PSA: Our spring discovery box, the YBC Mantra Box is now available for pre-order so order yours today! (Here's what was in our winter box.) Lastly, if you have the YBC App and take a min to review it, send a screenshot of your review to Lauren and we'll send you a little something in thanks.
Off the Mat is a series on YBC that shares bits and pieces about what goes on off the yoga mat, and in my everyday life.
Wearing Lately
This Connecticut weather has been unpredictable which I suppose is par for the course. One day it's chilly and you're in a hat and scarf and five minutes later it's sunny and you feel like a snowman melting. Ramy Brook sent me this super warm cropped sweater pictured above that I love for the chillier days. It's a merino wool sweater but it's got unique distressing throughout which is more my style as I've never been drawn to anything too precious.
I am also in la-la-love with this jumpsuit. I've always been intimidated by jumpsuits, and basically any type of clothing that's not activewear, let's be real. But this summer I fell in love with rompers and figured a jumpsuit was pretty much the same thing but with pants instead of shorts. I love stores like Revolve and ShopBop because they offer free shipping and returns, so I added this jumpsuit on a whim, figuring I'd return it if it didn't fit but was so psyched to find that it fit like a glove!
Optimal training hoodie from Sweaty Betty
The back
Sweaty Betty sent this hoodie/jacket that's been great for walking the dog. I particularly love that the back dips slightly lower to cover mah bum! They also sent this hat which is perfect for covering up bed head :)
YBC shirt!
My husband gave me this YBC shirt he had made up - I love it for working out or for yoga class! I wasn't crazy about the logo on the front at first but I think I like it now? I just wish it had our website on it somewhere so people could figure out what YBC was if they were so inclined. Will have to keep thinking on this!
Make Up Lately
This past month I've been working with a make up artist to help learn how to get rid of the shine on my face in recent YouTube videos. (#youtuberprobs!) I swear, my face would look normal and then I'd step in front of those lights and yikes, shine central! Anyway, in addition to her suggestions for what to do to avoid the shine (ie new foundation for film days and powder galore), she turned me on to my new favorite everyday lipstick color, faux, which I'm wearing above. It's nothing crazy, obviously, but it's a pretty brownish-pink that I just love. I wear it with half-red liner.
Latest from Rocksbox - use yogabycandacexoxo for your free box!
Jewelry Love Lately
This month's Rocksbox was great. I loved (and wore!) every piece which was kind of a big deal for me because I usually don't wear jewelry aside from my bracelets and watch, which I never take off. Rocksbox is a jewelry subscription box where, for $19/mo, they send you three pieces. You take a survey to let them know your style, add a bunch of items to your wish list, and a stylist will choose some from your list and send them your way. Once you get them, you have the option to either purchase them at a discounted price or wear for a few weeks and return whenever you want your next set. If you want to try it out, you can use coupon code yogabycandacexoxo and get one month for free!
Reading Lately
I'm not reading any books right now - I finished my last one and it was so good I had to take a break, haha. I feel like there should be a word for when you finish a book that was so good you feel certain that the next book will pale in comparison so you stop reading for a bit. Instead, I've just been reading things online - here are a few things I liked:
I just stumbled upon this blog post this morning about ad revenue and sponsored posts as a blogger. I thought it was really well written - especially the part about many people thinking blogging is a hobby and therefore disagreeing with monetization strategies. It certainly is a hobby for some, but for those of us who are earning a living off of it, it's an actual (awesome) job. But lately, ads haven't been doing well because of things like ad blockers, which has caused a lot of bloggers to either figure out a new way to earn revenue (hello, YBC Video Bundles and YBC Mantra Box) and/or bump up the sponsored posts. It's hard to find a balance when you're a start-up trying to grow and thrive, but I think we at YBC do a pretty good job of aligning ourselves with companies that share the same mission. This week marks Lauren's first full year with YBC and we have grown so much within the last year, that I can't wait to see what 2016 brings!
I'm closely following the Humans of New York page as Brandon Stanton shares interviews with refugees who have been granted entry into the USA. Each story is just as heartbreaking as the next and has helped to open my eyes to the atrocities that are going on in the world and offered great perspective to just how good so many of us have it.
Thought this was fascinating - why little kids in Japan are so independent.
Self watering urban garden from Glowpear
Traveling Lately
Because I have had a lot of traveling within the last two months, I wound up giving my Glowpear self-watering urban garden to my mother-in-law who would take care of it for me. It self waters for about three to five days or so but I had travel that lasted longer than that, so it went to her house. She is absolutely loving it. It smells incredible, she says, and the herbs are thriving.
Speaking of travel, I'm off to Los Angeles for the week of Christmas. I'm so looking forward to it - the warm weather, the sunshine, and of course time with my husband, who I haven't seen in a while (he has a seasonal job in Michigan).
Watching Lately
I am just getting caught up with Homeland (so freaking good!) and season two of Transparent recently started, which I'm looking forward to checking out. I also recently watched No Escape with Owen Wilson (is this his first drama?) - it was entertaining but nothing to write home about. I also rented Southpaw which was excellent.
From snapchat: @yogaby_candace
Mood Lately
Things are weird. I vary between being super upbeat and motivated and totally run down and exhausted. I feel like I have a lot on my plate and don't get me wrong - I love everything on my plate between the book and the blog and the travel - but I sometimes feel like there isn't enough time in the day to get it all done. I feel a little guilty because there are things I've been wanting to do - like visit with my gram, who will turn 91 in February - but I keep putting it off because "I'm busy." (Although I did get to visit her last week.) Sometimes I have to remind myself to take a step back, put things in perspective and to not to forget what matters most. For the most part I am staying positive and with as little stress as possible, but there are some bad days here and there, I won't lie to you about that!
YBC Book
Working On
Last weekend was really productive for me. It was a gorgeous sunny day spent outside working on the book with the pup. I need another solid month of days like that to get the book done, haha.
Looking forward to:
Warm LA weather and doing our second lifestyle shoot for the book!
Worried about:
Well not that I need one more thing on my plate, but I have to give notice in January as to whether or not I'll renew the lease here in Connecticut. And January is right around the corner, what the heck?! While I do love the space I'm in now, I feel it's a little expensive for what it is, it's also kind of in a dangerous neighborhood, and I don't know - I'm not crazy about Connecticut winters... somewhere warmer is calling my name. We'll see. So - that's kind of misleading to file this under the 'what I'm worried about' section. I'm not worried about the upcoming move, just not quite sure where to go or whether I'll find a great space to live and work within my budget. Fingers crossed, send me good vibes!
I'd love to know what's going on in your life outside of your yoga practice. How's work? How's your relationship? How's life in general? What have you been watching, reading or buying? What are you up to for the holidays?