You don’t have to have your family tree memorized to feel close to your ancestors. Practices that help you bond with them can add mindfulness to your life, forcing you to slow down and consider your roots in an engaging way.  Why is learning about your ancestors important? The people that came before us made our existence possible. This sounds like an obvious statement but there’s something so beautiful about the way that the chain of events that defined their lives being the build...

Expansive green spaces are capturing the hearts of those wanting to put down roots a little closer to the land.

From Denmark to Norway, prestige is increasingly showing enthusiasm for the north. Luxury companies across categories are pouring resources into Nordic nations, framing them as the setting of fashion campaigns, hosting Arctic automotive retreats and, among other activations, opening five-star hotels in the area. As the international community discovers a love for all things hygge and biophilic, Scandinavia and its trademark trends are proving to be in the midst of defining the landscape of tomorrow.

LVMH-owned hospitality group Belmond is saluting the slow food practices of a beloved region, currently filled with flocking tourists. Taking consumers on a gastronomic journey, the land-based and hyper-local diet of the Mediterranean is celebrated in the latest "Taste Travel: Journeys into Local Flavor" campaign. Tapping chefs, longtime preservers of culinary heritage and traditional farmers on the Amalfi Coast, Belmond is shining a light on this intimate part of the Italian identity. Taking consumers on a gastronomic journey, the land-based and hyper-local diet of the Mediterranean is celebrated in the latest "Taste Travel: Journeys into Local Fla

Tech-forward real estate platform, Pacaso, has teamed up with sustainable turnkey home builder, NevelHaus to serve New York. Image credit: Pacaso Real estate platform and second-home property company Pacaso has teamed up with sustainable custom home builder NevelHaus to serve the New York State market. To read the entire article, please subscribe or sign in

If you plan on celebrating Thanksgiving, it can be tough to even visualize a sustainable holiday. Visions of turkeys in the middle of the table, mass-produced ingredients, and plastic tablecloths tend to come to mind. It doesn’t have to be that way though, and if you are celebrating, there is no reason to give up your sustainable lifestyle for its sake. There are so many ways to have a sustainable gathering, so here is your guide to a sustainable Thanksgiving: Let’s be real: everyone’s favorite

There is a lot of pseudoscience out there on social media about mental health (and honestly, just health in general). It can be overwhelming, and difficult to discern what’s effective, from what’s just a sales pitch. Personally, I like to get back to basics when it comes to my own emotional well-being. My reasoning is that kids are overall a lot happier than adults, so I incorporate things that I remember doing often as a kid. This may sound strange, but let me explain. Every night, I name five

Autumn is a beautiful time for produce. So many incredible things are in season, which in my opinion makes up for the loss of summer farmers markets and berry season. Personally, autumn feels like the shortest season, and it can be overwhelming to decide what to make with all of these fruits and veggies. If you’re in that boat, here are some ideas for five produce items that are in season: If you’re Nordic like me, you are obsessed with the Scandinavian staple, cardamom. If you aren’t Nordic, y

Since the age of smart phones began, people’s time has been significantly drained. Humans spend so much time scrolling on their phones, and it seldom adds to their overall or even immediate happiness. I didn’t get a phone until I was 18, and I have been hyperaware of this. I don’t want this tool to take time away from things I love doing. I refuse to let it drain my energy, and while I’m not perfect about this, I think I have a very healthy relationship with my phone. I don’t feel dependent on i

I grew up in the age where Megan Fox was the beauty standard. She’s tall and tan, with pouty lips and long dark hair. That has never been what I look like. Because of this, I used to wish that I looked differently. I had days when I loved myself, and days when I didn’t, but the love rarely included love for my body or appearance. I didn’t see that as a negative thing, or let it eat me up with a desire for cosmetic surgeries or anything. I took pride in my strength, and my athletic abilities, and

As a Scandi-American, I grew up with coziness at the center of our home. Hygge was key in the way we decorated, interacted with the seasons, and viewed the world. My mother hung dried lavender from our garden from the ceilings in our living room, and the cottage I grew up in was filled with handmade blankets, candles, warm hues, baked goodies, and piles of sweaters. The seasons were at the core of our lives, as they are for fellow Danish and Norwegian people, and all other Nordic nationalities.

When I first decided to adopt a zero-waste lifestyle, it overwhelmed me. I worried I wouldn’t like the swaps, that I’d fall for greenwashing, or that it would be expensive and therefore unsustainable for my life. A few years later, I now have a few things down—how to save money by avoiding plastic, how to spot greenwashing, and what swaps work for me. That last point took the longest to sort out, and there are a few changes that I’m still trying to work out. I think in environmental spaces onli

I grew up moving around—a lot. I considered the place we most often moved back to be my hometown, but we lived all over the country. We often moved without much notice, and I learned to be transient. As an adult, I got into travel writing and had a strong case of wanderlust. It was a struggle to stay in one place for four years to attend school, and I now am living on the opposite coast from my hometown: the coast I spent less time on. None of my family lives nearby, all of my extended family an

With social media ruling society at large, individuals are encouraged to define themselves: find a niche. We pick categories to list under our names, pick a theme for our Instagram accounts, and are told to pick specialties in our careers and schooling. Essentially, when we enter adulthood or interact online, we are supposed to find a box and make ourselves fit into it. I believe that we are more complicated than that. We are messy, contradictory, and plentiful—each one of us. Life is not one t

Every year, The World Happiness Report is conducted and sent out to measure which countries are the happiest. They take into consideration a plethora of data, such as citizens’ general satisfaction with life, access to clean water, and other factors that would affect someone’s quality of life. This year, the report took into consideration the COVID-19 emergency, factoring in the way countries handled the crisis. While every country has its problems, the top 10 countries on this year’s report we

With the weather turning colder in the northern hemisphere, many are looking to the arctic countries for tips on how to make the most of the chilling temperatures. Scandinavia is famous for hygge, and many in non-Scandinavian countries have adopted the practice to learn to enjoy the colder months. While hygge is so important, it’s a good idea to note that since Scandinavians are so used to the cold, they have more to give than just hygge when it comes to chilly-living tips. So if you’re wanting

What it was like going without social media and the internet for six months, in the jungles of Brazil.

I’ll never forget how struck I was with the Icelandic lifestyle. My partner and I spent almost a month there last summer backpacking, hiking, camping, and exploring every inch of the country (minus the tip of the West Fjords). Upon landing, it becomes immediately impossible to ignore that Iceland prioritizes well-being. The airport is filled with natural light, it’s clean, it’s made from Icelandic wood (a lot of it beautifully exposed), and the only “imperfections” were stickers on the ridiculou

As long as I could remember, I’ve been fascinated by “interesting people” in books and movies. I fantasized about someday having books written about me, like hundreds of thousands of other people before me certainly have wished. I hoped someday I would be noteworthy enough. In high school, that all changed. When I saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty for the first time, it made me cry, laugh, and look inward. It’s still the most influential film in my life, one that’s taught me more than just ab

I used to buy a lot of skincare products. I love supporting small businesses, but skincare is one of those things for which I have a real soft spot. Before I went zero waste, The Body Shop was the only place in the mall where I couldn’t stop myself from spending money. There’s something about taking care of myself that really touches me, and skincare has always felt like a soothing and nourishing way to do that. As I’ve come along in my zero-waste journey, however, I started seeing just how wast