The High Functioning Hot Mess Podcast

Former Rockette, eating disorder recovery coach, future RD, and fellow highly sensitive gal? Yeah… this one is a GOOD one. ✨

Today I’m sitting down with Alli Bollinger – also known as @your_spoonful on the Instagram and Tik Tok – to talk about what it really looks like to chase a dream (hello, Radio City Rockette!), walk through an eating disorder, and build a softer, more sustainable relationship with food, movement, and your own identity on the other side.

Alli grew up being “the dancer,” went on to get her BFA in dance, moved to NYC, and eventually booked her literal dream job as a Radio City Rockette – after recovering from an eating disorder. Her story is such a beautiful full-circle moment and now she’s in Boston, working as a certified eating disorder recovery coach and getting her master’s in nutrition to become a registered dietitian.

If you’ve ever wrapped your worth up in your performance, productivity, or how “disciplined” you are, this conversation is going to land deep.

• How perfectionism and performance culture mirror diet culture and keep us chasing exhaustion and worthiness.
  

• The moment she realized her “discipline” with food was actually disconnecting her from joy and her body.
  

• Separating who you are from what you do.
  

• Why community and talking about the hard stuff matter so much in recovery.
  

• How she rebuilt trust with food through small, real-life challenges.
  

• Her advice for anyone still in the thick of it with food or body image.
  

• The heart behind Take What You Need and her daily intention polls.

• Instagram & TikTok: @your_spoonful
  

• Podcast: Take What You Need
  

• Alli is currently accepting 1:1 eating disorder recovery coaching clients – you can learn more and inquire through the links in her Instagram bio.

Connect with Elizabeth: 💻 https://www.elizabethalicellc.com/ 📸 @elizabethalicerd on Instagram 💌 Subscribe to Vitality Vignette for cozy wellness musings

This podcast is not medical advice.

In this episode, we chat about:Connect with Alli

In today’s solo episode, Elizabeth invites you into the sweetest, coziest recap of her Year of ✨Hobbies✨ — the experiment that helped her heal, reconnect with joy, and stop living in constant self-improvement mode. What started as a chaotic post-wedding spiral turned into one of the most transformative years of her life… thanks to bread, dirt, yarn, music, glitter, books, and play.

If you’ve been craving more fun, softness, or creativity in your life, this one will inspire you to try something new — even if you’re not “good at it” yet.

🌾 Why she created the Unglamorous Glow Up after her wedding and what she realized was missing 🍞 How a cozy night making sourdough with her friend Emma sparked the entire Year of Hobbies 🪴 The garden that took over her backyard and the life lessons it gave her 🧵 Her adventures with needle-inclusive hobbies (crochet, cross-stitch, embroidery) — including what stuck and what didn’t 🪡 The sewing project that surprised her and why she’s setting up a craft room for 2026 🎹 How bringing a free piano into her home unlocked a deeply emotional, nostalgic part of her 💎 Her unexpected obsession with diamond art (and why it’s the perfect low-stress winter hobby) 📚 Her reading renaissance — from Little House on the Prairie to Minnesota-based rom-coms 🧘‍♀️ How movement became a “fun hobby” for the first time ever and why it’s healed so much ✨ Why 2026 is becoming My Feel-Good Fit Era — a soft, playful, inner-child-honoring approach to movement

• Sourdough: 10/10 must-try, 6/10 doability

• Gardening: 7/10 doability

• Crochet / Cross-Stitch / Embroidery: 5/10 doability

• Sewing: 6/10 doability

• Music: 8/10 doability

• Diamond Art: 10/10 doability

• Reading: 10/10 doability

• Movement: 8/10 doability (walking = 10/10, weather permitting!)
  

✔️ You want a hobby but don’t know where to start ✔️ You crave more fun, play, or softness in your routine ✔️ You’ve felt stuck in self-improvement fatigue ✔️ You’re healing your inner child ✔️ You want movement to feel good — not punishing ✔️ You want inspiration for winter hobbies

No pressure. No rigid routines. No “new year, new me.” Just trying things, letting yourself be a beginner, and seeing what feels good — for your brain, body, and Little You.

Sourdough Sandwich Loaf Recipe

Woobles

Jessica Brooke Photography

Strong Soul | Sculpt Cycle Flow

You can still enter the High Functioning Hot Mess launch giveaway! ✔️ Rate, subscribe, and review the podcast ✔️ Screenshot your review & send it to Elizabeth on Instagram (@elizabethalicerd) ⭐️ Bonus entry: Screenshot the episode you’re listening to, share it to your stories, and tag @elizabethalicerd

Winner announced Friday, December 12, 2025!

Connect with Elizabeth: 💻 https://www.elizabethalicellc.com/ 📸 @elizabethalicerd on Instagram 💌 Subscribe to Vitality Vignette for cozy wellness musings

This podcast is not medical advice.

In this episode, Elizabeth shares:Hobbies She Tried This Year & Their “Doability Scale”This Episode Is For You If…Join My Feel-Good Fit EraLinks MentionedGiveaway Details

In this heart-opening conversation, Elizabeth sits down with Colorado-based therapist, writer, and Reiki master Jesie Steffes to explore what it truly means to be a highly sensitive person (HSP) in a world that often feels sharp, fast, and overwhelming.

Jesie breaks down the science and soul of sensitivity — how HSPs process more information, feel deeper resonance, and often need softer, more spacious approaches to healing. Together, they unpack nervous system regulation (minus the Instagram buzzwords), boundaries, grief, intuitive living, and the power of finding rhythms that actually support sensitive bodies.

Jesie also shares how Reiki became an unexpected lifeline for her own anxiety, how she integrates it with her Christian faith background, and why her Seasonal Self workshops feel like a “soul massage” for those who crave gentleness, grounding, and community.

Whether you identify as highly sensitive or simply feel deeply, this episode will make you feel understood, softened, and a little less alone.

• What it really means to be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)

• Why sensitivity is a form of neurodivergence — not a flaw

• Nervous system regulation that actually works for sensitive people

• Letting go of the pressure to “heal perfectly” or constantly reinvent yourself

• Grief as a companion on the healing journey — identity shifts, timelines, nostalgia, and old patterns

• How Reiki supports emotional + nervous system regulation

• Integrating spirituality, faith, and intuition

• Living in rhythm with the seasons and how cyclical practices soothe the HSP system

• The intention behind Jesie’s beloved Seasonal Self workshops
  

• Instagram: @jesie.steffes.healing

• Website: https://www.jesiesteffes.com/

• Substack: Sated Soul — weekly Wednesday essays
  

If this conversation made your nervous system exhale, you’ll love Jesie’s upcoming Seasonal Self: Wintering Mini-Retreat.

• 📅 Date: Sunday, December 7

• 🕓 Time: 4:00–6:30 pm MST

• 🌐 Where: Virtual (join from anywhere)

• 🤍 What: A nourishing space for reflection, journaling, meditation, and distance Reiki — especially for tender-hearted, highly sensitive humans

• 🔒 Spots: Intentionally limited to keep the space cozy and energetically contained
  

Learn more and save your spot at jesiesteffes.com or through the link in her Instagram bio.

Connect with Elizabeth: 💻 https://www.elizabethalicellc.com/ 📸 @elizabethalicerd on Instagram 💌 Subscribe to Vitality Vignette for cozy wellness musings

This podcast is not medical advice.

In This Episode, We Explore:Connect with JesieJoin Jesie’s Seasonal Self: Wintering Mini-Retreat

🎙️ Episode 2: The Shoulds Will Get Ya: EMDR, TRE & What Nervous System Regulation Really Means with Kendra Dale

Guest: Kendra Dale, LCSW

We’ve all seen it plastered across the internet: “Regulate your nervous system.” But what does that actually mean—beyond cold plunges, green juice, or a 10-step morning routine?

In this first episode of The High Functioning Hot Mess, I’m joined by licensed therapist and my cohost-in-spirit, Kendra Dale, to get to the root of what nervous system regulation truly looks and feels like in real life.

Together, we talk about: ✨ What it really means to regulate (and how trendy advice often misses the point) 🧠 How EMDR and TRE help your body process and release stored stress 💭 Why “the shoulds” keep us dysregulated and disconnected from ourselves 🌿 Simple, daily practices that actually create safety in your body—without perfection 💬 How to let your healing be messy, hopeful, and uniquely yours

This conversation is equal parts science, soul, and real-life stories—because regulation isn’t about doing more; it’s about feeling safe enough to do less.

Connect with Kendra:https://mindfulconnections22.wixsite.com/website/kendra-dale-lcsw

Vibration plate - https://lifeprofitness.com/products/the-waver-vibration-platform

Tarte BB Tinted Moisturizer

EMDR - https://www.emdr.com

IFS - https://ifs-institute.com

TRE - https://treglobal.org

Connect with Elizabeth: 💻 https://www.elizabethalicellc.com/ 📸 @elizabethalicerd on Instagram 💌 Subscribe to Vitality Vignette for cozy wellness musings

Episode 1: Welcome to The High Functioning Hot Mess ✨

In this first episode, I’m sharing the heart behind this podcast — why I created it, who it’s for, and how my own messy healing journey brought me here.

If you’re craving gentleness, nuance, and honest conversations about healing, nourishment, sensitivity, and simply being human… you’re in the right place.

This episode sets the tone for everything to come: soft, grounded, real. A place where we tell the truth about how complex healing can be, while also allowing ourselves to romanticize the journey when it feels supportive.

• The meaning behind The High Functioning Hot Mess

• How healing requires both physical nourishment and nervous system safety

• My own experience with panic, burnout, and rediscovering myself

• What you can expect from this podcast moving forward

• Why healing is allowed to be soft, fun, and infused with curiosity

• How connection, conversation, and community are at the heart of this show
  

To celebrate the launch of this podcast, I’m giving away a curated basket of my favorite goodies — a little “Christmas present from me to you.”

The basket includes: ✨ Some protein powder packets ✨ A lip gloss ✨ A water bottle ✨ A planner or journal ✨ + a few more wellness-inspired surprises

How to Enter:

1. Rate, subscribe, and review The High Functioning Hot Mess

2. Send me a screenshot of your review on Instagram to confirm your entry

3. Bonus entry: screenshot the episode, share it to your IG story, and write a little blurb about what you loved or what you’re excited for → Don’t forget to tag me: @elizabethalicerd
   

Timeline: 📅 Opens: December 1, 2025 ⏰ Closes: December 12 at midnight 🎉 Winner announced: December 12 on Instagram

Your early ratings + reviews truly help this show reach more women who need this kind of space. Thank you so much for being here and for your support! 🫶🏼

Connect with Elizabeth: 💻 https://www.elizabethalicellc.com/ 📸 @elizabethalicerd on Instagram 💌 Subscribe to Vitality Vignette for cozy wellness musings

This podcast is not medical advice.

In This Episode, We Explore:Launch Giveaway: My Favorite Things Basket