My Blog

A meditation on a few top-of-mind topics these days: Kindness - The quality of being friendly, generous, considerate  Random Acts of Kindness Foundation quotes. Gratitude - The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Ever made a gratitude list?  Try it.  How to Practice Gratitude at mindful.org Acceptance - strive for excellence but move towards acceptance when things don’t work out as you would like. Letting go does not mean approval of an unpalatable situation, it [...]

Do you have a knack for connecting with people? Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and understand emotions — both your own and the emotions of others. Research has shown that this is a rare and valuable asset. Emotional intelligence can help you build and strengthen relationships, defuse conflict, and improve overall job satisfaction. Psychology experts say that if you use these 13 phrases every day without even thinking about it, you have higher emotional intelligence than most people: "Could you tell me more about [...]

I started planning a trip in early 2020 to travel in May 2020 - and you know what happened then. Finally, May 16th 2023 we coordinated our schedules and set off on the resurrected trip to Africa. We being myself and my 2 kids in their 20’s. We were gone 19 days and from every perspective the trip was an amazing success - the itinerary, the execution and services, the places we went, where we stayed, what we did, [...]

The past few years have changed the way Americans deal with their homes and real estate, in general. Shelter-in-place orders spiked a renewed interest in home renovations to accommodate a new family dynamic of remote work and homeschooling. Then, a sudden spike in home prices and interest rates caused many would-be homebuyers to reexamine their plans to purchase a home. For many, the best option became home renovation instead. As this trend continues, it’s very possible that you might [...]

theSkimm - for news and culture delivered at an easier pace. Are you familiar with the skimm’s Daily Skimm? A daily subscription newsletter to your email inbox that reviews the news in short bite sized bits and some links to topics of interest from there. In addition to a review of the hard news topics of the day they have bits like this one on Wellness. Why is Sunlight important to regulate your sleep cycle?

Bedding. All those gorgeous pictures of the ultimate bedscape, whether Pottery Barn, West Elm or other lifestyle and furnishings brands, wouldn’t it be nice to know where to begin to create the look? Here is a great place to start with some Bedroom Ideas and Design. Bring your dream bedroom to life with one-on-one design help and hand-picked products tailored to your style, space and budget here.  The bed itself is the focal point so  21 very best Duvet Covers. [...]

It can be confusing what’s happening with the economy. The Fed raised rates but the economy is cooling.  And yet mortgage rates went down on the heels of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failure.  Here are a couple of articles to get some straight talk: The Fed Where housing inventory has increased the most (not in California!) Mortgage rates fall to lowest level in 6 weeks Abnormal Returns - compiling articles across many topics

Cruising - How I got started and why I am obsessed with it. In October 2018 a friend of mine that had just retired from British Airways invited me on a cruise. My original reply was - nah - not for me…old folks…boring…not a water person…  My friend was persistent and we jumped on a Princess cruise out of San Pedro, 5 day Cabo San Lucas. It was on the Star Princess (itself no longer in the Princess fleet, [...]

Wildly unique experiences. Positive impact travel. “Travel for the new now... trips you couldn’t plan yourself, even if you wanted to". Sound up your alley? To design custom, dream itineraries explore ELSEWHERE. It’s a new concept where they match you with vetted locals in a destination to help you plan your trip, as opposed to going through a larger tour operator to do so. I have not used their services yet, but I am intrigued and hope to do [...]