Category: lifestyle


Do one thing to make your world a little better

Do one thing to make your world a little better

The last few days, my heart has ached with the suffering of others. Several friends are going through difficult times, including grief, illness and break ups. On the larger scale, it’s news of yet another mass shooting, continuing tensions between police and black civilians, children who don’t have enough to eat … so many big issues, so much heartache. It can make…

I'm meditating on releasing the past and moving forward

I'm meditating on releasing the past and moving forward

I have been using my meditation time to work on the notion of letting go of the past. If someone hurt me in the past or I made mistakes, it’s time to move on. I can learn from those experiences while not dwelling on resentment or regret. If I behaved in a certain way because I felt it helped me in an earlier phase of my life, I don’t need to continue that behavior if it no longer serves me.

Heading back to Burning Man to serve up generosity … and cocktails

Heading back to Burning Man to serve up generosity … and cocktails

We’ve been invited to join one of the elaborate villages that particularly impressed me last time, Black Rock French Quarter. A collection of camps surround a structure that echoes the design of the New Orleans French Quarter, with offerings including a bakery, a farmers market, a bath house, and our camp, Golden Cafe.
Celebrating its lucky 13th year on playa, the Golden Cafe is your home for exotic cocktails and live music since 2003.

Realizing hosting is part of my life's purpose

Realizing hosting is part of my life's purpose

When we met to discuss our 2015 goals, my friend Amanda helped me see a life’s purpose right there in front of me when she pointed out how much pleasure I get hosting parties.
She pointed to the frequent events I plan, from living room concerts to spaghetti dinners, and said those gatherings are making people’s lives better. I am bringing people joy by giving them experiences they wouldn’t otherwise have and connecting them with other interesting people.

When friends decide it's time to use the L word

When friends decide it's time to use the L word

I’ve really been feeling the love lately.
More accurately, I’ve been hearing the love.
I have been conscious recently of how many of our friends will give me a big hug and say, “I love you” or maybe more often “I love you guys,” wrapping me and John into the declaration of affection.

Considering giving up being a redhead to go gray

Considering giving up being a redhead to go gray

Lately I’ve been toying with letting my natural color, including the gray, grow in.
I’ve read a number of fashion stories saying there’s a trend in women going gray intentionally. I subscribed to a blog called Revolution Gray that gives pointers on how to do it, including adjusting your makeup and hair products accordingly.
But I struggle more with giving up being a redhead, which has been part of my identity my entire adult life, than I do with going gray.

How to take the suckiness out of January and get your groove back: Guest post by Katie Goodman

How to take the suckiness out of January and get your groove back: Guest post by Katie Goodman

What seems like a good time to reassess can also bring us to a screeching halt, energy wise.
If you are assessing EVERYthing too much (if you’re not sure, just ask your spouse or best friend who will happily tell you if you are!), you might find you are only ruminating and getting nowhere fast. A better way to get a grip on whether your life is heading in the right direction is to try a few exercises.

New Orleans houses pop in vivid colors

New Orleans houses pop in vivid colors

There is so much about visiting New Orleans that feels to me like that moment in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy lands in Oz and her world transforms from black and white to color. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6D8PAGelN8] One of the things that strikes me most is the colorful paint jobs so many of the houses wear. Yes, houses in some other cities have…

An open letter to the new owner of Waterfront Ale House in Brooklyn

An open letter to the new owner of Waterfront Ale House in Brooklyn

To: Antonio Gomez, new owner of the Waterfront Ale House in Brooklyn From: Colleen Newvine, a patron who lives in the neighborhood Dear Antonio, You recently took ownership of an institution in our neighborhood and many of us are holding our breath to see what you do with it. I haven’t been going to the Waterfront for two decades like some of the devoted…

What have you learned in your time on Earth so far?

What have you learned in your time on Earth so far?

I am far from having all of life’s answers — in fact, as I get older, I think my list of questions keeps growing — but I do think there’s value in acknowledging what life experience has taught me. Shortly after I turned 40, I kicked off a blog series here called “Things I Have Learned.” I started with 40 things I…

Good advice to help you find your life's purpose

Good advice to help you find your life's purpose

I’ve been listening to Deepak Chopra’s “Seven Spiritual Laws of Success” on repeat lately — when I’m at the gym or on the subway, I pick up wherever I left off and get a dose of Deepak. A few ideas stop me every time they loop back. One of them is his notion that there is one thing that you are better…

On unexpectedly kicking my caffeine habit

On unexpectedly kicking my caffeine habit

Preparing for our three weeks of clean living, I weaned down from two cups a day to just one. Then I started mixing decaf into my morning cup to make it half-caf.
Still, I braced for sluggishness and headaches. Instead, much to my surprise, I felt great. I didn’t have that morning fog I’d experienced for years, and had always cut through with coffee immediately upon waking up.

Talk a walk, it's good for your brain

Talk a walk, it's good for your brain

Because we don’t have to devote much conscious effort to the act of walking, our attention is free to wander—to overlay the world before us with a parade of images from the mind’s theatre. This is precisely the kind of mental state that studies have linked to innovative ideas and strokes of insight.