Mar
19

Lady In Waiting

by Sofia   -   in Random

I was asked for book recommendations and I have plenty. But I wanted to start by sharing this book I just finished. Lady In Waiting – my extraordinary life in the shadow of the crown. I read it as an iBook but it´s also available on Adlibris ( as linked above) and surely other online bookstores too. As lady Anne Glenconner herself describes the book, it´s not the lavender scented memoir you would expect but it is a memoir of a woman who has lived the most extraordinary life,  in good and in bad. She has the most amazing stories to share and she was the lady in waiting and a great friend of princess Margaret too so if you are interested in Royalty you will probably be even more inclined to read it. But it is her life story not about the royalty.

I will continue sharing book recommendations, also coffee table books and children´s books.

Thanks for reading and do keep commenting, it makes me so happy especially at this time! And as always I´m glad we have this space where we keep things classy and kind and not point fingers at each other or judge. You are the very best readers a blogger could have! We should start calling ourselves latte ladies instead of lattemammas!

Lattemamma

Mar
18

Mini meditation

by Sofia   -   in Random

Have you tried meditation. Everyone is talking about it these days. I bought a book about meditation many many years ago ( we still had marks instead of euros) and I find the practise somehow soothing. But now that it is in hype and also as this is a time when many of us need to keep our spirits high and our minds at easy I thought I would share how we meditate with the girls. Yes, kids can do it too. There are obviously deeper more constructed ways to meditate and some even have specific spaces in their homes for it. We just sit on the floor in our bathroom. Here is how we do it.

1. We light up a lovely candle to create an atmosphere of calm and make a softly lit space to meditate and sort of also to create a timer for the practise. Whilst the candle is lit it´s a calm moment in life. ♥

2. We put on some meditation music ( you can find lists on Spotify). Actually if I meditate by myself I don´t use music but I find it very helpful with children. ♥

3. We use a timer on the phone to count us 10 minutes backwards but leave the phone face down and behind us so it does not distract us. You can start with just a few minutes. ♥

4. . First of focus on your breathing, take deep breaths in and out with intention but a natural rhythm. Some advice to breath in through your nose and out through your mouth but for children it may be easier to “just breath”. We decide what we want to think of whilst meditating. For instance you can use a ” mantra” like repeating the word ” thank you” or think ” positive thoughts in, negative thoughts out” and use your breath to guide your thought and so forth. ♥

5. If your thought starts to wander it´s fine and normal, juts try to get it back to your mantra. ♥

6. No talking during the timed 10 minutes and no shifting or moving around ( this takes a bit of practise from younger children). Just find a comfortable position. You do not need to sit in a lotus position for a meditation to work. ♥

7. Give yourself time to come out of your meditation. Open your eyes slowly and relax. Maybe stretch a little.

8. If you really want to learn about meditation or need guidance then there are apps for it too! We just unwind, empty our minds of clutter and breath for a while. ♥

Mar
17

Make a plan

by Sofia   -   in Random

This might be a great time for us to make some plans. What do we want to achieve in the next few weeks or perhaps months? I´m going to make sure my family gets up in the morning as usual, we brush our teeth & hair and we make our beds, we get dressed. I don´t mean full blown make-up and office clothes. Now this is a great chance for us to let our face breath without foundation but we need to keep some sort of routine even if we are at home and getting comfortable in our leggings and cashmere sweaters.

I will keep you posted on some fun ideas on what we will try to implement to our lives here at home on top of home- school an daily  training ( our dancer has a strict routine from her competitive group they all keep up). One of the things my girls actually asked for ( I am not making this up) is to have an etiquette class at home- school. Well yes, that I can do! Such a great timing for my new Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece´s Manners Begin At Breakfast book to arrive. You can find it on Adlibris. I have not had a chance to read it yet but will do so in the upcoming days. And if you are aching for a manners book in Finnish then stay tuned…