Lively & Lovely
Words on physical wellness and care
Featured
“In tickly-toe grass,
a buttercup offers up
yellow nose kisses”
— Flower, Betsy Snyder
The breeze is faintly dewy. Bird song is welcomed by the golden-pink dawn. Crocuses and snowdrops dot the horizon with pigment, and something like the romantic haze of an impressionist painting begins to form. I watch intently and find myself caught in the slow, exquisitely deep inhale that is the return of Spring.
Okay, I’ve been slowly trading out all of my old skincare for cleaner products. I feed myself well so it only makes sense that I’d want to do good things for my skin too! Here are some of my favorite items for doing just that!
“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” — Charles Dickens
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! Check out the full gallery of photos from our Holiday Pancakes and Pajamas event. We had such a wonderful time. We began the morning drinking hot cocoa and crafting festive notes to surprise loved ones and perfect strangers alike just to spread a little holiday cheer. The competition got fierce as we tested our holiday movie knowledge with trivia questions and even a few rounds of charades. We watched Angela Foster of Coffee and (____) make some truly special pancakes, made vegan and with organic ingredients. We topped it all off with a pancake breakfast, some festive Christmosas (champagne and sparkling apple cider, garnished with cranberries, green apples, green grapes and pomegranate seeds), and plenty of merriment! If you weren't able to attend, take a peek at Coffee and (_____)'s signature pancake recipe below and try them out yourself. Yums! Wishing you all a beautiful holiday season!
“People who love to eat are always the best people.” — Julia Child
At our inaugural experience - Dinner and Dessert in the Dark - guests learned the art of being present with delicious food and drinks, ambient music, and great conversation...all while blindfolded! If you couldn't make it, no worries! Check out our tips below for creating the experience at home. And don't forget to take a peek at the gallery.
“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” — Helen Keller
As we wrap up our series on the art of being present, please enjoy photos from our inaugural experience - Dinner and Dessert in the Dark. It was a special evening and a truly great way to practice being in the here and now. If you couldn't make the event, no worries! Check out our tips for creating the experience at home.
“You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestation of your own blessings.” — Elizabeth Gilbert
So far, I’ve shared my thoughts on why awareness is important and I’ve detailed a few strategies for staying awake: (1) minimizing distractions, the biggest of which for many is technology, (2) filling our lives with the kind of beauty to which we must attend, and (3) being conscious of what’s going on behind the scenes of our pain that will lead us to peace. Now I’d like to offer a few tips and daily practices to help some of this stuff stick.
It’s Spring at last! Yet April necessitates patience and patience, by definition, is hard. Otherwise it would just be waiting. April provides an even more tangible promise of euphoria, while simultaneously requiring us to sit a while longer in transition. Our expectations begin to get the better of us. The snow has given way - well, usually (I’m looking at you Ohio) - but to what? There are days of warmth and sunshine to be sure, but very often there is rain and even a blustery reminder of the winter past. I hurry to my community garden plot to water my plants and keep them from burning up in near 90 degree weather, only to hurry back two days later to cover them and protect them from possible frost. “Gah!,” I project in my being. “Just hurry up and get there…arrive already,” my essence seems to say. But there are gifts here, in this space and time of year, to ease the hearts of even the most impatient.