A roundup of the books I read in February and if I’d recommend adding them to your collection.

Hi friends! How are you? I hope that you’re enjoying the week so far! I’m teaching a barre class today and looking forward to a juice date with a friend.

For today’s post, I’m sharing a roundup of the books I read in February and if I’d recommend adding them to your TBR list. After being in a slump with books for a while, and with launching Healing Code + working on IHP3, I read three books last month, which I’m calling a win.

Here’s the full roundup:

February 2025 Reads

The Lotus Shoes

I’ve been interested in Chinese historical fiction (LOVED Lady Tan’s Circle of Women) and this one caught my eye. This book is about the story of Little Flower, who is sold as a muiazi (maidservant) to a prominent family. She has bound feet and is talented in emboirdery, which are two characteristics typically reserved for the higher classes. This book was action-packed – it started off quickly and kept the same pace, which made it easy to read quickly – but shattered my heart so many times. It was a testament to the power of resilience, even when it seems like everything is stacked against your favor. 10/10- highly recommend it if you enjoy historical fiction.

From Amazon:

1800s China. Tightly bound feet, or “golden lilies,” are the mark of an honorable woman, eclipsing beauty, a rich dowry and even bloodline in the marriage stakes. When Little Flower is sold as a maidservant—a muizai—to Linjing, a daughter of the prominent Fong family, she clings to the hope that one day her golden lilies will lead her out of slavery.

Not only does Little Flower have bound feet, uncommon for a muizai, but she is extraordinarily gifted at embroidery, a skill associated with the highest class of a lady. Resentful of her talents, Linjing does everything in her power to thwart Little Flower’s escape.

But when scandal strikes the Fongs, both women are cast out to the Celibate Sisterhood, where Little Flower’s ar

Sharing some of the things I’ve learned about improving my relationship with food over time.

Hi friends! How are you? I hope you’re having a wonderful week so far. Today is another day packed with strategy calls, and I’m looking forward to an F45 class and famil dinner tonight.

For today’s post, I wanted to share some thoughts on cultivating a healthy relationship with food. This is something that can take a long time, especially if you grew up in the 90s and early 2000s (the WORST diet and body image messaging), maybe had family members with problematic attitudes towards food/exercise/body image, or have been struggling in this area for a variety of reasons.

For myself, it’s definitely been a work in progress, and I really think that having babies helped improve my mindset on so many things. Looking back, my habits aren’t something that I would agree with now or encourage, but at the time, I really thought I was making amazing choices with the harmful messaging that I was surrounded with through books, magazines, and online. I feel like I’m at a good place, but am always learning and evolving, which is the way is should be.

Achieving good nutrition and developing positive eating habits starts with one crucial foundation: having a healthy relationship with food. This process takes time, patience, and dedication, but it can be truly transformative. An unhealthy relationship with food can lead to restrictive eating, binge eating, orthorexia, mental challenges, and even eating disorders in the long run. Today I wanted to chat about some of the things that helped me develop a healthy relationship with food, focusing on mindset shifts, balanced food choices, and mindful eating practices.

Friendly reminder here that I’m not a doctor or Registered Dietitian. If you need help improving your relationship with food, seek out an experienced RD who can help you!

How To Have A Healthy Relationship With Food

Before chatting about specific strategies, it’s important to understand what a healthy relationship with food involves. This understanding will help you implement the tips in a way that makes sense for your personal journey and unique nutritional needs.

What Is A Healthy Relationship With Food?

A healthy relationship with food isn’t about following a specific diet, eliminating entire food groups, or categorizing foods as “good” or “bad.” Instead, it’s about understanding why and how you choose foods, recognizing hunger and fullness cues, and removing guilt from your eating habits. It allows you to view food as fuel and nourishment, rather than something to fear or obsess over. It allows food to simply be food, will the ability to enjoy ALL of your favorite things; nothing is off limits.

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Hi friends! Hope your morning is going well. I have a long post tomorrow about creating a healthy relationship with food, but today, I wanted to re-share this oldie but goodie in honor of the upcoming “all things green” holiday.

Not only is this is the best St. Patrick’s Day cocktail, it’s the best cocktail for anytime, really.

There’s not too much “Irish” about me. There’s a little bit on my great-grandmother’s side, the fact that I used to Irish Step dance (I had a mean slip jig), and I married an Irish man. He introduced me to wonderful things about his family’s culture -they actually own a bar in Ireland that we’d love to visit someday!- including this cocktail. It has a rich sweetness to it, a little goes a long way as it’s very rich, and is absolutely perfect for the upcoming holiday.

We’ve had some pretty memorable St. Patrick’s Days, like when we visited Savannah and the power went out in the entire city. (I was convinced it was aliens or an attack of some sort.) But with all of the ones we’ve spent together, my favorite was the night we stayed home in Valdosta, watched movies and drank copious amounts of this cocktail.

My version is with almond milk, and the Pilot’s is with heavy cream or regular milk:

[One of these things is not like the others. Also, these are older pics but my go-to almond milk right now is the Malk brand]

As you guys know, I tend to stay away from dairy for health/skin/autoimmune reasons. I don’t stay away from Bailey’s Irish cream for any reason aaaaaand they now make a dairy-free version that’s pretty good 😉 I also have added back some dairy with success after healing my gut!

Here’s the recipe for my favorite cocktail, which I’ve dubbed “The Lucky Irish Girl.” Even though I’m mostly Irish by association, St. Paddy’s is one of my favorite holidays. Hope you enjoy this drink as much as we do!

Hi friends! Happy Friday! What’s going on this weekend? We don’t have a ton of plans – just dinner with friends and P has a basketball game. It’s rainy and chilly here, so I’m looking forward to crawling into the sauna blanket and watching a movie. Thank you so so much for all of your excitement about Healing Code. I’ve had discovery calls all week and have loved chatting with so many of you, learning more about your health goals, and so excited to work with many of you on feeling your absolute best. You can read more about it here. 

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 commens section below.

3.7 Friday Faves

Fashion + beauty + random:

This Amazon set. It’s super similar to my Spanx Air Essentials set. The fabric is a little thinner, but still soft and dreamy, and excellent quality for the price. They have a ton of colors, too!

I want this swimsuit. Does anyone have it?

Oliveda goodies! I was surprised this week with a hat and two shirts from the company. The products are so good and the company has been totally amazing. I was sad about the Beautycounter fallout, but genuinely believe everything happens for a reason, because it’s what led me to Oliveda. If you’re not sure what products to try first, all of my faves are here!

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Sharing my tips on how to use credit card points for travel. Check out all of the details here!

There are some things in my life that I regret. That one time I moved to Tucson and was having a crisis and got bangs. Quitting my MBA program when I was more than halfway finished. Aaaaand not signing up for reward credit cards sooner.

We often heard our friends talking about credit card points, but since we had debt in the past, it was something we avoided. We kept hearing about free flights and lounge access, so about 10 years ago, we decided to go for it. It’s been a total gamechanger. Since then, we have traveled multiple times for free, enjoyed hotel upgrades, lounge access, and have been rewarded for everyday spending through points.

How to use credit card points for travel

How to Use Credit Card Points for Travel: Maximize Rewards for Flights, Hotels, and Lounge Access

In this post, I’m going to share some tips on how to maximize your credit card rewards for travel and share my experience with the American Express Platinum Card, including its pros and cons. I’ll also share my favorite tips for getting the best airfare deals!

Ways to Use Credit Card Points for Travel

1. Free Hotel Stays & Upgrades

Many travel credit cards allow you to redeem points for free hotel nights at major chains like Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt. Some cards also offer automatic elite status, which can lead to room upgrades, late checkout, and free breakfast. When I book through the Amex travel portal, we’re able to see which rewards we’ll receive, whether it’s late checkout, early check-in, a resort credit, or a room upgrade when available. You also get $200 credit each year for their Fine Hotels & Resorts collection.

(Free room service at our upgraded Venetian suite in Vegas. Our flight was also free)

Tip: Look for transfer partners where your points stretch further. For example, American Express Membership Rewards points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to Hilton Honors but often have promotions offering extra value. Sometimes you can get 2 for 1 points so it’s worth it!! You can do this directly through the American Express website.

2. Booking Flights & Scoring Airfare Deals

One of the best ways to use credit card points is to book flights. You can redeem points directly through your card’s travel portal or transfer them to airline partners for even better value.

Best ways to find airfare deals:

Use Google Explore: