Living in a loft with a toddler and having no closets can translate to a lot of different things for people. Usually, the first reaction is horror and “Where do you put all your stuff?!” is usually the first question we get. And  I usually start by answering with “we don’t have a lot of stuff, or at least we are trying not to have too much.”  We are in a state of purging the things we don’t love, and keeping the things we do. Like, really really really do. But as much as we purge, there’s still so much! It amazes me how much crap 2.5 people can accumulate.

The purging  started with our bedroom, specifically our clothes. Since we use racks and everything is visual, keeping that area simple and clean is very important to the overall energy of our room.  We hired a feng shui specialist* for this process, and it is worth every penny.  She’s wonderful!

I also came across a concept of having a wardrobe capsule which is basically owning 37 items (for everyday use so not work out clothes, fancy dresses, or undergarments) for each season. I’m not too strict with it and try to keep by the philosophy more than exact numbers. The challenge is to not shop in those three months. I think I did a pretty good job with Spring, though it was hard at times and I did do a shopping run here or there, because well, spring in New York can also mean winter on some days and summer on other days. But all in all I’m proud of what I accomplished and really enjoy this idea so I’m going to try to apply the same capsule wardrobe for my daughter. I try to apply it not just to her clothes but also to her toys. Who says kids need a massive amount of toys and clothes? They don’t. It’s a misconception that just because you have kids, it means you have to have toys everywhereeee. Why? How many of those toys do they actually learn from, engage with, and develop skills from?

I understand that it’s a challenge and it’s easy to buy more  because we live in a society of consumption and consumerism, the images to BUY and BUY are everywhere. Society is always trying to sell us the new thing we absolutely need to have and the signs for it are everywhere. Well, when you don’t have the space to store all of it, you’re forced to think about it and really be honest with yourself about what you really need. It’s a conscious choice to give thought to what items bring you actual joy and love and which ones are you keeping just ’cause. I hope I can raise my daughter with this awareness, I hope that she’ll see birthdays and holidays not as ways of gaining more stuff but as windows to new experiences and memories with loved ones. Raising her in America, honestly, will make this very difficult because the “more more more” mentality is everywhere, but I want her to know B A L A N C E and that starts with me.

More to come on this. But for now, in an effort to have less, we also got rid of our coffee table! What do you think? We are getting rid of that shelf too and either creating a plant or gallery wall, whatever makes it feel less noisy. Lastly, meet our newest addition, Fiona, our beloved Fiddle Leaf Fig tree which makes me sooo happy. Honestly, it’s the most beautiful indoor plant I’ve ever seen and I hope I can keep her healthy. The little corner where we have her brings me peace. Any tips on how to keep her thriving? I know sunlight is super important for this plant, getting enough sunlight but not too much of it is crucial. What else?

X,

L

*Feng Shui designer: Ashley Peacock | https://ashleypeacockfengshui.com/

Hi friends!

 

Our babe will be two very soon, so I’ve been going down memory lane and looking at pictures from her first year of life. Some of my favorite captured moments with her are from our trip to Spain when she had just turned one. We don’t take family pictures often, as in paid photo shoots, so we’ve decided we will take those shoots on our adventures. Those adventures and memories are our most memorable, they give us uninterrupted time as a family, far far away from home and our daily routines. They are priceless to us and so photographing them is a no brainer! We are also not in to the posed-forced kind of family photography we see often, and wanted to take a different route that best suites us as a couple and as a family.

Thus, we decided to use Shoot My Travel, a company that provides you with a photographer in almost any city you want to travel to (and they are rapidly expanding, so don’t worry if your destination isn’t on the list yet!) They also recently created an app, which serves like an Uber for finding a photographer. It’s the easiest thing, and the most valuable, too. I highly recommend using this service when you’re in a different city or country because most of the time, you’re either taking selfies, or one parent is in the photo and the other is taking it. As a mama, I know that we are rarely in the picture! We are usually taking them of our babes, and we forget to be in them, too. Well when she grows up, and looks back on these memories, since the photos will be all that she will have from these experiences, I definitely want to be in them. Mama’s, you know what I am talking about 😉

 

I’ve also been getting asked a lot about tips on traveling with a baby. I’ll be following up with that shortly, stay tuned! for now, here are some of the photos from our photoshoot in Seville!

 

x,

LG

 

Happy Monday!

I know that “Monday” isn’t necessarily linked to “happy” for many people. In fact, some may even find themselves counting down to Friday. That’s been me with my current career. I was counting down to Friday, dreading Monday. That’s such a crazy way to end up living most of your life right? Wishing the days would pass? We aren’t defined by our careers (even though our society really wants us to feel like we are) but what we choose to do most of the hours of our day really contributes to our health and happiness. I consider myself  a joyful, madly in love with life, type of person, so why was I allowing myself to feel locked in by doing something I didn’t love to do?

The obvious reasons, of course,  such as finances and obligations, but it was also the feeling that I had worked so hard at a degree and for a career that didn’t fulfill me. That’s a hard reality to reconcile with because the one thing we don’t ever get back is Time. That time could have been spent with me obtaining a degree, a certification or experience in a field I do love. That being said,  I am working on not looking at those years as a waste of time. They provided me with a career in a field thats always growing, a career I can find a job in nearly anywhere I go, a skillset that is unparalleled and actually also helps me be a better Mom. For that, I’ll always be grateful. And I understand that its a luxury to have the choice to step back from it, too.

But it’s a choice I have to make now. And it’s up to me, and its scary, and its exciting, and it’s so many things. You see,  by nature I am a multi-passionate person, which can get me in trouble because I want to try e v e r y t h i n g and it makes me less likely to commit fully to just ONE thing (my husband excluded!) I want my life to look like a few different things, and I have no interest in doing one thing my whole life or living in one place my whole life. etc. I need evolution. I crave it. I don’t know what the next stops on the way to career fulfillment are,  but I have to take the first step. It’s a journey and maybe it won’t end up meaning I’ll give up what I’m doing completely, maybe it will, but all I know, is that I have to leap into it whole heartedly and accept that whether I fall or rise, I tried. At least I tried.

I’m trying.

x,

L

Take walks on the beach and take them often. Take them with yourself, with your friends, with your lovers. Take them with your soul mate(s), with your parents, with your children. Take a walk on the beach and take it often. The ocean takes you to your limits, to your dreams, and to your desperation.

x

L

Cafe’s make my heart sing. Whether they are in my own neighborhood or whilst traveling, cafe’s draw me in. They have their own stories to tell. Lovers & friends meet for a latte or two, make up’s happen at cafe’s, break ups, too. There is something so romantic about being in a cafe, and it almost always makes me want to write, or take a photo, or dream of something much more. Luckily for me, my neighborhood is packed with some really special ones. Sweethaus is the cutest little nook of a coffee/ cupcake shop and I adore the old-time feel of the leather seats and the bud vases so effortlessly and elegantly placed. I imagine if Hemingway where here now, he would sit for hours at Sweethaus.

 

“It was a peasant cafe, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old water-proof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a cafe au lait. The water brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write.”- Ernest Hemingway

-x & happy June!

L