Beyond Boundaries and Into Meaningful Experiences

If 2022 marked the return to travel, 2023 propelled us further than ever before, reaching skies, rails, roads, and seas, embracing Arctic adventures, luxury yacht cruises, and even venturing into space as tourists.

As we approach 2024, travelers are reshaping their priorities, placing emphasis on meaningful experiences, quality time with loved ones, and wellness moments that extend beyond the confines of a hotel room.

Coolcationing: Chasing Chill Vibes

What’s the Trend? Summer holidays shift from chasing the sun to seeking cooler temperatures. “Coolcations” in temperate destinations offer a retreat from scorching heat and crowded tourist spots.

Astro Tourism: Stargazing Escapes

What’s the Trend? Astronomy, an ancient field of study, takes center stage in the modern world. Astro tourism involves traveling to remote lands free from pollution, crowds, and traffic, offering a chance to immerse oneself in the celestial wonders above—gazing at stars, planets, and constellations.

Why Will It Matter in 2024? Wellness-centric accommodations are carving out spaces for celestial contemplation. Guests can watch comets, identify constellations, and lose themselves in the glittering expanse above.

Home Swapping: Living Locally, Anywhere

What’s the Trend? Travelers, opting for longer stays and spurred by remote work opportunities, embrace home swapping—a cost-effective way to reside in a foreign locale while offering their homes in exchange.

Why Will It Matter in 2024? As travel costs surge, home swapping provides an affordable alternative to pricey accommodations, fostering a sense of community and cultural exchange.

Eco Diving: Sustainability Below the Surface

What’s the Trend? Divers select destinations based on the sustainability of scuba centers, aiming for a positive impact on the ocean environment.

Why Will It Matter in 2024? The demand for sustainable diving options is rising. The Reef-World Foundation’s survey in 2022 revealed that 95% of divers sought sustainable operators, a trend set to grow.

Train Stations as Culinary Hubs: A Journey for the Palate

What’s the Trend? Train stations, once transient spaces, are evolving into vibrant destinations. Renovations introduce bespoke food and drink options, transforming these historic sites into culinary hubs.

These trends in 2024 represent a shift towards immersive, sustainable, and personally enriching travel experiences. Whether gazing at the stars, diving sustainably, swapping homes, indulging in culinary delights at train stations, or opting for cooler climates, travelers are crafting journeys that align with their values and desires for deeper connections with the world.

A Lifestyle Architect’s Guide

The holiday season is not just a time of festivities; it’s an opportunity for a lifestyle architect to infuse their unique design sensibilities into every celebration. From creating a visually stunning Christmas setup to hosting a New Year’s Eve gathering with flair, here’s a guide to celebrating in style.

Designing a Chic Christmas Tree

For a lifestyle architect, the Christmas tree is a blank canvas. Opt for a color scheme that complements your existing decor. Consider unconventional tree decorations like miniature architectural elements, sleek metallic ornaments, or even a monochromatic theme for a minimalist touch.

Visit King of Christmas to start with a tree (and more)!

Elegant Holiday Decor

Extend your design aesthetic to every corner of your space. Choose elegant decor pieces that resonate with your style. Incorporate geometric wreaths, metallic accents, and perhaps a tasteful play on traditional holiday colors.

Host a Stylish Christmas Dinner

Elevate your Christmas dinner with a carefully curated table setting. Invest in designer dinnerware, sleek cutlery, and elegant glassware. Consider incorporating ambient lighting with chic candle holders or string lights to create a cozy atmosphere.

DIY Design Ornaments

Put your creativity to work with DIY design ornaments. Craft unique decorations that align with your architectural taste. Think about geometric paper ornaments, miniature building block ornaments, or even personalized ornaments featuring your favorite design motifs.

A Toast to the New Year

As the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, celebrate in style. Set up a sophisticated champagne bar with a selection of bubbly, elegant flutes, and perhaps a touch of gold or silver in your decor. Consider creating a photo-worthy backdrop for the countdown moment.

Design-Inspired Party Favors

Send your guests home with memorable party favors that reflect your design ethos. This could be anything from small architectural sculptures to personalized stationery sets. Ensure that each item is a testament to your unique style.

Ambient Lighting Magic

Create a magical ambiance with strategic lighting. Consider fairy lights, LED strips, or even well-placed floor and table lamps to enhance the atmosphere. Experiment with warm and cool tones to set the desired mood.

Artistic Countdown Clock

For New Year’s Eve, replace the traditional clock with an artistic countdown display. This could be a digital display featuring a stylish countdown or a DIY project that incorporates your design flair.

Reflecting on Design Achievements

As the year comes to a close, take a moment to reflect on your design achievements. Create a visual display or a mood board showcasing your completed projects, design inspirations, and goals for the upcoming year.

A Toast to Design Dreams

Raise a toast to your design dreams for the upcoming year. Invite your guests to share their aspirations and create a collaborative vision board for the design endeavors that lie ahead.

Celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Eve as a lifestyle architect is an opportunity to showcase your design prowess. From your Christmas tree to the final countdown, infuse every moment with the sophistication and creativity that defines your unique style.

Hygge makes you feel warm and comfortable. Moreover, they say hygge can even help you sell the house, as it increases the value of your dwelling and it simply looks much more appealing.

Hygge (hue-guh) is a Danish word. It is used to define a feeling or moment which is special, charming and cozy. It doesn’t matter if in this moment you are alone or with friends, hygge is all about the right spiritual feeling of relaxation and wellbeing.

So, how do you create this kind of atmosphere?

Hygge suggests you make use interior desing and decor! And we will give you several useful tips for that! For more ideas on hygge and Scandinavian and Nordic design visit Finnish Design Shop (based in Turku, they ship to over 180 countries). They have amazing authentic furniture and accessories for your home!

Candles and lamps

To give a lived-in and warm feeling, light a few candles or tealights. Use good-looking uplighters and lamps.

Hygge experts say that the right light temperature is 1800K as it is the temperature of burning wood and sunsets. So, so choose warm-colored lights with a lumen range of 1800K – 2700K.

Candles and tealights are easy to get anywhere, for example in this giant retail shop for a very cheap price: MiniInThebox.

Snug chairs and cozy beddings

Create comfortable seats, make sure to have blankets and throws to show how easy it is to get comfortable and relax in your living room. All the needed homeware you can find at Canningvale including bed sheets, candles, bathrobes, rugs and pillows.

Get a fire going

If you do have a fireplace! During the colder months it the best way to create hygge atmosphere.

Fragrances and baths

You may wanna use scented candles, think fall and winter smells – cinnamon, sandalwood and pumpkin. Or take a nice warm bath. Here at HideAWAY you can find a signature collection of unique fragrances and a wide selection of body treats to get a hygge level of relaxation. You can also go to Oz Hair and Beauty for more ethical beauty products: they have vegan and cruelty free options as well as simply natural and organic options!

Cooking and Baking

Consider baking! Nothing creates a more homey feeling than a smell and sound of something being cooked! Just like when you were a careless kid! The smell of an apple pie (or any other pie) is very hygge! Buy some modern cooking appliances or bakeware at Wonderchef and get started.

Check out My American Market if you are searching for interesting and fun ingredients! They have food all over the world to make your cooking experience even more special.

If you’d like to get more ideas how to decorate your home to make it hygge, visit Lisa Angel website for inspiration. From Fox tealight holder to autumn cut dried flowers: there are plenty of amaing and cozy ideas, and they ship worldwide.

see you around!

This years has been rough and unpredictable. It still is. But there is something we can do. We can reflect on our everyday routine, try something new and listen to our body. Believe me, you are going to feel the change in no time.

Let’s start with few simple questions.

1. Do you drink enough of water? Not coffee, tea, orange juice or soda. Just simple water? Make sure to include at least about 2 liters of wanter on top of your other drinks (and well, start drinking less other things!).
2. Do you sleep enough? It is necessary to sleep not less than 7 hours for better skin, mood and overall well-being. It is proved that lack of sleep can influence your weight. If you experience problems, think about changing your mattress, doing some yoga or meditation or take some supplements (you can find some natural sleep aids at Ora Organic).
3. Are you active? Before going into the healthy eating habits to change your life, we have to mention, that one of the golden rules is decent activity level! It doesn’t mean you have to do cardio every day. Listen to your body. Longer walks work great! Do some stretched (especially if you live a sedentary lifestyle). Later try to include jogging, strength routine or more intense yoga.

And finally let us talk about food! What can you change to make your eating healthier and your feeling happier?

• Try to include more vegetables and fruit into your everyday meals.

We need about 3 portions of veggies and 2 portions of fruit everyday (ideally). Consider eating them raw (make a salad) as it is much better for your digestion! Vegetables and fruit are difficult to keep fresh for a long time and it is quite a pain in the neck to do shopping every other day. But these days it is much easier and cheaper to get fresh veggies and fruit delivered to you, see Farm Box for that! They also offer you a credit, if you tell your friends about their service

• Do you have no self control?

What about clearing your house of all the possible food and just eating the healthy meals delivered to your according to the plan? There is a great UK service Balance Meals providing meals for your needs weekly!

Do you live somewhere around New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, and the surrounding areas? You are lucky to be able to order from Mosaic Food. They only deliver to the area not too far from their kitchen. You can choose 9 or 12 meals per weak (or every 2-3 weeks) and a meal can cost as low as 7 USD!

Do not fancy any commitment? Here is a great US service Top Chef Meals delivering amazing food as your order! The best thing is that they offer a wide range of different diets to choose from! Keto, Paleo, Gluten Free and so on.

• Make it a ritual!

Enjoy eating and enjoy cooking! That is the next step of accepting food as not simply a product to eat, but also an “activity”. Make it a family event! Choose an exotic dish and experiment together. Get inspired by SNUK, they offer global and rare ingredients. They also have a nice blog with great recipes!

• Do not torture yourself!

Saying “No” makes you sad. It is difficult to change your life immediately. What you need to do is to gradually transform yourself. If you used to eat a lot of sweets and pastries, do not deprive yourself of this pleasure. See our previous tip, and make a whole festival our of it! Check Foodstirs for some baking ideas and great high-quality ingredients, cook together with your friends or children. Do not forget to share

• Care about others!

Do you need some help being more active? Care more about others! Go volunteering or get a pet! Dogs need to be walked with and this way you will be forced to be much more active!

Do not forget your pets should eat healthy. At Barking Heads UK they offer discounts for a subscription

We hope you found these tips useful. Soon we will post some content on the best diets for happy and healthy life. Stay tuned.

There is only one success, to be able to spend your life in your own way.

~ Christopher Morley

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We are back here with our essential tips on how to live your life in a better way. Some of them, we are sure, are going to be useful. Some of them you are welcome to dismiss!

Here they are:

1. Eat, drink, and be merry. Cherish those moments of enjoying the incredible food, great company, and engrossing conversation and make them happen as frequently as possible.
2. Block out haters. Constructive criticism is one thing, but know that if you’re out there trying to accomplish great things, you will attract haters who want to criticize for the sake of criticism.
3. Accept constructive criticism. At the same times, haters can be good because sometimes they can be right. Haters show us our weakness. Accept that you might be in the wrong, and work to improve yourself so you don’t make the same mistake in the future.
4. Be the hero of your own movie. Does life feel shitty, joyless, hopeless? You already know how to get out – be the hero of your own movie. Pretend you’re the hero character in a hollywood blockbuster. Do you want them to see a hero who overcomes the odds, or a loser who plays the victim? Last time I checked, the hero doesn’t overcome the odds by watching TV 5 hours a day.  Do what needs to be done, no matter how hard it is.
5. Remember that you’re going to die one day. Do we live as though we will never die; then die never having lived? Enjoy, be nice to others and that is it

While fitness clubs are closed and it’s impossible to work out outdoors, people switch to home workouts. We tell you how to find time for sports, where to start and how to monitor the load and health. And also – how not to get bored in the process and not to give up classes.

The advantage of training at home is that they have enough desire and free space. But it is worth observing several rules in order not to risk health and to receive benefit and pleasure from classes.

Rule number 1: set goals and pick up the load

Try to honestly answer your question, why do you need training. The load, training plan and attitude depend on this. Some are going to normalize their weight, others are to quarantine and run a marathon, while others want to move in order to maintain their shape and good mood.

Rule number 2: make a schedule

Sport takes time. It is difficult to set aside a free hour for classes – there is a temptation to find things more important than training.

Rule number 3: pick up programs and equipment

If there is no ready-made individual program and personal trainer, you can use mobile applications for sports. The smartphone will offer a training plan and video instructions, as well as select a playlist for classes and make a useful menu.

Rule number 4: listen to the body

During training without an instructor, monitor your well-being to understand when to pause. This is important for beginners and those who start classes after a long break. In such cases, fatigue after training, aching muscles and joints are a normal consequence of training. To get started, try lowering your training intensity or choosing other exercises.

Rule number 5: include warm-up and cool down

Before classes you need to warm up your body, after the active part you need some cool down. As simple as that!  You can do practically any movements for both of them or choose lightweight exercise options from the main program.

Rule number 6: drink water

One of the reasons for feeling unwell during exercise is dehydration. Together with the sweat, the body loses electrolytes – minerals that maintain the body’s fluid balance and regulate blood pressure. Dehydration causes muscle cramps, dizziness, and fatigue.

Rule number 7: diversify

Be prepared for the fact that over time, training will not be as fun as at the start. Even in the gym with a trainer, it’s sometimes boring to work out the same exercises. Give it a change! When the lockdown is over join a gym!

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

~ Joe Lewis

We mentioned what you don’t have to do.

Rememeber? Click here to refresh your memory!

Now let’s talk a bit more about dos!

1. Analyze your weaknesses. One of the hardest things for people to do is to be objective when it comes to their own weaknesses.  Once you can recognize your weaknesses and understand how they’re holding you back, you can take active steps to work on yourself.
2. Constantly work on improving yourself. If you’re not doing something to improve yourself everyday, then you’re not going to reach your goals.
3. Master the art of persuasion. Be sure not to become a manipulative maniac. But stating your point and being able to prove it is an important asset.
4. Stop trying to please everyone You don’t have to be liked by everyone around you. Just stay human.
5. Understand that personality traits aren’t static. Everything is changeable! If you’re being held back by aspects of your personality, whether its laziness, social awkwardness, mediocre intelligence, know that these are all things that can be improved if you’re willing to work on them, instead of accepting them as immutable personality traits.

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.

~ Danny Kaye

Do you feel like something is still missing?

Today we will share other 5 rules to follow to make your life more than bearable, so enjoy:

1. Smile. It is scientifically proved that if you smile, you will be happier! Did you know that?
2. Improve your posture Your posture and body language not only shapes how people see you, but it also shapes how you feel about yourself? There are quite a few books on that matter (and also TED talks).
3. Find the time for what you want to do.  Many of us are always complaining about lack of time to do what we want. If you feel trapped in a job, are you actively taking steps to extricate yourself from the situation? If you are, then you shouldn’t waste time complaining. If you’re not, what are you complaining about?
4. Don’t chase money for the sake of money. Having money is important in life, but only because it gives us the freedom to chase what we really want. Find your goals and passions outside “the money” and this way it’ll be easier to motivate yourself to take action and change your lifestyle.
5. Overcome laziness. Do you have big goals and dreams? Do you stop short of taking steps to make changes because you’d rather watch TV? Do you quit after a few tries? It is ok to waste a bit of time doing nothing. But try to keep the focus and balance idleness with productivity.

Don’t wait. Make memories today. Celebrate your life!

~ unknown

You know some things you have to do for a better living. What about don’ts?

Here they are:

1. Don’t be a crab in the bucket. You’ve heard the expression “crabs in the bucket” ? Check Wiki if you didn’t: it is a way of thinking best described by the phrase “if I can’t have it, neither can you”. When you break from the norm, you’ll get pushback from your loved ones. Its not jealousy – they genuinely care for us. Such behaviour creates a culture of conformity, mediocrity, and quiet desperation. Don’t be a crab in the bucket.
2. Don’t complain. It is just useless. If you’re not happy with something in your life, you can complain about it, or you can actively work to change it. But if you choose not to do anything, then try to learn to accept and enjoy the situation anyway. It’ll make your life much easier.
3.  Don’t be jealous. Not because its morally wrong, but because jealousy is a destructive emotion. Its also a symptom that you’re not living your life to the fullest – people who are fulfilled can celebrate other people’s success.
4. Don’t gossip. Sure it might make you feel better about yourself, for the moment. But it can have negative ramifications, both internally and externally.
5. Don’t confuse pleasure with happiness Pleasure comes from the quick-fixes that give us joy – shopping, alcohol, sex, listening to great music, seeing great beauty. Happiness comes from self-actualization and meaning.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did. 

~ Mark Twain

1. It’s OK to fail. The only way to avoid failure is to not try anything. Don’t be afraid to try…and fail…that’s how you succeed. Remember, it’s only really a failure if you stop trying.
2. Overcome fear of failure by visualizing the worst case scenario. A great way to overcome fear of failure is to confront your worst possible nightmare. If you try it and fail, what is the worst thing that will happen?
3. Ignore the things you can’t (or won’t) change. Yes, there are shitty things going on in the world. Unless you’re planning to do something about it, ignore it and focus on the things in your life that you can change.
4. Change things. You can make a difference – once you stop dismissing yourself. Approach challenges with the mindset of “how am I going to accomplish this?” instead of “what can I possibly do?” If you cannot do anything then check out the #3.
5. Plan for the future, but live in the present. While planning for the future is important, don’t sacrifice all of the present. Find a way to enjoy life as you work towards bigger and better things. Do what matters now!