travel helps reduce signs of aging and keeps you healthy, new study says

Travel

Travel Helps Reduce Signs of Aging and Keeps You Healthy, New Study Says

Drescription

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of exploring new places. Whether you choose to stay close to home and walk the streets of a new-to-you town or stamp your passport on the way to some far-flung location, travel is on nearly everyone’s personal bucket list. And now, there’s proof that it does more than just fill your camera roll with memories. According to a new research paper from researchers at Edith Cowan University, there’s scientifically backed evidence that positive travel could experiences could be your best defense against signs of aging, both physically and mentally.

How Does Traveling Reduce Signs of Aging?

It probably comes as no surprise that travel can act as a serious mood booster—after all, many of us have felt the euphoria that comes from exploring a new place, finding the perfect roadside lobster roll, or cozying up in a quaint inn. However, according to the researchers at ECU, stepping out of your routine and experiencing new cultures can also lead to noticeable improvements in mental clarity and emotional health. Here are some of the major benefits.

Provides Mental Stimulation

When you travel, you’re not just collecting souvenirs; you’re also engaging your brain in fresh experiences, in turn giving it mental stimulation that can help enhance cognitive function and even fend off the cognitive decline that often comes with aging.

Encourages Physical Activity

That’s not the only perk of hitting the road (or skies), though. Physically, travel can encourage you to be more active even outside of your regular workout routine, whether it’s indulging in a mid-day hike, wandering through a vibrant market, or taking a leisurely stroll along the beach. Swapping your desk time for a more active vacation lifestyle helps to keep your body moving, which is crucial for maintaining strength and mobility as you grow older.

Gives You Energy

The excitement of a new adventure (and a new backdrop) can give your energy levels a natural boost, making you feel more youthful and vibrant.

Reduces Stress

Beyond the physical benefits travel can provide, the researchers at ECU also found a significant impact on stress reduction and adaptability. Getting away from the grind of everyday life (think work responsibilities, house care, and after-school activities) allows you to relax, recharge, and break free from the pressure that comes with, well, adulthood.

Improves Resilience

By exposing you to novel environments or situations, travel can also stimulate what researchers call your stress response, essentially training your body to be more adaptive and resilient against stressful situations and the subsequent signs of aging.

All that said, a life of travel isn’t feasible for many of us—and luckily, you can still achieve some of the touted benefits without blowing through your vacation days. Instead of booking a month-long excursion across the globe, start small by planning a weekend getaway or a day trip to a nearby town. Even a weekend spent embracing the joy of discovering new environments, foods, and people can give you a taste of that travel magic.

The Full Farmhouse Entryway Recap + What’s Happening Next

This coming Monday we are revealing the entryway to you (first round reveal, at least), a sweet little room that sets the tone for the house. Before we show you the reveal we wanted to give you a recap of where we started, why we did what we did, and where we landed on things before the final layer. We don’t come in and out of this door as much, but it was a great opportunity to be a welcoming little vestibule. However, it wasn’t always so bright and airy, no siree. Here’s where we started: It was a great space, pretty big for an entry (8’x7′ or so), and had a really pretty door and window. We wanted to bring more natural light into the living room so we ended up repurposing that window into the upstairs guest bathroom so we could install a much bigger one. As you can see the living room was dark, and this entryway leads right into it. The paint color would need to change. The trim ended up being replaced because we renovated the whole house and the style of the trim changed. And the flooring, which was not original (a ’90s update), was not what we wanted and not in great shape. We worked with Sierra Pacific to design this window that married the original diamond pattern design that remains upstairs and throughout some other areas (pantry) with the more traditional and simple grid pattern of the double hungs in the living room and kitchen. It’s unbelievably gorgeous and brought so much light into the living room like we had hoped it would. Originally, we were going to put a wall of closets in here but that was before I realized that we likely weren’t going to go in and out of here too much so we need as much storage. We still need to add a coat rack for guests, but we just don’t need it on a daily basis. We go in and out of the kitchen door and the mudroom door far more, so this room just needed to function as a welcome for guests. I think my FedEx dude sees this door more than anyone else :) As you might remember, we stared for hours and hours and HOURS at wallpaper samples for this room, over the course of six months. I really wanted to stick to this calming Scandinavian farmhouse vibe, despite loving color and pattern so much. I love so many of these, a lot, but living long-term with one is a different story. I ultimately decided to go more neutral (which I know that many of you were confused/disappointed by) but I continue to be so happy about it in person. I suppose I’ve reached the point in my career and with this blog where I’m choosing what I want to live with over what I know will look good on camera – because admittedly this paper pattern barely reads in photos. It’s just really pretty and calm in person and has allowed me to layer on a lot of art (in a fun way which you’ll see in the reveal!). Will I someday wish I had gone bolder with the wallpaper? Maybe! But here we are now and I’m super into it. Oh, and I’m not convinced that the door will stay white but it is for now, FYI. The Bench The only furniture that this space needed was either a console table or a bench. I was open to both but mostly wanted the piece to be super special. I had this outdoor Rejuvenation bench for a long time which looked pretty darn good, but when Thos. Moser said they would partner on this wood spindle bench I screamed, “YES”. It’s the world’s most beautiful bench, with two tones of wood, the most beautiful joinery, and a better scale for the entry (a foot longer than the black one). I’ve had that vintage rug forever and want to blow it up to a 12’x15′ and put it in the living room – it’s perfection. And the light fixture is an antique that I got from Rejuvenation’s Vintage Department. It’s a simple milk glass disc with a triple bulb brass fitter on an unlacquered brass stem. It’s made for this space because of how it interacts (or doesn’t interact) with the window. I wanted it pared back and simple, letting the pattern of the window shine. How To Hang A Gallery Wall Of Art On Wallpaper?? The reason I went quiet on the wallpaper was because this is one of the few walls in the house that I felt could handle a gallery wall (and no there are no rules on an entry just having a mirror). I have a lot of fun art that was feeling odd in other places or was competing too much with the art that I already had there. It’s my opinion, however, that busy art on busy/bold paper would be too much for me in this home. So I chose to keep the backdrop quiet and let the art be more eclectic and colorful. But I know myself enough to know that I love to switch up art, especially a gallery wall A LOT. Another one of my talents is putting holes in the wall. So this wallpaper created quite a challenge for me – you can’t just willy-nilly throw holes inside wallpaper, y’all. So I found this art rail from Pepe & Carols and decided that I’d hang that, which would allow me to switch up the art on the chains. This allowed for ultimate flexibility and I thought would be such a pretty architectural detail. I chose the 72″ length which came with 17 feet of chain and then ordered 5 of the large S hooks and 14 of the small S hooks. So here’s a sneak peek into the art that we hung – via a really bad iPhone shot by me. Since this room is so small I can’t give you a better sneak peek without giving the whole space away, so you’ll have to come back Monday to see how it all turned out and how I feel about it. :)

Really Good Spring Break/Vacation Dresses

It’s 60 degrees and sunny in Portland (February 28th) so people are in shorts and drinking margaritas (I’m cutting out early at 3 pm to go on a long family bike ride along the river). And while we have a couple more months of potential rain up here, I know a lot of people go to the sun for spring break (including us – we are off to Belize with the kids which I’m INCREDIBLY excited and grateful for – never been and the personal reviews from so many people have me pumped). When we went to Costa Rica for Spring break a couple years ago, I didn’t bring the right humidity-friendly clothes – too many jean shorts which is decidedly not what you want to wear when it’s 90 percent humidity. And yet at night you don’t want to just sit in a tiny dress at dinner. So I did shop a bit and after trying on many many dresses, these were the four that I thought were worth recommending. Here you go :) This was my #1 – so soft and drapey, thin (but not see through), drawstring but not tight, flattering but not fitted. I have been shopping and wearing Emerson Fry since before DesignStar (budget depending) and it’s just such high quality made in America stuff that is so timeless and lasts. The prints say “spring/summer/vacation” without just screaming “TROPICAL RESORT” so I think I can also wear this all summer long up here. So flattering, such good details with the stitching – a 10/10. Oh, and I have found that with the bugs it’s actually nice to be more covered up at night for dinner. I loved the color and pattern of this dress – with big balloon sleeves. This one is a bit warmer (still cotton, just slightly thicker) and yet still drapes really well (not too stiff). It has pockets, too. Definitely a great boho dress all spring/summer, especially if you live in one of the southern states. I was surprised how flattering this dress is for being really voluminous. Because I have bigger ladies, these types of dresses don’t always work on me (just where the umpire seam hits at the mid-boob) but this one was fitted enough in the armpits, and the seam was low enough that it falls really well into the tiered skirt. I don’t need all four of these so I’m still deciding between this one and the brighter pink one – literally can’t decide!! This one is so fun and swingy – with pockets and a low V. My only issue with this (and why I decided to return it) is that the V comes so low into a drawstring that you either have to not wear a bra, wear a pretty showy bra or wear a swimsuit underneath. Here I’m not wearing a bra because the one I had on yesterday was NOT a pretty showy bra (flesh toned and meh), and that 5 minutes of shooting this bra-less felt VERY scandalous :) No thank you! But it’s a really pretty dress and comes in a pink color as well. Ok, this is such a fun look, but pretty specific, ie, very resortwear. People love Farm Rio and I do, too! But I find that I simply don’t have enough opportunity to wear this type of look in Portland (and the set together is expensive). This does scream resort or SoCal summer and it’s undeniably cute, but I don’t think I have the lifestyle to support wearing it enough to spend the money (and have it take up real estate in my closet). But if you are going on vacation and want a cute set to show off – I LOVED THIS. Oh be warned, I ordered a small top (which fit great – so good over a suit) and a medium bottom and the bottom still cuts in too much in the waist for me. All in all, I’ve learned that I don’t really wear very cute “looks” on these more kid-focused adventure jungle vacations. It’s a lot of playable swim suits, cute swim shorts, and Tevas, then loose clothes at night that don’t stick to me, so I’ll likely bring that first dress for dinners and I’ll wear it over and over :) We are so excited to explore some Mayan ruins, zip line, snorkel, and do lots of cave exploration (i.e, I’m not bringing any platform sandals on this one). Let me know if you want me to do a recap on the Belize trip – I never did a Costa Rica blog post, actually, so if you want our itinerary from that trip let me know and I’ll share (it was a 15/10 itinerary, BTW – the entire family loved every second of it – thus us going back to a similar vibe, but with ruins and Caribbean waters instead). Often recapping these trips feels braggy so I kinda avoid it but I also know how helpful it is so share our experience in case you are planning yours (and these beautiful countries are still really affordable once you get down there.) We rounded up more vacation dresses for you – Sandals, Affordable Spring basics, and “New Spring Refreshingly Good Head to Toe Denim” posts are coming soon… Love the colors and the mix of prints! The reviews say the fabric is lightweight, but there are differing views on whether or not you need a slip if you want to use it more than a vacation cover up:) So pretty regardless and also worth a slip purchase if needed! This might be a little more “spring” than “spring break” but either way it’s so pretty! For only $42 you get the chinching, the puff sleeves and that beautiful pink color. But if pink isn’t your thing, it comes in two other colors. Now this screams spring break. That bold pattern is extremely fun and the green is so bright and happy. Did I mention it’s only $35 and comes in two other colors? This colorway is decidedly the most “vacation-y” but all of them are fun. Such a pretty Farm Rio dress that could effortlessly work for both a vacation and a fun spring event. The colors feel fun but not too bold and the pattern is just so beautiful. If you like a shorter cover-up, both of these are great! I love how the colors are the main event for the one on the left while the pattern is the statement for the one on the right. You can’t really miss with either. This one looks very chic and sophisticated but it’s only $45. A steal! This is great for someone is who doesn’t love super bright colors but sill wants a classic vacation look. Oh, this one is good. And from the over 300 reviews giving it over 4 stars, we are correct in our assessment. The warm pink strips are so pretty and the added orange accents make it “vacation”. Love it. Another super affordable ($30) spring/spring break dress! A belt is always a nice option for some shape too. That print is really good. For my simple stripe lovers, this dress is for you. It’s so versatile and could go from the office to the beach to brunch with a change of a few accessories and shoes. It comes in two other colors if you prefer a solid color. I wanted to throw in a couple more slightly “formal spring” options because they were pretty and some of us need those too. That white eyelet dress is so pretty and under $100! Then the print and shape of the floral dress is real good. Perfect for Easter, a spring trip to Europe, or any other slightly dressier occasion:) Hope this was helpful.

How Often to Water Your Petunias—4 Rules a Gardener Swears By

Grow them in pots, planters, or straight in your garden and petunias will reward you with big, bold flowers that just don’t quit. But if you want these colorful plants to keep on blooming from spring through fall, it’s important to water them right and just when they need it. Whether you’re new to growing petunias or just want to take your plants to the next level, this petunia watering guide is packed with expert tips on how and when to water petunias for peak flowering and healthier plants. Meet the Expert Cynthia Haynes, PhD. is a professor of horticulture at the Iowa State University. Eva Ward oversees the annual greenhouse team at Ward’s Nursery. Signs Your Petunias Need Watering Petunias wilt quickly if they don’t get enough water, and drop leaves, turn brown, and die back if their soil gets super dry. But you don’t need to wait for your plants to show signs of stress to know it’s time to water them: Just take a good hard look at the soil they’re growing in. “Petunias don’t like to stay wet for long periods, so check the soil first before watering,” says horticulture professor Cynthia Haynes. “Just scratch around the top inch of soil with your fingers to see if it’s dry, or lift smaller containers to check their weight. Then, water when the top inch of soil dries out or the container feels light.” Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more! When Is the Best Time to Water Petunias? Like other plants, petunias absorb water best if you water them in the morning or in the evening a little before sunset. If you water petunias when the sun is high overhead, it can increase the amount of water that’s lost to evaporation and make it harder for your plants to absorb the water they need. That said, if your plants look stressed, it's better to water them right away than wait until morning. “Petunias are heavy drinkers and don’t recover well if the soil gets too dried out,” says plant expert Eva Ward. “Don’t wait for petunias to droop—water stress opens plants up to pests and many other problems.” How Often to Water Your Petunias Petunias should be watered often enough to keep their soil evenly moist, but not so frequently that their roots get waterlogged and start to rot. Exactly how often to water petunias can vary depending on the season, the size of your plants, the temperature, and the pots your petunias are growing in. “Watering frequency could be every 2 to 3 days, or daily if it’s a large plant in a hanging basket in full sun,” says Ward. “For larger patio containers, always keep the soil surface moist and use a lightweight mulch like buckwheat hulls to prevent evaporation.” Petunias growing in the garden will typically require less water than potted plants and may only need to be watered once a week. But this watering frequency can also vary, so always test the soil with your finger before you water. The Right Way to Water Your Petunias There’s no one-size-fits-all watering schedule for petunias. But in general, you’ll need to water petunias less in spring and more when temperatures rise and the plants fill out in summer. Being flexible with watering and following these simple tips will help you avoid underwatering or overwatering your plants and encourage petunias to flower more. Water Deeply “When watering, water deeply,” advises Ward. “And make sure the soil is fully moist and that excess water drains out of planter drainage holes.” The best way to do this is to water low and slow with your hose or a drip irrigation system. Deep, slow watering allows water to penetrate well into the soil around petunia roots and can keep gardens and planters from drying out too quickly. Keep Leaves Dry Like other plants, petunias can develop mildew issues if their leaves stay wet too long. To avoid this, water your plants in the morning and direct water to the soil line to keep it from splashing up on your plant's leaves. Don’t Overdo It Don’t be tempted to water petunias if their soil still feels wet. Overwatering is a surefire way to stress out your plants and cause petunias to wilt, yellow, or die from rot. Add Fertilizer “You’ll get the best flowers if you use a blossom booster liquid fertilizer with every other watering all season," Ward says. "Or if you prefer a slow-release granular blossom booster, scratch that into the soil surface around petunias in mid-June, mid-July, and mid-August.” Applying fertilizer when the soil is already moist helps petunias absorb it faster and can prevent fertilizer burn.

My Niece’s Colorful Tween Bedroom Reveal That She Will Hopefully Still Love In Five Years :)

OK, I learned a LOT from doing Elliot’s bedroom which really informed the way I designed her best friend’s (and cousin’s bedroom) that you are going to see today. What I didn’t realize (first-time pre-tween mom here) is how much their likes and dislikes will change, like monthly. So with K’s room, I, of course, asked her her current likes and dislikes, colors, etc. but I intentionally left it so that if and when her styles or color preferences change, it wouldn’t be a big expense. And yet this room is actually full of a lot of color and so many high-quality pieces which are all from AllModern. I feel so grateful we got to give her these really special pieces that she will easily grow with. I can’t wait to show you. The Room Before The room has a great foundation – pretty white oak (Stuga, Shell) flooring and wood ceiling (Stuga, Drift). There are two large windows, so a ton of natural light, and two big blank walls for the bed and dresser. Opposite the bed is a daybed with storage and a reach-in closet (that we already wallpapered and revealed for a partnership, HERE). So when AllModern reached out for a series of makeovers this year and my brother expressed that they had NOTHING for K’s room when they moved in, I knew that stylistically it would be perfect (and yes, this 10-year-old is getting really high-quality furniture that she can keep forever). Without further ado, the reveal! We’ve also made a video tour of the space, which you can view while perusing the rest of the photos. (The player will shrink down into the corner, or, if you’re on your phone, it’ll play above the text!) A High-Quality Base Layer – I.E. Good, Simple Furniture Now there are a million ways to build a room, of course. For this house and this room, I wanted it to have the same warm minimal vibe as the house -streamlined and organic, but with enough color to make it feel youthful and fun. Here were the functional needs that K requested: Green and Purple – Ok, but we’d do a non-obnoxious, more timeless version of it and not, like a LOT of it. Queen Bed – Great for sleepovers, snuggling with parents, and can double as an extra guest room. A Desk – If they could go back in time they would have turned the nook into a desk (although I hear that teens love the idea of a desk more than they actually use it), but I also got a lot of advice from you that having it double as a vanity would be really functional for them. A Dresser – While they have a reach-in closet, it doesn’t have drawers, and kids aren’t the best at hanging up clothes or stacking their folded clothes. Because of these needs, the layout of the room and the furniture choices were greatly informed. We’d flank a powerful queen bed with a desk and a small stool (allowing space for the dresser without being too crowded) and achieve a sense of balance with the sconce on the right. So as you can see, while we dismissed symmetry (which I typically love in a bedroom) having it be asymmetrical not only gave them the function that they needed but also made it more playful (less serious). We wanted to get her furniture that she could easily grow with which meant high-quality and timeless — exactly what you’d expect from AllModern. But to make it feel perfect for a 10-year-old we shook up the layout and added a ton of color really which brought in that fun, youthful energy. AllModern’s pieces bring together everything I love about modern design—clean lines, unique details, and amazing quality. That desk, mirror, and sconce are perfect examples: sleek, functional, and anything but boring. The bed is another standout with its soft green boucle upholstery, fully upholstered frame, and solid build. We knew that bedding was a place we could really add some color, so we took this awesome throw with cool very Gen Z colors on it (wait, is she Gen Alpha???) and accessorized with it. The green pillow is from AllModern and the purple and gold stripe behind it we had made (it works with the custom bench pad we made – keep scrolling). We didn’t want any white bedding (y’all, I think the decades of white bedding might be done!) and mixed this darker rose, light mauve, and powder blue. I love the mix so much. You might be wondering what the art, butterfly, and ivy situation above it is, and I get that. We went BACK AND FORTH asking ourselves “Is this cool or try hard?” and every time we decided that we loved it! The art is a print that they already owned, and I really like it (we actually bought it for the original Portland project), but the white of the print with the white frame just wasn’t enough to “hold the wall”. So by adding faux greenery and whimsical butterflies (so affordable). It draws your eye there, definitely adds some youth, and it was cheap and will be very easy to remove. On the opposite side of the room is this round side table which I think is the perfect complement to the desk and works so well with the adjacent dresser (a proper nightstand would have been too clunky next to this). This is definitely a case of the “matching set but make it cool” because yes, all the furniture is white oak, but it’s not boring and clearly feels purposefully designed, not just put in a room. On the other side of the room, we have this awesome dresser, also made out of white oak with push-open drawers (so no hardware needed). It’s gorgeous and so well made. Above it, you have another one of our bulletin board DIYS (this is our third now). We are doing a full post about how we did this one but it’s so huge, fun, and so affordable. It gives 90s “Nickelodeon,” right??? Step by step coming soon :) All the colors play off each other so nicely and the zig-zag just gives it so much playfulness and a sense of “now”. For the window treatments, they hired Decorview for the big windows, mostly because they wanted the top-down, bottom-up function (to block the view from the street that could see into her bedroom. You can’t buy them online, it’s a full-service situation and not terribly budget-friendly but certainly high quality and they do allll the hard work. They didn’t want blackout because they wanted to let light in should they want them closed during the day (plus K is one of those unicorns that sleeps til 10 on the weekends, 11 in the summer – TRULY WILD). So we added some additional curtains to frame the windows, but they stay mostly open. I’m absolutely obsessed with this shot – it’s just so pretty!!! The arch of the mirror is gorgeous (and you can see it walking down the hallway – so impactful). And I love how I designed the bench cushion – green velvet on top but that same purple and gold stripe on the front. Thanks to Ivan at Alexander Matthews for executing it so perfectly. Such a dreamy little nook. We had the bolsters made as well. The drum table was in her brother’s room and we just brought it in for the shots to have something in the foreground, but looks pretty cute. The sconces and ceiling lights are Rejuvenation. I LOVE them – they are graphic and modern, high quality and timeless. And I love the chandelier in here. We needed multiple bulbs since there are no recessed lights, so this adds a lot of light in a really beautiful way. I’m so proud of this room and K LOVES IT. They were out of town while we shot and listen, their kids didn’t ask to be on my social anyway, so no she isn’t here. And if you are wondering where all the “Purple” is, the answer is that our new Mallory rug (which is one of my favorites) got lost by FedEx coming from our shoot at the mountain house. And then we couldn’t get it in time for the shoot, but it’s the most gorgeous color of purple, IMHO, and I’m even considering it for my living room. I think we actually called it “Dark Brown” via Rugs USA, but if you know anyone who wants a very sophisticated purple it’s for you. We are going to reshoot this room with it in the new year (and add some posters for K, which she wants). But The Elliot in Rust is also one of my favorite rugs – just much mauvier and lighter. But still so soft and pretty. A huge thanks to AllModern for having an excellent selection of furniture, curated for those into more modern design for sure, with pieces that will last forever (think heirloom modern pieces). Sure, there are some more trend-forward pieces (like that bench) that can shake it up and help make a room not feel so safe, but as a whole, I think the room turned out so curated, fun, and easy for her to grow, change, add to and swap out the colors and accessories. Oh, and I was so happy with how fast everything arrived. Fast and free shipping means a lot these days:)