I'm back from my third year at Alt Summit (that's short for Altitude Summit) – a conference that attracts hundreds (this year it seemed like a thousand) design bloggers and creative entrepreneurs from all over the world. The themes that typically course through the hallways and conference rooms of Alt Summit are as follows: be your most authentic self, make connections, keep it real, say no, say yes, do more, and dream big. They all seem like total cliches unless you're actually there – then you really do become inspired to do more and dream big.

But in my recap I want to talk about all the things I, and others, lost their shit over at Alt Summit.



1. A few people lost their shit over the fact that I packed just one small backpack for the entire event. Yup. In an attempt to attain a minimalist lifestyle I decided to pack three outfits and one pair of boots to Alt Summit – all of which would fit in one small backpack.



2. Everyone lost their shit. Literally. Two days in and I wasn't feeling well. at all. And the fact that the bathrooms in the super fancy Grand America smelled like Nepal made me think everyone else wasn't feeling too hot either. My guts were audibly rumbling and tumbling inside my body the whole time. Was it something I ate? Was it the altitude? It was a total mystery until my friend Claire shared this rumor that at conferences they sprinkle this chemical over your food that acts as a laxative. Apparently, they do it to avoid food poisoning in case any of the food they're serving is bad. I believe it.



3. Everyone lost their shit over each other. The best part of Alt Summit is seeing all your old online buddies and making new ones. And then hitting up all the photobooths with each other. I met some super amazing and inspiring ladies this year – too many to list but I'll be sure to share throughout the year.



4. I lost my shit over The Equals Record (Offline) Magazine. I became smitten with Miya and Elisabeth at Alt Summit last year. Shortly thereafter they turned a big dream into a reality and started an online space for women to really dig in, explore, and share the complex stories of careers, life, relationships, and culture. Well, this year they launched a sneak peek of the Equals Record quarterly print magazine and I couldn't be more thrilled. I flipped through the pages immediately but decided to savor each and every word on the plane ride home.



5. We all lost our shit over Stefan Sagmeister. I've had a long time design crush on Stefan Sagmeister – so when I saw him appear on the Alt schedule as a key note speaker I became consumed with excitement. I saw him speak years ago at my alma mater and was really looking forward to seeing him speak again. I'm going to write more about everything I learned from his talk (that had EVERYONE captivated) over at the Braid Blog tomorrow. After his keynote I wanted to say hi and maybe get a photo but I chickened out (and my stomach wouldn't stop flipping over on itself). So when I spotted him at the mini parties that evening I knew it was going to be my only chance. I approached him and said "I saw you speak years ago at OU. I have a huge design crush on you – you're work means so much to me. I was too shy to get a photo then. Can I get one now?" He obliged but only if he could give me a kiss too. DONE.

Were you at Alt Summit this year? What do you lose your shit over? 

• Labels:
• Altitude Summit
• blogging
• networking
• Stefan Sagmeister


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My friend / client / witch-doctor Claire recently hosted a cleansing workshop / 1-day juice cleanse. Now, I tried a 3-day juice fast in the Fall and only made it 1-day before the caffeine withdrawals became too intense and I threw in the towel for a cup of coffee and some sweet potato hash browns.

So Claire promised me if I would try again she would hold my hand through the whole thing by coming over and watching Wes Anderson movies with me all day. My rad ass employee, Kristin, thought that sounded like a good time and came over with her collection of Wes Anderson DVDs. And Jeremy is always along for the ride. So the four of us made an epic fort in my living room (complete with mosquito netting), sipped on juice and watched Wes Anderson movies all day long.


This was our fort / massive palette and where we hunkered down all day. Amazing, right? 

We carefully paired our juices with the color palettes of the movies. We all began feeling pretty superior in our decision to not eat any solid food for the day. But around 1PM we all started feeling a little antsy and had a hard time watching anyone eat anything at any point in time.







Around 6PM we took a break to go do a Yin yoga class taught by Claire. It was a beautiful distraction from all the not eating we had been doing that day. Our last "juice" for the evening was a veggie potassium broth that we heated up and ate with a spoon.

If you know me in real life you have probably heard me describe myself as an eater – so the one day cleanse was pretty much all I could tolerate. It was a great way to detox, hydrate and flood all the cells in my body with all the good enzymes juice has to offer. I surprisingly woke up the next morning feeling like I could go another day on juice. But I'm not going to lie – I was beyond happy to break my fast with some good ol' breakfast.  I was so immensely grateful for every single bite, chew and swallow.

So here's where I've got to give a shout-out to Claire and her Vidya juice cleanse. If you're local to OKC Claire can provide fresh cold-pressed juices for 1-day, 3-day or 5-day cleanse programs. She also hooks you up with loads of knowledge, supplements, and tea. If you're not local and have your own juicer you can hire Claire to coach you through a cleanse. She begins with a consultation, either in person or over the phone depending on your location, to discuss your health history, goals, and needs to craft a special juice-based cleansing plan for you. She provides all the steps, recipes, shopping lists, body care practices, and food plans to help you transition in and out of your cleanse. She's also available the whole time by phone, email and Skype for support, accountability and questions. Her coaching offering is $200.

You can email Claire at claire@vidyacleanse.com for more info. – you can also sign up for her newsletter at www.vidyacleanse.com (which will soon be a full functioning site with a blog, recipes, etc.)

Dislcaimer: while Claire is a client of mine, she did not pay me for a feature here – all of my glowing opinions and recommendations are my own.  All Vidya juice images are by the ever talented Greer Inez. 

• Labels:
• friends
• juice
• juice cleanse
• vidya
• wes anderson


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So apparently you guys are interested in my super limited wardrobe. And with that you've inspired me to share what I'm wearing more often.

The Ben Sherman Jacket
I  paid full price for this jacket while my sister and I were on a business trip in Lawrence, Kansas. We had just launched Braid and I just knew this jacket would be the perfect compliment for my new business woman badass self. It was worth every penny.
I donated about three or four nine-to-five business jackets (and matching skirts) from my past life. 

The Ramones T-Shirt
In the seven years I've had this shirt I've been tempted to get rid of it at least a dozen times. My ex-husband owns a record store and he would get these bizarre shipments of band t-shirts from Kazakhstan. This Ramones t-shirt was in the mix. It's ill-fitting, a bit too wide in the shoulders and a bit narrow around the hips, but something about it makes the cut every time I go through a closet purge.
I donated all my other band T-shirts. Even the ones that held sentimental value. Even the hand-printed Shins t-shirt I got from a show they played in a basement with an audience of 10 people. I don't miss them and my memories of those concerts are still just as special and intact. 

The Belt 
I hijacked this belt from Jeremy. It's the perfect orange-y brown color and goes perfectly with all my black boots.
I donated all my wide waist belts from Forever 21 that I thought were so cute ... when I was 21. 

The SkarGorn Jeans 
Yup. These are still the same raw denim jeans I'm wearing for six months straight.
I donated at least 6 pairs of expensive designer denim jeans that I never wear but hung on to because they were so expensive once upon a time. They were worthless in my wardrobe because I never wore them.

The Frye Engineer Boots
They make me feel tough. And like I should own a Triumph motorcycle.
I think I'll probably keep these boots forever.

The Hair
It makes people curious – which I love. If you guys have questions leave them in the comments and I'll be happy to answer.

• Labels:
• anatomy of an outfit
• blue seven
• clean start project
• dreadlocks
• dreads
• what we wear


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There's something about travel ... where when you go back to a place you've been before it every so slightly feels a bit like home.

We were scheduled to do just a little bit more trekking on our last day in the High Tatras on the Polish side. Even with a full day of rest the day before, my beat up knees weren't going to have it. So as we walked out of the Morski Oko area I told our guide that I was going to have to catch a shuttle back to Zakopane, that I would just meet up with the rest of the group there. He was very resistant to let me go (he's a younger by-the-book kind of guide) – but I knew my knees couldn't take another step down off a craggily rock. He agreed to let me go only if someone would come with me. I didn't want to cut Jeremy's trek short but obviously he stepped up to escort me out of the mountains.

Together we took a bus back to Zakopane. We retrieved our larger backpacks from the hotel we left them at and grabbed a cup of glorious coffee. Together Jeremy and I made a list of everything that hurt.



Things That Hurt on Kathleen: 
• heel blisters • side of left knee (consistent) • side of right knee (stabbing pain on descents only) • right shoulder (from bearing weight on walking sticks) • left heel bone • right big toe • left hip • chapped lips • bruised ego

Things That Hurt on Jeremy: 
• upper back (from backpack) • knuckle • headache • chapped runny nose • eyes • elbow • right hip • swollen hands and fingers • calves • achy knees • shin splints • achilles tendon (both feet) • side ankle (left foot) • big toes • balls of feet • butt (that thing where you have a hard time "going" on vacation)

We also made a list of gear we need: 
• Rain jacket for Kathleen • New boots for Kathleen • 50L backpack for Kathleen (my backpack is tiny) • Rain gear for backpacks • Walking sticks

Clearly we weren't entirely prepared, mentally or physically, for how hard this trek would be. I underestimated the physicality of it when I saw that we would be staying at relatively low altitude. I also had no idea how cold it would be for the middle of the summer (the photos online showed people enjoying the sun and trekking in shorts) – we were caught in freezing rain and high winds many a time.  It was then that I told Jeremy we need more oceans and beaches in our lives. As of right now we have three weeks of beachy goodness planned for the first part of our summer in 2013. 

After about two hours of hanging out in a coffee shop the rest of our group caught up with us. We took another shuttle into Krakow and from there a train to our hotel located a couple miles outside of the city center. We showered, Jeremy had a traumatic poop, and we met up with the rest of our group for a guided tour of Krakow and a farewell dinner.

I was happy to be out of the mountains and back in a familiar city that I was growing increasingly fond of.



























Jeremy and I decided to spend a few more days in Krakow before making our journey back home to the middle of the States.

• Labels:
• adventure
• Europe
• krakow
• Poland
• trekking


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Spoiler alert: by drinking lots of tea. 

MY HISTORY WITH COFFEE
I've been trying to remember when my love affair with coffee began. Neither of my parents were coffee drinkers when I was a kid (we were more Coca-Cola people) – so coffee wasn't a familiar thing I grew up around. I think it was in highschool. My best friend's mom was a nurse who worked the night shift and kept a large pot brewing at all hours of the day. But she also kept pints of Haagen Dazs coffee ice cream in the fridge. I knew I liked the smell of coffee but I didn't like the taste so much until you loaded it up with cream, sugar and transformed it into a desert.

Then I went through a phase in highschool where I would hang out at The Kettle – a 24-hour truck-stop style diner – with all of my brother's trench-coat-wallet-chain-wearing friends. They would chain smoke clove cigarettes and drink black coffee until 4AM. In order to not be the kid sister falling asleep in the booth I ordered coffee. And of course, I loaded it up with packets of tiny plastic tubs of creamer and sugar.

In college I would frequent a local French bakery after my art history class with a few friends. We would order mocha lattes (with banana syrup) and bagels. I also continued my love affair with coffee ice cream when Starbucks came out with their own line of frozen goodies. I would eat tubs of the stuff while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

It wasn't until I got my first job out of college that I understood the need and delight that a simple Americano, with cream and no sugar, could bring. Jeremy and I eventually got our very own French press and started grinding our own beans. Every morning we would enjoy two cups of coffee with breakfast while we read our RSS feeds and watched the sun wake up. Life was good.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END
About 3 or 4 months ago I was hired by my now friend Claire to do some branding for her brand new juice cleanse company. And because I love supporting my clients, and because I'm somewhat of a masochist, I decided to try a guided 3-day cleanse. So the day before the cleanse I ate as much as possible and had not just two cups of coffee but four.

The morning of the cleanse I was feeling pretty self-righteous about spending the next three days flooding my cells with green juice goodness. And then around 11AM the headache began. At 3PM we went and saw Finding Nemo in 3D with our nephews and I thought I might die. I've blocked the rest of the day from my memory.

But I do remember waking up the next morning feeling like I was quite literally dying. I looked at Jeremy and he looked like he was in some pretty serious pain too. Now, I've never tried heroine but I felt like Leonardo DiCaprio in Basketball Diaries coming down off a serious addiction. I went to the kitchen and made a spinach, avocado and banana smoothie and a large batch of French pressed coffee. We instantly felt better.

Now, Jeremy is usually in charge of making our coffee in the morning. And at that point he decided that we had a problem and that one cup of coffee in the morning was perfectly acceptable. For the first few weeks I was sad and grouchy when I got to the bottom of my first, and only, cup of the morning.

I should also note that at some point within the last year we switched from half-and-half to putting coconut milk (from the can) in our coffee. I think this is a key component to how we quit coffee – as you'll read later.


THE END OF COFFEE
Claire announced that she would be hosting a one-day juice cleanse and workshop in the New Year just as I was coming down from a holiday binge of caramel popcorn and cookies. I had already committed to my second Whole30 but thought a one-day cleanse would help detoxify my system quite nicely. This time I wasn't going to make the four-cups-of-coffee the day before mistake. Claire made me promise that I would ween myself off caffeine altogether before she would even allow me to sign up for her cleanse.

I gave myself 5 days to quit caffeine. It looked like this: 
Day 1: One cup of black tea in the morning / green tea in the afternoon
Day 2: One cup of black tea in the morning / herbal tea in the afternoon
Day 3: One cup of black tea in the morning / herbal tea in the afternoon
Day 4: One cup of green tea in the morning / herbal tea in the afternoon
Day 5: Herbal tea only
Day 6: Juice cleanse (herbal tea only)
* I enjoy each cup of tea with coconut milk – it helps satisfy that coffee craving a bit. 

At the beginning of the week I suffered from headaches. They became more mild as the week progressed. The day of the cleanse I was headache-free and it was significantly easier to manage fasting on juice when I wasn't also having serious caffeine withdrawals. The next morning we had a cup of herbal tea and since then we've enjoyed one cup of caffeinated tea (either black which has more caffeine or green which has less) a day.

It wasn't until the headaches went away that I realized I actually felt better without my morning coffee. And I never imagined being one of those people. But the truth is, I feel more hydrated (which is one of my resolutions), less anxious and more even energy. And the cleaner I eat and the more I deepen my yoga practice, the more sensitive I become to the signals my body is sending me.

I learned that more than anything, I took comfort in the ritual of having a hot mug in my hands every morning – but I still get that with tea. Multiple times a day, even! Leo Babatua (one of my heroes - the author of Zen Habits) is a big proponent of slowing down and staying present with a cup of tea. He even says something along the lines of "nobody is fighting wars when sipping on tea."

Just typing this is making me mourn my coffee a bit (so I got up and made another cup of tea). I really wasn't even planning on quitting coffee when I did. And I think I'll still treat myself to a nice cup of joe every now and then. But for now, tea is where it's at.

Have you ever quit coffee? How did you feel afterwards? 

• Labels:
• coffee
• green tea
• tea
• what we eat


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Wow. It's been a long time since my last Anatomy of an Outfit post. The truth is – I've narrowed my wardrobe down to about 40 pieces total – including footwear. And of those 40 pieces I basically wear the outfit you see above every single day.

I really want to talk about this idea of narrowing down, buying quality pieces, and wearing the same thing every day... but I'm even more excited to chat about this idea of showing up and being seen. The internal dialogue started with me trying to decide whether or not to go to Alt Summit again this year. I wasn't invited back to speak (despite the big crowd and positive response I received at my round table last year) and to be honest, my feelings were a bit bruised. I also got bogged down with a bit of comparison-trap anxiety last year. But I put my big girl panties on and realized that I have tons of friends (and friends-to-be) attending and speaking – I want to be there to hang out with and support them. And the truth is, if you can put your own ego and insecurities in check, Alt Summit is one of the most uplifting tight-knit conferences out there. You don't leave without some radical growth and a big roaring fire under your ass to make things happen.

I also came to realize that showing up and being seen is pretty much my job description when it comes to being a part-owner of Braid Creative. While my business partner and sister, Tara, is all about logistics, methodology, organization and holding down the fort – I'm all about getting us out there, making impressions, taking risks, moving forward, and forging authentic connections and relationships with other dream-seekers. We call this hot spark and slow burn (which are you? you can read more about that here).

Then there is the work / life balance that tells us to say no (there's lots of online chatter about protecting your time and resources) but I'm all about saying yes. When you say yes, show up, and be seen you open yourself up to really making some shit happen. You don't have to work much harder than simply being there to open doors and move mountains.

I recently received this comment / question in one of the Braid ECourses in which I tell the students to practice saying yes for a while:

I'm curious to hear from people who have anxiety around saying yes to all social engagements/putting themselves out there online. Kathleen, do you or others have tips on how to fake it 'til you make it in person? Online interaction makes me a little nervous, too, but I'm definitely way more comfortable with that. So, I always feel a little disingenuous because I'm not nearly as outgoing in real life as I'd like to be or as I'd like to project.

Here is my response – and some of my own advice I took when deciding whether or not to go to Alt Summit again:

It's funny because as I was writing the "say yes" section of this ECourse I was going through a time in my life where I really needed to start pulling back and saying "no" a little more. You're not alone in your social anxiety. I have it EVERY time I go to a conference, have a speaking gig or even hit "publish". I had it the day before this ECourse went live!

So let me share a few questions I ask myself before saying "yes" or "no" to an event (and by event I mean party, conference, coffee meeting, potential client meeting, blog post, etc.) - maybe it will help you with your anxiety:

• Will this event connect me to people who can lift me up?

• Will I be able to uplift others with my gifts of knowledge and expertise at this event?

• What is one thing I want to come out of this event having learned?
• Will attending this event deepen my own understandings and expertise?

My main point is that if you go into an event with a very specific goal it makes it a little less intimidating. Also, just depending on your mood or anxiety flip your worries around by asking what you have to offer or what the event has to offer you. It could be a good barometer for saying yes or no.

This also applies to the online world. Are you reading blogs that uplift you? What kinds of things do you want to bring to the table online? What do you want people to know, do and feel? I hope that helps a little. 

So with that I'm going to Alt Summit. I'm looking forward to connecting with people who have rad ideas on how to be creative entrepreneurs, bloggers, and live-what-they-lovers. I'm looking forward to hopefully uplifting others with my own radical way of living out loud. I can't wait to capture, shape, and share everything I learn when I return. If you're going to Alt Summit be sure to say hello! I promise to give you a big hug. 

If you're not going to Alt Summit I encourage you to sign up for a conference, retreat, workshop or something in 2013 that will allow you to show up and be seen. 

P.S. Tomorrow is your last day to sign up for our Braid ECourse Shape Up Your Content: Tame Your Ideas and Tell People How To Buy You. It's for creatives who feel scattered and overwhelmed with ideas online and off. Oftentimes, it's those very ideas that leave you feeling a bit paralyzed and stuck. We designed this course to help get you unstuck. The course is $75 and is in-session from Jan. 11-20 (that gives you two weekends to complete it). Register here.

• Labels:
• Altitude Summit
• anatomy of an outfit
• braid creative
• ECourse


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Let's see. We last left off with climbing Mt. Rysy, the highest mountain in Poland, only to leave me with shattered knees and pride alike.

The next morning we woke up and I knew from the get-go that I would not be hiking that day. We ate breakfast together and I watched as the rest of the team laced up their boots and got their packs together. I noticed another member of our trekking group, Damien, still had his sneakers on – he quietly opted to stay behind. He was battling blisters and busted knees too. I sent Jeremy off with the nice camera and looked forward to a day of laying low.

I took a shower and washed my hair. I sat out in the sun under clear skies, ate my packed lunch and read Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. I became restless as I watched hikers come and go – so I decided to lace up my boots, grab the trekking poles I had borrowed and made my way up the trail from the cabin to a paved path that would lead me to the largest lake in Poland – Morski Oko. As I was taking the short walk a man with his family asked me a question in Polish. I didn't assume he was speaking to me until he kind of rolled his eyes, as if I was being rude by not answer. I felt proud of myself when I responded in Polish "I don't understand. Do you speak English?" He responded with an apologetic laugh, said no, and went along his way. At the end of the trail it would be an easy (and flat) 1.5 hour walk to the lake. I watched crowds and crowds of people making the light trek. It seemed as if every family in Poland was on a pilgrimage to that lake. My anxiety and knees told me to turn around. And so I did.

I returned to the cabin and found Damien sitting out at one of the picnic tables – checking his phone and eating his lunch. Around noon we decided it was an appropriate time to order some beers. We drank our Tyskies (kind of like Budweiser, I suppose – nothing fancy) and chatted about life. We were expecting the rest of our group to come rolling back in around 4:30PM and we became a bit like puppies waiting for our masters to come home. We kept our eyes on the trail as the clouds started rolling in. Around 5:30 it started pouring rain. It wasn't until 7:00PM we saw the first of our group start to make it back in.

Damien and I quickly ordered a bottle of vodka and had shots lined up for everyone in our group who had been trekking in the cold, pouring rain for over an hour. I was so happy to see Jeremy's face. He was pretty miserable - lacking any proper rain gear. He showered, dried off and changed. We all met up for dinner (fried cheese on top of cheesy macaroni) and shared beers, more vodka and conversation.

Jeremy showed me his adventure on the camera:








He saw waterfalls and the Valley of the Five Polish Tams. He made a steep ascent up Kozi Wierch, the highest peak lying entirely in Poland. He captured some amazing views of the Tatras and on the way back they stopped at Morskie Oko – the largest lake in Poland. He said on the way back they got caught in the storm and found themselves in a miserable, soaked hike home. It proved to be a challenging day – maybe even more so than the hike up Rysy. He was glad to be greeted at the cabin with a shot of vodka.



It's easy to see now that all the cheese, bread, and vodka wasn't helping us up any mountains and certainly wasn't helping me heal my wounds. But damn... it was a really nice way to end the day.

Next up: one last day of trekking, then to Krakow. 

• Labels:
• adventure
• Europe
• Poland
• trekking


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The truth is... I really didn't know what I was in for.

I love a good experiment, so when Blue Seven challenged me to wear the same pair of raw denim jeans for 6 months they didn't have to twist my arm to do it. I enthusiastically volunteered. And just to be clear ... I'm not being paid to do this. I suppose I just really liked the idea of streamlining my wardrobe. I've been toying with the idea of having a uniform in order to make less (mundane) choices so I can save my brain power for more life-changing-world-rocking decisions.

Two days into the challenge I noticed that the front pockets on my denim kept coming up out of the pocket hole. It wasn't until 6 weeks later I had my mom sew them down – something I should have done much sooner. Those little annoyances can really add up. And four weeks in I unexpectedly started my period wearing these jeans – I've never dashed for a bathroom faster. A blood stain in a pair of jeans you can't wash for 6 months is not cool. Over Christmas break I was playing Cards Against Humanity with my family and laughed so hard I almost peed myself. Again. You don't want to have any bodily liquid accidents in raw denim you've committed to wearing everyday and not washing for 6 months.

I just never thought it all the way through. But I'm glad I'm doing it. There's nothing cooler than making new friends at the coffee shop when you see someone else sporting the Clean Start leather badge on their jeans (not pictured - but we got this leather belt loop with the clean start logo on it). There's solidarity and community in it. I also love the simplicity of not thinking about what I'm going to wear every single day. It makes me want to trim my wardrobe even further. We can do so much more with less.

I've now been rocking these jeans for 3 months. Half-way there. I'm surprised at how well the jeans are holding their shape. In some ways I wish I was getting more signs of wear and tear – but I still have 3 more months to go.

Here are some other looks from the 2 month shoot that I'm digging:

Sara, Matt, and Stella are the cutest little family. They own a little grocery store & deli downtown that is dedicated to locally-sourced produce and they have the most amazing spice bar ever. I'm there so often, I should probably apply for a part-time job. We even did a creative entrepreneur feature on them as the modern day mom and pop business over at Braid. Check that out here.


I don't know Matt but I love how he's rocking the paint. I can't wait to see how his raw denim evolves over the next few months. He inspires me to live a little more in my own jeans.


For not really knowing him that well, Ben is one of my favorite people. He works in the denim department at Blue Seven and just knows his stuff. He tweets to me when a new pair of jeans comes in that he thinks I'll like. And when I do go in he remembers my size (but not in a creepy way). He's super friendly and has a great eye for style.  He also keeps Jeremy company when I'm trying on my 30th pair of jeans.


You might recognize Jacob as the boy model from the photo shoot we modeled in together for Shop Good. He is notoriously good at breaking in raw denim. I like to imagine him rolling down grassy hills on the daily in order to get them beat up like that.

For more shots from the Blue Seven Clean Start Project check out the rest of the photos here.

• Labels:
• blue seven
• clean start project
• jeans
• raw denim
• shopping local


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Last week we celebrated that time of year between Christmas and the New Year with an open house at Braid Creative. I felt like a legit blogger and party thrower when we had a full on photo booth complete with props and all. I also felt like a legit business owner – and was delighted to welcome a ton of dream clients and Braid cheerleaders who have hired and supported us over the past year – and those were only the locals. We'll be posting the rest of our photo booth snaps to our Facebook page later today (be sure to like us over there!).







I'm typically grateful (every. single. day) for Tara, Kristin, and Liz when it comes to keeping Braid the well-oiled, good-looking, and super-smart machine that it is (for example, this photo booth wouldn't have happened without them). But these photos with Jeremy remind me that I couldn't have done any of it without him. He continues to be my biggest cheerleader and pillar of support as I navigate through the uncertain waters creative entrepreneurship brings.

And that last photo... he pretty much makes me laugh that hard every single day.

• Labels:
• braid creative
• Holiday
• jeremy and kathleen
• Photo Booth


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I wrote my resolutions and intentions for 2013 before I had a proper chance to celebrate and say farewell to 2012. While I love some good memories I've never given too much weight to the past – I don't  I don't live there anymore. But I think 2012 is worth revisiting one last time – and it will help give me some much-needed reflection and closure on a year that flew by at the speed of light.

2012: BRAID CREATIVE 
Braid Creative had amazing financial success, we hired two full time employees, and as our expertise deepened our dream clients continued finding their way to us. We went from hanging our hats on branding to discovering that we're also really good at business visioning. Through our method, that we relied on for uncovering authentic brands, we found that we were digging deep and helping creatives hone in on their core genius and build a business.

But there were times when I felt stretched thin or simply consumed by Braid. At times my preoccupation with it left me feeling kind of one-dimensional. But toward the end of 2012 I felt a bit of a shift. It was as if I had seen Braid through its infancy and she was finally sleeping through the night.

I'm so excited about what 2013 has to bring for us. We're continuing to work on our Braid ECourses and are in the beginning stages of developing a workshop (!!!). I can't wait to share with you who we've recruited to help us execute them. I also want to write a couple EBooks and continue to find new ways to reach and help as many creative entrepreneurs who just want to live what they love.

2012: JEREMY GOES TO GRAD SCHOOL
Jeremy was accepted into grad school and started working on his Masters in Electrical Engineering full time. It was fun having him home so much – between insanely complicated homework he would bring us Braid gals tea or pick up lunch. Jeremy has two more semesters of school left and will begin working on his thesis this Spring.

2012: EASTERN EUROPE
I'm still recapping our first experience in Europe. I learned so much on this trip – the biggest lesson being that I no longer crave being completely "unplugged". In retrospect, I wish I had been capturing, shaping, and sharing the experience as it was happening. I just have too many demands on my time and am too excited about sharing what's happening right now to dedicate a chunk of time to retelling a story that's already happened.

2012: YOGA & PALEO
I turned 30 this year and with that stepped it up as far as my health is concerned. I continued to work out daily but ditched long cardio sessions for lifting heavy weights combined with short high intensity interval training workouts. Then toward the latter part of the year I ditched all of that for yoga and rock climbing - which leaves me feeling much more aligned. I'm looking forward to deepening my yoga practice in 2013.

Another big thing we did for our health this year was the Whole30. For a month (after returning from Europe) we ditched alcohol, sugar, grains, legumes and diary for a whole month. We lived on fish, veggies, avocados and coconut oil – and it was amazing. We adopted a mostly Paleo lifestyle and are starting our second Whole30 today.

ALSO IN 2012: 
• I facilitated a round table discussion at Alt Summit and loved being roomies with Danielle
• Jeremy and Tara surprised me with a big Braid office makeover
• Jeremy and I bought two new rental / investment properties (also see Landlord Matters)
• I got on a boat with a stranger in Long Beach.
• I burned some sage.
• I tried to find a little balance and alignment. It's still a daily intention.
• I celebrated my 30th birthday in Brooklyn with Jeremy and my brother.
• I decided to become an urban cowgirl. 
• Then I dreaded my hair. 
• I blogged about my vagina.
• I hung out with friends in Chicago and admired the architecture.
• I embraced my Leo rising.
• I ran away from Auschwitz in a storm.
• I climbed the tallest mountain in Poland.
• I was invited to Mighty Summit and had an amazing time.
• I hung out in Palm Springs with 20 amazing women. 
• I prepped for the end of the world. 

Thank you 2012, for all the lessons you taught me. There is more than I can list. Looking forward to all that 2013 brings.

• Labels:
• 2012 goals
• 2012 recap
• braid creative


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