Sharing a recap of what we did in Seoul, where we stayed, and my thoughts on the whole experience. The nutshell version: I CAN’T WAIT to go back.

Hi friends! How are you? I hope you had an amazing weekend! We just caught up with house stuff here, finally recovered from jet lag (I was barely jet lagged when we got there, but ended up riding the struggle bus when we came home), and met up with some friends.

I’m so excited to share some recap posts on our trips with you!

Here’s a list of what I have planned so that when they go live, I can add the links to this post.

Seoul recap, what we did and what we ate (this post)

Tokyo and Kyoto itinerary and tips for travel

What we ate in Japan

My Korean Head Spa experience

Seoul recap, what we did, and what we ate

Before I get started, I wanted to begin with an apology.

To my friends in South Korea and Japan, I was ignorant, and now I know. I had NO CLUE how much I’d been missing out. The girls picked the locations for this trip, and I figured it would be something that I enjoyed, but it wasn’t my first choice for a vacation. (I’d be happy repeating least year’s 5+ weeks in Spain adventure.) I didn’t expect to fall in love with these places, but I absolutely did. This trip absolutely changed my life. I’ll share more in my Japan post, but these places didn’t feel like different countries… they felt like different worlds.

The people in Seoul were SO kind and lovely. The food was incredible. It felt so very safe, and there was so much to do. We could have doubled our time there and been happy. The funny thing is that we had the opportunity to be stationed in Korea multiple times during Tom’s military career. All of our friends who lived there loved it, and now I understand why.

We flew from Phoenix to San Francisco, and then direct from SFO to Seoul. The flight was long – about 12 1/2 hours – but I managed to nap on and off (the girls stayed wide awake the whole time) and we landed at about 3pm. I think this is the perfect time to land in a new country because your hotel room is ready, so if you’re totally wrecked and need a nap, you can. You don’t have to wander around and wait until your room is ready.

We knew that it would be a low-key day, so we checked into the hotel and set out to explore. We stayed at the RYSE Autograph Collection h

Hiiii! Happy Friday! What do you have going on this weekend?

We’re back from an INCREDIBLE trip to Korea and Japan. I have so much to tell you guys that I’m splitting it into multiple posts that will start on Monday. If you have any questions or anything I can answer in these, please let me know! I’ll share all of the details on what we did, what we ate, where we stayed, my Korean head spa treatment (glorious), Kyoto and why it’s so magical, eating mostly gf in all of these places, Tokyo DisneySea, ALL the things. The nutshell version is that it was one of our best trips ever and not to be annoying, but it absolutely changed my life. Please send me recovery vibes as I return to everyday living lol.

A little bonus is that we had a 12 hours layover in Honolulu on the way home.

We checked into a hotel for a day stay and a nap, then headed immediately to the beach for a walk,

to get snacks (malasadas, masubi, and acai bowls),

Read more

Sharing a roundup of the latest books and if they’re worth adding to your collection.

Hi friends! How are you? I hope your week is off to a great start. We’re exploring Kyoto – SO gorgeous here!!- and having the best time. I’ll share more pics in Friday Faves and a recap when we’re back.

In the meantime, I wanted to chat about books. TBH, my book goal has kind of fallen by the wayside this year. I was so consistent the past few years, but lately, by the time we go to bed, I’m exhausted and crash out. I might read for five minutes before I decide to go to sleep… and it takes a long time to finish a book that way!

Now that summer is here, I’m going to spend more time reading with the crew, during the day (<— hoping this makes a huge difference). My current plan (we’ll see how this works) is that in order to have screens, the kids have to make their bed, get dressed and brush their teeth, complete two chores, read for 30 minutes, and move their body (or at least plan to swim or move their body somehow during the day). I’m going to join them for the 30 minutes of reading time and use the time that they’re completing chores to get work stuff done, and we can head out for the adventures of the day. We’ll see how this pans out in real life lol.

Here’s a recap of some of the books I’ve read lately. If you have any summer reads that you’re enjoying, please share the goods in the comments!

latest book recap

Good Grief by Sara Goodman Confino

She’s one of my favorite authors for lighthearted reads and this one is about a new widow, who has an unexpected long-term visit from her mother-in-law. Her plan to get rid of her is to find her a man and she eventually discovers that her mother-in-law has the same plan for HER. There’s lots of shenanigans and I found this to be a sweet read, but not my favorite. (My

Lola has never had a formal blog introduction, but she’s now 6 months old and I’m sharing some of the mischief she’s gotten into instead. It’s much more fitting this way.

We knew that we eventually wanted to get another dog. When Maisey started to act more grandma than puppy – sleeping on the couch and just seemed bored during the day – we figured it would be sooner rather than later. The Pilot and I had discussed it and knew we wanted to make it happen.

He wrapped up the pieces to this puzzle for Christmas:

The girls and I each had a piece and when we put it together, the girls squealed, and I shed a couple of tears because I was excited and it was so cute to see them so happy.

He figured we’d pick out a puppy and it would be a while until she was actually home with us, but the girls and I had Lola picked out the next day and he was flying out to Salt Lake City within a week to pick her up. (We act quickly around here haha.)

She is a tornado of joy and energy, and has been the sweetest best friend and sister to Maisey. They already love each other and chase each other around, play tug, wrestle, and nap together. I’m SO so glad we did it.

Read more

Let’s chat about my favorite mineral today – magnesium!! 

Hi friends! How are ya? I hope that you’re having a lovely morning. We are in Seoul right now! I’ll be sharing lots of adventures (probably too many) on IG stories if you’d like to follow along. We are also going to Tokyo and Kyoto.

For today’s post, I wanted to chat about the benefits of lovely magnesium and muscle cramps.

For most of my young adult life, I would wake up in the morning, point my toes to stretch, and my entire calf muscle would immediately seize up in the most violent cramp imaginable. I was genuinely convinced that I was going to perish. (It may sound dramatic but if you’ve ever experienced this, you understand.)

The cramps were even worse during both of my pregnancies. And knowing what I know now as an Integrative Health Practitioner, that makes complete sense, because growing babies draw heavily on their mother’s mineral stores, and magnesium is one of the first things to go. (Babies are AMAZING but they’re little mineral bandits.)

I wish so much that I had done functional lab testing after my girls were born, because magnesium deficiency can play a huge role in how a new mom feels, thinks, sleeps, and recovers. It could have changed my entire postpartum experience.

Since I started supplementing with magnesium consistently, I have not had a single muscle cramp. Not one. (Knock on wood!!) The cramp relief was honestly just the beginning of what I noticed.

If you are dealing with poor sleep, low-grade anxiety, fatigue, or mood swings that seem to have no clear cause, magnesium deficiency could be a major piece of the puzzle, and you might not even know it. This is one of the most common deficiencies I see when I start working with new clients, and it is also one of the most impactful things to address.  Let’s chat about everything you need to know!

In This Post

• Why So Many Women Are Magnesium Deficient
• What Magnesium Actually Does in the Body
• Signs You Might Be Low in Magnesium
• The Different Types of Magnesium (and How to Choose the Right One)
• Why a Full-Spectrum Magnesium Can Be a Game Changer
• Topical and Bath Magnesium: Do They Work?
• Foods That Are High in Magnesium
• How to Test Your Magnesium Levels
• FAQ

Why So Many Women Are Magnesium Deficient

Here is a number worth paying attention to: research from the USDA suggests that nearly half of Americans are not getting enough magnesium from their diet. That statistic does not account for the additional depletion that happens because of stress, certain medications, alcohol, poor gut absorption, or the demands of pregnancy