28 Comments

So much goodness this month, Brittany! I, too, am really enjoying The Wellness Scoop thanks to your rec last month. And I'm working (but kind of failing) on getting into a better morning routine and waking up earlier. I'm going to keep trying in February, but oh man is it hard to motivate to get out of bed on those cold, dark winter mornings!

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I hear that!! I do have a slight advantage since we heat our home almost exclusively with our wood stove, the upstairs gets quite cold overnight (since no one is tending to the fire) so getting up to park myself next to the fire after Pat gets it going in the morning is a bit of a motivator too. 😂 But I think the best part of it all is how I'm actually going to sleep when I should be, that's something I haven't allowed myself to prioritize probably ever and it feels like the most luxurious form of self care to just call it a night with a book.

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I loved every inch of this newsletter. Your words are such a balm to me. Also, +1 in Shrinkin, it's a perfect show.

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🥲🙏 Thank you Sara! I know you are very savvy in the streaming world so I'm glad to know Shrinking stands up to the rest of what is out there too!! Oh how I love those characters 😭

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I'm a Liz super fan and I want to raid her closet.

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Liz and Gabby 4 life 💘

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Congrats on the anniversary. I'm so glad we found each other. I really like the Vlog recommendations--You Tube isn't in my wheelhouse very often (except for seasonal screensavers and my obsession with watching people pack in one bag for a year of travel, lol). I think your You Tube recs should be a regular feature. I'm going to self-soothe and watch them.

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💞💞 Thank you Nina, I am so glad too!! I look forward to all of your posts and our interactions, such a light!! Hahahaha I love your YouTube tendencies. I like that idea, I do think I have my YT algorithm is well trained (aside from my husband and kid's use of it for NASCAR highlights 🤪🤪🤪).

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WHAAAATTT!?!?!? 🥹🥹 What an honor! Thank you! And congratulations, and thank you, for one year of such thoughtful, and thought provoking, content! I always look forward to what I will take away from your posts. Like right now, I'm MIND BLOWN that I can delete even more off my phone. I'd already deleted social media, but never gave a thought to all the other stuff that draws me to it. Am I receiving time sensitive emails regularly that need to be checked on?? Heck no, but I sure am checking often. 🥴 Deleting!!

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💘🎉 Awe thank you, Melinda!

Ha for real though, I was like "how can I get a flip phone with a good camera?.... Oh! I can make one!"

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I love watching YT so much. I have the no ads subscription and it’s worth it.

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Ooo that sounds lovely, I may need to upgrade!! Do you have any fave YouTubers I should check out?

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I'm Asian and live in LA, so my algorithm does serve me a steady diet of that kinda content. Some favorites include chrissstttiiine, jenn im, Aja Dang, lindseyrem. Paige Wassel and Caroline Winkler are great for interior design, and I turn to over 40's skincare advice from Hot and Flashy and Mixed Makeup. I'm obsessed with no-face aesthetic Japanese and Korean housewife videos like niko_lifework. And my ultimate comfort is watching old Huell Howser livestream videos on PBS SoCal (if you know, you know) b/c he was just the best and so prolific in LA.

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This is all so good! I love the synchronicities that show up whenever I get your posts. I open them and it is often filled with recommendations that I’ve received from others recently too like…

•My son wanted to watch Wild Robot this week. He kept looking over and asking “Mommy, why are you crying again?” I cried 5 times! It’s so good and tender and was not expecting it!

•My sister in law texted me this week and recommended Ella’s Wellness Scoop too and said she thinks I’ll love it!

•My hubby and I JUST finished Shrinking! I want to be friends with all of them and I’m loving the Derek character development!

Yay for your 100th Pilates class! That’s a big deal and I bet you feel so proud!

Over the last 3 years, I’ve slowly deleted apps on my phone and yearly claim I’m going to get a flip phone! Then, I really think about it and chicken out because I just don’t know if I can fully commit to that. But simplifying my phone with deleting apps is helpful. Another tip- I often turn off the colors and that helps my phone not feel as interesting too (you can do it through general settings)! Happy February!

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Oh my gosh I love it too!! I completely agree re: Derek! At first I didn't like him 😂 but now I love him, he's hilarious! I love that they did that.

I'm so glad that slowly deleting apps is helping! I started with emails this weekend and that was actually a huge lever for me! It also made me even more invested in unsubscribing from promotional emails and unnecessary things so that when I do check email on my computer it's a much more efficient process. Sometimes I think we treat our phones like efficiency tools-- "OH well I can delete emails throughout the day so I'm efficient!" when really we often get sucked into other things, or read email when we aren't in a position to read them, or take our phone with us to places we don't need to have it, etc for the sake of efficiency when really, it's more efficient for me to get less emails and take the time to ensure that is true.

I've heard about the greyscale tip! I need to try that again, it definitely helps! The rubber band trick seems useful too!!

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Okay so this motivated me to try to start deleting photos every day. 😅 I have about 17k…

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You're gonna do great!!! I have to navigate anywhere from 200-400 per day 🤪😮‍💨 but its working!

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Thank you for the mention lovely! 💕

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😄💘 always!

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My biggest goal this year is to become a morning person! I’m very guilty of staying up way later than I should to get all the things done and then I pay for it the next day (my kids are earlyyyy risers!). I’ve tried for years and I just can’t ditch my night owl tendencies. I’m encouraged that you were able to do it! Any tips you gave are very appreciated! 😅

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This is so me!! Genuinely the biggest thing was getting myself in bed by 9pm, which felt so unnatural and early to me, but getting the sleep I needed made it so much easier to wake up to my alarm. My Pilates routine may have been priming me for it too, since I have a 6:30am class on T/Th for the past year so maybe that gradual force helped too.

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9pm does sound so early to me right now lol but also sounds like a dream! My hubby and I are trying to hold each other accountable for going to bed early so hopefully between the two of us, we’ll get there! I like the idea of a morning workout class though! Maybe I will explore that option as a motivator! ☺️

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I love your use of the word Love for this month! I can’t wait to see what you read in January. I took a peek at the synopsis for Little Shrew sounds like one my girls and myself would enjoy! I’m off to check into the Bend app, sounds like a fun one to get the whole family involved.

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You all would LOVE Little Shrew 🥲🥲 Oh my gosh and yes, the Bend app is truly a family affair, the kids love to join in with my stretches!!

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Thank you for your share of The Wellness Scoop! So refreshing in a wood of overwhelm! Thankful for your substack as well 🫶🏻

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I'm so glad you agree too, I love it so much!!

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Congrats on one year on Substack! I am SO impressed at how many photos you've deleted off your phone! YGG! I've also been thinking about how I can dumb down my phone. My overall phone usage has been trending downward so far this year. I think part of it is that I put it to the side at night and focus on journaling, breathing exercises, and the reading before bed instead of scrolling!

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Thank you!!! Ah yes the camera roll is a slow and steady journey, especially going through the excessive videos of my eldest doing tummy time 😂 it's actually fascinating how many more photos/videos I have of him vs everyone else. It's been a great learning experience and it's made me think a lot more when I do whip out my camera.

I'm so glad you are seeing the phone usage trend down!! That's wonderful news and those sound like amazing alternatives!!!

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