I’ve never been more excited to write these words, but— MUSIC FESTIVALS ARE BACK! After a long year-and-a-half of America struggling to beat back COVID-19, and with vaccines finally coming to the long-awaited rescue, it seems that festivals are back for good, and they’re back in a big way.

Most people who know me well know that Andrew and I attend multiple festivals a year— as many as we can, usually. We love music, we love community, we love camping; i.e, we were made for music festivals and we tend to spend all summer on the “festival circuit” if we can.

Though most festivals have been pushed to the fall of this year (to allow for even more vaccinations to occur, I assume), we still plan to attend a bunch, and I wanted to share some music festival options with you all and list them in a clear, concise way that makes it easy to decide which festivals you want to attend (and thus, which headliners you want to see). Let’s dive in—

Music festivals happening in 2021 (and their headlining acts)

Let’s begin with the festival Andrew and I are for sure attending (“Life is Beautiful” in Viva Las Vegas, y’all!) and go from there, shall we?

• Life is Beautiful – Sept 17 – 20, headliners including Billie Eilish, Tame Impala, Green Day, Megan Thee Stallion, Glass Animals, and more. Las Vegas, Nevada.

• Bonnaroo – Sept 2 – 5, headliners including Foo Fighters, Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, Tame Impala, Tyler, the Creator, Lana Del Rey, and more. Manchester, Tennessee.

• Riot Fest – Sept 17 – 19, headliners including My Chemical Romance, Smashing Pumpkins, Run the Jewels, Pixies, and more. Chicago, IL.

• Firefly Music Festival – Sept 23 – 26, headliners including Billie Eilish, The Killers, Tame Impala, Lizzo, and more. Dover, Delaware.

There are also a ton of smaller festivals to check out, including Elements Music Festival in September, Okeechobee (medium-sized, and one of my personal faves) coming back in March 2022, Camp Bisco (coming back to Montage Mountain in summer 2022), and so. many. more!

There are also, of course, a ton of Lollapalooza and Electric Daisy Carnival festival dates happening across multiple cities over the summer/fall of this year and next spring/summer as well, so keep an eye out for those, too!

So, which festivals are you attending this year? Let me know, and I just might see you there.

Xoxo, MM.

Are you crunched for time in the mornings, and always find yourself reaching for another granola bar or other low-nutrient (but quick) breakfast option? Well, same, honestly— but, I’ve found a simple, super fast (and only three ingredient) recipe that provides a more substantial amount of nutrients and keeps me full until lunch time and it’s been a game changer. Let’s dive in—

Super simple 3-ingredient banana “pancake” recipe

Banana “pancakes.” My brother used to make these for my nephew, but I always wanted to find a way to “spice” them up a bit. So, while browsing the web to find out how to make these almost too-simple-to-be-true breakfast cakes, I looked for a recipe that includes another element (other than just banana and egg) to give them more of a flavorful “punch,” and I found this one on Tasty:

• 1 Banana (mashed)

• 2 Eggs

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (though I add about 1/2 tsp, I love the cinnamon flavor!)

And viola! That’s it! Throw them in the pan after mixing them all together and cook them up, and you’re golden. Top with honey to serve (my preferred sweetener, and juuuust a little to keep your blood sugar from tanking), and these things will keep you full for hours.

As simple as my avocado toast lunch recipe (and as cheap, and once again only 3-ingredients), these pancakes are a protein and potassium filled replacement for regular, non-nutritious flour pancakes (that always destroy my blood sugar, tbh) and they take mere minutes to make.

So, have you tried these? I’m surprised I hadn’t tried them earlier, honestly! They’re easy, delicious, and have been a breakfast game changer for me, especially before morning workouts.

Xoxo, MM.

Yikes, this one is a little personal.

My entire life I have struggled with moderate food sensitivities and severe bloating. This is something I, of course, never post pictures of (since it’s something I’m highly insecure about/can make me feel extremely self-conscious), and I’m clearly not a medical professional, but if you struggle with the same issues every. single. time. you. eat. (like me,) I have a few tricks up my sleeve that have helped me stay comfortable after meals, snacks, happy hours, etc.

Let’s dive in—

My best-kept secrets for beating bloat

If you feel extremely bloated every time you eat, you may have some food sensitivities (like me, who’s incredibly sensitive to high-FODMAP foods), and I recommend seeing a doctor for food sensitivity testing. In the meantime, though, some products and natural methods I use for getting rid of bloat include the following:

• Dandelion Root Tea. Dandelion root is known to be a natural diuretic, and you can often find herbal, caffeine-free dandelion root teas in health food and grocery stores. Simple and effective, a couple of dandelion root tea after a meal can offer some relief in a short time.

• Love Wellness’ “Bye-Bye Bloat” Supplement. Taking two of these with breakfast each morning has been a GAME CHANGER. I’ve noticed that I bloat less all day, and I especially don’t bloat from my caffeine intake at breakfast anymore like I used to. All natural, these are supplements I trust and have written about before on another lifestyle and wellness blog. These are legit and I’d recommend them every time.

• Water. Water. WATER before bed. This one seems simple, but making sure I drink a decent amount of water after my last meal or snack of the day and before bed has been SO important when it comes to waking up feeling refreshed (and not bloated.)

• Avoiding clearly sensitive foods. This one is also simple, but it takes some trial and error. The best course of action is to avoid foods that a food sensitivity test (done by a professional) has confirmed you are sensitive to whenever you can. You’ll feel better and less sluggish and bloated in the long run.

If you battle severe bloat on a daily basis, you aren’t alone. Try these tips and speak to a doctor to free yourself from that icky feeling, and actually enjoy eating again.

Xoxo, MM.

Disclaimer: we all come from different places with varied experiences. Much of what we experience is determined by our level of privilege at birth. Like it or not, you do not always experience obstacles others experience because of your privilege. That said, this article is less about that and more about what you can do now, today, to stop getting in your own way when it comes to that job, that promotion, etc.

I often get questions about “any career advice (I) can give,” from friends, family, and the like. That said, I wanted to share one large piece of career advice someone once gave me that changed my life: “don’t get in your own way.”

It seems so simple, right? Don’t get in your own way. However, day in and day out, I see people getting in their own way. Not applying for that dream job because they don’t meet every single qualification (even though they could realistically do the job, and might just get an interview); not making that career move because it seems intimidating; etc., etc., etc.

Don’t get in your own way— my own example

An example of “don’t get in your own way” that played out in my own life was essentially this:

Andrew and I had the opportunity to move to Philadelphia, PA for a job (which gave him time and funds to move, if we wanted, and I had a job lined up if I wanted it as well), even though every single one of our friends and family members were in our home state of West Virginia.

We loved WV and weren’t eager to leave, like many people are. We had a life there, a foundation of support and friendships and love we’d built over the years that we weren’t completely psyched about leaving. We had career connections there that, albeit not as high-paying, we were passionate about. We weren’t sure what to do.

Moving to Philadelphia was a huge leap of faith. It was about starting completely over for both of us, accepting new jobs we knew hardly anything about (except that they’d be a right step in our career direction for both of us), moving to a large city we’d only been to once, in passing, on a vacation… but guess what? We did it. We didn’t get in our own way. We took the leap of faith; we took what we were offered; and we went for it. We uprooted our lives, and now…?

Now, with both of us having those first big-city job experiences under our belt, we each have jobs we love with companies we are incredibly passionate about. I work for Comcast NBCUniversal as my “day job”, writing for their Xfinity brand and occasionally interviewing celebrities, working on high-dollar media campaigns (which is super exciting!), and beyond. Andrew has given a TEDx Talk with his current company, and his company has paid for us to travel to Dallas, NYC, and beyond on the regular (pre-pandemic).

We didn’t get there immediately, of course, but without that first move to Philadelphia for those first jobs (and the first teeny-tiny apartment, and those first big, scary life changes) we wouldn’t be where we are today; and where we are today is pretty nice (and it can only go up from here)!

Of course, the leap of faith could’ve gone the other way and it could’ve failed. But that’s the risk you take. Yes, if you apply for that dream job they may reject you. You may fail at something the first time or two, sure. But always try! Apply for that job. Learn that new skill. Stop getting in your own way by letting your fear and anxiety take control.

And, if you do fail? You can always make like Aaliyah, and “dust yourself off, and try again, try again,” every single time.

Xoxo, MM.

It’s officially the unofficial start of the summer season, and there’s few places I’d rather spend it than in the Wild & Wonderful, West Virginia. From the tiny town of Lewisburg, WV to the peaceful Plum Orchard Lake, our Memorial Day was spent noshing on some of the best vegan food you’ve ever tasted and relaxing in the sunshine by the water. Let me explain:

Lost World Caverns and Lunch in Lewisburg, WV

About an hour from my mom’s home in Mount Hope area, WV, is the tiny town of Lewisburg. Dubbed the “Coolest Small-Town in America,” Lewisburg just happens to be one of my favorite places on earth, featuring the famous Lost World Caverns and a bustling downtown area full of boutiques, antiques, and eateries.

We headed out to Lewisburg yesterday, starting our day off by exploring the Lost World Caverns (which you can read about and view photos of here, since my cell-phone photos taken in the dark don’t do it much justice!), then headed downtown to enjoy a vegan lunch at The Wild Bean (one of my favorite cafés in the entire area!) We also enjoyed strolling in the downtown area and exploring all the shops, which our dog also enjoyed (since most places are very dog-friendly!)

A Peaceful Evening at Plum Orchard Lake

After an afternoon in Lewisburg, we headed back toward the Fayette/Raleigh County areas in search of some water to relax by. That said, we ended up at one of my favorite places from childhood: Plum Orchard Lake!

Wanting to avoid the crowd at Summersville and take in some real relaxation, Plum Orchard was perfect to enjoy a few brews by the water and just relax. Watching others (but not too many others) fishing and kayaking while we relaxed on the docks was so much fun, and it was a perfect end to our relaxing holiday weekend.

West Virginia is an adventurous oasis in the summertime, and not to mention all the other things you can do in the Wild & Wonderful all summer long, from Fayetteville, WV to Summersville Lake and beyond!

So, what did you do this weekend? Did any other WV’ians spend it outdoors? Let’s discuss,

Xoxo, MM.

As it turns out, I may not be an Instagram fitness-influencer (or body-builder), but I’ve found exceedingly simple and effective ways to keep my whole body fit throughout the years. From working three jobs in college to working a full-time day job now (plus multiple “side-hustles”), I don’t always have the time to go to the gym and create ridiculously complex weight-lifting and workout routines— however, I do have time to do the basics (usually), and I wanted to share a few tips. Let’s dive in:

Simple exercise tips for full-body fitness

To start, it probably goes without saying that moving your body is important. We weren’t made to sit for hours upon hours at a time, and it’s important for circulatory and heart-health to keep moving. So, I’ve found that even just 15 – 30 minutes a day (every day if you can, 3-5 times a week at least) of brisk walking or “jogging” (if possible, don’t over-extend or do anything that hurts your knee or ankle joints!) helps keep me in a moderate level of cardiac fitness all the time.

TL;DR? You don’t have to train to run a marathon to keep your heart basically healthy. Focus on eating right and walking 15 – 30 minutes a day every day (keeping up a brisk pace), and it can go a long way for basic full-body fitness!

Additionally, I truly never have time for intense or complicated weight training routines, so finding fast, no-equipment ways to tone my entire body is super important to me. That said, I’ve found that planking is the best thing you can do to tone every major muscle group in your body, even if it totally sucks sometimes.

Planking is all about form, and with good form (a good resource on form can be found here), planking is a total body burn exercise that tones your arms, legs, and core muscles with an exceedingly simple movement.

TL;DR? Planking is a great way to focus on your muscle tone fitness while going about your day-to-day routine. Have time to pop a plank for 60 seconds while watching TV? Go for it. While laying by the pool? Yep, do it! And so on and so forth.

Once again— I clearly don’t look like a body-builder or fit the Instagram fitness-influencer body archetype, but I feel good and generally maintain a consistent, healthy body composition (for me, we’re all different!) with an exceedingly simple exercise routine. All in all, it’s not about complexity as much as it is about consistency, and that’s what really matters when it comes to full-body fitness.

Xoxo, MM.

Ah, vacation— though they may seem like a reprieve from the day-to-day, they can (for some reason) become stressful in their own, fun-filled, go-go-go way. That said, a certain pressure I often associate with vacation is feeling the need to stay on routine.

Whether it’s a fitness, work, or other routine, here are some practical tips for staying on routine during vacation (and not feeling guilty when you don’t, because you know, it’s vacation.)

Simple ways to stay “on routine” on vacation (with healthy eating habits, exercise, etc— but only if you want to)

While hanging out at my family’s beach house in Outer Banks this week, I’ve found a few simple ways to stay on pace with health and fitness things (when I want to— and eat all-you-can eat crab legs and butter when I don’t want to— woohoo!)

• Bring groceries from home to avoid eating out for every meal (this also helps save money!)

• Laying by the pool? Do a plank or two while alternating tanning positions (but only if you want to.)

• Take a long walk on the beach (or in the new town you’re exploring), or bike around to find something new (and get in some light exercise.)

• Don’t. Make. Yourself. Feel. Guilty. If. You. Just. Want. To. Do. Nothing. On. Vacation. At. All. After all, it’s your vacation and you went on it for a reason.

Don’t feel guilty for not staying on routine on vacation— it’s your time to relax, after all

At the end of the day, vacation is meant to encourage relaxation, maybe adventure, and in general, a break from “normal” life. You deserve rest and relaxation any time, but especially when you take time to deliberately get away and enjoy time somewhere else.

All in all? Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and enjoy being in a home-away-from-home for a little while (no guilt needed.)

Xoxo, MM.

Ah, health and wellness— a multi-billion dollar space, the health and wellness industry has let us know that everything from an incredibly complex low-to-no-carb diet to “magic appetite suppressing lollipops” will keep us fit. But, are most of these things really sustainable in the longterm?

I don’t mean “sustainable” in the eco-conscious sense, but in the “how long can I realistically keep up with this” sense. That said, this is exactly why I keep my own healthy-eating and exercise routines ridiculously simple!

Let me explain—

A healthy diet and lifestyle that’s actually doable

*Before I go further, let me note that health the focus here: not weight-loss, and specifically not using dangerous methods to lose weight, etc. I do not condone dangerous behaviors in that space (as someone who’s struggled with disordered eating in the past), and this is about how you feel rather than how you look. Thanks!

If you’re like me (and don’t really enjoy cooking all that much, to be quite honest), then you’ll likely find that it’s easier to eat healthy, nutrient-rich meals when they’re easy and quick to access and prepare. For example, a go-to breakfast of mine lately has been a simple avocado toast with an apple on the side. That’s it. What’s more, the avocado toast I make is not at all fancy— it’s literally mashed avocado, sea-salt, black pepper, and toasted whole grain bread. Again, that’s it! It’s that easy to make. Oh, and the apple? I just grab it from the fruit bowl, give it a quick wash, and viola— it’s ready to eat. No frills, nothing crazy, and I feel satisfied and full for hours afterward (thanks to avocados’ healthy fats + apples’ fiber-rich content.)

For dinner? It may be as simple as a baked sweet potato with real butter, some steamed veggies (literally, frozen veggies I can microwave steam, since they’re healthier than canned + cheaper than “fresh” veggies), and a piece of baked chicken drizzled with olive oil and some kind of seasoning. This maybe takes 35-40 minutes to prepare (thanks to the chicken cook time, mostly), but you could meal prep a week’s worth of this in ~1 hour every Sunday and be set with a healthy, filling meal for the entire week. My husband and I do this a lot (simple meal prep), and it goes a long way in keeping us on-track with healthy, nutrient-rich mealtimes.

TL;DR? You don’t have to make excessively complicated healthy meals if you don’t want to (no matter what that fitness influencer on TikTok says!)

As for exercise, I keep that simple, too (surprise, surprise)! I don’t belong to a CrossFit gym. I don’t do some type of intensely complicated workout routine that requires tons of equipment and a premium gym membership. I just try my best to go jogging 3-5 times a week (for at least 30 minutes at a time), and meet my daily goal of 10,000 steps a day (thanks, FitBit, for helping out with that).

To keep my muscles toned, I’ll do a simple series of planks, counter-top push-ups in my kitchen, and that’s about it. I may not look “jacked”, but it gets the job done, and when you’re as busy as I am, staying healthy is much easier (and simpler) if you stick to the basics.

Sure, my method won’t make you look like a professional body-builder, but it has kept me feeling good and has remained doable/sustainable since I started prioritizing my health and wellbeing more in college. That’s been 7 years now, and I’ve found that my blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight stay consistent and stable (in a healthy range) by just keeping it simple and doing these basic, not-too-intense things daily.

So, if you’re like me, the KIS method is best— in other words, “keep it simple”, y’all.

Xoxo, MM.

Then don’t say anything at all. (AKA, why weren’t we all taught this as children?)

Looking around, things on social media, in the news, and in general can seem pretty bleak. Another post complaining about something, spreading rumors about someone, or criticizing someone you may or may not even know IRL (because, let’s face it, following someone online does not make them your best-friend, or even close acquaintance, and you may not know a thing about them or their life on the inside.)

That said, all of these “negative” posts (and sensationalist newscasts on FOX or CNN or the like, and hack-job articles online, and and and…) make me think: “Was everyone not taught the golden rules as a kid?”

By the “golden rules” I mean those essential, human truths we’re taught from a very young age that attempt to guide us into socializing more positively and being better people in general. Those are, of course, the “golden rule” itself (“treat people the way you want to be treated”), and my personal favorite: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

Looking around the world today, it seems like we’ve forgotten this rule most of all. Of course its right and okay to criticize injustice and any and all forms of oppression, but our tendency to use the Internet and other forms of popular media to randomly cut down, criticize, gossip about, etc. one another is really vile, actually.

Hear me out— if you didn’t have a single nice thing to say to someone you don’t like (say, when you bump into them at the grocery store or at work), would you say anything at all? You’d likely try to be the “better person”, keep your mouth shut, and keep your composure. So, why do those rules go out the window on the Internet, on TV, or in other forms of popular media?

Whether it’s people and paparazzi assuming they know everything about a certain celebrity (and consequentially seeking to ruin their lives, a-la the 2007 media treatment of Britney Spears, which has recently come into the spotlight), or random individuals spreading rumors about, or generally criticizing someone they “follow” (but don’t actually know at all in the real world), this whole attitude of dehumanizing and devaluing one another when we aren’t face-to-face (or even when we are) is just… bizarre. I don’t get it.

If you live to criticize others online; if you’ve made a career out of it; if you enjoy watching radical weirdos foam at the mouth on FOX News… are you alright? Genuinely, are you okay? Maybe you need to step back, take a long look at yourself and your own life, and be reminded of this golden rule:

If you don’t have anything nice to say, just don’t say anything at all.

Xoxo, MM.

As swimsuit season closes in on us all (i.e, as Memorial Day weekend creeps around the corner), it’s important to reiterate a few things:

• For one, all bodies are good bodies.

• All bodies are beach/summer/bikini bodies, if they’re on the beach, living in the summer, or wearing a bikini.

• You don’t need to bust your butt to get “ready” for swimsuit season for anyone but yourself, and only if you want to and want to focus on feeling healthy enough to propel yourself through the warmer, more active months.

That said, let’s get into my love letter to all bodies:

All bodies are good bodies: a love letter

To my body— forgive me for the times I’ve used exercise as a way to “punish” you, instead of as a way to empower and strengthen you. Forgive me for the times I’ve treated food the same way; as a guilt-inducing shame-fest rather than a moment to enjoy, savor, celebrate our sense of taste, and power you through our day. Forgive me for the times I’ve spoken poorly about you, even after you survived a pandemic, months in lockdown, and other complete “shocks” to your system. Forgive me for all the times I’ve said you weren’t “swimsuit” or “summer ready”, despite you powering and propelling me through those warm days on the river or in the lake with strength and beauty. Forgive me for it all, and never let me take you for granted again, no matter what you “look” like. Remind me to focus on how you feel, and how you empower and enable me to live the life I want to live. Remind me, remind me, remind me.

And here’s to reminding all of you to do the same this “swimsuit season”— love your body, whatever shape or size, and thank it for its beauty, grace, and power this summer season as the days grow longer and you grow stronger.

Xoxo, MM.