Why “No Pain, No Gain” Is Hurting Your Fitness—and What to Do Instead
Ditch the hustle and welcome gentle consistency.
Wellness
Health
True health is about feeling vibrant, balanced, and deeply connected to yourself. Our thoughtful guides explore nutrition tips, movement inspiration, mindful practices, and expert insights to help you cultivate wellness from the inside out.
20 Anti-Inflammatory Recipes That Pack All the Good Stuff
Calming inflammation, one avocado at a time.
Tested and Reviewed: 2025’s Best Water Bottles for Stylish Sipping
Worth-the-hype faves and under-the-radar picks.
How I Trained My Body to Wake Up at 5 A.M.—Without an Alarm
The gentle art of becoming a morning person.
From Chaos to Calm: What to Do When Life Feels Like Too Much
Get grounded in five.
10 Feel-Good Mediterranean Recipes That Check Every Wellness Box
Good for your gut, and your taste buds will thank you.
How to Reclaim the Magic of a “Summer Camp” State of Mind
The nostalgic mindset shift that’s helping me embrace the season.
Weekend Notes
Mornin’, friends! Hope you’re having a great weekend so far. Life has been speeding by so quickly lately in such a blur of busyness that I’ve been making an effort on the weekends to slow it all down a little. Which means that I’m intentionally leaving blocks of our time unscheduled to make room for things like laying […]
Cruise Control: How to Get Along While Traveling
We’ve all been there — bickering in the back seat of a cab on a trip that should have been fun. Traveling can be stressful, and nothing can test the mettle of a relationship quite like a series of delayed flights. Even when things are functioning smoothly at home, nothing is guaranteed out there on […]
Weekend Notes
Happy Easter, friends! It’s been a sunny, lovely weekend so far with egg hunts, neighborhood bike rides, and dinner out with friends. This morning we’re making waffles and laying low before a family celebration later this evening. I’ve got a busy few days of work ahead, so I’m trying hard to mostly unplug and savor the weekend […]
Are you on a media junk diet?
*photo by Alice Gao They say if you want a quick overview of a person’s intelligence, interests, and background, just take a look at their bookshelf (or even better, their Netflix queue). Around our house these days you’d find a mix of favorite paperbacks like Just Kids and A Moveable Feast alongside hardback copies of […]
The Positive Side of Social Media
Much has been written about the negative aspects of social media on our health, our stress-levels and even on society. We’ve touched on it here: TMI issues, increased anxiety, and comparing ourselves with others, and there have been countless articles about effects on self esteem, relationships, and our abilities to focus. And as much as it’s […]
Weekend Notes
Happy weekend, y’all! It’s been a glorious low-key weekend to cap off the end of a crazy two weeks (#SXSW). I hosted a baby shower for two of my pregnant pals yesterday — just a small group of really good friends, breakfast tacos, mimosas, and lots of adorable baby gifts. Oh, and Adam and I got bikes!! […]
Jennifer and Keith
The first thing you’ll notice about Jennifer Matos and Keith Holmes II is that they make a drop dead gorgeous couple. Both professional fitness instructors at the lake shore YMCA in Austin (Jenn is also weeks away from obtaining her cosmetology license), these two make a living inspiring other Austinites to look and feel their […]
Can improving posture improve your life?
When it comes to posture, mine has always been less than perfect. It’s something my mom never fails to point out, although she’s not nearly as much of a stickler as her mother was. Inspired by the grandmother I never met, I challenged myself to spend a week focused on improving my posture. At my […]
How to Be Active When You’re Strapped for Time
Lately, things have been really busy around here. Most of you already know I work for one of the largest creative festivals in the world (SXSW) and for the next few weeks, finding time to take care of anything outside of work is tough. As I type this, we are exactly four days out from […]
Your Weekly Checklist for a Clean Green Home
Becoming a grown-up, owning a home, and having two small kids of my own has given me a whole new respect for my mom’s abilities to always keep our house so clean growing up. Sometimes it feels like a full-time job! I’ve always been pretty good at keeping things tidy and picked up, but tasks […]
Weekend Notes
Morning, y’all — hope you’re having a great weekend! It’s felt like a bit of a marathon around here lately. After getting back from Miami last weekend, I dove headfirst into the kickoff to SXSW here in Austin, and the last couple of days have included speaking on a panel, tons of parties, and then throwing […]
How to Shop Like a Pro Online
A few weeks ago I found myself at the mall, bouncing from one store to the next, skimming the racks for something new and exciting to add to my wardrobe, when it hit me: I don’t know how to shop in person anymore. Is it just me, or has the shift into online shopping been so profound, that […]
Victoria & Lucy
I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Victoria Smith of sfgirlbybay in person, but I swear it feels like we’re best friends. Not only was she one of the first bloggers I discovered when I entered this crazy world, but since then, she’s continued to delight readers with her modern bohemian style, her colorful point-of-view, and last […]
Weekend Notes
Morning, y’all. It has been a doozy of a week — starting Monday, I was in and out of bed with a mysterious fever and cough, Adam was out of town so I was home with both kids (thank God for our parents), and work was at its busiest so I couldn’t exactly burrow under […]
How to Learn a New Language in One Year
Texans live surrounded by Spanish. It’s on our menus, our street signs, and on the lips of so many people who live here. But even given all of that (and the four semesters of Spanish I endured during college) I still didn’t speak Spanish back in November of 2015. Rosetta Stone was something I’d been […]
Do You Need a Digital Detox?
Gluten detox? Check. Skincare detox? Done it. Digital detox? Hmmm… I’m gonna need to get back to you on that one. The other day I was at dinner with a wise friend who also happens to be a nurse, and I confided that I’ve been having some issues with insomnia lately (should that be a post?) […]
Weekend Notes
Morning, friends! Anyone else feeling especially happy that it’s the weekend? No matter how much I love what I do during the week (truth), by the time Friday rolls around I’m usually craving a break to turn it off, hang with the fam and not feel the constant need to be productive. I’ve been trying somewhat […]
Justin and Julie Marie
Julie Marie Wier and Justin Kitchen are one of those couples who (at any given moment) look like they just walked off a movie set — maybe something with a Pulp Fiction vibe, or John Water’s 1990 cult classic Crybaby. As individuals, they both posses a rare combination of striking looks and truly rebellious style. […]
6 Life-Saving Tips That Will Save Your Sweaters
Ever been heartbroken to see your favorite sweater meet an untimely end? Or wondered what to do with your winter weather splurges once springtime rolls around? Well, the ladies behind The Laundress are here to answer our every sweater query. Meet Gwen Whiting and Lindsey Boyd, the founders of the Laundress, a line of environmentally […]
How to Clean Up Your Finances
Much of what I love about this column is that it’s not solely focused on how to stay in shape or eat healthy. Sure, they are very important and I love sharing my experiences with both, but Living Kindly is dedicated to the broader picture of wellness. Wether that be physical, emotional or mental, they […]