Mel and Mel’s Behind The Scenes: A Weekend of Living Well
Many of you have asked us questions about how we practice what we preach when it comes to wellness, so we wanted to share a play-by-play of our recent weekend together. We love being together in person, not only for the work aspect, but also for having quality time together where we cook and eat together, have meaningful conversations, and laugh hysterically on kitchen floor.
We hosted an in-person event with our dear friend, Kate Milligan, of 1 Girl Revolution on Saturday, August 26th at the incredible farm-to-table restaurant, Slyvan Table, in Slyvan Lake, Michigan. Mel S. flew in from Los Angeles the day before the event and we spent that afternoon and evening working with Kate, prepping for the event. There is SO much that goes into planning an event. Mel C. and Kate had been working for hours each day, making sure every detail was handled with care and thoughtfulness. We spent the evening prepping the gift bags, which were INSANE, if we do say so ourselves. We were lucky enough to have sponsors including Carhartt, Shinola, Urge Juice, Made in Detroit, Boxed Water, and Healing Bark who helped make our gift bags stacked and ready for our guests to enjoy. And a special shoutout to lululemon Gross Pointe for gifting us our gorgeous outfits! We made an assembly line down Kate’s hallway of her home and made sure each bag was perfect and ready to go. For our dinner break, we walked to a local spot called Ima where we practiced our speeches over Chicken Pho and Miso Cucumber Salads. (SO delicious!)
The next morning was showtime! Since breakfast is such an important part of preparing your body for the day, we set our alarms extra early to allow enough time to eat (and have coffee!) before we left. We ate overnight oats and loaded them up with nut butter, berries, and banana slices to keep us full through the morning.
The event was everything we imagined and MORE! It was called “Reclaiming Your Story,” a series that Mel C. and Kate established in order to help you get in touch with the little girl within you and reignite the power your story has to change the world for the better. This event’s theme was all about your “food story,” which is a combination of how you talk to yourself about food and your body, comments a parent made to you as a child about food, and how you interpret others’ decisions around food.
The event started out with Kate’s inspiring story and an amazing writing exercise where our attendees were able to deeply reflect on how our hopes and dreams have evolved throughout our life and discover how our food story dictates our internal decision-making. Next, Mel C. opened up about her story with Lupus and how it led her to find a clean lifestyle full of nourishing food and intentional functional movement, the latter being her area of expertise. Mel C. then led a killer workout that consisted of a series of low-impact exercises on a mat. Our guests all took this at their own pace, honored their bodies, and looked strong doing so! The workout wrapped up with a short meditation session which calmed their bodies and minds after moving. After the workout, Mel S. gave her keynote speech centered around nutrition, where she talked about her own food story and struggles with food throughout her life, leading into the theme of “bio-individuality” and how each body is biologically different and therefore requires different foods to thrive. Then, it was time to EAT! Slyvan Table prepared an incredible and nourishing “build your own bowl” set-up that included foods grown on site. The food was absolutely delicious and we ate together during our Q&A where people asked questions, shared their own experiences, and connected with each other.
After the event, we decompressed a bit, then went back to work… in the kitchen! We made and photographed a new recipe that is part of a very special project coming up. We made Salmon & Asparagus Bowls with Thai Peanut Sauce. We chose this particular recipe because similar to Friday night’s dinner, we needed a meal that provided nourishment and balance before the next day’s work, which was our photoshoot for new content and the project we mentioned above.
Sunday morning was bright and sunny and it was photoshoot day! Mel C.’s husband, Dave, made us a delicious breakfast (an egg scramble, bacon, and berries) to nourish us beforehand and then we had our shoot for a few hours at various locations. It was a long day and as we went a little longer than anticipated, we were on the verge of “hangry” when we wrapped. After two long, but rewarding work days, we decided one specific thing sounded good: a juicy burger and fries! (Yep, we said it). Mel C. told Mel S. about a place in the area that she loves, Naked Burger, which serves 100% grass-fed burgers and even homemade gluten-free buns. So that is exactly what we ordered + sweet potato and truffle fries. We took our time eating, enjoyed every bite, and had great conversation. That is what made that meal a healthy one! After our “linner,” it was time to see The Beach Boys! Mel C. and her husband, Dave, have a close relationship with the band and because of that, we were lucky enough to visit with them before and after the show. The best part, we got to go on stage and sing “Barbara Ann” with them! Any nerves that would have been there already had been shaken off from speaking at our event, so we danced and sang and didn’t worry about a thing! Our album will be released next year… kidding.
The next morning, Mel S. flew back to Los Angeles and it truly felt like a whirlwind of a weekend. We are both still catching up on sleep, but it was truly worth it for the experiences we had in such a short amount of time. It’s important, whether you are hosting an event, attending one, going on a work trip, or going on a girls trip, to do things for yourself that put you outside of your comfort zone. Proving to ourselves that we can be adaptable to different situations and go in with open hearts and minds is so empowering and can even open up doors you didn’t know were there.
Lastly, if we met you at the event, it was such a pleasure and we hope to see you again soon. If we didn’t meet you, we hope to bring this event or something similar to your hometown sooner than later.
Live Well,
Mel and Mel
