A True Good Beautiful Life

This Week's Special Guests are . . .

Marianne Tolosa

Marianne lives in Northern Virginia with husband, Jamie, and 3 year old daughter, Alice. They share their home with two cats and a whole lot of houseplants. She loves travel, nature, home design, and Jesus.

Marianne is a creator and curator at heart, with a bachelor’s degree in Oil Painting, a Master’s Degree in Interior Design, and her o

Marianne is a creator and curator at heart, with a bachelor’s degree in Oil Painting, a Master’s Degree in Interior Design, and her own handmade ceramics business, White Peach Pottery.

When she’s not making pottery, painting, or browsing Pinterest for home design trends to implement in her own house, she spends her free time browsing every antique shop within a reasonable driving distance for treasures to dot her home, knitting lots and lots of cowls and sweaters, and feeding her neighborhood’s birds in the backyard.

You can find her beautiful pottery at www.whitepeachpottery.com

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Brittany Ryan

Marianne Tolosa

Brittany is the Founder and Director of Kimberton Dance Academy. She started her dance training at the Chester Valley Dance Academy in Exton, PA and at Anna Marie’s Dance Studio in Wilmington, DE. She attended Indiana University and Temple University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in Strategic and Organizational Communications with

Brittany has been apart of the Houston Ballet Academy’s Summer Program as well as the pilot program for the Hampton Dance Festival. She has also participated in the First State Ballet Theatre, the Rebecca Davis Dance Company and ContempraDance Theatre, just to name a few.

Brittany is a member of Opus1 Contemporary Dance and is the Artistic Director for the Schuylkill Valley Regional Dance Company, which produces an annual "Nutcracker." Kimberton Dance Academy has been the official school of the Schuylkill Valley Regional Dance Company since 2015.

You can find out more about Brittany and her studio at www.kimbertondance.com

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On This Week's Episode

Show Notes

What can houseplants teach you? Lots, and they are therapeutic as well. In our segments on the TRUE and the GOOD, my amazing sister-in-law Marianne Tolosa of White Peach Pottery tells us all about how to care for her favorite houseplants and how to propagate babies and treat pests. In our segment on the BEAUTIFUL, Brittany Ryan of Kimberton Dance Academy shares with us the benefits of taking a class like Dance and the steps you can take to introduce your children to the activity.

Some Easy Houseplants to Start With:

Scindapsus
Philodendron
Spider Plant
Snake Plant

The Benefits of Dance:

allows us to be creative
uses different parts of our brain
tends to help with time management, school studies, understanding of their bodies
it's an athletic endeavor so their bodies are strengthened and toned
opportunity to show themselves in a different way -- a social environment, a creative outlet, a chance to express themselves
practice with multi-tasking
demonstrates that there is a process to progress and accomplishing goals, as well as disappointments
good habits
it's just beautiful

Two Types of Dance Studios:

Competition Dance Studios - focuses on developing a competition team
Concert Dance Studios - focuses on outside performances like recitals and "The Nutcracker," some may have a performance Dance Company that performs for charities and such . . .they provide opportunities that do not involve competition

Some of our Favorite Resources:

Plantopedia: The Definitive Guide to Houseplants by Lauren Camilleri
Growing Joy : The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla
"Bloom and Grow" Podcast by Maria Faila
"The DMV Beneficials" FaceBook Group
The KEW Gardener's Guide to Growing House Plants by Kay Maguire
Miniature Terrariums by Fourwords
Miniature Moss Gardens by Megumi Oshima and Hideshi Kimura
Schuylkill Valley Regional Dance Company (for the annual "Nutcracker" in Phoenixville, PA)

This is the last episode of the Summer Season! Thank you for being a part of this super fun project of mine and I can't wait to bring you more wonderful ways to embody the TRUE, GOOD, and BEAUTIFUL Life this Fall!

Commonplace Quotes

. . . give a child a single valuable idea, and you have done more for his education than if you had laid upon his mind the burden of bushels of information . . . - Charlotte Mason, Volume 1: Home Education, p. 174

Application

Consider purchasing a houseplant like a philodendron or spider plant and bring a little bit of nature and joy into your home. Already have some houseplants? Try propagating some and give them to your student's teachers or tutors for the first day of school for a fun twist on the traditional apple.
Dance isn't just for littles and teens. Kimberton Dance Academy also offers Adult Ballet and Tap classes. You can also sign up for a local adult class on Ballroom or Swing dancing or watch some YouTube videos and kick up those feet! You'll love it and learn a new life skill in the process. For our teens, it'll be a hit at next year's Prom!
Plan to attend your local production of "The Nutcracker" this winter. It is always a spectacular experience.