Life Updates

New month. New week. Bring it on, February!

I have a bunch of updates I wanted to share with you, so I thought it would be fun to put them all into one little post.

Oops! // We haven’t chatted about my book in a little while, so for starters, if you haven’t read it and you’d like to – order it here! Secondly, I have a bunch of events coming up where I’ll be selling and signing books in and around Houston. I can’t give too many details just yet, but over the next month there are 3 coming up in the Houston area, and in early March I’ll be in Boston. Make sure to sign up for my By Julie Lauren newsletter here if you’d like to be kept up to date on all the Oops! happenings. Lots on the horizon!

Yoga // I get why people are addicted to yoga. I 100% get it. To be honest, I didn’t understand it up until about 3 weeks ago. Back in May I started taking yoga classes. Prior to May, I had taken 1 class in my life and did not like it at all. However, in May, things changed, thanks to my classes with Michelle at Revolution Studio. I really started getting into it. I only took about 1 class a week…sometimes 2 classes a week. A couple weeks ago I discovered some amazing yoga classes via YouTube and I now do it daily, mostly in the mornings, sometimes after work. Why I didn’t get into yoga sooner, I’m not quite sure, but wow do I LOVE it. P.S. I took Rachel’s Power Hour class at Joy Yoga last week…now THAT was a workout and SO much fun.

Meditation // I recently wrote about my morning routine, and in it, I talked briefly about meditation and how I take 10 minutes to meditate almost every single day. It has made such a difference in my days. I only take 10 minutes, but it’s probably the most important 10 minutes of my day. Highly recommend meditation, friends!

Whole30 // There’s been a lot of buzz about the Whole30 program lately, so you’ve probably heard about it. If not, though, you can read about it in detail here. I made a decision recently to do the Whole30 program starting February 1st for the entire month of February. I am altering it slightly and making it my own, so yes, I realize it’s not technically Whole30, but I am taking many of the components from the program for my own. I’m not doing this to just lose weight (although, shedding a few lbs is never a bad thing in my book!), but I’m doing it to detoxify my body. I’ll be real…I put crap into my body, on a daily basis. From processed foods to far too much sugar to to far too much wine to Diet Coke (my vice!), I know this shit is BAD for me. And I think now that I’m 30, I need to treat my body RIGHT. So, for the month ahead, I’m giving up alcohol (except for 3 nights – 2 of which I’ll be at a bachelorette party and 1 I’m going to a concert, so I’ve decided I will drink on those particular occasions), most carbs, most sugars, artificial sweeteners (I’m going back and forth on if I should allow myself a Diet Coke here and there, but I’m leaning towards no…!), so forth and so on. Every Friday throughout the month I’ll be giving updates on my blog on how I feel and what’s going on with it, so if you’re interested, be sure to follow along (I also might go more in depth in my newsletters so sign up for the FPTP one here). I’m excited. I’ve never done anything like this before, but from what I hear, it basically changes your relationship with food and you just feel REALLY fucking good (and a lot of other things, but those are the biggies in my mind!). After the month I’m sure I’ll slowly integrate some of the ‘no no’s’ on the list back into my life, but maybe not…I truly don’t know! I’m not sure how it’ll all go, I don’t have too many expectations, but I’m pumped up for it.

FPTP // Some fun partnerships and collaborations are coming up on the blog, and it’s an exciting year for FPTP. Thank you all so much for reading and following along. I can’t believe I’ve been blogging for a little over 4 years, wow! In-sane. I absolutely love my long time loyal readers, and I also love the new ones, so if you have any friends or family members who might enjoy my site, be sure to let them know about it. Would love to have them in my little corner of the web!

LJCH // I haven’t talked much about my company, LJ Creative House recently, but it’s still very much a thing, oh yes it is! I have some great clients. I haven’t been on the hunt for new ones lately because a big focus of mine has been on my book, but later this year, the LJCH website will be getting a much needed facelift, so stay tuned there, as well.

Second Book // I’m so excited to start my second book over the summer. I have a rough outline and I’m very excited about it. It’s going to be a novel, and I’ll be taking a fiction writing course in a couple months, which I think should be great.

Well, that’s all I got for now, folks. Hope you enjoyed these updates, and have a great Monday!

Be sure to follow along on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook (By Julie Lauren and FPTP), and Snapchat (username: jlb4567)! 

Image borrowed from Death to Stock