The third annual Together Live event came into Chicago last night & I was happy to attend for the second year in a row. Last year we went because we were excited about an event like this. The aim of the night is storytelling from all different types of women. When do we get a chance to hear stories and be called to action IRL (in real life)? This year Reese Witherspoon brought her company Hello Sunshine to the event and co-sponsored along with Together Live. My friends Kristin, Kasia, and I were blown away by the number of women this year. At first blush, you might think Reese Witherspoon pulled in a lot of people on the periphery, but the cheering and applause as Glennon Doyle peaked around the curtains made it evident that she was the reason we all came together.

Glennon has had her share of success through her website Momastery. book Love Warrior, social media presence and social & racial justice activism.  I like Glennon because she’s comfortable. funny, and really honest. She’s just an excellent speaker, she’s eloquently messy. She’s shown us all her not-so-pretty side through addiction, sobriety, marriage, and parenting in her book Love Warrior. She’s since championed the needs of those who are marginalized, put herself in the line of fire, and has risen up through grace to face her followers and critics again and again.

When we got upstairs we were greeted by a full theater below us. Almost every seat was filled. After we found our seats (which we were shocked to see were BOX seats) singer, songwriter Milck welcomed us with a soft, but powerful rendition of “Ooo Child”. We had never heard of Milck, but were quickly converted to fans.

Our MC for the night, literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, ushered in the rest of our storytellers for the evening:

• Reese Witherspoon
• Priya Parker
• Glennon Doyle
• Abby Wambach
• Luvvie Ajayi
• Sophia Bush
• Cameron Esposito

If you have never been to one of these events, the atmosphere they aim to create a cozy intimacy among tens of thousands. The stage was set up as a living room filled with trendy furniture, plush rugs, throws, and the storytellers.

The theme of the night quickly became apparent, “Your Voice Matters.” Though this was not the official theme of the night, the storytelling were nods to this idea. I thought I would share some of my favorite points from each of the women.

Priya Parker

Priya’s book The Art of Gathering focuses on what she calls transformative gathering. Priya’s interest in why and how we gather comes from her stunning background. She highlighted this by drawing attention to her name PRIYA PARKER. A true mix of two cultures. She was born an only child in Zimbabwe to an English Indian mother and an American father. After her parents moved her to the United States their marriage fell apart and Priya soon found herself living between two very different worlds. In order to get us in the mindset of what her life was like Priya took us through an exercise. We stood if the statements applied to us. Statements like, “I consider myself a loner.” “I am a troublemaker.”

Priya touched on how each of us plays a role in making change happen. My favorite part was when Priya talked about loners. I consider myself to be a bit of a loner when it comes to socializing. Priya’s perspective on loners was fascinating, “loners know what they want to create” which is why they stand on the periphery. We don’t always need to be in the middle of the action because we are on the side determining how we want to act and collecting information.

Priya encourages us to seek a need for a gathering rather than focusing on form. We can get so caught up on what things need to look like rather than focusing on the need to connect. We don’t have to wait for things to be perfect, the invites to be sent out, or our houses to be clean. If there is a need to meaningfully connect, we must act on that. There is meaning and importance in connection even if it is just to create a temporary alternate reality.

Ultimately, Priya asks us to listen deeply enough to be changed by what you hear.

There is just too much good stuff to write about in one post. I’ll be sharing more later this week about the rest of the event.

I was somehow able to score one of the beautiful new journals from The Hollis Co. Their website is not up yet, but you can find them on social media here:

The Hollis Co: https://www.instagram.com/TheHollisCompany/
The Start Today Journal: https://www.instagram.com/starttodayjournal/
Rachel Hollis: https://www.instagram.com/MsRachelHollis/
Dave Hollis: https://www.instagram.com/MrDaveHollis/

I sat down and recorded a little chat about the journal, how I got one, and how we Hollis fans broke the internet!

Tomorrow starts the Tone It Up Bikini Series and I am pumped to be joining in this year. Right now I have a sore throat which is discouraging, but I am planning on working out every morning to get into the routine.

So what is the Tone It Up Bikini Series?

Tone It Up is a community created by Katrina Scott and Karena Dawn. They’re personal trainers who became friends and started the company. Every year they hold several “series” or fitness/nutrition challenges. The challenges take place on the Tone It Up app and website, but the biggest turn out is on social media. The idea is to eat clean, participate in the daily workouts for 20 minutes, and complete the toning moves.

Explore the hashtag #tiubikiniseries or find @toneitup on Instagram! You can join the fun here.

My Week 1 Focus

I know myself and I know if I try to do everything (i.e. meal plan, meal prep, workout, etc.) I will burn out and burn out fast. After a very quick self-reflection, I will simply be aiming to workout each day for 20 minutes and do the toning moves. Simple. As. That. There is no point in my trying to change everything in a matter of hours because that’s really what it boils down to. B is picking us up Meatheads burgers and fries as I type this and I am expected to have everything planned and prepped by tonight? PLUS I have to lesson plan and work on my online classwork. I want to change for the better, not to aim for something unattainable!

Tone It Up Inspiration

Make sure you follow these ladies on Instagram. They are Bikini Series vets and have attained some true greatness.

@nehabeauty She hit the nail on the head with her theme for this series, “Simple and sustainable!” She can also be found blogging at http://nehabeauty.com/

@unstoppableunbreakable Dada is a true inspiration. The Tone It Up Bikini Series changed her life in 2017 and she continues to amaze us all with her persistence and beautiful heart!

@bunundone Morgan is a Chicago girl, like myself, and the 2017 Bikini Series Winner. She has great recipes and inspiration for giving it your all!

Are you doing the TIU Bikini Series? Let me know below!

About a month ago I ditched Facebook. Like most people, I spent way too much time on Facebook, scrolling along until I was numb or until it was time for bed. I was getting nothing done. After multiple sad stories about dogs within a week, I decided I just couldn’t do it anymore. I deactivated.

At first, I (admittedly) logged onto my previous account to check in on some things (read, people), but I realized I might as well reactivate and be fully back on my current Facebook account. I went cold turkey after that decision, I deactivated my older account. But like all commitments, ideas, dreams, passions, etc. etc. I needed not only a “why” but a “what” to fill in what I would do in place of Facebook.

What would I do to fill this time? TV is just not my thing. I don’t really keep up with many TV shows and when I do it tends to be a binge sprint rather than a marathon. Or I will watch a bunch of episodes and the quickly abandon the TV show for a few weeks until I am ready to pick it up again. All that to say, TV is maybe slightly better than social media, I say this only do to the comparison aspect.

On top of it all, I wanted the time I had spent on Facebook to go toward something worthwhile. I also didn’t want to wait for the new year to start this new venture. I like the idea of starting a resolution any time of the year. I have wanted to see myself as a “reader” for quite some time now. I will admit that social media has gotten in the way of that goal for some time now. Along with my dream to get my blog back up and running, I decided I would declare this as my “Year of Books.”

What is a “Year of Books.” It’s simple really. I’ll read books, I’ll blog about them. It’s a simple accountability system, but also a way to engage with readers. I thought about writing out the list of books I have, but part of me doesn’t want to feel the weight of those books (as there are MANY). So I’ll keep it light and write about what books I am reading, what I have read, and what I may want to read soon.

Are you interested in a Year of Books (YOB)? How about doing your own YOB? Let me know if you have done something like this or what you’re interested in reading as 2017 winds down.

Cheers to the Year of Books!