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Chic Dogs & Magnolia Dreams

The Art of Intentional Living

Chic Dogs & Magnolia Dreams
The Art of Intentional Living
  • A nourishing Sunday at home!

    A nourishing Sunday at home!

    May 12, 2024March 30, 2026 Home & Garden

    If you are anything like me, you absolutely love to spend a day at home without having to leave the house for anything. In fact, my favorite days are days that feel good to my entire nervous system. Slow days that are not governed by deadlines and have…

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  • Why rest matters and how joy is part of the equation!

    Why rest matters and how joy is part of the equation!

    May 10, 2024March 30, 2026 Home & Garden

    As I come home at the end of a long day of teaching and stumble into the couch exhausted, my husband looks at me and says: “When are you going to learn that you are not supposed to give a 100% all of the time?!”. I frown but…

    Read More Why rest matters and how joy is part of the equation!Continue

  • What does it mean to have the courage to stay in your own lane?

    What does it mean to have the courage to stay in your own lane?

    February 10, 2024March 30, 2026 Home & Garden, Quiet Notes

    The allure of others Just think about how much time, energy and effort we expend by focusing on other people’s lives. Time, energy and effort we then lack for ourselves and the lives we wish to build for ourselves. It often manifests as comparison to others which then…

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  • The power of vision boards to create an intentional life and how to make one!

    The power of vision boards to create an intentional life and how to make one!

    January 23, 2024March 30, 2026 Home & Garden

    What is a vision board? In short, a vision board is a collage that you make with images of things you either want to feel, do, be or create in your life. The images represent what you want to become and create for yourself. It’s not a to…

    Read More The power of vision boards to create an intentional life and how to make one!Continue

  • A Winter of Well-being

    A Winter of Well-being

    December 15, 2023March 30, 2026 Home & Garden

    How to create a Winter of well-being and nourishment As the days grow shorter and shorter and the light continues to dim, even at the height of day, I can’t help but feel the urge to turn more inward. My body craving more rest and warmth. My mind…

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  • How to remain emotionally and mentally healthy when the world is on fire

    How to remain emotionally and mentally healthy when the world is on fire

    October 22, 2023March 30, 2026 Home & Garden
    2 Comments

    I don’t know about you, but to me, the brutality of this world brings me to my knees more often than I am willing to admit. It seems like peace and respect are so difficult to come by. I even find it difficult to wrap my thoughts around…

    Read More How to remain emotionally and mentally healthy when the world is on fireContinue

  •  6 ways to immerse yourself in the beauty of September

     6 ways to immerse yourself in the beauty of September

    August 11, 2023March 30, 2026 Home & Garden

    September? Already? Can you believe it’s September already? *Big sigh of not-quite-sure-if-it’s-relief-yet* 😉. It feels like Summer has come and gone in the blink of an eye. Even when I decided to have a slow and soft Summer, it still flew by. Or at least that’s how it…

    Read More  6 ways to immerse yourself in the beauty of SeptemberContinue

  • 5 ways to bring more softness and nourishment into our daily lives

    5 ways to bring more softness and nourishment into our daily lives

    May 7, 2023March 30, 2026 Home & Garden

    Too fast!

    As the years pass by, life seems to become even more fast paced than it ever was before. Have you noticed this? In your own life and in the life of everyone around you, busyness seems to be prevalent. We are so exhausted, so depleted and for some reason, we seem to have made a collective agreement that ‘this is life’.

    Read More 5 ways to bring more softness and nourishment into our daily livesContinue

  • Intentional living and the power of words

    Intentional living and the power of words

    April 24, 2023March 30, 2026 Home & Garden, Quiet Notes

    Words are magic. They speak reality into existence. Words can create an oasis in a seemingly infinite desert, or they can turn vast oceans into wastelands. Words shape our carefully curated narratives. Even when we’re not consciously aware of it. Sometimes these narratives speak the truth. Other times,…

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  • Curating our environments with an eye for detail

    Curating our environments with an eye for detail

    April 24, 2023August 30, 2023 Home & Garden

    I think we tend to underestimate the power of details. How they add up and how they are components of a bigger narrative. Whether it is in our homes where we restore our minds and bodies, or in our offices where we work, or in the classrooms where…

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Welcome to the Chic Dogs & Magnolia Dreams Blog! So glad you are here. If you are interested in cultivating the art of intentional living, you are in the right place!

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𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐿𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔
Gardener // Storyteller // Writer // Dog Mom
Flowers, dogs, books & Paris

July in the countryside. Quiet, simple, full of b July in the countryside.

Quiet, simple, full of beauty and happy dogs.

#julyinthegarden #summerinthecountryside #happydogsclub #slowlife #gentlesummer
We live in a world, that in many ways, tries to im We live in a world, that in many ways, tries to impose what we should believe in. What we should stand for.

Luckily for me, I've always been a willful child and even more so after being on this planet for 40 years now. 

The more something tries to push me into a certain direction, the more suspicious I become. And as a consequence my rebellion setting, shifts into a higher gear. This is when I get quiet and try to listen to what my heart truly believes to be true. 

These are some of the things I believe in part 1:

* That nothing is more elegant, timeless and a sure sign of rebellion, as a bright red lipstick and nail polish.

* That some humans are pure Magic while others are as rotten as they come. 

* Being a human being does not automatically set you free from the consequences of having inflicted intentional cruelty to others. And by others, I mean all species. 

* Being human does not place us above other species. The belief that we are, is nothing more than a human construct. We are PART OF a living ecosystem, not above it. And the sooner we realize this, the greater our chances of surviving as a species.

* I believe in giving people their flowers while they are still alive. If I think someone is wearing a great outfit, is doing a great job, is an inspiration to me... I will tell them. If I hear others say something beautiful about them, I will tell them about it. We often think that people 'know' that they are beautiful, doing a great job, succeeding at life (whatever that means.. ) but the truth is that most of us are incredibly insecure, anxious, exhausted, full of doubts and fighting internal battles that the outside world knows nothing about.

* I believe that dogs know a lot more about us than we will ever know or understand about them. They see who we truly are, not what we're trying to perform. Us on the other hand, when we look at dogs, we often see them through a very limited lens. This lens does not do them justice.

* I believe writing, pen to paper, will make us more intelligent, considerate and better speakers. It also makes us pay attention to the seemingly invisible things that make up a life. It makes us think for ourselves.
June so far has been colorful, full and gentle. W June so far has been colorful, full and gentle. 
With a garden full of flowers, friendly and happy dogs to keep us company and a table filled with delicious homecooked food and people I love.

Can't wait for summer to officially start.
So we can revel in slow and soothing mornings,  garden until the sun sets, have trips to the beach with the dogs, cozy picnics in the forest, and  afternoons of writing and reading under the shade of a tree.

What do you look most forward to this summer?

#junethings
The more we pay attention, the more magic we will The more we pay attention, the more magic we will find. 

Beauty is all around, we just need to sharpen our senses and get still enough to notice.

But it demands vulnerability and a willingness to be open to the world around us.

Look for the helpers.
Look for the light and the flowers.

You'll be surprised by how much of it you will find.

Yes, even in dark times.
Even in the chaos.

Also, naps! 
Don't underestimate them.😉

Hope you are well, wherever you may be.🩷

#gentle
Snippets of everyday life and things that brought Snippets of everyday life and things that brought me joy. And documenting as much as possible in order not to forget.

At times I find it extremely hard to find joy in this world. 

I am blessed with comfort, safety and beauty. I have good people and animals around me, I have built the life I've dreamed of as a child... A home full of love, calm and beauty. A home and garden full of animals, books, flowers and freshly baked goodies in the kitchen. A husband that is the love of my life and has been for 2 decades.

And yet, my mind and my heart struggles at times. I can feel overwhelmed by grief and a sense of hopelessness when I look at the state of the world. 

It's not all gloom, but the gloom that does exist is brutal and relentless. 

This grief is something I thought I had to get rid of because who am I to struggle when I have so much. But now I understand that this grief is what makes me human, open and connected to the beauty of the world, and as a consequence, to the cruelty of it.

I don't want to numb any of it. I don't want to become hardened by it either. If there is one thing I have made my mind up about, it's that I don't want to become part of the darkness of this world nor indifferent to it's impact on all of us.

To be in this world but not of it. 
To keep an open mind and heart because closing it off will protect me from the darkness but it will also shut out the light. 

And I for one, need the light to grow and bloom.

I hope you have a gentle week ahead, wherever you may be. 🩷🌸🫖🐶

#simplethings
Blue Moon Energy is heavy today. 🌕 These snippet Blue Moon Energy is heavy today. 🌕 

These snippets of everyday life remind me to pay attention to the seemingly small moments. Life is made of a collection of tiny, everyday moments.

But more often than not, we forget to pay attention. And life starts to being lived by default, instead of with intention. It becomes cluttered instead of curated.

It's a great time to release what no longer serves you, so you can make room for what does. Turning your life into a work of art and storytelling. 

There is always beauty.

Even in the midst of panic.

Even in the midst of grief and confusion.

We just need to remind ourselves.
Again and again.

💙
Stella! Stellita! Stella Bella Mozzarella! Judging Stella!
Stellita!
Stella Bella Mozzarella!
Judging us all since 2023.🦊🤪🩷

@care4shelterdogsvatradornei
Everyone deserves to be loved like Snooty the Shar Everyone deserves to be loved like Snooty the Shark.🦈🩷🐶
Using Instagram for what it was initially intended Using Instagram for what it was initially intended (according to my mind).

As a visual gratitude journal of moments and places worth remembering.

Hope you are having a gentle Sunday.🩷🌸
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