A weekend that changed my life (& can change yours too) - Natural hairstyle for mens and womens

               Hey loves!
       I can't believe we have just a few weeks until the first day of school. This year we'll have the older five kids in school with Lydia starting Kindergarten and Evie in preschool, and while I'm so super excited for them of course, I'm going to miss my babes being around me all day every day. *sniff sniff*

       Anyways, today I want to share some quick thoughts on one of the most life-changing experiences I've ever had (NOT sponsored:)), and details on how you can have the same opportunity! I'm talking about my time at the Radiant & Rooted Retreat and the incredible impact it's had on me. Considering that I attended the retreat that was last March, I feel bad that it's taken me so long to get this post written, but even now I don't feel equipt to write well enough to do it justice. There are emotions I felt that I can't quite put into words, and spiritual breakthroughs that I feel are too sacred to even try to share, but I'll start with a little break-down after these pictures:























What:
Radiant & Rooted Women's Retreats
A 3 day retreat to renew your soul and ignite your life!

The retreat I attended in St George last March was in a peaceful secluded spot with just a handful of other women (as opposed to a really large group) so I couldn't 'blend into the background' or be overlooked. They had comfy beds in an incredible house and truly AMAZING food all day long. There were tons of awesome 'swag'/gifts from awesome companies. The team included energy workers and healers to help guide and teach, and I was encouraged (not forced) to explore my doubts and fears, address my limiting beliefs, discover my inner power and the energy that holds me back and holds me up. There was morning yoga, guided meditation, gorgeous hikes, swimming, time to connect with the other attendees and find our commonalities, time to be on my own, but most of all I just had lots of fun, and lots of crying.haha

Also, I just need to add that the incredible group of friends behind these retreats are some of the most caring and compassionate souls you'll ever meet. They have nothing but pure love and compassion in their hearts and truly just want to help empower women to be their best selves and to unlock their incredible power and potential. They've dedicated SO much time and ENDLESS effort to create what I consider to be a sacred environment and atmosphere that is dedicated to helping you feel safe and understood, valued, appreciated, and absolutely full of life and hope.


When and Where:
Again, the retreat I attended was last March in St George, UT, but the next one is coming up THIS WEEKEND!!!! It's from Friday, August 2nd to Sunday, August 4th and it's in Island Park Idaho. The link to purchase is right HERE if you want to click over and snag one before the last sell out:) Please please please consider investing in yourself (and by extension everyone you come in contact with) and just go.lol I can't recommend it enough. And no once again, I don't get anything by anyone purchasing a ticket, I just believe in these retreats with all my heart and my guts.haha Okay moving on.


Why go:
Because investing in yourself is a powerful and immensely rewarding course of action,
because you deserve to step away from all the hustle and comparison and laundry and noise and to find some clarity and connection with other like-minded souls who are searching for many of the same things you are,
because now is the perfect time to gain some amazing new friendships and perspective, and to find some answers and peace,
because Radiant & Rooted is the catalyst you need to move into the next phase of your life, no matter where you're at right now, should I go on? haha
That's what it ended up being for me at least. I honestly pulled up a little late and was hesitant to get out of the car to go inside. My insecurities were eating at me that I didn't have anything to bring to the group and that I was in too dark of a place to receive any sort of enlightenment, but I was so wrong. I was shocked at just how safe it felt there and how vulnerable I was able to be with women that I'd just met, but once people started opening up it was like a trickle turning into a flood of connection and understanding and all of us being reminded that we are all in this together. It was incredible.

What I Didn't Like:
I can't think of a single thing that wasn't perfectly thought out or planned or beneficial, etc, but if I have to pick something I do wish that it could last longer.haha Mostly because I didn't want it to end! I knew that that amazing feeling would start to fade as soon as I got in my car to leave that group of women and I was so sad at the thought, but I also couldn't wait to see my family again and be able to start applying the things that'd I'd learned and watch the transformations happen in our life. Also, we started a little facebook group and have kept in touch pretty well which is great.

My Favorite Part:
I was so happy and touched to see that Kallie caught a photo of me (directly above) during this moment right near the end of the retreat because this was during one of those unforgettable experiences that I wish absolutely everyone could have! It's hard to describe exactly what I was feeling, but this is me surrendering. This was during a sort of meditative exercise that involved connecting with our younger selves, and maybe you can't tell but I was just Sobbing. I don't want to spill too many details, but a part of the exercise was to face the sun with our eyes closed as other members of the group would take turns whispering special words to us, and before we were five seconds into it the walls just came down and I was shaking and audibly sobbing after having kept my composure pretty well since the beginning of the retreat.
There were a couple other incredibly sacred moments that happened between then and when we had to actually leave, but I'll save those for later I think:)

Would you recommend?

✩ One Ba-jillion Percent. ✩


I'll wrap up with a quick reminder that the next retreat is this weekend but you can still jump in at the last minute if you hurry my dear!! I would be so all over this but we had a family reunion planned the same time since last year so it was not in the stars. You can bet I'll be all over the next retreat though, and if you'd like info about that just let me know and I'll remember to get that to you guys as soon as I find out anything!

One last big massive uncomfortable hug to all the marvelous souls that shared their hearts with me that weekend, and to Amy and Bri and Rach, y'all are angels and I love you forever. Thank you thank you for the work you do.

xoxo


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A weekend that changed my life (& can change yours too) - Natural hairstyle for mens and womens

5 Simple Ways to Simplify Your Day - Natural hairstyle for mens and womens









     Hey there loves, I hope you're having a great week so far! We're about a month into our Summer break at this point and I'm happy to report that we're settling into a pretty smooth rhythm. Part of establishing that rhythm or schedule is giving ourselves space and the time we need to breathe, to really prioritize, and then to simplify everything down as much as possible.

     Today I partnered with Pampers Pure to share a few quick ideas for simplifying your day, and I hope that they offer a little inspiration for you!


1. Plan out the week's meals: 
We've all been to that point where it's 5:00 and it's too late to start the dinner we had planned, so we get frantic and have to toss something quick together or get takeout. That cycle can end when you plan out your week in advance, and then decide when you need to start prepping to have meals ready on time. You'll be amazed at how much having scheduled meals will add structure to your whole day, and mealtimes will become more intentional family time instead of a haphazard mess.

2. Prepare the night before:
The biggest thing that helps my day go smoothly is making a list of my to-dos the night before, but there are a lot of things when you think about it that may take little effort today but shave off lots of time tomorrow. Things like picking out your outfit, packing lunches, tossing smoothie ingredients into a bag ready to be blended, etc.

3. Create a morning routine: 
I used to think that a morning routine was unattainable with so many little ones and variables in our day, but as long as you can be okay with not achieving the routine perfectly every day, establishing goals for your morning and putting them somewhere you can see them will help you to focus and greatly increase your productivity! Checking off boxes in the morning will set the mood for the whole day, and instead of feeling like you're playing catch-up you'll feel ahead of the game from the get-go. I can share our routine later if you'd like, but it's just a list on the fridge of morning goals and it works great!

4. Limit TV time:
I don't want to discount how important some downtime is for the soul sometimes, but when you have a schedule to keep or a deadline to meet, you have to set some limits so the day doesn't get away from you. One trick that helped me a lot was committing to only watch shows while I was exercising or folding laundry, etc. Normally I don't think multitasking is a great idea, but in this case, it helps me get more exercise in and the menial tasks go by a lot faster too.

5. Automate as much as possible.
If you don't already have your bills set to autopay, that's the place to start. Getting those off your plate and out of your mind is a huge stress reliever and time saver. In addition to automating your bills you should be using the subscribe and save option on Amazon.com to have lots of your groceries and essentials sent every month, you can join co-ops to have fresh veggies and fruits delivered, and if you're mama you need to be a subscriber on PampersPure.com to have your diapers and wipes delivered every month! Pampers Pure actually recently launched a new option called Pick Your Prints on their website as well as tons of new adorable prints to choose from! I'm showing just a few below. My favorite is the croissants and jam:) What's yours?




     And that's all for today! Thanks so much for visiting and I'd LOVE if you could add a tip or two of your own that you feel helps you simplify your day.

     Take care gang, 




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5 Simple Ways to Simplify Your Day - Natural hairstyle for mens and womens

3 Fast & Easy DIY projects Using Sola Felt Tiles - Natural hairstyle for mens and womens

     Hello my people! How is your Summer going? Can you believe we have just about a month left before school starts again? I honestly thought we'd be spending much more time on the road than we have, but then I realized that most of our reasons for traveling so much in the past has been to attend get-togethers and events with my family here in Utah, but now we don't have to! It's been pretty surreal to be so close to so many of my siblings and their families, aunts and uncles and cousins, etc, and we've already seen them more in the last few months than the last several years combined at least. The kids especially love having over 20 of their cousins right here around us, and with so many exciting and new things to do as well we are pretty contented staying right here:)

      Less time driving has meant extra intentional family time going on hikes, making treats, swimming at the pool, etc. Personally, I've loved the time to catch up on house projects and getting more settled into our place, and today I've partnered with 3Form Home to share 3 simple DIY projects that I did all in under an hour using Sola Felt Tiles!

      I was really intrigued when I first heard of Sola Felt Tiles and the endless possible uses, but I knew I was sold when I read that every box of 6 12x12 tiles is made with 50% recycled post-consumed plastic materials, and contains the equivalent of a 24 case of single-use water bottles. How cool is that! We throw away many millions of plastic bottles every day, and I'm so happy to support a company that is turning that waste into something so useful and beautiful.
   
      The tiles look soft and feel like wool, they function like a sturdy corkboard, and they attach securely to any clean flat surface with peel and stick adhesive on each corner. The squares are totally configurable with 15 colors to choose from and 6 different shape designs that you can mix and match all you want, or you can purchase one of their cute pre-configured packages.

     Now I'm going to quickly show you how I created our Paint Tube Organizer, the White Mood Board of my dreams, and a simple and beautiful Necklace Rack.


MOOD BOARD
Time spent: This project took about 15 minutes, 5 for the tiles and 10 for collecting inspirational pieces.
Supplies:
- For the mood board, I used 6 of the 'Cross' tiles in the color 'Zinc'
- a pack of push-pins or tacks
- old magazines or photos, etc that you want to put on your inspiration board. Other ideas could be small artwork, printed quotes or photos, pages from a book, sentimental items, flowers or other pieces of nature, washi tape, pieces of fabric, paint swatches, ribbon, etc.

STEP 1: The first step is taking your tiles out of the box and arranging them on the floor in the design you want, then holding a tile or two up on the wall to decide height placement. (Tip: marking lightly with a pencil would be super helpful for a larger design)


STEP 2: Next, peel off the paper tabs covering the adhesive tabs on the corners of your first tile and use a level (I used the app on my phone) to make sure you have it straight before pressing it firmly on each corner to secure it to the wall.


STEP 3: Once you have the first tile in place, it takes only a couple minutes to peel and stick the other tiles around the first, lining them up snuggly together so the seams disappear completely.



STEP 4: Lastly, you can get creative in gathering your materials for your inspiration board, but I simply took some clippings out of a few old magazines for my first go at it. Just make sure that you put up photos and words etc that speak to you and make you feel whatever mood you're going for (i.e. peaceful, motivated, happy, fierce, etc), just have fun with it! xo

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PAINT TUBE ORGANIZER
Time spent: about a half hour including attaching all the binder clips to the tubes.
Supplies:
- For the organizer, I used 6 of the 'Parallel' style tiles in the color 'Cashmere'. 
- 1 pack of push pins
- 1 pack of small binder clips
- 1 pack of medium binder clips
Set-up: Repeat the same steps as for unpacking and placing the tiles as with the mood board, then I gathered all my paint tubes together and put the binder clips on all of the tops. Place your rows by starting with the top row, then the bottom row (for symmetry), and then fill in the middle as evenly as possible!
Side-note: When I first ordered the tiles I was pretty confident that my big tubes wouldn't hold up, but when they arrived I was happily surprised at how dense and strong they actually were and even my big full tubes hold up awesome!


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NECKLACE RACK
Time spent: This one took under 10 minutes from start to finish! 
Supplies:
- For the rack I used 3 of the '4 Square' tiles in the color 'Nickle'.
- 1 pack of push pins

Set-up: Once again you'll repeat the same steps as for unpacking and placing the tiles, except after placing my first two tiles one on top of the other, I cut along the indentation on the third and added one half securely to the right of both the top and the bottom tiles, being careful to put the clean edge on the outside. After that, it's just staggering your push-pins wherever you want and placing your jewelry:)


     And that's all for today! I really hope you enjoyed these simple little DIY's and that you're inspired to try out the tiles in your own home, and if you are you can use the code: FIRST30 on the website HERE for 30% off for the first 30 people! and free shipping :)

I've already decided I need to order more to do a command station in our home office, bulletin boards in the kid's rooms, an art display in the craft room, maybe some sound barrier panels in the music room, and the list goes on. You can't beat buying a product that is so versatile and beautiful that's also helping to make such a difference in pollution.

     As always let me know if you have any questions, I'm curious to know which project you like the most? Thanks so much for visiting loves,

xoxo



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3 Fast & Easy DIY projects Using Sola Felt Tiles - Natural hairstyle for mens and womens