Every once in a while I find a special vintage bag tucked inside someone closet. This time, it was in my step great-grandmothers closet. A beautifully dressed woman, I have found some truly stunning pieces in her perfectly well kept closet. This little wedding purse... read more	
I love adding vintage accessories to outfits. This super chic black and white polka dot scarf is the perfect length to tie a statement bow and add style to any look. You can also wear this as a belt with jean shorts or jeans. Link to item: ... read more	
As I reflect back on my years of being a designer…one thing I want to share is the importance to create space for the “process of designing”.
Adding scarves to my collection was the best thing I ever did. These side ruffle scarves are always a conversation piece…stay tuned for new versions ans colors every... read more	
Classics never go out of style…. Pretty and sleek grey clutch. Signature statement flower detail set to one side. Top zipper. Lined in pink ultrasuede. Fit all your essentials in this lightweight clutch that will match anything! Wear dressy to a formal affair or... read more	
Statement Scarves are shawls or scarves that create a conversation, initiate a compliment and make a wow statement when you enter a room. The difference between a statement piece and an ordinary piece is that a statement piece is… understated yet chic stylish... read more	
I Love trim shopping…in my favorite “go to” trim stores as well as estate sales….Here are some trim shopping design tips that I follow…. You don’t have to know exactly how you are going to use the component for the minute you purchase it…If it fits into your overall... read more	
I can’t resist a vintage clutch. It’s my canvas to add my signature hand rolled flowers and vintage velvet leaves. I am always imagining the perfect dress to pair it with. This one…maybe for a prom, or a luncheon, with a vintage printed... read more	
I found this perfect little pleated vintage purse at an estate sale in New Jersey. Its always exciting and slightly peculiar to go inside the home of someone you never met, and have access to their bedrooms, their closets, and their drawers. I feel sad sometimes when... read more	
Granada, also in southern Spain, is much smaller than Seville and very different geographically. It sits at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and is a higher and drier climate.
Since they were working on the train line between Seville and Granada, we rented a car for this 3 hour drive. The fields of sunflowers were beautiful!
We stayed in the medieval moorish neighborhood called The Albaicín. It has narrow, windy cobblestone streets and is located on a hill facing the Alhambra.
We stayed just below Plaza Mirador de San Nicolas, where everyone (including some bus loads of tourists because the Alhambra and Albaicín became UNESCO sites in 1984) came each night to admire the views of the Alhambra and watch the sunset.
I was a little nervous about staying in the Albaicín because I had read a few mixed things on TripAdvisor. Whoever thought the Albaicín was sketchy or unsafe has obviously never really traveled before. Just use common sense. Geez! The only dangerous thing in this neighborhood was all the dog poop!
We loved spending the week relaxing in our apartment, swimming in the pool, walking to everything and taking in these incredible views from the top balcony!
Tip– you must get your tickets well in advance to see the Alhambra! You can’t just show up on the same day and expect to get in. Get ticket information here.
We had a private, guided tour that lasted about 3 1/2 hours. I’m glad we started early (it gets hot) and I’m glad we had a guide.
Although, our very friendly and knowledgeable guide spent a lot of time discussing Roman aqueducts and Arabic writing. I had to force myself to concentrate and listen in case she asked me a question!
There are many teterias or tea rooms in Granada. They are typically informal with a selection of teas, juices, water pipes or hookahs and moorish pastries. Mmm.
You can also spend time wandering around the Alcaiceria in Granada. It was once a great silk bazaar but there was a fire in 1843 and it burned down. Today, it’s filled with souvenir shops but we had fun strolling through!
We could easily walk to the lovely and clean center of town from the top of the Albaicín. Getting back up in the scorching hot temps was another story…but that’s what taxis are for!
On our last night in Granada, we headed out for a flamenco show and dinner at Jardines de Zoraya. We had seen a terrific show in Seville so we had low expectations. The show was actually very good!
The appetizers were good, dinner meh and the dancers were very good particularly one man at the end of the show. However, we were blown away by the amazingly talented female singer (cantaora) and the guitar player. Incredible!
One thing that we didn’t get to do was visit Sacromonte, the Roma cave community above the city. Arabs first inhabited these caves but after they were driven out during the 1500’s, the Roma settled there and still live there today. It’s full of shops, restaurants and flamenco. Well, I guess we gotta save something for next time!
It took some practice to put this theory into motion for me, but like I always say, “if I can do it, anyone can do it!” I have issues with negative self-talk about my weight. I am not overweight, but I am hyper-conscious about my body shape. I am a grandmother after all and body parts that were once perky are now sadly stretching for the ground and have declared gravity as their best friend. As a friend of mine used to say, (who has since passed on, losing her battle with cancer), “I used to be a 36D, but now I’m just a 36Long”. Once I applied the “best friend advice” theory – it made me see myself as my Heavenly Father sees me. As a daughter of God who is beautiful. Let’s try it out, shall we?
Take the first thing that pops into your head when it comes to your own personal negative self-talk. It could be anything, but usually you are able to think about it right away because it has been your constant companion for as long as you can remember. Now I want you to imagine that you’ve graciously gifted this negative thing or idea to your best friend. She is now you. (This works great if you do this in front of your mirror). Your best friend is now telling you that she hates the shape of her body and that dimples are only cute on baby bums, and that rolls are meant to be eaten not worn. What do you tell her?
I recently did this exercise in a group of about 40 women and I had the leader of the group play the part of “best friend”. She was telling me how she was overweight and hated the way she fit in her clothes. I then asked the audience what advice should I give her? I panicked as the silence dragged on for just a little bit longer than anticipated. I worried that people would actually start giving advice on weight loss ideas, diets that never really work, to fast, or to exercise like a maniac. One woman in the front row saved me with the perfect answer: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!! There have not been a lot of perfect moments in my speaking career, but this one I will always remember. She said the answer that I had written down in my notes and she said it out loud and clear: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!
Ladies, try it out right this second. Take that negative self-talk and hand it over to yourself as your own best friend. What advice would you give that best friend? It changed the way I view myself forever. I am beautiful. And not in some egotistical way, but truly beautiful inside and out. Why? Because that is how my Heavenly Father sees me, how my husband sees me, how my children see me, and how my best friend sees me. My best friends would all come and tell me the same thing – YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!
I had two reminders this week from gals that are awesome! My friend, Allie Steele holds periodic bootcamps that run for 4 weeks, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and I usually cannot attend, but this one worked in my schedule! So this last week I have sweat like crazy and walked around like I had a corncob up my butt with how sore I was on more than one occasion. But I digress…the point is that during one of the workouts I let out a jokingly, “I suck” and was immediately told by my friend and another participant in the class to not think that way! I was capable of hard things, I was strong.
I was a bit taken aback when that happened and realized that I indeed needed to change my self-talk to more positive words. And then something else happened! I was having lunch with a friend of mine from out of state, a surprise visit! She was asking about how my business was going, speaking gigs, my writing and I must have been on overwhelm because she said, “I’ve never seen you so down about your work.” What?? I’m the positivity queen! I don’t get down about my work! Hogwash!
Why was I having a poor attitude or negative self-talk? I really thought about it quite a bit and realized that I was comparing. Comparison is damaging. If I compare myself to one out of the fifteen women attending bootcamp and focus on her doing things better than I did I create negative thoughts. When I compare myself to other people who were already accomplished authors, writers, speakers, podcasters, I create negative thoughts.
How had that little bugger of negative self-talk sneak into my way of thinking? I don’t know, but it’s about to get a swift boot along with an immediate eviction notice. Now, I know that it will not be that simple, but awareness is the key. I am practicing daily mantra’s that will bring a more positive light into my life. Here’s two from Rebekah “Bex” Borucki (Check out her interview on my podcast here.) that I really like:
I say “no” when I don’t want to. I say “yes” when it feels good. I take care of myself through movement that makes me feel wonderful. I eat foods that make me feel fulfilled. I have relationships with people who love me as I am.
It is not my job to be in control. My purpose is to be at peace and to be happy with who I am in this moment, to be loved, and to inspire love.
Want to learn more? Bex has a 21-day Mantra Challenge that is Free! Just click here and enjoy more positivity in your life, a break from the negative self-talk, a relief from stress, and experience more gratitude. Listen to your self-talk this week…what is it saying?
After being in airports for over 14 hours yesterday I have come to the conclusion that they bring out the best in people and the worst in people.
My husband and I own our own business and it was already going to be tight having me gone for a couple of days and my hubby started to not feel well. The morning I’m flying out he woke up with 102 temp and flat on his back in bed. Just touching my hand to him made me draw back sharply because of the intense heat. He was my ride to the airport. I drove my daughter to early morning seminary calling a shuttle on the way. Luckily they could come and get me, but it was an hour earlier than I had anticipated so I rushed home, finished packing, made breakfast, walked and fed the dogs and smiled when my chauffeur came to the front door. I was sweating as I very ladylike got into the van.
On my way to the airport I am frantically texting to take care of things for the day. Texting our employees (who handled it magnificently by the way) to hold down the shop that day and what would continue to the next, text a friend and neighbor to walk the dogs again after lunch, and call yet another friend to pick up my teenage daughter after school. I then go through my bag only to realize that I have my very cool Freska mango knife with me. The driver is grateful to acquire such a lovely trinket. At least it didn’t get thrown in the trash when trying to go through security.
I get to the airport an hour and a half before my flight and after about 30 minutes of waiting my flight gets delayed and then delayed again. I end up leaving almost three hours after the original time. This is where you start to see the true characters of those around you. While I am concerned and it’s a bummer, I decide to use this block of time to answer emails and polish my speech intro that I wasn’t totally happy with. Trying to be productive in what for me is this rare opportunity of nothing else tugging at me for my time. Unfortunate, yes, but not life-threatening. The flight attendant assures me that my connector flight has also been delayed due to the weather in San Francisco.
One lady is deciding if she should get a rental car and drive to Vegas which is her ultimate destination. I chat with her a minute about the price and time cost and she decides to wait it out. One gentleman with his wife is making a joke at every turn and I dub him the “unfunny” comedian. I listen to a young man on the phone with his mother in San Francisco and he is complaining loudly that he just wanted to watch a movie while on the flight but due to the crappy airport wifi that it will never happen as his computer tells him it will take 7 hours. He is irritated and has nothing positive to say.
As I wait at the “electronic” plug-in bar so I can charge my laptop and phone I experience positive, caring, even trusting people. Half a dozen people are trying to charge their devices. Each of them make room for the others and exchange kind words. One lady older than me asks if she can plug her phone in beside me. I tell her I would be happy to watch it while it charges and she trusts me! Her phone cover is leather and has a pocket on the outside holding cash and her driver’s license and she sits it by me and goes to read her novel two rows away. I renew my faith in humanity as people care about people and she is so trusting of a perfect stranger.
And then there is the angry redheaded dude. He was the one in line speaking to the attendant at the counter, visibly upset. Everything about his demeanor suggested irritation, irritability and a terribly poor attitude. His actions were jerky and full of negative energy. I’m not sure what his rush is to San Francisco, but in his mind it must be urgent.
And then we board plane and who is my aisle partner? Yep…the red-headed angry dude. He exuded the most powerful negative energy that I’ve had the opportunity to be so close to in a long time. Every time the captain came on with an update he would jerk the headphones off his head to eagerly listen. When the captain would then say there was another 15 minute delay or anything at all he would be slapping his hand on his leg or just into the air and uttering curse words under his breath. I almost said something to him, but felt that it might make him even more angry. It was an incredible reminder how negative energy can physically be felt when it is pouring out of someone in such abundance.
I get off the plane in San Francisco and literally run past everyone trying to go down the ramp off the plane and then up the ramp into the terminal only to find out that I had missed my connector flight and would then be in San Francisco for another 6 and a half hours. Yes, I’m sweating again.
After a couple of hours and finding vegan food to eat in the airport I glance up at the screen at my gate and it shows the next two flights out…neither of which was mine. I calmly ask the gate attendant if my gate had changed and she said it had changed to gate 70 in another wing from gate 79 where I was currently standing. I finish charging my phone and head across the airport. I get there and it it doesn’t have my flight on that screen either! That’s when I ate an entire bar of chocolate.
All of the big screens showing all the flights still say my original gate so I gather up my things and head back. That screen still doesn’t show my flight, but I feel like I’m in the right place. Now I start thinking about Boise and how I’m going to get to my dad’s house in Caldwell. My dad was originally going to pick me up, but that was earlier in the day and now I wouldn’t be arriving until 10:30 at night and after a nasty fall and hip surgery he just isn’t feeling up to it. I call a shuttle, turns out it’s just a charter, but they are friendly and give me the local taxi service. Called them, but WOW! Huge price tag. I considered getting a hotel for the night when my husband suggests uber. I download the app, arrive in Boise, grab my bag and the driver arrives in 4 minutes. I reach my dad at 11:30pm. 7 1/2 hours after I should have arrived.
Traveling by plane, shuttle, taxi, uber…ok, all traveling modes can bring out the worst negative you or the best positive you. I hadn’t traveled by plane in over 2 years and this was a gentle reminder that people are always watching.
My conclusion? There is simply no way to avoid bumps in the road. They are a part of life. Delays, setbacks, moments where you will be forced to wait when you really just want to take action, moments people send you on a wild goose chase that accomplishes nothing. How you REACT to those bumps is a test of your true character. What will people of observe of you when the next bump comes along?
“Can you watch the kids for a few days?”, my eldest daughter asks. We have a wedding to go to and then I can get ready for Riley’s 4th birthday party. I will bring them out to you (about a 3-hour drive) and then you can bring them back for the birthday party. “Of course!”, I say, “That will be fun!”
Never mind that they had never stayed the night at my house without mommy before and that my youngest left at home is a Junior in high school. Never mind that I’ve gotten used to actually sleeping through the night and have been spoiled about having most of my time as my own. Never mind that I rarely change poopy diapers or have to keep “mimi’s”, “b-b’s”, and “mina’s” definitions straight.
Now, don’t get me wrong…I absolutely adore my grand babies. They are super cute, loaded with energy and say the funniest things I’ve ever heard. They are fascinated by the littlest things, call big rocks volcanoes, know how to make my youngest dog do tricks on the walking bridge by our house, and save roly-poly’s by picking them up and putting them on trees.
They finish a huge breakfast eating waffles, bananas, strawberries, and some dry cold cereal to boot and walk away only to be back 15-20 minutes later telling me they are hungry. They dump the entire toy basket out and put it all back at least 5 times a day and that doesn’t count the other two where I put them away for them.
After two days I remembered what it was like to have the extra “mom gear”. The Mom Gear is only available to moms of young children when they need it. It’s like a super power that can only be called on when it’s needed. It’s something akin to the mom’s having an extra pair of eyes in the back of their head. It keeps you moving when you’ve been up several times a night to a child needing their “mina-mina” (which is a drink to my 2-year old grandson), their “b-b” which is his pacifier, or his “mimi” which is his blanket that he can’t sleep without.
It’s the extra gear you find when you’ve already run 4 loads of laundry that day, but then you forgot to put the 4-year old in a diaper for her nap and she peed during her sleep so you have to do one more load and then scrub the bed. It’s the extra gear that gives you patience when something you have owned for a very long time gets broken from curious little hands and makes you realize that the kids are far more important than whatever it was that broke.
I was ever so grateful that as a Gram who had not been in this situation for quite a long time that I still had my “Mom Gear” well intact somewhere in the depths my being. Today, I am grateful to be in the stage of life that I’m in, but I am even more grateful to all of you mom’s like my oldest daughter who possess the “Mom Gear”.
You are incredible. You are making a difference in this world with every smile, every load of laundry, ever meal prepared, every errand run, every time you’ve had to call on the strength of God for more patience.
You young moms rock! This is a shout-out to all of you, but a special shout out to my eldest daughter, Erica. You are a beautiful, caring, loving mother. I am so proud of how you are raising these beautiful grand babies of mine. You matter. You rock. I love you, period.
Now that you’ve Dreamed Big and had some time to Reflect, it’s time to set your actual goals for 2017. This year I decided I wanted to make my goals more fun instead of stodgy. I changed my goal title from Lauri’s Goals 2017 to Lauri’s Promises 2017. I changed the Relationships category to Family Focus, Physical to Physical Well-being and Playtime, Financial to Abundant Wealth Prowess, Education to Cultivating Enlightenment, Spiritual to Soul Solutions. I even added two new categories this year: Creativity and my favorite? Recess!
Not only am a adding in more fun this year, but I have two pages of promises and this might help you, too. One set is a Promises Summary where it states my goals. The second set (and this is where the bite-size chunks come in) breaks down those promises into actual action steps. How will I accomplish my goals? Let me share one with you so you get the idea.
Under my Recess Category I have a goal for a Weekly Date with guess who? Me! One my first set of Promises where it is a summary, it simply says, Weekly Dates with Myself. On the second set I have it broken out to say that not only will I have a weekly date with myself, but I will alternate each week from an evening to a daytime date. I have ideas written of a few dates I’ve done in the past and enjoyed and some I think might be fun. Not all of my dates have been a hit, by the way. Some felt as a downright waste of my time by the end, but consistency keeps me moving forward in the right direction so that I keep taking time for myself. Last week I simply set a date to pull out all of my stamp collection, see how much they were worth right now and make a list of a couple of collections I’d like to complete and added it to my wishlist for friends and family for my birthday and Christmas (yes, I’m the OCD one when it comes to list and preparation…I always have a wishlist going! You should to!)
That means that now is time for the action step for you. You’ve Dreamt Big, you’ve Reflected on past years goals that have and haven’t worked for you and where you are now. You are ready to make your Promises, but more importantly, ready to break them down into “Bite-Size Chunks” so that you can actually see yourself accomplishing your goals.
Next week? The last piece of the puzzle to help you accomplish your goals or promises in 2017 – Accountability. I’ll tell you that I’ve never taken this step before until this year and what I’ve done to make it happen for me.
Published September 20, 2018 October 15, 2018 by Polina in Carnets du Monde/ All Over, Greece, Islands, Voyages