Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to bring the outdoors in. Being in nature
Speaker 1: is a known mood booster, but even if you are indoors,
Speaker 1: you can recreate some of the same magic. When we
Speaker 1: renovated our new old house a few years ago, we
Speaker 1: installed a lot of new windows that have this fancy
Speaker 1: roll screen function. You can't see the screen when the
Speaker 1: window is down, but then when you open the window,
Speaker 1: the screen is there.
Speaker 2: It's very cool. Anyway, I got this feature because I
Speaker 2: know that I like to open the windows. Feeling fresh
Speaker 2: air and smelling the outside and hearing the wind in
Speaker 2: the trees just makes me feel more relaxed. I have
Speaker 2: particularly enjoyed doing this when it gets a little cooler
Speaker 2: on summer nights. I will open the windows in the
Speaker 2: evening and try to read in bed for a little
Speaker 2: bit with the night sounds all around me. It's a
Speaker 2: lot like camping, but a lot more comfortable, especially if
Speaker 2: it's raining. Anyway, if you have any ability to open
Speaker 2: your windows, why not give it a try. I will
Speaker 2: admit that sometimes it's not that great to do so
Speaker 2: like if it's one hundred degrees or twenty degrees out,
Speaker 2: but at least some months of the year, the outdoors
Speaker 2: might be pleasant wherever you are. If you live somewhere
Speaker 2: with a yard, the yard was probably part of the
Speaker 2: appeal of your home. Opening the windows lets you enjoy
Speaker 2: the yard even if you are inside. Of course, there
Speaker 2: are other ways to bring the outside in too. You
Speaker 2: could decorate with greenery from your neighborhood. Many times people
Speaker 2: think they should be putting flowers in a vase, but
Speaker 2: there are other options, particularly if it's not a season
Speaker 2: when fresh flowers are readily available. Dried grasses can look
Speaker 2: pretty at any time. Colorful leaves on a branch and
Speaker 2: fall might last for a day or two, but you
Speaker 2: know there are a lot of branches out there, so
Speaker 2: you can go cut another one when the first starts
Speaker 2: to fade. An evergreen branch is festive for Christmas or
Speaker 2: really for any time of year. Growing things in your
Speaker 2: house also brings the outside in. A little pot of
Speaker 2: basil in your kitchen will smell nice when you're doing
Speaker 2: food prep and will make your kitchen feel a little
Speaker 2: more green. Or you can get a potted tree and
Speaker 2: keep that in a corner in your living room and
Speaker 2: make the place feel a little bit like a treehouse.
Speaker 2: When possible, you can decorate with natural materials. Seeing wood
Speaker 2: in your house is somewhat like seeing woodpile outdoors, and
Speaker 2: of course, if you have the option, celebrating any sort
Speaker 2: of transitional spaces can be great. A covered or screened
Speaker 2: porch is the best of being inside and outside. If
Speaker 2: you're lucky enough to have one, go all out on
Speaker 2: the decorating so it becomes your favorite place to hang out.
Speaker 2: Nature is a known mood booster, but it doesn't always
Speaker 2: work to be outside. Bringing the outside in can give
Speaker 2: you the best of both worlds and feel quite lovely,
Speaker 2: as I can tell you from feeling a wonderful post
Speaker 2: storm summer breeze through my open office windows. I don't
Speaker 2: want to be outside in those lingering rain drops right now,
Speaker 2: but that coolness is something lovely in the meantime. This
Speaker 2: is Laura. Thanks for listen, and here's to making the
Speaker 2: most of our times. Thanks for listening to before Breakfast.
Speaker 2: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach.
Speaker 1: Me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 2: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
Speaker 2: from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 2: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.