Everything Old Is New Again

One of my favorite things to do on a busy and stress-producing day is to take a moment to just look around the house and re-appreciate our collections and all we have. When life gets crazy we can sometimes forget to even see it all. Our stuff represents years of collecting and curating and what's the point of having it if we don't enjoy it? Make a drink in that tiki mug or pour some candy into that candy dish or whip up a recipe from that vintage cookbook! It's therapy for $0!

Some of my treasured collections!

Desserts Spelled Backwards

What do you do when your day takes a turn for the stressful and it's just too early to start in on the lovely libations? Say, for example, that you realized that the meta data on all of the pages of your website was hopelessly out of date and that your site was likely being missed in online searches because of this, so suddenly your carefully planned day suddenly becomes about fixing over 100 pages and re-uploading them, in addition to your other tasks. Let's just say you may not be feeling as perky as you might otherwise. What do you do? Panicking doesn't solve anything. Grumbling and complaining may feel good in the moment, but they don't fix the problem. And throwing things only leads to breakage you probably don't ultimately want.

The solution, of course, is to do what you need to do, but in a way that doesn't further add to your anxiety. This isn't the time to expect yourself to prepare an elaborate dinner or complete tasks that aren't urgent. If possible, take a break and go for a walk (if it's not freezing), listen to some music, read or watch That Girl (my surefire stress reducer). Return to your tasks when you've pulled yourself together and push through, knowing that there is a lovely libation with your name on it at the end of the day! If you need an idea for tonight's menu, click here for this week's happy hour cocktail!

And remember:

Have a slice of cake while you're at it!

Have A Merry, Mediocre Christmas!

A mediocre Christmas probably sounds awful, but I mean only great things for you when I say that! The holiday season can be a nutty time and, as we've already seen, the pressure to perform in various arenas (gift giving, hosting, being a great friend or family member, etc.) can be a bit much. Therefore I'm urging all of us to go a little easy on ourselves this year. A truncated workout is better than no workout. A nice-but-not-incredible bottle of wine as a host gift is better than no host gift. The fact that you're giving gifts at all is better than none (unless you've agreed to that in advance). An easy Christmas dinner is better than driving yourself berserk and ruining your day. So give yourself a break and enjoy the season by lowering your expectations of yourself when you feel a little batty. I'll bet your "good enough" is actually pretty fantastic!

I call it "Tuesday night in December."

Happy Holidays...To YOU!

Our current episode (click here to watch) is all about fighting Christmas craziness by taking good care of yourself and listening to what you truly want out of the holiday season. It seems so simple, but this message has a way of getting lost this time of year, which is why you see so much made of it in the media.  It can feel as though we're bombarded, not only by the expectations of others, by our own expectations of what our season should look like.  Pinterest-perfect parties with gorgeous tablescapes, beautifully wrapped gifts that make recipients universally squeal with delight, lots of glamorous photos of shiny outfits and perfect hair days on Facebook... it's enough to make anyone feel like a failure if even one aspect isn't Instagram-worthy. Who needs it?! Participate in the aspects that make you happy and ignore the rest. They're your holidays and every aspect is optional. If you don't want to go to the party, don't go to the party! If your family is a passive-aggressive nightmare, stay away! You don't like wrapping gifts or making cookies or singing carols? Don't! Remember, peace on earth starts at home, so treat yourself well and enjoy some inner peace this season!

Christmas on the sofa, with cocktails? Yes, please!