‘Windy Day’ by Konstanin Yakovlevich Kryzhitsky (1858 - 1911)
The Old Man & The Sea
Have you read a lot of Ernest Hemingway? I haven’t but I recently decided to check out two of his books;
‘A Moveable Feast’ and ‘The Old Man And The Sea’. They are both pretty short and available as audiobooks.
‘The Old Man And The Sea’ touches on a few different subjects.
At first glance it’s a simple story of an old fisherman that hasn’t caught a fish in a very long time,
but he goes out fishing again.
It takes him days out on the open sea, but he finally catches a huge marlin,
only to have it eaten up by a shark while trying to transport it back to land.
To me, the general deeper meaning of the story is of course about resilience and not giving up,
but on a more specific level it’s also about proving to yourself that you can uphold your standards and push yourself to your own limits, while being respectful and humble to your environment.
Because in the end when you return to the shore you are left only with how you acted and not with what you caught.
There are plenty more moral lessons in this book, but you can check those out for yourself if you want :)
xo,
Seena
Two Netflix Faves
My new favorite Netflix show is 'Selling Sunset'.
It just came out on March 22nd, and I’ve already finished the first (and only) season.
The show centers on five fierce real estate agents in West Hollywood.
If you love LA, real estate and RHOBH you should definitely watch this!
Also, I’m so happy that one of the other shows I love is coming out with Season 3 on March 29th.
’Santa Clarity Diet’ is a super funny horror comedy show about…well you can see for yourself:
My fave way to start the morning in Rome
15 Likes, 0 Comments - Seena (@seenamusic) on Instagram: "#good #morning #rome"
Saw somebody eating donuts today and it made me flash back to one of my favorite memories from the last time I was in Rome: Getting up really early and jogging along river Tiber with the final destination being Pasticceria Boccione in the Jewish Quarter for some freshly made donuts. You should try it!
Arrive right when they open at 8am.
Via del Portico d'Ottavia, 1, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Xo, Seena
Hemingway
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“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”
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The truth
:) Xo, Seena
Inspired by: Kenneth Blom
Discovered this artist from my home country of Norway earlier this year. Love his style and the moods of his work. His website is www.KennethBlom.Com. Enjoy.
Three Tulum Favorites
One of my favorite vacation spots that I can’t wait to go back to is Tulum. I find myself dreaming back to my trip there a few years ago on these cold winter days here in New York City. Here are three of my favorite things I wouldn't mind doing again:
Waking up to bird song and a view of the ocean at hotel Mi Amor.
Biking down through the whole beach community on the main road, then:
Eating lunch and hanging out all day at Be Tulum.
Sway is out now <3
About Hope
Last week I stumbled over what must be one of the saddest sentences I’ve ever read: “Hope is just delayed disappointment”. It’s so dark to me, also because I find that sentence to carry truth in it. But I don’t agree with it fully. Because yes, hope can be a form of delayed disappointment half the times or even nine times out of ten, but not every single time. What makes hoping worth it is that one time something works - that makes all those other delayed disappointments into stepping stones to your success. But I realize it’s easier to take that view looking back, of course. And I guess it also depends what it is you’re hoping :) Hope you’re having a good day and that all your dreams come true. Xo, Seena
Don't Wait
Don’t wait for someone to do right by you. Sometimes you have to take charge and do right by yourself.
I don’t mean in a violent or negative way of course!
Peace,
Seena
At Your Own Pace
Hope I can inspire you today to stress down and go at your own pace with whatever project you are working on. Your well being matters just as much as the end result - if not more :) Namaste <3
Music is a Dream
Here are two book recommendations and one documentary recommendation. They are all inspirational and about music - directly and indirectly. ‘Broken Music’ is an honest and beautifully written autobiography by Sting full of memories from - and reflections on - his early life and career. One of my favorite books for sure. Another favorite is ‘The Soundtrack Of My Life’ by Clive Davis which I think is a must-read for anyone interested in music. This is also an autobiography, and because Clive has discovered and made so many artists it’s very much a piece of music history, as well. It’s truly inspiring to read how someone who’s speciality is recognizing what’s amazing and unique in others have been able to achieve again and again and again.
I also recommend the documentary ‘The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life’. I can almost guarantee that if you’re having a bad day you will be humbled and moved (and hopefully have a better day) after watching this Academy Award winning documentary short. It’s about Alice Herz-Sommer, a Holocaust Survivor and pianist.
What I Know For Sure
Dear reader,
Are you a big Oprah-fan, like me? If yes then I’m sure you know about the ‘What I Know For Sure’ column in O-magazine. If you have no clue what I’m talking about let me quickly explain that it’s a column Oprah was inspired to write after getting asked the question of what she knew for sure. It’s also something she asks her interview subjects very often. So, inspired by Oprah here is a list of a few things I know for sure.
It’s better to sleep on it if you can. If you have the opportunity to not rush your decision, you’re not going to regret taking an extra day making sure you’re making the right decision.
People can have slightly different perceptions of reality. It’s good to remind yourself of this once in a while as it makes it easier not to take things personally.
You can’t take back what you said or wrote. Think twice.
The road to success is not a straight line to the top.
Goals and dreams can change over time, and once you’ve reached one goal you very often have even more goals and dreams already lined up on your to-do list.
Money can not buy health nor the feeling of being content with what you have over time, no matter how much you have.
I feel happier when I exercise.
You teach people how to treat you. If something is unacceptable to you, let them know.
Life is full of surprises and curveballs for better and worse.
I’ve never regretted it when I’ve said ‘no’ to something to take care of myself physically or mentally.
For me it’s better to say ‘yes’ to fewer things, and then be 100% present at those things.
on discovering what works for you
Do you ever reflect on why you make the choices you do?
I’m not thinking about big choices, but rather those small choices you make every day that eventually add up.
I’ve reflected a bit on this and I’ve realized that there are as many “correct” answers to what good everyday choices are, as there are people.
Therefore the point I want to make with this post is that I think it’s a good idea to once in a while double check if what you are choosing to do is based on what you know for sure is correct for you.
Or are you making some of those choices because you think that that’s the only right way to go about things since those choices are working for someone else?
You are not that other person, so it’s not 100% sure that even if you follow the exact same choices as them (for example with your diet and exercise), you will have the exact same results.
A big part of life is discovering what works for you and then respecting that.
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The picture above is from a gig with my jazzband this previous Sunday. xoxo, Seena
A Funny comedy on Netflix
I watched ‘I am not an easy man’ on Netflix a few weeks ago and loved it. This is a french comedy by Eleonore Pourriat with Vincent Elbaz and Marie-Sophie Ferdane. I think it’s an excellent commentary on certain aspects of our culture and time. This film is perfect for you if you like ironic and dry humor like me :) Enjoy!
A lesson from Barbra Corcoran
Do you watch the show Shark Tank? It’s one of my favorite tv series.
That’s one of the reasons why I’ve read ‘Invent it, Sell it, Bank it’ by Lori Greiner who is a regular shark on the show. This is a great book for anyone wanting to take their invention to the next level in America.
I’ve also read ‘Shark Tales’ by Barbra Corcoran. Barbra is another recurring shark, and I absolutely loved her book. In it she tells her life story of how she went from working in a diner in New Jersey to eventually founding and running her successful real estate agency, a journey that was not without hurdles and disappointments.
After reading the book I’m definitely a Barbra-fan. In a few of the interviews she has done I noticed she repeats that one of the things she thinks made her successful is that she is very good at NOT feeling sorry for herself. I found this to be inspiring. Sometimes it can be tempting to dig yourself into a ditch of self pity, when what you actually would be better of doing is spending that focus and time more constructively. Just a thought I wanted to share :)
The picture is from a beach by the Dead Sea taken last fall.
Seena
My favorite NYC restaurant
What restaurant in NYC is downtown-cosy, elegant, has consistently amazing food and excellent service? My favorite place L’Artusi of course :) Order anything off the menu and prepare to be wowed. I love the tagliatelle bolognese, the roasted mushrooms with egg, the brussel sprouts and last but not least the Crispy Potatoes with Salsa Bianco (definitely get this no matter what if you like sour cream and onion potato chips).
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I love to sit at the chefs counter, but they also have beautiful tables. Reserve in advance as this place gets packed for the most popular dinner times 1-2 weeks in advance.
L’Artusi 228 W 10th St, New York, NY 10014
A Book That Will Make You Bawl
This is one of my favorite books. It was recommended to me by my favorite dancer teacher here in New York before he left for Los Angeles a few years ago. When I first started reading it I thought it was a nice book, but didn’t really understand what was so amazing about it; I thought the beginning kind of read like a children’s book. That was only until I got further into it and whoa the end definitely made me cry.
The book is ‘The Art Of Racing In The Rain’ written by Garth Stein.
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If you want more after finishing the book I recommend ‘Senna’ on Netflix which is a documentary about the race car driver (Ayrton Seena) mentioned in the book.
A feel good film
If you want a cute French romantic comedy to watch this evening I recommend ‘hors de prix’ with Audrey Tautou and Gad Elmaleh. It’s called ‘Priceless’ in English. I can guarantee you will love it if you are a romantic comedy fan and you like movies like French Kiss with Meg Ryan. Priceless is not on Netflix unfortunately; I watched it via amazon prime and they also have it in the iTunes Store.
