Do More, Buy Less + How to Gain Health in 2017

Posted on January 1, 2017

Happy New Year!! The new year is a natural time to reflect back, and use the feeling of a “clean slate” to start anew. And if your goal is to improve your health and well-being in 2017- we’d love to help you find your way!

Our Real Life: Favorite Moments from 2016

Summer fun + living in the moment + making incredible memories has driven our “buy less, do more” goal for 2017. We had a blast this year when we got to travel and spend time together – so that’s our focus to do more of this coming year!

Another huge bright spot in our year, was that our oldest son Cole worked really hard at managing his ADHD and has made incredible progress – in his personal life and with school. He’s happier and more light-hearted than ever before, his report cards have improved, and we’ve gotten great feedback from his teachers at school (a huge relief!). We’re so incredibly proud of Cole and so thankful for this progress.

We also adopted a Bearded Dragon, Trizzie. She. Is. So. Cool. She’s super chill and loves just hanging out on our shoulders. Such a great and fun addition to our family!

I got to go on the trip of a lifetime – a Mediterranean cruise with my dad and sisters. The highlight was visiting the town where my grandmother was born, and sharing stories and incredible home-grown food with extended family. Loved every second!

Then we got to take the boys on a surprise family trip to Universal Studios because our youngest son, Wesley, ate a salad everyday in order to finally be tall enough to go on most of the rides. It made my heart beam with joy to see them having the time of their lives in a place that means so much to Matt and I. I will treasure these memories forever! It’s also the reason we will definitely be hitting up theme parks new to the entire family on our West Coast adventure in January 2017!

Of course, 2016 was also very tough. We recently lost two close family members and Stacy struggled all year with her health – both physical with a back injury as well as mental with related depression. The injury that prevented her from lifting heavy things and participating in competitions, left a void in her life. When Stacy accepted some samples of Beautycounter products (reluctantly nonetheless) from friends, we had no idea that sharing safer skincare with others would become such a huge and fulfilling passion for her.

To round out the newly adopted philosophy, in November Stacy took a trip to Seattle to visit her best friend from college. For fun! We had a phenomenal time eating the freshest seafood, drinking hand crafted hard cider, and exploring the Pacific Northwest and all the local artisan shops (and Chocolate festival)!

We’re so happy we made the time to do these things and share these experiences together. It reminded me that saving up money and making time to visit loved ones is always worthwhile – and is something we will definitely be doing more of in 2017!

Find Health through Paleo in the New Year

Following a Paleo diet completely changed our lives- it truly saved us.

Paleo doesn’t have to be completely overwhelming- it shouldn’t be… which is why we wrote Real Life Paleo.

Our goal was to make this book the resource that gives everyone the tools they need to not just start Paleo, but the how-to instructions on avoiding perfectionism in order to make good choices and stick with it for a lifetime of wellness!

Real Life Paleo includes:

100 pages on our 3 Phased Approach to simply Swap, Remove, and Heal your way to health, including guides and shopping lists
Visual recipe indexes for quick & easy, special occasions, and allergen-friendly dishes
Meal ideas to help you put balanced meals on your table
Menu plans for successful holidays and special occasions
175 deliciously amazing recipes, including fan-favorites as well as LOTS of brand new recipes

We wrote Real Life Paleo with beginners in mind, but we have heard over and over again from people how very helpful this book is in 1) helping them develop and continue their journey because Phase 3 is a missing component of almost all Paleo resources – it’s focus on 7 Paleo super foods as well as lifestyle factors is pretty darned unique and 2) the 175 recipes are amazing, easy, flavorful, and simple!