ANOTHER YEAR OLDER (& WISER)

Dear Community,

Today is my 34th birthday. Every year that goes by, I feel like I’m learning new life lessons and spending more and more time reflecting (that’s the whole point, right?). I figured if I’m taking the time to look back on my past year, then I may as well share some of the themes that have come up for me in case you might be experiencing some of these too. Hopefully they inspire you to infuse a little bit of this into your own life, regardless of your age!

Photo: Milk Bar

TAKE TIME TO CELEBRATE 🥂 

Often we are so focused on what’s next that we forget to look at how far we’ve come. Life’s little (and big) moments are so important, so take time to acknowledge them. This year was a great one for Embiria, and some of my big successes included holding over 50 Experiences, launching new Experiences like Cooking Classes and Tea Blending, being approached by a huge brand (Square One Mall) to partner and offer Embiria Holiday Experiences at their Merry & Bright Market, and learning the importance of outsourcing (hi Rhiannon! - our fab Community Manager). Often I felt as though if I acknowledged these moments out loud then they would come across as “showing off”, which is not at all what my intention was, so I made it a point to celebrate the wins that were important to me with things I loved. This included going out to a nice dinner and drinks at the beautiful new Fresh on Front, and ordering myself the infamous Milk Bar Birthday Cake I’ve been wanting to try! Cause why not?! (verdict: it definitely satisfied the big kid in me). Don’t wait around for others to celebrate you, because you should really be your own biggest fan.

INVEST IN YOURSELF

This ties into taking time to celebrate. Along with getting the cake I wanted, I also decided to treat myself to a few indulgences this year, that sometimes came with a pretty hefty price tag. As you know, I value experiences over material things, so I decided it was important to spend money on a few experiences that I knew would bring me joy or better my life in some way. One of them was going to a weekend retreat up north, where I spent time meeting new women, creating art, being nourished with delicious meals and exploring nature. It’s exactly what I needed after such a busy few months and it reminded me of how much I love simple play and quiet time to get creative. This blog was also something I started when I returned, probably because I felt so inspired!

Another experience I decided to treat myself to was hiring a personal stylist for a one-on-one style session. I’ve been complaining for years about how I wish I could more effortlessly assemble outfits and walk out the door feeling super confident with what I’m wearing. So rather then continue complaining, I decided to do something about it!

And finally, I’m currently in LA spending the weekend here for my birthday! That’s four whole days of investing in “me” time.

YOU’RE NEVER TOO OLD TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS

About a year ago I started a cookbook club, where a small group of women meet monthly at each other’s homes and have authentic conversations over delicious meals. I started off by inviting a few people to join that I had only met once and that ended up planting the seed for beautiful new friendships. I’m so thankful these people are in my life and have grown to be some of my closest friends. When we’re in school we often think that the friends we meet are going to be around for a lifetime (bff necklaces, anyone?), but we’re human, so we grow and we change, and sometimes that means we lose a few friendships along the way. Something shifted for me this year where I realized that I should spend more time focusing on building new friendships and watching those grow, instead of trying to understand why I couldn’t relate to the others as much anymore.

p.s. stay tuned for an Embiria Cookbook Club Experience you can join in the New Year!

YOU CONTROL YOUR BUSINESS (AND LIFE), NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND

I recently listened to Jenna Kutcher’s podcast about batch working, and this was something she said that really hit home for me. Starting a new business is not easy and it always feels like there’s a never-ending to do list. As much as I try to live a balanced life, I was allowing my business to control me because things were constantly feeling frantic and chaotic. After listening to the episode, I recongized that I needed to make some changes to break the pattern. One of those changes included doing my best work in the morning. Rather than spending time checking emails, scrolling through social media and letting all the noise in, use the first few hours of the morning to do your most creative work. And so I did! The first thing I did this morning was write this blog post, and I felt completely inspired and in a state of flow. Now that’s a feeling I could get used to! Just remember that you can start with baby steps to shifting your mindset so that you’re in control of your day too. A little really does go a long way.

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And now that I’ve been able to spend some time sharing with you this morning, I’m headed to a yoga class and healthy brunch afterwards here in LA. Hope you have a wonderful weekend, friend, and let me know in the comments below if some of the above lessons resonate with you!

With love,

Palak