Re-sharing this post because it’s a yearly staple for us and I know so many of you love them, too!! These flourless pumpkin chocolate chip bars are SO good and I usually have all of the ingredients for this healthy fall dessert on hand and ready to go.

Let the avalanche of all things pumpkin begin.

I feel like this year, a lot of people are playing it cool when it comes to pumpkin. You know, trying not to act *too* excited about its arrival. (Also it could totally be the fact that many of us are still experiencing true summer weather.) And then, there are people like me who have already enjoyed a PSL (or a few….), and upon seeing the shelf of pumpkin-filled cans at Trader Joe’s, I did the slow-mo run to them, arms wide open, and a creepy smile on my face.

I just can’t help myself.

While the Pilot doesn’t go crazy for pumpkin at all, I gave birth to two pumpkin-obsessed little friends, who share my enthusiasm for this festive gourd.

Flourless Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

This afternoon, I decided to embark on my first pumpkin baking adventure of the season, with chocolate chip pumpkin bars. It was a twist on my beloved flourless blueberry breakfast bake (recipe is in the book!), and uses creamy almond butter and egg as the base. The result: a dense, buttery, perfectly spiced, and sweet healthy pumpkin dessert or snack. It’s also amazing in the morning with some butter and a side of scrambled eggs.

Here’s this healthy pumpkin recipe if you’d like to give it a try!

and a video!

Hi friends! How’s the morning going? I hope you’re having a great one so far! We’re having the best Fall Break with the kiddos, and am looking forward to a shorter week this week, and getting everything ready for the Pilot and P’s bday celebrations. I’m also starting the Dr. Cabral 7-day detox today with our community. You can still absolutely order a kit and join in on your own time when it arrives (use FITNESSISTA20 for a discount).

For today’s post, I wanted to share some of the changes I’ve made in my routine that have moved the dial towards productivity, improved mood, and sleep. It’s fun to adjust things over time and see what works, and this is what has been working for lately. I’d love to hear if you’re working towards any goals or have made any sleep/routine changes and how they’re going!

5 dial movers in my health routine

1) An updated morning routine

I used to get frustrated hearing about morning routines of successful entrepreneurs because I have small kids, a life, and ain’t got no time for a 2-hour complex morning routine. The kids used to be our alarm clock, but now that they’re older, I still sleep until the alarm goes off. I roll out of bed and am flung directly into the morning chaos until school drop-off, or on the weekends, it’s dance and soccer games. I would hear about elaborate morning meditation, journaling, and exercise routines and just feel annoyed.

Buuuuut, I realized I could shuffle around some of my favorite habits that put me in a positive and productive mindset and make them work for my life. My “morning routine” is a bit delayed now, or split into pieces throughout the day, and makes a huge difference in my stress level and my attitude.

Here are the components I include:

Morning sunlight and grounding

I know that early morning sunlight can help your circadian rhythm and enable your body to produce melatonin at the correct times, so you’re able to go to sleep more easily at night. I’d open the blinds and let sun into the house first thing, but over the past couple of months, I started stepping outside into the sun. It feels SO good and makes me feel instantly awake and like I’m ready to conquer the day.

I have to let Maisey out in the morning anyway, so instead of staying inside curled up with hoodie or blanket, I walk outside with her. I step into the grass, even if it’s wet, remove my glasses (since they are transition and blue light blockers), and look around the yard. It takes maybe three minutes, but sets the tone for the entire day. I get a little bit of sunlight on my body and in my eyes, and also get in a bit of grounding, which can be therapeutic. According to this study, “Grounding appears to improve sleep, normalize the day–night cortisol rhythm, reduce pain, reduce stress, shift the autonomic nervous system from sympathetic toward parasympathetic activation, increase heart rate variability, speed wound healing, and reduce blood viscosity.”

7 minutes of meditation, 10 minute of journaling

Every day, I spend 7 minutes meditation on my Read more

HI friends! Happy Friday and hellooooooo from the Great Wolf Lodge. We were originally supposed to be on the way to NYC – there were a lot of reasons for canceling, but decided to do a Disney cruise in January instead – and ended up doing a little fall break staycation at GWL. The kids LOVE it here and are at the perfect ages to enjoy everything they have to offer. I think this is our fourth trip and we’ve had a blast each time.

Other than Great Wolf Lodge, the kids have a birthday party, friend/family dinner, and I’m getting everything ready to start the Dr. Cabral detox on Monday.

I will definitely share more about my experience! If you want to join, you can still order here and use FITNESSISTA20 for 20% off. They ship very quickly and you can start whenever you receive your goodies.

I’d love to hear what you’re up to this weekend! I hope you have a relaxing and lovely one ahead.

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party. This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

Friday Faves

Random:

Six! Season tickets for Broadway in Tucson were my Mother’s Day gift, and it’s already one my favorite gifts. I love having shows to look forward to all year!

I took madre with me to see Six on opening night and it.was.everything. I had no clue what to expect and was blown away! It’s unlike traditional musicals, as there are no set or costume changes. The six performers are onstage with the band the entire time, and it has like a concert vibe to it. It still has an amazing plot, deep moments, lots of comic relief, and the entire audience was clapping, cheering, and fully enjoying themselves.

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Sharing this post for friends who are considering joining Beautycounter as a consultant. It’s one of the best things I’ve done for my business, so I’d love to share more about what it entails and how to get started. 

Hi hi! How’s the morning going so far? I’m looking forward to a long weekend with Fall Break, a trip to the pumpkin patch, and a staycation at Great Wolf Lodge.

For today’s post, I wanted to share more about the Beautycounter business. This past week, I’ve had so many people reach out to me about joining as a consultant (<— I think it has a lot to do with the fact that enrollment is $20 right now!!). I don’t talk about the business opportunity too often (usually friends who read the blog will sign up, or just email me to let me know they’re interested in joining), but I know that some of you may be curious about the behind the scenes and with the $20 enrollment promo (ends on 10/17), I had to spread the news.

Here’s a post I wrote a while ago about being a Beautycounter consultant and how it’s affected my business!

I also thought it would be a good time to share this post because things are SO expensive right now, and we’re also about to head into an expensive time of year. Between the holiday events/food, family gifts, class parties, teacher gifts, in addition to increased cost of living with inflation… it’s a lot. If you’re looking for an option to make extra money on your own terms (from home!), this is an option that might work for you.

Here’s some more details to decide if it might be for you and how you can get started!

This isn’t just applicable to Beautycounter, but could be used for other network marketing or direct sales opportunities.

How To Build Your Beautycounter Business Plan

Step One

Have a call with your mentor to talk about upcoming events, how they recommend that you get started, or any initial things you need to do. For consultants on my team, I have an onboarding process that they follow, along with a few checkmark steps along the way. I also ask them about their goals! Some friends want to hit the ground running, while others are more low-key about it.  Others simply join for the 25% discount, and that’s cool, too. It’s helpful to know their goals so I can coach and support appropriately.

Step Two

Brainstorm your “why” so you can share this with others on your journey. If you’re joining Beautycounter, this might be something about how you wanted to switch to safer products (we all have an “a ha” moment), or if can even be financial. (Like, “I wanted to be able to pay for our kid to take private piano lessons” or daycare costs, etc.) I would be transparent and detailed about your “why,” and write up a post or share in conversation when someone ask

Hi friends! I hope that you’re having a wonderful day. The kids are officially on fall break (WAHOO!) and I’m packing us up for a little staycation at Great Wolf Lodge.

I wanted to share some of the best deals from the Prime Early Access sale that are still available. The sale ends tonight, so I’m spending an hour or so adding some home products, clothes, and holiday gifts to our cart.

Items worth adding before Prime Early Access sale is over

My faves:

Such a great price for the original Peloton bike! This is the same one we have and love!

I LOVE our Ring doorbell. It’s so nice to be able to see who’s at the door and be able to talk to them. Also, it’s very fun to see the Trick or Treaters since we’re usually not home on Halloween. (We have a bucket of candy on the porch that’s always dumped into one kids’ bag lol)

I want to try these nontoxic whitening strips.

The makeup eraser. I’m obsessed with this thing, and it really does remove so much makeup, including eye makeup. I travel with the mini versions.

The best milk frother. It’s so inexpensive and really makes a difference in your morning coffee.

This toiletry travel bag.

My favorite water bottle! I’ve used so many types and always come back to this one. It’s the water bottle the kids use and love, too.

This scalp massager for applying shampoo.

Love these fuzzy slippers!

This brow gel is a gold star.

This super cute lounge set.

Such a great deal on these claw clips.

The best detangling brush.

This is the waterpik I use every day!

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