After diving into a positive psychology course this past fall, we put together a few tips to help you live a more abundant life. We took some of the most important information, eliminated the boring scientific language, and came up with a list of three things you can add to your routine that’ll enhance your life.

When I first went freelance back in 2009, a mentor of mine invited me to a vision boarding workshop. At the time, I thought the idea was a little “out there,” but I wanted to be a successful entrepreneur and admired her so I went. Fast forward to today and I create or update my vision boards several times per year. Here are some strategic ways to create a vision board in order to accomplish your goals.

I just completed my final week of school at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition  and passed my final!  The last guest lecture I had, by Marie Forleo, couldn't have come at a better time in my life. As a friend of Gabby Bernstien, I've been following her work for quite some time and found this particular lecture to be super helpful and a great way to finish.  Here are her five steps to unstoppable success.  I hope you enjoy them as much as i do.

I just left yoga class and was super inspired by something my teacher, Julie Pasqual, said so I felt the need to share it.  Her theme throughout class came from this saying, "When you complain, you're signing a contract for sadness."  Wow.  The reminder that we can control our level of happiness hit me hard.  

Enlightened and refreshed.  That's exactly how I feel right now after getting home from a Philosophy event where Gabby Bernstein spoke for an hour about manifesting.  It's been almost two years since I first met the self proclaimed spirit junkie over breakfast and thanks to her guidance, influence and inspiration, I've learned how to see through the eyes of love, manifest my wildest dreams and live in my most authentic truth.  Tonight, she shared her six rules for manifesting and so of course it's my duty, to share them with you, too.

Recently in a yoga workshop with, Stacey Brass-Russell, a Certified Health & Life Coach, she mentioned the idea of creating “10 Paradigms for Teaching Yoga.” I loved it. Writing my 10 standards allowed me to clearly see where my teaching values lied and I thought, everyone should do this – for life. Therefore, I spoke with Stacey about the value of creating “10 Paradigms for Life” and with the turn of the new year, now is a perfect time to get out your journal and tune in. Here’s the deal…

This past weekend I had the pleasure of taking a workshop with my teacher’s teacher, Raghunath, at Hudson Yoga Project in Hoboken. My teacher, Patrick, has been raving about him and his work since I started practicing with him years ago and now I finally get it. He is inspiring, intelligent, cultured, creative and encouraging. Before our handstand workshop, he spoke to reincarnation, the soul’s purpose (to love) and labels we give ourselves, which I found extremely interesting. Here’s some food for thought…

We spoke to Martin Seligman, the father of modern positive psychology, who talks about the idea behind the “three happy lives;” which are individual pursuits that recognize your highest strengths (via this easy survey quiz) and use them to maximize your experiences. Read on for more about these lives and how to get the most out of them.

For June’s JM Approved on NBC New York Live, I had the opportunity to showcase my favorite summer travel items. From easy grab-and-go meals to baby carriers, I covered a range of items. Check out the segment here!

If you’re considering private domestic adoption, I encourage you to check out our team. Let’s call them, Team Lombardi. Throughout the months of waiting and countless potential birth mom connections, they were by our side for support and guidance. Being that our adoption happened very quickly (we found out we had a baby when the birth mom was in labor!), they all worked overtime to make sure things were done as quickly and efficiently as possible. We couldn’t be happier with the people we chose to work with.

If you follow me on Instagram, then you saw the announcement that Joe and I recently welcomed home our newly adopted baby girl, Amaya Jo (more in the Insta post)! We are over the moon, full of love and joy and I couldn’t be more excited to share the news with you! As I sit here to write this, I realize I have so much to share, but am going to do so over a series of several posts on the adoption process. This one is from the heart on my journey to motherhood and what it truly means to me now.

You guys, it’s been ten years since I launched my blog! At the time, writing about my addiction to dying my hair the bluest shade of black (my first post ever) on BeautySweetSpot was a hobby. I was working full-time at a beauty PR firm in the city and missed writing editorially. I loved my first job as a beauty assistant at Cosmopolitan and was in the process of interviewing for a similar position at another publication. All of a sudden, thanks to the support of the beauty industry, my blog took on a life of its own.

Yesterday on NBC’s New York Live I showcased some of my favorite spring cleaning tips. From jewelry organizers to an easy way to clean out your closet and make some money, check them out here.

This year is a huge year for my business.  I just hit my 10-year blogging anniversary and September will mark 10 years as an entrepreneur with my own media company.  Thanks to the guidance of my father (also an entrepreneur), support of my family, husband, friends and agent and close-knit industry relationships, I did it. 

In honor of International Women's Day, I reached out to some of the women in beauty who inspire me the most.  These are the thought-leaders who have created products and built brands beyond their wildest dreams on their definitions of success.  

When it comes to wellness, there’s always something new and trendy popping up. Today, I shared my top skincare, travel, yoga and food picks with Sara Gore and Jacquie Reid of NBC’s New York Live. Check out the segment here.

March 8th, I’m moderating a panel of inspiring women that we’re calling V Empowered at the Marmara Park Avenue. Cocktails and networking starts at 6pm and the panel will go from 7-8:30. I’ll be interviewing leading ladies such as Cindy Barbershop (V Spot Medi Spa Founder), Heather Anderson (New York Pilates Founder), Jasmine Lobe (J-Spot Columnist for The Observer), Jordan Salcito (Ramona and Bellus Wines Founder), Polly Rodriguez (Unbound CEO), and Stephanie Prida (Pastry Chef at The Grill). Read more to get tickets. Hope to see you there!

When I first learned of YO1, an Ayurveda-inspired holistic wellness center nestled on 1,300 acres of property in the Catskills, I couldn’t wait to see what it was all about. As a yogi I know a bit about Ayurveda, an Indian system of medicine focusing on using nature to heal oneself, but was excited to learn more and dive in. Joe and I were invited to experience all the center has to offer over a weekend and were beyond impressed by the service, practitioners, meals, programming and property. I knew as soon as we walked in that I was in the right place when the front desk concierge greeted us by saying, “Namaste.”

Earlier this month, I shot a yoga series at the New York Public Library in Bryant Park as part of a new project showcasing my journey through life. I feel most alive when I’m practicing yoga and when I’m surrounded by places of inspiration. When there’s beautiful architecture and light, the yoga flows naturally and images speak volumes. Here are a few out takes from my first shoot. The entire series will be released slowly on my Instagram page with more context. I hope you enjoy it.

Today on NBC New York Live, I had the pleasure of showcasing my Valentine’s Day gift picks on NBC New York Live for my second JM Approved segment. Check out the segment here!

Today was a big day! I launched my new branded content segment, JM Approved, with NBC’s New York Live TV. I’m over the moon about this opportunity and will be hosting these segments the first Wednesday of every month to start. Here’s my first segment, “Winter Skincare Tips.”

When looking at all of the trend predictions for the new year and analyzing the products that come across my desk and emails that that flood my inbox, I honed in on trends that I personally think will explode. Here are the top five wellness trends to get excited for this year.

During my stay at Canyon Ranch a few years ago, I attended a variety of lectures each day and found them all to be incredibly enlightening and motivating.  My favorite was a motivational speech who spoke about creating miracles by a man named Jerry Posner, who was just as entertaining as he was practical.  The fact that it was practical was my favorite part.  I often attend spiritual lectures and appreciate the thinking, but Posner made spiritual teachings a practical practice.  Here are his four ways to create your own miracles.

The thing about depression is that sometimes you don’t even know somebody’s depressed. There’s a survival technique I’ve conquered where I can compartmentalize if I’m distracted enough and completely block my tragic reality out of my mind in order to function.

It’s with great excitement that I share my new hosting partnership with NBC!  After acting as their editorial beauty and wellness expert for the past nine years, I’m finally expanding my personal brand and bringing it to the network in a more official way.  Moving forward, I will be hosting/acting as the expert for “JM Approved,” a new branded content segment that will air monthly on New York Live TV featuring my favorite beauty, wellness, fashion and food finds. I am thrilled and can’t wait to work with the team as an official correspondent. Stay tuned for segment updates!  

I have so much to share from my experience at the Tony Robbins Unleash Your Inner Power four-day seminar (see post on my experience here) that I figured I’d start with some of my top takeaways, (OK, there' are a lot). They’re really life changing realizations that can be used as daily mantras.

Earlier this year, I wrote a post called “5 Things Never to Say (or Do) to A Pregnant Woman,” which was shared over and over for obvious reasons. When it comes to family planning, setting boundaries with others has been very important to me and I know from the feedback I got on that post, I’m not alone. That being said, since I’m fortunate enough to have a platform to speak on, and feel it’s important to write this as well in hopes to educate people who read it and don’t already know.

You might not believe this when I tell you, but I was actually dragged to the Tony Robbins Unleash The Power Within seminar by Joe. Joe’s been a fan of his for a little while now. He frequently listens to his podcast, which he introduced me to, and has read some of his books. While I’m very into self improvement, I found Tony to have a bit too much masculine energy for me. As a spiritual person, I always appreciated the tone of people like Gabby Bernstein, Marianne Williamson and Oprah. That’s who I am. That’s who I resonate with.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, then you already saw the new addition to our family, Jimi! We rescued him at 11-weeks old from a shelter in CT, who rescued him from a kill shelter in South Carolina. He’s mostly black lab, but also a mix of terrier and pit. To say we love him is an understatement!

You guys know that I’ve had it rough lately and anger has played a huge role in my grief process. Remember when I went to the rage room (see blog post) to “safely” smash things and get it out? Well, I took my friend Joelle Garguilo from NBC’s New York Live there recently for a segment and it was so much fun. Check out my latest on “Un-Zen Ways to De-Stress in NYC.”