Category: life curation

life curation · relaxation

All About Tea . . .

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Have you all been following me on Instagram? If so, then you’ve seen that I’ve been posting daily tea pictures ever since I found out that January is National Hot Tea Month (Southern Season said so!)

I’m a tea enthusiast so I’ve been having a ball with the tea theme. I’ve been challenging myself to post a different tea every day (only one day missed, and not because I didn’t drink tea, but because I simply forgot to take a picture!) And, since I’m also a tea hoarder, it looks like I’ll be able to get through the month of January with no tea duplicates (and no, I didn’t have to purchase any new tea to make it happen!)

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(photo from All Free Download)

Did you all know there are tea consultants that you can employ to help you with selecting tea? Yes, there are experts that write about, teach about and work within the complex and beautiful world of tea. One of my personal favorite tea consultants is Jo Johnson, though, I didn’t learn about Jo through tea organizations or events. I saw her in this incredible video that discusses aging. Every woman in the video is striking, beautiful and vibrant, but there’s something about Jo’s presence that pierces your soul and holds your imagination captive. She *looks* like the kind of woman that floats around in her workshop, dispensing custom blended teas while chatting about adventures during her younger years and sharing invaluable life lessons.

Jo’s expertise allows her to instruct her clients on how to best pair different teas with appropriate foods, and she has the credentials to prove her capabilities. She also connects “avid tea enthusiasts with buyers & sellers of unique product offerings”. So if you’re looking for a rare and special tea, she’s the one to contact. You can visit her website here:

A Gift of Tea

I hope you all join in on the National Hot Tea Month festivities! After all, it only comes once a year!

Until tomorrow, take care.

art · life curation

A Love Affair with Jean-Leon Gerome, Part 1

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If you’re fortunate, you’ll come across an artist whose work speaks to you on a cellular level. For me, that artist is Jean-Leon Gerome. Every Gerome painting that I’ve seen has taken my breath away and transported me to a different time and place. I can’t see a Gerome painting without stopping to stare for a while.

Many of Gerome’s paintings have an ever-present touch of exoticism. From paintings set in the deserts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia, to his dignified portraits of people of color, I find myself enchanted by his interpretation of the exciting world outside of Europe.

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The painting that started it all: The Slave Market (1871) by Jean-Leon Gerome (Cincinnati Art Museum)

A short story: I saw my first Gerome painting when I was in Cincinnati several years ago. I decided to walk from my hotel to the Cincinnati Art Museum because it was less than two miles away, and I was in (relatively) good shape (side note: if you are ever in Cincinnati, you must stop by this museum. It’s a real gem!). Unfortunately, it began to rain and pour, and the next day, I had a cold so bad that I slept for half of the day and didn’t eat anything for dinner that evening (I recall making a hot toddy that helped tremendously, but I was still uncomfortable for a few days).

Back to the point: I laid eyes on The Slave Market (1871) and I stopped in my tracks. The painting was so powerful and full of raw emotion that I literally couldn’t move. The look of despair and anguish on the faces of the enslaved women stirred my soul. I knew, the moment that I saw this painting, that I’d never look at art with same eyes as I had when I first entered the museum. It’s the one work of art that I take with me, in spirit, wherever I go.

 

These photos fail to capture the emotion and realism on the subjects’ faces: this one must be experienced in person!

Thus began my love affair with Jean-Leon Gerome. Stay tuned for Part Two, where I discuss more about Gerome and why I’m discussing him on this blog (p.s. it’s relevant to some of the other things I’ve discussed here!) Talk to you all soon!

life curation · words of wisdom

Powerful Words on Motherhood

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I love hearing the insights of mothers. I think of my own mother, and the words she passed on to me, and the thoughts that she continues to pass to me. I’m happy that she chose to give the best of her to me, and certain lessons she taught me have served me well up to this day. I think most of us underestimate those lessons until we are still and engaging in reflection.

I’ve found that the encouragement I received to go after the things that I desire (her famous words are, “The worst thing they can tell you is ‘No’ “) is the only reason why I’ve gotten as far as I have. I realized that the advice she gave me on interpersonal relationships (letting people “think what they want”, so long as it doesn’t hurt you) and career (get as much benefit out of a job as you can: every job offers more than a paycheck) was truly timeless. She didn’t take big risks with her own life, but she spoke words that allowed me to take bigger risks with my own life. And for that, I’m eternally thankful.

With that in mind, I’d like to share a video that was shared with me almost a year ago. Phylicia Rashad, acclaimed actress, timeless beauty, and mother extraordinaire, discusses what it’s like to have a brand new baby (she already had a 13 year old son at this time) and the lessons she learned from her experiences in motherhood. The whole clip is a treasure, but starting at 4:55, you can see that it was her mother’s words and influence that molded her into a fantastic parent.

I hope that you enjoyed this clip as much as I have! Let me know what you think about it in the comments below!

art · life curation

Free Art Education At Your Fingertips

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As you all recall from my 2018 goals post, I plan to transition into an art-related career. I’m not exactly sure where I want to fall in that world (consultant, curator, collector, advisor, etc.) but I know that the art world has the excitement, beauty and adventure that I crave.

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(photo courtesy of ALISON.com)

Before I can dive into that world, however, I need to get more educated on art. I’m not a complete novice (I’ve spent lots of time in museums and I’m a voracious reader) but  I could benefit from some more targeted instruction. And, until the weather begins to warm up, I’d prefer online courses, so that I can learn without having to leave the house.

With that in mind, I’m excited to share with you all the free art course I found on ALISON. The class, Great Artists and Their Works, allows students to learn about 8 of the most famous names in art history. Learning about these artists and their seminal works has been tremendously rewarding for me. I just finished the Michaelangelo module and I will start learning about Raphael with my next module.

This course is wonderful for anyone that wants to bolster their art knowledge without a large financial investment. All that this course requires is time and a good internet connection. I fully intend to take advantage of this, and other, online learning opportunities. I have a few other courses that I plan to take this year, to help me really broaden my art knowledge base and prepare for my new career in the art world.

life curation

The Result of My Toleration Release Experiment

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It’s been several days since I completed my toleration release exercise for 2017. I wrote about it initially in this post, but I also gave an update in this subsequent post. I’m really excited to tell you about the outcome of that experiment.

As a quick recap, I’ll explain the specifics of this exercise. The goal was to release/discard items every day in the month of December, and the number of items I released had to correspond with the date of the month (1 items on December 1st, 2 items on December 2nd, so on, until 31 items on December 31st). At the end of the month, the items released/discarded should total nearly 500 items.

I didn’t release 500 items. I did release 450, and I’m very proud of that.

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She makes it look so easy! (image courtesy of Prawny Me UK)

I could have released more, but I’ll be the first to admit, this was HARD to do! I’m still sifting through a lot of stuff and coming up with more things I should discard, but I can’t come up with more than two or three items a day that I’m perfectly fine with releasing. I can say, unequivocally, trying to reduce my possessions has been a challenge. But I’m glad I tried, and I’m really proud of what I did accomplish.

I’ve resolved to do this again in a couple of months, and I’ll focus on clearing out some of (well, most of) the junk in my attic. I think I’d benefit from doing this at least once a quarter, so I’m sure I’ll have more to say about toleration release throughout the year.

Have any of you taken a stab at releasing tolerations? If so, let me know in the comments below!

life curation · reading list

Review: The Best Year of Your Life by Debbie Ford

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Happy Monday, beloveds! After getting the first snow of the new year, I found myself with some extra downtime – I didn’t want to go out venturing with snow and ice on the ground! That gave me even more time to pick my favorite highlights from December’s reading selection, The Best Year of Your Life by Debbie Ford.

Just a few weeks before reading this book, I decided to look up Debbie and see what projects she is currently working on. Imagine my shock when I found that Debbie had passed on nearly 5 years ago. I mourn the loss of such a wonderful writer and incredible coach. However, I am thankful that she left her wisdom with us in the form of her book and other teaching materials.

The Best Year of Your Life takes the reader through three phases involved with creating your best year. The Dream It phase involves creating a intention that will guide you throughout the year, realizing that what you really want is how you desire to feel throughout the year, and discovering the personality traits that need to be developed in order to realize this ideal year. The Dream It phase helps you create a concrete vision of your ideal year, and gets to the core of the attributes needed to make it happen.

The Plan It phase involves laying the groundwork for the best year ever. Debbie shows readers how to clean up all of the unresolved/incomplete projects and tasks in their lives and how to expose and correct common pitfalls on the path to creating an ideal existence. She then goes step-by-step through the process of setting goals up in a way that practically guarantees success.

Finally, the Live It phase gives readers daily and weekly actions that keep them on track to achieve their goals. Debbie teaches how to create integrity “anchors”, practices that keep them focused throughout the year. She then teaches about the power of having high self-esteem, the necessity of being mindful and aware of our significant moments, and the importance of regularly creating “unforgettable” days that will be the cherishable memories of tomorrow. Lastly, she discusses the power of dedicating the year to a worthy cause or individual and how aspiring to excellence is the perfect support for an ideal year.

Without a doubt, my favorite chapter was Chapter 6, “Planning Your Year”. Debbie’s step-by-step formula for successful goals was just what I needed to get clear and organized in my plan of action. Sometimes, there are a lot of thoughts swimming around in my head, and Debbie’s approach helped me cut through the mental static and get laser-focused on what I need in order to make my best year possible.

The toughest chapter for me to read and begin implementing was Chapter 3, “Stepping Into Greatness”. Identifying the traits that I needed to cultivate in order to be the kind of person that easily attains my goals is something that I’m still working on. Hopefully, I’ll continue to get more clarity as the weeks go on, and, as I get clear, I can start consciously exhibiting those traits more consistently.

My favorite quote in this book was in Chapter 9, “Claiming the Moment”. That quote reads, “Time is precious. And when we realize this, we become aware of the importance of claiming each moment. Every moment holds the potential for being memorable. We all have the power to stop what we are doing and look for a way to make each moment special. If we won’t stop each day and claim some of these moments, they will pass us by, never to be found again.”

I know that this was my December 2017 reading selection, but I suspect I’ll be referencing it throughout the year. Debbie’s words are impactful and her guidance is easy to follow: I can see myself coming back to this as a refresher all year long. This book is a jewel!

life curation · words of wisdom

Words of Wisdom: Eartha Kitt

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It’s no surprise that I am an enormous Eartha Kitt fan (I posted a YouTube video with one of my favorite Eartha interviews, and I included her book in my self care kit). But, funny enough, I hadn’t done an Eartha Kitt Words of Wisdom post.

Until now.

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I think Eartha’s story is fascinating: it’s both heartbreaking and inspirational. Born poor and suffering tremendous abuse during her younger years, she eventually became a star that capitalized on her impish beauty and unique singing voice. She lived on her terms, traveling the world and parenting her daughter in great style.

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I think that’s the part of Eartha’s story I find most inspirational: her relationship with her daughter was the most important relationship of her life. Parenting isn’t easy, and parenting on the road, when there are engagements, obligations, and other demands that must be handled, had to be tough. Yet, she parented her daughter well: they maintained a close relationship, full of love and laughs, until the end of Eartha’s life.

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Her daughter, Kitt Shapiro, is the owner and operator of Simply Eartha, a website that offers housewares, jewelry, and other goods that are inspired by Eartha’s warm and natural tastes. Many of the items offered on the website feature Eartha’s quotes, which Kitt fondly calls “kittisms”.

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I hope you all enjoyed this post about the incomparable Eartha Kitt. Talk to you all soon!

life curation

2018 Goals – Creating My Best Year Yet

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New Years Day is my favorite holiday. I enjoy spending time with family, being thankful, receiving gifts, and everything else that one can expect from the holiday season.

However, there is something uniquely magical about the start of a new year. It feels so fresh, hopeful, and exciting to know that you are standing at the beginning of a brand-new, 365 page book that YOU get to author, edit and publish.

For the past few days, I’ve been mulling over what I really want to create in my life during 2018. It’s so easy to say, “I’m going to lose 20 pounds, meet the love of my life, hit the lotto, and finally take a trip around the world”, then stare out the window dreamy-eyed, waiting for all of that to come to my doorstep.

It’s far more likely, however, that daydreaming won’t actually create the things that you want. So you end up living this year just as you’ve lived the last one, and the ones prior to that: all sorts of unfulfilled, frustrated and disappointed emotions bubble up.

I’d rather go beyond daydreaming and actually create what I want. I can’t sit still and be passive, because this year feels like the beginning of an amazing period of my life. And I want to be an active participant in it.

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The whole world at my fingertips (photo courtesy of Dreamstime)

So here is my short list of goals. I’m intentionally keeping these short, because too many irons in the fire means none of them get hot. I’d rather have a couple of hot irons that a bunch of lukewarm ones.

  1. I want to publish some of my writing. I’ve been writing stories since I was 5 and I’ve completed several books. Now I just have to edit those and then publish. This is a test of my discipline and focus: it takes a lot for me to sit down and edit anything that I write. It’s time that I got it done so that my work can finally reach the people that will enjoy it.
  2. I want more travel than I’ve done for several years prior. I have at least two major trips lined up, and two more are strong possibilities. I need the adventure of going new places and having new experiences, so this is a necessity moreso than a luxury.
  3. I want to seriously dabble in a career in the art world. I love the arts and I’m feeling called to a career in either a museum or auction house. While I feel that I’m in a dream job already, I sense that my current career doesn’t have opportunities for certain enriching experiences. That’s why I want to try out an arts career, and see where that takes me.

I’m still toying around with the steps I want to take as I align with these goals. I don’t mind doing some sort of “efforting” but I don’t want to have a heavy-hand with this, either. I want this to be fun, energizing and memorable, and “overdoing” any particular actions will kill the fun vibe.

I’m employing a few different accountability partners to help keep me honest, as well as working out a schedule of when I anticipate completing certain milestones for my goals.

It’s a lot of upfront work, but it feels good to get clear.

Do you have any big goals for 2018? Let me know in the comments below! If you prefer that your goals stay private, just note it in the comment, and I’ll leave it unpublished. Just know that I read EACH and EVERY comment, so I’ll definitely see yours!

Until tomorrow . . .

life curation · Uncategorized

Taking Time for Me

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One of the gifts I’ll give myself for 2018 is a social media fast. I’ll still maintain the Instagram account related to this blog, and I’ll also be sure to continue doing my daily posts (as I have for months now).

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Truly carefree : this is how I’m living (photo from Shutterstock)

But I’ve grown weary of people “living” on social media and not taking advantage of life OFFLINE. Worst, I don’t want to become one of those people.

I’m excited to spend this self-imposed hiatus taking care of all of the things that I want ticked and tied before I jump headfirst into my big goals. This break is overdue and much needed.

Don’t forget to take time for YOU as this new year begins.

Love and blessings to you all!

life curation

Preparing for 2018: The Advantage of Setting Impossible Goals

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2018 is almost here and I’ve got a final “Preparing for 2018” post for you all. I saved this one for last, not just because it’s my favorite (though it is), but because I truly feel that doing this is key to great goal setting.

Here’s the thing: goals that are easy to attain tend to feel “flat” when accomplished. Realistic goals may be great for boosting confidence but they don’t offer you any inspiration.

That’s why you should always have some impossible goals on your list.

Now, all of your goals shouldn’t be impossible. After all, how long will you continue shooting for those goals if you feel like you can’t reach any of them? Your fire and zeal won’t last long if you feel like you keep failing. You do, however, need some goals that light you up and put some pep in your step.

You can’t let your energy get cold, which is where those impossible goals come in. Impossible goals have FIRE, and FIRE keeps your energy from going cold.

I set an impossible goal in 2016. What made it impossible, you ask? Well, I wasn’t 100% on where it would take me, or even that I was ready for it. All I knew was that I know how I wanted to feel when that goal was accomplished.

My goal was to land in my dream job. I wrote out my goal in April 2016. I had my dream job by August 2016. Now a “job” may not feel impossible for most people, but this is the job I’ve wanted since 2008. It took nearly a decade to get it, but it happened only four months after I did the steps I mentioned in previous Preparing for 2018 posts.

Setting “impossible” goals can work for you. And if you need help in accomplishing your goal, just click on the “Preparing for 2018” tag below, and you’ll see all of the other posts I’ve written that can help you on your journey.

I have more to say about goals in general, but this is it for the Preparing for 2018 series. I hope you all enjoyed it!