White brick walls, wood ceiling, luscious greens, string lights, macramé, beautiful blooms + a succulent wall – sounds too GOOD to be true, right? But gather over 350 health + wellness loving, like-minded people and you have the most perfect backdrop for a day full of GOOD vibes. This…is The Good Fest.

Founded by three [3] of Philly’s finest: Jess [@healthcoachphilly], Kate [@she_be_kale_in_it] and Jennifer [@jenniferh490], GOOD was created as “a space for the modern woman to build on her wellness; for anyone who understands that wellness is a lifestyle, not just something you do when life allows you to ‘get around to it’; it’s for the people who’ve been bitten by the wellness bug, but want more.” When Jess + Kate reached out to me to help spread the word about GOOD, I could not say no! The entire philosophy behind it fit like a perfect puzzle piece with my daily lifestyle…and who doesn’t want all the GOOD possible in their life?!

My excitement for GOOD was through the roof! I immediately reached out to my insta-bestie Jenna [@runner_redeemed] and invited her to join me. When she said YES!, the countdown was on to actually meeting IRL after nearly a year of emails, snaps, texts + insta-stories [yes, totally sounds weird meeting such GOOD friends on Instagram but let’s be real…it’s 2017 and I’m all for it]. I knew it was going to be a weekend to remember but I didn’t realize what an impact GOOD was going to have on me + my outlook on not only life, but even myself.

Jenna + I spent Friday night frolicking through the City of Brotherly Love looking for the most perfect outfits for GOOD. Like any health + wellness loving girl, we knew we had wayyyyy too many options of things to wear but this was The GOOD Fest, it had to be GOOD! We searched and searched for the cutest yogi-esque clothes but after sticker shock store after store, we took it as a sign that what we had was GOOD enough and that we were totally overthinking it. So we popped into Tria in Rittenhouse Square for a glass of vino and girl talk [#basic much?]. We then hopped over to Sampan for dinner because the brussel sprouts were calling our name! We enjoyed a fun cocktail, two [2] orders of brussel sprouts and so many other GOOD dishes that left our bellies feeling full + happy.

At 7:15am on Saturday, our alarms went off, mine with the perfect label “THE GOOD FEST” – as if I needed more excitement for the day! Our Uber dropped us off and from the moment I walked into the Skybox Events Center in Fishtown, I was immediately flooded with GOOD vibes. The setting, the smiles of the hundreds of like-minded people around me, the welcoming staff at check-in…I knew I was in for a GOOD day! We walked into the main room covered in yoga mats, made our way towards the front [but not too close…pilates/yoga-newbies here], and excitedly began to take everything in. Before we knew it, Talia [@partyinmyplants] took the stage and immediately the GOODness of the day to come was set.

We started off the day with a quick GOOD life talk with author of the #1 bestseller Where in the OM Am I?, Sara Divello. She discussed her ignition point [ohhh vomiting Vicky] and asked us a very simple, but deep question – what are we doing for ourselves? This got the GOOD thoughts in my mind going…let’s be honest, those wheels are still spinning! I realized that outside of that exact moment of being at GOOD, I didn’t really know what I was doing for myself on a daily basis. I’m hoping to be able to answer this question more frequently so I can continue my path of #selflove and confidence [I see a follow-up blog post to this in the near future!].

Now it was time to get up and get moving! First up was a pilates class lead by the amazingly talented Kristin McGee, recent mother of twin boys and author of Chair Yoga. I don’t know that I’ve ever taken pilates before and let me tell you, my abs and booty seriously felt the burn! After burning up a quick sweat, we switched gears to a relaxing yoga flow led by Jordan Younger. Having listened to her podcast, Soul on Fire, on my walks to + from work each week, it was pretty cool to see her IRL. She had the same energy and gave off such positive, GOOD vibes. I don’t consider myself even close to being a yogi but throughout the flow Jordan kept saying how we were all such GOOD yogis. I then realized that I don’t have to be the most perfect person at yoga to be GOOD; I just need to try! It’s amazing what your mind, body and/or soul can do when you put your heart into and let the GOOD vibes take over.

Post-pilates and yoga, everyone cleared the main room so it could be switched from a sea of yoga mats to the perfect speaker session haven. We grabbed some green juice and snacks thanks to Talula’sand Made in Nature, picked up our seriously GOOD swag bags [still in shock over all the GOOD things included in it] and were ready to make our way into the marketplace. First stop, Franklin + Whitman – only the best facial products in the land [all-natural, plant-based, cruelty-free products with 5% of all sales going to dog rescue organizations – so GOOD!]. We then quickly spotted The GOOD Fest tanks and were 110% getting one…I may or may not be currently wearing it while writing this. A quick head turn to the left and we saw cookies from P.S. & Co. and could not say no! I mean, they’re cookies, helloooooo! I grabbed a sesame-tahini cookie and it was such a GOOD treat.

We then popped over to the Vital Proteins table which I was really looking forward to. I’ve been wanting to test out adding collagen into my daily routine for some time now and what better opportunity than at The GOOD Fest. We sampled one of their new beauty waters [melon mint – it tasted so GOOD!]. The rep at the Vital Proteins table was so incredibly helpful and I ended up walking away with a big tub of collagen peptides + beauty greens; cannot wait to add these GOOD things into my daily routine!

The first speaker session was starting soon so we hopped over to the REBBL table quickly. If you have never tried REBBL before, you are missing out on so much GOODness in your life! We sampled the new dark chocolate protein super herb powered coconut-milk elixir. Having been slowly reintroducing chocolate into my diet again, I cannot even begin to explain how GOOD this is. Jenna + I each walked away with a full-sized bottle of it with huge smiles on our faces [and super happy taste buds!].

Jenna and I grabbed our seats for speaker session #1 with food, meditation + self-care queen, not to mention best-selling author of Eat with Intention, Cassandra Bodzak. Any talk that ends with a brief meditation session followed by a GOOD dance party is right up my alley! It was the perfect “let it go” exercise; it brought about smiles + laughter amongst friends, strangers and neighbors.

Next up for speaker session #2 was author, podcast host, women’s health advocate and creator of @onepartplant, Jessica Murnane. Her mantra of eating one plant-based meal a day has been something I have worked towards for some time now and it truly has been life changing. I’ve noticed so many benefits from a happy gut + increased energy, to glowing skin + a love for GOOD food. Hearing her share her personal story on why she turned to a plant-based lifestyle, to how it wasn’t always GOOD – it was a serious challenge at first, to how she truly found her passion for cooking GOOD [plant-based] food. She even shared her go-to pantry items and you can bet your bottom dollar that every food-loving person in that room grabbed their phone and snapped a picture of it [#guilty]. Her top 10 items are: gluten-free flour, plant-based milks, nuts + seeds, tahini, natural sweeteners, beans + lentils, gluten-free grains, coconut, seed + nut butters and veggie broth. As any GOOD person would do, she even gave us two [2] bonus items: nutritional yeast + tamari.

After talking about food, lunch was on all our minds. Thanks to Snap Kitchen we all got to dive into their GOOD “goddess of green” salad, almond crusted chicken and more. We relaxed for a bit while eating, caught up with some new friends sitting around us and kept soaking in the GOOD vibes of the day. Before I knew it, it was time for my VIP breakout speaker session and I was so excited for this special moment. I decided to do the VIP breakout session with Katie Horwitch + Jessica Murnane on taking small bites for a big life: simple steps to creating a full life.

The 15-ish of us in the session brought our chairs together in a close circle towards the back of the VIP lounge. We were diving deep into our feelings + internal struggles we have that seem to be triggered or bring us down a lot [ie: feeling alone, not feeling loved, not having a flat stomach, etc]. Katie + Jessica had us each write down two [2] things on this track, keeping it anonymous, and throwing it into the middle of the circle. They alternated picking pieces of paper from the floor and reading them out loud for discussion. It was so incredibly moving, cleansing, eye-opening, refreshing, etc. I realized that none of us are alone; there are so many people going through the same thoughts, feelings or struggles.

What did I write as my items? First – the feeling that I am not good enough. Second – throwing myself endless pity parties when times get tough. I won’t go into detail as to the stories + reasoning behind why I wrote down these items, I’ll save that for a future blog post. In short though, the act of writing those two [2] items down, physically throwing them into the middle of the circle, and leaving the room when the session was done with my phrases and all others still sitting on the floor was such a freeing experience; it felt cleansing. I rid those negative thoughts + feelings from my body, left to be thrown out in the garbage. To me, that was symbolic of letting those not-so-GOOD thoughts from my mind, body + soul go for good. Will it be easy? Heck no! But it’s a starting point of personal growth that I am so excited + thankful for.

After my VIP speaker session, I made my way back into the main room. Just with the timing of things I did miss speaker session #3 which was with the fabulous Katie Dalebout about finding balance through creative outlets [looking at you, journaling] while on the path of shaping a GOOD life worth living. From what I’ve heard, this was such a GOOD session!

Up next was the panel session moderated by the queen of GOOD vibes, Talia [her energy is seriously contagious!]. On the panel was: author + host of the Let it Out podcast, Katie Dalebout; founder of the W.E.L.L. Summit + co-founder of Organic Bath Co, Gianne Doherty; author of Where in the OM Am I?, Sara Divello; and last but certainly not least, co-founder/style director of Athleisure Magand fashion editor of DJ mag, Kimmie Smith. Talk about a GOOD panel of lady bosses! They discussed all facets of a GOOD life from first beverage in the morning + first thoughts waking up, to their go-to everyday style + lots of airplane related life references [sorry, you had to be there for it!]. One of them shared how at night they write a list of all the things they want to accomplish the next day. When they wake up in the morning they look at that list and reorganize, prioritize and shift things around to fit their true goals for the day. I loved that and am hoping to integrate that into my lifestyle, especially when I start getting that “not enough hours in the day” feeling!

The GOOD Fest did not hold back when it came to keeping all of us health + wellness loving people fueled; so naturally after the panel session, it was snack time thanks to the GOOD folks at Chill Pop. I dived right into the watermelon-lime popsicle and oh em gee did it hit the spot – so refreshing!! Their pops are all real fruit, never from concentrate, vegan, gluten free and non-GMO. Yup, doesn’t get much better than that!

With the end of GOOD sadly nearing, we all took our seats for the last speaker session. We first heard from The GOOD Fest founders [Jess, Kate + Jennifer] about the future of the fest [heading to LA in February 2018] and some other pretty exciting news they shared. Let’s just say, if you haven’t checked out B+YND…you’re missing out on so much GOOD stuff!

Then, the last speaker session of the day was up. I can’t think of a better person to have closed out all the GOODness of the inaugural fest besides Katie Horwitch, founder of WANT [Women Against Negative Talk]. I think this speaker session touched + connected with me the most. It was extremely relatable, eye opening and just downright honest. We talked about fear/being fearless and how it’s meaning has so greatly changed from 3500BC [when it meant something positive] to today’s world where fear is engulphed in such a negative connotation. Katie said “to be fearless is not to lack fear – it’s when the fear is less than the faith.” Like, whoa…that is some powerful stuff right there!! We then talked about power poses [hellooooo inner Beyonce] and anchor words, something I’m hoping to dive into more in my personal, daily life.

Although most of the speakers dabbled around this in their own way, Katie said something that will forever stick with me, “If it works for you, it works!” Sounds so simple but once I let that sink in, I was like whoa, that is a GOOD motto! If it works for you, it works; If it works for you, it works – I 100% kept repeating this phrase in my head [and still am]. It has just connected with me and left such an impact. Who knew a phrase of seven words could be so impactful; those are some GOOD words! It doesn’t matter what Joe, Bob, Sally or Susie are doing, it matters what you are doing for you. We are all unique and what works for one person, will not work for another. Cherish your uniqueness and do what is GOOD for you!

Katie continued her session with even more GOOD things that are still stuck with me like presence, and how presence is the sum of the verbal signals you’re sending, the non-verbal signals you’re sending, the best parts of your personality + the best parts of your actions. SHe also discussed simple little phrases like: trust yourself, anchor your power, bust your move [hellooooo power pose] + to be the example. Again, simple phrases with such GOOD meaning behind them.

The day wrapped up with all the GOOD people up on stage as we cheered + toasted to all the GOODness that was The GOOD Fest. Although GOOD itself was over, the GOOD weekend wasn’t and the GOOD vibes are here to stay for a looooong time! Fast forward to Sunday and post-SoulCycle class with Jenna, we joined Chris + his wife, the brains behind Franklin & Whitman, for an amazing brunch at Bar Bombon in Center City. 17 smiling faces around the table, countless laughs, new Frank+Whit GOODs, bottomless mimosas, buffalo cauliflower tacos + all the GOOD vibes still beaming from each person at the table. There truly is nothing like being able to connect with people who share the same values as you; it’s truly something special.

So you’re probably wondering, what I would rate The GOOD Fest and all the GOOD that came along with it. That’s easy…an 11 out of 10. I truly feel like I experienced a complete internal + external cleanse; like a weight was lifted off my shoulders that I didn’t know was there. I left with so many tactics that I want to incorporate into my daily lifestyle. Health + wellness are not fads, they are here to stay. Surround yourself with like-minded people and let the GOOD vibes roll!

So...who’s up for a road trip to the west coast for The GOOD Fest #2 in February 2018?! You can count me in!

For all the feels + for a sneak peek inside The GOOD Fest 2017, click HERE.