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…I wanted to incorporate gratitude and mindfulness into gift-giving. I have compiled a sort of gift guide divided into three categories: Small Businesses, Sustainable Businesses, and Intangible Gifts.

Ribolita is traditionally a thick Tuscan vegetable stew that is thickened with day old bread. I prefer to simply use a bit less liquid to keep it nice and thick, but if adding the bread appeals to you, a crusty French bread would do nicely. The word Ribollita in Italian means twice boiled or re-boiled. Hence this was often a leftover minestrone soup to which chunks of bread were added just prior to serving..

Since chia seed puddings are quick and easy to make in advance and store well for about five days, I am now hooked and have started to experiment with recipes for them on my own. I’ll share my favorite one with you at the bottom of today’s post, but first let’s talk about why would you want to eat these seeds anyway and what makes them so unique compared to other seeds you may already include in your diet? I’d often heard them referred to as a superfood, but after reading a bit more about them I now fully understand why.

So when you need to use up excess veggies, in my house, it’s time to make soup. This yellow squash and tomato soup is one of my all time favorites, especially for summer. It’s light and has a unique blend of vegetables that make it a little different, healthy and sooo delicious.

Tea has become a morning ritual for me and is something that can bring me back to the present moment multiple times throughout the day. While I don’t practice the full ritual I suggest below every time I take joy in a cup of tea, I’ve noticed that small segments of this practice have become a habit - a ritual of sorts, with almost every cup I brew. In this post, I’ll talk about a few of the benefits of different types of tea, when to drink each type and why, how to practice the art of mindfully drinking tea and suggest a few of my favorite teas that may be new to you. I hope you’ll join me on this little diversion into the joy and mindful practice of drinking tea.

How many times have you set an intention, whether in a yoga class or just life in general, then immediately allowed your brain to shift to the next fleeting thought? …How can we make sure we follow through on our intentions? This post explores thoughts and ideas on this very question.

So many joy filled moments, so much laughter, so much fun. Yet what we came away with was even more precious. We came away with a renewed sense of focus, a strong feeling of purpose and a plan. Each in our own we, we jumpstarted our paths forward in our own directions by allowing this time for ourselves. And this is why you should go on a retreat. With so many of us choosing not to travel this year, we can still create a lovely solo retreat at home or close to home.

Sharing a journey and insights on stretching, but honoring your limits in yoga, life and love. As I reflect back over the years, I realize how many facets of life I stretched beyond my limits and broke parts of myself. Yes, I mended and in many cases came back stronger, but I don’t think the breaking was necessary for the strengthening along the journey...

A new place.  New friends.  A new adventure.  My happy heart began to beat quickly in anticipation of beginning to explore this new destination.  Yet when I stepped off the plane it seemed as if instantly the world slowed down and a sense of calm came over me...

That is one of the great things about a cauliflower salad - it holds up well with no wilting and is just as appetizing on day three as it was on day one.  Okay, well pretty darn close anyway.  And if all this isn’t reason enough to add these to your summer salad favs, add the fact that cauliflower is low in calories, but jam packed with vitamins and minerals.  In addition, it is high in both fiber and antioxidants and is low in carbs for those of you trying to stick to a low carb diet.

What on earth is a Qi deficiency you may ask and what could it possibly have to do with my lack of sleep?  That was my first question too when I had an herbal consultation with a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner last fall to see if there might be an herbal remedy to help me sleep better.