Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

Five things to be happy about

Many experts say that practicing gratitude is a sure-fire way to boost your happiness, highlight your abundance, and generally be a more positive person. When you’re a positive person, it’s easier to be happy. (And happy people don’t shoot their husbands.) It’s a circle, you see. Here are five things to be happy about — even if you aren’t particularly happy today.

Changing of the seasons

Even though I’m a hardXcore summer person and I’m not ready for fall (and subsequently winter), I love when the seasons change. It feels like a fresh start — and anything is possible. Clean slate, yo. It feels good.

Doing at least one thing a day that makes you feel good

Speaking of feeling good… call it self-care or a guilty pleasure, but doing something just because it makes you feel damn good is a great thing. Today, for me, that included cooking myself a good meal, cleaning the counters until they were shiny and not grimy anymore, and treating myself to a glass of wine at a cool bar while I write this. (Spoiler alert: I wrote and scheduled this baby ahead of time.)

Child-like obsession for anything

Anyone who knows me knows I am not a kid person. I am pretty much the un-kidliest person around. But damn if their happiness isn’t infectious. Now, I’m not saying be a creeper at a park or a daycare. But you can harness that happiness.

Have you ever seen Under the Tuscan Sun? Remember when Katherine is drunk and she says, “Never lose your childish enthusiasm”? Kids are all in for whatever occupies their mind at the moment. And they don’t let it go until they get it or figure it out.

Find something akin to that wonder in a child’s eyes, something that is endlessly fascinating to you. Even if it’s just a small tickle deep down. Hold on to that and keep coming back to it. It gets easier to find the more you do it. Learning and growing, or even just laughing, is a wonderful part of the human condition.

Target

Okay, this is kind of a fluffy, give-away point. But Target it the shit. I don’t think I’ve ever walked out of Target unhappy in my grumble-grumble years of going to Target. What is your Target? In other words, what is your “happy place”? That is my point here. Find your happy place and go there often. Be grateful for it.

The fact that you are reading this

You have your eyesight, an internet or cellular connection (and the ability to pay for said connection), and breath to breathe to make it all happen. Trust me, I’m not a “just be thankful you’re alive” kind of person. But I mean…it is something to be grateful for. You woke up today, hopefully in a bed. Or in someone you love’s bed. Or on their couch. Or anywhere that affords eyesight and an internet connection. And you have the ability to choose what you want to read/do/consume.

And really, if things were that bad, reading this post would be the least of your concerns. #perspective

What are you happy for today?

Get Crafty with Beer and Food Pairings

Beer. It’s a magical beverage that makes me funnier and dance better. It also is more than the nasty swill we all drank in college (don’t lie, you drank it, too). I’ve come to be quite fond of bitter, hoppy ales and smooth coffee stouts. Definitely a far cry from my days of beer-flavored water.

Hey, it was cheap and got the job done.

Jaelan at Making Mrs M is a fellow beer snob enthusiast and she has fantastic recommendations for pairing beers and, being the over-achiever we all know and love about her, even whipped up something you can make to go with your beers.

My rule of thumb when pairing beer (or anything really) is to find something that complements the flavor of the beer instead of fighting it.

Think of flavor combinations you like that wouldn’t think would go together (lavender and lemon, chocolate and potato chips, berries and balsamic vinegar). There’s a flavor in one that intensifies the flavor in the other. Citrus brings out the herb. Salt highlights a true chocolate flavor. Sweet tones down the sour (and vice versa).

Contrasting flavors are an opposite of something already present while complementary flavors are close enough to each other so they work together without overshadowing.

So what do I pair with beer when I want to intensify flavors in my brew?

Get crafty with beer and food pairings! Pairing craft beer food is easier than I thought. Great beer recommendations, too!

Black IPA

I like hops. I like roasty beers. It’s only natural that I’d like Black IPA. It’s fun to say. Like a Shirley Temple Black. And it’s interesting to drink, too. I’m not going to write a dissertation on characteristics of black IPA, but to me it’s like a stout and an IPA had a love child. A roasty, hoppy love child.

What goes well with that? Well, I had Midnight Moonlight by Fat Head’s Brewery a few weeks ago and paired it with Irish Nachos (made with potato chips instead of nachos) and it was a great pairing.

That said, I usually like to pair my dark beers that can get a little heavy in flavor with something sweet to light up another part of my tongue and enhance some of the chocolate undertones that can come with malty beers. Chocolate cake or rich, fudge-y brownies balance out the bitter and highlight chocolate roast in Black IPAs.

Side note: Black in the USSR by Grist House Craft Brewery isn’t a black IPA, but it has some nice roasty similarities and it pairs fantastically with ice cream sandwiches, specifically the peach ice cream sandwich from Leona’s Ice Cream Sandwiches in Pittsburgh.

Other favorite Black IPAs: 21st Amendment Brewery Back In Black and Southern Tier Brewing Company 2xIBA

Wheat

I’m talking about American wheat beers. I am not a fan of the super-yeasty (and bubble gum banana clove-y) hefeweizen-style wheat beers. One of my favorites is Grist House Craft Brewery Wheatin’ for the Weekend. This is a perfect porch beer. It is light and refreshing with a touch of stone fruit, just what I want a wheat beer to be. None of that banana crap.

What goes with a wheat beer? Well, I like wheat and grains with my wheat beer. Something yeasty to complement the wheat in the beer. Pizza with a light oil sauce, mild cheese, and green veggies on top? Yes please. Macaroni and cheese with a light cheese sauce and roasted onions and squash (like the mac and cheese from the Mac & Gold Truck?) Yep. Been there, loved that.

Red Ale

Shout out to a favorite red right now goes to Troegs Independent Brewing Nugget Nectar. I worked with someone (in a restaurant that specialized in beer) who named his dog after Nugget Nectar, so you know it’s good. This ale is bitter. If black IPA is like a stout and an IPA had a love child, this is as if a ginger hop and another ginger hop had a love child. It is bit-ter with a capital Hello 93 IBU.

So what would go with this? As luck would have it. Troegs has a great chart to help. I’m all about this with a mango salsa topping chicken tacos; adding something to complement the fruity notes in this beer and add a little heat makes for an interesting pairing.

Other favorite reds: Grist House Craft Brewery Camp Slap Red (also fresh and hoppy) and AleWerks Brewing Company Red Marker Ale (a little darker with heavier fruit flavors).

I’m pretty sure this could have been an ode to Grist House, but I tried my best to spread some hopped love around. Just remember: try to find a complementary flavor and work from there. If you want to go crazy, find a contrasting flavor and go crazy.

Hop on over to Jaelan’s blog to see how she paired her favorites!

What beer and food combos do you like to play with?

Need some Dolce Vita? Practice Gratitude.

Today’s post comes from the fantastic Audrey Vanim. I had the luck to run into her at a Propelle acupuncture session a few weeks ago where we got to talking about blogging and the Dolce Vita Fall Reset challenge she was organizing. I’ve been shifting my mindset around the challenges in the fall reset and it’s been awesome, so I asked Audrey to share her best tips for infusing a little Dolce Vita into your life this season.

Ah, Thanksgiving—one of my favorite holidays to stuff my belly full of good food, spend time with friends and family, and relax into a tryptophan haze. But it’s also one of my favorite holidays because it’s a whole day devoted to giving thanks—the practice of gratitude.

You might be thinking, why is this girl so excited about practicing gratitude? The short answer would be because it relaxes my brain, energizes my body, and makes my life magical. The long answer starts with a story about Italy.

About 2 years ago, I went on a family trip to Italy during a time when I was really burned out in my life—I hated my job, was out of shape, had constant brain fog, was exhausted all the time, and felt completely stuck in my life.

So when I got to Italy, one of the first things I noticed was just how energetic, upbeat, and relaxed the Italians were. They were healthy, happy, and living a lifestyle that was exactly what I had been craving for myself. I wanted to know the secret to their dolce vita.

What I found was that a big part of la dolce vita is practicing gratitude.

The best way to bring some sweetness into your life is to start by giving thanks for what you have. Gratitude practice really works!

Practicing gratitude has become a bit of a fad in recent years—even Oprah’s doing it. But beyond the hooplah, gratitude practices have some really solid evidence (I am a nurse, after all) behind them for boosting your health and your energy by helping you refocus your mind and decrease stress.

Gratitude has been shown to be one of the most powerful ways to shift your mind from negativity to positivity—from stress and fear to relaxation and love. Studies show that women who use defeatist coping strategies—like restraint, denial, disengagement—have higher levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), more anxiety, depression, and higher levels of stress. Consistent gratitude practices have been shown to increase energy, decrease stress levels, decrease depression, and lead to healthier lifestyle choices like exercising more regularly and eating healthier foods.

The Italians already know how powerful gratitude is for creating a healthy and happy life. They have an amazing way of infusing gratitude into everyday life—they accentuate the positive in conversations, take pleasure in small things, and always find a reason to celebrate. No matter how tough life might be, they pause and say a heartfelt “grazie!” for even the smallest of joys—a glass of wine, a child’s smile, or dinner with a friend.

They live la dolce vita because they make an effort to recognize and accentuate how sweet life truly is.

So do yourself a favor this week and take some time to really give thanks. Here are some ways to make gratitude an easy and powerful practice for you too:

Frame your day with gratitude.

Keep a journal by your bed. When you wake up, take a deep breath and write down 3 things that you are grateful for. For each item, pause and really feel the gratitude. Take another deep breath and then start your day. Do the same thing just before you’re ready to go to bed. This is a great way to start your day off with energy and positivity and end your day feeling relaxed and joyful.

Take a gratitude break!

So many of us take a coffee or snack break at work to decrease stress. But what if we took a gratitude break? Set an alarm or reminder on your phone to go off several times per day. When you see this alarm, it’s time to pause and feel gratitude. Doing this throughout the day will keep your stress levels continuously low, your mind focused and positive, and your body a whole lot lighter.

Use gratitude as a tool to turn any situation around.

When you find yourself stuck, disappointed, unhappy, or stressed, take a moment to pause and find one thing either in that situation or in your life to be grateful for. It’s amazing how quickly this can help your brain switch from a stressed and negative mindset to one that sees positivity and opportunity. When you find something to appreciate in any situation, it redirects you to the positive and helps you to remove yourself from the anxiety.

I have to say that practicing gratitude is one of the most powerful things I’ve ever done in my life—it’s helped me to become more energized, positive, and joyful.

So this Thanksgiving, get a jump-start on creating your own dolce vita by practicing gratitude—it might just become your favorite part of the holiday, too.

How are you doing to bring Dolce Vita and gratitude into your life this week?

 

Audrey Vanim is a health coach that helps busy women create more energy so that they can make their mark on the world and create a fulfilling life—their very own dolce vita. Audrey is a registered nurse whose work combines the latest in nutritional science with the best of what the Italian lifestyle has to offer. Learn more about Audrey and her work at audreyvanim.com.

How to know when you need a blog break

Okay. So. Not to be entirely self-pitying, but I’ve had a rough couple of months. Between moving, problems with my mom, fluctuating responsibilities at work, and trying to keep personal relationships from sinking…things around here got a little quiet. Anything that wasn’t absolutely essential to keep in the air got dropped.

I really turned inward and didn’t want to broadcast my problems for the internet. Airing dirty laundry takes on a whole new level when it’s available world-wide (not that I flatter myself that someone in Paris is reading this, buuuut….)

And while I wrote about what I learned from blogging every day, I didn’t write about what I learned from not writing when my heart wasn’t there and how to know when you need a blog break.

How to know when you need to take a blog break (and a giveaway from Gardening In High Heels)

How do you know when you need a break? When you’re heart isn’t in it. It’s that simple. You need to take a step back to reconnect with what you love doing. Creatively rejuvenate yourself. That’s a post for another day, but I know my writing struggles when it just isn’t exciting me and I can bet it’s the same way for you, too.

So what did I learn from taking a blog break?

Of course, there are the practical things I’ve learned like I should have kept up with the promotion and sharing old posts through Facebook and Twitter. I mean, it makes sense. But again, my heart just wasn’t there. So do as I say and not as I do: still go through your popular posts and promote the hell out of them. Even if you aren’t producing new material, still share old material.

Find a new outlet. I turned to Instagram to document what was happening in real life. #BecauseImKeepingItReal

I don’t want to always have this picture-perfect portrayal here because life isn’t picture perfect. And while I want this to be a reintroduction to me and a hello to a new business of sorts, I also want to recognize life’s stumbles. Yes, you need to make sure you’re spelling is correct and your pictures aren’t fuzzy, but you also need to connect with people’s hearts. That’s my belief.

If you don’t have their hearts, all you have are numbers. And what good does that do you?

Another thing I learned from taking a step back is that it’s okay to change your path. You aren’t stuck in one niche forever. You can evolve. You can pivot.

I know, these are all things that are like, “Angelica, you seriously didn’t realize that??” but there’s a difference between knowing something and getting it.

So, back to pivoting on what you’re doing. Jenny Blake is the pivot queen. (She actually wrote about what happens when you try to nail your niche.) I love that we don’t have to keep doing the same thing over and over. Especially if you want to go in another path but feel like you should stay on the route you’re on. That “should” word is a red flag that you need to mix it up.

I’m redefining what I want to write about and letting this be a place for people to learn more about me and my work in a real way. I’ll still write about makeup and the trials of cultivating a beautiful life, but on a more consistent basis again. I’ll also be focusing more on letting this be my outlet and a way to highlight my writing strengths in the hopes that people hire me to write for them (because I love sharing my thoughts with you, but thoughts don’t pay the rent, y’hear me?)

As a thank you to people who have been with me through it all and a welcome for any new readers and friends I’ve made along the way, I want to share some of my favorite things (and let you win them).

How to know when you need to take a blog break (and a giveaway from Gardening In High Heels)

How to know when you need to take a blog break (and a giveaway from Gardening In High Heels)

Of course, my favorite pens, Post Its, and copious amounts of Target dollar spot stationery. My favorite balm + stain that looks great on anyone (it’s the Revlon Balm Stain in Honey) and a few other lip products. A freakin’ hilarious letterpress notebook from Sapling Press in Pittsburgh and purchased at my favorite card shop in the city, Wildcard. And this lovely scarf, of course in gray like everything else I wear. I seriously almost kept the for myself, yo. But I love you guys, so you win. And a few other things I may pick up along the way.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Can you pick out a theme? Me neither. It’s pretty much me in a box. And hopefully if you’re like me, you’ll love this all, too.

What’s your sign to know when you need a break?

PS: You guys rock. Just sayin’.

Be a Twitter Chat Rockstar

Last night, while participating in the #CreateLounge Twitter chat, I got to thinking about what makes for the best chat experience.  I don’t do a lot of Twitter chats, but I try to attend the ones I know and love as faithfully as I can.

Why tweet and chat?  It’s a fun way to interact with like-minded people, learn some new view points and/or techniques, express your opinions, and grow your following on Twitter as an influential user.

In the process of tweeting and chatting, I’ve learned a lot about what makes for a good experience and what needs a little work.  Here are a few essential things to make sure you’re doing during a Twitter chat to be a gracious guest.

Twitter chats are so much fun! Love these tips for being a great chatter.

Make sure you’re using the hashtag

So you sent out a tweet without the chat hashtag.  That’s okay.  It’s a rookie mistake, but it’s still okay.  I’ve done it, the best Twitter chatters have done it, you’ll probably do it.  But use it because it allows the host and other chatters to easily find your tweets in the sea of lost message.

Oh and keep an eye out and make sure you have enough space to include the tag when you’re done making your brilliant point.

Also, don’t forget to number your tweets.  If you’re responding to Q1 (question 1), write A1 (answer 1) before your tweet.

Jump right in

Twitter chats aren’t the place to be shy.  Sure you can lurk around for the first few times while you get the hang of it, but the fun in chats is participating with everyone!

If you have something to say, hit reply and type away!  It always makes me feel good when someone starts a conversation with an answer I provided.  If a tweet does un-replied-to, does it ever get tweeted?

Try Tweetdeck

Native Twitter is hard to participate in Twitter chats.  I like seeing a running list of all tweets using the chat tag, my notifications, and any new topics coming from the host.  For this purpose, I use Tweetdeck when participating in chats.  It keeps me organized.

The only catch is that if you make a new stream (to track the hashtag perhaps) and the account you’re using isn’t the primary Tweetdeck account, make sure your favoriting tweets from the right account!  There was a chat I participated in where all my favorites came from the wrong handle.

You could also use your phone.  It’s convenient because it auto-fills the hashtag and handles, the favorites are always from the right account, and it’s easy to follow your new friends.

Follow interesting chatters

Like I mentioned before, you get the most out of a Twitter chat when you can interact with everyone.  Keep that momentum going after the chat by following the people you had a great conversation with!  I’ve met some great people from participating in Twitter chats.

And you know that you have similar interests because you’re participating in the same Twitter chat.  So if you’re in a blogger chat, most of the people are bloggers….with whom you can create a support network, find and share new content, etc.  See where I’m going here?

Some of my favorite chats are Kayla Hollatz‘s #CreateLounge on Wednesdays at 8p ET, CoSchedule‘s CoChat on Thursdays at 3:30pm ET, Megan‘s #TipsyChat on Tuesdays at 8:30p ET, and Blog Elevated‘s #BlogElevated chat on Tuesdays at 10p ET.

What are your tips for participating in Twitter chats? What’s your favorite to participate in?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

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