Your Content Goes Here Lately, more and more people are telling me they don't sleep well; they toss and turn or don't fall asleep until it's almost time to get up for another day. Their children are struggling as well. It's sad to hear this because sleep is extremely crucial for our mental and emotional well-being as well as our spiritual health. The lack of quality sleep quickly slows us down, creates brain fog, causes unhealthy food cravings and compulsive eating, slows our metabolism, drains the color from our complexion, etc. We've all seen the signs. It is not discriminating and is so prevalent that there seems to be a sleep deficiency epidemic happening in today's world. Many factors [...]

Your Content Goes Here Have you noticed how quickly being outdoors can lift our spirits (and our dog's spirit)? Even if it's for only 10 minutes our mood improves. This makes perfect sense, because, after all, we are organic beings and we are as natural as nature is. That's why the sun can lift our spirits and the breeze can free our thoughts while nature's colors inspire and invigorate us. We feel whole and at home in nature and it begs us to bring that feeling home. Interestingly, more and more people are doing just that - bringing nature inside. But how can we recreate that expansive freeing energy in our rooms? It's easy and fun when it's done [...]

Your Content Goes Here Every year, the design world introduces new inspirations, and this year is no different, except it seems more people are deciding to adopt some of these inspirations. Some long-standing trends are fading, while new trends are boldly surfacing. I don't buy into all the latest trends. Instead, I focus on the best solutions that reflect the household: their needs, activities, and lifestyle. I also respect the architectural style of the house while adding modern elements. Color schemes, patterns, textures, and lighting should be thoughtfully selected because they greatly affect our psyche, emotions, stress levels, relationships, and health. For that reason, I keep up with the trends but choose them strategically, not because they're the latest [...]

Your Content Goes Here Hooray! Summer is here! The days are longer and warmer, and my inner voice urges me to open doors, windows, and sunroofs, as well as my arms to bathe my heart and soul in summer's essence.  It seems I'm not the only one feeling this way. I see others waving from their open car windows, neighbors saying 'hello' from their open garage doors, passersby smiling and saying 'what a beautiful day', and so on. It seems June days are perfect for friendly chats, family gatherings, camping excursions, neighborhood potlucks, BBQs, tailgating, gardening, and so much more. Summer invites us to bring friends together and gather on the patio. And whenever friends gather there always seems [...]

Your Content Goes Here We've all felt it….. as soon as the papers are signed, a strange feeling of excitement and buyer's remorse settles into our souls! It's real. It's natural. The excitement is energizing and filled with a fresh start, yet the buyer's remorse can cause a lot of unnecessary angst. I know, I've felt this many times. It's been eight years since my husband and I bought our current home, and the memory of us passing each other as we frantically tried to establish order and simultaneously asking each other if we just bought the "Money Pit" still makes us smile. At that moment, everything we touched seemed to break, and unexpected problems surfaced faster than we could [...]

Your Content Goes Here Hooray! Summer is here! The days are longer and warmer, and my inner voice urges me to open doors, windows, and sunroofs, as well as my arms to bathe my heart and soul in summer's essence.  It seems I'm not the only one feeling this way. I see others waving from their open car windows, neighbors saying 'hello' from their open garage doors, passersby smiling and saying 'what a beautiful day', and so on. It seems June days are perfect for friendly chats, family gatherings, camping excursions, neighborhood potlucks, BBQs, tailgating, gardening, and so much more. Summer invites us to bring friends together and gather on the patio. And whenever friends gather there always seems [...]

Your Content Goes Here Lazy warm days, iced tea, and plants dancing in gentle breezes reset my quiet winter thoughts to high-spirited thoughts filled with copious possibilities. The longer days seem to fuel these thoughts, stirring my superpowers for creating a gorgeous outdoor retreat. The fact that my gardening muscles haven’t been used for six months (or more) doesn’t matter; I’m feeling invincible and ready to bring an oasis to my slowly awakening landscape. No sweat…...well, maybe a little a lot of sweat, but sweating is good, right? Springtime is the time of year that tempts me to scurry off to the garden center without a plan. This is not a good idea, trust me. Yes, it’s true that [...]

Your Content Goes Here I love color. Maybe that is why I love spring; nature is vibrating with color, enlivening everything, including us. Bright green leaves radiate against dark wet bark, flowers sparkle with dew, the sun seems brighter and the blue sky bluer, everything is waking up and vibrant. The whole world seems happy and is inviting us to join in. So just think, if nature can use color to lift our spirits, what could it do for us when we bring it indoors? Even though our spirits feel renewed when spring wakes up from its winter’s nap, many people tell me they don’t trust themselves to use a lot of color in their home or to select [...]

Your Content Goes Here Springtime is rapidly approaching, and we’ll soon be opening windows and doors, inviting the fresh air and longer days to fill our home and our senses. This seems to be a perfect time to give our home some love. Below are some thoughtful ideas that will fill your home with joy and gratitude…    choose a few or choose them all, then watch your home return the love— over and over. Invite friends over. Whether it is a holiday gathering, a housewarming, a home blessing, or just a neighborly drop-in, welcoming friends and family into our home is a meaningful event. It fills the rooms with laughter, love, and camaraderie. Sharing our home is a fun way to [...]

Your Content Goes Here That verse was written 2,000 years ago….  yet it still resonates today. How amazing is that?!? It’s also amazing how many interpretations and meanings can be taken from that one verse. One of the ways I see it is that space needs to be at the center of our life in order for us to have room to open our thoughts and discover our true purpose. Yet to have this empty space we need external support. The key seems to be finding the balance with our surroundings so that it allows space for us to grow. I love this, because our surroundings, whether a home or office, shape our behavior, attitude, health, emotions, and mental [...]