Let's face it: There are only so many hours in a day, and so many things we want to achieve. How can we manage it all ... WITHOUT exhausting all of our creative energy and sanity? To help you out, I've teamed up with BERG+BETTS to share six simple ways to be more mindful with your time.
One of the benefits of being married to an artist is having the opportunity to visit to fun and unique places that I otherwise probably wouldn't visit, and connecting with awesome people along the way. Our most recent art adventure? Spending a weekend at Spark Box Studio in Picton, Ontario!
When was the last time you gave your body a good ol' detox? Every Sunday, usually while dinner is in the oven, I'll prepare two carafes' worth of "Mean Green" detox juice that my husband and I split for the week. Made from an assortment of mostly green fruits and vegetables, this magical detox juice is jam packed with nutrients that help restore and heal your body.
Let's face it: it's easy to get caught up in all the consumer-driven fuss of fall – stocking up on sweaters, drinking PSLs on the daily, buying every pumpkin-cinnamon-apple scented candle you get a whiff of – all of which challenge the concept of living more simply. Thankfully, there are ways to appreciate autumn intentionally – instead of falling back into old shopping habits.
One of my favorite morning rituals is brewing a fresh pot of coffee while I get ready for the day. Even before taking that first sip, I feel awakened by the aroma that fills our space as the boiling water seeps through the coffee grounds and slowly drips into the glass carafe. Recently, I've started thinking more deeply about what goes into my morning cup of coffee and the impact it has on people and the planet.
One of my newfound Sunday rituals is baking homemade bread for the week. There's something really empowering about the process of making food with your own hands, not to mention you know exactly what ingredients are used. I've also learned that making food from scratch is an easy way to reduce packaging waste since most cooking ingredients last a while and often come in glass or paper packaging, rather than plastic.
Slowing down – it's a paradoxical concept in an extrinsically-driven society, where happiness and success are defined by what we have. In order to meet the growing demands of our capitalistic culture, we increasingly work more, spend more, consume more... Unfortunately, this perpetual cycle of more, more, more has reached a tipping point. A tipping point not only for our personal health and well-being, but also for the health and well-being of the environment.
Happy New Year! Tomorrow is especially meaningful to me because it marks six months since I married my best friend, and it's the first New Year's we're celebrating as husband and wife. As we say farewell to 2016, I'm so excited to finally share our elopement story and a glimpse into our intimate ceremony.
