Pretty Over Perfect

We are so excited this week to be interviewing Joy, a licensed therapist and social worker, who is sharing with us how we can examine our own thoughts and whether or not they are serving us, and how to start forming new thoughts and habits in accordance with the changes we hope to see. She has so many concrete and practical ideas for rewiring our brains and ditching toxic mentalities for good. You...

It's our favorite holiday: Valentine's Day! And we're getting ready to celebrate by talking about the simple ways we are loving our people right now: our kids, our spouses, our friends, our communities, and ourselves! We referenced these past episodes: Let's Play and Connection: Love Languages, Snail Mail and Frozen Croissants Jessica recommends a Loom Journal and Michelle reco...

In this final episode focused on physical wellness, we're breaking down the info we got from the pros and are talking about how we make it all work in our regular lives: getting enough exercise no matter what our schedules, eating whole foods and embracing what we can and can't control in our seasons. Jessica recommends: No-Bake Healthy Breakfast Cookies Healthy Banana Bread Coconut Almo...

If you are ready for the next steps in your fitness journey - buckle up! This one's a wild ride! Georgia, a personal trainer in Dallas, Texas, and Michelle's little sister, is here dispelling common misconceptions about health and wellness we've all heard. She's teaching us how we can up our games with progressive overload, eating foods that truly fuel our bodies, and drinking...

Jessica and Michelle are talking this week to Kiley , a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, all about how we can incorporate more movement into our daily lives. She has lots of tips for rethinking our approach to exercise, especially if we have been burned by gym and diet culture or unrealistic expectations we've absorbed from the world around us. Her approach to mindful movement w...

We're so excited to be back for another year of Pretty Over Perfect! And we're kicking off a month of talking about healthy habits by tackling reflection on the year behind and seeking direction for the year ahead. Whether you are a natural goal setter or not, we believe everyone can benefit from engaging in some critical thinking about where they're at and where they'd like to...

It's been a whole year of Pretty Over Perfect - thank you so much for being here! This week, we're wrapping up the year by reflecting on the highs, lows, struggles and wins of the year behind, as well as a little sneak peek at some of what you can expect from our podcast next year. We'll be back in January with lots of good things we can't wait to share! Jessica's Favorite...

We asked you what your favorite holiday bakes, traditions, music and movies are and now we're sharing them! From Sinterklaas to Buena Noche and Bon Bons, opening gifts one-by-one or all in a frenzy, we crowd-sourced this episode of Christmas goodness! A few things we mentioned you might want to look into: Cranberry Lime Pie Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake Gingerbread Kid Cookie Cutters Snowflake...

Let’s talk about Christmas… from when and how we’re getting our trees, to traditions we love to keep, meaningful Advent calendars, gift exchanges and more! Plus, what Michelle and Jessica look like in Nutcracker form, how to keep calm this season and the best Christmas music you should be listening to! If you want to make Advent boxes like we do, here are some links to boxes like the ones we trim...

Each of us is made up of light and darkness - and by acknowledging and facing the dark parts of us, we can grow to be more empathetic, mature and dare I say... refined. On today's podcast we explore some of our weaknesses and tendencies that lead to our own frustration if we don't figure out why they continually trip us up. Join us as we discuss our go-to negative emotions, least favorit...

Relationships shape our lives in many ways - sometimes by encouraging the good in us, and sometimes by showing us the areas we need to grow. We’re talking this week about a variety of relationships and how we’re becoming more refined through and because of them. Jessica shared this Mirror-Mirror article about relationships and Michelle mentioned the Individualism Index and you can learn more about...

We don’t normally do trigger warnings, but we do want to let you know that this episode is a heavy one. We both share our own experiences of loss and the grief that followed and has undoubtedly shaped our lives and world views. There are lots of tears and even some laughter, because that’s what grief is. We don’t get to choose the suffering that is thrust upon us, but we can choose our reactions t...

However you pronounce "Hygge" is not as important as the feeling it creates. Known as the "art of intimacy", hygge has gained popularity over the years for being an invitation to lean into dark and cold seasons as a place to grow relationships, slow down and carve out space for quiet and reflection. We cannot always live our lives at a frenzied pace, and hygge reminds us to tak...

Having guests over can be exciting… and intimidating. With the holidays fast approaching, many of us will have the opportunity to have people in our homes, and we’re helping you take the guess work out of being a happy host! With ideas about what to put on autopilot, how to simplify and how to let go of the idea of Pinterest-perfection to enjoy your time with friends and families more. We know tha...

Gift-giving can be so fun... and so stressful! The purpose of gift-giving is to celebrate a relationship, but it's easy to get wrapped up (pun intended) in all the perceived anxiety and pressure around tangible expressions of love. In this episode we break it down to its simplest form: desiring to surprise and delight the person you are honoring. We chime in on our favorite gifts to give, our...

This week we are so excited for you to hear our interview of Lu from Life's Frostings . She is chock-full of amazing ideas for decorating for the holidays - from finding inspiration in your natural surroundings to balloon arches and sequin tablecloths. She has an amazing Instagram where you can follow along with all her creative ideas, but she also spills so many of her secrets, tips and tric...

October is a month for celebrating! We’ll be talking all about celebrations of all kinds, beginning with this episode on birthdays! We discuss Jessica’s magical dinner party in the mountains for her 30th, our cleverest ideas for kid’s parties, and our regular little ways of making people feel loved and cherished, no party necessary. Jessica used Spark Post to create a digital Birthday invitation....

Update: If you downloaded this episode on Monday morning, you may notice a corrupted file after 26 minutes. A new file has been made available now - be sure to click on “Fixed!” We've laid the foundation of good flow in your home and moved on to combining styles and working within constraints, and this week we're talking about all the sparkly details! We interview Makelle Clark to get he...

Though we all have visions of our "dream homes" dancing in our heads, most of us live within constraints of some kind: location, budget, resources, even the desires and opinions of the people you live with. This week, we're talking about finding ways to love where you live regardless of your unaccomplished wishlist. We discuss combining styles, embracing joy over sophistication and...

For the month of September we’ll be chatting about all things home design and we’re starting with the basics: finding a good flow in your home’s arrangement. We’re talking about some principles of Feng Shui and how they teach us to think about a room’s layout so it can be the most inviting to our family and guests. We want to point our lives (and furniture) towards what we want more of: rest, conn...

Family culture is all the rituals, traditions, food, fun and weirdness that makes us us! It's all the inside jokes, nicknames and conversations that shape our families and create lasting bonds. This week we're talking about why we think our family values are important to define, and how we think about translating that into a culture that is foundational for everyone in our homes. Family...

We’re back with some tips and tricks we use daily in our roles as parents when encouraging good behavior and working through hard things like tantrums, hitting and whining. We want to escape negative feedback loops and ruts with our kids, but all need practical ways to do so. This week we discuss logic, talking through things and our job of creating the scaffolding upon which our children will bui...

Play has been shown to increase brain flexibility and we all know it makes us feel better… so why do we struggle to embrace play so much as adults? This week we are talking about adding little moments of playfulness and levity to our lives, to lighten the mood, forge lasting bonds and remind ourselves that not everything has to be so serious all the time. We’re letting go of self-consciousness and...

You asked, and we answered! We have had several requests for some episodes all about parenting, so here's the first one. This week we're talking about what we feel our roles as parents are, what discipline means (hint: it has less to do with the child than you might think), and who we look to for advice and encouragement. We're revealing some of lowest moments of parenting (and in o...

Today's episode is special because we are hosting our very first guest, Jessica's little sister, Whitney! Whitney is here to talk all about how she travels with her young family, including how they dream, plan and budget for the adventures they want to take. We're all telling you how we get through long road-trips, the best time to arrive at a destination, minimalist packing ideas a...