A new hair cut and a few wellness tips

My hair dresser trimmed off 4 inches of hair in time for a fresh start for the New Year!  I'm having all four pups getting a bath and a trim at the groomers in time for the holidays so they could look and feel their best as well!  

It's been such a crazy hectic week with me trying to work and making a few small home improvement projects happen and doing an end of year house clean out, I hardly had time for anything else.  However as my coach like to always ask me, what are your small and big wins for the week?  I have to say, that would be making small changes towards my overall wellbeing.  

In my mid 20s I began to realize that wellness is something I have to work on constantly, and that begins with awareness of how I feel from day to day.  I like to starting the day with a positive mind set, in fact, it's better to go to bed with a positive mind set so when I wake up in the morning I feel positive, happy and ready to start the day!  

Some of the things that I did this week that helped me feeling energized and happy, 

1. Staying away from alcohol.  With so many holiday parties go to go, it's hard not go have a drink or two, but drinking even half a glass of wine makes me quite tired the next day and much less productive at work, so I've decided to limit social drinking to Friday nights only, and even then, one glass and no more!

2. Hydrate.  The perfect water for me is warm water with a squeeze of fresh lemon.  I keep a pink hydro flask with me all day and my water stay warm pretty much all day long.  

3. Hitting the gym.  I went to workout four times this week, not a whole lot but definitely more than the previous few weeks.  Physically I'm a bit on the mend recovering from seasonal colds and lots of holiday parties but I'm happy to see my favorite instructors and gym friends again!

4. Meditation.  I can't say enough how meditation has helped me over the years.  I like to follow guided meditations on youtube and there are so many and I simply click on random ones.  I really believe that energy can be transferred from one person to another.  When I'm with really happy and positive people, I feel their incredible energy and benefit from being in their presence, but when I'm with people with a lot of stress, anger and anxiety, even without exchanging words I can often feel that energy, worse is I walk away feeling that same anxiety and can't seem to shake it off.  

Meditation is my way to relax and reset my mind and feeling like myself again.  I like to do a short meditation and mantra before going to bed and it helps me sleep better and wake up with a smile and my heart filled with sunshine and joy!

5. Lastly, not something I do every week, but like a typical asian girl, about twice a month I book myself a half spa day at the Korean spa!  Anyone that's been to one knows that it's not a fancy place and prices are often very very reasonable.  I alternate between getting a acupressure and oil massage and then eating a super healthy Korean meal, or getting a coconut body scrub and a short massage.  The heated floors at Korean spa and salt room are so sweat inducing and helps my body to be rid of toxins and it's a practice all asian women seem to really love and myself included.

I'm not a believer in suffering through life and I truly believe that everyday life should be lived with happiness and joy.  For some true inspiration, here's a fantastic video of Angela Lansbury talking about her wellness and fitness tips from 30 years ago.  She certainly knows something about living well, after all, she is still active and working and living the good life as we approach 2020!

Outfit for the week and a few life tidbits

I always like to snap a picture on my way out of the door in the morning, dressing up for the day not only prep my mind ready for work but also is a small way of being creative!  

Over the weekend I wore this denim skirt with elaborate embroideries and a white delicate cotton blouse that's quite old.  I ran around all day in this outfit doing errands and practicing the piano with friends.  We are hoping to put a repertoire together so we can do a small concert which is kind of exciting for me!

I'm seeing quite a lot of sheer blouse at the stores this year but most of them are badly cut and practically unwearable.  I love this black sheer blouse with white embroidered flowers, it's got some delicate ruche across the top and I love how the pattern matches with my handbag!

A little bit of self care goes a long way, this Sunday I got a hair cut after not seeing my stylist for a year, it feels nice to get a trim but at the same time I'm loving my long hair right now!

 Finally my own version of professional outfit when I can't get away not dressing up.  Normally just a simple dress, large work tote and I will pin a vintage brooch for a little interesting twist!  And then off I go to conquer the world! Or at least try to pay my bills!

Alas, if only real life is all about cute shoes and clothes!  I try to get together with friends for weekly meditations because as time progress we move through different emotions and experience new things.  This past week was all about me seeking some clarification on new people that I've encountered this year, and wanting to know what lessons are to be learned from these new encounters.  I find that if I have some question in mind that I have no idea what the answer is, the universe usually provides me with some clarity after a period time of contemplation.

What I've learned is that sometimes it is very important to keep the superfluous out of your life and stay in touch with the essentials.  It applies with friends that you choose to keep in your life and how you decide to treat others.  I've actually discovered that being genuine is very important to me, more than I realized before, and that the ability to believe there are genuine and good things in the world is tremendously important for my own happiness.

I'm perpetually a bit behind on household chores no matter how much I try, but the last few days I am somewhat caught up with a little help from my cleaning lady and I have been working hard to get things more organized.  I'm honestly terrible at house keeping but I always make an effort and do what I can because I enjoy a nice and organized home just as much as everyone else, obviously not everyone has the same talent for everything but making an effort counts!

Yesterday I called in my handyman to help fix a few things around the house, I had a long list of things for him to do but he had to go buy some supplies and we will just have to get all things finished next week!  For now he changed out a couple of light bulbs that have been burnt out in the hallway but require a ladder to access, installed my mini chandelier that I've had for about a year, and finally helped me strapped the three book cases to the wall in case of earthquake!  I've wanted to strap the bookcase down for eight years, and never got around to do it, this is the kind of thing that make me question my ability to survive in this world, but at last it got done!

He also has to replace a broken leaky kitchen faucet, fix a bathroom handle, change out a crusty shower head... that's another thing that I have tolerated for years and years and it suddenly occurred to me that there's no reason to suffer through awful shower head when you can probably buy a cheap one from the hardware store and have it changed out.  It's just one of those things that seems like only grown ups do but now come to think of it I am a grown up after all and since no kind stranger have knocked on my door offering to fix things for me I will just have to call my handyman to do it!

A girl can go without a man in her life, but a good handyman is rather indispensable!

Finally a little relaxation at the end of day, sometimes when I'm too wired and can't relax when it comes to bedtime, a hot bath is always the best thing!  I believe the saying goes, when you're in hot water, enjoy it! 

Well, I'm back after a long hiatus!  With the weather being so beautiful here in Southern California, I really wanted to do some gardening and thought it would be nice to document it with a few pictures.

Recently I discovered that a local nursery I frequently visited actually had some pretty knowledgeable staff.  I was told that a good way to replenish depleted soil was to work a good amount of compost into the soil and then top it off with mulch so that it would eventually disintegrate into the soil, after that, follow a once every three month fertilizing schedule. 

I have a raised flower bed outside a window in the backyard.  It used to grow nothing because it was heavily shaded under a jacaranda tree.  A few months ago the tree sadly had to be removed because the roots were crawling under the house and spreading out to the entire backyard.  After the tree was gone I suddenly got a good amount of morning sunlight that I never had before so I figure I could give it another try.  

It took a lot of effort to loosen up the soil and mixed the compost in and I only did half of the flower bed in one go.  After that I gave the soil a good soak of water and planted a beautiful pink hydrangea that would eventually grow to 4 to 6 feet tall. 

I also found this geranium plant at the nursery that smells like cheap fake citronella dish soap, however the foliage is pretty and flower is very dainty, also it's suppose to repel mosquito with this scent, so I bought one and planted in the flower bed as well. 

The second half of the flower bed will just have to wait for another day when I muster up enough energy to dig in dirt again!  After that I will top it off with a layer of mulch!

After a long day of work and gardening it's time to relax into the evening. I love burning this palo santo cone as a natural way to scent the house but also bring good energy into my living space.

In my family room I have a panel of French windows that lets in plenty of light, I had to add a set of curtains for some privacy but it was the perfect place for plants.  Over time it also became a place for my crystal collection, candles and incense, and just a general feel good place.

It's really hard to describe but I come home from a stressful day and the soothing light and smell of candles and incense really helps me to relax, it just burns away the outside noise and helps me focus and stay calm.  In my new year resolution this is the year that I pay more attention to personal wellness and I'm suppose to meditate, exercise and eat healthy, in any case, if non of that is accomplished at year end, at least this little table spread is pretty.