More Time, Less Stress?

Do we really manage our time? Not really. After all, we each get 24 hours every single day no matter what - rain or shine. You can't pile it up, stretch it out, get more delivered or move it faster or slower. Time is not something we control. What we choose to do with that time is what we control. So we're not managing time - we're managing priorities.

When we move about our days and don't act or spend our time in a way that actually lines up with what we believe to be our priorities, we experience stress. Perhaps, you say that spending time with family and friends is a high priority. But if they start by asking for your identification... well, maybe it's time to take another look at your actions vs. priorities.

I define stress as the difference between the way things are and the way you want them to be. The bigger the gap, the bigger the stress. Think about it for a minute. Anytime you're stressed, it's because you're in conflict with the way things are. Let's say I'm running late for a meeting or appointment and suddenly there's traffic. I get stressed, right? That's because the way it is (stuck in traffic and late) is not the way I want it to be.

Take a look at your own life. When you feel stressed, ask yourself if it's because deep down you wish things were different. If that's the case, you probably need to take some action for things to be different. Make it a priority and get it done by allocating your time to it.

If you say that completing a certain report, project or letter is important, but you skirt around it and spend time doing other things, then clearly your actions say it's not a priority. Unless you acknowledge that it's not a priority, you will have stress. Lining up your daily activities with the things you have identified as priorities is essential to reducing stress and being the best that you can be.

In this world where we clearly want more of everything - we are constantly doing, thinking, wanting, talking and reading more, it's imperative that we take a hard look at our priorities as we define them and how they line up with how we spend our time.

Bottom Line: you will get the same amount of time each and every day for the rest of your life. How you manage your priorities within that allotted time is what makes the difference between you and me, stress or no stress, getting things done or not. You decide!

Tasty Food Additions

Here's a couple picks from our recent trip to the New York Fancy Food Show. We taste test everything before we bring it in and only pick the best of the crop. (I know, it's a tough job - but somebody's gotta do it!) Let us know what you think about these two little gems.


Stonewall Kitchen's Artichoke Pesto - made with the freshest ingredients, this pesto is wonderful to add to pasta, spread over pizza or blend into couscous.



Stonewall Kitchen's White Bean Dip - eat this one right out of the jar. It's a wonderful blend of mild white beans with a kick of lemon and chili pepper. Delicious, nutritious and flavorful! We brought this one in a few weeks ago, and it's quickly rising the charts to our best seller list!

Here's a quick little recipe you can whip up for that next get together with friends...


White Bean & Artichoke Dip - Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 Jar White Bean Dip
• 1 14-ounce can of artichoke hearts, drained and coarse chopped
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine the White Bean Dip, artichoke hearts and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
   
3. Mix well and place in a 2-cup (16 ounce) shallow baking dish.
   
4. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese over the top.
5. Bake for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.
   
6. Garnish with chopped parsley.
   
7. Serve with crackers or sliced French bread.

Entertaining is quick and easy when you take advantage of these wonderful specialty foods. A few friends, a few cocktails and some easy to prepare lite fare...and voila...it's a PARTY! Keep it simple...you'll do it more often...and it will be more FUN!

Over the next few months we'll be adding many more new items as we gear up for the holiday season. I'll keep you posted as they arrive...

Finding the balance...

Finding balance is like catching a butterfly. It's there...you know it...you see it...you reach for it...and you think you've got it...but, then when you look again more closely...you suddenly realize it's not there anymore.

I believe there are periods in my life (sometimes brief moments) when I achieve balance, but it is something that needs constant adjustment. It takes hard work, diligence and brilliant awareness to maintain it.

Here's a quote I think sums it up best...

"Balancing life is like standing on a balance beam.
You must keep adjusting to find the center,
and then readjust to find it again and again."

"You won't always be able to give equal amounts of time

to all areas of your life that are important to you, and that's okay.
Balance is about giving each area a turn in the spotlight -
just not all at the same time."

Lisa Hammond

Here's what I do to keep more balance in my life:

Let It Go! Forget the nonsense. Don't hold anger. I don't replay over and over what happened yesterday and the day before if it really doesn't matter. That just drains my energy.

Be Decisive! Save time for the really big decisions, but for all the little ones...well I just decide quickly and get on with it! Decorating, gardening, entertaining, shopping this or that - all the small stuff...I don't waste much time deciding in these areas. Piling this stuff up for any lengthy analysis would just clutter my brain.

Ditch Perfection! I kicked this habit a long time ago and it was the best thing I ever did. Now I see the beauty and quirkiness of imperfection and it has really lightened the load. I live with "good enough is good enough". I'm not suggesting that you bring mediocrity into your life, but lowering the bar for perfection does work. What is perfection anyway? No dirt on the floor? No hair out of place? No fingerprints? Does any of that really matter? (Besides, who's really looking that closely anyway). Perfection is elusive...good enough is not.


Keep Learning! This one's easy for me because I'm a curious seeker. I am mildly obsessed with reading...OK maybe a little more than mild. Anyway, reading affords me the opportunity to learn. I am interested in everything. Reading makes me smarter, more informed, open to new ideas and it helps me learn to live my life better...and that translates to finding more balance.

Stop Worrying! Easy to say...but I try not to worry about things too much. Worrying is such a huge time waster. So I avoid it at all costs. When things are going in the wrong direction (as they often do) I concentrate on the things I have control over and what action I can take. I think about my options and make the best choice I can at the time... and then move on. I trust that the universe will rise up to meet me in the end.

Eliminate the Word Should! Perhaps this comes easier with being "of a certain age". But, I have worked hard to stop doing things I "should" rather than things I "want to". By that I mean stopping all the little voices in my head telling me I should do something because "what will they think" or "they expect me to" or whatever other reason there might be for a should. I ask myself if I "want" to do something...if the answer is yes - I do it. If the answer is no - I don't. The power to choose is always mine.

Now I'm not saying I never do anything I don't like to do such as washing the floor or cleaning the bathroom, but I do it because in the larger picture, I "want" a clean house. The trick is that when you do what you want rather than what you should, you can't fret over what others might think of your decision.

Clean Out the Clutter! I remove anything that brings clutter or stress into my life. This includes possessions, activities and people. People who are negative, dreary, or highly stressed make me anxious so I try my best to move away from these types. I continually question everything. Does this add or detract from my well being? If the answer is yes - I keep it. If the answer is no - I remove it. Getting rid of the clutter and stress in my life always calms me down.


One Thing At A Time! My goal is to concentrate on the present moment. The notion of multi-tasking does not work for me. It only leads to a lack of concentration and nothing gets done with intensity or awareness. Single-tasking throughout the day is my mantra. I find I actually get more done with less stress when I stay focused on one thing at a time. The truth is my "to do" list always has been and always will be never-ending...so I stopped over-planning each day. Instead I choose the 2-3 really important things each day that I must get done. The rest is just frosting! Honestly, the world won't fall apart if much of what's on my "to do" list doesn't ever get done. Single-tasking, not over-planning and knowing what's "really" important just seems to smooth out my days.

Paint Your Life Happy!

This bright yellow is painted on my kitchen walls, front entrance hallway and stairway to the 2nd floor. Actually I painted a bright yellow first, then sponged on a deeper gold and a smidgen of red. Then I antiqued the whole thing with burnt umber (brown). Perhaps too much for some, but color makes me happy! I feel happy and vibrant when I wake in the morning or walk in the door at night. When the sun is shining in...it's beautifully bright and cheerful.

I know adding color to your life can be a bit scary, but it really does lift your spirits. I don't believe life is best lived in a neutral and colorless environment. After all, it's the highs and lows in anything that make it interesting. Take your time, test the waters a little...stick your toe in first. Before you know it your whole foot will be in and your fear of color will begin to disappear.


Don't Rush...

• Collect paint chips, look through magazines - get some ideas
  
• Buy a pint and paint a test patch on a board or right on the wall
• Live with it for a few days...day and night so you see it in different lights

Lots of people choose their room color first and then begin to decorate. I find picking the paint color once everything else is in place is much easier. First fill the room with everything you LOVE. Then pick a paint color that brings it all together. Decorating is a lot like making lasagna...it's done best by adding layers a little at a time.


P. S. As I look at this photo, I must confess that the plants shown in this picture are no longer with me. I managed to kill them a while back (although I did have them with me for a bit longer than most). Note to self: must tune up that green thumb one of these days!

New Arrivals

A truckload of hand-painted pottery just arrived. It will take us about a week to unpack, price and get it all out on the floor. But, let me just say there's lots of variety in patterns, shapes and sizes to choose from. Some designs are one-of-a-kinds that never went into production. (We have connections with the manufacturer to get these items).

Take a little PEAK...







For those who collect, this is a Jim Shore Cookie Jar





Here's a one of a kind...






Another one of a kind....







Have a few pieces of this sunflower pattern...more will arrive in August






Roosters continue to be HUGELY popular...this one's a cookie jar

This is a 3 pc canister set - there's also a matching cookie jar

Another one-of-a-kind






Several pieces available in this pattern...when they're gone, no more!

There's loads more in the store...definitely worth a visit for a little LOOK SEE!

Paint Project Update

Ok...I was in the mood for a little painting. Here's some of what I added to the soffit at the store over this weekend. I have a ways to go still...right now it's at the half way point (as far as completion goes). Who knows when a new spurt of energy and inspiration will come along...you just can't rush creativity!
Must be ready when the mood strikes again!












There is no rhyme or reason to what I'm painting. They are just random designs that come to me as I go along. I did coordinate a few ideas like the animals are over the baby section. The wine bottle/cheese artwork is over the wine and martini glass display. But since we move things around in the store quite often, I kept the designs pretty random.

Stay tuned for the next run of painting...

Tracking Ideas

If you're anything like me, you have tons of ideas. Plus, you collect information from all sorts of places. The problem is having a system to organize all this information for later retrieval. I just read an article by Dustin Wax at Lifehack - he had some good tips. Here's some of what he said...

Ideas are cheap, memory is expensive
Humans are exceptionally good at thinking up stuff. However, psychologists say we can only hold about 5 to 9 thoughts in our immediate memory at any given time. That means, on average, the last 7 things you've thought are all you get. Add #8 to the list, and something falls out.

Our long-term memory is much better, but the process of moving items from short-term to long-term memory is quite complex and isn’t really “on-demand”. So, we have lots and lots of ideas and only a limited memory to hold them in before we lose them.

Capture everything
The solution is to develop the habit of capturing everything important that crosses your mind, when it crosses your mind. Ideally, you have a single point of capture for your ideas.

Get a notebook - whether it's a high-quality Moleskine, a cheaper knock-off or just a plain wire-bound pocket type doesn't matter - the important point is that you use it.

Other methods...

• a stack of index cards, bound with a binder clip
• a pad of post-its
• a composition book
• a journal
• a dayplanner

You get the idea. Whatever you choose, here's what's important -

• it must be easy to use
• something you always carry with you
• something you can rely on.
  

There are digital solutions, too...

• If you’re very comfortable with your cell phone, you might Jott everything to yourself – leave a voicemail that will be transcribed and forwarded to your email inbox or to Evernote.
• Leave a message on your home answering machine.
• Email notes to yourself.

Again, the only criteria is that you’ll actually use whatever system you set up, regardless of circumstances.


OK, it’s captured. Now what?
Treat your capture device like an inbox, that is, get in the habit of reviewing and processing everything on a regular basis. The ideas you capture won't do any good locked away in a notebook. It will be no better than letting them slip away during a conversation or losing them in the aftermath of a good night's sleep.

Remember that the space you use for capture is not long-term reference storage. While you might jot down a couple of things you know you’ll need later in the day, you still need to have a trustworthy system for archiving and using the information you collect over the course of the day.

So process the phone numbers, addresses, names, and URLs you collect into your PIM (personal information manager, e.g. Outlook, Palm Desktop, Lotus Notes). Add the tasks you remembered or thought up over the course of the day to your todo list. (I use tadalist.com) Ideas for projects you’re working on can go into your project files.

The random ideas you have and want to hold onto present a special problem. I add these to my todo list under the category “Think Abouts” and keep them sorted to the bottom.

Trust the system

Get into the habit of always capturing and processing ideas as they occur to you. If you’re not capturing and processing your thoughts, then there probably is something escaping your mind – lots of somethings, marching like lemmings over the cliff and into eternity!

Use these tips to develop a reliable system that works for you. Be consistent. You will find that the collection of your own thoughts, ideas and bits of information will become a great resource for future inspiration.

Let the ideas start flowing!

To read the complete article click here.

Kitten Heel

Finally...the switchflop sandal in the sexy little "Kitten Heel" is in stock. These little beauties are adorable, and oh so incredibly comfortable. They won't last long and rumor has it the company is selling out fast...soooo I'm thinking what we have right now might be all we have this season.

Comes with the black and white houndstooth strap and, of course, you can pick from dozens of other straps to change the look. These are keepers...don't miss out!

Of course, there's still the flat and the wedge....I was in New York walking the Fancy Food Show (literally on my feet for 7 hours straight) last week wearing my flat switchflops. Let me tell you, these flops had a true workout. Honestly, my feet felt YUMMY all day long! (My stomach on the other hand...not so good from all that food sampling). Gotta love those SwitchFlops!

Fancy Food Show

Just spent two days in New York at the Fancy Food show. Picture a buffet the size of a shopping mall. Starting promptly at 10am till 5pm you can literally eat yourself sick. Vendors from all over the world come to this 3 day trade show to capture the hearts and stomachs of would be buyers.

Cheeses from all over the world...stuffed grape leaves, de-sensitized garlic, waffles, sushi, snails, prosciutto di parma, plus every kind of dip, cracker, chip, chocolate, etc. you can imagine. Oh, and the olives...thousands and thousands piled high...never knew there were so many different kinds.

What I noticed this year was a huge trend in "gluten free products". Of course, not everything tastes good...those light fruit sodas are pretty awful. Some really tasteless teas too. Crazy stuff like "belly bars" for pregnant women. I said huh?

Paula Dean was there signing autographs (with hubby, son and bodyguard!) The line was pretty long so I didn't get one. I'm not really big on that kind of stuff. She looks great and her southern accent was going strong!

All in all it was a productive weekend. Found some wonderful new products we will be bringing into the store. Lots of new holiday gift items also! I will keep you posted as the new stuff arrives!

P.S. I wore my switchflops for two days...feet felt YUMMY all day long! (More than I can say for my stomach by the end of Day 2).