Presentation can make a big difference especially when throwing a summer party! Also, you never know these days whether your guests are on a special diet like vegan or gluten-free. Below is the coolest summer beverage to serve for gatherings and parties.

Vegan and Gluten-Free Beverage – Sparkling Raspberry Lemonade

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 12 oz fresh, organic raspberries
• 1 liter club soda or sparkling water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 lemon
• mint leaves (preferably garden fresh)
• Pitcher
• Blender
• Large wooden stirring spoon
• Thick, colorful straws – light blue and bright yellow straws look best
• Mason jars

Add raspberries (place about 5 -6 raspberries off to the side), sparkling liquid, sugar, honey, lemon juice into a blender.

Blend until well mixed.  Add your mixture to the pitcher. Cut lemon into thin slices. Add lemon slices, about 5 – 6 whole raspberries and ice cubes to the pitcher.

Stir with a wooden spoon. Pour mixture into mason jars. Garnish with 1 -3 mint leaves. Add a straw to each mason jar and admire your beautiful creation!

Just like that you have a lovely, healthy and delicious summer beverage for you and your friends and family to enjoy.

Want that New Orleans look and feel to any room in your home? Use these 6 simple and different ways to give your home that Louisiana style you’ve always wanted.

Wall Paint – Make your base a soft pale pink, a vivid salmon pink or wine red- this means paint the whole space (all walls) in this color.

Next, paint the trim in a seafoam green, chartreuse or aquamarine color. You can play with a combination of these or use one as the accent / trim color.

Furniture – Add pale yellow, off-white or ivory decor and furnishings, try a rustic contemporary style – choose pieces that look shabby chic yet elegant or try a traditional Victorian style, choose items that look vintage yet regal.

Lighting – Royal chandeliers and lampshades with bead work and fringe are an additional option.

Accents & Decor – Add decorative, gold framed mirrors of varying sizes and New Orleans inspired artwork on the walls and long draped curtains to windows.

Rugs – Finally, tie the room together with an intricate oriental rug or a shabby wool rug.

Add your own personal touch to the look as any New Orleans jazz musician would do and you can give your home that “Big Easy” style you’ve always dreamed of!

You know those epic poses you see superheroes do in the movies? How about Wonder Woman’s classic pose, legs spread shoulder width a part, back straight, chin up and fists on her hips? Poses like that are what researchers at Harvard University, The University of Oregon and The University of Texas studied and what they discovered is that body language plays a large role in our hormone levels.

They all discovered that leaders and those with more confidence had higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of cortisol – these can be affected by a number of factors but one factor totally within our personal control is our body language if we are aware of it. Amy Cuddy and her team conducted a study and found how different poses which they called “high power” and “low power” poses affected testosterone and cortisol levels. They discovered that when in a high power pose for 2 minutes or more, testosterone increases by 20 percent and decreases cortisol levels by 25 percent.

Aside from hormone levels, our body language will also influence the way others perceive you as well. Having a more open, relaxed and strong demeanor as opposed to having a closed off and guarded one is generally more inviting and powerful.

You can use these power poses before a big meeting, an interview for a new job or even just to feel more confident throughout your day.An easy solution to turn you into the Wonder Woman that you are!

In 1953, sculptor Isamu Noguchi designed a ultra modern rocking stool that underwent many transformations in size, shape and design until it eventually evolved into the artistic and contemporary Noguchi Cyclone Dining Table it is today.

The Noguchi Cyclone Dining Table features a round, plywood table top in several melamine finishes making it extra durable and adaptable to a variety of dining room design motifs. However, the most eye-catching and strikingly exquisite feature is the unique twisted base.

The base is a like a work of art and makes sense that a well established and highly admired sculptor would have created such a piece. The Noguchi Cyclone Dining Table base is extremely sturdy and attractive – made of carbon steel and comes in a choice of white coated, black coated or polished stainless steel. It comes in two different sizes and can comfortably fit 3 to 4 people around it.

When paired with the right chairs and decor, it is a wonderful addition to a contemporary, modern and even industrial chic dining room or kitchen design. An excellent match is the Noguchi Cyclone Dining Table paired with Molded Fiberglass Side Chairs.  These chairs have a similar lovely sculptural appearance, not to mention that they are also mid century modern classic design reproductions by famous design duo Ray and Charles Eames.

The Noguchi Cyclone Dining Table is a high-quality reproduction combining innovative form and attractive design in one beautiful home furnishing. You can find The Noguchi Cyclone Dining Table from a trusted seller of well-made and affordable mid century modern and contemporary furniture.

Whether you are working late nights, running around with the kids, have a new baby to care for or you simply can’t fall asleep, you can sometimes wake up feeling groggy, sore and just plain exhausted. My first instinct is to run to the coffee pot for some liquid energy- which of course helps, but another great method is to start a daily practice of morning meditation and vocal toning.

Even if you don’t think you know how to meditate or you’ve tried and couldn’t sit still, just 5 minutes in the morning is a great way to begin, which can eventually increase overtime. Meditation comes in many forms, joggers say they enter a meditative state on their runs and caregivers say they can enter a meditative state when washing the dishes or folding laundry – menial and repetitive tasks – but what they do is help clear the mind through moving the body. This form of morning meditation requires stillness, breathing and using your vocal chords – which is great because who wants to immediately jump out of bed and do chores when we are already feeling tired.

Upon waking, sit upright in your bed, you can have a pillow behind your back or you can find a comfortable place on the floor, place a pillow underneath your bottom or even go outside if you have a backyard and the weather is nice. Sit crossed legged and take 3 deep breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Feel your chest and belly swell with each inhale and on the last breath blow out as much air as you can.

You may start to feel tingly and relaxed, you may even want to go back to sleep but this is when the fun part comes in. On the fourth breath you inhale deeply and upon exhaling – let out a giant “AUM,” or “OOOOOOOMMMMM.” Let it out for as long as your exhale is, then inhale again and repeat. The sound “OM” is a powerful mantra and upon saying it especially as loud and openly as you want, its vibration recharges your mind and body and wakes up the senses in an organic and calm way.

This mantra increases concentration, rejuvenates the mind, clears away negative or obsessive thoughts, removes toxins from the body,  decreases stress, anxiety and blood pressure. Once you have sufficiently repeated this mantra – sit in silence for several minutes. You will find your head is clearer, your body feels more awake and the grogginess and sleepiness has dissipated.

This is great to do as a daily practice but sometimes I forget and honestly – sometimes I just don’t feel like it – but whenever I do take the time to do this short morning meditation and vocal toning,  I feel calm, collected and focused throughout my day and things flow more smoothly.

Dusty Blue is traditional dark blue having a grayish hue to it. It is calming and draws the eye to it subtly without overpowering. This color looks incredible with a room dominated by a linen white, cream and a bronze or taupe color scheme.

The magical quality of dusty blue is that it captivates attention without being so prevalent that it it becomes a discussion by every person that walks into the room. However, it may draw attention to artists, designers and a few observational souls.

Dusty blue is a very versatile color.  You can use dusty blue as the color on an accent wall, the entire walls of a particular room or in a few pieces throughout the space. If you don’t prefer white and beige colors or browns and earth-tones, you can pair it with pastels. Pale yellows and soft pinks make great partners to dusty blue.

Another great feature of dusty blue is you can create a colorful room without using white, such as dusty blue mixed with soft pink and add splashes of more vibrant, eye-catching colors as decor within the interior space.

Not sure of what splash of color would work best? Try sage green. It really adds a whole other element to the landscape without overpowering.

Dusty blue is a color you can have a lot of fun and flexibility with, experiment with your space and see where it takes you!