A few of my favorite things...  French Chateau's, Peonies, vintage and Astier de Viallatte.  Surrounding yourself with people and things you love is the ultimate luxury.  They don't have to be the trendiest, newest and the most expensive or but they should be what makes you laugh, smile and bring you joy. 

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion, to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly, to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart, to bear all cheerfully, to all bravely await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony."

William Henry Channing (1810-1884)

You know how some people get all of their energy from being around other people, and how other people need "alone time" to energize? Well, I'm definitely one of the later. I grew up on an almost 200 acre farm on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, so being alone and outside was a part of my daily life and something I really took for granted. Obviously, living in NYC for 3 years I never experienced that, and though I loved it - I never truly felt unwound. I have found a happy in between where I am now, but looking at these gorgeous retreats makes me long for a hidden spot in nature where I can go and decompress.

What do you do or where do you go when you need to decompress and unwind?