Where is Your Happy Place?

Do you have a happy place? Perhaps you have several. A happy place is one where we feel good, inspired, comforted, and, well, happy. I love being outdoors in beautiful settings, but only when the weather isn’t too warm or too cold. I also love being snuggled under a blanket with a warm puppy curled up next to me and a good book in my hands. Unfortunately, I can’t always be at the beach or hiking in the woods or curled up with my dogs and my books. But I can create happy spaces in my every day life. I Read More

Self-Care Resolutions for the New Year

I’m not a fan of New Year’s resolutions. I have a hard time keeping them and that always leaves me feeling bad. But I am all for making self-care a priority and maybe setting a few resolutions could help. Self-care became a major buzzword in 2017. As the year winds down and we start thinking about 2018, I thought it would be good to review what self-care is (and isn’t), and why it will still be important in 2018 even if a new buzzword comes around.         What is Self-Care?   At its most basic, self-care is taking Read More

8 Ways to De-Stress Your Holidays

I love the holiday season. I love the sights and smells and sounds of Christmas. But, sometimes, I feel overwhelmed and stressed out as I prepare for the holidays. A quick search of the internet, social media, or, even a good, old-fashioned conversation with friends tells me I am not alone. But there are ways to de-stress our holidays. The holidays don’t have to be stressful.     8 Ways to De-Stress Your Holidays   1. Strategic Shopping Plan your gift shopping ahead of time. Make a list and stick to it. That way you’ll spend less time in the Read More

Quality Self-Care Begins with Self Compassion

Self-care is all the rage these days. It pops up on my Pinterest feed, in blogs I read, and even on news sites. Everyone, it seems, is jumping on the self-care advice bandwagon. In fact, I just published a post on journaling and self-care. You can read it here. So I guess I’ve jumped on the self-care bandwagon too. Perhaps I should have published this post first. Because practicing self-care doesn’t get very far unless you start with self compassion.     Have you noticed that we are often our own worst critic? Our inner voice tells us things we Read More