luxury

Little Bit of Luxury: High Quality Dinnerware

Happy Monday friends! This past few days has been quite chilly, but here’s hoping that getting through this period of cold weather will lead to much warmer day sooner than we think.

Recently I purchased a few things on Amazon that I both needed and wanted. I love to inject luxury into my life and small ways, and one of the ways that I do that is by using the best quality dinnerware and flatware that I can afford. I love eating off of beautiful plates and using lovely knives, forks, and spoons when eating my lunches, so I have a set that I use exclusively in my office.

But,  one of my worst nightmares occurred when I broke one of the pieces to my dinnerware set. I look to see if I could find a replacement piece, but I couldn’t locate the singular item that I needed to complete my set again. I also misplaced one of my spoons that was part of my flatware set. These two things happening within a 2 month timeframe  signaled to me that it was time to upgrade.

So I treated myself to new flatware and new dinnerware for my desk. Behold!

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I saw Mikasa’s “Love Story” design and had to get the set. I got the Mikasa Love Story 5-Piece Place Setting, Service for 1. The set has a salad plate, dinner plate, dessert plate, saucer, and cup.

To flesh out the set, I also bought the Mikasa Love Story Coupe Soup Bowl, 8-Inch. When I purchased it, it was discounted a bit, so I purchased it for a great price.Of course, I couldn’t forget flatware! I also got the Ginkgo Royal Chippendale 5-Piece Place Setting, Service for 1. My original set was Oneida, but I couldn’t find the design that I had previously, so I got a brand new set.

There’s something exhilarating about using your personal best as much as you can. You deserve to feel luxurious, pampered and distinguished at all times, and it can start with something as simple as what you use to eat your meals. Treating yourself includes investing well into things that you use regularly and enjoy. So, maybe dinnerware and flatware isnt’ your thing: whatever makes you feel amazing, make sure that you invest in it. Don’t save it for a “special day”: use it now!

I hope you all stay warm and cozy! I’ll be back tomorow with a VERY special post: I’m so excited! Talk to you all soon.

life curation

Will My 2019 Goals Fail?

Happy hump day friends! As I look at my beloved planner, I think to myself how, every week, I set out little goals that will feed into some of that bigger goals for 2019. I’m only a couple of weeks into the new year, but I noticed something that I wanted to share with you all. I’m concerned that maybe my goals don’t have enough “umph” to them.

The problem with tepid goals is that they’ll usually fall flat. That isn’t intentional, of course:  no one sets a goal with the plan to fail. But in my experience, goals that don’t fire you up rarely have enough steam to be fully realized.

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So I had to ask myself, will my 2019 goals fail?

I’d like to think that they won’t:  I’m beyond the phase of life where I’m at I’m okay barely making the mark. At this point, only success or major progress will do.  That brought me to the realization that, for my 2019 goals, I have to find some fire for them.  Specifically, I have to make them bolder and bigger. Everything will have to be taken up a notch if I want to ensure that the goals will be accomplished.

Last year’s goals had a measure of success to them.  Nothing was a complete failure, but they did not have enough fire to keep me working hard on them all year long. I figured that might be somewhat normal:  working non-stop for an indefinite period of time on anything is nearly impossible. One of the reasons that I was really thankful for getting the 21 Day Challenge book was that I figured I could work on anything fervently for 21 days.

But after I took some time to examine my current goals, I don’t even think that 21 day challenges can keep me lit up all year long. So this year, I’m going to take a little more time and figure out exactly how to make my goals bolder than they were last year. I want goals that light me up and that excite me as I discuss them.  I start my first 21 day challenge in February, and I want to make sure that I’m ready and raring to go at the beginning of the month so that the 21 days I pour into a project will be some of the most inspiring days of my 2019.

So I’m going back to the drawing board for my goals, and I’m going to make them bigger and bolder than ever. I can’t wait to share them with you all soon!

That’s all for today. Take care, and I’ll talk to you all tomorrow!

international · travel

Cruise 2018: Ports of Call

Happy Monday friends! If you reside anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic region, you may be digging yourself out of the snow that fell over the weekend. Here in central Virginia, we didn’t get that much snow: we did however get a good amount of slushy rain. We are expecting some more snow and ice in the upcoming days, so stay warm and dry if you can!

With all of this cold, wintry weather, it’s only natural that I might look back on some warmer days. Specifically, I’m thinking about my last vacation to the Caribbean. If you all recall, I went on a Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean. I posted about the ship itself, and I also wrote about the exquisite cuisine that I enjoyed on board. The ports of call for this cruise were Nassau, Bahamas; Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; and Costa Maya, Mexico. I’ve been to most of these ports before ( Honduras being the only exception), so I was already familiar with the locations. That being said, I still enjoyed being somewhere warm and sunny for a change.

I don’t have much to say about the locations: because I only spent a few hours at each port of call, it’s hard to distinguish between them. As a result, this post will be mostly pictures. I always get so excited to see the beauty of the Caribbean. The crystal clear water, the striking buildings, the unrelenting sunshine … There’s nothing quite like an

island vacation. Enjoy!

KODAK Digital Still Camera

Ship in Nassau

Views from Cozumel

Sights in Roatan

Costa Maya views

More Costa Maya

art · luxury

Americana Week – Best of Bonhams Auction

As part of Americana Week, I will be taking a look at each of the major auction houses that will be featuring Americana-themed sales. Today’s auction house is Bonhams , an auction house that has more luxury auto auctions than any of the others. This particular auction, still aligned with the Americana theme, will be in Scottsdale, Arizona on January 17th 2019, starting at 11 MST. Bonhams will be showcasing luxury cars from the early 1900’s through to the modern day

Americans have a long-standing love affair with automobiles, so it makes sense that cars would factor into Americana Week. As a side note, only two of the auction houses that I am profiling will be selling luxury vehicles this week. Bonhams, of course is one of them; however, Sotheby’s will also be getting in on the luxury automobile action. Despite still being Americana-themed, many of the cars at the Scottsdale sales, will be foreign-made cars such as Mercedes, Maserati, Lamborghinis, Porsches and so on. The truth is, Americans love all cars – including foreign ones!

My favorite lot in this auction is the 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Veloce, a sleek, stylish car that looks like it was made for me. The plush red interior, clean lines, and, as Bonhams puts it, “nimble handling”, all sound like the perfect features for my future sports car.  This beauty could fetch up to $130,000 at auction though, as lovely as this restored vehicle is, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s sold for more. However, if any of you are wondering whether you should get this for me, the answer is yes and thank you in advance!

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My future car

I kid, I kid. However if you are interested in this car or some of the other beauties that will be at the Scottsdale auction, make sure to check out Bonhams. They have wonderful offerings for this auction: so many gorgeous sport cars, so little time to enjoy them all! 

Have a happy Friday, friends! I’ll be back on Monday. Enjoy your weekend!

 

life curation

What I’m Intending for 2019

2019 is still so brand new and full of potential: I’m seriously still “buzzing” about the new year!

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With all of this excitement, I almost forgot to tell you all my intentions for 2019. My intentions are different from my goals, though my intentions support the goals that I have for the year.

My intentions for 2019 are to enjoy abundant and complete health, create incredibly satisfying experiences every day, and to continue designing a life that gives me joy and that blesses those that interact with me. For me, the most important thing is to live well: the components of my version of a well-lived life are excellent health, daily satisfaction, and an uninhibited ability to do the things that bring me joy.

That is my intention for the year, and I’m looking forward to enjoying the year as it unfolds. I hope that you all have set your intentions and are ready to live well!

Talk to you all tomorrow!

life curation

Goodbye 2018 …

Happy Monday, friends! It’s New Year’s Eve, and we are closing the books on 2018. Did you get everything you wanted? Did you see some dreams come true? Did you get answers to some of your burning questions? Are you reflecting back on the year with appreciation?

Here’s a truth you may not hear too often: it doesn’t matter whether things worked out exactly as you hoped. All that matters is that you lived to see another day, and every day offers an opportunity to “reset”. Life is the gift, and everything else is icing.

Goodbye 2018

I took off from posting for the past couple of days: my first blogging “break” ever. Inspiration led me to stop pushing myself so hard and to take a break to regroup and think carefully about how I want to enter 2019. I needed that space to clear my mind.

This past weekend led me to the difficult decision to cease doing weekend blog posts. While I love writing and have no problem doing it daily, I feel that having the weekend will give me more time to enjoy my journey and perfect my writing craft. Not to mention, the time off really gave me an energy boost: I look forward to feeling that way more frequently.

I’m going to get back to working on my vision board and I’ll be back tomorrow. Have a great evening, and I’ll talk with you all soon!

life curation

2019 Planning – Career and Finance

Happy Monday, beloveds! I hope you all are enjoying your day and getting your errands done in a comfortable, easy fashion. Christmas Eve is a notoriously hectic day for stores so I’m hoping that you have already done whatever you need to do and that you can just enjoy relaxing before the holiday. However, if you have to go out in the crowds, my thoughts are with you!

I’m taking this time before the New Year to reflect and get some clarity on what I want in the upcoming year. I wrote about my health and fitness goals in a previous post, and now I’m reflecting on my intentions and goals for my career and money.

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This woman looks so full of focus and purpose: may I be her in the upcoming year

As with my previously listed goals, I want to keep things fairly simple. The problem I see that most people make is having too many “irons in the fire”, or too many goals happening simultaneously. The goals tend to be too vague as well: it’s hard to know when you’ve reached your goal if you haven’t gotten crystal clear on what your goal actually is. That’s why it’s important to take some time to sit with your thoughts and feelings, and give yourself the space to suss out the details of what you desire in your future life.

Here are my career and finance goals for 2019:

  • Develop two additional income streams
  • “Try out” at least two different art-related careers
  • Work with a financial planner to begin wealth and legacy planning activities

The intention behind my goals for my career and finance is that I can further create financial independence as well as transition into a satisfying and lucrative career in the art world. There are still a lot of little steps that have to be taken along the way, but the most important thing is to START, and allow the path to unfold in front of me.

Watching the path unfold involves trust unlike anything else I’ve experienced. But I’m ready for it, so it’s all good.

Thanks for stopping by today, and I’ll catch up with you all tomorrow. Take care!

life curation

Making Space Challenge: End of the Year Updates

Happy, happy Saturday! I figured I’d make this last post about the Making Space challenge before the end of the year, because it’ll be 2019 before you know it.

I’m still doing my thing with the challenge. It’s a little easier to “make space” in December because I have more time at home (due to the holidays). When I’m enjoying “down” time, I always start clearing out things and tidying up. That may defeat the purpose of taking time off, but I enjoy it, so that’s that.

However, I also tend to clear out a lot of clutter (in the form of magazines) during this time. Since I create a vision board every New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day, I need images to paste on it. So, a few weeks before NYE, I start ripping up my magazines, putting the images I plan to use in a folder and throwing out the magazine when I’m done. I also will rip out any articles that I’ve been meaning to read: I challenge myself to read them all before the end of December.

Sometimes I read the articles, sometimes I miss my December deadline. It’s the intention that matters though, right? I always intend to do it, and eventually, the articles get read because ripped out pages don’t age well and I get tired of them holding valuable space in my file cabinet.

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So for the challenge, I’ve been working through no less than 3 magazines a day. At the rate that I’m going, I will have gotten rid of at least 50 magazines by the end of the year. That’s going to create massive space in my magazine bins, and I can start using those containers for something else (yay!)

Are you all making space before the end of the year? Please let me know in the comments below, and if you’re so inclined, take a pic of how you’re making space and use the hashtag #makingspacechallenge or #makingspace so I can see what you’re up to.

Have a great day, and I’ll talk to you all tomorrow!

life curation

Let Inspiration Lead You

Happy Saturday, friends! I recently experienced a major positive shift in my energy, and I wanted to share what happened that turned things around a bit. Now, the positive shift doesn’t mean that things are completely perfect; in fact, nothing is truly perfect in my life right now. However, this shift was powerful enough to give me a significant “push” when I wasn’t feeling inspired to do anything at all.

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Letting inspiration guide you is as simple as letting go

Earlier this week, the word “lagniappe” crossed my mind. Lagniappe is a Creole term meaning “a little something extra”. It’s a little gift or token that may be given for anything or nothing. Usually, little shops in New Orleans (though this might also happen in other parts of Louisiana, I’m specifically referring to New Orleans because I’ve been there) will throw in a little extra gift when you purchase something, or even give you a little token just for stopping by and chatting with the staff for a bit.

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A common sight in many shops in New Orleans – masks with all sorts of fancy designs

I hadn’t thought of the word in years but here it was, on my mind. I just figured that meant it was time to plan another trip to New Orleans (which would be fabulous!) and let the thought pass. I went on with my day as normal and didn’t think any more of it.

Two days later, I went online and read some posts in one of my coaching groups. I saw a post from a member that was unclear on what she needed to do to resolve the issue that she was facing. I thought a writing technique that I first read in Write It Down, Make It Happen by Dr. Henriette Anne Klauser. I flipped through the book, located the technique I wanted to describe to her, and posted my response.

After writing the response, I flipped to the back of the book, right before the bibliography. Right there, in the middle of the page, was the word “lagniappe”. For clarity, Dr. Klauser is not Creole nor does she write about life in Louisiana or anything else related to that part of the world. Literally, the word was on the page, like a beacon, telling me that what I needed was sitting on my bookshelf all along.

I’ve been languishing a bit because my dreams need fine tuning. It’s funny: I actually have almost everything that I want. I’ve spent years getting clear on my desires and successfully co-creating everything that I’ve wanted. I’ve traveled to places that I couldn’t imagine that I’d ever see in person. I’m in my dream field: the one that took me NINE years to get into. My family is healthy and happy, and I earn enough to do everything that I want to do (with proper planning, of course). By all accounts, I’m happy with my life and everything is great.

But my daily passion is lacking. I knew that I needed to get clearer about my art career goals as well as a few other “bucket list” items. I didn’t realize how much being “comfortable” and uninspired could negatively affect me, but now I know. So the next few weeks will be all about getting clear and finding my passion again. Now, don’t get me wrong: I love my life and find a lot of joy in it daily. But my drive was gone because I’ve already gotten so many of the things that I wanted.

I mean, what do you do when you got everything you wanted?

It’s simple: you find new dreams. You get some new goals. You find a new passion because that passion is what keeps us going.

So I’m taking some time to get quiet and let inspiration lead me. I think I know where it’s going to take me: there’s a dream that I’ve been tossing around for a bit, but I needed a little extra clarity on how I’d like for it to look in my real life. So I’m going to reread Write It Down, Make It Happen, spend some time just doing what sounds like fun (because having fun is great for setting things in motion), and allowing my new dreams to reveal themselves to me.

Have you all had to “recalibrate” your dreams? I’d love to hear how you did it: feel free to comment below and let me know how you tapped back into your passion after a period of feeling uninspired.

Take care, and enjoy your Saturday!

life curation · Uncategorized

I Got a New Planner!

Happy Friday! Let’s just take a moment to smile and rejoice as we made it to the end of another week.

A few days ago, I knew I had to embark upon my annual exercise of selecting a new planner. I hate to wait until after January 1st to buy one, because the selection isn’t as good AND I have a slightly compulsive behavior where I must fill in the first day of my calendar/planner: filling a calendar retroactively just won’t suffice.

So I buy these sorts of things in December. Last year, I was gifted a 2017/2018 planner and it was absolutely perfect: seriously, it’s exactly what I would have purchased for myself. This year, I’m buying my own and I needed to find one that met my practical needs and aesthetic preferences.

My planner had to:

  • Be pretty
  • Have lined spaces for daily entries
  • Include a space for weekly/monthly goals
  • Have convenient at-a-glance calendars for this year and next year
  • Lots of space for notes at the back of the planner
  • Less than $30

I was delighted to find this beauty at Target for a little under $13. It’s perfect: pale pink with gold lettering, and generously sized.

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I am already enjoying it so much. The first few pages of the planner have spaces for fleshing out your vision for the year, as well as milestone goals that you want to accomplish in different areas of your life. Talk about comprehensive!

This planner is by Day Designer and I highly recommend it. It’s beautiful and meets all of my requirements. I love it!