creative expression

Finding opportunities for creative expression in your life

The hallways of elementary schools are wall papered with samples of their young students’ creative expression. Adorable self-portraits, popsicle stick crafts, clay animal blobs and even finger paintings can be seen on display in every typical grade school. Why is it that as we get older we’re far less likely to find the time or to feel encouraged to express ourselves creatively? Most of us need those expressive outlets in midlife more than we did in our younger years. Yet, we find a million reasons why we shouldn’t, or can’t,…

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stop over thinking - a rainy week at the beach

The Silver Lining in a Rainy Week at the Beach

I’m just back from spending a rainy vacation week with my family in our camper at the beach and I have come away with a new mantra (and revelation!) that I’m hoping stays with me and speaks to you: Stop overthinking. At the beginning of the week I was obsessively preoccupied with the weather forecast. All I could think about was how I’d been waiting an entire year for this week of sunshine and sand to arrive and how much it was going to suck starfish if it rained. I…

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a pile of boxes for what to pack for college

The Single Most Important Thing to Pack for College

Some of my friends are helping their kids pack for college in the next few weeks. It’s a busy and emotional time getting ready for drop off day. What is the most important and most useful item for them to take with them? Turns out, it’s not something you can order on Amazon. It’s confidence. Helping our kids feel confident and capable is the best preparation we can provide for their separation from us and their adventures on their own at college. If they believe they are capable of handling…

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Midlife Positive Affirmations

Can Positive Affirmations Improve Your Life?

If you’re like me, you have plenty of moments (sometimes entire days) when you’re feeling like poop about yourself and the possibility of ever reaching your goals seems slim. Lately, I’ve been reading more and more about the power of positive affirmations. Affirmations are simply a supportive way to speak to ourselves. With all the challenges and changes that come with midlife, we sure could use someone speaking nicely to us, right? Well, it might as well be ourselves! I believe that our language and thoughts can strengthen our belief…

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strong women in our lives

Who Are the Strong Women in Your Life?

I cracked out my grandmother’s sewing kit today to repair a rip in one of my son’s favorite shirts. Unlike my grandmother (and my mother), I’m terrible at sewing. My grandmother surely handed down some strong genes, but definitely not the sewing ones. Nonna Silla (nonna is Italian for grandmother) was my dad’s mother. Silla Ferrini was her maiden name. She was born in Italy in 1892. She came to the U.S. as a married woman and worked as a seamstress in New York City. She later opened a dress…

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Woo-Woo to Cultivate Positivity

Woo-Woo and The Enchanted Forest

I confess. I can’t help it. I’m drawn to woo-woo. Are you also contemplating using woo-woo to cultivate positivity, help you gain more power to set intentions and manifest your goals into reality? At the very least, I think there’s something to be gained from focused positivity and if it’s the woo-woo that gets us there, so be it. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines woo-woo as “dubiously or outlandishly mystical, supernatural, or unscientific”. My personal definition for woo-woo is all things that are spiritual and mystical (and not specifically religious),…

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