Hello friends…I am so excited to share this post with you today. It has been months in the making, but I am ready to fill you all in on what will be the next chapter of 11 Magnolia Lane.
As you all have probably noticed, our regular posts have dropped off a bit. I think for both Christy and I, the pandemic and the ensuing world events really changed our desire to be consumed by so many surface-level things. While I still believe in the importance of home, especially in the importance of creating a welcoming and comfortable space for my family and friends, for the last few years I have had a deeper sense that it was time to move on to something new.
As you all also know, Christy has returned to her nursing career and I’ll let her share more of her new role as she decides to, but we both are in a very different stage of life than where we were over a decade ago when 11 Magnolia Lane began. We were then stay at home moms with limited decorating budgets and frequent moves to now being (in my case, almost) empty nesters settled in long-term homes. For the time being, we do plan to continue to share posts on this site weekly. While that isn’t as frequently as we used to post, we still want to continue the connection we have and with 1200+ posts in the archives, we figure that there are plenty of things still worth sharing and even resharing.
As for me, as I have mentioned about a year ago I decided to focus the next chapter of my life on a career in nutrition and wellness, though this really began over a decade ago as I had to overcome lyme disease (more here if you aren’t familiar) and found that nutrition and lifestyle choices were key to regaining my health. I enrolled in a Culinary Nutrition program that was supposed to begin this fall, but unfortunately it was cancelled. I diverted into a certification process to instead become a Holistic Nutritionist, and actually I think this has worked out much better. I was waiting to announce all this until I’d finished the certification but I am 70% the way done with the program at this point and determined to complete it in the early Fall. I then will begin a short course to get an extra certification in AutoImmune Health and Nutrition. To be honest, with all my years of researching and learning to be able to help myself, I already consider myself a bit of an expert, but having the certification will certainly make me all the more qualified.
My plan is to see private clients for nutrition consultations, particularly those with autoimmune issues and thanks to technology that is something that can be done virtually. In addition to doing that, I realized that I still want to be able to share my knowledge and interest in healthy cooking on a broader scale.
I have launched a new website I am calling 11MLWellness (11 Magnolia Lane Wellness), as I do not want to change over 11 Magnolia Lane brand here by including a lot of health and wellness content on this site. The new website will be a place where I can share in-depth information but after all these years of writing blog posts I decided to do something a little different this time!
Starting next week I will be sharing all my nutrition content in a free weekly Health + Wellness Newsletter that will come out each Monday. You can sign up to be on the distribution list below. Unlike our other newsletters this will be a longer format, with tons of health and wellness information each week. I have identified 11 categories to cover content in such as Healthy Recipes, Meal Prep Ideas, Favorite Products, Clean Home/Living, a weekly Health Focus, Wellness Tips and Motivation, Great Books and more. It will vary from week to week (and I’ll probably sneak in some non-wellness things here and there) but my goal is to each week share tools to help us all live healthier and more joy-filled lives no matter what our current stage of life is. I hope you will join me there, it’s time to invest in our own wellness. When you sign up you get a free weekly meal planner/shopping list too!
You can sign up for the newsletter in the block below…
I also have a new Instagram page here. I will be sharing on that page often, and there will go a bit more in depth as to what is in the newsletter such as recipe videos, product demonstrations and more. Instagram can be a fickle thing, and starting completely over there is going to be a challenge but it’s definitely the best place to share content like recipes, videos and quick tips. I also enjoy the interaction and can respond quickly to questions and messages there.
And that isn’t all, as I planned how this would look I kept coming back to one thing. No matter how many times I plan to eat healthy, the hardest part is actually being prepared to eat healthy (so you don’t grab junk!). I also know I am more likely to exercise if I plan it into my schedule. As a natural list-maker and planner, this structure comes easy to me and I realized that I already have the tools to help with this on hand. Some of you might remember a product I launched back in 2016, The Calendar Pad. It was successful, and I still get requests for orders, but it became cumbersome as far as printing and shipping and eventually I phased it out. I have some new resources for printing now, and hope to bring it back along with other organizational tools to help us make space in our lives to prioritize our wellness journey.
As I finish my certifications and get the new website up and running, I still have even more hopes for how I can use my experience to help people, like in person (or maybe virtual?) cooking classes, a wellness planner and more.
I’ll be sharing much more information over the next few weeks and months. For the short term, much of the initial content I will at least mention here at 11 Magnolia Lane but eventually, everything health related will be on the 11MLWellness.com site.
Thank you all for reading this, and thank many of you for being supporters of this website and both Christy and I for the last 10+ years. I am looking forward to this new stage of life, I think it is too easy with the demands we all face to allow our health and wellness to be last in our lives, I am working to change that.
XO,
Please visit my Health and Wellness website 11MLWellness here.
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I really appreciate that you both recognize that the world is a more serious place and changing up to other matters. I’ve loved your blog and will continue to follow.
I was diagnosed 2 years ago with alpha gal syndrome and it’s a fairly new thing so having nutrition information will be useful.
Thank you
Yes, sadly the world is becoming a place that I think we really have to struggle to find the beauty, anda lso rest in our faith and become more self-reliant. I’ll definitely do some research, and I am sorry about your diagnosis but I hope I can provide helpful information. I believe that most everyone struggles with some sort of health issue or another, and that is part of why I really wanted to try to share good information and encouragement.
XO,
Amy
Thanks for this post. Like you, I’ve experienced big changes in the last 3+ years, and so has my family. It feels reassuring to know that we’re not alone in this.
PS: Decorating blogs are still my favorite place to spend some “me” time, but I am thrilled to follow your new website as well. I subscribed to it via the free blog collator website I use (which is called Feedly, if anyone’s looking for a service like that).
Best of luck to you!
So glad you are coming along. Thanks for the recommendation–I used to use Bloglovin but it really doesn’t work anymore. I still enjoy keeping up with blogs too, and honestly I don’t want to dedicate too much time to giving content over to social media giants that then they own it and can take it down if the powers that be don’t agree. I’ll definitely check out feedly! Great tip.
XO,
Amy
I have been going to a Holistic Nutritionist for years! She has solved so many of my health issues with food/nutrition. Have you heard of Metabolic Balance? Its been life changing. Good luck on your new adventure!
It sounds familiar but I will definitely look more into Metabolic Balance. I am so glad to know it has helped you, there are so many good natural products and supplements out there. I look forward to sharing more of them and would love to hear other strategies that have helped you. Thank you for the encouragement!
XO,
Amy
I am so excited for you! You and Christy have been such a joy to follow and get to know all these years. I am excited for you both as you begin this new chapter of your lives.
Thank you Lauren, I know you too have long been committed to a healthy lifestyle. I’ll be anxious for your feedback, I really hope this will be a collaborative effort with us all embracing wellness together. I feel like God really wants this to be understood, and that we need to return to the food He provided for us. XO, Amy
I have to be honest, I panicked a bit when I started to read about changes! I have followed for a while and so enjoy what each of you share! Both of you have great taste and it’s always fun to see what you’re doing!
I am extremely happy for you!! I believe in Holistic Health and Wellness so I am grateful you’re willing to share! I have had AMD, dry form, in both eyes for years. Recently one changed to the wet form and is the type that can speed up the loss of vision. 😭 I’m getting injections in the eye every 4 weeks and praying for my vision to return. At the same time, I’m focusing on gratitude for the vision I do have. Taking lots of vitamins and supplements as well as working on my diet! As you know, sugar is a key ingredient for many illnesses along with processed food. I’m really looking forward to seeing what you share and I have subscribed!
xo
Pat
P.S. If there are errors, please disregard. Screens are not my friend right now! 😂
Pat, we are so grateful for your support and encouragement over the years. I am so sorry about your vision! I have recently had some issues too (I hope just normal aging) one of the many things that is behind my renewed commitment to my health. There is so much out there that is toxic (sugar, the chemicals in food, so much) I am of the opinoin that it’s not really that hard to make the changes, but it is hard to cut through all the bad information out there to know what to do. I appreciate you coming along on this new venture. Know that I will be praying for your eyesight!
XO,
Amy