Self care rituals.

With the harried days of working two jobs and long hours, sometimes self-care has taken the back burner in favor of say…sleep. Ok, and reading blogs. But mostly sleep.

But recently, my friend Jana invited me and a few other friends over for a fun evening and it was altogether kind of, well, amazingly soothing!

We got together to laugh, commiserate, share stories and plan futures. But most of all, to do facials! To get the process started we enjoyed a hot steam that included calendula, rose and other healing flowers.

Yes, that’s me waving. Ha.

We followed that up with a French green clay mask mixed with honey and rose water. Luscious.

While we waited for the clay to dry we enjoyed gluten-free cake I baked for the occasion. If your going to try this at home, don’t leave this step out. The cake is crucial.

When the clay dried, some of us enjoyed peeling off the pieces bit by bit. Perhaps a little too much…

After rinsing off the mask, we lathered on non-toxic lotion and admired each other’s glow.

It was such a great night – not least of all because of how relaxed and nourished I felt.  Later, Jana and I commented to each other about how important it is to take time to enjoy, honor and respect our bodies. Creating fun communal rituals like our recent facials night encourages us to keep it up even when we get busy.

Do you have any tried and true self care rituals?

Things I Love Thursday: Sunshine, the 1960s, and snowballs!

Thursday is such a smiley day. The work week is becoming the weekend, projects are wrapping up leaving behind that wonderful feeling of completeness, and there’s a sense of flow about everything. This weekend there is a lot to do and also a lot to look forward to (and yes, I’ll share about it too!)

This week I’m grateful for…photo journalism (I like to pretend that’s what walking around taking photos of my neighborhood is) ♥  Movie night (twice in a row!). Thanks Amazon instant Video, we love you. ♥ Organizing files and paperwork (tell me I’m not the only one who swoons at that phrase!). ♥ 1960s revival a la Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine (she was a hottie! Who knew?) ♥ Winter walks with #chefboyfriend and alone. ♥ Our first major rain of the season (& therefore…puddles!). ♥  50 degrees and sunshine (That pretty much made my whole week right there). ♥  8 hours of sleep for many nights this week (omg, the simple joys…). ♥ Realizing how much better I’ve become at shaping the dough at the bakery (and how far I still have to go!).  ♥ Making our last snowballs of winter. And then throwing them. !!! ♥  California anticipation. ♥ A smooth work week (Welcome back Lauren!) ♥ That one evening I went with Simeon to the Culinary Institute to read in the library while he attended a class meeting. And after the meeting when the whole class followed him to where I sitting because they wanted to meet me. (Apparently I come up in conversation. Often). They all hung around and introduced themselves. It was the sweetest thing!

And a few links I’ve been loving this week too…

♥ Rachel shares why she’s not a bad yogi, but an occasional one.

♥ Got flaky people in your life? (Are you one of them?) I’ve been known to be a bit too lax a few too many times in my life. And it’s not something I’m proud of. These days I’m encouraging (not pushing) myself to focus on what matters only, to under commit (and over deliver) and especially, to not try to be THE best but try to be MY best. Miss Franzen shows us how to attract the right kind of people into our lives. The ones we can count on. The kind of person I think all of us are striving to be.

♥ Don’t you just love knowing how other people plan, organize, spend, and enjoy their days? This site makes me feel like a daily routine glutton! (Maybe include web browsing into your plan tomorrow? Then you can enjoy everything here without any guilt for “time wasting.”

Delicious Life

Dear Delicious Life…

Thank you. Thank you for the scrumptiousness of living. The sumptuousness.

It is without fail that you offer us up the bitter tart taste along side the sweetly pure. I crave both and long for the way they play off one another on my palate. The processing of unique blends creating fresh flavors. Can anyone argue with nature’s bounty? Abundance is the wild’s call. And I am here. Among many. And caught with rapture by a single moment, solitary and silent, as deafening as taste can be when the senses gather in unison on the tip of my tongue and shout their glee for the fulfillment of something satisfying. For now at least…

There is always tomorrow. Another day brings the yearnings of another lifetime. Another grateful host.

NaNoWriMo

Have you heard of NaNoWriMo? This crazy acronym stands for National Novel Writing Month, a “a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing” as the website states. This year, I decided to join the other 300,000 folks crazy enough to try to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Deciding to be a participant is all for the joy of writing for a goal and hitting the word count more than writing for a specific publishable purpose. One day writing a novel may be just the thing I long to do but for now I just want to write write write. Though I’ve officially joined the quest this year (check out the very official badge on my sidebar!) I’m breaking the rules by not writing a fictional novel (tsk tsk). So what will I be writing instead? Journal entries, blog posts, random quips, awful poetry. Anything that gets the thoughts out of my head and onto paper (or the computer).

So many words are left unsaid most of the time. I wonder what it will be like, for just this month, to set them free. I’ll let you know how it goes…

xoxo

Natanya

Thanks October, you were great.

Happy Halloween friends!

No dressing up in wild attire for me this year. Though I’ve loved spending a cold Halloween night at the raucous soiree going down at the Dreamaway in Halloweens past, tonight I have a date at yoga class. It feels like a good move considering fall is at its last leaf and the winter season is fast approaching (hello #frankenstormsandy). These days I’m inclined to dive deeper into reflective mode and less anxious to get out and about. But out and about I have been, and I managed to snap a few shots to prove it.

The time from Labor Day to Halloween is my absolute favorite in the Northeast and October showed us her splendor in so many ways.

Yay for pumpkins! This little one found a home on our mantle.

Many a recent morning were spent like this. Reading Anne Lamott’s uproarious book, Operating Instructions, and eating fluffy eggs made to order by the in-house chef.

Bright, beautiful color in our Hudson neighborhood.

Evenings were spent on the laptop with a cup of tea. I did a ton of work on a few projects for clients which I’m super excited about. Good times.

The displays at the vintage store down the street are always amazing. This one is especially cheeky; it stars Hudson’s hometown artist, Ralph, whose paintings you can see filling the display case. And that doghead!

Last winter I brought back this wire head from Israel as a gift for Sim. This month I was reunited with one of my best friends from that Birthright trip. It was so good to see her and catch up. I love the friends whom you can see once a year and its like no time at all has passed.

Despite my staying in tonight, I did make it out for one Halloween themed birthday party. So much fun to relax, eat homemade nachos, drink hot toddys and tell funny stories. Even Frida showed up for the fun!

I’m a sucker for rainbow bookcases. This one from The Bookstore in Lenox, MA is just right.

Oh Autumn, won’t you stay with us forever?

Have a spooky night and stay safe!

xoxo,

Natanya

Rumblings…

Since last weekend’s end to the Blogcademy I have had ideas for this blog oozing, tumbling, shooting out my fingertips. Jumping out of bed just as I finally sink into sleep to jot down a thought? It’s happened. Notebook growing fuller by the day? For sure. I can’t wait to unveil the changes around here. But for now, with all the goodness swirling madly between mind, finger, and pen, I better hold off until the last detail is accounted for. A lot is changing in my life lately, and a blog upgrade is just the ticket to ride.

Thank you, as always, for reading and coming along for the journey!

xo,

Natanya

Happy Birthday Bob Ross!

Artwork by Murphey Elliot

Today would have been Bob Ross’ 70th birthday. So many of us grew up on his “happy tress” and his love for painting. I remember many mornings spent in my pajamas in front of the TV watching Bob paint and listening to him talk about life. He and Mister Rogers are pillars of my childhood and to them I am grateful for the all the happy memories.

This remix by PBS Studios is AMAZING. You have to watch it – I’m sure Bob would have loved it too.

And here’s another video just for fun. He gives a shout out to his Mom. It’s the sweetest.

Happy Birthday Bob!

Love,

Natanya

The Blogcademy: Recap!

All photos except Instagrams courtesy of fabulous Femke Leemans

As you know, this past weekend I spent the most incredible two days with 3 multi-talented blogging powerhouses, two professional photographers, and 29 other bloggers extraordinaire. I felt like I had walked into a dream world the moment I arrived at the inaugural Blogcademy hosted by (from l-r below) Shauna Haider of NubbyTwiglet.com, Kat Williams of RocknRollBride.com, and Gala Darling of Galadarling.com. Needless to say, my fellow students and I made up one big room of fangirls but it was clear by the end that we had all become one great mutual admiration society.

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Headmistresses

Gala, Shauna, Kat and their special guest, professional photographer Lisa Devlin, had prepared a packed weekend of everything they know about blogging. Realize this: they have a combined expertise of over 30 years of blogging – so it was a lot of take in. I took copious notes but some golden nuggets stood out and I’ve recapped my favorite below.

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Takeaways

♦ Smile while you write. People can read the difference!

♦ Re-frame a hardship you’re going through into something inspirational that others can learn from rather than moaning on your blog about it.

♦ Showcase what you want more of – you will be attracting the right readers in the process.

♦ Focus on your strengths, outsource the rest.

♦ Prioritize the relationships that influence you positively.

♦ To get inspired, get off the computer!

♦ A blog is a springboard, not an end in itself.

♦ People love a good list.

♦ Eat That Frog.

♦ If people are coming to your blog, it means they like it! Find creative ways to give them more.

♦ Some things you try will work, others won’t. Both are ok.

♦ Don’t over commit: There is no faster way to disappoint people than to not do what you said you would.

♦ Book deals won’t just fall out of the sky…unless they do.

♦ A brand is a gut feeling. Your audience’s gut feeling, not yours.

♦  Build your blog with room to grow. Think: collaborators.

♦ Your content should be meaty & sticky.

♦ Learning photography is like learning to drive.

♦ The dirty little secret is that your blog will never be perfect. Accept it and move on.

The totality of what we learned will be with me for months to come and my mind is swimming with ideas. Not to mention, Lisa Devlin, UK Photographer of the year, lead us through an enormous section on Sunday afternoon  about imagery, photo shoots, DSLRs, lighting, props, editing and more. We even went outside for a quick photo shoot of our own to put our new skills to the test. We had a blast, Lisa is hilarious, and I learned so much. I wish I could put her in my pocket and take her everywhere!

Gala and Lisa Devlin

Scenes from the first day. I loved hanging out with the other bloggers and learning from their expertise and enthusiasm. 

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In addition to the many many many takeaways that filled my notebook, I also jotted down a few inspiring quotes when I heard them. In the back of our Blogcademy magazine Gala, Kat, and Shauna added a full page of quotes that always inspires them. I enjoyed reading through the quotes while I waited for the subway on my way home just as I hope you’ll enjoy reading these!

Favorite Quotes

♦ “You will never be a leader in your niche by following everyone else.” – Shauna

♦ “You will never find your style. Style will find you.” – Jonas Peterson

♦ “You can’t just stamp a logo on it and call it branded, branding is the whole of who you are.” – Kat

♦ “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw

♦ “You are a mash-up of what you let into your life. Anyone can be creative if they surround themselves with the right influences.” – Austin Kleon (from a RocknRoll Bride interview, March 2012)

♦ “Slow and steady wins the race.” – Shauna

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This photo caught me Instagramming which was happening about 79.93 % of the time.

Instagrams

All weekend we were ‘gramming away (as bloggers do) and some of the funniest photos are the ones that capture us all with our noses in our screens at the same time. You can follow me on the ‘gram at @natanyahaviva.

I made some great new blogger friends. I love this shot of me with my *almost* twin Latanya of Sprinkles and Booze.

Veronica Varlow of Danger Dame is such a sweet heart! We had quite the selfie photo shoot!

Stephanie Marie of The Fête taking shots outside during Lisa Devlin’s photography lesson. She became my go-to coffee buddy. Can’t wait to take her out for a latte when I visit Virginia!

This is the photo that won best #bloggerface of the weekend. Gala even called it “Epic” Click the hashtag to see just how much practice we had all weekend at making the perfect #bloggerface!

Chatty bloggers during a break.

I’m an official graduate! Thank you to A Fine Press for the gorgeous letter pressed certificates!

Instax happiness. Me with my heroes.

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What I Learned

I signed up for The Blogcademy with the intention to find clarity. You see, I love everything about blogging: writing, photography, social media, learning new skills, building community… I just wasn’t sure why I was blogging. I hoped that The Blogcademy might be my golden ticket to the answer. And in some ways it was.

♦ I remembered that nothing I put out has to be perfect. I will always be growing, learning, changing, and that means my blog will be growing and changing right along with me. I don’t have to be afraid to get it all down pat the first time. Not everything we do will be “aces” but over time, with practice and attention it will improve.

♦ I learned that everyone is in their own race. There is nothing I need to try be other than exactly who I am and there is always an audience for every unique voice. In fact, the more I stick to my unique identity, the faster my blog will grow.

♦ Before the start of the weekend I had been nervous that perhaps I wouldn’t “fit in” with the other bloggers whom I imagined to have perfect blogs and be wearing perfect shoes, combing perfect hair. Clearly I had the voice of the gremlin on my shoulder! I’m so glad I ignored the voice because I met the most unique, kind, supportive, fun, silly, ambitious, generous, ladies and I know we will all be in touch way after the light of the weekend dims. Basically, I learned the gremlin is always a sourpuss and ignoring it is always a good idea.

♦ Any blog can get better with strategic initiatives. Great content is rather simple when you break it down.

+Blog frequently, and your unique voice will shine.

+Take your time to take great photos. Quality imagery is the fastest way to draw attention to your blog.

+Collaborate. Hire people to do the work you don’t like to do or aren’t good at.

+Guest post if you want to, or invite others to guest post for you. It’s a great way to exchange fresh content and bring in new audiences.

+Think of your brand in iconic ways and it will be timeless. But even the best blogs can use an update or a re-brand after some time.

+If you’re stuck, ask your readers. They will lead you right.

+Be honest, be genuine, be you!

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Other Blogcademy Recaps

Want more more pictures, more learnings, more fun? Check out what my classmates had to say about their experiences!

The Fête Blog

Danger Dame Diary

Andrea Jaggs

Burnett’s Boards

Eldy’s Pocket

Condiments on a City Life

The Alchemy of Hustle

Me and My Ego

Little Bear in a Big World

Recaps from the Trinity themselves:

Gala Darling

Nubby Twiglet

Rock N Roll Bride

And the official Blogcademy blog quick ‘n dirty recap:

The Blogcademy

Annnnd…more pictures of the weekend on Flickr!

Ok! that should keep you busy for a while.

xoxo,

Natanya

The Blogcademy

The Blogcademy. Is. This. Weekend. (!!!!).

Safe to say I’m excited. Really, ridiculously excited. So if you need me this weekend, know that I’ve fallen into the rabbit hole, deep into Blogland, and unlikely to emerge the same ol’ Natanya. No, this is going to be a brand-changing, life-altering weekend full of inspiration and education.

This evening I’ll be taking the train to NYC and preparing to spend all day Saturday and Sunday with the three imitable Headmistresses (Nubby, Gala, and Kat) and 29 other blog comrades. I can’t wait to meet the other students and I’m sure we’ll find much in common as we share our passion for this thing called blogging. Don’t worry, I’ll have a full report on my experience next week but in case you can’t wait until then I’ll be updating with pictures and tweets all weekend long – so if you’re interested, or merely curious, follow me on Instagram and Twitter for all the behind-the-scenes goodness! I’m @natanyahaviva both places.

It’s been a dream of mine to meet these high profile, funny, smart, savvy, bloggers for years and years (Since my friend Philip first introduced me to Gala’s website 4-ish years ago). I can hardly believe the day has almost arrived!
Phew – its gonna be a good one. Have a great weekend!!

xoxo,

Natanya

*All photos from The Blogcademy website.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is a very very special day indeed! One year ago today, Sim and I decided that we were going to go for it – to make each other the one special significant other in our lives. One year ago today, not knowing how it would turn out, and in the midst of recovering from the pain and turmoil of failed relationships in our past, we said Yes to trying it on, figuring it out, working together to create a life full of meaning and fun and love and laughter. And boy do we laugh. I never would have guessed it would be like this, but now, I can’t imagine it any other way.

     I love you Simmy! Happy Anniversary!

xoxo,

Natanya (CP)