Category: life curation

beauty · life curation · luxury

Embracing Natural Beauty When You Can’t Leave Your Home

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Last week, I shared a post about how I’m enjoying the natural beauty around my home. I’m fortunate to live in a suburb where I have a yard, beautiful plants, and a climate that is conducive to growing the kind of plants I enjoy.

For those that aren’t able to walk outdoors and take in natural beauty (either because of strict quarantine measures or due to living in a “concrete jungle”), I wanted to share some links to websites and YouTube channels that highlight natural beauty around the world.

My current favorite is the Keukenhof Garden in Holland. With millions of stunning tulips bulbs planted, the garden is a feast for the eyes. I’m thrilled that I can take in all of this natural beauty from the comfort of my home.

 

There is also the US Botanic Garden (located in Washington, DC). This incredible garden used to have many fascinating public events and was a wonderful resource for anyone interested in learning more about botany. At this time, however, you can do a virtual tour as well as many online programs. You can even do “yoga in the garden” online every Saturday during the pandemic.

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(A double flowering lenten rose, from the US Botanic Garden website)

Another lovely garden that I used to visit regularly during my workday was the Enid A. Haupt Garden. This stunning pocket of serenity was my perfect place to “get away” when I needed some time to relax away from the office. I always walked around the “parterre”, though this was only a small portion of the garden.

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(A photo of one of the urns in the Haupt Garden Parterre)

In my hometown, there is an incredible botanical garden. At Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, it is also possible to do a virtual tour. These gardens are particularly special, because of their stunning annual butterfly exhibit.

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(Elegant butterfly featured on the Lewis Ginter Botanic Garden website)

If your city has a public garden or other outdoor space, you can probably do a virtual tour (a quick Google search should let you know if virtual tours are available). Do you have a favorite garden to tour? Let me know all about it in the comments below!

 

life curation

Meet My New Love!

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Recently, I’ve entered a relationship so wonderful and rewarding that I can hardly believe it! This love is so true and I’m so happy to share my new love with you. . .

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Meet Chewy, my shih tzu! He’s 4 years old, and he was re-homed with me after my best friend discovered that he wasn’t a good fit for her family (they needed a more active dog for their lifestyle). I had a shih tzu many years ago, so I was familiar with the breed and their temperament, so I was comfortable inviting this little boy to our home.

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My sweet boy before he visited my groomer

I love this sweet boy so much! He’s very quiet, easygoing and affectionate. He is such a sweetheart! He’s been with me for a week and it’s been a lot of fun having this new personality in my home.

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My cuddle bug after his first grooming session

Chewy has made my heart feel so full: I’m thrilled that we have him in our family. I’m looking forward to sharing more about him in upcoming posts!

food · life curation

Free Online Courses for Improved Wellness

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One of the pleasant side effects of our current crisis is the increased interest in improving our health through natural methods. If we can employ safe, effective natural remedies to complement conventional (Western) medical treatment, then maybe we can promote better health, improved vitality and increased longevity.

In my desire to learn more about natural remedies (as you know, I’ve been studying The Women’s Herbal Apothecary by JJ Pursell), I took to the Web to see what complimentary courses I could find to deepen my knowledge. I was delighted by what I found!

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Coursera is currently offering a five-part specialization program in Integrative Health and Medicine. Each of the five courses in this program covers a different aspect of using alternative medicine to support overall wellness. I’ve signed up for a couple of the courses because I’m very interested in what will be taught! The course will be taught by University of Minnesota professors, so you can be assured that what you will learn is akin to what may be taught in a course on campus. You can either sign up for a paid subscription to Coursera or you can audit the courses, which allows you to view the instructional material for free but does not offer a certification if you complete the assignments in a timely fashion.

Another fantastic course that I found while searching for free online alternative medicine courses is this free Introduction to Aromatherapy course offered by Aromahead. I really like the fact that this is a self-paced course, so you can complete it as you have the time available to do so. I have a small collection of essential oils so I’m excited to learn more about tapping into their power and harnessing the maximum benefit.

Finally, the American Herbalist Guild has generously provided a library of archived webinar materials for free. This may be great for you if you don’t want to commit to a full-fledged course but still want to learn more about herbs and natural remedies. I like that these concentrated teaching sessions can help you get targeted information about a specific topics. 

There are many more free online herbal and alternative medicine courses that you can find by simply doing a Google search, but these were my favorites that I wanted to share with you.

I hope you all are having a great day! Take care, and I’ll be back tomorrow.

 

 

(This post contains affiliate links)

 

life curation · Uncategorized

How to Support Small Businesses During the Pandemic

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One of the things that continues to come to my mind is the well-being of small business owners, especially those that are not able to do business in person (“nonessential” businesses). As individuals, we may not be able to save every small business, but we can definitely do something to help support these businesses.

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Buying local and buying from small businesses can make a big impact

Seek out Etsy sellers – Etsy is full of creatives that make and sell all sorts of amazing stuff.If you’re looking for something specific, try Etsy first. You may be able to quickly locate the perfect item, and (as a plus!) you’ll be able to support a small business owner.

Use local food delivery – If you’re tired of cooking, or maybe you just want to get your grocery items delivered to your front door, then local food delivery services are just what you need. Seek out small (non-chain) restaurants for your meals, and if you use a grocery delivery service, then make sure to tip your delivery person. That money can make a huge difference to the “gig economy” workers that may be working in these services to help cover expenses during this crisis.

Use Amazon to help you – Amazon has set up a portal specifically for handmade items from every state in the US. If you want to ensure that the money you spend goes directly to sellers living near you, you can click on your region and then select your state to find vendors. I recently purchased these darling Cinderella earrings for a special little one in my life. They’re so cute, I may end up buying the Belle earrings for myself!


Charming Cinderella earrings

Ask family and friends to give you referrals – Of course, if you’re at a loss for businesses to support, ask your family and friends to make suggestions. Some of them may themselves be business owners that you can support directly, or they may know some business owners that would appreciate having a new customer.

Do you have any ideas for supporting small and local businesses that I didn’t mention? Let me know all about it in the comments below!

 

 

 

(this post contains affiliate links)

beauty · life curation

Getting Gorgeous, Inside and Out

MstldelanoLeave a comment

One of my not-so-guilty pleasures has been looking at YouTube videos for beauty, style and life advice. As you all recall, I love watching mature YouTubers give their tips and tricks for living well. Along with the mature ladies, I also check out the younger women that are making great content on YouTube.

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A few of my recent favorite videos have been around the topic of “glowing up” during the quarantine. This concept – improving our looks while we stay home – is very popular because many of us FINALLY have time to do all of the beauty treatments, fitness routines, and dietary changes that we’ve always wanted to try. So, since we have the time, why not?

Here are a couple of my favorite videos featuring how to “glow up”, both on the inside and the outside (because having a beautiful exterior and broken interior is not the goal: wholistic/holistic health and beauty is what we’re creating!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

beauty · life curation

Embracing Natural Beauty

Mstldelano2 Comments

With all of this “free” time at home, I have been concentrating on slowing down and enjoying the simple pleasures around me. The main pleasure I’ve indulged in regularly is taking in the stunning beauty of the flowers and trees surrounding my home. Here are a few of my favorite photos. Enjoy!

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My hot pink azaleas

A yellow rose bush that is beginning to bloom

Baby pink rhododendrons

My Japanese maple (the leaves are stunning!)

I find that spending a little time walking the perimeter of my home does wonders for my mood and my energy. Embracing natural beauty has such a calming effect on me. I also planted some irises, tigridias, and gladiolus bulbs that I’m patiently waiting to bloom. When those flowers bloom, I’ll take more pictures and share them with you all.

life curation · travel

Throwback Travel Thursdays: San Diego, Part 1

Mstldelano2 Comments

Nearly five years ago, I took my first trip to California. I went to San Diego for a tax workshop. I was just reminiscing about how much I loved Cali and how beautiful San Diego was, when I decided, why not share a few #throwbackthursdaytravel pics from my first California trip?

I stayed for a week at the Town & Country which was lovely and picturesque. It was a delightful hotel and I’d certainly be willing to stay there again.

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Touching down in San Diego

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Posting outside of my room

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A statue on the hotel grounds

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The most perfect roses I’ve ever seen

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The bed in my cozy little room

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I got a gorgeous tan in under an hour. I was thrilled!

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A view from the room

I returned to San Diego in 2019, though I didn’t say in SD proper. Instead, I went to a neighboring city to have a girl’s getaway with one of my friends. It was a fantastic break from my regular routine. I’ll post it about that trip in a future #throwbackthursdaytravel post.

Have you been to San Diego? How did you enjoy it? Let me know all about it in the comments below. Take care!

beauty · life curation · luxury

Getting Crafty: Planning to Make Bath Bombs

MstldelanoLeave a comment

Since we’re all stuck in the house for the indefinite future, I figured this would be a great time to explore some of the curiosities I’ve had for a while. One of those curiosities involves those neat little fizzy bath bombs. I knew that these were frighteningly simple to make, but I’ve never had the ingredients to make my own. Until now.

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First, I looked up some basic recipes to see which ingredients and tools I need. I’m using this recipe from Our Oily House as a guide, because it has great reviews and looked simple enough. I went ahead and invested in a few supplies so that I can start making my own bath bombs at home. I went to Amazon and picked up a mold:

I also got some citric acid:

I ordered some epsom salt as well, but then I found a more affordable salt at a local store, so I’ll be returning that to Amazon this week. I already had baking soda, essential oils, cornstarch, and coconut oil, so once the rest of my order is received, I’ll be ready to experiment.

I can’t wait to share my fizzy goodies with you all! I’m so excited to try this!

 

 

(post features affiliate links)

life curation · travel

Throwback Travel Thursdays: Cruise 2018

MstldelanoLeave a comment

I know for a fact that most of us that have permanent cases of wanderlust are seriously missing our ability to travel freely. While we are all (hopefully!) doing our part to flatten the curve, it doesn’t mean that we’re not looking forward to planning our next trip once things are a little more amenable to travel. Until we can look forward, we can always look back, hence

Throwback Travel Thursdays!

I’ll try to post throwback pictures from previous travel in these posts, just to keep things light and fun, and to remind us: we’ll be able to resume our lives soon. Just hang on, friends!

I’ll be sharing some photos from the cruise I took in 2018. I’ll also add links to my cruises posts here. Enjoy!

Fall Vacation Part 1 – Cruise Overview; Cruise 2018: Ports of Call; Cruise 2018: Dining on the Sea

 

KODAK Digital Still Camera
KODAK Digital Still Camera

Beautiful Cozumel

KODAK Digital Still Camera
KODAK Digital Still Camera

My first time in Roatan, Honduras

KODAK Digital Still Camera
KODAK Digital Still Camera
KODAK Digital Still Camera

I miss cruise dining!

life curation

This Week’s Happenings . . .

MstldelanoLeave a comment

Despite these difficult times, I’ve been making the most of things. This week, I’m focusing on BALANCE, both internally and externally. I’ve taken some mini-breaks from social media to help keep my spirits high, and I’ve also been doing some other things that I’ve found beneficial.

I have made it a point to avoid in-person shopping as much as possible. I’m extremely thankful for grocery pickup services offered at local grocers such as Kroger. I fill my virtual cart, select a pickup date and time, pay for my order, then get it when it’s ready. It’s fantastic! I also love that I’m able to give cash tips to the person that brings the groceries to my car. I’d like to think that if most of the customers gave these hardworking people some sort of gratuity, it could help make up for the fact that they are generally overworked and underpaid. Besides, we can all use a little kindness during this time.

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I’m not doing any leisurely grocery shopping trips right now

I haven’t done much online shopping, except for items that I actually needed to restock. I bought some inexpensive acne cream and cotton pads from Amazon, since I was running low on both.


A new acne cream that I’m trying for the first time: Acne Free Terminator 10 Acne Spot Treatment (updates will be posted soon!)


Always necessary: cotton pads (Bellacotton Premium Cotton Rounds)

I also bought a couple of things from The Ordinary. I recently watched a YouTube video demonstrating how to do a facial at home (more about that tomorrow!) and I bought a chemical peel for when I decide to give my face a treatment. All the details will be in tomorrow’s post.

I’ve been using yoga and gentle stretching to help calm my mind and ease any physical pain. I have tried several different yoga videos on YT, but I haven’t gotten a “favorite” video yet. Once I have my “favorite”, I’ll be sure to share it here.

That’s what’s happening with me this week. How are things where you are? I’d love to hear all about it!

Disclaimer: this post has affiliate links.