50 Ways to Celebrate Life

1. Surround yourself with positive people.
2. Get involved in a charity or volunteer work. Do something good for your community.
3. Breathe deeply. Deep, slow belly breaths are good for reducing stress levels.
4. Eat healthy food. Your body will thank you immensely!
5. Laugh, laugh, laugh everyday!
6. Dance! Turn up the tunes and shake it!
7. Have a yard sale. Declutter your home while making some money or you can also donate it!
8. Redecorate a room. Change can be a good thing, even if it’s just rearranging the furniture.
9. Go to your local farmers market for fresh produce. Support your local farmers.
10. Go out to dinner with friends and try new exotic cuisine.
11. Indulge in a piece of dark chocolate cake and cup of coffee while watching your favorite show, reading a book or sitting on the porch etc.
12. Travel as often a possible. See new places and learn about different cultures. Be humble and open to different ways of life when visiting other countries.
13. Take a slow walk with someone you love. Hold their hand.
14. Grow your own garden. Plant flowers, fruits, veggies and herbs that you like to smell and eat!
15. Clean the house while listening to your favorite music. It’s nice to feel organized.
16. Treat yourself to an item that you’ve been wanting for a long time. You’re worth it…you work hard. It’s OK to get something nice for yourself once in a while.
17. Spend time with your family.
18. Play a classic board game ex: Monopoly, Pictionary or Scrabble. Have a game night with your family and friends.
19. Drink red wine…one glass a day is great for your heart
20. Go on a date with your spouse, bf/gf or a lovely friend.
21. Write your letters by hand — it’s becoming a lost art and handwritten letters are beautiful and personal. Someone will definitely cherish your effort.
22. Learn something new {outside of the box}…Latin Dance, Trapeze or Karate. It may just be the greatest thing ever!
23. Keep a journal. Write down your thoughts, ideas or feelings.
24. Go for a bike ride. Bring picnic supplies.
25. If you’re tired, take a nap. You need it.
26. Exercise and establish healthy habits.
27. Take a mental health day.
28. Sleep in on the weekends. If you have little ones, take turns with your spouse. “You take Saturday, I’ll take Sunday.”
29. Get a massage, take care of your body…it’s got to last you a lifetime
30. Wear sunscreen, protect your beautiful skin!
31. Literally “smell the roses” when you take a walk. Enjoy them.
32. Have a technology-free day, weekend, or week {this is a hard one}. Go and spend a day outside at the beach, hiking, riding bikes etc.
33. Spend quality alone-time with yourself.
34. Call someone just to tell them how much you love them.
35. Snuggle and kiss babies as often as possible.
36. Have a spontaneous day. No schedules allowed. Follow your heart.
37. Reminisce with friends over old pictures.
38. Stay in your PJ’s all day.
39. Smile more.
40. Read a book. A real book. With pages.
41. Close your eyes, get in a quiet space, meditate, pray or reflect on your day and the people you love.
42. Once in a while be sure to take a leap – a big giant leap- do something that’s scary and watch how life supports you! You’ll never what will happen if you’re too afraid to make a move.
43. Write love notes.
44. Tune into the fact that there is only one you and you are here for a special reason. Leave every place better than you found it.
45. Do something nice for someone else. Share your gifts.
46. Forgive. Grudges weigh on your heart…life is too precious to spend it unhappy
47. Host a party and cook an outrageous meal to share with the people you love.
48. Give long hugs.
49. Follow the path that matters most. What makes you happy? If you’re happy, the people around you will be happy too.
50. Be grateful for EVERYTHING that has been brought into your life. Even challenging times can shape us into stronger, wiser people.

5 Joie De Vivre {Simple Joys in Life}

Five joie de vivre from my past week.

These are some things that make me smile…

{Dark chocolate covered coffee beans. Mmmm}

{Flowers in the house}

{Ok…this may seem like a weird thing to be excited over, but it smells SO good! I love cleaning the house just so it can smell like fresh grapefruit! And a plus — it’s all natural, non-toxic and plant based}

{My new peppermint plant from mom <3}

{I found these cute ceramic fortune cookies that hold notes/name cards. I wrote a message to my love while we dined on spicy Shin Bowls}

5 Joie De Vivre {Simple Joys in Life}

Joie De Vivre.

The simple joys in life that I am thankful for.

{Rose drops imported from France. They taste like the smell of a dozen fragrant roses. So lovely — an instant pick-me-up}

{Last Thursday evening the clouds looked warm and cozy. They cast an amber glow all over town. It was a brilliant feeling — best described as a cloud hug}

{It’s almost lemon season.}

{I bought a dozen red roses for the house. It’s such a treat to have these on the table.}

{Homemade nutmeg coffee with my man.}

Secrets to Finding Your Joie De Vivre

What makes you happy in life? I believe that each person finds happiness in a unique way. Here are some tips to finding your joie de vivre that I noted while reading Bonjour Happiness. A beautiful exercise that we all should do…When you come across things that make you smile — those “Ahhh life is good moments”, write them down. Make a list of the things that you like to savor. It’s a fun little project that will remind you about the simple pleasures in life.

- Love yourself, and others. Do everything in love
- Take a bubble bath with rose oil
- Treat simple things like treasures
- Take the time to enjoy your food

- Organize and simplify
- Have breakfast on the porch
- Wear lipstick
- Take a walk and focus on fine details; the color of leaves, tiny blades of grass, and the smell of those jasmine flowers that are blooming nearby
- Volunteer in your community; for your church, help your neighbors, your friends etc. Doing something nice for others will make you feel great too
- Ride a bike

- Sip a cup of coffee with cream while reading a good book or magazine
- Enjoy fires in the fireplace
- Snuggle up with your love and a cozy blanket
- Shop at mom and pop stores or farmers markets
- Practice good posture + being confident in yourself and your decisions = sexy
- Grow your own fruits and vegetables in the summer time
- Hand write your letters and save all the ones you receive

- Cook with fresh ingredients
- Display original art in your home
- Learn a foreign language…and use it
- Take a class on a subject that interest you
- Buy or pick fresh flowers for your home

- Don’t fight aging, welcome it. Aging is a beautiful process
- Accept compliments instead of denying them, but remain humble while doing so
- Wear French lingerie even if no one sees it
- Take time-off for yourself
- Get pampered once in awhile. “An empty well gives no water”

- Travel
- Practice your handwriting. Make it something you’re proud of
- Dress the part
- Become involved and excited about each event.
- Tell others how much you appreciate them and love them
- Find joy in everyday things. Focus on fine details within your daily routines. Find everything special and something to be thankful for.

Things to think about…

Joie de vivre is “Loving life, loving people loving to be alive, feeling alive. It’s about smiling in your heart and being grateful for the things [and people] in your life: being in good health, being able to hear, to see, to walk etc.” (P. 13)

Everyday is a new beginning

I hope you are having a wonderful day my friends.

Attitude!

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
~ Charles R. Swindoll

7 Simple Tips For Improving Your Attitude

Give Thanks – Be grateful for what you have in life. Give to others that have less than you.

Monitor Your Thoughts – If negative thoughts are stressing you out, ask yourself where you learned these thoughts and if it they are true or not. Shed your negative thought patterns by replacing them with something true and positive about yourself and others.

Smile More – Smiling is contagious. You’ll find that when you smile others will smile back. Research at Mindlab International in Brighton, England, found that a warm smile can create a “halo” effect, helping us “feel more optimistic, more positive, and more motivated.”

Help Others — A study conducted in the US found that people who performed acts of kindness throughout a week were significantly happier than those who helped less or didn’t help at all. Little acts of kindness can go a long way. Give a sincere compliment, help your friend with the dishes or volunteer for a good cause.

Exercise — My professors in college always stressed the importance of exercising as a natural method to improving mood. When you exercise your body will produce happy neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine.

Breathe Deeply – Deep diaphragmatic belly breathing can improve you mood and activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which will calm you down and reduce levels of stress.

Set Goals for Yourself – I have always felt that people who have motivation to improve their lives seem happier than those who live day to day. It is important to set goals and follow your passions. Take sometime to work on yourself instead of constantly pouring into others. A dry well can’t give water…am I right? What makes YOU happy and excited about life? Run with it.