This week on the podcast my lovely sister, Amanda, joined us to give a different perspective on having early stages of Crohn's and how she managed that through college and now her early adult life. She got very real on topics like dating, talking to your employer about your digestive issues, and trying to teach a room full of five year olds while you're afraid you might shit your pants. GOOD TIMES.

I'm so happy she was willing to share her story. I think her journey to diagnosis and how she is managing her symptoms are so relatable to anyone at that stage of their life/ IBD. 

While we do tackle some serious stuff we have plenty of laughs as well. Diane introduces Amanda like she is writing her match.com profile and Diane AND Amanda both admit what kind of uncivilized humans they are taking vitamins on an empty stomach. That's a big "no no" guys.....

I hope you enjoy listening to this one and as always feel free to leave any questions or comments you have for us!

You can follow Amanda on Instagram here + here. 

This week I have a total badass babe, Julianna Rubino, on the podcast. She is the creator of one of my favorite blogs, Barre to Table, where she shares her workout routines, wellness tips, delicious recipes, and more. Her content always is super informative and she has me updating my grocery "wish list" every time I watch her Instagram stories. She balances working on her blog, teaching barre classes, heading up Baltimore's Electric Flight Crew, oh yeah, and working her day job in sales. Casual. 

That being said, not only am I so excited to have you all hear her tips and tricks in regards to fitness and nutrition but she also has an inspiring take on how to balance everything you have going on in your life. She is the epitome of "hustle hard" but she knows how to still make time for herself and her family. #goals.

In this episode we cover some much requested topics, like time management, food recommendations, and her routine, as well as diving into things like how we feel about today's nutrition trends like intermittent fasting and plant based diets. Throughout the episode she drops some gems of advice and knowledge (along with some of her must have's and favorite products) so I can't wait to hear the takeaways you get from this one!

One of my favorite things about the advice Julianna gives is that her tips are so easy to seamlessly integrate in your life. Think, adding a 10 minute HIIT workout in when you first wake up in the morning or swapping ingredients in your favorite dinner with ingredients that will make you feel like your best self. Her recipes are also actually doable... as in not super complicated and don't take you an entire evening to make but impressively taste like it did. Seriously, her sweet potato gnocchi recipe is INSANE and way less complicated than it sounds. Promise.

Keep scrolling to see a round up of some of our favorite articles on Barre to Table and make sure to follow Julianna on Instagram (@barretotable) to get even more of her fitness and food tips. I am so thankful she came on the podcast and shared her wisdom with every one. I can't wait to work together again soon!

What were your favorite takeaways from the episode?!

​xx

​

Barre Inspired Moves You Can Take Almost Anywhere

Resistance Band Workout

The Vegan Experiment

The Low Down on Eating Gluten Free 

The Real Foods Diet

Watermelon Poke Bowls 

Cauliflower Gnocchi w Homemade Pistacchio Pesto

Quick & Easy Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Hello, hello, hello.

It has been a little bit. To be honest life has been hitting me hard. I have been super overwhelmed with just about everything going on. 

I've decided I am in deep need of:

• A week on an island doing nothing but reading and drinking green juice
• To come back from that week and have my house be spotless
• A check for $1,000,000

Then I will be good to go for a bit. 

Haha. 

Yes, I am kidding, but wouldn't those things be nice? 

Finally I've come out of the eye of the stress storm and am on the way out of the hurricane... I think. Either way, I've planned some great new content that is coming up and to hold you over Diane and I release a short podcast episode!

We jump right in, chatting on the phone from Maryland to Hawaii. I am in a post Remicade daze so please mind my "um's" (brain fog is real AF) and Diane is lounging on her balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Same, right?

This was Diane's episode to run with and she did an amazing job of describing her beautiful vacation and giving some tips for traveling to Maui and traveling with Crohn's.

Check out this mini episode and stay tuned for another full length one that is going to be released later this week!

​xx

Our new podcast is live here on iTunes and we are super pumped about it. This is a fun and lighter episode than we have be doing recently. Diane is preparing for a trip, we talk about some things that we are loving, and we talk about our experiences with botox (+fillers). 

We mentioned a few weeks ago that we were going to experiment with some injectables and report back. By now we've had time to let them sink in and share the details on our experiences. 

Not only do we talk about how to use botox in a preventative way we also talk about how it can fix medical issues. I've had horrible TMJ for as long as I can remember so I went for it and got some needles to the masseter muscle in hopes it would bring me some relief. 

We are sharing ALL of the details so give it a listen. Obviously we are not medical professionals so before your choose to do anything please consult with a board certified plastic surgeon.

If you live in Maryland and need referrals or want to know where we went specifically/who we saw drop us a message and we will give you the scoop.


​xx

In honor of Eating Disorder Awareness Week, Diane and I decided to take the plunge and share our truths about ED recovery this week on the podcast.

I started my journey through treatment and towards recovery 8 years ago now and have learned that it is a just that... a journey. There is no magic switch that makes an eating disorder go away, not to mention the havoc that my Crohn's has wreaked on my body image. 

It took me a long time to want to share my story so publicly, especially on my own platform, which I know seems weird coming from someone who talks about bowel movements and vomiting like it is my day job. For some reason (which we dive into in the podcast) talking about a mental illness was more difficult for me to address than talking about my physical one. 

The topic of ED's and even more the topic of recovery are so near and dear to Diane and I. We've both suffered, fought, been knocked down, gotten back up again, and that is why we share our stories, as uncomfortable as it may be. You're not alone.

Whether you have an ED, have had an ED, know someone who has an ED, or just ever experienced negative self talk and put yourself down because of something related to your body, please give this a listen. 

Listen to our stories, feel free to share with us yours, and lets continue to fight this stigma and utilize this community to continue healing. 

Stay tuned this week because there are some more blog posts coming about ED related issues, recovery, and a whole lot of realness. 

xx
​

Our new podcast is up on iTunes! We are recapping all of the details of our trip to Charleston, SC. Make sure to give us a listen below or via iTunes.

If you want to help support us please rate, review, and subscribe on iTunes!

Enjoy xx
​

Happy Sunday! Before I get distracted by the Grammys Red Carpet I wanted to release the latest episode of the podcast. We recorded last week but I was a little over ambitious thinking my Remicade on Friday wouldn't totally wipe me out and delay the editing process. So here we are.

We talk about generational fashion in this episode as well as some funny tangents. There is a lot of garlic talk, mention of Holister graphic tees, and we tasted the dessert hummus. This all relates in some way, I promise.

Full disclosure, I had a SERIOUS sinus issue going on so please forgive my sniffling and man voice.

Make sure to follow me on Instagram (@crohnicallyblonde) because this week I will be documenting Diane and my first experience with Botox and next week we will be in Charleston, SC! 

As always, let us know your questions, comments, and things you want to hear about next!

​xx

This week we are diving into some fun topics. We start with travel and somehow make it into bidets... and round it out with Disney World and details on our next adventure. 

In just a few weeks Diane and I are taking on Charleston, SC! If you are from the area or have visited and have some great recommendations, send them on over! We will be there February 8th-10th so clue us in to any fun events or meet ups that will be going on as well. 

This episode cracks me up so many times so I hope it makes you laugh just as much. Happy (almost) Friday! Enjoy.

​xx 

I am so excited for this week's podcast and so incredibly proud of how it turned out. Not having anything to do with me, but everything to do with my amazing guest. My mom! I wanted her to be my first guest because not only is she my biggest supporter but also is a fellow Crohn's sufferer and has really great insight from her own journeys with health and wellness both physically and mentally. I am excited to share Diane's wisdom with the CB community and I hope you all find her story as valuable as I do! 

If you have any questions for Diane after listening to the podcast feel free to shoot an email over to [email protected] and I will pass it along to her. Also, if there is anything else or other topics that you want me to cover with her next time she is on the podcast, let me know! I am going to do a follow up post with some of her recommendations of things she is loving right now so expect that to be coming out in the next week or so!

Thanks for listening!

​xx

Episode 2 is here!

Better late than never. Technical difficulties pushed me back a bit but I recorded this last Sunday night, in hopes that it would be out a bit earlier in the week. I am glad I finally figured everything out and I hope you all enjoy Episode 2!

I talk about letting yourself have down time, my experience on "The F-Word Podcast", the keto diet, and Ally Hilfiger's book about her experience with Lyme.

I am working on getting some guests locked down for future episodes AND I have some cool suggestions from people that I am excited to incorporate.

Enjoy.

​xx