there are things i want to tell you

little me, 2 years old

I want to tell you about the mushroom sauce my mother made tonight that I want to bottle and eat every single day. I want to tell you about how my whole body feels lighter each time Ellie communicates with more words. I want to tell you about how much Poem It Out is helping me focus on what I feel called to do in this world. I want to tell you about how being in community with people who love poetry is filling an empty place I didn't realize I had right in the middle of my body. I want to tell you about the glass of water I just drank and how it slipped across my tongue and slid down into my belly. I want to tell you about how I have stepped outside my internal perceptions about what I can do and have ended up cheering out loud. I want to tell you about how luxurious it feels to have someone else do my laundry. I want to tell you about how I didn't know I needed to let someone else do some things for a bit so I could come back to center. I want to tell you about how it really is okay to say yes and then no. I want to tell you about the sound of the rain pounding against the roof and how it somehow invites in a sense of calm. I want to tell you about the intense beauty of scanning old photos knowing I will always have them. I want to tell you about the peace I feel each time I look at this photo of the little girl me.

Sometimes making a list is the best gift you can give yourself.

five (really) good things

the buddha in the messy garden (playing in Swan Dive)

It's been a while since I've made a list of good things, and as things feel a bit busy as Ellie and I get ready to travel to my mom's for a while this week, I thought it might be fun to write in a list today. Might do it every day this week in fact.

1) Picnik closing this month has me pouting a bit over here. But through Viv's Swan Dive class, I discovered PicMonkey and am having a wee bit of fun. (And spending time with Viv and her kind, inspiring teaching style makes me so so happy.)

2) I attended Rachel Cole's Well-Fed Woman Retreatshop in Seattle this Saturday. Rachel is so genuine and real and open-hearted in person, and I really enjoyed her workshop and her approach. And I can't stop thinking about this question: What are you truly hungry for? It was a new lens for me to use to look inward and unpack things a bit in there. Good stuff. She has three more cities left on her tour (Chicago, Minneapolis, and LA), and if you live near those cities, you should get thee to her workshop!

3) Ali's 52 Creative Lifts newsletter is full of juicy goodness every week. Last week, she wrote about the idea of thinking about your creative army. LOVE THIS! You can read it here (and then be sure to sign up for her newsletter here so you don't miss any of these inspiring must reads).

4) The students in Poem It Out are inspiring me so much with the poems and poem notes they are writing in this course. And I am having so much fun sharing my love of poetry with them. (As in I am basically dancing over here as I share this content with them. I.love.poetry.)

5) And if you would have told me three years ago that watching a 22-month-old little girl find 12 plastic eggs each filled with two M&Ms would be just about the most fun a grown-up girl could have on a Sunday morning up much earlier than she had hoped to be...well...maybe I would have believed you but I don't think I would have ever known that it would make my heart feel so big. 

*****

Every now and then I make a list of five (really) good things. Sometimes I make this list just because I want to make a list (like today) and share some good things. But often times I do this practice because even on the days when there seems to be more crappy stuff than beauty, the beauty, well, it is still there. And finding it is how I keep my heart just a bit more open these days...

a poem and t-shirts (and other good things)

an in this moment photo from my 365(+1) self-portrait project
(and, of course, my smash journal yet again)

I am pretending we are having tea this evening as I want to share a few things with you:

I keep meaning to tell you that I wrote a poem and shared it at Roots of She earlier this month. I love poetry (big). 

Bella's video has me simply delighted. Every bit of it. The shadows. The music. The simple moment captured. (Of course, I also love that she mentions that she likes her One Word Girl necklace...but...really, I am inviting you to head over there to watch her video).

Speaking of Bella, she interviewed me this week over at 52 Photos Project. I so enjoyed her questions and sharing about self-portraiture and other good things. And I love that this interview pushed me to continue to own that I am indeed a photographer. (I tend to think of myself as a person who uses my camera as a tool to capture the moments of my life and sift through them, but I seldom use the word "photographer" when describing myself. Working on this one.)

I have so enjoyed this recent session of Emerge over at Live It to the Full. Teaching with Jenna and Viv is so much fun and deeply inspiring for me. And both of them have some incredible offerings right now. Check out Jenna's writing workshops and ecourses here (her intimate MFA-style writing workshop looks awesome). Find out more about Viv's photography ecourses here (and I am so so delighted that she is bringing back Swan Dive this Spring as I am so ready for it).

Have you seen Jen Lee's new t-shirts as part of the release of The Iconic Self? Oh my goodness that girl knows just what her kindreds need to hear (and wear). I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of her "Gentle Spirit...." tanks a few weeks ago and I have been known to wear it for several days in a row when I most need to be reminded of my hidden badass self. I am going to snap a photo of me wearing it soon. And I will also be sharing more on The Iconic Self next month. (Jen is sharing such good good things with the world.)

clementines and instax photos (and other really good things)

1) clementines. these little babies from trader joes make me smile every time i look at them waiting patiently in our vintage-inspired jadeite bowl. ellie and i shared four in a row friday evening. after taking her first bite i asked her, "what do you think?" "good!" she said as she reached for more. we are going to go through the whole bag this weekend.

2) ruffles + layers + a bit of lace...i am obsessed. obsessed in an i am using ruffle-ize as a verb sort of obsessed. and you can see evidence of this obsession over on pinterest. (not kidding. not even a little bit kidding.)

3) this post by elise about why "choose" is her one little word. (deeply inspired by this story as "choose love" is one of my current mantras.)

4) the instax mini is making me so so happy. the little photos are the perfect size to slip into the small pockets in my Project Life album. there is a bit of a learning curve in the winter when there isn't great light but i am giving myself permission to see each photo as an exercise in play. and i am so enjoying taking self-portraits with it that i can imagine an entire project around instax self-portraits. one observation: i had the camera outside when it was in the 30s and the photos seemed to really have trouble developing. (i've been told this is common with polaroids.) so i quickly put the photos in my pocket and my body heat seemed to help.

5) Alicia and Anna Maria have me dreaming about weekends spent by the fire with a needle and thread creating something gorgeous with embroidery or counting cross stitch. and it would be snowing out. and i would be wearing ruffles. and ellie would be contently playing and giggling and dancing. and jon and millie would be napping. and i think soup simmering on the stove would probably be involved. yes. that sounds like perfection. i have Alicia's Daisychain ABC's Sampler and I think it will be a good place to start. but first i have to finish that granny square scarf. yes. i must must do that first. (oh and have you seen anna maria's rugs? her fabric is always a favorite of mine...and now the patterns come in rugs? adore. big.)

hope your weekend has been full of many good things (and rest).

sending light and blessings across the miles,

Liz

five (really) good things

one bite at a time . december 9

On this Sunday evening, as Christmas music plays and necklaces are waiting to be packaged and a house is waiting to be cleaned, I feel moved to bring this old favorite blog post category of mine out for a spin again...

1) "A Very She & Him Christmas" is fantastic. Yep. I see lots of twirling in our future over here. (In fact, I could see it even inviting one to want to dance cheek to cheek with someone after some holiday cheer. Bring on the eggnog!)

2) I adore Kristin's ebook Unspiking the Holiday Punch. In this little treasure of a book, Kristin invites you to realize that you are your own best support system during the holidays. She provides beautiful, accessible practices that will serve you during this time of year (and always). As you navigate the many roles you play during the holidays, this book will become a companion and light for you. Give yourself this gift of self-care and check it out.

3) This morning while eating breakfast, I watched Sark's TEDx talk. How I adore her. Take some time to watch this video and soak up each word. Every time I hear her voice, I remember being in my little apartment in college curled up on my small loveseat listening to her message on the Inspiration Line and feeling like she was the only person who really "got me." I am 99% sure I am going to her workshop at Tea House next Spring and I am so excited about it! I've met her once at a book signing, but spending the weekend learning from her will totally be a dream come true.

4) Ellie is loving puzzles by Melissa and Doug. The safari animal puzzle is a favorite because she can stand the animals up and play with them. Her favorite game right now is "take things from this spot and move them one at a time to that spot" all over the house. So these puzzle pieces move from the ottoman to the couch (one at a time) then to the hallway and on and on. And I think the farm animal version might just have to be under the tree Christmas morning.

5) Oh and she is talking...like more than just the three words I thought she was saying talking...and she has been for a while now but I have just not been understanding her. But as she ate during the moment captured above, I realized she had been saying, "Good job" to herself when she would get a bite into her mouth. Yep. Awesome. And then this morning she said, "Good morning" and and and... So, it's time to be quiet and listen more over here.

And you? What five really good things are around you in your world? Dare you to share them right now.

today...

Today I let go of how I thought things would unfold and tried to just stay present amidst the grumps of a one year old.

Today I woke up almost choking on grief and missing after a dream about a house in South Carolina.

Today I called a friend just to hear her voice and I was gently held across the miles.

Today I wished for sparkly purple eyeshadow but settled for the dark blue with a few sparkles I found in the drawer even though it made me look more tired. 

Today I ate two meals while standing in the kitchen.

Today I watched my daughter point to the birds in the trees when I said, "Do you see the chickadees?"

Today I watched the eighth Harry Potter movie twice (during nap time and after everyone else was in bed).

Today I dusted off the altar in the family room and rearranged it and gave it a new focus as I burned the Earth candle all afternoon.

Today I received some truly beautiful emails from my Create Space students that reminded me that this work is what I feel called to do.

Today I stood outside under the blue sky and remembered to breathe.

Today I took photos of necklaces layered on Betty and began to upload a few to the shop.

Today I stained my fingers with frozen blueberries as Ellie and I shared a bowl to help the grumps.

Today I gave myself the gift of several mugs of tea.

Today I lived in big and small ways and somehow found my way to keep my heart open to all of it.

notes for the journey (october)

slowing down to notice . april in port townsend, wa

after teaching the creative self-care workshop yesterday (such a truly beautiful day spent with amazing women), i have been thinking about a few things that are inspiring my own creative self-care:

slowing down again and again and again to see the world around me. for a minute, for ten, for an afternoon if possible

ali's list of little things

jenna's alchemy daily: it starts tuesday, and it's a 30-day frolic of prompts, inspiration, and writing magic with juicy goodness arriving in your inbox each day. if you are thinking about blogging every day in november, this would be a good place to get some inspiration.

kristin noelle's words about "trust tending and the internet." such goodness here that i am soaking into me. (you, yes you, need this one.)

jen lee's self-care Rx list

kristen's truth about first "showing up" for herself.

rearranging the artwork in my home. (peeks can be seen here, here, here, and here)

creating soundtracks to my life: i am a bit late to the mumford and son's party (i know, i know), but their music is part of my current self-care soundtrack. a few projects on my list right now have me writing from the guts of me, in the best most healing way, but in the way that takes it out of you a bit. sigh no more is on repeat right now. and "the cave" has me knowing i am not alone while i want to almost scream these words as i jump up and down (but i am in a starbucks right now so i am just doing this in my mind as i tap my foot loudly.)

three things (plus one)

betty wears a sneak peek of necklaces heading to the shop this week

summer seems to have finally arrived for more than just a day or two in this corner of the world. and because there seems to be more living than writing and photo processing going on around here, my new york posts are still hanging out in my mind instead of on my blog...so this evening, i think i will write a very short list of things i would tell you if you were joining me here at my kitchen table for a small slice of chocolate cake + glass of milk:

1) hello mtn (aka my brother matthew and his partner in crime catherine) has released an EP of four songs! head over here to their page on bandcamp.com to listen and then download your copy. "suitcase song" is my favorite and it does indeed include my brother playing a suitcase...listen closely for the latches.

2) i think you should take a moment to read this post by jen lee. right now. in fact, consider it homework of the best kind. the juicy you are gonna want to write this down and never forget it kind of homework. the post is called "what to do when it still hurts." i have read it about ten times, nodding each time i read about the proclamations. twice i have felt those pinprick tears. and the part about nostalgia. oh my. feeling so grateful that just about this time last week i was in jen's kitchen listening to the music of the mentioned in the post "rosebuds" and telling stories and catching stories and breathing deep. ah brooklyn...miss you big.

3) i am seriously considering a tattoo. (hi dad) i have been considering one for about three years. (hi mom) but i have been waiting until i felt certain of what i want and where. an image for one came to me while i was listening to maya angelou speak earlier this march up in seattle. seeing her speak in person was such an incredible experience that i am still stuck at saying "incredible experience" instead of telling the story that was so big and real and raw and wow that i couldn't sleep much for the three nights that followed because i was so overcome with the beauty of it all. anyway, back to the tattoo. i am thinking about it. for real. and i pretty much love that. (but i might not ever tell you here on the blog if i do get one. see aforementioned peeps in parentheses.)

plus one) a small bit of shop news: i have been working on another batch of new designs this month and plan to get them listed this week. to "make room" for them, i have put several items in the shop on sale. you can find them here.