Photo credit

A simple yet strategic way to almost instantly reduce stress and increase happiness is to create a sanctuary that you can spend some time in every day.

twitter bird

For many of us, Twitter is a fun part of modern life. It really is social networking for the masses. Far more accessible and far less work than the likes of Facebook, LinkedIn or even blogging, Twitter lets you spit out 140 characters or less updates. It also lets you glimpse into the lives of friends and strangers you choose to follow.

But can this aspect of a modernista’s life get out of control?

Here are 10 ways to know if you twitter too much…

1. You have begun to speak and even think in 140 character or less spurts.
2. When you are doing something fun or interesting, your first thought is, ‘I should tweet this’.
3. When everything goes wrong, your first thought is, ‘I should tweet this’.
4. When you have any thought at all you tweet it.
5. You no longer google perspective dates, but search for them on twitter instead.
6. You are registered with Qwitter and lose sleep when people stop following you.
7. You make all your major life decisions by asking your twitter friends what they think.
8. You find it completely beyond comprehension when people tell you they haven’t heard of twitter.
9. You check twitter before you get out of bed in the morning.
10. You remember what you were doing the day you hit 100 followers.

My favourite discovery of late would have to be the French martini. Now when I say discovery, by no means am I claiming to have invented this glass of raspberry goodness. Rather, it was just the first time I have ever noticed it on a cocktail menu and decided to give it a go. But hey, you have to celebrate the little things…

Want to whip one up for yourself? You’ll find a recipe to make French Martinis here.

And if you want the recipe for every martini imaginable, check out Swanky Martini Recipes.

Sometimes it is the simplest things that we can overlook in life, and yet it is often these very things that are the keys to increased health and wellbeing.

One of these simple things is incorporating lots of movement into your life.

What have we got to benefit from increasing our daily movement?

How does increased energy, boosting of your immune system and the release of neurotransmitters that help prevent depression sound for starters? It is easy to see how these factors play a major role in decreasing stress and increasing wellbeing.

So why do we need to consciously move more?

We wake up in the morning and before long we are sitting in our car, are often sitting for most of the day at work, and then when we get home we relax by doing what??? Sitting! Sitting and having dinner, sitting and watching TV, sitting at our computer… are you picking up a theme here?

Kids seem to intrinsically know what we have become dull to – lots of daily movement = less stress + greater happiness.

But you don’t see young children scheduling exercise in or working around a gym timetable. Kids make movement a part of their every day life… see some birds – chase them! Time for dinner – race you to the table!
We’d do well to follow suit!

In the words of the eternally shirtless one, Matthew McConaughey, “My rule is to break one sweat a day, whether that’s going for a run, whether that’s dancing, whether that’s loving – just break a sweat a day.”

Here are some simple ways to incorporate movement into your day without formally ‘exercising’:

1. Dance around the house when no one is watching (what the heck, dance even when they are!)

2. Get out into the sun in your lunch break and go exploring – what interesting shops, streets, trees & people are around your workplace or home that you’ve never taken the time to discover?

3. Walk or ride a bike instead of driving at least once this week

4. Take your cue off the feline and incorporate stretching into your daily routine (believe me, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it).
Need some ideas on how to stretch? Check out http://www.howtostretch.com/

Now… get moving!

Much love to Gala Darling over at Icing for pointing us in the direction of Wordle

Mireille Guiliano, CEO of Clicquot & author of ‘French Women Don’t Get Fat’ has quite a lot to say about style. But when it comes to style + exercising, Mireille points out that for most French women, exercising in the traditional sense is not tres chic. She encourages increasing your movement throughout the day. No sweat, but a ‘slow burn’ as she puts it.

Wise advice, but for many of us running, the gym, yoga – these are all a necessary part of our healthy life.

So I must pose the question – can one sweat stylishly?

In her gorgeous 2007 interview with Australian Harpers Bazaar, Dita Von Teese broached the subject of being impeccably maintained all day long. We’ve all heard of her 16.5 inch/14 cm waist, surely that takes at least a little bit of sweat to maintain?

Von Teese states:

“There are degrees of dressed up. Do I go to my yoga class with red lipstick, false eyelashes and heels? No. But I do hide my yoga clothes under a great trench coat. Yes, I wear a bit of mascara and lip gloss… It’s easy to be comfortable and still elegant if you want”

The issue of mixing exercise with style was obviously an idea thrown around in a few brainstorming meetings at Adidas and Puma a few years ago. Puma partnered with supermodel Christy Turlington to create the Nuala range, while Adidas wisely jumped on board the Stella McCartney train for their stylish exercise collection.

While Turlington’s Nuala had some cute pieces, I think Stella McCartney’s range leaves it for dead. View Stella McCartney’s latest collection for Adidas here.

When it comes to having social style, the ability to throw an unforgettable party is a skill you cannot be without.

To be honest, there’s nothing worse than getting all dressed up and excited for a party to find that the host has put little effort in at all.

Many people assume that they can just invite over a collection of people, make sure there’s some dip & crackers, throw on a bit of music and think the night will be memorable. It just isn’t that simple.

But that doesn’t mean that throwing a Holly Golightly-worthy event is complicated and beyond you either.

What each of us need in our social arsenal is a fool-proof plan for throwing a fabulous party. With a bit of time and practice, this plan will become a built-in check list and you will find yourself a host/ess of mythical proportions, throwing legendary parties with ease.

The Luscious Life Guide to throwing a fabulous party:

1. Decide in advance what sort of event it will be

Great parties rarely just happen. Decide in advance whether the party will be formal, relaxed lounging, sassy cocktails, sexy, light-hearted etc. Once you have decided this you can organise the guest list, lay-out, decor, food, drinks & entertainment accordingly. It gives you a central theme to come back to when making decision about the party. It will also help you decide how much effort to put in. A formal cocktail party to celebrate a major event for example will require far more input on your behalf than last-minute casual drinks.

2. Put some thought into your guest list

If you want your party to be interesting, make sure that you don’t just invite people who know each other. As much as that might be comfortable, your guests need to walk in and see at least a few faces they don’t know to spice things up a little. That being said, if you invite a series of random people that all know no one at the party except yourself, you are going to be babysitting all night.

Invite people who will get along but make sure there’s some diversity.

Lastly, ensure that your guest list isn’t comprised of entirely couples. It is great to mix couples and single people to create some balance (rather than creating a social situation like the creepy couple dinner party in Bridgette Jones’ Diary). A mix of ages if possible can be a great thing too.

3. Build expectation with your invite

The expectation that people bring to a party contributes a lot to the atmosphere. Now, once you have yourself a reputation for throwing parties that aren’t to be missed, this isn’t such a problem. However, initially you need to create the mood way before people walk through your door. If the event is worthy of paper invites, make them funky and a little different, maybe with a mysterious little teaser about the night ahead. Even if invites are of the casual e-mail variety, add a great pic and make sure you word things a little differently. Predictability is an aspiring Holly Golightly’s worst enemy.

4. Get creative with your decor

If paper streamers and half limp balloons are your idea of party decorations, get some help. Flick through magazines or search online for some stylish party decor ideas and set about creating a scene that will wow your guests a little, even if it is simple.

Go classic with tea light candles and an abundance of fresh flowers all in one colour, or funk it up with brightly coloured Chinese paper lanterns, loads of floor cushions and incense.

Party decor doesn’t have to be expensive, check out your local op shop (or thrift shop for our North American style queens) for collections of kitsch punch bowls, candle holders and more.

5. Prepare food to die for

Think about your guest list and the type of food they will enjoy. If you have a room of burly men to feed (and good for you by the way), chic petite cocktail food alone will not do the job and there is nothing worse than people leaving your event early because they’re starving.

But if you can, refrain from serving the same old same old. I find nothing more boring than going to a social event and being able to predict the menu before even arriving. Even if it is good food, there’s nothing creative in serving the same collection of food that everyone else has at their parties.

Have a few tried and tested favourites but mix it up a little. It can be great to have a few pantry stand bys that you know you can whip some great party food up with when last minute parties happen (as they do).

Make sure that you have at least one dish or snack that is exceptional, the kind that people will talk about the next morning. You don’t necessarily have to make it, even if you cannot afford to have your party catered, you can buy pre-made platters of antipasto or sushi to supplement your own offerings.

6. Don’t forget the music

Downloadable music makes it so easy to have a perfect party mix on standby. I like to have a party compilation on my laptop ready to go that just gets updated (or completely changed) every couple of parties.

I have found a good party mix to begin with ambient tunes (think Buddha Bar or Cafe Del Mar), moving into a bit of soul and funk before moving into your dance music tunes (if that’s the sort of party you’re after).

As a back-up, the Ministry of Sound Chilled Sessions albums are a great place to start.

7. Think of the little extras

If you want to move your party from the realms of OK to the realms of utterly fabulous, go above and beyond the call.

Put yourself in your guests shoes and imagine what little extras would make the night an absolute treat. A quieter, dimly lit area for people involved in deep conversations (or intense flirtation), lip gloss and perfume in the bathroom, plenty of ice for guests drinks, some pre-ordered cabs for the end of the night, a spare bed made up for the guest who ends up staying the night, funky party favours for people to take home – the list of the little things that make a night memorable are endless.

8. Its all about the atmosphere.

Don’t go to the effort of organising a wonderful party and then hide yourself in the kitchen. Your food, music and decor can be second to none, but if people feel uncomfortable, they’ll be looking to escape.

Make a fuss of people as they arrive (genuineness is the key here), offer drinks, food, somewhere to put their coat, introduce them to people who you think they would get along with and generally set them up for a great night.

Learn to read your party. If things seem to be dying a little, pump the dance music and get the dance floor started, if people seem to want to chill out a bit more, pull out the floor cushions and invite people to sit down.

These simple things can make a huge difference to some one’s experience on the night.

9. Relax.

There’s nothing worse than being at a party thrown by an anxious person. Even if you have been running round the house like mad preparing up until the moment guests arrive, have a glass of champers and relax once they get there. After all, if you’re throwing the party of the year you want to enjoy it as well.

If your parties would make Miss Golightly proud, please feel free to add your suggestions in the comments.

I have had a few little blogs kicking around on different topics such as health & wellbeing, style/fashion and inspiration and have decided to combine them all into This Luscious Life.

Luscious defined…

aromatic, charming, delectable, delicious, delightful, enchanting, exquisite, flavourful, juicy, opulent, ornate, rich, scrumptious, sensual, succulent, sweet, tasty, voluptuous

So if you need a bit of luscious in your life, make sure you call in regularly. See you soon…

]]> http://thislusciouslife.wordpress.com/2008/06/21/why-this-luscious-life/feed/ 0 taraskipp