Kelsey Wheeler

📍 Los Angeles, CA | In-Game Licensing for Call of Duty

📝 Editor’s Note

Father’s Day is June 16th. My favorite holiday to be celebrated. I’m really thankful to have a dad that I look up to as one of the most impressive people I know. I admire him for his for his faith and the impact he has made in our community as much as I do his business accolades.

In case anyone reading or editing this email needs ideas for Father’s Day, I have shared a few below:

• Monti Puffy Cooler $129 — created by my friend Sam, this cooler has gotten a lot of use from me recently. I have taken it to the beach and on a fishing trip. Highly versatile, it also packs to the size of a mini basketball.

• 1944: FDR and the Year the Changed History by Jay Winik $12 — I love any non-fiction book that reads like fiction. Even for a self-professed WWII history buff, I learned new details on FDR and WWII including Operation Long Jump.

• On Cloud Runner 2 $150 - On shoes have been recommended on Rambull several times. Transparently, I don’t have a pair but I’m eying these hard.

• Bushnell Phantom GPS for Golf $120 — I like this option over a range finder. Why? Because I’m not good enough that I need an exact reading. The features I like are it is small enough to fit in your pocket and you can use the magnet to stick to the cart for quick and easy reads.

• Collared Shirt from Patagonia $65 — my wife recently bought me this shirt in ‘whispy green’ (what a name), and it has quickly become a go-to as it has been warmer in North Carolina. I like that it is cotton and more casual and day-to-day than a golf polo.

• Darn Tough Socks $27 — Dads are on their feet a lot and a good pair of socks is underrated. I love this brand and its the top rated option on r/BuyItForLife (h/t Bo Rhyne for turning me on to this subreddit)

• Sports Coat, Onward Reserve $695 - My friend Richard runs the ecommerce business for Onward Reserve, which makes great men’s clothing. Their target demo is male 30-somethings from the Southeast (aka Richard and I). His favorite category is sports coats. Go ahead, break the bank for dad.

Lastly, you can never go wrong with some combination of a drawing from your kids x Favorite 6-pack x Bag of coffee x Cookies.

---

Without further ado….

Why Kelsey?

Kelsey was one of the first people I met at Call of Duty. I was fresh from the east coast, blissfully ignorant about LA traffic and how to operate an esports events. Over the years we have been able to work together on interesting projects as well as begin similar paths on starting families. Kelsey is very creative and has a great sense of humor - I think you see that through her work on COD licensing as well as her new project iivy.

Follow her on IG heyiivy

Self-Description

East coast born, west coast living. Since I didn't become a famous actress or regular on SNL, a close second is trying to make people in my social circle laugh..still working on the success rate. I bake too much, want to travel more, always have a concert lined up, currently learning how to garden, a strong preference is to be on a boat with a high noon in my hand, happiest when it's a warm sunny day and I'm with my husband, our two kids and dog.

Kelsey’s Recommendations

Written in her own words…

Content

Mel Robbins

I listen to Mel Robbins weekly and have found so many insightful tips and interesting information from health and wellness to career advice to dealing with difficult people or to living a better life. She covers a ton and often has interesting experts on the show. She's authentic, relatable, asks the dumb questions so you don't have to wonder and overall is entertaining during my commute.

This episode is a great place to start if you've never listened to Mel. This one pulls expert advice from eight different episodes to create a list of small habits that will change your life for the better.

Well Being

Journaling

Something I incorporated into my life that completely changed my life is journaling. I admit I was very apprehensive about it at first, because I couldn't imagine "writing in a diary" (is how I envisioned it), however, learning that there are journals with prompts was interesting to me. I decided to give it a go and I haven't missed a day since. It has brought so much intention, gratitude, and clarity into my days. This stemmed from feeling lost, a little unmotivated, and feeling like I was in a fog during postpartum. I also listened to a podcast recently that said "if you're having a problem, write about it or talk about it, because ruminating on it is the worst thing you can do." Here is the journal I use:

A current vice are these Peanut Butter pretzels. Why do I feel the need to have a handful of these every afternoon?

Professional

Time Batching and Habit Stacking are two efficiency tools I learned about last year that I've since incorporated into my routine and love it.

Time batching is a technique where you group similar tasks together and work on them together. The idea is to increase focus and boost productivity. Color coding the calendar helps too! Forbes broke it down into six buckets:

1. Deep thinking (thinking about new research studies, writing books and articles, etc.)

2. Learning new skills (education, learning a new statistics application, etc.)

3. Client interactions and giving presentations

4. Administrative work (returning emails, managing budgets, talking to accountants, etc.)

5. Internal interactions (one-on-one conversations with my staff, leading staff meetings, etc.)

6. Statistics, analysis, and anything data related

Habit stacking is where you use an existing habit to incorporate a new habit, therefore not only are you encouraging healthy habits but you are being efficient while you do it. It follows a simple formula of "When I do [current habit], I will do [new habit]." Here are some examples:

• "When I drink my coffee in the morning, I will sit outside to get morning sun."

• "When I fill my jug of water, I will add my electrolytes to it."

• "When I am commuting to work, I will listen to an audiobook or educational podcast."

Gifting

Cozy Chic robe

Gifting baked goods is my go to. Who doesn't love freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that someone made just for you? If you're not a baker, I would recommend the Cozy Chic robe or the Cozy Chic throw by Barefoot Dreams. Your recipient will not be disappointed.

Music

I grew up around a lot of live music because my dad was and is still is in a band. Beyond that, I used to play the cello, I worked in recording studios, I worked for music producers and feel like there's always a soundtrack to my life in the background of my day to day. There's an artist for every mood. Here are a few of my go to playlists that capture a ton of great songs:

Bob Moses Radio:

Good Vibes Playlist:

Mellow Classics:

Don't be fooled, The Jungle Book soundtrack has a strong presence on the daily in this house. 

Amazon

Drink LMNT

My nutritionist recommended these to me and I'm hooked. The grapefruit flavor is *chef's kiss*. Pro tip, email the company and ask for a sample pack to try the flavors, it's free!

Note from Rob - I emailed LMNT for you. Sharing the response so you can interpret as you wish:

Hi Rob,

Sample Packs are available from the official LMNT store on Amazon — it's a nifty way to try 8 of our flavors. We honor our no-questions-asked refund policy on Amazon, too.

If you find some flavors you love, check out our INSIDER Bundle. You get 4 boxes (120 stick packs total) and only pay for 3. It's the best way to Stay Salty!

Salty regards,
Team LMNT

And yes, I’m now having one everyone morning before my coffee. I recommend!

Plug

Check out my passion project, iivy. I'm building a community of women who are sharing inspiration, advice, and product recommendations. The goal is to inspire women to be the best version of themselves and to connect with one another, hense the name iivy - like the ivy vine that is connected through growth. @heyiivy, www.theiivy.com

Want to get in touch with Kelsey? “I would love to hear from you! You can email me at kelsey@theiivy.com or DM me on IG @heyiivy”

---

P.S. from Rambull — Check out the Dallas, Texas Fabric guide from Olivia Rafkin. Oliva describes her travel preferences as:

“I enjoy meticulously planning trips but intentionally leaving time for spontaneous and random activities that come from left field or a trip to the spa... (my husband's favorite place is a massage table.) I like a mix of formal and casual restaurants/bars. I also prefer a boutique hotel experience. I certainly love a high end hotel chain but the price and predictability leaves much to be desired.”

Plus one to the Katy Trail Ice House recommendation.