Hello, my friends! Those of you that follow along with me on Instagram (@sugarspiceandstylethatsnice) heard me talk about some wonderful events I have attended in the last month and I wanted to spend some time discussing them here so that I can build awareness for my sweet friends and the beautiful community they have created right here in Grand Forks.
SHE is a women’s empowerment movement that was started by 3 gal pals of mine: Mary, Kristin, and Nicole. I attended my first SHE event at the end of January and was overwhelmed with the community, vulnerability, and sweetness that happened over the course of a few hours together in the workshop they hosted. I learned a lot about myself and experienced a lot of emotions while opening up to a group of women about healing and the healing journey.
As I was leaving the event in January I asked if we could be expecting another event anytime soon and was overjoyed when they shared they were planning something with a Galentines theme in early February. Last Friday night they hosted a wonderful Galentines retreat and it was honestly the perfect Friday night: a pizza party, pajamas, wine, hot chocolate, candy, yoga, education on healthy relationships, and the creation of community with like-minded women.
The event was hosted at Nicole’s home and it was so beautiful!! I had to take a few photos of the space because they had it decorated so nicely for us and all of the little touches made it even more special. There was a spot for photo booth style photos, tons of food and drinks, and a big open living space that fit all of our yoga mats!
When we arrived we just got to spend time (in our pajamas – arguably the best part) getting to know the other women at the event and enjoying snacks, wine, hot chocolate, and plenty of candy. They thought of every little detail – all the way down to your gift for attending which a coffee mug of your choosing out of a whole selection of Target coffee mugs….another dream come true for me. I chose one that has to do with shopping (surprise, surprise) and enjoyed filling it up with hot chocolate and a heaping serving of marshmallows 🙂
After we had a meal and team for community we had such a great session of yoga with the always lovely Kristin of Sorella Wellness. It was the perfect way to wind down and find center and grounding in your own body through breathing, movement, and meditation. There’s always something powerful about practicing yoga and in a room full of women it felt extra empowering (maybe it was the fact that we were all in our pajamas!?)
With the theme of the retreat being Galentines, Mary spent some time teaching us about relationships and the way toxicity can be found in them: friendships, romantic relationships, family connections, coworkers, etc. It was a good reminder to hear about common ways that we allow toxic behaviors to be a part of the relationships we keep with people and caused reflection on my part to think about the relationships I currently have and which ones I am negatively influencing or allowing to negatively influence me.
After the discussion on toxicity Mary changed directions to talk about what positive relationships look like and a framework to follow that will help to evaluate the best qualities that a friendship (or other type of relationship) can possess to be healthy for both parties and allow for growth and trust. The framework was created by the incredible Brene Brown and its called BRAVING. You can read more about it here! The framework is laid out and explained in depth in Brene’s book ‘Braving the Wilderness’ which has been on my reading list for awhile.
To end the night we spent time doing something that we did at the first workshop event I did called “circle processing”. We spend time sitting in a large circle as a group and we go around the circle one person at a time and answer different prompts or questions asked – usually about the content we learned in the workshop or from the speaker. We spent time talking about BRAVING and relationships and where we have experienced positive or negative relationships in our lives and how we’re working through and journeying through them. One woman speaks at a time and it’s powerful to have so many women listening to you and your thoughts while showing support.
You can learn more about SHE by visiting their Facebook page here (and you can also find them on Instagram!) which will keep you updated on the upcoming events and workshop that they are hosting. I highly recommend SHE to all of the women in Grand Forks and the surrounding area – it is a fabulous place to build community and practice vulnerability and self-care in the presence of other women with open hearts and listening ears.
If any of you are looking for a friend to attend the next event with please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would be more than happy to join you 🙂 As always, thanks for reading and I’ll be back with more soon!
#sugarspiceandstylethatsnice
xoxo Jen
sugar, spice, and style that's nice 