Life's Necessities & Luxuries

Most of us today have a home office today, they're not only for the wealthy or for those who work from home.  Some have home offices so that there's a place to write out the monthly bills or just have time alone to read a book.

Today is #National Organize Your Home Day.  So, I want to give you a few tips on how you can quickly organize your home office so that you can revel and enjoy the space.

If it's full of clutter, the first thing I want you to do is turn on some music that will pump you up, grab a large trash bag and toss out the following items:

• Unread Magazines
• Toss papers that you no longer have a need for
• Any soda cans or empty snack bags

Next step is to clear off your desk, even if it means you need to make piles and put them on the floor until you find a home for them.  I want you to be able to work on that desk.  Do you have a calendar for 2018?  Is it on your desk?  If not, where is it?  Pull it out and place it on your desk.

Have you created a vision board for 2018?  If not, start one today.  Pull some images out of a magazine that you can relate to.  For instance, if you're looking for a new love, pull out some images of a man and woman having fun, looking deeply into each others eyes where you can see they're in love.  Or, if you're looking for a new wardrobe, pull out images of the clothes you'd like to wear, etc. Do this for each aspect of your life and be sure it's around where you can look a it every day.

Did you buy a calendar for 2018?  Have you opened it up yet?  Or, is still in the plastic shrink-wrap sitting somewhere in your office?  Get it out, add the important dates into it i.e., birthdays, anniversaries etc.

Pick up a potted plant at your local supermarket or fresh cut flowers to really make your home office look and smell beautiful.

Well, that's all for today.  Get moving and get clearing.

Happy Organizing!!!

With much love,

Dawn-Marie

XO

How to Survive an Extended Stay in a Hospital

It was three days after Christmas, December 28, 2017.  I was just about to go to bed and I fell violently ill.   I started having severe pain in my abdomen and even though I had vomited, I was still in some serious pain.  I was also having trouble breathing and nothing was subsiding and I knew I was in trouble. 

My boyfriend had gone home to sleep at his apartment that evening.  Fortunately, we live in the same complex, but didn't want to wake him until he was up for work, which is unusually early, 4:30 AM.  I phoned him at 5:00 AM and told him how badly I felt and asked him if he would drive me to the emergency room.  Thankfully the hospital was a close ride from home.   I knew I wasn't going to get better until I went to the emergency room at the hospital to find out what was wrong with me.

I was so grateful that the emergency room was empty and I was seen very quickly.  They sent me in for a Cat Scan of my stomach and found I had Gallbladder, Gallstones and Pancreatitis.  They immediately checked me into the hospital.  My boyfriend Jesse was so scared.  I felt so bad for him.

The hospital I was checked into is only a couple of years old and beautifully done.  I had my own room and the staff was such a blessing. They were ever so pleasant and really helped me out.  This made for a much nicer stay than I feared.

The first thing I asked Jesse to bring me from my home were the following items (you might want to keep an emergency list in case you ever need to, I pray you never do, but, life is so unpredictable):

- iPad and charger

-Mini laptop bag including charger and mouse

-Message recorder (in case I had the urge to do a podcast-- which was how I thought of this episode)

-Cell phone charger

-My makeup face charts, sketch pad and colored pencils with sharpener

-All chargers for my electronics, cell phone, etc.

-Flip flops, nail file and clipper, hair brush, several pair of underwear, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, hair brush and comb and skin moisturizer and a pair of tweezers

-A few copies of the latest fashion magazines and books I was in the process of reading.

I had a feeling I would be detained for a while and didn't know exactly for how long so I wanted to be prepared. 

I was only allowed to eat ice chips for the first 72 hours.  They couldn't operate on my gallbladder at this time because of the severe case of pancreatitis that I had.  After the fifth day, they had to transfer me to a different hospital.  This one had a pancreas specialist who specialized in pancreas surgery.  They weren't sure if they'd have to operate on my pancreas or not.  I wasn't thrilled about this move as I knew that the hospital they were transferring me to was not  as new, clean or nice as the one I was currently in.

 Sure enough, when I got to my room at the other hospital, there was a woman putting sheets on my bed and I noticed two holes in the sheet and asked her for another set.  Then I took a look at the old and dingy bathroom and saw in the corner on the floor there was this dirt and asked her to have someone in to clean it.  I was very afraid of getting Mercer as I knew a neighbor woman who lived downstairs from me, she went into the hospital for one thing and died because of contracting Mercer.

Another thing I did, was each time they took me out of my room, I made sure I put on a mask to cover to my mouth (ask the nurses for these).  This can help you out tremendously from picking up any other germs visitors or patients may have while they wheel you around the halls for testing, etc.

Well, that's all for today.   I wish you a very healthy life and that you will never have to endure an extended stay in the hospital.

Remember to live healthy, happily, lovingly, peacefully and successfully

 With much...

Today's episode, I will cover some of the ways that I was able to save myself between $25-50 dollars a week. That's a whopping $100-$200 a month or $1200 - $2400 a year. I hope these tips will help you do the same.

As we all know, saving money today gets tougher and tougher. Prices keeps rising and unfortunately, our salaries aren't meeting the increases. So, how do we save money? We begin by looking at what we spend our hard earned dollars on every day. Sometimes its the small things that wind up costing us the most money.

So take a listen to today's quick episode and hopefully you'll be able to start saving more and spend less every week.

Happy Savings!

Dawn-Marie

XO

Happy Valentine's Day.

Today's episode may seem a little risque, but, really, it isn't.  I'm offering you 20 ways to help ignite the fire in your love life.  If you feel like your love-life needs a little kick in the butt, here are some tips to help you keep the flames burning bright in your romance.

Some of the items I mention:

Victoria's Secret Bra & Panty Set

Adam & Eve Sexy Game Board for Couples

Sexy Massage Oils for Couples

Adult Toys

Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease

Well, I hope these tips will bring you happiness, love and more romance.

Love,

Dawn-Marie

XO

Today is "National Get Smart About Financial Credit Day".  I'm currently in the process of finishing up my second edit of my book "151 Musically Inspired Ways to Live a Very Necessary & Luxurious Life (on a Beer and Pretzels Budget)" I'm pulling a couple of pointers out from the book (be sure to sign up at www.lifesnecessitiesandluxuries.com to put yourself on our mailing list so that you'll be the first to know when it comes out and be the first to grab a copy).

This episode will cover a couple of quick tips to help you in the financial arena as well as a few ways you can think about how you can change your job or career.

Stay financially sound and sane.  Until the next time,

Dawn-Marie

XO

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Today is National Pasta Day.  Do you like pasta?  Which is your favorite pasta dish? 

Here are a few links to some of the best pasta tools and pasta food finds you'll need to make your very special pasta dish at home.

Pasta Makers

Pasta Strainers

Italian Pasta Sauce

Sauce Spoons

Italian Sausage

Enjoy - Mangia!!

Love,

Dawn-Marie

XO

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Today is National I Love My Feet Day!  Do you pamper your tootsies? If you're anything like me, you love a great pair of shoes, am I right? Ladies out there, we tend to squeeze our feet into shoes that don't fit us correctly.  Are too tight around the toes or just don't fit well.

Since today is in honor of our tootsies, I thought I would give a quick little homage to them.  I don't think we give our poor little toes enough justice.  We take them for granted.  How often do you get a pedicure?  Is it just during the summer months when you know people will see your toes?  I hope not.  Our feet need to be cared for year-round.

If you're a runner in particular, then you must know how you can truly beat them up.  

If you're ashamed to flaunt your digits it may be because you haven't been taking good care of them in the first place.  If you have a fungus, I will be adding a link below to a great product to quickly help get rid of it.  Be sure to keep your toes dry and that will also keep the fungus away.

Here are a few of my favorite toe treats:

Footlogix Cracked Heel Formula

Pedicure Sandals

Foot Massage Bath

Foot Fungus Spray

Essie Nail Color

Here's to keeping your tootsies happy, healthy and in great stride.

Happy Walking!!

Love,

Dawn-Marie

XO

Today is National Relaxation Day. What do you do to relax? Do you take time to relax? You know what is said about stress – it's the silent killer.

I know a lot about stress. When I work a full-time job, run two podcasts and a businesses to go along with them.  I take care of all of the editing, graphics, marketing, sales, typing, webmastering, and home caring and still trying to get my workouts in so that I can stay fit. There are so many daily stresses in our lives, we MUST find time to relax.  I didn't even touch on children.  I don't know how parents do it!   

One of my favorite things I used to love to do when I lived in NY and there weren't many places to go to relax was to find a fountain at one of the office buildings sit at it and hang out for about 30 minutes while I sipped a cup of coffee, tea or cocoa (depending on the time of day/ and time of year) and just from listening to the sound of the running water of the fountain, I'd train myself to immediately let go and deep breath and just BE in the moment and relax.

What do you do to de-stress? Do you take at least 15-20 minutes a day to yourself to unwind and just be? Finding the thing that gives you the most pleasure during the shortest amount of time is one way to help introduce it into your daily lives.

Here are some links to some of my favorite "calgon take me away" items I use to destress:

Jo Malone Scented Candles

Origins Ginger Salt Scrub

Lavender Body Moisturizer

Happy Relaxing.  Remember stay calm, stay serene and remain peaceful!!

Namaste,

Dawn-Marie

XO

Happy National Plan for a Vacation Day!

Along with a new year might just mean some new travel plans.   Whether you're about to take a vacation with your honey or go on a full blown family excursion, packing can be a real drag.

One of the things I've always loved best about this season is that we get to travel around with our friends and loved ones but if you're anything like me, packing for a trip can become quite a conundrum.  

Today's episode will cover the tips to pack with ease.  Sometimes packing for a trip can seem a bit daunting.  Not only do we own way too many things, we seem to want to take everything along with us. 

Unfortunately, we just can't empty out our homes when we travel on the road.  So, what's one to do?  One of the things is to always have a master packing list available at your fingertips.

This list has been a life saver and has saved me many hours of needless pain and agony over traveling.  I'd like to share it with you here today.  When its time to pack, I just print a new copy of the list and viola, packing becomes a breeze.  

Click the link below for a downloadable copy of this list here -- be sure to print out several copies before you go:

"The Ultimate Packing Checklist"

(just scroll to the bottom of the page and fill out your name and email and a copy will be sent to your inbox).

I've always been a bit envious of the folks that can just pack up a small bag and disappear on their journeys for weeks at a time.  Unfortunately as a fashion stylist, my wardrobe has grown along with my tastes.  Not only do I want to pack fabulous items to wear while away, I also work to have them work and be functional as well and, nowadays the number of electronic devices we use, there's so many things to possibly leave out.

Over the past 20 years of working in the travel, entertainment and meeting planning industry, I've learned a thing or two about the art of packing and today I'm going to cover some of them right here in this episode.  

Here are some of my favorite accessories to help make packing a breeze:

Packing Cubes

Carry On Luggage

Travel Size Containers

Travel Packing Accessories

Travel Charging Stations

Travel Power Chargers

Travel Laptop Cases

Travel Pillows

Here are some of the hair and beauty products that are great for travel:

Aveda Sun Care Hair Masque

So take a listen, get packing and get on the road again.

Happy Travels,

Live Peacefully, Happily, Lovingly & Successfully,

Namaste!

Dawn-Marie

XO