Last week, Brian and I traveled to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Brian shot a wedding and I was lucky enough to tag along for the ride! While it was cloudy and rainy for most of the time we were there, I still enjoyed a nice getaway and some much needed rest and relaxation.
The morning of the wedding, the bride had arranged for a group yoga class at Yoga by the Way with the fabulous owner Ellen de Jonge. Ellen had a great sense of humor and led a wonderful Vinyasa class. I loved it so much that I made sure to get one more class in before we left! Definitely check out her studio if you’re ever in the area.
The wedding was fun and the couple topped off the night by jumping into the pool along with their entire wedding party! How’s that for taking the plunge?!
Speaking of taking a plunge, I got soaked in a torrential downpour walking back from yoga sans an umbrella. Brian shot some video of the crazy rain storm.
While Brian worked off and on, I used the rainy day time to catch up on some writing and sketch in my Art Every Day Monthmini-journal. I’ll post some of those photos soon. Hasta luego!
Last Sunday, I presented the Right-Brain Business Plan in a breakout session at the Creativity in Business Conference in D.C. I had so much fun getting to learn and play with so many creative, innovative people. Michelle James, the conference founder, did a magnificent job bringing together a community of entrepreneurs and professionals who are bringing positive change to the world of business. There were experts in creativity, storytelling, business improv, right-brain/left-brain thinking, social media, conscious capitalism and so much more.
I had a blast with my breakout session. The participants were great sports, jumping right into the experiential activities and sharing with each other. I love seeing how energized people get when they really resonate with their business vision and are inspired to move into action.
I am so glad that I said “Yes!” to Michelle’s invitation (via Twitter!) to fly out to D.C. and present. This was one of the most engaging and authentic conferences that I’ve been to and I connected with loads of awesome people who also want to make a difference in business.
To get a feel for the energy and positive vibe of the event, check out this awesome slideshow.
Following a brilliant night of creative visions at the Dream Box workshop, I had another fantastic day in D.C. I took my second yoga class at Tranquil Space and then strolled around Dupont Circle enjoying the sunshine and soaking up the local neighborhood character.
In the evening I had the chance to meet up with the lovely Ananda, another creative beauty. We enjoyed a great conversation and yummy dinner at one of Ananada’s favorite local spots, Teaism. I felt so blessed getting to connect with so many of my online blogging friends in-person during this trip!
Then on Sunday I headed to Georgetown for the Creativity in Business Conference to lead my Right-Brain Business Plan breakout session and commune with other creative spirits. What an awesome trip. I look forward to returning to the capital city again for more fun, creative adventures.
I’m loving my visit to Washington D.C. so far! Today was filled with dreamy and inspiring adventures.
I kicked the day off with yoga at Kimberly Wilson’s gorgeous studio Tranquil Space. The class was challenging and grounding. Just what I needed to decompress from all the travel. I love the quote on the wall of the yoga room. The studio is brimming with so many beautiful details like the gold stars on the floor…
And a yummy selection of tea. I could’ve stayed in the studio the whole afternoon browsing the book shelves and admiring all the TranquiliT wear!
Later on in the day, I met up with a friend that I hadn’t seen in more than 15 years (gotta love Facebook for that!). She’s doing really awesome and inspiring work with animals and I really enjoyed catching up with her. I’m so glad that we reconnected!!
In the evening, I went over to Kimberly’s pink palace to lead my Dream Box workshop with a group of wonderfully creative women. It was so cool to meet a bunch of people in person for the first time and also to see some familiar faces from Kimberly’s March yoga retreat. There’s Tiffany at the left, Kimberly, Chai, Ana, Lauren and Sharon.
Here’s Sharon with her twin sister Sherry. They both have the most endearing laugh.
Hope brought some of her Paper Relics goodies which the girls just ate up! Next to her is the Danielle who took my Right-Brain Business Plan teleclass earlier this year, so it was cool to meet her in person. And next to her is Lauren who made the super cool mobile Right-Brain Business Plan.
Kimberly’s cat Bonnard was hilarious. He got cozy on the magazines and stared us down as we crafted and collaged.
Aren’t these dream boxes lovely? One of my favorite things is seeing how unique and beautiful each person’s boxes and dreams are.
Here’s another dream box. On the inside of the lid behind the window she collaged a garden. What a great idea!
And here I am kickin’ it with Kimberly after my huge post-workshop TranquiliT shopping spree! Thank you Kimberly for being a wonderful workshop host and a big inspiration. I’m looking forward to another amazing day in D.C. tomorrow.
What a treat it was to visit Leah in Boston this past weekend. She’s such a sweetie! Not only did I have a blast co-leading our Creative Play workshop with her, I really enjoyed just hanging out, meeting her great hubby and her cute kitties and getting the local’s tour of the city.
On Friday, we walked around Newbury Street. I wanted to check out OAK which had lots of cute handmade goods. We also stopped into the Fluevog store and Leah scored some super awesome turquoise shoes! So cute! I tried on a bunch of pairs, but alas, the boots I wanted didn’t quite work out for me. I will continue coveting .
We also went to the art store and I asked Leah to give me some expert advice on supplies. I picked up a quill and some ink to play with — fun!
One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting to see Leah’s art up close and personal. If you think her paintings look beautiful on her website, you’d be blown away at how gorgeous the colors, layers and textures are in-person. I spent so much time just poring over all her amazing art! I knew I wanted to buy something, but it was really hard to choose. I ended up getting the cool mixed media piece above called Blackbird Forest. It feels so quiet and serene to me and I love that she used some Asian newsprint for the background. It fits in nicely in my dining room.
Leah surprised me with this darling “yoga Jenn” painting. I absolutely love it! And it’s perfect on the altar in my yoga/meditation room.
After seeing several cuddling cat photos on Leah’s blog throughout the years, I enjoyed finally getting to meet the four meows. Tabbers is certainly a character! Even though I’m allergic to cats, I couldn’t resist petting him especially when he would just come and plop himself on my lap.
Sadie snuggled up with me for a bit on the couch when Leah and I watched Glee.
Here’s Emma hiding away in an empty moving box. Shy Sasha remained elusive during the kitty photo shoot.
And can you believe this gorgeous pond is within walking distance of Leah’s beautiful new house?! A hike through the woods on Sunday was the perfect end to a perfect trip. Thanks Leah for being the hostess with the mostess! I look forward to your visit out here when we bring Creative Play to the Bay Area — woohoo!
I had so much fun in Boston this past weekend visiting with Leah Piken Kolidas. Our Creative Play workshop on Saturday was a blast and it was such a treat to finally meet so many creative souls and online friends in-person.
Carolyn Rubenstein of A Beautiful Ripple Effect and her co-worker Whitney got crafty. I was [...]
Last week I was in New York for Book Expo America, the largest trade show of the publishing industry. For this first-time conference attendee and aspiring author, the show was overwhelming but also quite educational and inspirational. I learned about and met various publishers and got a better sense of what goes on in the [...]
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending Kimberly Wilson’s Hip Tranquil Chick Retreat in New York. Two-plus days full of creativity, yoga, journaling, meditation and lots of other yummy activities – who could ask for more? Oh yeah, and some retail therapy (Kimberly brought pieces from her spring line of TranquiliT eco-clothing) so, of [...]
I’m in Dallas this weekend for the annual eWomen Network Conference. It’s been an amazing past few days meeting so many talented, smart and savvy women (there are about 3,000 women entrepreneurs here at the Hyatt Regency!)
One of my favorite things was getting to spend lots of quality one-on-one time with publishing experts and [...]
At the end of April I took a short trip to London to visit with four of my dear friends from my leadership tribe. It had been about three and a half years since we were all together, so we were thrilled to have a mini-reunion.
The four bellas – a radiantly pregnant Tina, [...]
More right-brain resource goodness: Some silly fun from the Right-Brain Business Plan e-Course: “The Left-Brain Chill Pill” (see photo above) for calming the judging mind and enhancing right-brain creative intuition. Take with two deep breaths. An interesting post that asks is the traditional business world at war with creativity? A graphical look at the val […]