Articles Tagged with: tan

Summer Vacation!!!

Hello from Miami!!!!!!!

I am currently on vacation in one of our favorite spots, planning our destination wedding!!!! It is so exciting to think about personalizing our wedding from the small details all the way to the big picture and to be sure to incorporate both my fiancé’s and my personalities!

It is such a fun yet stressful time but we are trying to enjoy every minute of it!!!

Anyway – on with the blog!

You – go on vacation. Yes I’m talking to you!
Summer is the time to spread your wings, dig your feet into the sand and open up to possibilities. So even if you cant get away from your day-to-day, take a few hours a week to get in vacation mode.

Step outdoors, get to the nearest beach or park and nurture your soul by taking time out for yourself. Eat dinner outside, walk around barefoot, and catch the sunset. Roast marshmallows, tell ghost stories, fall in love, fall deeper in love, giggle with your girlfriends and just be grateful. We wait all year for this time don’t we? Make sure you are making the most of it.

Plan your next moves, write in your journal, figure out your next path or adventure. Take the summer Fridays, leave early, get some drinks, be young and reckless (for a few hours at least).

So what are you still reading this blog for? Come’on get outta here!!!!

For me…. I’ll be around, …lounging away on the beach or maybe by the pool, having a cocktail, and planning up a storm of a life and a storm of a wedding!!!!!! And by storm I mean a fabulous, fierce and breathtaking one!!

Hope that inspires you!
Xoxo
Emily

If you wanna come along with me on my fabulous vacation …..
Follow me on Instagram @EmilyBrickel and my new account for all things fashion illustration @EmilyBrickelillustration

October 3, 2013

Fall Glimmer

Add a little glimmer to your day for Fall.

We all get caught up from time to time in a mundane routine and work, no matter what it is you do. Just remember that every day can have a little glimmer in it no matter what is on the schedule for you – especially this fall holiday season.

Relationships: A lot of times we let our social life go by the wayside when we are super busy. I know as an entrepreneur working late until 3am most nights, there really is no room for 5pm happy hour. If you work a 9-5 you still may need to go to the gym, come home, make dinner, care for a family etc. If you do have a schedule like that – of course it will be worth it in the end to see your accomplishments come to fruition (work, fitness, family etc.) but in between make sure to take some time for fun.

Step away from your normal routine if you feel drained and uninspired. Just going for lunch (or a pumpkin spice latté) with a girlfriend will help bring the zing back to your day. Talking with friends also really can rejuvenate you. Even a phone call will totally help.

Fall is the perfect time to nestle in with friends for coffee, drinks, fun and girl talk to battle the chilly weather blues.

I know I recently felt the blah’s coming on and was so caught up with a lot of work that I needed to finish and thought about canceling my plans. However, just carving out an hour or two to see a friend really put things in perspective and reenergized me.

Relationships are what life is all about and it is important to have a balance in your life. Friends, romance, family, work; if any one of these four types of relationships are off kilter you will notice it in your energy.

It’s strange to think that this can literally affect your energy but drowning yourself in work or only a few of these types of relationships can bring on the feeling that there is something lacking.

Get creative, get feminine: No need to wait for a dull day to do something special (or sparkly for that matter). Make it a point to really take care of yourself and know that the more you do that the better your work in the world will be. You will revive the creative juices inside of you by doing something imaginative.

Have girl time with yourself. Take that trip to the bookstore, go candle shopping, do something DIY, break out the glitter and pinterest boards to make some sparkly fall decor, or bake a fun fall batch of muffins. By enjoying the little things that are feminine and creative, your left-brain will be activated and anything you need to do will get a little easier because you will have a fresh and inventive mindset. As a woman on a schedule, going by the to do list is a fairly masculine energy that we in the millennium have come to accept. It’s so important to tap back into the feminine things you enjoy to reenergize yourself for those hardened tasks.

Nest in: Sometimes our home or office needs a mini-facelift. Whenever things feel stale reorganize your space, purchase a fall scented candle, add some fall decorations and really get into the nesting zone. When you do this you will feel like you are nurturing your soul. Cuddle up to those close to you and enjoy your updated surroundings. Visual stimulus really help to provide soothing experiences for our mind, body and soul. Treat your space as a temple. Take it easy when you have to and prep for the fall festivities.

Hope that inspires you!

xoxo

Emily

September 26, 2013

Control your cold weather appetite

-and the reason why you don’t want to work out as much!

So long summer, Au revoir amazing white sandy beaches and hot 90-degree weather. So sad, it was fun!

While most of you (like me) worked hard on your fitness and your bikini bodies for those summer vacations, what is to come of your fall silhouette?

Autumn is typically the weather for cuddling, chilly days; hot chocolate and warm apple pie. Yum, am I tempting you yet?

My point EXACTLY. Who wants to go to the gym when it starts getting chilly? As the mercury drops our motivation for looking slim subtly sinks and although those tight skinny jeans provide some motivation, our cozy chunky knit sweaters can easily hide a bulge. So what’s a girl to do?

Being fit, staying healthy and living vibrantly is not just a 3 month must – it’s a way of life.

If your motivation is purely aesthetics, remind yourself of those slinky Halloween costumes, holiday parties and New Years sparkly dresses to slip into. If you are doing this to FEEL good physically and to feel good about yourself EVERYDAY then that will hopefully provide some long-term motivation.

So incase you are wondering, it’s not just your imagination… the cold weather can really increase your appetite. I have been noticing that I have been craving more kinds of comfort foods and a lot more of it, specifically as the weather cools down.

“Studies indicate that we do tend to eat more during the winter months, with the average person gaining at least 1-2 pounds – those who are already overweight can gain more.” And that adds up over the years.

“Not only does the winter season set us up to crave these higher-calorie foods, but the holidays put them in front of us, usually in great abundance,” says McAllister, MD and author of Healthy Lunchbox: The Working Mom’s Guide to Keeping You and Your Kids Trim. The same is true for the fall.

The reason why? You may have guessed. It goes back to our caveman ancestors, living outside or in more exposed areas they needed to bulk up to keep warm. We fortunately do not need to do this.

However, feeling cold does trigger a self-preservation mode that tells the body to heat up fast. Your body then begins to crave foods full of carbs and sugars to deliver the heat your body is looking for.

Just giving in to these cravings creates a cycle of spiked blood sugar that keeps you coming back for more.

Our body craves warm foods as well so instead of heading for the hummus platter or a salad you crave richer, heavier meals.

With the decrease in sunlight that you are exposed to dwindling down, people stay in more, especially when its dark and gloomy. You can suffer from a mild depression with out even knowing it which also amps up our desires for instant satisfaction as well as our cravings for cuddles and comfort food.

How to control your cold weather cravings?

Here’s the how to get a handle on your health this fall and winter season:

1) Go for soups. Even though they tend to bloat you with added salt, they will fill you up and warm you up instantly. Stay away from soups with a lot of sodium. Go with homemade soups with real ingredients as opposed to the canned style and have only soups 1-3xs a week and not more, to battle the bulge. They are a great go-to if you are really hungry but are trying to avoid the baked lasagna sitting on the counter.

2) Heat up your plate. Even if it normally would not be heated try to nuke the tuna salad or healthy option. Do this for lunch too. Feeling the warm plate and having something warm to put into your body really is a comfort.

3) Keep snacking. Adding some high fiber, high protein snacks like peanut butter on crackers are great (or almond butter and gluten free crackers if you are me), add protein powder to your breakfast, add bananas, or nuts to a snack.

4) Substitute the coffee and make it a snack. I gave up coffee for chai lattes with dairy free milk like coconut or almond milk, or even just tea. Stay away from coffee as it can lead to caffeine addiction, anxiety, hypertension, insomnia and nervousness, which increase your stress-related emotional eating. Make this new warm drink a snack between meals. It will fill you up and help you avoid the vending machine. For desserts you can even sub in a hot chocolate, just make sure to make it with mostly water instead of all milk – just top it off with a small amount of skim, soy or coconut milk.

5) Make a winter work out plan. Write down how you worked out all summer and see how it can translate to cold weather fitness. Take your outdoor run to the treadmill, swim in an indoor pool, work out to an indoor dvd and find ways to motivate yourself. Working out burns calories and suppresses your appetite so you can easily say no to some of your trigger foods.

6) Get some vitamin D. Add vitamin D to your supplement list or try to go outside in the sun, even in the winter at least for a 5-10 minutes. The sun’s rays help you fight depression and emotional comfort food eating.

7) Hug it out. Skip the comfort foods and sub in some actual comfort. Hugging calms you down, decreases stress levels and releases any pent up emotions that may cause you to emotionally eat.

8) Layer it up. Don’t give in to just throwing on a huge chunky sweater. Layer it up with a body hugging tank or t-shirt first. This has many benefits. First you will see how you look in a tight shirt and notice if any love handles are creeping up on you, second and most importantly it will keep you warm. Keeping warm is an obvious thing to do in the cooler months, but not all of us really layer it up. Trap body heat to make you feel more comfortable in any situation instead of shivering at your desk for the sake of fashion. Add tights under jeans, double up on socks and bring an extra sweater or vest to throw on under your jacket. I know I am always super cold so layering helps me so much. Adding the layers in your clothes will prevent you from adding the fat layer around your stomach.

Hope that inspires you!
xoxo

Emily

August 1, 2013

Paint your life.

Illustration of Christine Ryan of The Diva Dishes

Every now and again we get short hits of space in our projects, whether it be ending a previous project and starting a new or whether it be a summer vacation, a weekend get away or even just a bath and a night off where we can really clear our minds.

Having this space in our lives is crucial to paint the future. You are your own Monet, with a blank canvas to beautifully paint your life with watercolors.

Now that I have gotten myself in the habit of really liking to plan my schedules and goals months in advance, it always is such a fun time to create where I will be going, or where my clients will be going.

When you don’t plan it out – life gets stagnant and life starts to happen TO you instead of happening FOR you. It is so not fun to wander aimlessly through life when instead you could be the master of your destiny. Just some simple planning really makes a world of difference.

What is it that you really want to accomplish but have put off planning?

Start small – make some goals for the next month to three months. Figure out some really exciting things you want to do.

Get detailed – at the start of each new month, figure out exactly how you will accomplish your goals and write it out.

Check in – go back to your goal sheet and check in with yourself though out the year and on a monthly basis. This will hold you accountable and help you remember what you wanted to complete.

When you are starting out you don’t even have to have specific dates (unless you want to). Sometimes having specific dates sets you up for failure. Instead have more flexible goals like completing a task by the end of every month.

Whatever you plan, have fun with it and don’t get down on yourself if you don’t meet all of your goals. There’s always next month to try it again. Painting your life is a process that takes time, practice and flexibility. Sometimes the universe just has bigger plans for you, and your goals get derailed. Sometimes you meet your goals way earlier than you expected and have no idea what to do next.

Just take it day by day and enjoy the process.

If you need help with any goal setting, figuring out where to start or how to keep going in your business – I’m here to help.

I have been doing Fashion and Business Consulting for new and growing businesses for the last 3 years now with many successes (aside from my other businesses!). All of my clients have been word of mouth thus far but in the Fall I will be launching a new website that focuses on these services so that it is easier to find then stumbling upon it on my current websites www.EmilyBrickel.com and www.EmilyBrickelIllustration.com.

If you are interested in Fashion or Business consulting please email me at Emily@EmilyBrickel.com

Thanks and cheers to the future!!!

Hope that inspires you!

Xoxo

Emily

July 4, 2013

Fireworks

Fourth of July is probably my most favorite holiday of all time! Something about the fireworks is always so magical, like the end of a Disney movie I always feel like dreams do come true. The fact that the fireworks are just so much “larger than life” and breathtaking makes them seem so ethereal!

Over the years I’ve had fights with ex-boyfriend on the 4th – and then the fireworks started and time stood still and nothing else mattered. I feel like fireworks shine some perspective on what’s petty, what’s not and what you deserve.

I remember being really little and after watching the Macy’s Fourth of July spectacular fireworks on TV with my family it would get to be my bedtime, but I was always so worked up from the splendor of the fireworks that I sat up in my (top bunk bed) and looked through my kaleidoscope to provide a visual as the booms of the neighborhood fireworks went on for hours. I would dream of all the amazing things I would do in my life and feel so overwhelmed with excitement and anticipation.

Till this day, fireworks do the same thing for me! My boyfriend, my friends and I all love the fireworks equally and have been planning trips months in advance to make sure we get the best views in town!

I always say, it’s not the Fourth until I see fireworks and I have on occasion, stopped at nothing to see at least a peek of them.

Fireworks are so fitting on Independence day because they celebrate our possibility, they symbolize bravery, potential, heart break and the American spirit to rise back up and make our dreams come true.

“You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine. Just own the night, like the Fourth of July!” Katy Perry – Fireworks

So with a lump in your throat and starry eyes, I hope you enjoy the fireworks this, and every year with the same inspiration and wonder that I get from them!

Hope that inspires you!

Xoxo

Emily

June 27, 2013

Endless Possibilities

Summer is here and with every infinity pool and every ocean comes the feeling of endless possibilities.

A clean slate for the taking, something about the water feels like all your cares will be washed away and you will emerge anew.

It’s a time to relax and a time to rejuvenate yourself from whatever is weighing you down.

When it comes to your dreams, the summer is also a great time to create a version of your endless possibilities.

Summer vacations leave room for a space between the day-to-day and your mind to wander to the “what if’s”.

Just like a shower or soak in the tub, it’s a state of meditation where your “anxiety voice” can calm down and your inner guide can tell you what to do.

It is in the meditation – either sitting in actual meditation for 5 minutes or any form of soaking in water – that solutions arise to scenarios where you hadn’t known what to do.

This can be applied to relationships, to your career or to any one of your next moves.

“Everything is figureoutable” as Marie Forleo says, and soaking in a meditation is the first step to getting there. (The second step is Google!)

Take a breath.

Take the first step.

Whatever your intuition is telling you is the key to what is right for you right now. Not the anxiety voice (aka the ego voice which my mentor Gabrielle Bernstein says “Speaks first and loudest”), but the second voice you hear, the heart voice, the one that’s speaking from your soul – the one you are usually too afraid to listen to.

“Whatever it is that you most admire in others and aspire to be is what you have in yourself, but have not yet cultivated.” Says Mastin Kipp of the Daily Love.

What are you waiting for?

“May you ALWAYS do what you are afraid to do”.

Hope that inspires you!
xoxo
Emily

June 6, 2013

How to be Juicy and Delicious

Illustration of Nasty Gal Lush Life collection

Summer is pretty much here and I am inspired by the juicy and lush fruits of the season, the delicious raspberries, peaches, grapefruits and tropical humidity that we had last week – everything just seems juicier!

It’s time ladies to feel just like the ripe picks of the season that we are and just feel all around gorgeous!

Confidence boost #1. Werk that Body. I noticed over the winter my workout routine totally took a nosedive and it really effected how I felt. I felt too tired to work out, I was eating all the right stuff but still couldn’t figure out exactly why I was feeling sluggish.

Over the last few months I decided to rev up my workout routine for the obvious reasons. Among them were to get in shape for summer, but most of all to feel good every day.

I decided to start working out in the AM instead of the afternoon or night as I had been doing for years and I noticed a HUGE difference in my motivation, my energy, my mood and more!

Side note* Ladies if you claim you have no energy or time to work out, working out in the morning is the best thing to do. By working out in itself you actually create more energy through out the day! When you wake up just jump into your gym clothes and get sweaty. The best time saving bonus is you don’t have to take an extra shower after your workout because your post workout shower is also the first shower of the day!

After my change in workout time I have been jumping up out of bed really excited to get my exercise in. I end up working out more times per week and I start my day already feeling accomplished and proud of myself for ticking that off my list – how’s that for a confidence boost!

NOTHING is sexier than confidence and the toned curves you get from upping your gym time wont hurt either!

I personally workout in my living room to some fun DVD’s so I don’t waste time getting ready for the gym. If you want to save time I highly recommend it!

Confidence boost #2. Pop of color. Ok so we all have some clothes in our closet that are really bright and funky right. It’s been the trend plenty of times and for sure we have accumulated some fun vacation ready garb. Time to break it out. I don’t care if you are going to the office or only to get some groceries but forget that tendency to grab some neutrals. If you want to feel juicy and delicious inside and out add some color, even a bright lip gloss and stroll out that door. Confidence boost #2 right there!

Confidence boost #3. Unleash your inner sex kitten. Now that you are toning up and breakin’ out the brights, time to be unafraid of dressing for YOU. You know… like you used to do when your mom let you dress yourself in pre-K. Do the grown up version of that! Wear fun dresses, don’t be afraid to be sexy, take fashion risks, pile on the accessories and “special occasion shoes”. You only live once and your closet surely isn’t enjoying the clothes as much as you would be wearing them. I am not saying to commit a fashion faux pas but stretch beyond your comfort zone and put more fun into getting dressed. Oh, and when people ask you “Where are you going dressed like that” just smile and give them a mysterious glance.

Confidence boost #4. Taking “Me” time. This is so important not only to cure anxiety, boost your mood and feel more fulfilled, it can actually save your life! Taking time just for you to think or relax is crucial for women especially. It lowers cortisol levels, which is great for your immune system, weight loss, blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, decreased risk of heart disease and other diseases. Try things like reading a book, taking a walk, journaling, having an uninterrupted cup of tea, or set time aside to do something you really love.

Confidence boost #5. Feeling fulfilled. Of course we all have projects that we wish we could do or wish we had the time to do but that are not really relevant to the demands our daily lives. When life gets in the way it’s so easy to keep pushing off the thing you really want to do most but then resentment will build up. Blocking out 30 minutes to an hour once a week or more, solely devoted to doing something deeply fulfilling will make you feel ravishing and really boost your happiness. By slowly chipping away at the project you are passionate about and putting it FIRST before your daily grind is finished you will feel so much more fulfilled about everything in general making your other to-do’s so much more pleasant. Feeling delicious and juicy comes from the inside first so when you are really proud of yourself you will radiate confidence.

Confidence boost #6. Get your sexy on and dance. I just recently was invited to a day long conference where a few times through out the day we were lead to move and dance in really crazy ways. At first my mind was totally against it, not wanting to look ridiculous in front of other women but then I got into it (once I realized I would look ridiculous if I DIDN’T partake) and started to have SO much fun! Ladies, lock your doors and put some music on. DANCE like no one is watching (when of course, no one is watching… I’d double check on this one) and shake those hips. Get into it, get your stress out and have some fun. By the end of it if you are doing it right you will probably be hysterical laughing or at least smiling, and either one will be a huge confidence boost.

Confidence boost #7. Work on that Posture. Annoying as it may be, check yourself multiple times a day and roll your shoulders back. Do it when you are sitting, standing or walking and do it often. Good posture will make you look and feel more attractive, taller, thinner andddd you will breathe and actually digest your food better making you healthier which gives you glowing skin. There’s research behind this.. check it out!

And now ladies reset and repeat. Do these things as much as possible and you will feel so juicy and delicious that your date/boyfriend/husband will find you irresistible. Just be careful… with power comes great responsibility – and you may have to try extra hard to thwart them off (or not!)

Hope that inspires you!

Xoxo

Emily

Summer Vacation!!!

Hello from Miami!!!!!!!

Fall Glimmer

Control your cold weather appetite

Paint your life.

Fireworks

Endless Possibilities

How to be Juicy and Delicious

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