Living Beautifully with Lauren, Founder of This Renegade Love
By: Laura R., Embiria Contributor
For our April Series on Living Beautifully we chatted with Lauren McPhillips, Founder of This Renegade Love. Lauren’s vast experience in the PR world, background in English literature & European history, and exciting travels all combine to create a beautiful passion for storytelling. Not to mention she always keeps it real which we love.
Here’s Lauren’s story on how she lives beautifully everyday.
Name: Lauren McPhillips
Company/Business: This Renegade Love
Industry: Digital content creation
Social: @thisrenegadelove
Website URL: thisrenegadelove.com
Tell us a little bit about you: I’m a digital content creator and writer for my own online brand, This Renegade Love, which I launched in 2015 as a platform to share stories of entrepreneurs and thought-leaders, and also share honest snippets of my life and my perspective on the influencer industry (I used to work in PR). I’ve been fortunate to work with some Incredible brands like Indigo, Knix, BMO and Air Transat, also venturing offline to host a number of workshops for women business owners called The Renegade Sessions and do a TEDxTalk on ‘The Power of Personal Storytelling.’ I live in Prince Edward County with my husband and dog and absolutely LOVE living in the country, but keep some roots in Toronto now working as the brand manager for North Medical Spa.
My mission / purpose is (for your company or passion project): to inspire others to live their most fulfilling lives through vulnerability, personal storytelling and a lot of self-love.
What’s on my mind these days: All the places I want to travel to - haha! Feeling a bit stir crazy at the moment and am wanderlusting pretty hard.
Living beautifully to me means: Surrounding myself with simple pleasures, whether that be experiences like travel or a glass of wine at sunset with my husband, or objects like a piece of art that brings me joy. Find what makes you happy and fill your life with it.
“Honour the space between no longer and not yet.”
What do you do when you feel you need to slow down from the pace of everyday life? I set boundaries for myself with the things that are hogging my attention, whether it’s shutting my laptop down at a specific time during the week, or logging off social media for weeks at a time to disconnect. I trade in those distractions for long walks with my dog, reading a good book or spending time with friends & family. Oh, and jigsaw puzzles - they are the BEST way to clear your mind.
How do you connect meaningfully with the people in your life? This past year has obviously made that a bit more difficult, but I love a good, long conversation over a glass of wine or a tasty meal. I’m a Scorpio, so the deeper the convo, the better :)
A beautiful place I’ve visited is: Italy. I’ve visited 6 times and if I could only travel to one place for the rest of my life, it would be there. Scenery, architecture, food, wine, culture, art, lifestyle - Italy has it ALL.
A beautiful meal I’ve had that comes to mind is: Anything made by my friends Diala Canelo and Jasmine Baker. Every meal they’ve treated me to at their tables has been delish, but more than that, it’s made with a lot of love.
How have you incorporated beautiful living at home during the pandemic? We bought a record player last year, and my favourite thing to do is light candles on a Sunday morning, put on a jazz or soul record and sit with my coffee and relax. It’s such a vibe.
What are some wellness essentials that help you live fully? My Dosist ‘Calm’ cannabis pen for relaxation, scented candles, CBD bath salts - and since I work at a medical spa, I have a pretty epic skincare routine :)
Daily rituals I love are: In the warmer months, I love waking up for sunrise and sitting on my back deck with a coffee, starting my day with a book or journal sesh, totally quiet except for the birds chirping. So peaceful.
What’s most important in your life right now? Family, close friendships and nurturing my relationship with myself - those things are always at the top of the list.
Do you have a favourite quote that inspires you to live beautifully or makes you feel alive? One of my favorite quotes is “Honour the space between no longer and not yet”, meaning to enjoy the present, not always looking back at where you’ve been or forward towards where you want to go.
Thanks for reading our Interview Series on Living Beautifully. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Let us know if there’s someone you’d like us to interview for an upcoming edition.