With all the shopping, baking, and visiting, the holidays can seem like they’re over before they even began. In the liminal period between Christmas and New Year’s Eve when time has time to catch up with me, it always feels like Thanksgiving was last week. So it’s nice at this point in the year before the timeline ramps up to be mindful and create a little headspace for the giving spirit rather than the get through it spirit. Mindfulness rarely looks like a blissful looking person in seated meditation in a sun-filled room on a cozy pillow. Mindfulness in real-life boils down to finding stillness and connection in the midst of hurry and chaos, a helpful tidbit for what is to come next month.

[Read more…]

Wow, it’s November already…?! I’ve been so pleased by this beautiful, balmy autumn. Then I woke up on November 1^st to snow on my car and a radiator-heated apartment that also did not know it is almost winter and I could almost feel my teeth clench and the to-do list start to knit together in the back of my mind: start baking list, make baking shopping list, wrapping paper inventory, holiday dinners schedule… The holidays are upon us ladies and gents, and while I absolutely love Christmas with an obnoxious childhood glee, it also carries with it the longest to-do list and succession of late nights I see the whole year.

[Read more…]

Recently I got a CBD pedicure at Sacred Hour Lakewood, and as I was getting ready to head out the door, I made a quick note to myself of all the things I was getting together: sandals, book, phone on silent, etc. Being in the wellness industry, it’s easy to prepare since I know what needs I will have. But for many who don’t spend half their life in a spa, it’s kind of a mystery what to expect once you walk in the front door, and by extension how to make the best of the time you set aside for good old fashioned R&R. As someone who works and plays at the spa, I’m well-positioned to put together a quick list of things to bring/what to expect to make your time restorative rather than stressful.

[Read more…]

Here in beautiful Cleveland, we are heading into the stay indoors months. Some of our readers may be braver than some and enjoy cold temperatures, but personally I enjoy a blanket and Netflix when it drops below 40°. I don’t mind staying indoors for months on end, since a few years back I adopted a strategy of preparing emotionally, mentally, and domestically and embraced the coziest of seasons: hygge season.

[Read more…]