About the Founder:

Born and raised in Portugal and living in NYC since 2013, Marcia is a Woman, an Architect, a Designer, a Wellness Coach (and even a DJ on her spare time), whose passion for Retail Interior Design led her to become a Sales Manager for different European Furniture Retailers, and whose life experience had guided her to become a Holistic Nutrition Coach and Feng Shui Consultant. She is what she likes to call as an "Inside Architect".

And just like that... Fall is here!

Hi Reader,

I know this title may remind you of a catchy title for a TV show revival that is on the making nowadays (any fans of SATC, here?), but I really mean that time went by flying! We're heading for the end of the year and I don't know about you, but I feel like if it was still March... And I just came back from amazing days of Summer! (See for yourself below)

Coming back from vacation, I am having mixed feelings about the Summer ending... Part of me feels invigorated and wants to do a million things, while the other part just wants to be wrapped around some cozy blanket, drinking some "Pumpkin Spice Latte" (my way) and relax, in those colder days that are coming. Is it just me?

Anyway, since we have to take advantage of our days the best we can, I am working on something very special... And all I can say is that it may help break a "habit" most people have (hint - something that you start your day with). More on that soon! Xoxo

As always you can keep in touch by emailing me @2beinsidesign.

Like this Newsletter? Please forward it to friends so that they can subscribe here.

HOME

"Lego plans to sell bricks from recycled bottles in two years" Via BBC.com

There's a shift coming, and we can see it already by the actions of some big companies, like Lego, who is developing a new sustainable material to make their bricks. And that is a good sign. Maybe it's still a bit too late but I'm happy to see it happening. Will things like this be enough to completely revert where we are heading to? I don't know about that, but 'children are our future' and when you start introducing changes in an area dedicated to them, I believe it induces a bigger change. After all, 'Climate Change is real' and it's here, unfolding right this moment. And like it or not, we all have to start living in a more sustainable way.

"The goal is to find a product good enough that people don't notice the difference, said Lego's Tim Brooks.

(...)

Mr Brooks, Lego's vice president of sustainability, said the two types of blocks should fit together and be interchangeable like any Lego product."

"Could a more flexible working model offer the opportunity to enhance wellbeing and increase productivity?" Via The RSA

By now a lot of people are going back to their offices, but if many companies have adopted a more "hybrid" model, some are still wanting to "go back to normal". We can't however, ignore the change that this pandemic has created in the workplace.

“On one hand, homeworkers have clearly worked harder; our research suggests they have worked an extra three hours per week on average. Meanwhile, the fact that productivity has not dropped off a cliff should be a stark warning that something has gone badly wrong in the way we design our physical workplaces.

Homeworkers told us most tasks were easier at home, including the creative tasks often thought to be a comparative advantage of offices.”

So either if you love it or hate it, working from home has become the 'new normal'. And it can be good when done right. We still have a few things to consider: like avoiding potential burnout and ways to include more body movement - which in many cases (myself included) working from home led us to move less, once we didn't have that daily commute. So incorporating movement is essential. Plus we miss the colleagues interaction, coming up with collective new ideas, the inside jokes... In which I think, the 'hybrid model' should be the way to go.

"The shift in values that ‘healthy hybrid’ work represents can help create a movement for good work grounded in the insight that wellbeing and productivity – health and economic competitiveness – are two sides of the same coin: human beings need both in order to flourish."

Alexa, Robot vacuum and now Astro robots... Are you ready for the future?

I wanted to finish this part on a funny note. I recently got a Robot Vacuum, as Mr.Grey is a furry ball that is leaving hair everywhere! I have to say, I love it so far. It makes my life more practical saving me time for other tasks, and that's how automation should work for us. Now, have you met Amazon "Astro"? A new game changer is coming... "The Verge" calls it "Alexa on wheels".

Have a look at Amazon Astro #meetastro ... I could imagine Mr.Grey having fun with it already!

FOOD

Do you find yourself restricted from eating certain foods? Then read this...

I get it, you read here and there that certain foods aren't good for you and/or make you fat. So you decide to avoid those. Only to feel like you crave for them even more... Isn't it? You are not alone in this. And this is what the food industry is doing to all of us. It becomes a cycle, and a hard one to break.

"You have to have discipline" some say. "You are not strong", "You have to have will power" others say. But no, it is none of that.

Nowadays the food manufacturers easily lure you by creating attractive advertising that appeals to your emotions and add addictive ingredients on foods (like hidden forms of sugars), in order to make you buy more of them. So it's really not your fault. You're not weak, you're just being tricked.

Let's start by paying attention: to the foods you buy and to your body. And find help on fixing your relationship with food, instead of going in and off of restrictions ("diet"). WILDFIT® is very different in that sense, because it aims to change behaviors, instead of being just a diet. Its goal is to give you food freedom. Food Freedom? What does that even mean?

A one good example of that, was what happened to me while on vacation. You see, I've experimented with certain foods but I did it wisely and never felt restricted. I wrote about it here in my blog post: "I was on vacation and I experimented... Does that make me guilty?"

So do you think you have Food Freedom?

Opinion: If Airlines require so many formalities in order to "protect us" from getting sick, shouldn't we also require healthier food on a flight?

Flying in the midst of a Pandemic isn't that easy. Apart from all the safety and identity controls, you now have testing, vaccine and other forms to show. All different - depending on your destination. Plus, you are required to keep your mask on throughout all the duration of the flight. All safety measures for Covid-19 prevention.

However, when it comes to the time of providing us with meals that should keep us nourished and strong, so that we have good defenses in our bodies, they provide us with exactly the opposite! The image below was from the breakfast they tried to serve me, before landing in Paris. Not even one single functional food item - everything was full of sugar, dairy and gluten. The dinner that was served earlier, was also along the same lines... Something to think about, no?

Breakfast at an intercontinental flight from Air France

Do you pay close attention to local food while traveling?

Every week I am posting a short episode of a Tip of the week on my IGTV, and this last episode, was about traveling and the experiences around food...

I've always liked trying the new and local foods, but the fact is that the food supply is changing so much around the world, that it makes me wonder about the quality of the foods I'm eating, even when those are cooked at home. Proof of that, is that I brought some sardine paté from Portugal with me, without looking at the ingredient list. Turned out to be a big mistake - I discovered later on that it has gained a few undesirable ingredients, like soy and vegetable oil! When it used to be made with just simple ingredients like olive oil, sardines and a few spices...

Want to know more? I recorded this episode directly from the beach, just before I came back. You can view my #tipoftheweek episode here.

I've decided to add each tip of the week to my blog, plus I will have a BONUS for the subscribers of my special list - a dedicated email with some resources for that week's episode subject. This list will be just for sending the resources together with a reminder to watch that week's video, and you can unsubscribe anytime, if you don't like it! And trust me, you won't want to miss it! So go ahead and subscribe it FOR FREE by clicking here.

And don't forget to follow @2beinsidesign on Instagram.

Sending you lots of love! Have an amazing Fall season!

Marcia Mendes

Inside Architect | Certified WildFit Coach | Certified Feng Shui Consultant