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Author Archives: Farrell

A Thousand Words

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January 5, 2012
Pictures
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This Christmas was extra special because I got an amazing camera right before I went home for the holidays. I have always loved photography and taking pictures of things that are special to me.  It was great to be able to capture my whole experience at home, from my point of view. Here are some of my favorite photos from the holiday season.

Trying on some of my Great Aunt’s jewelry.

The Raindeer came early this year!

A view of Lake Erie from our backyard on Christmas Eve Eve.

My mother has such a knack for decorating around the holidays; I wish I could show you the whole house!

One of the best handmade ornaments from the “Make Your Own Ornament Station” at our Roots Day Party.

Two of my favorite people meeting for the first time.

Around midnight on Christmas Eve, after the extended family left.

Opening presents on Christmas with my family.

Thanks to my cousin who put together the show, we watched old slides on Christmas night with the entire family. The picture below is of my Mom and my Uncle David.

Boxing Day mocktail with fresh cranberries, ginger ale and cranberry juice.

Terrariums

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January 3, 2012
Holistic Living, Personal & Interior Style
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This past Christmas, I wanted to do something different. I am usually pretty stressed when gift giving; I want my gifts to be the best that have ever been given. I spend so much time thinking about the perfect gift to give that sometimes, I forget to give a gift at all. This year I realized that I just wanted to give the people I loved something beautiful. I decided to make terrariums and boy, oh boy, was it fun.  I had only two places to go – a craft store and a plant nursery.

Making terrariums is very simple. All you need a glass vase and these few things:

How to make your basic terrarium:

Step 1:  Add an inch think layer of pebbles to the bottom of your vase.

Step 2:  Add 2-4 inches of potting soil over the pebbles.

Step 3: Pick the arrangement of plants and which plants to use.

Step 4: Plant accordingly

Step 5: Cover with moss

Step 6: (Optional) Add miniature toys or rock beds.

I followed these instructions and everything went great!  Here are some pictures of the ones I made for Christmas presents.

After receiving his terrarium, my brother told me about this amazing terrarium artist named Paula Hayes. You should definitely check out her extraordinary work!

Picturesque

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January 2, 2012
Pictures
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Every week we ask some of our friends to send us a picture they took.  This week, we specifically asked for a picture from New Year’s Eve.  Thanks for all the photos guys!  Happy 2012.

Rachel –  Cleveland, Ohio – First annual New Year’s Eve sushi making party.

Catherine – New York, New York –  My first Phish show at Madison Square Garden.

Lauren – Erie, Colorado – No pressure New Year’s.

David – Cleveland, Ohio – New Year’s Eve meditation at home, before heading out for the night.

Colleen – Cleveland, Ohio – A friends wedding at the Ritz Carlton on NYE; best way to celebrate!

Happy New Year!!

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December 31, 2011
Uncategorized
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We want to wish you the happiest of Happy New Years!  Whether the year has been among your best, your worst or somewhere in between, find reason to celebrate.  Let the good times be remembered and the bad times be relinquished.  Play the songs that bring you joy, call the people who make you happy and have a blast tonight!

Farewell, 2011

By
December 30, 2011
Music
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Throughout the year, we love to listen to NPR’s All Songs Considered for updates on new music. At the end of each year, they dedicate a couple of shows to review the entire year in music. They also poll listeners and compile a Listener’s Top 100 Songs of 2011. If you have a chance this holiday weekend, take some time to listen online and pay homage to the great music of 2011.

Here are a couple of our favorite songs from this year:

Go Outside by Cults

Beirut – Goshen

Home – Mumford and Sons

James Blake – Wilhelm Scream

The Black Keys – Lonely Boy

Britney Spears – Dance Til The World Ends

And our favorite
Monster Rally – Surf Erie

Monster Rally – Surf Erie from Tyler Coray on Vimeo.

Forgiveness

By
December 29, 2011
Holistic Living, Inspired & Inspiring
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As we count down the final days of 2011, I have been thinking how nice it would be to start the new year from a place of total forgiveness.  I’ve been holding onto the quote below for some time and believe now is a powerful time in which we, collectively, have the opportunity to unburden ourselves of past hurts, mistakes and regrets.  It would make us all a little lighter and free up space for each of us to experience the best of the year to come.

       Temple of Forgiveness, Burning Man 2007

“The choice to follow love through to its completion is the choice to seek completion within ourselves.  The point at which we shut down on others is the point at which we shut down on life.  We heal as we heal others, and we heal others by extending our perceptions past their weaknesses. Until we have seen someone’s darkness, we don’t really know who that person is. Until we have forgiven someone’s darkness, we don’t really know what love is. Forgiving others is the only way to forgive ourselves, and forgiveness is our greatest need.”

– Marianne Williamson

St. Maarten

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December 28, 2011
Pictures, Travel
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I am still home for the holidays in Cleveland, Ohio. But as the temperature here has dropped and the snow has started to fall, I am finding myself daydreaming of the amazing trip to St. Maarten I took this summer. The water was just right. The sunsets were so beautiful. The food was delicious. The warm sun on my face felt so good. On this cold winter day, I wanted to share some pictures of my past adventure:

Thank you again to the Cooks for making this trip so special.

What Phases You?

By
December 22, 2011
Holistic Living
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Sorry fellas; this one is directed to the ladies.  Two weeks ago, one of my favorite spiritual teachers, Gabrielle Bernstein spoke at the TEDxFiDi Women conference in San Francisco.  Gabby’s talk was followed by an amazing lecture by a woman named Alisa Vitti, founder of a New York City based wellness center that helps women all over the world regain hormonal balance.  Alisa spoke about the 4 hormonal stages which women experience throughout the course of every month and how your thoughts and behaviors mirror the hormonal pattern of your body.  In some ways you are a different person from week to week.  Understanding how these phases work, and how to capitalize on them, can bring a state of balance and harmony to your life.  I find this information so fascinating and have been very conscious of it in my own life since I learned about it.

Here is a quick summary of the holistic nature of your 4 hormonal stages:

Follicular Phase – This is an exciting phase! You have the most access to creative energy than at any other point of the month. It is a great time to begin projects, mastermind, make plans and dream big.

Ovulatory Phase – This is the stage at which you have the best ability to communicate and at which you have the most energy.  It’s a great time to have important conversations and go after what you want.

Luteal Phase – During the luteal phase, you tend to pay more attention to detail. This is the time to organize your closet, your calendar and your life.

Menstrual Phase –  This phase involves the most communication between the right and left sides of your brain.  It is the time to evaluate your life! You are most aware of gut feelings and receptive to the messages from the body during this time.

Watch the whole talk below.