Life Changes + Link Love

This week was full of a lot of growth moments for me. I’m making a lot of adjustments in my life, trusting the timing and letting things happen the way they should. Sounds easy, but man it can be hard at times.

Patience is a tough pill to swallow when I want what I want, when I want it–but the truth is that we must trust the process. I’m seeing that all of the moving, unpacking + getting used to living with someone, brings my fears and anxieties blooming to the surface; these little vulnerabilities are the ones that impact me the most–not big enough to cause major issues, but small enough to be annoying, like sand in the shoe. Hello life lessons!

But I am always reminded to have faith in myself + the world around me, and know that I am moving in the right direction (even if it’s not always a straight line). I’m learning these lessons over + over lately and I’m being gently reminded that everything works out in the end.

I saw the gentleness of the world as Chris and I walked on the boardwalk this weekend. There was a whole group of lovely people practicing yoga on the beach. It was only about 8 am and it looked like a marvelous way to start the day: stretching your mind and body with the ocean as a backdrop.

This weekend was also the Jersey Shore Triathlon and WOW were these people inspiring! Men + women of all shapes, sizes and ages, came in droves to compete. The sheer will to finish was breathtaking and I felt like I was witnessing some other people’s personal milestones. This guy below was playing his trumpet to inspire the runners as they came into the home stretch–he got some laughs with his song choices.

On Saturday, Lauren and I gave a workshop on how to heal your thyroid naturally. It was such a lovely group of women that came to be healed–something we were stressing in the workshop is that when you care for yourself, you’re already on the path to healing. Self-care is the vital to health and happiness in life, no matter what you’re working towards.

Sunday I finally dove into setting up my studio. I have missed painting so much these last couple of weeks but I know I’m almost back in the groove. Granted the set up is pretty basic–a folding table from Target and a dropcloth on the floor–but I find once I start moving things in the right direction, it’s easy for me to keep the momentum going. My next micro-movement is to find a chair to use so I can just sit and paint and stop thinking about making it perfect.

This sign at Whole Foods reminded me to keep on keepin’ on.

Link Love

Some of my favorite links around the web this week:

I love these minimalist tips–I really want to put #7 into practice.

Our whole lives are relationships, love accordingly.

How to find your creative passion–and don’t worry, it changes as you grow.

Faced with a big decision? Use the 10-10-10 rule.

Looking for love? Prepare yourself first.

Signature

Life Changes + Link LoveSteph2018-03-29T20:23:15-04:00

Link Love and a Yoga Festival

Well this weekend was a bit of a bust. I was in bed for most of it with an amazingly delbilitating sinus infection that involved a fever and a rash; I’m kind of stubborn when it comes to conventional medication–I prefer to try my natural remedies first.

I was doing the neti pot dance, guzzling apple cider vinegar (the raw kind) and popping amino acids and vitamins like candy. I’m happy to say it DID work, but after the 2nd night, I caved and took Nyquil before bed. That stuff is worth it’s weight in gold!! So the pictures are slim, but here are a few below.

Happy Fall! Did you see the harvest moon? (forgive the bad photo, I took it from my parking lot)

I crawled out of bed Sunday to check out the Yoga Festival by the Sea. There were about 500 yogis doing 108 sun salutations to raise money for various charities. (It’s a part of the Global Mala event.) It was such an inspiring and uplifting scene on a beautiful Sunday….

After everyone worked up an appetite (and I just watched), we headed over for some eats at Porta. It was a perfect way to wrap up the weekend!

Link Love

Happy Fall! The Autumnal Equinox started things off yesterday.

What a great gift idea, so you never forget!

GMOs (AKA “Frankenfood”) won’t pass the cost of food labeling on to the consumer. Hooray.

Are you too connected to your gadgets? Is it time to shut down for a bit?

Does the neti pot really work? (It certainly works for me but here’s some Web MD for ya.)

Link Love and a Yoga FestivalSteph2018-03-29T20:23:23-04:00

A magical weekend of yoga and a wedding

How was your weekend? Mine was full of whimsy.

Saturday morning I went to an outdoor yoga class at my friend Lauren’s house. Have you ever done yoga outside? It’s an amazingly different way of practicing. The cool breeze and partial cloudiness set a perfect backdrop to get my asana on. It was one of those brisk spring mornings when the change from winter was still happening. I love those mornings.

Feeling the ground under my feet (and mat) gave a different meaning to tree pose and crescent moon. There’s just something magical about doing a back bend and reaching up for the open sky.

Here is a picture of our sweet spot:

Lauren’s house was full of awesome little nuggets. On the patio, I saw this set up for lighting the table: a wrought iron chandelier (it holds real candles!) Can you see it? I know it blends in with the greens behind it. There was a rope hung from the tree and then the chandelier was clipped to it, creating instant ambience. I was totally wowed by this simple decoration because it brought an intangible warmth to her outside vibe.

The second part of the weekend was a wedding–who doesn’t love a good wedding?

I don’t know if it’s witnessing the eternal pledge for love or just the fun party atmosphere, but there’s so much to enjoy about going to one.

The latest craze is to have a photo booth and boy did we have fun with that!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as I did.

A magical weekend of yoga and a weddingSteph2018-03-29T20:23:28-04:00