Book Review/Giveaway/CLOSED: Comfort Living by Christine Eisner

Comfort Living: A Back-to-Basics Guide to a More Balanced Lifestyle

Rebecca from Cadence Marketing Group sent me an interesting book to review this past month, Comfort Living by Christine Eisner

Comfort Living introduces simple tools, and easy steps, to create positive change in day-to-day living.  Readers will be guided to create physical surroundings, and routines, that will transform the way they experience each new day

Just as comfort foods do more than satisfy hunger, Christine Eisner points the way to surroundings that support your priorities and feed your soul. Eisner shows how we can combine places, objects, routines, people, and even animals into centers of energy that create a sense of well-being, comfort, and community.  She calls these centers "campfires" and introduces a whole new way of talking about, and looking at, living spaces and routines

With simple tools and do-able steps, Comfort Living will guide you in creating a home that transforms the way you experience each day. No big investment of time or money is required. Filled with exercises, ToolBoxes, photographs and planning pages, this book becomes a personalized experience for each reader, customized to individual needs and wants, much like a wedding planner or baby book.

I thought the book was very reminiscent of Feng Shui, but with a Zennish aspect to it. The concept of surrounding yourself with favorite items to create a happy place is not new, but how you go about choosing the items via Eisner's approach is. I can bet that unless you've recently moved and redone your house, the exercise in Chapter One may be an eye opener. I know in my personal experience, having recently staged our house for sale, that I now have a different concept of the items that make up my comfort home, and my husband's.

Moving is actually a whole lot like spiritual material cleansing. It's amazing how many things that you thought were important that no longer are when it comes to boxing them up. So as Eisner says:

• Preserve/HONOR- the items that mean the most to you- make sure they are placed in critical campfire areas in your home
• Put Away/ STORE- basically organize the necessities and put them out of site, but within reach. Basically clear the clutter.
• Giveaway/ SELL- items that you decide you no longer need in your home, but are worth selling, sell. Have a large yard sale, put them on Ebay or sell them at a consignment store!
  
• Recycle/ THROWAWAY- items that you can't sell can sometimes be repurposed. So donate the ones that can and throw away the ones that can not.

When you're done, you'll be surprised at what is left and how clear a vision of your new space you actually see in your head.

Eisner's approach to the Essential of Home Tending is something we all need to post and get our kids and hubbies to follow:

• If you open it, close it
• If you put it down, pick it up
• If you take it out, put it away
• If you mess it up, you clean it up
• If you take it out, put it back

Don't those rules just seem like if followed, your home would automatically be a whole lot cleaner, neater and just more together? AND that you would be much happier and less stressed?

The book also came with a small journal that lets you take your Comfort Living journey with you in the form of this spiral bound companion booklet. Divided into three thirds, the front section s green pages are for recording positives. Flip the book over and record your obstacles on the tan pages. The white pages in the center are for thoughts, lists, aspirations and conclusions. By becoming more tuned in to your Treasures and Obstacles, a more balanced lifestyle is within reach.I think it's a great idea to be able to carry it around with you and be able to jot down ideas whenever they strike and use it to focus on the ideas you learned in the book.

I think this book set would be super for anyone that needs some change in their lives, it will get you thinking!

About the Author

Christine Eisner, a designer, consultant and writer has shared her creative vision with thousands of people including corporate professionals, interior designers, real estate agents, homemakers, empty-nesters, design students and teens. Eisner's expertise grows out of three decades in New York, London and Atlanta in lifestyle marketing, communications and design for Polo/Ralph Lauren, Sotheby's International Realty, and in private consultation through her firm, Lifestyle Design.

Cadence Marketing Group is offering ONE of my readers a

  book and journal set to try for themselves!

Entries:

Make sure I have an e-mail address, with your comment, so I can contact you, if you win!

If I don't have a way to contact you, you will forfeit your win!

Requirements: must be resident of US

4 day winner's rule : for win verification. You either need to verify your address 

(happens when you've recently won a different giveaway), or provide me with your mailing address within 4 days of my sending you the first email notification. I will send a 2nd notification the next day. You must acknowledge the win or forfeit the prize. 

1. Subscribe to the blog (2 entries)
2. Follow this blog on Google Friend (2 entries)
3. Signed up for the New Year, New Self Program on this Blog (2 entries)  Must have signed up/commented under the Original Post for the NYNS Program! 
4. Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about this contest (3 entries)  (this can be done DAILY for 2 entries PER day)  
5. Have the “New Year, New Self Program” Button on your blog (3 entries)
6. Put the "Bless Their Hearts Mom" Button on your blog or website (3 entries)
7. Blog about this giveaway (5 entries)

Contest will end on January 20th, at midnight. Winner will be picked by Random Number (random.org) on January 21st, and emailed. As soon as winner's info is received from winner, the set will be mailed to the winner by me!

Disclosure: I received the review copies from  Cadence Marketing Group free of charge, for me to review. I was NOT told how to review the products.