My Summer Body Challenge

By no means am I saying that I am overweight. I’m simply stating that I’m out of shape and miss the healthier version of myself. Now that school is out I can focus more on my business, my family, and my body goals.

I have four things I’ve chosen to do to improve my mind and body this summer.

1. Daily morning workouts

2. Healthier eating

3. Cutback on drinking

4. Increase self care

I’ve cleared space in my home so that I can do my morning YouTube dance cardio workouts. I’m loving Mike Peele right now. His workouts are fun and high in carb burning. I drink lots of water and turn the air conditioning up so I can get some extra sweat happening.

I’m cutting back on my carb and salt intake. Crawfish season is almost over and they are getting tougher to peel. This means I won’t be eating nearly as much but I hate to work too hard. My eggs are plain and I eat them with a veggie on the side. I am also addicted to pasta. I want it every single day that my eyes are open. This will be the hardest habit to break this summer.

I said pasta would be the hardest but as I get to this step I realize that cutting back on drinking Red Bull and vodka and wine will the hardest or them all. I don’t live the healthiest lifestyle. I have a Red Bull as soon as I wake up and maybe another in the evening with vodka. But I will admit that I consume at least two drinks a day. I’m a teacher! Education is stressful. I need it to wine down. However, on the weekends it’s much more because I’m a social drinker.

Finally, I will be incorporating more self care techniques to achieve my healthier version of Me! I will be blogging more, meditating before bed, doing evening yoga to wind down before bed, and a weekly self care service. What’s that last one you say? I will go to the nail salon, go get a massage, go on a solo date. I’m very excited about the next two months. check back to read more about my adventures of my Summer body challenge.

Why Capsule Wardrobes work for some and not all?

Before I dive into this topic I would like to start off with saying that a true capsule wardrobe would not and could not for me. So understand that I’m not pushing anyone to run out and throw away everything you’ve ever owned and loved to follow this trend. However…a slight variation of this concept would and has made my life so much more simple for outfit selections.

Lets begin with defining “capsule wardrobe“. In the simplest terms, is shedding your wardrobe of complex pieces and keeping basic staple pieces that can be mixed and matched. I’ve read that an ideal CW has anywhere from 17-35 pieces that can be mixed and matched to credit over 100 looks with only those items. That sounds really cute and every…but definitely not realistic for me or my business. So I continued to research and fell on a variation called seasonal capsule wardrobe. Now this was everything I needed and more!

A seasonal capsule wardrobe is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of you only having those 17 to 35 pieces for the entire year, you would select the same number of pieces per season. This is not as hard as you might possibly think it to be. As a Closet consultant, I struggle with clients who struggle with letting things go. You attempt and sit down with a client and explain that you can’t keep everything, you need to make decisions on what to keep and what to let go. Prior to my first home visit, we have a virtual meeting where we discuss the parameters of a closet detox. I can’t expect the client to really make decisions on things that they absolutely do not want. That’s the whole reason they choose my services. What I do instead is have them go through their closet and select items that they love the way they look in them and items that they like the way they look in them but aren’t really sure that it’s a look for them at this moment. I will be honest with you, the second pile is usually the clothes that are going to go. However, I started researching the capsule wardrobe idea for a client and truly dove into the idea of a seasonal capsule wardrobe instead.

I put a slight spin on the seasonal capsule wardrobe. Instead of strictly sticking to neutral colors, I encourage my clients to select a color scheme that they like to wear for each season. This is our starting point. For example, if I have a client who likes to wear the color green during the winter months, I would structure their seasonal capsule wardrobe around the appropriate shade of green for winter. The idea is never to start completely over with your wardrobe. The concept is to fine-tune what you already have to fit the stress-free looks you want to achieve.

As a full-time teacher, single mother, and business owner, it is very hard to create last minute looks without having a mini meltdown. As a stylist and reseller, I have tons of inventory that I am constantly purchasing, photographing, styling, and selling. The hardest part about all of this is trying to dress myself! I have so many clothes and so many options because of my business. It became overwhelming to walk into my own closet to make selections for my every day looks. This is the reason that the seasonal capsule wardrobe became so appealing. With my need to have a versatile wardrobe that I can show my followers how to style, I needed some way to ease my stress in decluttering my own space while maintaining my flair for style. I hope this concept can help you in some way . If you need help with a closet detox, please do not hesitate to enlist my services.

Being Productive in January 2022

With the spike in covid cases and a need for normalcy, we have to plan our time efficiently to be more productive for the year. January is the month of fresh starts, brainstorming, fine-tuning, and preparation.

Fresh starts. We are at crossroads in the wake of 2022. What will we do? What do we want to change? What can we try differently that wasnt so great in previous year? This is the perfect time to decide what to keep, what to ditch, and what to invest more time into so you can make it more than you ever imagined. For me, it’s growing my resell business and branding my blog. These are two very large goals with everything else on my plate (family, teaching, tennis, traveling, etc) but they are realistic achievements if I plan accordingly and stay on task.

Brainstorming. This is where we sit with a pencil and notepad to determine where we go from here?!?!? Choosing an “all together new goal” will require some research and detailed planning. Depending on the size of your goal, you might need some additional help to be your most productive self. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you are unsure. Find an expert in that field. Go to social media group pages about your interest/goal and ask for HELP. I’ve joined several reseller groups on Facebook and Instagram as well as subscribing to blogs and YouTube pages of successful resellers in my niche. Now that we’ve researched HOW to achieve our goal, it’s time to fine-tune those steps into a solid action plan.

Fine-tune. We have laid the foundation for success through research and connecting with others with like minded interests. Now it’s time to narrow down what we want the final product to look like and the MOST logical way to get there without burning ourselves out. Weed out those unrealistic expectations and focus in on those processes that will get you to your end goal and LAST. The key here isn’t finishing and moving on. It’s attaining a lifelong goal that will continue to bring happiness and fulfillment to you beyond the completion stage. For my branding goal, I plan on focusing in on travel and productivity. Therefore I will look into collaborations with brands that focus on travel planning, travel accommodations, activities and places of interest. This will allow me to do what I love while growing my own brand and reseller business. As I travel, I shop in thrift stores and consignment shops in every city I travel to which accomplishes several things at a time.

Preparation. This is the final step of our pre-planning process. By this time, we hope that you have truly nailed down what you plan to achieve by the end of goal setting year. You‘ve acquired a small group of people to support you, narrowed down your achievable steps, and we are ready to start putting things in motion to complete one of your Big Four Goals. If you‘ve forgotten what this is, simply go back and read my 4:3 Goal Setting post for more detailed information and free printables. So I’m ready to start my journey in being a brand ambassador for travel related companies. I’ve researched and joined interest groups so I’m ready to prepare myself for success. Well what does that look like? For my goal, preparation would be making sure that my social media presences portrays my own brand. This will require me sitting down and making sure that what I’m putting out for the world to see is what my potential collaborators will want to be associated with.

These steps should have you off to a great start in January! Hopefully by February we are on to establishing our Big Four!