I am officially into month 4 of my 6 month no dating self-love journey and I wanted to share some of the lessons I've learned along this ride so far. Things haven't gone exactly to plan as I've been handling some personal issues I never thought I'd have to and that's taken away from the homework each week and sharing it with you.

I will do my best going forward though and wanted to take this episode to recap what I've learned from our guest episodes, how I'm navigating becoming an influencer so quickly, and future guests and episodes on the horizon!

Time Stamps:

(0:36) What I’ve Learned So Far

(3:55) What Hasn’t Gone Away During This Journey

(4:54) My Meditation Coach Emily

(10:25) What Does Being an Influencer Mean?

(14:00) Over Scheduling Myself For Years

(17:20) A Friendship Audit

(23:38) Learning About Non-Traditional Households

(26:34) I’m An Internal Optimist

(29:06) Learning to Trust My Intuition

(32:00) My Drama Free 4 Months

(38:00) Epiphany Real Time

(41:30) 3pm vs 10pm Stephanie

(43:00) My Environment and My Mental Health

(45:49) I Love Plants

(48:00) Opening Up My Experience with Sexual Connection

(50:12) Upcoming Guests 

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I am so excited and nervous to share with you today's episode with Lily Womble! I've been following Lily for awhile on Tik Tok and she was the first person I thought of when I was thinking about starting this podcast. Lily is incredible at holding space for others and you'll hear that in today's episode. We get into how Lily found matchmaking, why self-compassion needs to come first, my emotional rollercoaster we talk through in real time, and more!

Time Stamps:

(0:20) What to Expect This Week

(2:35) Lily’s Background

(6:50) Finding Matchmaking

(12:13) Lily’s Self-Love Journey

(16:48) Making Oprah

(19:34) The Download Delete Cycle

(26:02) Self-Compassion Comes First

(26:49) 3 Steps to Self-Compassion

(37:40) Self-Soothing vs Self-Care

(48:53) This Week’s Homework

(56:47) Where to Find Lily

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Follow Lily on Tik Tok

Check Out Lily's Free Guide: Make Dating Like Self-Care

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Find Everything From My Free Full Life Audit Notion Template to My Free Facebook Group and More Here! - https://linktr.ee/heyclosefriends

Are you wanting to find your creativity in work or in life but feeling burnt out? Wanting to try something new but don't feel like you have the energy for it? My guest today is going to share with us both the science and her experience working with others on creativity and producing quality work.

Katina Bajaj is the Co-Founder of Daydreamers, a place to foster creative habits for well-being and fulfillment. She is also the author of On Adulting and received her Masters in Clinical Psychology at Columbia.

In today's episode, we discuss Katina's self-love journey, defining creativity, healing ourselves, and so much more!

Time Stamps:

(0:20) My Guest Today 

(1:30) Please Subscribe and Review

(7:05) The Multi-Hyphae Movement

(9:20) Where Katina is in Her Self-Love Journey

(11:40) The New York Hustle Culture

(13:02) Daydreamers

(15:43) What Creativity Means to Katina

(21:28) Getting Called a Sack of Potatoes

(31:49) Healing Ourselves

(35:35) Work-Life Balance and My Email Signature

(37:10) Burnout

(38:40) Getting Off the Hamster Wheel

(42:00) Getting Into Flow State

(45:14) Adventure Ideas

(51:48) The 8 Metrics of Creative Fulfillment

(58:18) Perfectionism and Heart Disease

(1:01:40) This Week’s Homework

(1:05:45) Where to Find Katina

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Follow Katina on Instagram

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One of the biggest things I have done for myself and my self-love journey is consistency with meditation and trust me, I used to be a skeptic too. It wasn't until I found my guest today and her method of meditation that it finally clicked for me and made all the difference. Emily Kessler is joining me today in person to discuss her own self-love journey, the power of meditation, and her special offer just for the Hey Close Friends community!

Time Stamps:

(0:35) Recording In-Person Tech Issues

(3:44) Emily’s Self Love Journey

(6:36) Emily’s Introduction to Meditation in Thailand

(10:30) The Misconception of Meditation

 (12:34) Our Fight or Flight Response

(14:06) The Importance of a Quiet Morning

(20:35) Adult Learning Lessons

(27:10) Meditating Together?

(37:30) The Mindset Towards Trying Meditation

(42:38) Meditation with Kids

(50:28) A Special Opportunity with Emily

(54:30) Where to Find Emily’s Special Offer

(55:50) This Week’s Homework

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Follow Emily on Tik Tok

Check Out Emily's Special Offer Just for the Hey Close Friends Community!

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Find Everything From My Free Full Life Audit Notion Template to My Free Facebook Group and More Here! - https://linktr.ee/heyclosefriends

We could all use some decluttering and with spring just around the corner, today's episode couldn't come at a better time! If you are anything like me, the cleanliness of your home is directly correlated with your mental wellbeing at the time and luckily, my guest today is going to teach us not only how to declutter our homes but our minds as well!

Kristyn Ivey has an impressive resume including KonMari Master, Pro Organizer, Virtual and In-House Decluttering Expert, Co-Host of the Spark Joy Podcast, TEDx speaker, and Radical Self Care Champion to name a few. We discuss how Kristyn first got into her industry and space, daily tiding up practices, establishing our mindful to-do's, and more!

Time Stamps:

(0:20) My Guest Kristyn

(3:10) Kristyn’s Self-Love Journey

(9:36) Kristyn’s TedTalk on Financial Burden of Clutter and Over-Purchasing

(12:50) Birthday Festivities/Parachute Purchase

(14:08) Creating a Clutter-Free Space

(27:40) Keeping the Environment in Mind

(35:35) Daily Tiding Up Practices

(41:30) Getting Yourself To Do the Mindful To-Do’s

(44:34) This Week’s Homework

(49:50) Where to Find Kristyn

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Follow Kristyn on Tik Tok

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Find Everything From My Free Full Life Audit Notion Template to My Free Facebook Group and More Here! - https://linktr.ee/heyclosefriends

If you remember back to my first episode when I talked about washing my face with hand soap, I knew I had a long journey ahead when it came to self-care and skin care. Luckily, I had one of my very close friends Kiran to help me as a guide and she's here today to talk everything skin care! Dr. Mian is a board certified dermatologist out of NYC with a. WHOLEistic approach to skincare. We discuss the mindset around skincare and what is self-confidence vs vanity, popular and essential products we should incorporate, anti-aging and botox, and more!

Time Stamps:

(0:20) My Guest/Client Today Kiran

(3:27) Kiran’s Broken Engagement

(6:05) Vanity vs Self-Confidence

(12:10) Where To Start

(13:48) Gentle Cleanser

(17:25) Talking Retinol

(23:25) Sunscreen Even Indoors?

(27:15) Facials

(32:08) Skin Mapping and Sun Protection

(39:55) I Used to Have Warts

(41:32) Anti-Aging and Botox

(51:50) Our Homework for the Week

(54:00) Product Recommendations

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Follow Kiran on Instagram

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Find Everything From My Free Full Life Audit Notion Template to My Free Facebook Group and More Here! - https://linktr.ee/heyclosefriends

I can't wait to share my dear sweet friend Joelle with you and dive into one of the most important self-care topics: our health. Joelle owns an evidence based training and nutrition coaching company called Level TEN Coaching and Co-Owner of a SaaS coaching app called Fit Coach Pro. 

Joelle and I discuss our struggles in our physical and mental health journey, why the gym isn't therapy like you hear a lot of individuals say, Joelle's recommendations for showing up for yourself physically, and more!

Time Stamps:

(0:15) How We Met

(2:05) Nailing the Essentials

(5:10) Mental Health Education and Services

(7:28) Joelle’s Mental Health Journey

(12:40) Gym is Not Therapy, Therapy is Therapy

(18:10) Defining Stress

(21:30) Joelle’s PCOS Journey and Gaining Back Her Fertility

(29:50) Our First Photoshoot Together

(36:08) Baby Sloane

(42:30) My Binge Eating Disorder

(48:00) Adding Over Subtracting

(51:15) Recommendations For Showing Up For Yourself Physically

(54:35) Meet Yourself Where You’re At

(57:45) Comparing Yourself to Your Past Self

(59:48) This Week’s Homework

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Follow Joelle on Instagram

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Find Everything From My Free Full Life Audit Notion Template to My Free Facebook Group and More Here! - https://linktr.ee/heyclosefriends

Have you been wanting to breakout of your normal rut and routine when it comes to your clothing? Feel like you could pull off some riskier outfits but haven't had the courage to wear them in public? One of my best friends Daniel joins me for my first in studio podcast episode to talk about our friendship, his love for thrifting and fashion, and more!

Time Stamps:

(0:30) Meeting Daniel

(4:10) Optimizing Human Connections

(6:00) Curiosity Over the Checklist

(6:57) Daniel’s Cool Clothes

(11:06) Bowling Day

(13:50) Ditching the Traditional Route

(18:01) Clothing is Art

(22:13) Listening to the Inner Voice

(25:35) We’re Hot

(32:20) There Are No Rules

(35:30) Play in Every Aspect of Life

(41:37) Diet Culture and Self-Talk

(48:20) Body Image and Taking Care of Myself

(49:53) Daniel’s Pandemic Experience

(51:48) Daniel’s Live Dating Show Experience

(53:05) Recommendations for Stepping Into a New Style

(58:20) Recently Wearing an Outfit with Confidence

(1:00:00) This Week’s Homework

(1:04:15) Taking Up Space

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Follow Daniel on Instagram

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Find Everything From My Free Full Life Audit Notion Template to My Free Facebook Group and More Here! - https://linktr.ee/heyclosefriends

I instantly connected with our guest today on Tik Tok and we have so much to learn from her when it comes to Fair Play, domestic labor, and advocating for ourselves. 

Laura is an Educator, Advocate, and Certified Fair Play Facilitator. We discuss my early experience with my dad and what a great example he set for me when it comes to equality in the home, my reflections on my experiences with men and what I've learned about my standards, advice to both single individuals and married couples when it comes to Fair Play, and more!

Time Stamps:

(0:30) Meeting Laura on Tik Tok

(3:02) What is a Fair Play Facilitator?

(9:40) Men Intimidated By Needing To Do Better

(12:45) My Dad Making the House Go

(15:56) Inequality Before Children

(21:06) Unlearning Bad Habits in Relationships

(30:02) “I’m Here By Myself”

(36:25) Finding a Fair Play Partner and Starting Conversations

(42:20) Married Couple Recommendations

(44:50) Where to Find Laura

(46:12) This Week’s Homework

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Follow Laura on Instagram

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Find Everything From My Free Full Life Audit Notion Template to My Free Facebook Group and More Here! - https://linktr.ee/heyclosefriends

Where in your life have you been living at less than full volume? Have you been told you're "too much" for someone else? My first guest on the Hey Close Friends podcast is here to remind you of your personal power and to live life on your terms!

Megan Sherer is a Hypnotherapy and Holistic Therapist, Founder of Therapy App The Self Care Space, Host of the Well, Then Podcast, and overall badass human being. 

We discuss Megan's background and her current self-love journey, what ultimate self-care looks like, why we shrink ourselves, and so much more!

Time Stamps:

(0:10) When I Connected with Megan

(1:49) Megan’s Background with Holistic Therapy

(5:12) How Megan’s Self-Love Journey is Going

(10:55) What Does Ultimate Self-Care Look Like?

(15:14) Learning to Rest for the First Time

(17:45) Exploring Non-Traditional Paths

(28:00) Waiting on a Partner to Live Your Life

(35:00) Kyle in College Telling Me I’m “Too Much”

(42:04) Why We Shrink Ourselves

(43:15) Advice to Listening to Your Intuition

(46:36) The First Step to a Self Love Journey

(54:00) Homework Recommendation

(58:00) Doing Something New Alone

(1:03:05) Time to Watch Those List of Movies

(1:05:05) There’s No Rush

(1:06:28) The Self Care Space

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Follow Megan on Tik Tok

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Find Everything From My Free Full Life Audit Notion Template to My Free Facebook Group and More Here! - https://linktr.ee/heyclosefriends