Well with Arielle Lorre - 200: France, Boobs, Phone Hackers & Q&A

Episode Date: September 28, 2022

In this episode I’m talking about my solo trip to France, the drama that ensued, and revelations I had from traveling alone. I also briefly discuss my relationship status, my boob job & recovery, current wellness routines and listener Q&A.   Exclusively for The Blonde Files listeners, Feel Free Botanic Tonics is offering a 40% off discount on your first purchase – just use promo code BLONDE at checkout. Visit www.botanictonics.com for more information.   Go to Zocdoc.com/BLONDE and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Then start your search for a top-rated doctor today. Many are available within 24 hours.   As our partner, Maude is giving 15% off your first order on all products with the code BLONDE. Head over to getmaude.com/BLONDE.   For listeners of the show, Calm is offering an exclusive offer of 40% off a Calm Premium subscription at CALM.COM/blonde     Produced by Dear Media.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Auto-hue with Sunny Cars feels as if the children Not me be seen. Kiselstramble. Zand-Wa. Actis-vercare. Verdwine. Vacantzican chaotis

but who zorgalos an auto-hurt says Oneo dos no stress. No idea. Nocter-en-verwachted costs. Altight fullledgiverts. So, foo-huees-on-sor-sonder-sorg. Go to your reis-adviceur

or Sunnycars. The following podcast is a dear media production. Hey, welcome to the Blonde-Fournodar. podcast. I'm your host Ariel Lori and I'm here to talk all things wellness. From how to achieve optimal health and well-being to the best beauty tips and everything in between, no topic is off limits and I'm bringing it to you real and unfiltered. I know there is so much information out there so I'm here to help you navigate it all. Thanks for listening. Let's get into it. Hi, everybody. Welcome to the show. I feel like I've done that intro.

so many times. I always say I'm going to come up with something new, but here we are. Anyway, I am recording from Paris. I just got back from a week-long bike trip in Normandy, and it was great, but holy F, I am exhausted. I am ready to go home. I've been gone for about two weeks, and I was actually planning on doing another five or six days in London, but I have so much stuff. with me. I don't feel like schlepping. I am just ready to go back, which is a good thing. But you may have seen on my Instagram stories because I am bombarding you right now that I'm at Chivalblanc in Paris, which is actually like heaven on earth. This is not sponsored in any way. I wish it was. But if you get a chance to stay here in Paris and they have other locations around the world,

I highly recommend it. The attention to detail here is incredible. They have the Dior spa here, which I did yesterday. I'm doing today as well. The service is amazing. I have a beautiful room overlooking the sun, like all natural tones. It's just amazing. The food is so good. It's attached to Samaritan. I don't know if I'm saying that right. And no, I don't speak French. Everybody asked me. No, but I was able to get by. So, amazing. shopping. All in all, just such an incredible place. So definitely put it on your list. If you're coming to Paris and I'm happy to be here. But yeah, I'm ready to go home and get back to my life. So I had you guys send in questions on Instagram as usual. And they were kind of all over the place

wanting to know like about the trip and solo travel, wanting to know about my relationship status, my boob job, current wellness habits, diet and exercise while traveling. So I'll probably jump around. But since I'm here in France still and everything is fresh, I will start with that. So I guess I'll kind of address the relationship stuff a little bit too because I booked this trip when Chuck and I separated. So I was kind of thinking that circumstances would be different than they are right now. And I must have gotten a thousand responses to the picture of us going to that wedding before I left, maybe more. I mean, I really didn't think anybody gave a shit. And I'm sure the majority of people don't, but that caused a little bit of a stir. We did plan on going to that wedding together

the whole time, so it didn't really mean anything. But I will say, everyone is asking, like, how are you after you're divorced? Well, we are not divorced. So, make of that what you will. But the timing in and of itself of this trip was just not great because there's a lot going on back home, a lot that needs to be worked through. And I wasn't as excited as I was a few months ago to just take off and leave for a few weeks on this adventure because circumstances are different, like I said, than I thought that they would be. That said, I wanted to, to just make the most of it and use the time to get some perspective. I definitely got that. So let's see. I spent about a week in Paris solo before the bike trip portion. That was amazing.

I've never traveled internationally alone, but you guys know I go to Florida, which isn't really a big thing, but I go to like Palm Beach or Miami alone a lot. I go to New York alone all the time, sometimes for weeks on end. And it's never an issue for me at all. In fact, I love it. I am a total introvert. I love being by myself. And I like just being able to wake up and have nothing on the agenda and do whatever I feel like doing. So it wasn't daunting to me at all. I know for some people, it is understandably. But I really came here with like nothing planned, no schedule, nothing I really needed to see or do. I really just wanted to wake up, see how I felt on any given day, and just be spontaneous. And that's what I did. And it was great. I basically just wandered. And obviously, I did a ton of shopping.

I walked all over the city. I explored different neighborhoods. I ate my way through all of them. I sat in parks and ate gelato and read my book. It was amazing. I met up with a friend one day when she got into the city and she knows Paris really well. So she took me to some of her favorite spots for like crapes and chocolate and pastries and shopping. So that was really fun. And as far as safety goes, I felt very safe in Paris. I mean, I wasn't out super late at night. I wasn't like anywhere where I was kind of walking alone. Like there were always kind of busy streets. I stayed in the Murray that first week, which kind of reminds me of like the West Village of Paris. It's very neighborhoody. And when I went to other neighborhoods, they were all nice and like I said,

busy. So safety never felt like an issue. And then my dad came to meet me at the end of that week and we had a couple days in Paris. Then we took a car to Normandy for the bike trip. And by the way, the way that we did, the bike trip was through the company Butterfield and Robinson. Shout out. I love them. Chuck and I did an incredible bike trip with them in Vietnam. And then we had one of our guides from the Vietnam trip, which was in 2016, come do a bespoke trip with us last year when we got the yacht in Greece and we hit all the islands. So they're amazing. However, well, not however, about Butterfield, but however, this is where my trouble kind of began. So we had a driver take us from Paris to Normandy and on that car ride I got a suspicious text but I didn't realize until I opened it that it was

sketchy like it was definitely kind of written in broken English and said something weird and something in me was just like oh that's not good and I blocked the number immediately and then I deleted the message but I didn't click anything I just deleted it so whether this is a coincidence or not who knows. But later that day, my phone started acting really weird. Like it wasn't responding to my touch. And when I was using it, it was having that ghost touch thing where apps were opening and it was doing things without me touching it. So I was like, huh, that's kind of weird. Maybe like, I don't really know what I was thinking. Not really that anything bad was happening. I just thought maybe, I don't know, I needed to update it or whatever. So that night, it got weird.

worse and I was like, hmm, I'm four hours away from Paris, meaning four hours away from an Apple store. My phone isn't working, but whatever. Maybe I can update the software. Maybe it's a glitch. So the next morning, it was completely unusable. It was being crazy to the point where I really couldn't even open it. And if I did get it open, it was like going berserk. And we were riding bikes all day. So there was really nothing I could do till later anyway. I called Apple. They couldn't get me a new phone for three to five business days, which is not helpful. And I was like, I think I'm kind of like shit out of luck. Let's talk about setting the mood.

That's right. The mood, you know, when you want to get intimate, whether it's by yourself or with a partner, there is something you need to have on your nightstand. And that is mod. So mod is redefining what sexual wellness and modern intimacy looks like. by creating the chapter in the outdated sexual wellness industry. Mod makes these gorgeous, modern, body-safe, high-quality essentials for before, during, and after sex, and they have a whole variety of products like vibrators,

lubricants, and massage candles. You guys have to go on their website. It's getmod.com, M-A-U-D-E. And look at these vibrators. Their products are absolutely beautiful. they pay such detailed attention to design. They are like all these neutral, really beautiful, minimalistic designs and colors.

And you guys are going to want this to be seen. They're not like those outdated, like raunchy, ugly vibrators. Their lubricants smell so incredible, not like that gross kind of siliconey smell. And not only do they pay attention to design, but they pay attention to sustainability. and inclusivity. So basically, if sexual wellness had a name, it would be Maud. One of the coolest things about Maud is that it is female-led, Latin X-founded company.

Their founder created Maud for all bodies, all genders, all races, and Dakota Johnson joined Maud in 2020 as their co-creative director. So need I say more? And guess what? You guys are all getting a treat from Maud. So as my partner, Maud is giving 15% off. off your first order on all products with the code blonde. I recommend starting with the vibe. You can thank me later. So head over to getmod.com slash blonde. Again, that's get, M-A-U-D-E.com and use blonde to get 15% off your first order.

Trust me, you deserve a night in. Hey friend, I'm Nicole Walters, mom of three, your internet bestie and founder of Inherent Learning Company. If you're looking for the motivation you need to pursue a life of purpose, then join me each week on the Nicole Walters podcast as I share my hard learned lessons and answer your DMs about life, business, and everything in between. We'll laugh, we'll cry, and we'll grant ourselves grace as we do life together. Check out the Nicole Walters podcast every Tuesday here on Dear Media.

You can listen anywhere you listen to podcasts. So we rode to Omaha Beach, which I'm sure you know, it's a very somber place. It's where D-Day occurred. There were so many casualties. It's a really sad place to visit. And I really wanted to be present. But while we were there, after having ridden like two hours on our bikes to get there, I see on my phone, which I had with me, but I couldn't use that I was getting two-factor authentication texts from my bank account, my Instagram,

the invoicing app that I use with my management team. And I was like, what the fuck? Like somebody was actively trying to log into my accounts. And I was without a phone. I couldn't even log into those things from my dad's phone because the two-factor authentication would go to my phone. And I couldn't open the messages to see the codes. So it was like full panic.

I was shaking. Like I just felt so helpless. I tried to log into my. my eye cloud from my dad's phone, which I couldn't do because the authentications, I would have to go through, like, as part of the security of my account, it would go to my phone and I couldn't open my phone. So it was a nightmare. And I felt like part of me felt silly because here I am on Omaha Beach where like terrible things happened. And I'm freaking out about this. But at the same time, like it felt like such a violation and I couldn't do anything about it. So it was just really

fucked up. So just a nightmare. I still had to ride like, I don't know, maybe 10 kilometers to where the rest of the group was meeting for lunch. And I wanted to go back to the hotel, which was like 45 minutes away by car so that I could get to my computer and try to lock everything down. So long story short, I got back to the hotel a couple hours later. I logged into everything. I saw my Instagram was logged in at three locations in the U.S. My management team were getting emails. that people were trying to log in. So long story short, I locked everything down. Thank God. I don't know that aside from Instagram, anything was really hacked into. And I tried to erase my phone and everything on it and restore it to factory, but like I couldn't get the phone on. And if I did get it on, like I said,

I would press a button, then it would go to something else. And the problem just persisted. I was getting two-factor authentication from my wireless carrier. So, It was just endless. And the whole time I'm trying to find a place that sold iPhones in this tiny village that I was in in Normandy, which was very difficult. I found one place and I went there and I was like, oh my God, finally, but they didn't speak English. So I was using my translate thing. But then they said I would have to buy their French wireless plan. It was like one thing after another that could go wrong, basically. Oh, also when I was panicking, riding from Omaha Beach, I was on an e-bike and my e-bike died. So I could still pedal, but it was so heavy. It felt like peddling with brakes on. And I was like crying. It was just a lot. I will admit, I didn't handle it very gracefully. I feel bad for my dad because I was like freaking out and he probably felt helpless too. And I think just being so far from home, being helpless made me really emotional and stressed. But ultimately, three days after this all started. I got a new phone. And in the scheme of things, I know not a major problem, but it was

stressful. And obviously, I couldn't post and be on social media. So that's why I took a little bit of a hiatus. So you're probably like, enough about your phone. Oh, but one thing I did remember was Dr. Fried, the astrologer, who was on my show a few episodes ago, said Mercury was going to be in retrograde and to be aware of tech problems. And I was like, hello. So who knows what all ultimately happened, it would appear, obviously, that I was hacked somehow. I don't know if, like, being on public Wi-Fi's, like, if you have your Wi-Fi on sometimes, obviously, like, when you're in a city or you're going through different areas, your phone will pick up on those Wi-Fi's. And when I talked to Apple and when I talked to AT&T, they were like, hmm, they didn't say like

impossible, but who knows, maybe somebody techie will write me in and either say I'm like totally wrong or that, yes, I was hacked. I know that as a whole, you guys are very health conscious, and I know that a lot of my listeners either don't drink or really try to moderate, but we all want to have that free feeling that comes with alcohol, right? So you can actually get that with feel-free by botanic tonics. It is a plant-based tonic drink that delivers all the feels. You may have heard my episode with the founder a few weeks back. It was really interesting to hear his story about how he quit drinking and then went on this mission to create a tonic that is plant-based that gives you that kind of free, euphoric feeling. It can help with productivity and it can

enhance your focus. It can also just help to relieve the occasional stress. And it's just a great non-alcoholic substitute that you can have with your friends when you're socializing or to unwind at the end of the day. There are so many ways to enjoy it. I know some people who like to drink a little bit of it before they're podcasting. So you can try it and see what works for you. And exclusively for the Blonde Files listeners, feel free botanic tonics is offering a 40% off discount on your first purchase. All you have to do is use the promo code blonde at checkout at botanic tonics.com. Again, that is 40% off on your first purchase. Such a good deal. I'll just use the promo code blonde, B-L-O-N-D-E at checkout at botanic tonics.com.

Moral of the story, travel with a backup phone. Okay, moving on. So I did this bike trip for a week in Normandy. It was incredible, but obviously stressful with that going on. But once it was resolved, I had a good time. The region is beautiful. And I love learning the history and Butterfield does really great trips where you're biking a lot, but also in this case, like we went to chateaus. We went to a beautiful one where the owner hosted us for this amazing lunch. We had some great dinners. We saw so much in a short period of time. So it was fun, but as I said, I'm exhausted. Have I mentioned? I'm exhausted and ready to go home. And losing my voice, I've tested negative twice for COVID, but that's always kind of a concern when traveling. But mainly I'm excited to go home, go to Air One,

eat something besides bread and butter and cheese and fish as good as it all was. Which brings me to a question. I got a lot, which I did talk about in my Italy solo episode, but it's how do I balance diet and exercise with enjoying a trip when I'm traveling. And my answer is basically that I don't really. I know that's not a great answer, but one of the things I love about traveling is experiencing all the food like local to wherever I am and indulging in a way that I don't when I'm at home, not because I really consciously diet at home, but I stick to my usual. I have my protein blob or my yogurt bowl in the morning. I fit in whatever I can for lunch. And then I have like fish or vegetables or pasta or whatever for dinner. And it's kind of like a similar thing day in and day

out. So I love trying new things. I love enjoying all the food when I travel. And I find that usually I'm walking a ton or in this case biking and walking a ton. So I was constantly like replenishing my energy, total carb loading. That was my reasoning. I had to carb load for all the exercise. I've got to say, though, I feel like when I travel, I usually lose weight. And I know you're probably like, ugh, you're so fucking annoying. But I just feel like my body functions better. And that just may be the quality of the food in some of these places or all the activity or, you know, the lack of day-to-day stress, although not the case for some of this. trip, but it all just kind of balances out. And if I have tons of energy or I'm just feeling

like tight, especially after a flight, or I just want the endorphins, I'll do a quick Pilates workout or something. I also do love a hotel gym. I find that I do better workouts at a hotel gym because it's fun to like do all the different equipment. But I didn't do that on this trip. Well, also I'm a few months post-boob job, so I can't really do those types of workouts anyway, which I will talk about because I know a lot of people wanted to know, but I will say this. Like this is probably a generalization, but the diet here includes a lot of carbs, cheese. I mean, not on like Italy, although Italy also is heavy on like fresh vegetables and fish and olive oil. But they have that here too.

But there's a lot of like carbs and cheese and butter. And I mean, obviously there are vegan options too and all of that. but people kind of have pastries at breakfast and bread with lunch and afternoon pastries and all of that, like with impunity. And I saw women getting afternoon pastries with friends and, you know, people eating bread with their salad at lunch. And the food can be really rich. But you don't really see many overweight people like at all. And you always hear that from Americans going to other cities.

in the world. And like I said, probably an overgeneralization. I mean, you'll find that anywhere. But for the most part, like, people seem pretty healthy aside from that everybody here is still smoking. So I think it probably has to do with being active, you know, living in a city, walking a lot. And probably because the portions here are smaller and just true moderation and balance, even in like a four-course meal, which we had a lot of, or even five-course meal, the portions are small. So, I don't know, I feel like we, including myself here, because I used to do this, we limit things like carbs in our diets and cut out all of these things, but then we overcompensate in other food categories and just end up eating big portions to try to stay full because we're not eating certain things. And I don't know,

there's just a totally different mentality and approach here and in a lot of other European places. And that's something that I want to take with me back to L.A., the land of no carbs and no dairy and no sugar and no soy and so on and so on. I remember when Dr. Emmer and Mare came on the podcast last year, he was talking about dairy and gut health and how in Europe there's often a cheese course, which we had here after dinner before, dessert and how like that is good for the gut. It's probiotics. And obviously it's so fresh here. It's a little bit different than eating like, you know, a piece of craft American cheese or whatever that is. But I thought that was so interesting. And it's not something that I'll be doing necessarily at home because my skin doesn't love it. I'm like breakout city right now, unfortunately. But it's just a reminder that there isn't just one way. It doesn't have to be all about restriction and eliminating everything that is

trendy to avoid. You guys know I am a huge fan of meditation. It completely changed my life. And I always say on the podcast that we go through our days so distracted and barely even have time to get in touch with ourselves. I feel like our days are just filled with the to-dos, laundry, emails, work, errands, cooking dinner. Not to mention, we are pretty much all glued to our phones. And so, 24-7. So there's pretty much no time to focus on what you need to tune in to your mind and your body. But with Calm, you can prioritize your most important to do, which is taking time for yourself each day. So I am partnering with Calm, the number one mental wellness app to give you the tools that improve the way you feel. I'm talking about this in today's episode about being able to

be alone in silence with your own thoughts and meditation is a huge way to help you kind of hone that skill. So you can reduce stress and anxiety through guided meditations, improve focus with curated music tracks, and rest and recharge with Com's imaginative sleep stories for children and adults. There's even new daily movement sessions designed to relax your body and uplift your mind. So if you go to calm.com slash blonde, you will get a special offer of 40% off a com premium subscription and new content is added every week. It's such an incredible app. Over 100 million people around the world use calm to take care of their minds. So calm is ready to help you stress less, sleep more, and live a happier, healthier life. I know that the idea of meditating and where to start

can be so daunting, but it really is this one thing that really touches every area of your life once you can get consistent with it. And comm is such an incredible way to start. So for listeners of the show, Com is offering an exclusive offer of 40% off a Com premium subscription at com.com slash blonde. Go to C-A-L-M-com slash blonde for 40% off unlimited access to Com's entire library. That's calm.com slash blonde. If you're a fan of it, sushi is incredible, but gas station sushi, not so much. Finding the right sushi makes all the difference, and the same goes for finding the right doctor.

With Zokok, you can find the right doctor for you in your network and in your neighborhood, one that makes you feel like you're in good hands, makes you feel supported and heard, even if you are telling them about your favorite sushi place. So Zoc Doc is a free app that shows you doctors who are patient reviewed, take your insurance, and are available when you need them. I have found a few incredible doctors by Zoc Doc, and this is the key for me, the availability. So if I have something going on and I need to get in to see a specialist, oftentimes there can be like crazy wait times. You find somebody after searching online and then you call them, come to find out that they don't have availability for weeks. So this is why I love Zoc Doc so much.

Also on Zoc Doc, you can find every specialist under the sun, whether you are trying to straighten your teeth, fix an achy back, get your skin checked or anything else. Zocococ has you covered. Their mobile app is as easy as ordering a ride to a restaurant or getting delivery to your house. It's really user-friendly. You just search, find, and book doctors with a few taps. So you can go to Zocococ.com.

Find the doctor that is right for you. appointment in person or remotely and one that works for your schedule. Go to Zocdoc.com slash blonde and download the Zocdoc app for free. Then start your search for a top rated doctor today. Many are available within 24 hours. Again, that's Zockdoch, doc, doc, dot com slash blonde. Zockdoc.com slash blonde. I feel like I'm exhausted right now. I don't even know if I'm making sense, but let's move on. let's talk boobs. So I'm going to have my doctor on in the next few weeks. So I won't go too much into detail, but I also have gotten so many questions about this over the course of a couple months and on this Q&A. So I'll start with why did I decide to do it? If you have been

listening for a while, you've probably heard me say that I really didn't care about doing any type of body work. But for years, I said that I would do a lift and fat transfer. once it was time and it was time, I think, because I am naturally thin or just due to genetics or a combination of those things, which can obviously be good in some ways. It can also be not great in other ways. I lost a lot of the fat in my boobs. They needed a little bit of a lift. So I did a circumariolar mastopexy. And I did a little implant under the muscle. I did 210 CCs in one and 250 and the other due to less tissue in one of them. So the reason I chose an implant over fat is mainly because of the fact that I am pretty petite. My body doesn't hold on to a ton of fat. And I wanted

a consistent result that I wouldn't be worried about losing over time. Like if my workouts change or whatever, my weight fluctuates. I just, I wanted a bigger cup size and I wanted volume that fat wouldn't give me. So I think it's a great option, but I just didn't want to like have to go through multiple rounds and deal with like the fluctuations and being disappointed. If I lose some of it, I just wanted to do like one and done. So as for the lift, circumariol or mastopexis or donut lifts or Benelli lifts as they're called are not a favorite procedure by a lot of surgeons because it can have a not great outcome. They can kind of flatten the breast and. cause the ariola to spread. So I won't explain this well, but basically they cut a donut of tissue

around the ariola. Sorry for anybody's squeamish listening, but they leave your ariola and your nipple on the breast. They cut a donut of skin around it, and then they basically tighten that tissue to the ariola. So you can think about how that would cause a lot of attention on that ariola if it's not done well, how it can kind of flatten the front of the breast. And if it's done well though you have less scarring than with a lollipop or an anchor breast lift obviously you can have those as well and take really good care of the scars and not have a lot of scarring everybody's skin is different but this is what I opted for I did tell my surgeon once you get in there if there's a better option because I was kind of on the line of like being able to do this type of lift or needing a

lollipop I really didn't want the lollipop scar but I said you know once you get in there you make the executive decision of what's going to have the absolute best outcome. And when I woke up, I remember him saying it was actually the best to do this. So it's really only an option if you don't need like a big lift. And I'll have Dr. Cohen, my surgeon, come on and explain all of this. But I will say my boobs look amazing. I'm so happy that I did it. Like I never cared much about my body, about my boobs. I like the look of small boobs, especially on my type of frame and also because of the style of clothes that I wear and I feel like a lot of designer clothes are made for smaller boobs. But all of my friends who have done it always said like it will

help so much with confidence. Not that I felt like I even needed help with confidence, but it just makes you, I don't know, it did make me feel more confident, like not having to worry about wearing certain things. Like I can wear something low cut like that dress that I wore to the wedding and not have like pancakey boobs, although nothing wrong with that. I feel like people. are going to come for me for some of these things that I'm saying. But I'm really, really happy with it. I'm really happy with the outcome. I just love them so much. But the recovery was brutal. So first of all, I had Franken boobs, okay? I had some mild panic attacks the first week or so, even like two weeks, just, you know, franken boobs. I had stitches all around my ariola. Sorry if like my family, anybody is

listening to this. But they are super swollen when you first get them done. The implant is sitting really high. They were like up on my chest. They were huge initially. I was like, oh my God, I didn't communicate well, like what I wanted, even though Dr. Cohen's amazing. We were totally on the same page regarding size the whole time. But it's just such a big change. And the stitches, which actually I didn't have visible stitches, but the incisions around the ariolas were a little bit scary looking in the beginning. So that was hard.

And then physically, the recovery was really, really hard. I think, for one, I had been going through so much leading up to it. I had had COVID for basically a month. I just could not get over it. We're not sure if I got two variants back to back or if I just had a really hard time recovering. I actually had to postpone surgery because of that. Then I was going through all the separation stuff with Chuck at that time. So my body, my mind,

were just under so much stress to the point where a few days before surgery, I was like, I don't know if I should go through with this. Like it seemed like terrible timing. But a lot of my friends and people close to me were like, you know what you can handle. Obviously nobody was like pressuring me into surgery, but some of them were like maybe it's the best timing because you'll have to stop and slow down for a minute. Really, it ended up being like a month. But that was kind of ultimately the case. It did end up being good timing, but it was hard. I just did not expect to be so exhausted. Like for weeks, I could barely function. I didn't drive for weeks because of the pain and just the discomfort. I could barely go for a walk around the block. I was so sore. And I have to

say the initial feeling of having an implant in your body, even as small as I went, is really uncomfortable. I cried at night for a few nights because I just felt like I'd never get used to it. And I was worried. I made a huge mistake. And I was like, well, now I'm stuck with it. But my friends really helped a lot. And I have to shout out Melinda, the beauty broker. She helped me a lot. She also recommended these scar gel sheets that I've been wearing for a few weeks. And the incisions are fading really beautifully. They look amazing. And that's also a testament to my doctor. What else? I'll go way more into this. Like I said in the episode with Dr. Cohen, I'm sure not everybody wants to hear about my boobs. So I will move on, but overall really happy with it.

Excuse me. I'm tired. Okay. I'm going to start reading off questions on Instagram. So this might be all over the place. Do I get anxiety being alone with my thoughts, especially while traveling? Well, like I mentioned earlier, I'm an introvert. So I actually really enjoy it. And I was really busy the majority of this trip. So I barely even had a lot of time alone. But in general, what was the question? In general, no, I don't get anxiety being alone with my thoughts. It's something that I'm really actually grateful for. I think largely it's a result of meditation, being able to meditate for 20 minutes in silence twice a day. And that's TM, which I did an episode on. I won't get into it here. And also the work I've done in sobriety. Like I've confronted all of my shit and I'm not really

afraid to look at it. I'm not afraid to feel things because I know that it passes. Obviously, I don't want to be like uncomfortable like anybody, but I would say I'm comfortable alone and silence with my own thoughts usually. Obviously, there are difficult times in life. There were points on this trip that were really hard and I had some rumination for sure, but I find that if I can come back to the present moment, a lot of that goes away because a lot of the uncomfortable thoughts come from thinking about the future or thinking about the past. It's not being in the present moment. I actually just had a massage here and the therapist asked me if I wanted to know what my body and my soul were telling me. And I was like, sure. Like I'm not a talker during a massage,

but she seemed to want to tell me. And she seemed pretty legit. So I was like, sure. So she pressed a point on my back that was so tight and painful. And she's, said something like, well, this is fear. Your soul wants you to stop trying to control and manage a situation in your life right now. She wants you to let go and know it's going to be okay. And it happened to be so relevant. I was like, okay, go on. This is interesting. Obviously, that can apply to most people. But then she moved to another spot and she was like, this spot is about security. And your soul wants you to know that you have everything you need within you and to stop looking outwards. And she kept going and saying things that were so relevant to things I'm going through now. It was

kind of crazy. And one of the things she said was like, you need to breathe. She was like, breathe, focus on your breath. Just breathe in, breathe out, pay attention to it and be where you are right now because you are so far in the future. And I was like, what the fuck? Like, how does this lady know? It was really crazy, especially because I was doing my morning meditation. And at the end of it, it says to ask for a sign delivered in an unexpected way that in the meditation, you made a connection with like the divine or like the energetic field. It's the Joe dispens a morning meditation that I like. So at the end of that meditation, you're like, I don't know if you ask for a sign or you just become aware of looking for a sign. that comes to you in an unexpected way.

And then that happened. So I was like, wow, that's my sign. Okay, I'm getting really woo-woo, but it was kind of crazy. So where was I? Being alone with thoughts, I think, honestly, nowadays, it's kind of a superpower because we're so distracted all the time. But it's something that anybody can get comfortable with. You just have to practice, I think.

Meditation helps. I feel like doing a brain dump where you just journal everything in your head when you wake up if you have time and then meditate. or just sit in silence for like two minutes, that can help because so often we just, I mean, all of us have so much shit bouncing around in our minds and most of it is like pretty meaningless. So if you can just get it out, that might clear up some space. And then obviously if there are things that you're having trouble with, therapy is great. Walking is great when I had, oh my God, I'm going to blank on her name. This is how I know I'm tired because I talk about this all the time.

But I had a therapist on the show who talks about how walking disrupts rumination and negative thoughts. Exercise helps, obviously. Ultimately, just don't be afraid of it. I think a lot of people are afraid of being alone with their thoughts. So they distract themselves all the time without even trying to be alone with their thoughts. Okay. Update on how I'm feeling and doing because I looked sad on Instagram. I don't even know how to answer this.

First of all, I would say just. blanket statement. Don't read into facial expressions on Instagram, whether it's a photo or an Instagram story or whatever. It's usually not an accurate portrayal of what's going on in someone's life. You guys don't need to hear this, but just a reminder, you can look sad and be happy and probably more common is you can look happy and like you have all your shit together and you can be going through something really hard. But to answer the question, I'm doing well, I definitely got perspective on this trip, like I said, and I'm feeling really clear on what I want and what direction I'm going in. And I'm excited to go home. Okay, best advice for recovering from

surgery. I got a lot of DMs when I was recovering from my surgery from other people who were recovering or were about to have surgery and wanted ways to speed up healing. So I can say, having had a few surgeries that there are some things that definitely help in my experience. I feel like taking bromelaine and arnica, help with bruising. My friend Daniela has a whole protocol. I'm going to have her on the podcast, but she swears by liposomal glutathione and I believe vitamin C and a few other things. I'm going to have her on the podcast.

So we'll talk about it then. But for me, really it comes down to rest, like not trying to do too much, especially when you mentally and energetically start to feel better, but your body is still recovering. That is the hardest thing because you feel like you want to start going for walks or working out or going to dinner or whatever it is that you want to do. And then your body is usually like, no. And you can kind of regress or have setbacks. So getting lots of sleep, eating a protein-rich diet, I feel like really helps for me. Lots of dark leafy greens. Something Melinda really emphasized when I was having a hard time recovering. I also like to

do smoothies with like fruit and nut butter and flax and chia seeds and spinach and avocado just shove everything you can in there it's an easy way to get a lot of nutrients when you might not be hungry from like the anesthesia or just feeling not great and medication and all of that obviously stay super hydrated follow all of your doctors pre and post up instructions but ultimately I feel like there's no secret our bodies all recover differently from each other. I have friends who have had breast surgeries who were out in about four days later, and then there's me who did not have that experience. So I think rest and patients are huge. I remember I texted a doctor who helped me with COVID. This guy, Dr. Josh Diamond,

he's amazing. I was maybe like 10 days post-op. I was so exhausted. I could barely function. I was falling asleep constantly and I was like, I think I've done too much. I've had too many procedures, put my body through too much. I'm never going to recover. And he's super patient and empathetic. But he was like, your body doesn't know that it had surgery. It just knows that there was trauma and that it has to heal. And it's doing everything it can to heal itself. So really, it comes down to time. And at the end of the day, I think he's right. Like I wanted to know what. to take. I was like, do I need NAD? Like, come, give me the infusions. Tell me what vitamins to take. He did recommend some supplements. But he was like, you just got to be patient. And he really helped me slow my role and stop trying to fix everything and just kind of ride the wave of healing. So that's my advice to anyone going through it or thinking about it or planning something in the future. Just be prepared for that. Accepting a childless life. well, I think if you don't want kids or you don't want kids right now or you're not sure, be confident in that choice and tune out the noise that tells you that you have to have kids or that you have to have that experience or that not having kids as some kind of alternative lifestyle.

Like that is so bizarre to me. Obviously, at one time, procreation was the goal and purpose of life. But so was like hunting and gathering. So times have changed. And there are so many ways to have a fulfilling life without having kids. So I can honestly say there's no part of me that wants them. There's no part of me that's even curious about the experience. Like I truly cannot imagine what it even feels like to want kids. I don't know why. But I also just don't really question it. I don't, I don't know. So I don't really know how to tell somebody how to accept it. I think that's a really personal thing and everybody's reasons for not wanting kids or not

having kids are very different and deeply personal. But I also know that a lot of the doubt and the second guessing that I think a lot of us childless experience, I feel like that's such a weird way to say it too. Like, oh, childless, like you're lacking something. I feel like a lot of that that doubt, though, comes down to this immense pressure and this narrative that it's like the only purpose in life and that we have to have that experience and that if we don't have that experience, we will regret it if we don't. And I don't doubt that when somebody has a baby and that baby is born, their life takes on an entirely new meaning. They feel a kind of love and connection that I probably can't even fathom. But I don't think that not having that means that I'm having a lesser

life experience. So to that point, somebody asked if I'm planning on freezing my eggs and I really don't know. I mean, I'd have to decide in the next few years. And it feels like a smart thing to do since I do have the option. But it also feels like something I would do as a result of this pressure. Because like I said, I just don't foresee any situation where I would want kids. So if you don't want kids, I say, good for you. Own it. Go out and enjoy your life and enjoy not paying for college. Okay, what will be my fall routine when I get back from my trip? Well, I am a basic bitch. I love fall more than anything. I think my fall routine is kind of TBD. There's a lot of things up in the year right now, but something I really want to bring with me back to my life in L.A. And this doesn't have to do with fall, but it's boundaries. I spent like no time on social media this trip. Obviously it's my job. So sorry to my managers and my team at Dear Media for, not getting some of my work done. I have to be on social media, but I also really want to implement stricter guidelines, like a time in the morning when I start and a time in the evening

when I stop because social media at this point feels like an endless hamster wheel race where everybody is doing it. Everyone's doing it constantly. Presumably, you know, if you're a content creator. You're trying to grow. And with video, everything is a content opportunity. It's so hard to turn off. It completely consumed my life in LA. And I love it. But I also don't want to be constantly on. I'm not a creative well that never runs dry. I need to have a real life that I can then share about on social media. Instead of having a social media life, you guys get what I'm saying, right? So yes, I want to grow, of course. I really want to continue to grow the podcast. That's my baby. But I want to provide also better content, which I can only do by having boundaries and like not burning myself out. So I want

to get back to more recipes. I love fall recipes. I love fall fashion. Obviously, continue with wellness content, but really share things that I love and things that I think you guys will love and provide value instead of just providing content. And yeah, so prioritize my non-digital life more. That's a goal for me this fall. I'm going off on a tangent. But okay, fall. I'm envisioning lots of fall walks with Harvey, cooking fall recipes, getting back into a consistent workout routine, which I haven't done since surgery. And I also miss like the social aspect of doing it with my friends. I don't know. I feel like I'm not answering this well. But basically better work life balance and being present and enjoying my favorite season. Okay, I'm going to do some quicker ones.

Favorite places to shop and what I'm eyeing for fall. I am loving long dresses and skirts with boots. I'm loving sweaters, of course, and obviously big coats. That's always my favorite thing about fall and winter. But that's kind of my look for fall and winter, I think. Simple, some oversized silhouettes on top, like big coats and blazers, nice sweaters, and then like a long streamlined skirt or dress with like either combat boots, cowboy boots, not overly western cowboy boots with like the western design, like a stitching and all of that, but just the silhouette. Or like a tall knee-high boot. And favorite places to shop online, I shop at Forward, Netaporte, Farte, Farage, Far

Farfetch, Luis Siva-Viara Roma, moda operandi. In person, I basically only go to like Sacks, Neiman's, and Elise Walker in L.A. Because those are all easy. But I love Eritzia basics. So I'll do a lot of high-low. Like I splurge on outerwear and sweaters and shoes and bags. And then the rest, you're like, what's the rest? That's everything. But like T-shirts and more casual like sweatshirts and things like that I'll mainly just do from Eritzia. How do I plan outfits for trips? I'm the worst packer ever. For this trip, I basically packed for the bike trip and then I just bought my nicer outfits here. Do I book my own travel or go through an agent? I have an agent who handles everything for me, all my travel. She's my savior. She's amazing. Antoinette

Delio. I've posted her on Instagram. Her handle is luxury travel and beyond. She does did, does, all of chalk and my travel and then she also just does all my stuff too she's the best any advice for someone newly sober find other sober people so you have a group of like-minded people that you can just talk to about things and to hang out with and yeah you need sober people to be able to process things with and just experience life with you don't need all sober friends but having like a community is really important. Weight loss tips. Listen to my recent episode with Alana Molstein. Such a good episode. What do I ask for when I get my hair done? Wheatie Rudy. Liz, my colorist and I joke that we have to trademark it. So I do highlights every few months, but I only do like a partial

highlight. And then we do a wheat gloss to get that really nice beige blonde. And then I like a lot of root so it looks really grown out and then I do let it go for a few months. Okay, I'm going to close it out here. What is something unexpected I discovered about solo travel? I think the most unexpected thing is that I thought I wanted to be like a total nomad and travel all the time. And with this trip, as fun as it was, I really realized where my priorities are. And I realized that like as much as I love travel, it will always be part of my life. It isn't my life. And there's really nothing like being home with your friends and your loved ones and having a life that you want to go back to. So I think that's it for me today. Thank you guys for listening.

Talk to you next week. I hope you enjoyed that episode. If you liked it and if you like the show in general, please take a second to rate, review, and subscribe. It goes a long way, and it's actually the best way to support the show. Also, if you want to see more about each episode, you can head over to The Blonde Files podcast on Instagram. I'm always posting about each episode there or over on my personal page at Ariel Lorry. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show, may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.