Hi new friend!! I’m Annie! I was raised just outside of Boston, Massachusetts & now living in Houston, Texas. I met my husband, Todd, in Texas while working in the golf business - we were both former college athletes turned teaching/club professionals at the time, and are now proud parents to two sweet babies J.P. & Charli Grace. I’ve turned my “can’t stand small talk” feelings into a mindset coaching business where I help women (moms specifically) get more LIFE out of life, dive deep, open up, unzip, and change the narrative of their own lives with tools that suit THEM. I believe the world has become REALLY noisy and I help moms turn down the volume and turn UP what feels good to them. I recently added the title “podcast host” to my life since combining my love of connecting and talking. The Unrefined Joy Podcast brings not only tools and first-hand stories from guests who have really gone THROUGH it in their lives and have come out on the other side victorious but a really wholesome, real, and authentic take on the fact that life is HARD that helps level the playing field to help others find ways to find and create more joy in their lives! These days I’m either on the floor playing with my babies, reading, out for a run, or on the couch with my people and Aro has helped me to be even more intentional with ALL of those things.

What led you to become a mindfulness coach?

My whole life, I’ve felt a calling to help others...I LOVE listening to people’s stories and learning what makes them who they are, seeing the way their eyes light up when they talk about certain things or the way their body language shifts - I will avoid surface-level conversation at all costs. I genuinely believe we’ve been put on this earth to connect with and love other people.

‍How would you explain Aro to someone who doesn’t know it?

THE greatest tool you could add to you/your family's toolbox in order to TRULY seek intentionality inside your home. It has been the bridge I needed to help me GET PROJECTS DONE, get to sleep earlier, and really BE inside my life (and to help me not feel like I was so “at fault” for the habits created).

‍If you have a free week, where would you be and what would you be doing?

Should I be embarrassed if I would say “at home with my husband and babies”? Snuggled up on the couch? Playing blocks /magnatiles/trains on the floor? In this CURRENT season of my life (babies are 3.5 and 1) I’m finding SO much peace and joy just being INSIDE our four walls, making and sharing meals together. I have also hardcore fallen in love with running over the last few years - I grew up playing sports and was a D1 college athlete (golf) - so running was always a punishment.. now?! I can’t get enough - even with babies in tow (or in the stroller!) so I would FOR SURE be lacing up. Ok but ALSO, I would be sitting on SOME kind of front porch overlooking SOME kind of water feature with a good book in hand and a cozy blanket.

‍What is something you haven’t accomplished yet that you aspire to do?

I can’t wait to look back on these answers in a year or so.. because RIGHT NOW, every aspect of my life is exactly what I’ve been working towards.. and I feel the deepest sense of contentment yet I would just love to take what we have and grow/expand - all areas - my faith, 1:1 Coaching, my podcast and even the depth of family time - I love being in a constant pursuit of growth and evolution, even if that means slowly.‍

Do you have a moment when you realized your phone was getting in the way of what’s important to you?

Too many? I started my personal phone detox (VERY slowly) in Jan 2021 and was SO erratic with it - running a business on social media, I remember the day I “feared I would never be able to take a single DAY off” and that’s when it hit me.. in July 2022 I took the entire month off of social media (with a 4mo and 2.5yo) and it was maybe the greatest month of my life.. it felt slower, happier, more peaceful. I was CONVINCED I’d be able to jump back into the social media world with great boundaries since I knew how good it felt to NOT be on my phone all the time.. and then, habits came RIGHT back.. in fact, they might have come back even worse since I felt like I was “catching up”. I would find myself checking my phone at red lights, while playing with blocks/on the floor with my babies, and sitting on the couch “trying to connect” with my husband at night. I would get SO mad at myself when I would lay down for a nap when the babies would both be napping.. an hour and a half would go by and the baby would wake up (as she should) and I would feel resentful of her crying.. even tho I COULD (read: should) have taken that time to do...a MILLION other things other than scrolling. Please know, if you’re reading this, I’m not demonizing the “doom scroll” I’m just bringing light to the fact that it was really starting to get in the way of what I SAID I wanted out of life. I’m ALL for zoning out and resting and giving a mental break - especially as a mother - but I can now see and feel that there are other ways for me to feel rested without feeling..ick/irritable/even more drained after.