Radical Self Love Lifestyle Tip #2: Celebrate Everything!
[ 18 January 2012, 17:13 ]
The world is full of small wonders. Who can argue with the magnificence of baby teeth or big fluffy clouds? Who could deny the beauty of a pink convertibles, or a plane streaking its way across a blazing sky? There is so much beauty in small things, like discovering a stray sequin on the footpath, or finding a $20 bill in your pocket. What would life be without first kisses, & the first snowfall of the season?
These things are worth celebrating, & there are always more. Make it your duty to delight in the details.
Create altars in your home. Build devotionals to your charmed life. Decorate shelves & windowsills with photos, candles, flowers & little statues, & light matches every night. When you do, take a moment to think about your blessings.
Remember: When you feel stuck, ensnared, entangled & embroiled, you have a choice. You can choose to see the magic & the wonder — even though it might be difficult — or you can choose to focus on the problems. You’ll always get more of what you think about…
Choose to infuse your life with burning candles & birthday cake, whenever possible.
Photo of Christina Aguilera by Ellen Von Unwerth.
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Style Tips: Dinner Parties, Video Diaries & Long Train Journeys!
[ 2 February 2011, 10:37 ]
Photo by Adam Bartas
Feel like you need a change? Buy a box of hair dye & radically alter your tresses! (Remember that if you stain floors or counters by mistake, whitening toothpaste scrubbed into the surface will make it look good as new again!)
Recite your affirmations over breakfast (like sweet Katie E. does!).
Stop carrying plastic bags. It’s not chic & it’s terrible for the planet. When the cashier asks if you’d like a bag, say NO! Whip out your own. They fold up teeny-tiny, so you can keep one in your handbag at all times. Walking around with a bunch of plastic bags is not sexy. Look, it’s in the New York Times so it must be true! If you’re not sure where to get a good canvas tote bag, try Etsy!
Dress as your favourite fictional heroine this week. Lily from Black Swan? Marla from Fight Club? Cassie from Skins? How would they dress if they were sucked into a time machine & spat out into your life?
If the cold weather’s got you down, one of the best ways to feel better is by doing something good for someone else. Who could you help & how could you do it?
Leave an orgasm on someone’s voicemail… !
Take a long train journey. Pack a little bag with some snacks & your camera, & make a day trip out of it!
Come up with a motto for 2011. One of my favourites is sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc: we gladly feast on those who would subdue us. (Thanks, Addams Family!)
Order yourself stationery with your name at the top, so you can write thank you notes with flair! Alternatively, design postcards which say “From the desk of ________” on the back. They make for excellent notecards! (Be sure to stock up on coloured markers for writing on the back, too!)
Go ice-skating & teach yourself tricks! (Extra effort: Wear something short & sparkly!)
Hold a dinner party every week. Make sure there is plenty of bread, soup & dessert. Invite your favourite people, do your best not to start a fire in the kitchen, & stay up late drinking wine.
Start making a video diary of your life! Save up & buy yourself a FlipCam, learn how to use a video editing program (I love iMovie, it’s super-easy!), & let the documentation commence! (Imagine how funny it will be to watch in 20 years!)
Light big bunches of candles every night.
Buy yourself an amazing, hilarious pair of slippers!
Northern hemisphereans! Remember that it’s winter—& it’s meant to be a slow, resting, regenerative period. If you’re feeling guilty for not doing a million things like usual, let it go. Use this time to learn & think & restore yourself!
Southern hemisphereans! Remember that it’s summer—so GET PSYCHED! It’ll be over before you know it. Get out there, go swimming, have an ill-advised romance, & enjoy it!
Let's talk on Twitter! Add me on Facebook! Enroll in Radical Self Love Bootcamp! Tags: style tipsStyle Tips: 11th October 2010
[ 11 October 2010, 19:25 ]
Haven’t done one of these whooo-oh-oaah, for the longest time! (Sorry, Billy.) Let’s resurrect these suckers… !
Monday 11th October
Change your cellphone number! The people who matter will reconnect with you; the people who don’t won’t. It’s the easiest (& least confrontational) way of removing the dead weight from your life! You can do it every year if you feel like it — it’s enormously freeing.
Tuesday 12th October
Do this on every Tuesday from now on! Write in your Filofax, Moleskine, calendar page or phone, “Organise weekend”! This way, you’ll always have something to do, you have three days to prepare & get excited about it, & you can give anyone else you want to bring along ample notice! (Thanks, Tim Ferriss!)
Wednesday 13th October
Decide to do two new things this coming season (be it winter or summer)! A season is a great span of time to make something happen. Want to learn to appreciate wine? Undertake an ambitious art project? Start growing orchids? Research it & make it happen!
Thursday 14th October
Start organising long dinners which involve three friends or more! (This is another Tim Ferriss special!) Decide to make it a regular event, even though you need be the only “regular” there. Set a slow tone & let it ease into the night. Share a bottle of wine & make the table a sacred place where anything said can be kept there if necessary. It’s good for the soul & provides a life-affirming kind of structure!
Friday 15th October
Listen to your intuition. That thing you don’t feel quite right about? Say no to it. Saying no doesn’t make you difficult — it makes you someone who values their own truth.
Saturday 16th October
Learn how to make an amazing chocolate drink! Hot? Cold? Alcoholic? It’s up to you, but start doing some research on recipes & the very best chocolate drink mix. It will make you so happy!
Sunday 17th October
Get over your ex once & for all. C’mon baby, it’s SO over! Don’t dwell any longer. Look to your future & embrace the incredible love affairs that are approaching!
Let's talk on Twitter! Add me on Facebook! Enroll in Radical Self Love Bootcamp! Tags: style tipsStyle Tips: 7th December 2009
[ 7 December 2009, 21:19 ]
Monday 7th December
Have a bed party as soon as you can! I am having one right now, & have been having one all day! Just me, Hank Williams, my brand new MacBook Pro (!!!) & a mug full of magical potion. It’s just what a dreary Monday demanded!
Tuesday 8th December
Celebrate Rohatsu, aka Bodhi Day (ζιδΌ), which is when Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha!) reached a higher consciousness over 2000 years ago. If meditation is something you already do, have an extra-long meditation session or commit to doing it more regularly. If you’ve never tried it or only dabbled, you could even decide that today is the day you’re going to start. Have a look at Tina Su’s tips on how to begin.
Wednesday 9th December
Pick one book you’ve been meaning to read for ages — something that’s a bit overwhelming — & devote yourself to completing it this summer or winter. Nothing is better on a beach than a good book, & reading is one of the best ever cold weather activities!
Thursday 10th December
Have a Japanese feast! Invite a friend over to make sushi if you’re so inclined, or if you tend to be more disaster & less DIY when it comes to the kitchen, order from your favourite Japanese restaurant. Eat cross-legged on the floor while watching a great movie. Battle Royale, Ichi the Killer or Kamikaze Girls are all excellent choices!
Friday 11th December
Think about a class you’d like to take next year. It could be anything, from life drawing to homeopathy to gourmet cooking classes. (I am going to take a creative writing course & a jewellery-making course for starters! Maybe also another make-up artistry course & I have been saying this forever but I am dying to start French lessons again!) Start doing some research, see when they start & when you need to enroll. Then either put your name down or start putting money away!
Saturday 12th December
Work out a way to experience the opposite temperature of the place you’re in now. If you’re in chilly climes, spend some time in a sauna, swim in a heated pool, or just lie in bed with your electric blanket on & an MP3 of crashing waves on loop. If it’s sweltering hot where you are, find a walk-in freezer, fill your bathtub with bags of ice or watch some snow fall while drinking (frozen?!) lemon & honey!
Sunday 13th December
Switch up your inspiration. Surely you’ve had the same pictures hanging up in your apartment for too long! Do you even notice them any more? Move them around, find some new ones, or take them all down completely & start fresh!
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style tipsStyle Tips: 9th November 2009
[ 9 November 2009, 11:35 ]
Monday 9th November
Decide to devote your week to romance of all forms. Love for other people, for your home, & most importantly, for yourself. Draw a big heart on a Post-It note & put it somewhere prominent so that no matter what happens, you remember to respond with love all week long.
Tuesday 10th November
Splurge on a really beautiful book of photography to inspire you in your love-fest! Use the pictures as fuel to bring more beauty into your life. (My pick? Romance by Chris Craymer. It arrived this morning & I am totally smitten. Very fitting for a book of this nature!)
Wednesday 11th November
Kiss a postcard & send it anonymously to someone you’ve almost forgotten — but not quite. (Spray your kiss-mark with hairspray so it doesn’t get smudged.) By the way, if you’re in New York City & so inclined, you could send one to the troops for New Year’s Eve, but even if you’re not, you can still participate!
Thursday 12th November
Plan a love picnic! It can take place anywhere (in a park, in your bed), just be sure to invite someone that makes you feel a bit swoony. Make sandwiches, don’t forget the cupcakes, & put together a good playlist, too. P.S. Here are some tips on how to have a great picnic.
Friday 13th November
Black Friday! Definitely the best opportunity to do something spooky if your hallowe’en was a non-event (comme moi)! How can you combine spookiness with love most effectively? Simple! Watch The Addams Family. Morticia + Gomez forever! Or maybe you could cast a love spell with Dame Darcy?! If you have paraskevidekatriaphobia, though, perhaps you should just stay under the covers with a good book.
Saturday 14th November
Make or buy gifts for the people closest to you. They don’t have to be big or expensive; in fact, they don’t have to cost anything at all. You can make a necklace for your friend using charms & ribbon, or write a story for your boyfriend using a typewriter you found stashed in the attic. Alternatively, you can go out & buy everyone glittering baubles!
Sunday 15th November
Write a list of 20 ways you can show people you love them (preferably in ways you haven’t shown them before). Then decide to do every single one before December 1st.
“It takes courage to love, but pain through love is the purifying fire which those who love generously know. We all know people who are so much afraid of pain that they shut themselves up like clams in a shell &, giving out nothing, receive nothing & therefore shrink until life is a mere living death.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
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