August Bucket List & Intentions

Happy August! I can't believe the last month of the Summer is already here! Summer has gone by way too fast for me but I'd be lying to say that I wasn't excited for a new season. Fall is my absolute favorite season of the year! There's something about Fall that reminds me of new beginnings & possibilities. Okay, now I'm getting carried away... lets talk about August! 

I've decided to start a new series on the blog and share my "bucket list" and intentions each month! I wanted to call it a bucket list because I want to add things that make me go outside of my comfort zone and be intentional! I added some things to my list that I have wanted to do since I moved to Hawaii and so this month I am being intentional about making them happen! 

A big theme in August for me is intentional. I want to be intentional about my work, my possessions, my friends, my money, etc. This month I want to step back from the hustle, bustle, clutter, and noise to gain clarity and stay focused on my priorities. 

1. Log off all social media every Friday night to Saturday night

This is probably the most important intention I have this month. I LOVE social media but recently it has cluttered my mind and brought too much excess "noise" into my life. I have found that I am most creative when I have time to let my mind wander and so I am committing to a social media free 24 hours every week to give myself time to reflect! It may seem like nothing to you but for someone who works completely online, 24 hours away is HUGE! 

2. Read 30 minutes a day

One thing that I have slacked on in July is reading! I feel the most inspired when I am constantly reading and so I am committing to taking a work break and reading 30 minutes a day even if I have a million things on my to-do list! 

3. Snorkel at Sharks Cove

One thing that has been on my Hawaii list since I moved here is to snorkel at a popular free diving spot outside of Sharks Cove in North Shore Oahu! I'm determined to make it happen this month though because there are no waves this time of year so the water is perfect for snorkeling! 

4. Invest time into new friendships

I have made some amazing friends in our new home but there are still so many people I have met here that I would love to get to know better! This month I want to intentionally plan coffee dates and beach days to deepen friendships and get to know new friends better.

5. Buy Nothing

I would be lying to say that this won't be a hard one for me. If you know me, you know I love to shop! Since I am working on being more intentional with my possessions, I want to spend the month de-cluttering and minimizing things that don't bring me joy and so I am going to make it a goal to buy nothing as it comes to clothes, shoes, etc! The only exception to that will be when I host a Noonday trunk show for a friend later this month! ;)

6. Surf on the South side 

One of the things that my husband has been trying to get me to do since forever is to surf the South shore of Oahu. I have only surfed at one spot on North Shore and I am super timid to go surfing anywhere else! I know that I need to get out of my comfort zone and just DO IT, though, so I'm aiming to cross it off my list this month!

7. Eat greens in every meal

Eating leafy greens is SO important for your health and it's sometimes easy to go an entire day without those amazing nutrients! This month I am aiming to eat some type of leafy greens for each meal, every day. I plan to put spinach into my smoothies every morning and then add greens into salads at lunch and steamed for dinner. 

8. Create a Capsule Wardrobe

I have been watching and observing the capsule wardrobe life for years and have never tried it out myself! Since I am aiming to be more intentional in every area, I want to try out a capsule wardrobe and see what I think of it! Would you want me to write a blog post on my experience? Let me know in the comments! 

Thats it! Those are my intentions, goals, and bucket list experiences I want to accomplish in August! I want to encourage you to make your own bucket list & intentions! Share one of them in the comments below- I would love to know what you are aiming to focus on next month! 

xo,

Lo

Life Update: My thoughts & new direction on Live Well With Lo

I am SO ECSTATIC to be launching my new site! This has been a long time comimg and I just wanted to take a moment to share my heart on this launch, where the blog is headed, and what the future of Live Well With Lo holds. 

Where do I even begin?! Well, I have been blogging since high school and I’ve started and stopped too many blogs to count. I have had photography blogs, Christian blogs, personal blogs, fashion blogs… you name it, I’ve done it. I LOVE sharing my heart with the world because I truly think that when we share our lives, we are able to inspire others. I get SO inspired by reading blogs and following people I admire online. 

The problem I have always faced with blogging is that I get bored of just writing about one thing. One of my biggest strengths ( & weaknesses) is that I am extremely multi-faceted. I am passionate about SO MANY things. In an ideal world, I would be able to write about cooking, holistic health, self-care, fashion, faith-based content, relationship advice, productivity, motivation in the workplace, and everything else in between. I love to share what I’m passionate about and while sometimes that stays the same, my interests also change as I continue to grow as a person. 

Basically, since I have started laurenkissee.com which is now livewellwithlo.com, I’ve struggled with the identity of the blog. What are my main categories? How do I stay on topic but also share what I am really going through in life? How do I maintain a cohesive brand when I want to share ALL THE THINGS?!

-Insert Epiphany-

I don’t have to be like anyone else. I don’t have to have a food blog or a fashion blog or only do health coaching. I don’t have to talk about the same thing all the time. I am allowed to grow. I love seeing what other people love and so I realized that it’s okay for me to share what I love with the world even if it is always evolving.

I am so excited about my new site re-build because it has all the functions I need to be able to talk about anything and everything! On the blog you will now be able to find specific topics much easier and as I keep adding more categories, the content produced on here will become even more diverse! 

I realize that there is a big risk involved in shifting my branding to have an all-inclusive focus. I know I have many friends who really only like to see wellness & recipes and I have others that love work-related topics and motivation. My hope is that you will find so much value in all of the topics I want to share about! I hope and pray that this little space on the internet will inspire you in life, in relationships, in fashion, and in health. I hope you will see this blog as a one-stop hub to elevate your lifestyle and encourage you in your everyday life. 

Are you sticking around?! I would love for you to be on this journey with me and I would love to hear what you are most excited to read about in my upcoming posts! Write me a comment and share your thoughts!! 

Your friend,

Lauren 

Keeping a healthy lifestyle while traveling

Hey friends! Hope you all are doing well. I've been busy, busy, busy getting ready to head back to the mainland for a couple of weeks. I've been running errands, planning out our trip, and finishing work projects so that I am able to relax a bit while I'm away! I am not one of those people that can just pick up and go somewhere- I like to have a plan. When I travel, I make it a priority to continue living a healthy lifestyle because nothing is worse than coming back from a trip completely exhausted, and snug in all your clothes! 

Since this is the time of year where people are packing up and taking road trips, visiting family, and checking travel locations off their bucket list, I thought I would share my travel tips on how I stay healthy even while traveling and being outside of my normal routine! 

*These tips may seem kind of extreme to some of you who are more "go with the flow" types of people, and I envy you if you are like that! My body does not handle traveling well, AT ALL. I have had to do all of these things out of necessity because if not, I usually end up getting sick. I have found that if I stick to a routine, take care of myself, and commit to being healthy while I'm vacation, I come home refreshed and revitalized, not exhausted and sick! 

1. Strive to keep a morning routine

 I am my best when I stick to a morning routine! Even if my daily plans are uncertain, if I can keep a simple morning routine, I know that I will feel healthier, be more energized and my body will handle the stress of traveling better.  I try to take some time every morning to read, journal, and fuel my body with a ton of nutrients. The biggest way I do that is to bring my vitamins, supplements, and other easy-to-pack ingredients with me so that I can make matcha lattes and smoothies in the mornings! I They sell individual packets of collagen peptides and coconut butter now and so it makes it so easy to keep some of my favorite things on hand while I travel! I know that some mornings I won't be able to keep up and that is okay! But just striving to keep a morning routine helps me stay on track for the rest of the day. 

2. Show yourself some TLC before the trip

Before a trip, I try to take a couple days before I leave to take care of myself, build up my immune system, and organize my home so that I feel centered and not stressed while I'm away. I will sometimes schedule a facial or a massage, I do a bentonite clay detox on my feet, I make sure I have plenty of sleep, and I take extra Vitamin C supplements so that I will have a strong immune system for the plane flight. I also give myself PLENTY of time to pack so I'm not running around like a crazy person right before I have to goto the airport. Traveling and vacation are supposed to bring JOY and there's nothing that sucks out the joy in things more than stress and so I try to keep excess stress away at all costs! 

3. Don't overbook yourself and allow yourself to naturally adjust with the timezone

This is a huge mistake I used to make! I am the type of person that likes to seize the day and not waste any time and so I used to book all my trips up by the minute as soon as I arrived at my destination. What I failed to take into consideration, though, was that I wasn't letting myself adjust to the time change, which meant I wasn't getting very much sleep. Oftentimes, this would lead me to get sick a few days into my trip because I was exhausted and sleep deprived. You can't seize the day when you are exhausted and sick! Now, I plan ahead and give myself plenty of buffer in case I need to sleep in or go-to bed earlier. 

Ex: I'll be in California for two weeks and so for the first week I am there, I am not scheduling anything before 11am because Hawaii is three hours behind California and so if I schedule a breakfast date at 8am, thats 5am Hawaii time! Instead, I am going to allow myself to sleep in so that I am rested and able to do more in the long run! 

4. Be prepared with healthy snacks at all times

This is a big one. There is nothing like being in a new place and not having any food on you when hunger hits. My favorite snacks to bring on trips are raw nuts or almond butter! I also always bring  vegan meal replacement shakes with me In case I'm on the run and need a quick protein boost! 

5. Move your body and STRETCH every day!

Oftentimes when you travel, you are walking a lot. It is super important to keep moving your body but also to make time to stretch! Long flights and car rides can cause stress and tension on the body and so it is important to stretch it out! Just google a simple stretching or yoga video on YouTube and spend 10 minutes for yourself. Your body will thank you! 

Those are all my best travel tips! Obviously there are plenty of more that I could add but these are my tried & true methods for keeping up a healthy lifestyle even while traveling. I hope they help keep you healthy, happy, and balanced on all of your travels this Summer!! Comment below with where you will be traveling to this summer! I'd love to know! 

Live Well,

Lo

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