Cleanse Your Home, Cleanse Your Mind

Keeping your home free of stagnant energy will help you live with lightness of being.

August is the fall of the summer, and autumn right around the corner. With luck, this summer you have spent countless hours bathing in sunlight, or adventuring in new territories. Now is the time to spend some time inside your home, take a look around, and begin to cleanse all the corners and surfaces to ready yourself for the last third of the year. Having a clean and pure living environment is clinically proven to increase brain activity, calm your nerves, and improve overall productivity.

Photograph Courtesy of Wartaku

Clearing Clutter

Photograph Courtesy of Style Caster

The first step to minimizing clutter, and maximizing peaceful, clean energy in your environment, is to discard any of the following items from your surfaces and drawers.

Old Magazines + Newspapers – If you have stacks of old magazines and newspapers lying around your coffee tables or bookshelves, toss them into the recycling, and clear space for new projects and books!
Receipts + Bills + Documents – Have you already logged or filed necessary information from any receipts, bills, or documents you’ve been saving on your desk or in your kitchen drawers? Throw them all into the recycling bin! Anything that you truly need to save for your personal files or taxes should be neatly organized and placed in a file folder or cabinet.
Clothing – Take a long, hard look inside your closet, boudoir, or dresser, and remove anything you haven’t been wearing regularly (seasonal clothes aside).
Books – Do you have stacks of books that you have already read? Pick your top three, and donate the rest. Trade collections with your best friend, create a neighborhood “Take One, Leave One” bin, or find a coffeeshop with a bookshelf and leave them for someone else!
Medicine + Vitamins – Check the expiration date on all of your bottled medicines an supplements, and discard anything old, or anything that you are no longer in need of.
Makeup + Perfume – Cosmetics and toiletries expire also, and usually aren’t of the same quality after spending too much time laying around in a drawer. Go through everything an toss out those mostly empty compacts of powder or dried up mascaras!
Jewelry – If you aren’t going to invest in basic jewelry pliers or a small repair kit, it’s time to discard all the broken jewelry that you have cluttering up your drawers.
Old or Unused Electronics – Do you have a drawer for old cables, phone chargers, cell phones, or any other obsolete electronics? Get rid of all of that! Donate to your local Goodwill.

Setting Intentions

Photograph Courtesy of Free People

Photograph Courtesy of Free People

It is of utmost important to the balance of your mind and your home to dedicate an area of your space to setting intentions. Find a coffee table, bookshelf, or atop your mantle to place powerful items of significance, peace, abundance, and prosperity. Here are some things you can get started with:

An Altar Cloth sets the foundation for the space you are creating, reflecting all that is within you.
Salt is an important ingredient to place in a bowl on your altar, as it is protective, purifying, and represents the Earth’s energy.
A Chalice represents the Mother Goddess, or divine feminine energy, and is used to hold ceremonial drink, or salt water.
A Wand can be made from any organic material, and is used to direct and channel energies in and around you.
Candles are used to invoke and hold the power of each cardinal point, and are used to balance the masculine and feminine energies.
Bells or Singing Bowls call upon healing energies on your altar, clearing any stagnant energy, and can signify the beginning and ending of your personal practices or rituals
Powerful Stones like crystals and minerals each vibrate at their own frequency, and hold unique significance than can represent different feelings, intentions, and affirmations you would like to focus on.

Homes that Feel Cleansed

Photograph Courtesy of Wartaku

Photograph Courtesy of Wartaku

Photograph Courtesy of Wartaku

Photograph Courtesy of Wartaku

Learn about Feng Shui and how to set intentions in your modern home!

Host With Intention Plant Based Recipes

Weekly Healthy Recipe: Green Goddess Buddha Bowl

When we think about nature and health, we think of green.

Green vegetables contain an abundance of carotenoids-antioxidants that protect our cells. They also contain high levels of fiber, iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium.

Leafy greens give the body folate. The word folate describing the B vitamin originates from the Latin root word folium, which means leaf. The function associated with folate is varied and works in conjunction with other nutrients. Folate deficiency is common, and leads to a multitude of health problems including digestive disorders, cardiovascular disease, and most famously perhaps, birth defects. Folate is also crucial in epigenetics (external or environmental factors that switch genes on and off without changing the DNA sequence), through a process known as methylation, where folate acts as a methyl donor promoting cellular differentiation. Folate is also essential for DNA and RNA synthesis, amino acid production, and cell division. To put it plainly, you really, really need folate in your diet.

Greens lead to longevity.

Ingredients You’ll Need

2 cups greens, kale, spinach, chard, and arugula
1 pound broccoli florets (about 10 cups)
4 large eggs
8 ounces sugar snap peas
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups cooked grains, such as farro, quinoa, and/or brown rice
2 cucumbers, halved, sliced
2 avocados, halved, pitted, sliced
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1 cup edamame

The Dressing

1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup Bulgarian yogurt
2 1/4 teaspoons himalayan salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 cup mixed chopped cilantro, parsley, chives, and tarragon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Toss broccoli with 2 Tbsp. oil, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until charred and tender, 15–20 minutes.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add eggs, cover, and cook 4-6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water (keep cooking water boiling) and let cool. Peel eggs.
Add sugar snap peas to boiling water and cook until bright green and just slightly tender, 1–2 minutes. Transfer to bowl with ice water.
Purée yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, herbs, 2 tsp olive oil, 1/4 cup Dijon mustard, 2 tsp nutritional yeast, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a food processor until smooth.
Toss grains, 1/2 cup dressing in a large bowl. Mix in broccoli, edamame, snap peas, cucumbers, and the mixed greens into the bowl. Top with avocado slices, pumpkin seeds, sliced eggs, and remaining herbs. Use any remaining dressing for drizzling atop your mix!

Check out another amazing Healthy Recipe!

Destinations Travel

Wanderlust Destination: Chandigarh, India

Chandigarh, India is a time capsule of Mid-Century Modern architecture nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas.

In 2016, the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, making these incredible modern buildings an unmissable wonder. In Chandigarh, India, you won’t find an ancient city, or any British colonial buildings. Chandigarh was one of India’s first planned cities, created by the Chandigarh Capital Project Team, and led by Swiss architect, Charles Edouard Corbusier (Le Corbusier). As a marvelous result, Chandigarh is a urban zone that feels both futuristic and retro. The flawless geometrical outline mirrors the engineering virtuoso of the organizers of the city, Albert Mayer and Mathew Novicki. Chandigarh is a vacation destination with a modern business focus.

In India, most of the cities are planned and created solely for automobiles, so a sidewalk is an immense luxury. In Chandigarh, there are plentiful pedestrian walkways where you may safely stroll, a perfect means to pleasantly meander local streets by foot. Take a quick walk with us through this modernist haven!

Photograph Courtesy of Google

Photograph Courtesy of Aqqindex

Photograph Courtesy of Arch Daily

Photograph Courtesy of Grego Vivi Asia

Photograph Courtesy of de zeen

Photograph Courtesy of Acaixanegra

Photograph Courtesy of Acaixanegra

Photograph Courtesy of Acaixanegra

Photograph Courtesy of Acaixanegra

Mid-Century Sea Palette

Photograph Courtesy of de zeen

Photograph Courtesy of Jousse Enterprise

Photograph Courtesy of de zeen

Photograph Courtesy of Grego Vivi Asia

Photograph Courtesy of Baobab Developments

Photograph Courtesy of Acaixanegra

Photograph Courtesy of Acaixanegra

Photograph Courtesy of Acaixanegra

Photograph Courtesy of Acaixanegra

Photograph Courtesy of de zeen

Photograph Courtesy of de zeen

Photograph Courtesy of de zeen

Photograph Courtesy of de zeen

Photograph Courtesy of de zeen

Photograph Courtesy of de zeen

Photograph Courtesy of Faena

Photograph Courtesy of VRBO

Photograph Courtesy of Archi Digest

Photograph Courtesy of Talk Geo

Photograph Courtesy of Artemis Dreaming

If you enjoyed your virtual wanderings through Chandigarh, check out our Wanderlust Destination in Chiang Mai, Thailand!

Color Therapy Create A Sanctuary

Indigo Pillows for a Midsummer Mood

Indigo is the “peace that surpasses all understanding,” being protective, benevolent, gentle, and cooling. It governs our higher psychic activities, insight, wisdom, and assists us in navigating deep changes.

It relates to the third eye, where the pituitary gland is located. Indigo relates to self responsibility of one’s own life, to following the soul’s path, and trusting one’s own intuition. It inspires the ability to see things from a ‘higher’ viewpoint rather than purely for satisfaction of the ego or one’s material comfort. In indigo, we feel a resonant sense of unity and clarity. Indigo relates to self-expression through speech and communication, and is the very essence of truth and purpose.

Indigo dye is among the oldest to be used for dying textiles and making prints, and was first documented in history as being used in Huaca Prieta, Peru. Since its discovery, indigo dye has been used in the ancient civilizations of Japan, India and Southeast Asian countries, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran, and Africa.

The color indigo is named after the indigo dye derived from the plant Indigofera tinctoria and related species. Indigofera tinctoria, also called true indigo, has been naturalized to be cultivated in tropical areas of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Since it is a legume, it is also widely used as a soil-improving ground cover, and is rotated into fields similarly to alfalfa and other beans. Dye is obtained through processing the leaves through fermentation.

Keeping your home free of stagnant energy will help you live with lightness of being.

Clearing Clutter

Setting Intentions

Homes that Feel Cleansed

Learn about Feng Shui and how to set intentions in your modern home!

When we think about nature and health, we think of green.

Ingredients You’ll Need

The Dressing

Instructions

Check out another amazing Healthy Recipe!

Chandigarh, India is a time capsule of Mid-Century Modern architecture nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas.

If you enjoyed your virtual wanderings through Chandigarh, check out our Wanderlust Destination in Chiang Mai, Thailand!

Learn more about the History of the Indigo Color!

What You’ll Need

Instructions

Just in time for summer, our luxurious Poolside Collection was inspired by long, lavish days spent by the pool at the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

Nakuru

Merlo

Emerald