I came to this amazing city because of it’s beauty, the people and they way I felt when I was here. Since I have been here, I have gotten more messages asking me for tips on where to go, what to see and to give my best day time ideas…

So, what better what to do that than to compile some of my favorites here on this blog for YOU.

So, you are coming to Charleston, SC?

YAY! You are going to love every bit of this place.

I obviously recommend staying more than just a couple of days. There is so much to see, so much history, so much to do.

However, if you had one day in Charleston – this is my ideal day.

Put in your GPS – THE BATTERY – it will take you downtown and you can park right next to the water. Get out, see the park, see the old canons, and then walk on the path alongside of the water. This is my favorite walk. One one side of you is the water and a beautiful view, the other side you will see the most beautiful Charleston homes.

When you walk on the sidewalk, make sure you are stop when you see the plaques on the houses and along the sidewalk. You can use your phone and scan the QR code and hear all about the history and or read the plaque and get some facts.

You are going to make a right at the next street where you see cobblestones. You can’t miss it. It is a street from a story book with beautiful trees, houses and again the beautiful cobblestone. Walk that down until you get to the water again. Sometimes you can spot dolphins, you can sit on the benches and look out over the water and you can walk around this cute little area.

You will come to the famous PINEAPPLE water fountain, which for me, I think of as the iconic Charleston symbol. Stop and take a picture. (Tag me @farindoran on Instagram or @farin.doran on Facebook to tell me you did it 😉 ) Then head up to the other water fountain. If you have kids, they will love getting wet here so make sure you bring extra clothes.

Head over to the ice cream and dutch pancake shop. You just walked all the way there, you deserve an ice cream and if you are second guessing the pancakes, DONT. Get them. With Nutella. The BEST!

Walk up to to East bay Street, ice cream in hand, and make a right. You are just a couple blocks from the Charleston Market which has a bunch of local shops and vendors. This is where I would come to for souvenirs and to get something for yourself. While you are there, if you want to see a cool restaurant, pop into 5 Church, which is a great restaurant in an old church and even still has the stained glass.

If you have kids, they will love Carmella’s, which is a dessert bar. However, if you do not have kids, you can go back to the Vendue Rooftop and get a great view of the city, have a drink and sit at the top and talk about how amazing this city is.

Walk back down East Bay Street, stay on the right hand side as you are heading back to the battery, and you will run into the famous RAINBOW ROW. Take your time down this walk and dont’ be afraid to ask people to take your picture. All of the houses are absolutely beautiful and worthy of picture taking. If you are just strolling, walk down random streets that are pretty to you, get to know the city and read the history on the houses.

Now – Dinner time.

Shem Creek will forever be one of my favorite places to go for dinner. It was the first place we went when we came here and we fell in love. Any restaurant you choose in Shem Creek will be amazing. After dinner, walk the boardwalk of Shem Creek so you can walk out to the end. Usually you will see dolphins coming up the creek following the shrimp boats as they come in. You will also see the most AMAZING sunset.

We stayed at the Shem Creek Inn when we came for the first time and we absolutely loved it. If you are staying for a couple nights, this would be a great option!

Farin’s other favorites:

Beaches – Honestly, ANY beach is great. You are in South Carolina, everything is perfect!
HOWEVER, if you did happen to get to Sullivan’s Island, you HAVE to stop at The Co-Op and get a FROSE’.
And if you want to do “THE FARIN” – then you grab a FROSE, a CALIFORNIA TURKEY SANDWICH, you take it to the beach, eat your sandwich, drink your frose, walk the beach until the sand starts to end and see the most amazing view of Charleston and if you time it right, you will see the best sunset in the history of sunsets. When you do this, thank me, because I know that changed your life! 🙂

Restaurants – All of them. The food here is amazing. You can’t go wrong. Try new things. If pimento cheese is on the menu, get it. If something has fried green tomatoes on it, get that too. You will love all of it.

Fun things to do –

Firefly Distillery – you can make the trip to the distillery, which is all local, the people are the sweetest and you can do tastings and also bring back liquor you can’t get anywhere else.

Angel Oak Tree – One of the oldest trees (400-500 years old) and is amazing to see. It is a little bit of a drive outside of Charleston but worth it. While you are over there, go to the Charleston Tea Plantation where you can try the tea for free, get free tours and actually get to see the ONLY tea plantation in North America. (crazy, right?)

Boone Hall Plantation, Drayton Hall, Patriots Point….. all great places to see and give into the history.

South Carolina is one of those places where you can literally ask your waitress where to go, what to see and they will draw you a map. You can get excited about anything here because it is all beautiful, different, historic and well kept.

You can’t go wrong with a trip here.

So many people ask me about things to do with kids.

Honestly, let them just be off electronics for a bit. Let them read the signs about history. Take them to Folly Beach to look for sharks teeth then stop at a local restaurant. Take them to Shem Creek and rent a kayak from Nature Adventures. Take them on the longest walks that exhaust them. Let them watch the sunset and talk about what they are grateful for. (Hint: A local author here wrote an amazing gratitude journal – Check it out on Amazon ) . Let your kids walk the beach, collect seashells and sand. Let your kids be kids and appreciate seeing something different.

I love this city and I am always down to help!

If you haven’t done so already, make sure you listen to the Inspire Her Podcast, Episode 17, where I tell you exactly how and why I made the move to the city that I love!

Find me on social media – tag me on instagram @farindoran if you do any of these things… or find me and I can give you more fun tips as I find them!

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I promise you that once you visit, you will not want to leave! We did the same exact thing and looking back on it I wish I would have done it sooner!

Once you are ready to take the plunge and find your dream home in the Lowcountry, make sure you reach out to my husband, Jeffrey Doran, REALTOR®, with Carolina One Real Estate to find you exactly what you are looking for!

What it is like to be a healthcare worker (particularly a CT tech) during this virus. 🦠

Yep, I’m smiling. We are going through something insane… but I keep a smiling face and I’m doing everything I can to keep positive and be grateful. ☺️

But here’s what it means being in healthcare right now…

• It means wondering every day if you are developing symptoms… if you are going to get it or if you in fact have it already. 
• It means driving to work when others are home. 
• It means getting off of work and telling your kids to not come near you…. changing your clothes, leaving your shoes outside and taking a shower before you can be “mom” and “wife”
• It means putting on cold shoes in the morning because you left them outside all night to not bring any germs inside your home. 
• It means having a husband who is worried that you may already have it. A husband who is trying to protect himself and his children and love you just the same.
• It means seeing patients every day and not knowing if they have it, but you are here to serve so you serve them regardless.
• It means wearing a mask, even when people look at you funny, because you are doing your best to protect yourself from the unknown.
• It means scrolling Facebook and seeing people talk about homeschooling their kids and WISHING you were able to do that for your kids. 
• It means taking your temperature randomly, constantly wondering if today is the day you yourself are going to be the patient.
• It means having anxiety, but pushing it away, because you have a job to do and your patients are having worse anxiety than you. 
• It means treating each patient as an equal…. no matter if you think they could have it or not. It is delivering service with a smile, holding their hand, and saying “I hope you feel better” – and then hand washing like a crazy person after. 
• It is working extra hours. Being called for more hours. Being called to help. 
• It is sitting back and hoping that people would listen more to the recommendations. 
• It is people asking you what is going on and you say “I just don’t know” because you REALLY don’t know.
• It is trying to leave your work stress at work so when you come home to your family you are present and focused on them. 💕

Mostly, it’s the land of the unknown… And you hope that each day gets better and better and we all have a positive outcome. 

So you stay positive… You continue with your routine, your life and the job you love to do ❤️

Follow @farindoran on IG & FB during this time.

I think about where I am now and the type of woman I have become. I run a successful online fitness business, I have helped literally thousands of women find their way with loving their bodies, I have helped hundreds of women create businesses for themselves and gain the confidence to do so, I have become a fitness instructor, a podcast host, a blogger, I have taken women on retreats and I have spoken on stage…….. 

But I didn’t wake up one day and do all of those things. I was NOT the type of person to do ANY of those things. I sat in my shell, I hid behind the computer, and I would spend time with only my close girl friends and little family. I was content or at least I thought I was. 

So how did it start? How do you go from introvert to spreading your wings and taking a leap?

I had baby #2.

She, this sweet little girl named Sawyer who was the one that was completing our little family tribe, did it to me. 

And not in an “awwwwwww what a blessing” kind of way….

But she nearly BROKE me.

(We are REAL mommin’ it here, right? – Safe space?)

Sawyer Christine introduced me to post partum depression. I didn’t believe in it, I didn’t know what it was, I thought all moms were naturally happy, loving and that babies gave us all the sunshine, endorphins and laughing gas we needed to forever have a smile on our face.

NOPE. 

Not true. 

In fact, I realized a couple weeks after having this little girl that I was not the same Farin. I was crying in closets, lying to my husband about not wanting to go anywhere and blaming it on the baby.  I was eating too much and I started drinking. (Note: I was also breastfeeding so I had to time my wine consumption and baby feedings carefully – real proud mom moments over here).

I specifically remember a time a family member was coming over and I went to the kitchen closet, opened up a bottle of sweet red wine and chugged it right out of the bottle. (ok, not all of it…. But I certainly didn’t measure or care how much went down the hatch). 

I remember so many people saying that breastfeeding would help with weight loss. I would be lying if I said I was ONLY breastfeeding so my baby could get the nutrient dense milk of her momma. Sure, that was part of it. But there was another big part of me that hoped that weight loss for breastfeeding was God’s way of giving you a pat on the back for breastfeeding your child. 

Here is the thing…. If you are constantly eating stuffed crust pizzas, drinking wine and not exercising, it doesn’t matter if you breastfed a whole village with your magical milk, you are NOT going to lose weight. 

It wasn’t until I hit basically rock bottom. This version of rock bottom was me in a dark closet, wearing stretched out granny panties, stuck in a shirt that I SWORE was going to fit (since it was a “bigger” pre-baby shirt…. I was legit stuck in it. Think Tommy Boy – “Fat guy in a little coat” except without the laughing, without the song…. And instead a baby crying in the background. 

This is also the part where I mention that my daughter cried ALL DAY EVERYDAY. This is no exaggeration, she LEGIT cried ALL DAY, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. People would say “aww is it colic?” UMMMM, I don’t freaking know…. But unless there is an ACTUAL cure that is going to make this stop, let’s not label it and just someone take her for FIVE FREAKING MINUTES so I can get my sanity back!

So if there is anything worse than post partum depression feeling like you don’t love yourself. It is having post partum depression and also a baby who is acting like she is having post partum depression too. She is crying, I am crying, we all are crying……
 

This is when I finally told my husband that I was depressed. I was losing it. I was having a hard time. What he didn’t know is that I already called my doctor told them I was having a hard time, only to hear back from my OB that this was “normal” and I would “get past it.”
Looking back, I should have reached out for more help.

My husband was my LAST hope. Telling him was admitting that I had a problem and that I needed help. So I let it all out.

My husband listened and held me and it felt SO DARN GOOD.
And then he said, “ok what do WE do?”
I said, “I don’t know. I just don’t love myself right now.”
He said, “Ok, what don’t you love?”
Me, “Well, for starters, I don’t love my body.”

My husband came up with a plan for getting us to workout together. This was something within his control. He dusted off some old workout DVD’s, posted on craigslist for TV’s, TV stands, DVD players, weights…. Went out, got it all, cleaned out the garage, set up the TV, printed out a workout calendar….  And BOOM – like a magic genie, he made the the first part of my wish come true. 

Step 1: Get to loving my body.

The baby would wake up at 4am every morning to feed, he would change her, bring her to me, I would feed her and then he would go lay her back down. While I got my workout clothes on, he would get the day’s workout ready so when I came into the garage all we had to do was press PLAY.

He pushed me to get up every morning, helping me any way he could.
As I started to lose some weight and focus on me, letting the endorphins loose, gaining some energy… I realized I was starting to smile more. I was starting to LOVE myself more. I was gaining confidence.

Then I started to conquer food and learned to balance the wine and stuffed crust pizzas with more greens, protein and water. I stopped relying on food for comfort and instead relied on walks with my family and getting out of the house.

I remember walking into my kitchen one night and telling my husband that I wanted to help other women.
“What if there are other women like me who are struggling and I can help them?”

“Let’s do it.” – he said.

3 years later…. Here I am today…. Doing all the things I would have never thought I could do and putting myself out there in a way I never thought I would.

The thing is…. Sometimes you have to JUST DO IT.
You can’t second guess, you can’t over analyze or try to talk yourself out of it.

You have to go for the things you want in your life.
We aren’t given endless amount of time.
You don’t get to redo a year.
You don’t get to put white out on it and try again.

This is all you have.
So when you WANT something you do it.

If you want to get out of a depressing mood…..
If you want that job….
If you want to try that new hobby…
If you want more for your life…

Open up, say it out loud, don’t be afraid to ask for help…

And then DO IT. GO FOR IT.
You owe it to yourself, lady 🙂

Email me at: farintea@hotmail.com to join me! 🙂

Follow me on facebook – https://www.facebook.com/farin.doran
Or on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/farindoran/

When I was 8 years old, I lived in an RV. 🚐

And not like a trailer park RV, but an actual RV on wheels with a hitch and that was parked in the middle of a dirt yard where “dreams” of building a home would be. 

I didn’t get to have friends over… where would they stay? I moved so much for a couple years, parents chasing money and dreams that would never happen, that it was hard to make those long lasting friendships. 

I lied about my house, I said I had a big room with a ton of toys and the biggest barbie playhouse you have ever seen. I was a big fat liar. 

And it was the first day of school after the holidays that I lied the most. The teacher went around asking everyone what their favorite thing was they got for Christmas…..

My stomach was turning… 
ALL of the kids got the most amazing gifts. 
(We lived in Pennsylvania at the time, so legit some girl got a HORSE — REALLY?!! a horse!?!?)

But all I could keep thinking while they went around the room, was WHY did Santa bring them all of these things? 
Why didn’t he bring me this stuff? 
Was it because I didn’t have a big house (or a house at all), or because only richer kids got nicer things? 
I was sad. I was angry. And I felt betrayed by this magical Christmas big guy. 

SOoooo — I am very mindful when I talk about Santa. 
There is going to be another little Farin somewhere who doesn’t get all those nice things and will wonder why they weren’t chosen by the big guy to get them…. 

Ready for this?? 😮

I’m not telling my kids Santa gave them their about to be brand new Bike and Barbie dream house…… 🏰 🚲 

Mom and Dad got it. Mom and Dad worked really hard for it…. when you see mommy working at her computer, talking about helping people get healthy and getting on calls, waking up early, that is what she is doing it for… so YOU, my sometimes sweet little angels, can have all the things I didn’t.

Yes, Santa will bring some things… 🎅🏼
But Mommy and Daddy brought you most..💁🏼‍♀️💁🏼‍♂️

And I love the spirit of Christmas and the fun of Santa but I also love that I am ABLE to provide for my kids.. I am able to give them nice things….

and it is 100% because I work hard to do so. I had a dream to have a job that I would love. And I did it. And you may get messages from me at 1am and see that I was up late, see that I’m up early, see that I am chasing dreams and goals….

BUT — it is 100% because I don’t want my kids to have to be “little Farin” — and I want my family to have a life that I didn’t get to experience….

So through passion, determination and the best job ever…… This is possible 🙂 

 

Why not you?

You can ABSOLUTELY make your life just the way you want it!!!!

Two years ago, two moms came together to start their OWN fitness journey. They had enough of hating their body, enough of the “mom-bod” and wanted to be role models for their kids. And that started with first loving themselves. With short workouts and clean eating, these two moms found a love of self love, and wanted to pay that love forward.

They started a team of motivated individuals on Team Motivated 2 Inspire. Together, they would come together to inspire other women to not just live a healthy life but to truly learn to love the skin they were in.

 

 

ORDER HERE:
(note: If this is a NON-LOCAL pickup, e-mail run2inspireteam@gmail.com to order directly)

Sizes

SMLXLXXL

Colors

orangepinkredgreennavy bluepurpleblackother (specify request in message)

Make sure to tag #run2inspire so we can find you and MESSAGE Run 2 Inspire on facebook or email run2inspireteam@gmail.com with the picture of you and your shirt and your cause to get featured on the page and help with fundraising!

 

My family and I lost a special four legged friend last week.    

 

You know, I knew he was getting old and I knew the time would eventually come but I don’t think anything truly prepares you for the loss of a furry family member. Even more so, NOTHING prepares you for your children’s reaction to the loss. 🙁

 

I, unfortunately, had to take my two year old daughter with me to the vet when our dog got really sick. She was so innocent and when she saw me crying, she kept hugging me. She had no idea what was going on. 

 

When we walked out of the doors, she said “wait, we need to go back to get Oliver.”

 

I told her he was going to the doctor’s for awhile. I, honestly, didn’t know what else to say. 

 

And then we had to tell my six year old son. That was the hardest moment as a mom. How do you tell your child that the dog they grew up with isn’t coming home? How do you tell them that he isn’t alive anymore?

 

Moms are supposed to fix things. And this is one thing that moms can’t fix. Luckily, my husband was there with me and we did it together. There were a lot of tears. We hugged for a very long time and then my husband told funny stories of our dog. 

 

So, I posted of our loss on facebook and received an outpouring of love. I am so lucky to have so many special people in my life who took the time to give me ideas on how to make this a little easier for my kids. I have made a list of all of the things people said to do. They were too good and thoughtful to not save and maybe someone can pass this on to someone who experiences a loss as well. 

• We told them our doggies went to heaven and will be watching over you.
• When my dog passed away while we were gone visiting family, we got a balloon and wrote a message on it so he’d get it in doggy heaven.
• Explain to them about the rainbow bridge : )
  There’s even a print out that they can do. So sorry for your families loss : ( hope this helps! https://www.rainbowsbridge.com/…/Chrildren_and_petloss.htm )
• Get a stuffed animal
• We look at pictures of her and talk about the good memories that we have had which seems to bring some smiles. Also, we are doing things to honor her memory. My youngest daughter is getting a memorial necklace and my husband, my oldest and I are getting pawprint tattoos.
• We burried the dog and let the kids draw pictures or write a letter to the dog and my husband put it in with the dog. We also let them talk about it, let them get the feelings out and let them know it is ok to hurt.
• We talked a lot with our kids about dog heaven and we would look out the window and say goodnight to her (buried out back). We often look for clouds that look like her and when we see sunbeams reaching through the clouds we know that’s her coming to visit us.
• Put his collar on a stuffed dog.
• I read him a book called I’ll always love you. Talked to him about him being sick and going to heaven.
• We planted a dogwood tree in honor of our two dogs that passed away.
• I had my son draw pictures of his dog and put a picture in a frame of them together that he could keep in his room.
• We bought a necklace locket that our daughter could put a few charms and a piece of her blanket it in it.
• Gather up some pictures of happy times with the pet and talk about them.
• We had her paw print casted and hang it on our Christmas tree at Christmas time and in our hutch all other times – that way she is always with us.
• Read The Tenth Great Thing about Barney by Judith Viorst.

And a dear friend of ours made the time a little less sad by sending us the perfect book, “Dog Heaven.” This was perfect for my son and daughter who needed more closure. 

Thank you to all the people who commented on my post and sent so much love our way!

 

 

 

My heart is so full this weekend!
My amazing team of coaches came together with The Greene Turtle in Towson and CALM Outreach to put together a CRUNCHES & COATS event and gather OVER 70 coats for the homeless and those in need!!!

We all have one thing in common on my team…. we want to help someone. And some way, some how we do everything we can to help as many people as we can. It is so much more than shakes, workouts and meal planning… it is about making a difference in someone’s life.

Together we welcomed people at the door who were there to donate a coat, we had them do a couple crunches to get their blood flowing and then we gave them a coupon to get a percentage off their check. The community really came together to give back to the community and help others.

I am beyond proud to be apart of the team I am on. I am more than happy with my decision to be a coach and make my life helping other people.

If you have coats you would like to donate or other winter items, contact Robert Williams with CALM outreach. Click here. 

 

“DAD BOD” – Ever since Leonardo DiCaprio showed his not so sculpted body on a beach, people have been labeling that “bod” the “dad bod.”

Funny thing – he isn’t even a dad, so labeling this type of “bod” a “dad bod” is giving a name to a body  that says “I am a little too busy to focus on me right now but I haven’t completely lost it.”

So why do I say Long Live the Dad Bod? Clearly, I am all about fitness and good health and maybe “dad bod” doesn’t scream “super fit.”

BUT – from my perspective. This momma is sitting in her beach chair, watching her husband building sandcastles and bringing water from the ocean to make a pool for his kids and nothing could be sexier than that dad with his shirt off doing anything and everything for his kids.

Having a “dad bod” means that this dad has his shirt off, getting some sun, spending time with his family. The “dad bod” means that he IS in-fact a dad and no, his focus isn’t always on himself. He is the dad that sometimes wakes up to his kids in his bed and can’t sneak out to get a workout in.

The dad that spends his mornings helping to making lunches and getting the kids out the door rather than working out. The dad that enjoys  his beer at the end of the day after the kids are in bed and gives himself a high five for helping to keep the kids alive that day.

The dad that slips extra chicken nuggets in his mouth from his kid’s plate and always jumps at the chance to eat pizza instead of the spaghetti squash his wife makes him eat because she “wants him to live forever.” The dad that works full time and so stopping at a gym for an extra hour a day is just taking too much time away from his family.

The dad that doesn’t miss a chance to watch his kids play sports and so he watches them exercise rather than do it himself. The dad that selflessly gives everything he has to his family and if he ends up having extra time to focus on him, he will.

That is the dad who creates the “DAD BOD” and is is about the sexiest BOD there is.
So, wives….you LOVE on that DAD BOD, you embrace that because that DAD BOD came from lots of love, late nights up, sand castle building and extra hours spent fathering some amazing children you created.

And to the owner of the DAD BOD — we love you JUST the way you are.

Keep rocking that DAD BOD, dads 😉