From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed, I am back-to-back-to-back scheduled.

I didn't realize why people have trouble falling asleep - and many times, it's because they're so overscheduled, they never process anything that happens during the day.

But once your head hits the pillow, your brain has other plans other than sleep, amirite? 😵‍💫😵‍💫

Anyway, this past weekend, me and my also over-committed mom-friend, Meghan went to Asheville, NC for a girls getaway.

Her first time there (eeeek! my favorite).

We did the normal things one does touring Asheville - the Biltmore, Sunset Terrace at Grove Park Inn, shopping at Tops Shoes around downtown, eating our weight in chocolate, taking in the super hippie and laid back vibes in a mountain town steeped in art and its very own culture.

I purposely only scheduled 2 things the whole weekend so we can discover what we could at our own pace.

The last thing we wanted to do was to rush around smushing every activity we could in and leave no time for real magic. 💫

Here's where the enchantment stepped in...😁😍

On Sunday, we went to a Yoga Hike up Bearwallow Mountain Trail - it's about 40 minutes outside of Asheville.

It had rained that morning. We were at an altitude of where we were kind of up in the clouds and we hiked up to the top with a small group of other wanderers.

Our guide was cheery and had just moved here from Colorado. When we got to the peak which was the tallest summit of Hickory Nut Gorge, there was a beautiful clearing where we got to do an hour of guided yoga overlooking the beautiful Blue Ridge and Smoky mountains.

It was windy but unusually warm for the season. I started to feel that reconnection that I ALWAYS feel in Asheville and really, in the mountains.

The air is so clear. So cleansing. The vistas were so vast and the clouds had their very own attitude moving in and out - fogging up the view and quickly clearing it all out.

We descended back down the mountain and headed back towards town.

We made a decision that we were NOT going to make reservations for dinner (a VERY dangerous thing to do in Asheville, a foodie town with long wait times).

In fact, we made a decision to not make any plans and see where the evening took us.

We walked out our hotel, picked a direction, and stumbled on a new spa concept that offered express massages with a social twist called Recline and Unwind. Uh, YES!

Then, as we walked around, we noticed the ALWAYS busy with a line out the door famous chocolate lounge French Broad Chocolate only had a few people in the line. Um, YES! Hare Magic was turned ON!

As we wandered around as some of the shops started to close for the night, we found a sipping tea place called High Climate Tea. If you know me, I'm a straight-up tea pusher. I LOVE a good tea.

Meg and I sat down for a tea tasting from a man named Elowan (his spiritual name), the most interesting world traveler.

We were just giddy by this point. No plans. Nowhere to go. Only experiences that matched exactly where we were.

Tupelo Honey, the famous brunch place that had reservations booked forever - finally had a spot for dinner.

We sat at the bar, ate some delicious biscuits, and just talked and talked as we did the entire weekend.

Dreams, ideas, gratitude, things that made us laugh, wishes, our families and friends, Amy Schumer, and just a recognition of the magic from this weekend and this place.

I could tell that our bodies were in a really calm and joyful state.

Refreshed, nourished, recharged, full of possibility.

We did what any mama on vacation would do, we went back to our hotel room to binge Killer Sally and crush our chocolates in bed.

All weekend long, I kept thinking about curating experiences for other professionals looking to truly be recharged and providing tools to help them as they return back to life.

The benefits and results of this kind of intentional wellness practices (even if it's in your own backyard) are undeniable. I grappled with whether I had the capacity to hold this kind of space for others...

More on that later.

INVITATION: Will you go scrap one of your scheduled plans and let your day or evening or even walk during lunch take you somewhere unexpected?

I kept thinking about creating new neural networks that only happen when you do something NEW. It doesn't have to be big. Maybe it's taking a right where you normally would make a left.

And perhaps setting the intention to open yourself for something new and exciting.

Email me back or send me a DM and let me know how this goes for you. I'd love to feature you in a future post.

As for this week, I have been WAITING to release this episode. Y'all seem to LOVE when I feature guest experts on personality types so I was so proud to bring this one!

You may have heard of Highly Sensitive People but have you ever considered what it means to be a Highly Sensitive Person who is an EXTROVERT?

This episode kicks off the Personality Series (eeeek! my favorite topic). My guest is Jenn Turnham who specializes in this teeny tiny population (that we know of!) but I'd venture to guess you might know someone who fits the bill or even be one yourself!

Turns out I am and it was so freeing to me to find this out. Listen here:

EP162: Could You Be a Highly Sensitive EXTROVERT? with Jenn Turnham

xo,

Allison

P.S. Between Killer Sally, Season 2 of The Vow , and Handmaid's Tale (all ridiculously worthy), I need something to make me laugh! Got any good recommendations?

P.P.S. Turns out this mindfulness thing might be less woo than we thought!

P.P.P.S. Want to finally declutter your space AND your mind? I'm running a different kind of elimination challenge in December as we prepare for a fresh start in 2023! Join here.

P.P.P.P.S. I still haven't settled on a new name YET for my podcast. But there's still time to submit your entries and win $50 if I pick yours! Plus, I've got a few questions about what helps you recharge. Should only take you less than 2 minutes. Submit here! (and thank you!)

P.P.P.P.P.S. I released a very raw and personal episode on Patreon this week about not just the election, but also the details of an abusive time that I would NEVER share anywhere else. If you want to hear, it's available exclusively on Patreon.