The Power of Release

• • Inspiring, Spirit • No Comment

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We promised you the story behind Natalie’s release of her first book “The Wedding Virus & Other Snippets” so here it is! A little snippet from where she first wrote about it on Dreame.me – Where Art & Storytellers connect.

Stuff only becomes clutter when it stresses us out.

I don’t always remember my dreams. One thing I do remember, however, is the dreamlike state I experience while in the shower. With the water rushing and my eyes closed, the moment a little thought pops into my head with great fervor, I have no choice but to listen.

Perhaps it’s the water that turns all the other noise off, or the soothing trickle against my back that allows my mind to ease into an uninhibited state.

Last year, in the midst of one such moment, I received the message, ‘release your mental clutter.’

Read more of her story on Dreame.me and let us know in the comments if you have a seemingly physically small item in your space that represents a huge emotional weight that you’ve been ignoring.  We are here to help you release the weight – so tell us!

Tipxo

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Exciting news – Natalie’s book is out now!

• • Inspiring, Products • No Comment

The Wedding Virus and Other Snippets Book Cover

 

I’m excited to share the news that Nat has just released her debut collection of short stories, The Wedding Virus & Other Snippets. It’s available on Amazon and Kindle right now! I’d love you to support her by buying the book (and telling ALL your friends!). Hee. I’ve read it, and for someone who isn’t into chicklit (give me a detective story any day) I can tell you that it made me laugh. Out. Loud. Yes, really.
Quote by Natalie Shell The Wedding Virus and Other Snippets

Filled with stories and anecdotes, Natalie describes it as “short bites on love, life and of course, the stress that surrounds weddings – your own, or the fact that you aren’t married yet… I think it also the perfect gift for any gal who’s engaged, or simply wants to find love or laugh.” I would add that actually, if you like chicklit and having a giggle then it’s also a book for you.

I also love it because it’s the perfect book for those of us who love to read but don’t have the time to sit down and finish a novel.

What are you waiting for? Seriously, go already. ;-)

PS I know we usually chat about living lighter, but this is a huge achievement and I am so very proud of her!!!  Coming up soon, the story surrounding her book release – we’ll get back to living lighter soon enough. We are also all about what makes you breathe and shine, which for Natalie is storytelling and writing! If you would like to support her, please head over to her site and buy a book and/or recommend it to a friend.

Oh how I miss you Berlin! Notes from The Hive Conference …

• • Courses, Happy House Rules, Products • 6 Comments

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Time has flown since The Hive Conference in Berlin where Natalie and I gave a workshop on “How to create the life (home, work & other stuff) you love” and I keep thinking back to the weekend and just how much fun I had both at the conference and spending time with the girls in such a fun city as Berlin! As Natalie and I work remotely with each other, from Tel Aviv & Utrecht most of the time, it was so fabulous to have a few days in person with each other to chat and brainstorm our new business, Breathe + Shine. We are so incredibly excited to tell you more about it but it is a big vision and we are busy setting solid foundations for it before we launch.  Soon, lovelies, soon!  But for now, a little rundown and a few pictures of a great weekend in Berlin. If you have a chance to visit the city I would definitely recommend it. Also, if you’re a digital storyteller, blogger or tastemaker – then The Hive Conference would be a great place for you to go – the loveliest connections made there in such a friendly atmosphere created by Yvonne and the next one in 2016 will be Dublin – fab fab fab.
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Berlin & The Hive Conference Here We Come

• • Courses, Happy House Rules • 1 Comment

#40factsforthehive

We are getting very excited to speak at The Hive Conference in Berlin!

It’s just around the corner (5 days and counting) and we’ll be running an awesome workshop sharing our simple tools to creating the life (home, work…all of it) you love! And we’re super proud to be amongst the amazing line up Dietlind Wolf, Chelsea Fuss (frolic!) and Alge Ramanauskiene (Llamas’ Valley) just to name a few (there’s so many more).

We’re also excited to do what we love most – eat and chat and explore a new city and have great conversations with like minded folks like you! And of course, drop us a line if you have recommendations for where we should go!

And, now, without further ado, here are our #40facts4TheHive

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Hanging Planters

• • DIY, Greenery, Interiors, Trends • 8 Comments

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When I saw this month’s theme for Urban Jungle Bloggers I got a bit excited as I thought it would be a great reason for me to get my craft on and create my very own hanging planter … well, February whizzed by and besides spending the last week painting my attic floor, no other house relating things happened! I DID go to IKEA (on Valentine’s Day no less – so romantic!) and picked myself up a number of new plant friends, including … wait for it … a hanging planter and little vine thingy, ‘just in case’:

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I quite like it, I have to say. Let’s see how long it survives, as I am not known for my green thumb. I never let it stop me though, I just buy new plants when the old ones die!

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Weekend Reading: Our most loved posts of 2014

• • Interiors • 1 Comment

Everyone seems to be doing it so we’re jumping on that bandwagon, bringing you the blog posts that are the most loved by our readers (that’s you!) from the last year. A little retrospective, as it were! Enjoy.

  1. Lara Hotz’s Kitchen DIY – we are ALL about small changes => big impact here at apartment diet.  Lara’s kitchen revamp does just that.
  2. Our 7 Top Unkillable Plants – For the black thumbs around here, like me, that still want to have plants.
  3. Natalie’s house tour on interiors addict – Natalie has turned her warren like apartment in Tel Aviv into a light, bright family space.
  4. Sleep Habits: unplugging the bedroom – Natalie tells you a bit about how she unplugged her bedroom to sleep better.
  5. Let it Go: Why We Keep Stuff – A really good list with the help of Karen Kingston to help you self diagnose why you’re hanging on to stuff.
  6. Psychology of Clutter & Letting Go – A link to a great article about the psychology of stuff.
  7. Mel Bombadiere’s Living Room Rethink – The results of our work with Mel, helping her rethink her living room & get her started again.
  8. Moving On When Someone Close to you loses someone close to them – A personal post from Natalie about the loss of a loved one.
  9. Let Go Of Things That Make You Feel Bad – All about “life’s too short for bad vibes”.
  10. Can You Help Me Wife / Husband /Partner – A question we get asked.  A LOT.

Beyond Minimalism: Pre-coffee ramblings from my bed

• • Happy House Rules, Inspiring • No Comment

Random train of thought ramblings from this morning on the topic of Beyond Minimalism. No script, no editing but it does include the lovely sounds of my yawns, bedsheet ruffling and the occasional scream from a child. That’s life. And me testing out the iPhone 6 voice recorder. Listen if you dare! ;-) Happy weekend, Tipxo

PS You won’t believe the thoughts that ran through my head before posting this (it’s not good enough, do people really want to hear you yawning or rambling on, it’s too long, it should be more polished etc) … BUT, in the interest of walking the talk and letting go of the shoulds that I’ve talked about, here it is, in its entirety, warts and all. Now, time to go buy some coffee!

PPS For all the true minimalists out there – this is most certainly not about dissing minimalism. It’s just my thoughts on how the idea of minimalism gets misconstrued and the focus sits squarely on just getting rid of things/decluttering rather than focusing on the heart of what the movement is about. But actually, ít’s also about going a step further … past even caring about stuff in the first place.

Just BE: Breathe Extravagantly

• • Inspiring, Spirit • No Comment
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listen, are your breathing just a little & calling it life? #quote #wisdom

 

So I was at yoga last week, as usual, when my yoga teacher said something that I thought was pretty awesome. She was talking about the breath (as you do a lot in yoga) and she said, “most people don’t breathe very well … shallow, unsatisfying breaths, or they often hold their breath … what I’d like you to do is breathe extravagantly”. I had never heard this expression before but I loved it so much and just had to share.

Breathe Extravagantly

So if you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed or stressed about anything, I invite you to take 5 minutes right now and breathe – extravagantly!

PS Sounds so simple, but it works. And we’re all about what works. Taking a few minutes out to stop and breathe is just one of 20 ways we have up our sleeves to help you get started, unstuck and moving in the direction you’d prefer.

Sign up below if you haven’t already and receive a sneak peek of our forthcoming eBook, 20 ways to start, as your free gift:


 

Oh and if you haven’t heard yet – we will be speaking and workshopping at The Hive Conference in Berlin in April this year!  Come and join us?! Check it out here.