home routine.
I’m also trying out their colostrum to replace the one I was using from Armra. Because honestly, despite all of the hype around Armra I didn’t notice any differences in my skin, hair, how I felt, etc. while using it. I’m always skeptical of any product with that much influencer marketing. Will post a review of Crucial Four once I’ve used it for a few more weeks!
The most comfortable hammock
In all honesty, I won this hammock in an email giveaway but it is 10000% worth the money. I originally found Yellow Leaf Hammocks searching for a non toxic, sustainably made hammock, and actually ended up winning the email giveaway on their site. Their hammocks are all handwoven and come in cute colors. I have the Vista in Big Sur.
I love reading and doing breathwork in mine - you literally feel like you’re floating, kind of like one of those anti-gravity chairs. It’s also super lightweight, so you can move it around to different spots in the backyard depending on where the sun is, or even inside if it’s raining.
