Hoping your home is embracing and filling you with the peace and tranquility that only a home can bring. In my business of selling Real Estate, the most fulfilling home sales have always been those where a buyer has fallen head over heels in love with a home. I have always believed that houses choose their buyers. That is the energy felt when the match has been made and you are standing there in the house and you feel the mutual love/attraction, and in that instant you know you have met the next buyer for this home! My wish for you at this time is that you enjoy your home, make her shine for you, light a candle, put on music, create a bouquet of leaves from your garden or nearby trees, clean a closet, or just sit in the living room admiring and thanking her for being your guardian and shelter. Whatever you do, enjoy your home, for that is where you have to be.
Meanwhile, below are some antidotes to charm you along.
HeadSpace:
An app to help in your meditation practice, this app walks you through the basics. They offer a two-week free trial, and are also offering completely free access through 2020 for healthcare professionals by providing their NPI and email address, as well as for teachers by filling out a form on their site… let your healthcare professionals and teachers know of this incredible offer!
Virtual Fitness and Dance Classes:
My Fairy God Daughter, Audrey Simmons, is a talented dancer and graduate of University of the Arts, majoring in Musical Theater and Dance, you will hear more about her in the future! But while she is quarantined waiting for her next play to begin (I will tell you more about it when it happens), she along with other trained professionals are doing online classes through Body Rock by BK. You can sign up at BodyRockBK’s website (link below) – suggested donation is $8 but you can also tune in to the Zoom page for free.
Audrey is teaching a Pilates class through the BodyRock BK website which is being held on Wednesday at 12:00PM. She will also be teaching a dance class (including everything from chacha to samba) through her own website. Go to Audrey’s website (link below) where you can input your email to receive a link to the dance class (classes are pay-what-you-can).
https://www.bodyrockbybk.com/book-online
https://www.audreybsimmons.com/ballroom-classes.html
Netflix Party:
One of the main things we have to do during social distancing is to remain connected to our friends and loved ones. Netflix Party is a fun way to watch a movie together remotely. The app synchronizes video playback of the same movie or TV series, and allows for participants to comment in a group chat.
Audible Stories:
Audio-book company Audible is providing hundreds of free children’s books on their new project called Audible Stories. This is an amazing resource for parents, and they categorize the books by age group. They even have books in Spanish, French, German, Italian and Japanese.
https://stories.audible.com/discovery
Google Arts & Culture:
Google teamed up with over 2,500 museums and galleries throughout the globe to offer free access and virtual tours to the public. There is so much to explore here. Some of the most famous museums offering this service include the Guggenheim in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, the National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art in Seoul, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and so many more.
https://artsandculture.google.com/
Good People Contributing to their Community:
A lot of people are doing what they can to help the first responders during this crisis. Below are just two of many examples of community members doing their part to help their community as well as the first responders and healthcare workers.
One Soul Mask Project:
A group of friends from Miami who normally work in the fashion and entertainment industries have started the One Soul Mask Project. A couple weeks ago, when they heard about the dire need of protective wear from hospitals, they decided to put their talents and time to good use and thus, One Soul Mask Project was born. The masks can be purchased by anyone and contributions go to helping them produce more masks to donate to health care professionals. The masks are produced with medical grade waterproof fabric that can be washed, sanitized and reused. Each purchase and donation helps them get a new mask into the hands of a healthcare worker.
Protective Gowns Project:
My friend Anne’s company, Marsh Industries specializes in custom-made draperies, they are now shifting their talent towards producing full-body protective wear gowns to donate to healthcare professionals and local hospitals. Local fabric wholesaler Fabric Tent has been hired by Baptist Hospitals to provide the proper protective fabric, and workshops throughout Miami, including Marsh, are donating their time and energy to help fill the need and demand for protective wear for hospitals. So proud of you, Anne!
Sharing my multi-purpose Orange Peel Tea recipe – one of the many daily staples with multiple benefits helpful in these times of quarantine and antivirus prevention mode:
In a pot with water boil fresh orange peel, together with a few cinnamon sticks, let it steep and drink throughout the day with or without a squeeze, preferably of local raw honey either at room temperature or re-warm as you prefer. It makes your home smell great and together with a bit of honey (or without) makes a great tea. The benefits of cinnamon are said to be antiviral, antioxidant, antifungal, analgesic plus more. Some consider orange peel the healthiest part of the fruit, it’s said it boosts metabolism and immunity, it is also considered a natural decongestant. The oranges have to be well washed, either scrub with soap and warm water, or soak and scrub in white vinegar and water or both.
Because local raw honey is made by local bees, the pollen collected is sourced by the bees from local plants. Seasonal allergies are caused by these same plants and eating honey that contains that pollen is said to help combat those allergies. Honey is a good source of antioxidants, soothes sore throat and is also antibacterial, antifungal, boost immunity, helps digestion and gut health, raw honey should not be given to infants. Buy local raw honey from a trusted local producer.
My associate Cyndi suggested using the left-over fruit to make some home-made Sangria, it’s simple and easy, just combine the following ingredients together and voila!
- 1/2 medium apple (cored, skin on, chopped into small pieces)
- 1/2 medium orange (rind on, sliced into small pieces, large seeds removed // plus more for garnish)
- 3-4 Tbsp organic brown sugar (or 3 Tbsp (37.5 g) organic cane sugar as original recipe is written)
- 3/4 cup orange juice (plus more to taste)
- 1/3 cup brandy (plus more to taste)
- 750 ml bottle dry Spanish red wine*
- 1 cup Ice to chill
While at home quarantining, we are doing our best to be thoughtful and productive. If there is anything you would like for us to include in our list, or any tips you might have, please let us know!
And, of course if you have any real estate related questions we can assist with, it would be our pleasure!
