Summer Reflections: Lessons from the End of the Season

Welcome to the In Between Podcast.

I'm Astrid and I'm Alexis, and we're two best friends on a journey to living a fun, intentional life.

We know it's easier to share on a season of life once it's behind you, but what about when you're in the middle of the growth, confusion, and decision-making?

This lifestyle podcast is for the everyday gal who loves to travel, talk about business, relationships, fashion, and everything in between. Hello, hello, and Welcome back to The In Between Podcast. It is one half of the pod, Alexis, and the other half, Astrid.

And we are—

Hello!

All right, friends, well, we had created quite a few episodes ahead of time, so we are out of our flow of recording.

We are, we are.

It's been, what, like 2 weeks since we've recorded? Yeah, 2 or 3. Yeah. And I'm sad to report that our Instagram has been hacked. So right now we are processing the news.

We are absolutely devastated. I— we've done everything that we can in terms of followed all the links and all. It just— it's not helpful. Instagram help articles are not actually helpful. Um, so we are going to do our best to get our Instagram account back. But yeah, literally don't know what else to do besides email their support and just hope that they actually help. So yeah, um, if we've been a little quiet on the gram, it's because it's not us. It's someone with a weird email address from a foreign country.

So yeah.

Yeah.

So if you know anything, please DM us. And in the meantime, help us share the episodes that you've really liked from either last month or the ones that are coming up this month as well with your friends, um, with your family, because We are only word of mouth as of right now.

We are a word of mouth podcast.

No Instagram.

No social sharing available. I mean, you can tag us on Instagram, but we won't be able to reshare it right now. So we love you, we miss you, and, um, we're gonna do our best to get our account back.

But absolutely, absolutely. But before we get started on today's episode, which we can share a little bit about later, Um, tell us about your trip to Italy.

Yes. Um, I was a little content queen. I had so much fun. I had some of the best meals of my life. I ate, I ate truffle almost every single day. If you're familiar with truffle, it has like such a specific smell and taste to it. It's fantastic. Tried several TikTok viral restaurants in Florence that were all 10 out of 10. Sometimes when things are viral on TikTok, there's a little bit of like, is it going to be good actually? Is the food good or is just the vibe cool? Is it just a cool restaurant? No, the food was phenomenal. And I have everything saved to highlight in Instagram. If you want to go back and check out what I did in Florence or check out some of the restaurants I went to, I have those tagged there, but had the best time. I would say my favorite part of the entire 2 and a half, 2-ish weeks I was in Italy was being in Tuscany. I think there's something about like growing up in rural, like, America that I love being in the rural parts of other countries. And so Tuscany is like the Tuscan countryside. It's farmland, it's wine, wineries, it's fields of olives. Like, it's incredible. We stayed in this tiny little town called Radda in Chianti, about an hour south of Florence. And we rented a car and I drove these crazy-ass windy roads on the mountains in Tuscany. Oh my gosh. And it was so much fun. I was definitely nervous. I had like an anxious stomach for probably like the first 20 minutes of driving, just getting out of Florence. But then once we were in the countryside, I was like, I'm home, baby. Like, I know what I'm doing.

I am a rural girl. I got this. I got this.

Give me some farmland and a tractor on I'm ready. And anyways, it was so fun. And we stayed in this beautiful villa called Hotel Villa Campomaggio. Also have this listed in my Instagram as well. But it was like everything that you could want in a hotel property, it had. Like, it had a spa, restaurant, had a winery on the property. The pool was just amazing. Unreal. And I got really tan. I read through— I read 5 books in 6 days.

Dang.

My Kindle Unlimited was working overtime. I was like, there were days where I was just reading a book a day. It was—

they're like, we're losing money with the subscriber.

I was thriving. But seriously, I had such a good time. And then the last week I was there with, um, Well, the first week I was there with my girlfriend Emma, who's a friend and then also someone I work with at Circle, my tech job I work at. And then the last week was our Circle tech offsite because we're 100% remote. So they fly everybody out 2 times a year to different locations, have us all meet in person for a week. It was so fun. It was a much more social retreat than the past offsites have been. The past offsites are very work meeting focused. And we did have a little bit of that, but this was way more social and I thrived also.

Yes.

I was having the best time. Yeah, it was just a really good trip. And at the same time, there was a part of me that was craving being home too, which was interesting. I was craving movement. I was craving a leafy green.

It's just like you're eating so much— So much pasta.

Pasta. But at the same time, I didn't have any stomachaches while I was over there. Came back to the States, 2 meals in, I'm like, my stomach hurt all weekend in Colorado. I flew to Colorado for a family wedding. My stomach hurt 48 hours straight just from the food. And I was like, gosh, okay, what a harsh reintroduction.

I know that sounds so dramatic, but I was like, I'm just not meant for American food. Everything in Italy is so much better.

The flour and all the ingredients are so much better for you. But for real, like, my stomach has not been great. But other than that, lovely trip.

10 out of 10.

Loved Florence. Loved Venice. Loved Tuscany. Can't wait to go back.

Oh my gosh, it sounds amazing. I love a trip that is full of adventure but also that feels very peaceful, and I think that's what the countryside can bring, that it's not the hustle and bustle of the city and it's coffee shop and dinner and lunch and dinner and like go out, but more of a relaxed, um, standpoint on traveling. So I'm glad that you got to have that and have your Italian summer.

This is me too.

This is 2 years in a row and you might make it a tradition.

Oh, oh no, it, it's not like I might. It is happening. Yeah, already. Actually, um, I'm doing an 11-day Mediterranean Sea cruise with Matthew's family next July.

Oh my gosh.

So we're doing, um, we're doing Greece, Montenegro, Croatia, and Italy. Wow.

Okay, I'm gonna start adding Italy to my vision board because you have manifested this so hard.

Yeah, I really have. Um, okay, give me a life update for you the last couple of weeks. How have you been?

Oh, okay. On my end, um, it's been an interesting tail end of the summer. Um, just like it's been a really, really busy work summer. And at the same time, starting last week into the next 3 weekends, like I actually don't have, um, weddings until like 2 weekends from now. And so I'll have consecutively 3 weekends off, and that feels so good. And so I have been both working really hard during the week, catching up on editing, catching up on a lot of stuff, and then being very intentional on the weekends to just relax and be with my people, be with my family.

Nice.

And that has felt really, really nice, especially after a busy summer. There was also a lot of people that I didn't see all summer because I was usually traveling and out. And so it was just nice to see family that I hadn't seen in a long time.

Yeah.

So yeah, so it's just been very chill, just really kind of loving just being home and not having a flight scheduled until October. I just feel like I have been in transition of flights My entire year for a really long time.

Even in between flights.

Yes, in between flights. And it just feels really, really good to have everything fully unpacked, to give my house some love, to start new routines. It's crazy how when you're in between a lot, your bandwidth for routines becomes very limited. And so I have just felt more grounded again, and I feel like I have more capacity for the hard things in life because my routines are really in tune and really grounded. And so yeah, I mean, nothing crazy. It's just been more productive and then a lot of relaxation and balance off with a lot of hard work. So last week on Wednesday, we did a whole spa day, which was like my— Where at?

Where'd you go?

We went to New Leaf.

Oh, I love it there.

It's so good, so great.

Did you eat at the cafe too?

Yes. Nick loved it. He's like, we should just drive here. Like, the food's so much better than most of the restaurants.

My parents do. My parents literally drive there just to eat.

It's so amazing.

And then we were at the whole— Did you get the cake?

No, I'm not a cake girly, but I know, I know, red flag. But the food was amazing. So it was great. And then the next day I had my first facial and I died. It was amazing. So I, I, um, they did like the microblading. Is that what it's called? Yeah, yeah, microblading.

They shave your face with like a fine, fine razor.

Yes, it was my first time doing that and it was— my face was so smooth afterwards. And then they did that like suctiony thing that feels like a vacuum on your face, but then they don't just suction. This one also like adds Yes, like all the good stuff.

They suck things out and then they inject things in.

We love it. This episode just increased a few notches. And then I added on to my package, whenever I had my consultation, we talked about how I have certain, I guess they're called spider veins on my face. And so I've started doing laser treatment for it. And I started my first one that the laser basically stimulates collagen. It does a lift, it gives you a glow, and then it treats those specific spots. And it's just 4 treatments and then you'll see the results. And so I did my first one. It was so scary, but it was great. So I am very much in my wellness era.

I love that. Also, important piece that Astrid mentioned, if you're going to do any kind of wellness investments, so you're going to go get your hair done, you're going to go start doing routine facials, routine massages, Botox, whatever it is, get consultations first before they ever touch whatever they're going to do.

Yes.

I got my hair done by my girl Becky. Shout out to my girl Becky because she listens to the pod now, which is so sweet.

Hi, Becky.

Becky is the beautiful human that is responsible for cutting my amazing hair, which I love. And she did a consult first. She walked me through everything. We just went deep into how I wanted my hair to look and feel and the color and everything. And then she cut my hair a couple days later. And you doing the consult for your facial routine, then you're working towards something. You're like, here's what I want. Here's where my areas of focus are. Can you help me? Versus when you're just doing all these ad hoc things.

Yeah.

You're not actually, in my opinion, doing anything that's consistent or sustainable. It just feels very hodgepodge. So even if you're getting a facial 4 times a year, once a quarter, going to an actual person and saying, this is what I want to work on for my skin over the year. When we do meet once a quarter, here's what I want to achieve in those facial appointments, can really help you feel like you're working towards something versus it just being kind of this like, oh yeah, I do it when I can and whatever, which is fine.

Absolutely.

I used to be that way and I like having a plan now. I like to know I'm working towards something.

Yeah, for sure. I feel like I learned so much more about my skin. They talked me down from certain services that I thought that I needed. And then they were like, actually, no, you just need consistent facials, consistent routine, and then these things to like help prevent— like we're just in prevention mode. You don't have to fix. And so I was like, okay, wonderful. And so it was just great to know that and to have a professional kind of like assess your skin, um, and then be able to walk you through the different types of facials that you need. I was just very scared. My, my mom had had some horrible experiences with facials and had reactions to them. And then with my allergic reactions, I was like, I— if I'm gonna go get a facial, I'm gonna go to someone that really knows how to do it because I was so scared for it to go wrong.

Yeah.

But yeah, it was amazing. It's definitely something I want to invest a lot more in and I don't know. It just feels really good to take care of yourself. And now I'm more motivated to keep up with my skincare routine because at night, if I'm ever lazy, I'm like, girl, you paid that much money for a facial. We're not going to make it go to waste. Yes.

Oh, I love that. That's important to make space for that self-care piece, whatever that looks like for yourself. So this is a perfect transition. Ah, we can't transition. I can't talk.

Transition.

We can't transition to the topic for the— for today until we do our in-betweens.

Yes. What are you in between?

Oh, what am I in between? Um, I am feeling very nesty. Like, I kind of want to nest and I want to burrow.

Curl up.

I'm in my burrow era. Um, I think when you come back from a big trip too, you just like want to be home, but I'm hosting my bestie Kate this weekend.

Oh yeah.

I know, I'm so excited to see her. And then next weekend, um, I'm here as well, not hosting, just like not have any plans. And then the last 2 weekends we're gone again. So I'm like in between trips. And then in October and November we're just here. So I'm like trying to live in the moment of like Hey, these are the plans, this is the schedule, this is what life is. And I'm like really looking forward to October and November where we just get to be in Houston. We just get to like— maybe— I know I've said this on the pod countless times, and you feel free to DM me and call me out, but maybe, maybe this fall I'll work on my office, you know?

Yes.

Like maybe I'll be home long enough to actually have a project as big as wallpapering and painting and doing everything in my office. So we'll see. That's what I'm in between right now. What about you?

I love it. We are going to hold you to it.

Yeah.

After Thanksgiving, I'm going to be like, girl, your background still looks plain.

You look sad, Alexis. Are you okay?

Let's put some color in there. What am I in between? Actually, mine is very similar. So my birthday is approaching in November, and I've always kind of done more of a trip, more of a bigger thing. And I've just really fallen in love with wellness situations.

Situations.

And so I'm in between kind of grieving the fact that I think I might not do a trip this year for various reasons, one of them being my citizenship. But the second part is wellness things are expensive. And if some of that stuff, I'm like, ooh, I want that. And it's like thousands of dollars for 4 or 6 sessions altogether. And so it's like, okay, well, what do you want, Astrid? Because right now we can't just go ahead and spend like $6K on your birthday. It's not even your 30th. It's just plain old 29. So, yeah.

You need to do something insane for your 30th though.

Please. Absolutely.

Absolutely. Okay. So what we're doing is we're actually just saving for the future.

Absolutely. You better have a sinking fund that says Astrid's birthday on it.

I already started that. I actually, I opened up a separate account.

As you should. I'm that important.

You are.

But yeah, I am just in between both of those and it's just weird and hard whenever you're kind of used to something. And then also kind of shocking yourself and being like, well, it's just what I've always done. Is that really what I want? Or would I at the end of it prefer this experience or this item? Or could I do something lower scale? Like maybe just go to Chicago. There's this Aire, whatever, Aire Spa.

Oh, the Aire.

Yeah. And I'm like, I would love that. Like it fits in my wellness goals and it fits like Staying in the city for a day or two.

So the Turkish baths. I've always been interested in that. That sounds amazing.

Yeah. So I think it's just learning to give yourself freedom to pivot, to not do what you've always done, and also not just throw everything out the window because it feels overwhelming to think of something new. It's still worth celebrating. It's still worth doing. So, um, yeah, this would be my last couple of months as a 28-year-old, and then your girl's gonna be jumping into the last year in her 20s. So exciting things.

I am so excited. I'm already like literally over here thinking about your 30th birthday, and we have over a year. I am so excited. Well, first off, I hope I'm invited. I just—

I'll think about it.

Okay. Yeah, you let me know. It's touch and go. Okay. I love that you're in your wellness era. I remember whenever I entered into mine and it is just like, it is euphoric actually. Yeah, it's addicting. You kind of get addicted. Yeah, literally.

Do I need to eat? No, I just need a massage. Just drain me and I'll be fine.

Kate and I are on Friday, I took the day off and her and I are going to a spa together. And yes, the spa we're going to has a rooftop pool. So it's like when you get the spa, you get access to all their amenities. So we're doing the spa treatments and my sweet mother-in-law hopped off the plane, um, like late Saturday night and she made me a spa appointment Sunday morning before our family wedding. And like, you know, when you're traveling, I'm like curled up in a ball on the plane and carrying all my bags.

Yeah.

She got me a massage. And so I'm like, had also had a massage at the villa in Tuscany.

So, so I'm like, she's massaged.

I'm on week 3 of like some sort of service. So I actually called the hotel today to say like, hey, can I change my massage to a facial just to like have something different? My body is fine.

That's amazing. I love that. We all need a Nancy. Shout out to her. So thoughtful.

We do. We do. Um, well, I'm stoked about this podcast, uh, oh my gosh, topic. I was gonna say theme. Um, because we're gonna talk about— I know we don't want to talk about it, but like summer's coming to an end. Like our iconic summer. We spent our whole theme in May talking about like summer intentions and what we're gonna do this summer. And I thought it would be fun for us to talk about, um, kind of reflecting on our summer. And maybe you can reflect on yours too. And then setting some intentions for fall and what we want fall to feel like and just things we wanna make space for even in our busy schedules. Like how do we make space for the things that we love and, and actually make intentional margin to make them happen instead of just, oh, I'd like to do that, but I never did. So, mm-hmm, I'm excited about this topic. Should we start with summer reflections first?

Yes, I love it. Do you want to do like one each and then we'll just go back and forth?

Let's do it. Yeah, you go first.

Okay, um, my first summer reflection is I broke up with my long-term habit, bad habit, not my boyfriend.

Oh, I was like, wait, what?

You're a crazy woman.

You didn't tell me on the podcast.

No, no, no. Oh my gosh, I would be devastated.

Devastated.

No, I feel like over time I've broken up with a lot of bad habits. And the one that just kept lingering, and it was really more of an emotional attachment to it, is when I got overwhelmed, it just felt almost physically impossible to organize or keep things organized in my house. And I've shared this on the pod before. But my perfectionism is what I realized was getting in the way in between that. And so after really diving into why can't I just keep up with these things when I can be so goal-oriented and break all these other things in my life? Why is this one thing? I had that breakthrough this summer of the perfectionism. And then I started putting basically certain tools in place to help me stick to that and certain standards to help me stick to that. And then accountability and support to help me stick to that. And so I see my boyfriend often. And so like he would, like if there was a day where things were kind of falling off, he's like, hey, do you need some help? And so he would do it in such a sweet way, but he knew, he knows how much it affects my mental health because it's one of those things that I would start spiraling on and I'm like, oh, I'm not, I'm not good enough, or I'm like, I need— like, this is, this is the part where I just start like falling through the cracks again and I can't like keep up with everything. It was just these like horrible lies that I didn't even realize were there. But it's one of those things that as you break certain habits and you start getting to the core of a lot of them, those things come to the surface. So yeah, I feel really like— it feels Simple to say, but I feel so proud. And that's probably one of my proudest things is like, I keep up with my laundry, I keep up with making my bed, I keep up with organizing everything. I like clean up afterwards, max maybe one day. And it's a solid maybe 8, 9 week streak right now. And so, yeah, so I'm— it's really helped my mental health a lot.

Yeah.

And that's probably the biggest aspect that I didn't realize how much it was adding to my mental health load.

That's amazing. I'm really proud of you.

Thank you.

You mentioned this earlier, is that when you're in between a lot of moving parts in your life, you don't have capacity for new routines. And I watched you this summer still make time for that routine. You were still busy and you were still in between a lot of different moving parts in your business and your life. And you still made time to introduce letting go of some of those habits that weren't serving you and being like, okay, this is the new way that we're going to live our life. This is the new way we're going to interact with our home. And that's so cool. I'm proud of you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, it was weird. It was like an emotional experience of letting go of something that felt like part of my identity. So that was very, I don't know, very odd feeling, but I feel like a new person, so it's good. But What is one of your summer reflections or lessons?

Okay. One of mine is, and I think we should definitely have a deeper, longer conversation about this at some point. We've talked about it a bit on the pod, but manifestation. I have been on a journey with my spirituality, to say the least. We did a longer episode on spirituality earlier this year if you want to go back and listen to it. I have felt very guarded with my spirituality and just feeling kind of cut off from all things higher power, to be honest with you. And this earlier this summer, I kind of opened myself up to this like what-if energy and like, what if this could be possible? What if this could be possible? And it reminds me a lot of prayer. And, but I think the way that I, I think a way that has helped me step back into my spirituality is by using language that feels more comforting to me. Coming from a very conservative Christian background, growing up very religious, in my own deconstruction of my spirituality, Sometimes language is very triggering, and so I'm like, okay, if this is the way I need to interact with my spirituality and I want to call it the universe or God or manifestation or prayer, then that's what I'm going to do because I am still closer and feeling more connected than I was eight months ago, and that feels like a win. And so I think I'm. I'm opening myself up to what's possible, connecting with a higher power, feeling like I'm not alone, feeling hope towards that again. And that has felt really lovely. And I'm doing it in a way that feels honoring to me, that doesn't invite in any pressure or invite in any labels. Of like, oh, I'm a Christian again. I don't. I that feels too. Um, that feels too heavy or too finite right now. However, like I'm connecting with a higher power, and I feel like a sense of hope towards my spirituality that I haven't felt in three years. Okay, that feels really lovely. So if you're on a journey. with your own spirituality, just really tune into where you turn off. And I think that that's what flipped for me is I needed to just be in tune with where I was cutting the connection. And this summer I felt like I kind of opened the connection back up.

I feel like you're speaking right to me. Yeah, yeah, it's crazy. One of the things, we haven't caught up in a while, and I'll share it on the pod, but I had a conversation and that kind of really opened me up to like, okay, I miss that spiritual side of me and I miss connecting with God. And that has been such a huge part of my journey. And now that you said pay attention to the things that turn you off and push you away, And for me, it was the infrastructure of the church and going to church, and that has just felt so heavy. And so I have felt— I had that conversation, and then I was talking about it with my boyfriend, and he is a very curious human being, and he's just asking questions. And then he's like, well, why does it have to be a yes or a no? Why does it have to be absolute? If you want to, why don't we just do— like, I know that you used to watch church online a lot. Do you feel comfortable with that? Do you want to do that? How does that feel? I was like, actually, that feels really great to hear about that and to think about it. Like, I don't feel the heaviness of stepping into a room. And like you said, it's a journey. Like, who knows how that will evolve? Who knows how that will continue? But I just love that you mentioned that. specific part of like, what is it that is pushing you away from it? And we don't have to push away the whole thing and throw it all out and not be spiritual just because of that one thing.

Yes.

We do have to ease into it, yet we still have to make steps forward. And so, um, yeah, ditto on that one. And I'm also so proud of you for finding ways that work for you to step into that spirituality and opening yourself up to it. And I feel like life can feel a bit lighter whenever we feel that spiritual protection. And someone— when you see things happening for you and you're like, dang, wow. It just gives me chills to think about. It's like, I know that I prayed about this, or I know that I said this in my journal, and then I see it happening. And it's so specific that you know it was for you. There's just something magical about that. And so I love seeing you be on this journey on your own terms and on your own way, which is the best part.

Thank you. I really appreciate that. It's a vulnerable experience for sure. Okay, you go.

Okay. Mine is Okay, how do I say this? I started dating my current boyfriend a year ago. So it was almost a year ago. And so I feel like after being through such an intense heartbreak and all of that, even when we first started dating, I was just so reserved and so guarded. And little by little, those guards started falling down. And I feel like it wasn't really until this past April when we had some huge breakthrough conversations that I feel like we really saw each other and saw what we want and who we are. And we were just very specific about things. And I feel like since then, that allowed me to feel even more safe in the relationship, to fully trust and to fully fall in love. And so, I mean, I've loved him for longer than that, but at the same time, I feel like this summer has just felt like so carefree and so like madly falling in love with him and just being very grateful for this super sweet human being that like will cry if I'm crying and like just really make space for me to still continue to heal those really hard seasons and And will make space to hear about how someone hurt me just because he knows it helps me heal. And it's just like, it just feels like this rare human being that I get to have that loves me.

And I'm gonna get emotional.

But yeah, I just feel like reflecting on summer, I feel proud of myself because rightfully so, I needed to have a guard up for a long time until I felt safe. And then I found the courage to fully trust and fully heal those things that have just felt really hard to open up again to somebody else.

That is so beautiful. I am seriously so— I know that that sounded like a joke, but I'm so Proud of you. Like, just to witness the way that you two love each other and the way that you communicate and the way that you've overcome different challenges in your relationship this past year, and like the way that you speak about him, and just like when you light up when you talk about him, it's just been such a joy to experience him through you. And then to get to spend a weekend of quality time together. And just, yeah, I'm so happy that you're so happy and that you found each other and that you get to be in this relationship together. And I'm really, really happy for you.

Oh, thank you, love. That's so sweet. In a way, it feels like I have felt that with you and Matthew for such a long time, so it's so sweet and also very different to see you say that about me and my relationship, but yeah, it's— I actually didn't, didn't, I guess, put it all together until today when we were, um, like when we mentioned what we were gonna talk about, the summer reflections, and I was like, dang, I really let myself just be like madly in love, like just no reservations, not being scared. It feels good to like not be scared and be like, what are you hiding? What are you doing? Like, you're gonna hurt me.

Like— Mm.

And that just— it had been years since I had felt that lightheartedness. So to anyone out there healing from heartbreak or in a single season, it's worth it. And it's also okay if you have your guard up, take your time and be with someone that is going to be patient enough to let you do it when you feel ready and when you're capable of doing it too. It's been a sweet— it's my, um, Summer I Turned Pretty.

I was literally thinking that. I was like, oh my God, this is the summer that she fell in love. Like, like, I know that you were already in love, but like the, the happy-go-lucky love.

Yeah.

That is just so lovely. Uh, I'm so happy for you.

Thank you, thank you. What is your next reflection?

Okay, um, My reflection from the summer was, this is kind of all in one-ish, but finding my flow within a routine. So I'm a very— this is so funny, this coming out of my mouth, because I just like, this was not me a couple years ago, but I'm a very disciplined person. I have rewritten my identity. Um, I'm a very disciplined person with my routines, and I found something was happening with that as I was saying no to things that I actually wanted to do because it would disrupt my routine. Or like, oh, this might kind of disrupt my wake-up time. I was like being kind of rigid with my routine. And I'm not in the military, you know, I'm not a paratrooper. I'm not a Navy SEAL. I work in tech, you know, I'm a coach. I don't need to be having these like firefighter level of like, you know, routines. I can bend. I can be flexible. I can adapt. And so this summer, I felt like I gave myself permission to be spontaneous, make time for girls' nights. Let's go to happy hour. I started up my newsletter again and I was like, you know what? I don't want to do a weekly newsletter. What I want to do is I want to write twice a month. Okay, cool. I can commit to that. Great. That's been amazing.

Mm-hmm.

I've loved that. Finding my flow doesn't mean I'm sacrificing my routine, but also a routine doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice the spontaneous elements of life and the things that bring you joy that might not fit into this box.

Mm-hmm.

So I've been trying to work on my mindset around that. And even though this was such a busy summer, I was traveling a lot. This is in terms of my workload this summer. I took on more coaching clients and I took on more at work at the same time. And so the past 3 months, my capacity has like freaking exploded and I haven't burnt out. And I think it's because like while I'm leaning heavily on my foundations and my routine, I'm also, in moments where I burnt out in the past, it was because I wasn't having fun. And I think this is something I'm learning about myself. I will burn out if I am not having fun. So if I feel like burnout is on the precipice, like it's on the horizon, okay, I see it there. It's because I'm not prioritizing a good time. What do I need to do to have fun? How can I invite more like good fun energy into this? So that this doesn't become a burden and this becomes a privilege.

Yeah.

It's just a mindset practice, but it's also like I have to be intentional with the ways I'm having fun too. And so that's been something I've just been working on this summer. And I'm really proud of the way that I'm executing in my job and as a coach with my clients. Also in all the other ways I'm showing up in life. Am I doing everything perfectly? No. Um, but I'm still proud of the quality that I'm living, if that makes sense. So that's something I have not really done at the same time before. Like, this summer was like the summer I feel like it kind of cracked open.

Mm-hmm.

And it's cool to, to see me be able to handle and actually be able to manage it all. Not all, but manage it well. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, I feel like the more disciplined that you become, the more— it's almost like a funnel. You start getting more and more specific on what works for you, what makes you most efficient, what makes you not efficient. You start scrapping those things. And as you do that, your focus increases, plus discovering what is it that brings you life? Those systems and that discipline doesn't— what is it for if it's sucking the life out of you? It has to be fun for you. It has to feel like it's the things that you crave, that you want, that help you relax, that make you feel excited. And I love that you brought that up because it's definitely more intentional and it feels more like a full life rather than just work, sleep, Like, work out and repeat.

I'm out. Yeah, like, yeah, I, I think it's, it's interesting to shift your mindset around. Like, I think we've kind of mentioned it a little bit as like an underlying theme, is like just not allowing everything to be all or nothing. And with routines, like, it's really finding the in-between. Yeah, that works for you. So what's up next for you? Also, I don't think we're going to have time for fall intentions, baby. I think we're going to have to just stick to summer reflection. I'm fine with it. You want to do a part 2?

Let's do part 2 of our fall intentions. Yeah, we'll do fall intentions next episode.

I love it. I'm like, this is so rich. This is so good. Let's just stay here in the fall.

We are not Andrew Huberman. We are not going to do a 3-hour episode.

We are not doing a 3-hour podcast. Love you, but not happening.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay. My next one and last one for me is I think I've just grown into a new level in my business. And this summer reflection is, I guess, business is hard and it requires a lot of hard skills. You have to have the product, you have to have the management, you have to know how to manage people. You have to do the marketing. You have to be vision-focused. Like, where are you going? How is the industry changing? How are the trends changing? And I think whenever you're growing a lot in a lot of areas, it can just be very challenging. And then at the same time, like the social part of things of like, you launch something, do people support you? You like You have competitors, you have things going on that are like, you grow a team, the team has things going on too. There's just so many layers to business. And so I think for me, it's right now, it's just realizing that it almost goes hand in hand with what you were saying. It's like you have to shift your mentality to how can I increase capacity? How can I make these things teach me how to be better next time? Teach me where the gaps are at. Teach me how I can be better rather than victim mentality of like, business is so hard and I'm drowning. And I think for me, there was one day where I was down bad, so, so bad. There was a couple days I was down bad. And finally I went for a walk and I listened to one of my declaration manifestation type of videos and it shifted my mindset right away from 0 to 100. I came back from that 10-minute walk and I was like, all right, let's go. How do we solve it? Let's come up with 5 solutions for this and we got this. There's always a solution. There's always a way out. We can figure this out. We are smart enough. And ever since then, I had that breakthrough. And so I feel like reflecting on summer has just been a big growing pain for my business in the best way possible. I'm glad I've had those to grow into. And it just feels, I guess this is how I'll word it, is I feel like I'm entering the adult version of my business.

Yeah.

And I have been in What was the childhood and the preteens and the teens. And now I'm a full-grown adult. And so there's a lot of adult things that are really fun that come with it. There's a lot of adult things that feel responsible and heavy and you just have to learn to manage it. And so it's just a new season and era of my business.

That's amazing. Yeah, it's been really cool to watch you. I'm behind the scenes, so I know a lot of the inner workings of what's been going on this summer. And it's been really, I'm just always so enamored by you.

Aww.

Like, I'm just always so in awe of your ability to step back, reflect, process, find a way through. Like, you just handle yourself with such grace and class and like also with so much intention. So whatever problem does come up, like, your ability to feel it, you're like, okay, I don't like this. And here's what I'm going to do to manage it. And here's how I'm going to manage myself through it. That's a huge part of business that I don't think, at least whenever you hear about the golden entrepreneurship life, you don't necessarily hear a lot about like, here's how I'm not going to manage the business. Here's how I'm going to manage myself through the business.

Absolutely.

And watching you do that this summer has truly been Oh, thank you, friend.

I feel like that is one of the most important parts too of entrepreneurship is I'm so grateful to have you and people like you in my life that I can be candid of what's going on in my business and the things that feel heavy and the things that feel unfair and all these different things and just vent it out and then have those champions that remind you because there was a point this past summer where I was like, I'm not talented enough. That sucks. This is all happening. Should I just go back to corporate? Those things and those thoughts are very real. And in those moments, it just felt like I just sucked at business. And having your people around and having the proof and everything to lift you up and be like, all right, this is just a hard moment. We're snapping out of it. Let's get out of it, is huge. So I guess adding onto that one is I just feel very grateful for the community that I have around me as an entrepreneur. And I'm so grateful for you too.

Of course.

Yeah.

I mean, community is like everything. I feel like they can make or break you.

Yes.

People matter. My last one is around alcohol. I was reflecting on Just something that has come up with me a lot this summer, and I've talked about this on the pod. I am a relatively sober curious person. I'll go months without alcohol, and then I'll also like in Italy, you know, you're drinking wine, you're drinking Everalls. Like there's a lot of alcohol consumption, a part of like the culture in which you're traveling or things like that. So, I think something that I have come to with my relationship with alcohol is for me there for a while, it felt like an all-or-nothing decision and it felt like it needed to be a yes or a no.

Hmm.

And, something that has really helped this summer is just looking at it doesn't have to be so black and white. I have learned what my line is, and I have learned what kind of consumption patterns I am comfortable with. And so I know myself, period. And I think that I used to feel like, because alcoholism runs in my family, it felt— and it was also something that I was using along with cannabis, like as a coping mechanism. Then detaching that, I'm like, okay, can this actually just be something social? Can this actually just— can I drink a white wine and pair it with some fish because I'm eating fish for dinner? Can I actually separate this tool that was meant to numb and to cope and to deal with things that were stressful and hurtful for me? Can this now actually actually operate as just another, like, thing. Like, it doesn't have— I don't have to attach meaning to it anymore.

Mm-hmm.

And that was huge for me this summer. Like, that was huge for me. So I'm still kind of unraveling that, but I have drank without guilt this summer, and I have stopped drinking because I know myself and I'm like, okay, I had 2 cocktails and now I'm done. Whereas past me would want to keep going. And that was because of the patterns I was building.

Mm-hmm.

So I think it's just a step in my healing direction of like, I know how I want to cope with things and I'm not using that as a tool. And I have changed my relationship with alcohol And this is the first summer, and I'm 30. This is the first summer where I actually feel like, okay, I'm healthy with that. Like, I don't need to, I don't need to worry about that. Like I used to worry about that, and that feels really freaking good.

Heck yes, dude! I'm so freaking proud of you. I feel like that is—it's been beautiful to watch your journey, and it's been beautiful to see how your journey of self-discipline. just pours into so many different areas of your life.

Yeah.

Because it has brought that self-confidence where you're like, I don't need anything, actually. I've got me. And so I love seeing how even in an area that felt raw and vulnerable and like there's history there, you have broken a generational curse in that where it no longer holds a coping mechanism power over you. It is just a substance. It is just a thing, just as food is, just as sugar is, anything like that that we can set boundaries around, that we can be adults and be able to create boundaries around what works for you and your body, and that it's an ebb and flow relationship as well. And so I'm so proud of you. It takes a lot of self-awareness to do that and to get there and to be honest with yourself and be like, okay, I'm feeling emotional today, I'm not gonna go there. Or I'm feeling whatever it is, I'm not gonna go there. And that's, that's only you. Only you have those thoughts. And so each person has their own relationship with alcohol. And having that layer of extreme vulnerability with yourself is such a beautiful, um, Yeah. achievement to have. Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah, I'm proud of—

I am proud of me. I want to thank me.

Yes. That TikTok audience.

Yes. I think, you know, I mean, if there's one thing I've learned from the podcast and from creating content and just sharing so much of myself online for the last decade is like, I hope I never stop evolving, and I hope I never stop healing, and I hope I never stop sharing. Like, if you saw me 3 years ago and the way that I was operating, and then the way I'm operating now, you're like, cool, it's cool to see someone grow like that, you know? And I— we're all capable of that. Like, I don't have anything special. I didn't, you know, like, I don't have access to this special like rules or knowledge or like guidebook. It's just when we really start to listen to ourselves, because I think we, we tend to know actually, like what we need to do. And we know what is an unhealthy problem area for us. Or we know when a relationship is no longer like healthy. Like, we, we actually do know that. I think that what we struggle with is trusting ourselves to make a decision about it. Like, I think that subconsciously and even consciously, a lot of the awareness is there, but it's like that trust factor of like, will I actually do something different this time? Will I actually keep that promise? And I think that's where the trust and the confidence comes from. And so if you're, as you're reflecting on your summer, like, what are things that you learned? What are things that you surprised yourself with this summer? What is something that you're really proud of? Like, I think it's important as we shift from one season to another that we like take these moments to think about, how did I spend my summer? Was it reflective of my values? What's something that like? What was my favorite night? What was my favorite morning? Like, and then how do we infuse more of that into the future? And I just never I never regret asking myself those questions. I never regret like reflecting on something because I'm like, oh, okay, okay. I'm learning this and this and this, and this is what I want to do in the fall or whatever. So yeah, I liked this episode.

Me too. And this is the true— this is the true in-between, in-between seasons. We did something similar, um, whenever we were shifting years and going from 2022 to 2023. And I love infusing that into our seasons as well. So I think that invitation is so beautiful. And take yourself out on a coffee date, or maybe just bring it up in the next time that You're having a conversation with your partner, some of the questions that Alexis mentioned here or that we talked about, like, what were those high moments? What were those low moments? And what were those highlights? I feel like sometimes we just live life and then kind of forget a little bit, like, oh yeah, we did that. This is just 2 months ago. We just forget. So it's a way to bottle things up for sure. So usually at the end of our episodes, we usually give you guys our Instagram handle, but RIP. It's not here. So—

Well, not RIP, okay? I still have faith that we are going to get access to it. We don't have access to it right now. We're going to revive the hacked Instagram.

But since we can't send you over there, please, please leave us a review if you have loved this episode, whether you're on iTunes or Spotify or whatever app you are using to listen to this. You can always still connect with both of us. My Instagram is Astrid at— sorry, @astridjohannaphoto.

And mine is @alexistechmiller. Thank you so much for being here. We love you, love you, love you. And next week we're going to be talking about our fall intentions. So I'm so excited and we'll see you there.