The Monday Pep Talk | 12 things happy people do differently

INNER BEAUTY

This is a pretty good list of how to start the week. Happy Monday!

Sure sign of spring [WHITE SNEAKERS]

Converse styled accordingly - image the Sartorialist

My buy of the week - the classic white converse

Giuseppe Zanotti - how cool aren´t these? 

White classic sneakers from TOD'S

Sneakers launched 1971 for tennis player Stan Smith and still much beloved by many - the Adidas Stan Smith shoes

OUTER BEAUTY
It´s definitely spring outside. This week I felt an urgent need to buy new white sneakers as basic daywear for spring. I stayed true with the classic and bought the white sneakers from Converse, since they´re not only great in design but also timeless. However, spring fashion is full of fashionable white sneakers...I might have to treat myself to another pair...

Words to live by

INNER BEAUTY

Note to self; practice on being present, and enjoying the moment. I love the title of a Swedish book by Jonas Gardell, which freely translated goes something like this; "And there goes another day of our lives never coming back..." For some reason this title sticked to me, although having not even read the book. It´s simply just a great reminder, although a bit melancholic, that life goes by so fast and that all day counts. And this day, this particularly Thursday, will never come back again for any of us. So let´s go and make something beautiful out of it. I will try too, even if it´s only something small. But when I go to bed tonight I will think of that. Hope you find something beautiful in your Thursday too. 

Take me there! [Bliss at SPA]

OUTER BEAUTY
This is what I dream about this Wednesday. To check in at the über gorgeous Blue Palace Hotel & Spa in Elounda, Crete in Greece. Apparently the spa has every type of treatment imaginable. And a "luxury boot camp" (I have no problem working out very hard there if that´s what it takes). The Elounda Spa is specialized in Thalassotherapy. One can also book full package spa-programs for three, five or six days, e.g the "Serenity & Life balance", which I think sounds very promising and effective and is "an amazing combination of treatments for complete detoxification and regeneration of body and face. Rejuvenate through a natural way, boost your mood, and offer a few unique hours of relaxation in body and spirit". When can we go...?

{All images from Blue Palace}

How to work PINK into the home [INTERIORS]

Pink peonies are simply delightful and an easy way to incorporate pink.

The light pink blends in perfectly with the warm grey

One of my favourite tables in black, the classic "Per Öberg" from Svenskt Tenn

Black is another great contrasting colour to pink

The view, over the magnificent Djurgården and its amusement park Gröna Lund.

OUTER BEAUTY

This beautiful Swedish home is located on Djurgården in Stockholm. The home belongs to, no surprise, an interior decorator and her family. I love how she has incorporated pink into the interiors in almost every room. More photos at Wonderdeco. 

[All photos from Wonderdeco]

The Monday Pep Talk | Richard Branson's top 10 tips for success

Well that is an office with a view...at Richard Branson's Necker island.

OUTER BEAUTY

A  truly inspiring person is serial entrepreneur Richard Branson. Nothing seems impossible for that man. He keeps his faith and doesn´t let anything stop him, not even flying to the moon. Richard Branson often and generously shares his advices and recipes for success. Here are his top ten tips for success: 

1. Follow your dreams and just do it!

Pursue your passion and you probably will be more successful. 

2. Make a positive difference and do some good

Companies have a responsibility to do some good in the world.

3. Believe in your ideas and be the best

Be proud of your ideas. Belief can make all the difference between success and failure. 

4. Have fun and look after your team

Fun at work is underrated. Praise rather than criticise and find people who look for the best in others.

5. Don´t give up

Try again. 

6. Make lots of lists and keep setting yourself new challenges

Keep track of your goals with lists. 

7. Spend time with your family and learn to delegate

Family is most important of all. The art of delegation is a skill that an entrepreneur needs to master. 

8. Try turning off the TV and get out there and do things

Meet fascinating people instead. 

9. When people say bad things about you, just prove them wrong

Some people react to others success by talking bad about them. Ignore, and prove them wrong.

10. Do what you love and have a sofa in the kitchen

Surround yourself with people you love, then it does´t matter where you actually are.

Read the whole article with Richard Branson's success tips here. 

Powder pink for the nails

 

OUTER BEAUTY

I´ve found a new favourite colour for my nails. The new colour from OPI called Don´t bossa nova me around is a great colour for spring/summer. However, I would say the colour is slightly more pinkish in real life than on the photos, but it´s a hard colour to do justice in a photo, very sophisticated. If you love light powder pink, then you´ll love it. 

Dreaming of... [SPRING]

OUTER BEAUTY
...and this beautiful greenery being my garden (and pool...). Pure perfection with all the green, white and blue.

[Image from Pinterest]

A book about hunger, strength and how to love your body [Cameron Diaz]

The body book by Cameron Diaz

OUTER BEAUTY

Many are the stars that have published personal books on beauty. One of the most recent, and also one getting pretty good reviews for it, is Cameron Diaz. "I fell into fitness by accident," says the actress, a former string bean and smoker to SELF Magazine. "But it's become something I depend on physically and emotionally. I feel so much more empowered now. Some days I stay in bed because sleep is more important to me at that moment. And some days I go to the gym for literally 10 minutes. But the fact that I got up and got there matters to me. Because at the end of all of this, I want to be able to say, 'I did the best I could.' It's not about having a ripped stomach. It's about taking care of myself."

[Quote source SELF Magazine]

Top 5 Concealers [well, according to me]

Clarins Instant Concealer

Bobbi Brown Creamy concealer

Clinique all about eyes concealer 

Nars Radiant Creamy concealer

Estée Lauder Ideal Light

OUTER BEAUTY
Few things are more important than a good concealer when it comes to makeup and what it does for your face. A good concealer is absolutely necessary. Since I have three kids, meaning sleepless nights on a regular basis, a great concealer is of highest importance for me. However, being over 40 I now realise that I can´t get away with buying just any concealer. For me with rather dry skin, especially under the eyes during the winter months, the concealer needs to be creamy so that it does not creek, which I cannot tolerate in a concealer since it only have the opposite effect of having you look older. Having tested different ones over the last months, here are my five favourites in no particular order. The last one from Estée Lauder is not a classic concealer if we shall go into details, but since this delivers so much moisture and radiating light I often use it as a concealer.

Style icon Inès de la Fressange [for Uniqlo]

IDLF for Uniqlo

OUTER BEAUTY

The other day the trendy and affordable chain Uniqlo launched its collaboration with style icon Inès de la Fressange. Together they want to create "the clothes that women most want to wear every day." The collection has several great basic pieces, although the classic blue shirt dress is my favourite and in my shopping bag as I write this...Inès de la Fressange is not only very beautiful but has a refreshing outlook on life, as told to Into the Gloss: 

"The thing I know, it is important to take care of yourself. My mother told me when I was younger to stay out of the sun, or to put a lot of sunscreen on. Not every few hours like they say on the packet, but every hour. I never exercise, I don’t have time…and anyway, why would I pay a fortune to suffer? [laughs] When I can walk ten miles around Paris? I go by stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. I carry things. It’s important to move and do things."

The Monday Pep Talk | The overwhelmed employee

INNER BEAUTY
Recently I bought the digital edition of TIME magazine as it featured the "mindful revolution", since I´m always interested to learn more about this subject and it was also a great cover (how important isn´t that?). The other day Forbes ran an article about why companies fail to engage today's workforce. The reasons were many, but one of them is that "the employee is overwhelmed" which is a great expression and says a lot. And that is also why we actually more than ever need mindfulness in our lives on a regular basis, as TIME suggests. The work-life balance concepts have been lost somewhere during the breakdown in barriers between work and life due to all new technology.

“Best places to work” companies don’t just have ping pong tables and free lunch, they have a "soul" which makes work exciting and energizing. They invest in great management and leadership. They train and develop people so they can grow. And they define their business in a way that brings meaning and purpose to the organisation" says the Forbes article. As one HR manager put it, “todays employees don’t want a career, they want an experience". I think that is really insightful and says a lot about the coming generations of workforce. 

So what are the top elements that drive a highly engaged workforce? 

1. The work itself
2. The management environment
3. The flexibility and inclusion of the workplace
4. People’s ability to learn and grow
5. Trust and meaning from leadership

If you´re interested to read more about this topic I highly recommend to read the whole article in Forbes here.

On my mind [for luck...]

Aurelie Bidermann in gold (available from here)

Aurelie Bidermann in green plated gold (available from here)

OUTER BEAUTY

How gorgeous aren´t these four-leaf clovers around the neck? For luck...? Made by one of my favourite jewellery designers Aurelie Biedermann. 

On my mind [this weekend]

Spring, finally

Macarons, can´t get enough of this delicious little indulgence...

Try to be one

A beach house in Connecticut is always right 

Spring means start dreaming of a pool in the garden...

Words to live by.

OUTER BEAUTY

Wish you all a happy weekend with a little bit of everything in it!