This years Christmas present to everyone working at Rice Denmark, was Morten -my personal trainer. Some of you already know that I started working with him more than a year ago.
Morten Tillitz
When I love something I like to share it with the entire world….make everyone see how fantastic it is. For me personal training has been the best investment I have ever made in myself. There are many things I will save money on – but training is not one of them.
At Rice we love cake, bread, cheese, butter, cake, sweets…..and more cake…… many of us a little bit too much!
After New Year we decided to shape up a bit – so now we all do sports once a week with Morten at rice… during work hours… so no bad excuses really…
We have ordered fruit so everyone can eat fruit everyday – we started doing smoothie thursday – and every monday lovely Ann Charlotte makes us a nice healthy lunch.
Yummy…..
Tapas Monday
We still love cake and all the rest and some days we CRAVE it – but we have become much better at bringing in healthy snacks – cottage cheese, bell pepper, wholewheat crackers…..and so on…
Back to the training – we have all subscribed for different courses – Boxing (click on the link for a small movie), core training or running – it is fun… in the beginning you could hear everyone complaining about muscle pain here and there – laughing and having a good time. We are going to evaluate in a few weeks to find out if we shall keep going or not – I hope we will continue.
Core and running class having a blast!
Everyday magic is now on the sporty menu as well…. At home I have a few large gym balls lying around – take a look at my daughter Selma – multitasking …. balance and core training plus texting at the same time.. not bad…
Selma doing her thing(s)
Text by Monique Redlin
Working at RICE I consider every work day as some sort of party. Did I mention that our office floor is pink? As a PR girl I am lucky enough to have some cool invitations to parties and openings on my desk once in a while. The one that I received two weeks ago was special though…very special.
I got invited to a book party from Steffi Luxat, author of one of my favorite blogs www.ohhhmhhh.de. As a matter of fact her blog was the first blog I ever read and I am a fan of hers from the infancy of her blogposts. Attending the party for the release of her guide to the perfect wedding: “Einfach Heiraten: das Hochzeitsbuch.” http://www.ohhhmhhh.de/25061/mein-buch-heist-einfach-heiraten-das-hochzeitsbuch-mit-ideen-tipps-und-geschichten-aus-dem-wahren-leben/ felt like visiting a friend who is proud to present her new baby. The location was the amazing Maison Mariée in Hamburg (http://www.maison-mariee.com/) a wonderful place where you have the feeling of “tying a knot” all year. Steffi took all the inspiration from her book and put it into decoration and entertainment. Entering the room was like diving into a pool of creativity and pleasure. Nothing to be missed. It was hard to decide where to start. I chose to indulge my sweet tooth at the candy bar first. What a feast!!!
I crafted and did not envy Steffi’s husband who had cut out 200 mustaches by hand the night before the party. I enjoyed the music, the food, the people… It felt as if I was thrown back to the 29th of July 2011 when Steffi turned from “bride to be” to “princess for a day”. For months we, her blog readers, have been counting down the days to the wedding with her. And even though we were not physically present, we felt as if we were there: the planning (what is the perfect dress), the crafting (All you need is love as a photo frame) and the hoping (is the groom going to be healthy enough – he had a bad flue – to say yes). The end was a happy one and it feels only natural that Steffi combined all of her amazing ideas into the book
Flipping through the book I felt like getting started with the planning for a huge and creative wedding myself. My husband (I have actually been there already) got suspicious so I changed the topic from wedding organization to a “celebrating just because” party. The book will inspire you no matter if you are up to tying a knot soon or simply to celebrating the everyday magic moments.
Enjoy!
http://felixmatthies.com (for the photbooth)
http://dashochzeitsfest.de/ (for the party pics)
Last week was pretty hectic in my life and in the life of Rice – but on Friday something incredibly nice ticked in…a really lovely review of my ‘Happy Home’ book, written by Holly Becker from Decor8.
I have been working on this book for such a long time – and to be really honest I was quite stressed out before starting to write.
I have made 3 cookbooks before and somehow that has been very simple and “easy” in the sense that you have a recipe and a picture and that’s it…
When you write about colors and why you love this with that, and why you do this and that… it suddenly becomes much more personal and somehow intimidating as well. A lot of the things I do, I just do without thinking… on an intuitive whim…
Once I started writing I had the best time! I have tried to make the book very simple – more about just letting go and trying things out – not taking life and the color of a wall so seriously.
Take a look at Hollys review…. and let me know what thoughts come to your mind.
The book will so far be published in 8 different countries. I am proud of that and I hope in my own little way to color homes and lives a little bit happier…
Big red colorful kiss to all on this sunny day in Denmark…
It has been such a long time since we last saw each other
and I have missed you terribly.
There is not enough words in the world to describe how thrilled I am
to finally see you again, and I can honestly say that my heart brim with anticipation of all the wonderful days to come…
Yours truly…..
The official first day of Spring is here….and what a day!
The weather is showing off….sun is shining from a clear blue sky, there’s no wind and every person you meet, seems to be smiling just a little bit more than yesterday.
This is the kind of day that makes me want to run around outside – carefree and filled with joy, singing to the sky and spinning around on the lawn till I fall over from dizziness.
Do you get the same feeling when the sun is finally breaking through?
View from my office windov….
A few sales meetings ago at Rice our theme was ‘STAY PLAYFUL’ and for that occasion I had asked my good friend – Aromatherapist Fiona Hedigan to prepare a scented inhaler that would make everyone playful and light in just a sniff.
This playfullness is so important – and we all have a tendency to forget about PLAY..
Fiona recorded a small audio to go with the scent and we wanted to add it here, but somehow it did not work. Such a shame as Fiona has this amazing voice and she really transports you away… If you want the link you can write to me at chgu@rice.dk and I will email it right back to you.
We ended our long meeting day with a foot bath – where Fiona had created a special oil to lift our feet – I can strongly recommend this idea – even as a start to a dinner party…give everyone a drink and a footbath.. such a nice way to connect to yourself and to your fellow footbathers….
Pure Everyday Magic…..
And now I pass the word to Fiona
Aroma Magic
I work as a clinical aromatherapist and see first hand, the ‘ magical’ effect oils can have on your life.
I LOVE using essential oils and want everyone to experience their powerful effects and see how they can help you; relieve stress, increase energy, boost immune system, lift the spirits, help you sleep, keep you awake, ease pains and aches, bring you joy, clear your head, keep you calm, make you smile.. the list goes on and on.
Sometimes I think we forget the power and pleasure of scent. One of the reasons why I became an aromatherapist is the way scent can evoke memories and lift the spirits for a magical moment. For me, whenever I smell roses, I am brought back to my grandmother’s garden with my cousins, aged 4, making perfume in jam jars from rose petals. The memory and the scent always makes me so happy.
What makes it special too is that it makes you stop what you are doing and take the time to breathe in the aroma. When you inhale the oil, that’s when the magic begins…
One of the quickest ways to give yourself a lift with aromatherapy is to put some essential oils on a tissue.
Some of my favourites:
To lift the spirits
2 drops of Bergamot esseenial oil, on a tissue and breathe it in deeply a few times during the day. Wonderfully refreshing, with a citrus and floral undertone, Bergamot always helps me to relax and “let go” a little. It is one of my favourites.
I also like to put the bergamot scented tissue in my car so that the beautiful aroma fills the space and makes the drive a much happier experience.
To calm down
2 drops of ylang ylang essential oil on a tissue.
Take three deep breaths breathing in the beautiful aroma of the exotic ylang ylang flower. The effect is immediate. Your anxiety lessens, your blood pressure lowers and you begin to feel calmer. This really works when you are nervous or anxious.
To focus and energise
2 drops of Rosemary and 1 drop of lemon into a tissue. Again, just breathe it in and you will feel stimulated and more alert. Really good when you need to stay awake, meet a deadline or just keep going.
Aroma Travel
I love the idea of travelling around the world in your imagination and stopping off in each place where the oils come from while you breathe in their natural fragrance. When I made a blend of fragrant oils for the RICE Stay Playful sales meeting, I called it The Magical Journey of the Senses.
Imagine…..
The exquisite aroma of rosewood oil and visualising the dark, mysterious beauty of the Amazon, home to the precious rosewood tree.
The happy, joyful orange oil and imagining orange trees wafting their fragrance on a hill sloping down to the blue, Mediterranean Sea.
Oils are also really beneficial when part of mindfulness meditation. A favourite of mine, (I have many!) is Frankincense. Very grounding and calming.
I read an article from the Aromahead blog about an essential oil distiller who went to the coast of Somalia in search of ancient groves of frankincense trees. Read the article below and take your imagination on a journey!
http://www.aromahead.com/blog/2009/11/16/a-farmer%E2%80%99s-story-%E2%80%93-searching-for-the-true-frankincense/”
Just remember, Wherever you are, Stop and make time for the magic of scent.
Fiona x
Join me on my blog if you would like to know more about aromatic oils. www.fionahedigan.com
I am a fun-loving colorful person – always looking for Everyday magic in everything I do.
Charlotte, Founder and creative director of RICE.
Joëlle Wehkamp
