“‘Money isn’t pink or blue, it’s green.’ She’s right of course. But my years of research and experience also tell me that we, as women, view money through a different sort of lens. And that is why we need a different sort of book.” —Jean Chatzky, author of Women with Money: The Judgment-free Guide to […]
“We are born with a capacity to dance together but not with the necessary training.” —David Richo As soon as I read the first line in chapter one shown above, the analogy made crystal clear sense of my ignorance about relationships and how to navigate past it: I needed to learn HOW to love, not […]
A well-written novel, many classic novels and contemporary highly acclaimed novels, share a human story revealing the journey of struggle, discovery, awakening, undeserved or unwanted pain and navigation to a larger truth that humans of all generations can connect with in some way. A good cookbook, a classic, one that is and will be pulled […]
“Creativity takes courage. ” —Henry Matisse The last home I decorated, the last home I owned, I played it safe in the living room and in the kitchen (see here). I kept to beige in the living room and white in the kitchen – walls, furniture, dishes, you get the idea. After all, I told […]
Building our signature style takes time. As well, it evolves. While some components – the best color tone for our skin, hair and eye color – may remain the same, the fit, the lengths, the necklines, as well as styles we discover and wish to welcome into our wardrobe will change. Over the years, as […]
“I’m not so worried about the dangers of mental junk food. That’s because I’ve found that many of the true intellectuals I’ve met take pleasure in mental junk food too. Having a taste for trashy rom-coms hasn’t rotted their brain or made them incapable of writing great history or doing deep physics. No, my worry […]
“Roses do not bloom hurriedly; for beauty, like any masterpiece, takes time to blossom.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo A cottage is not a proper English cottage without a rose or two or many (but that might just reveal I have watched and read far too many British cosy films and stories ;)) , so when I decided to […]
“[RHS is] driven by a sheer love of plants and the belief that gardeners make the world a better place – this underpins all we do.” —RHS guiding principle It is by no mistake that I have chosen to hold TSLL’s annual British Week during the similar annual time of Britain’s annual well-known and beloved […]
In Oregon, twenty of the 30+ counties are expected to step into Phase One of transitioning out of stay-at-home orders. Bend is part of the first twenty counties. What does that mean to how we will shift as we go about our daily lives? In Paris and for all of France, on Monday May 11th, […]
“It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.” —Joseph Campbell Gold is 19 times heavier than water and three times as heavy as iron. Knowing this basic fact would be helpful if you were actually paning or mining for gold. Barring […]
“Life is short and absurd and run through with pain and sorrow. But even in the face of real suffering, gardening can make our days shine with joy.” —Monty Don Today is Earth Day, and so I chose today’s topic as a way to celebrate the good fortunate we have to live on our amazing […]
With the arrival of spring this weekend and the first few days of the new season offering upper 50 and sometimes 60 degree weather (Fahrenheit), I found myself spending time on the porch in my yard enjoying the sunset, listening to the birds gaggle about, watching Norman rest and sometimes writing in my journal or […]
Just this morning a TSLL reader and listener of the podcast, who works in the healthcare system, asked that I pulled together a list of podcast episodes from the archives to help us all navigate through this time of self-containment and uncertainty, as well as more time at home with available time to be outside […]
“By comparison with relationships forged in blood and love, science has historically given friendship short shrift . . . biologists ignored friendships because unlike romantic or mating relationships they were thought not to affect reproductive success . . . most of us are as guilty as scientists of failing to take friendship as seriously as […]
“Vitality means moving through life with energy and vigor, making deliberate choices and putting to good use the time and energy that we have been granted.” —Twyla Tharp, author of Keep Moving: Lessons for the Rest of Your Life Knowing how to care for our body which we must not forget includes the mind is […]
“Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson Sometimes lessons can only be understood in retrospect, but I am thank for those who have passed along their insights so not every lesson in life must be acquired from first-hand experience. Reflecting on the times of my life when I have felt peace of […]
Spring is far, far away, yet watching the runway collections in Paris these past few days as made me oh so eager for it to arrive. From Altuzarra’s collection (see above and two items just below) sharing classic stripes, midi shirt dresses and timeless colors that will last for years making sure our wardrobes are […]
“Across the world, despite all prejudices and beliefs against it, singlehood is the growing trend.” —Elyakim Kislev , author of Happy Singlehood: The Rising Acceptance and Celebration of Solo Living It is highly beneficial to understand the construction of our beliefs regarding singledom, so that after discarding the myths and acknowledging the realities, we can “freely […]
“To connect our controlled, interior lives with that of the great outdoors. To remind us that spring will come after winter again and again and again. I think that is why I like flowers in the house so much. They are a gentle reminder that there are things much larger than my own finite life […]
“All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.”—Baruch Spinoza Quality over quantity. A quality, handmade item takes time. Consider the work of a haute couture gown which can take as many as 800 hours to create. Or the choice to make homemade croissants. Arguably, it is significantly harder to make a haute couture […]
“Most people are in a constant state of falling for whatever the most interesting thing is. Falling for whatever the most popular person is doing . . . This introduces the endless cycle of constantly ‘shopping’ for experiences. An endless search for novelty, hedonism, and just a dash of escapism. Because they do not conduct […]
“If I sit around and wait for other people to create magic in my life then I will be waiting until the day I die.” —Kerry Washington, on CBS Sunday Morning, October 7, 2018 The magic of life is tangible, and actually not magic at all. For the purposes of today’s topic, the definition of […]
“A well-designed life is a life that makes sense . . . a marvelous portfolio of experiences, of adventures, of failures that taught you important lessons, of hardships that made you stronger and helped you know yourself better, and of achievements and satisfactions.” —Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans At the heart of choosing and the actively living a simply luxurious […]
“Resilence is more than bouncing back from adversity. People who are resilient keep pursuing their goals in the face of challenges. Consequently, learning how to regulate your brain’s motivational machinery is a key aspect of resilence.” —Rick Hanson, Ph. D, author of Resilient: How to Grown an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength and Happiness Living […]
