S.W. Basics x Kandy McDonald Collab Conversation by adina grigore

Adina and Gisela talk about the specially formulated Body Oil and Body Lotion--what inspired them, how to use them, and just our general love story. Email questions for next time to [email protected]!

I've been trying to collaborate with Naked Bar Soap Co. for my whole life it feels like. Their products are beautiful and they actually make building a business look fun. You'll get it after listening to this interview with Jen, and then you'll want to (and should) shop their products.

I feel extremely conflicted about productivity. I constantly think I should be more productive, but then I also know I’m doing too much (see episode titled burnout!). Chris Bailey’s book rocked my perspective on productivity for the first time in forever. In this episode we talk about that, how it’s more about focus and distraction and doing what’s good for you and your brain. Here is where you can stalk Chris: alifeofproductivity.com/author/chris/, and this 
episode is brought to you by my favorite full spectrum (aka CBD) products that have also helped calm me the eff down: www.supergoodhemp.com?rfsn=1908204.96818
Use code STAYBASIC for 10% off!

Addiction is so interesting. It’s treated like an illness and recovery looks so sexy online but aren’t we all seriously addicted to something or other? I definitely am. And I don’t feel like I’m in recovery or even really understand recovery. I’ve seen my sister-in-law Jodi go through every step of addiction and it looked very different than it does online. She struggles with it every day, and she doesn’t BS about that. I try to pick it apart to try to control it in myself, or to at least feel like I can see what’s happening more clearly, which you’ll hear in this episode. You can connect with Jodi here: www.instagram.com/jodinages/

I have had more conversations about sexism in the past two years than my entire life up until now. Every woman I know is struggling with some aspect of it, and for female friends in business, it’s almost like we’re all suffocating. But sexism is the norm and the truth is that we need to mostly just figure out how to deal with it. I can’t quit my job because of sexism, and I can’t spend all day screaming at people (no matter how much I want to). Kristin is really good at dealing with it, nothing gets her down for longer than the few minutes it takes her to figure out how to see it in a different way. Or fight through. So I make her walk me through her thinking constantly and repetitively—and on this episode!

You can learn more from her here: www.instagram.com/kristinshane1/

Every decision I make about my health is fueled in some way by my body image. I’m pretty sure that’s the case for everyone these days. But for me there’s a massive battle between my feminist rage over this and my desire to actually just feel good about myself. MacKenzie is a chef that got famous by making grilled cheeses. So, she gets it. We originally started to secretly talk about our dieting and working out and desire to have hot bods, and then we decided to start sharing.

Stalk MacKenzie for grilled cheeses but also healthy things now: www.instagram.com/grilledcheesesocial/

In high school I thought of an eating disorder as the designation of something extremely severe. And you either had it or you didn’t. But now I can’t think of any women (or that many men) who don’t obsess over their diets. It’s in all of us. I don’t think we even realize to what extent. Laura realizes, and it’s hard for me to swallow a lot of what she says, which just means that's how deep it runs for me. I feel so much conflict around food and health (discussed in more detail in the episode titled body image!), but everything Laura has said has contributed to opening my eyes about the whole thing. Learn from her here: www.instagram.com/laurathomasphd/?hl=en
and and this episode is brought to you by my fave clean makeup brand that also doesn’t prey on your insecurities in its marketing: www.pjtra.com/t/TUJGRkdMR0JGTEpGTUZCRklNSU5F
. Get 10% off with code STAYBASIC

I am a superfan of Paramore and Hayley Williams. I feel very lucky that Hayley and I met and we vent to each other pretty regularly about business and life. But she’s a LITERAL ROCKSTAR who then also decided to start her own business. Insane. I am constantly freaking out from feeling outside of my element or in new territory (or not knowing, at every minute, if I am about to lose my job & company and will need to find a whole new career, again!). So what better person to talk me down than someone doing all of it really, really well, while also telling the truth about how hard it is.

Hayley: www.instagram.com/yelyahwilliams/?hl=en
 and this episode is brought to you by her badass company: gooddyeyoung.com/affiliate/staybasic


10% off with code STAYBASIC

The concept of burnout is so difficult to understand. What does it even mean? Is anyone not burnt out? Do those people live in the world? Do I deserve to feel burnout when things could be so much worse? Are all of these questions one of the symptoms of burnout? I don’t know but I know that I have it, I feel it, and it is INTENSE. One of the worst health experiences I’ve ever had actually. This episode was partly about me admitting that to myself, but also about getting some tips from Dr. Will Cole, who uses functional medicine to help heal a culture full of stress and burnout.

Dr. Cole: www.instagram.com/drwillcole/ 
and this episode brought to you by my favorite snack bar that I consume on the fly but actually makes me feel like I did something good: https://www.squareorganics.com/discount/STAYBASIC

Use code STAYBASIC for free shipping!