DINE SOLO

 

 

 

As loud, colorful, and extroverted I  can be, there are many times when I enjoy the solitude and alone moments during my introverted times. Not many people understand that part of me or accept it. For me personally, I reenergize alone. I need “me time” to think or often times forget the craziness of life. Some people reenergize around family, some need sleep…. I need a good meal a la solo.

With that said, as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned that I enjoy purposeful alone time while I dine. I personally enjoy going to a café, preferably “Le Pain Quotidien” nothing too fancy of a place but it is where I can reconnect. I can enjoy good wholesome food, a large mug of delicious coffee and an ambiance that allows me to read or people watch free of any distractions.

Deepak Chokra shared once(original source)

 

“I like to make a distinction between solitude and being alone. Alone signifies loneliness, whereas solitude means really connecting with yourself.” So go ahead and treat yourself to a nice dinner: It’s good not only for the taste buds, but also for the mind.
 

I'm constantly learning to balance responsibilities and playtime but Ive mastered the “alone time”. Everyone needs time to themselves. Next time you need sometime to yourself, take yourself out to your favorite dining spot. It doesn’t have to be a 5 star restaurant (or maybe it does) wherever you choose to go, turn off your phone and turn on your senses. Enjoy your meal and sit back and unwind.

A purposeful solo dining experience may just be what the “you” ordered.

5 BEDROOM DECORATING TIPS: CREATING YOUR ULTIMATE SANCTUARY

 

We have been in the midst of decorating and designing the bedroom of our dreams for several months. Purchases have been made, colors have been agreed upon and now we just wait for the move day. But first....

 

I want to thank God. Thank you God! Thank you that our tastes align in home décor. Seriously! I couldn’t imagine if they didn’t! :)

 

Back to the “bedroom of our dreams”… We have had several months to put together the bedroom that we both imagined to be the perfect bedroom. To us, the bedroom is the most important room in our home. We need it to be tranquil and our private retreat from the rest of the home. A place to relax and re-energize. A place we look forward to being after a day of chaos in New York City.

 

It took us many trips to stores, online websites and home décor catalogs to come up with the look we wanted. But we finally did it! We designed the bedroom that we both imagined to be the most perfect room for us. Here is how we did it:

1. Imagine a room. A bedroom on the most relaxing vacation possible. Try to imagine a hotel or place that you would think would be the most restful and relaxing place for a weekend trip. Where would you LOVE to go? What would the hotel look like? For us, we had a few places that kept coming to mind. The luxurious bedding of the Hay Adams hotel in Washington DC mixed with and the downtown décor and vibe of the James Hotel in NYC.
2. Next what would the hotel be… shabby chic and charming? Glitzy and over the top fabulous? Bright and colorful? Peaceful and serene? Would the bed be piled in many pillows and textures? Would the room be sleek modern and futuristic? Would your room be in a foreign country? You can take design cues from THAT dream vacation and start to pull together design elements to recreate a similar feeling in your bedroom.
3. Make a list of all the key words you came up with from your “relaxing vacation” to help you to keep on track with your favorite design elements.
4. Start to gather inspiration photos and ideas from online, magazines and more online sources of photos from Pintrest using those keywords mentioned in #4. Click here for my Home Board on Pintrest.
5. Once you have collected all your images carefully go through each photo. Is it that the bedding in all the photos are the same? What paint colors are trending in each photo? Are all the headboards tufted or does each room have a certain wood that pops out? You will start to find the trend in all the pictures. Start to zero in on the elements that you like and you will understand more of the room and space you gravitate towards.

 

Try using all these steps when decorating or redecorating your bedroom. This helped us tremendously in the process! We are now looking forward to putting our bedroom together and creating a very relaxing ambiance that is so well deserved. 

 

Let me know what design tips work for you and share your tips! I’d love to hear!

xo

M

 

 

Happy Tuesday!