inspired

found heart along puget sound

a few people who have been inspiring me lately:

Jenna continues to share her stories about how roller derby makes her brave. This last one is so darn beautiful and true.

Andrea's words about how "we think we move through the world unseen" had me in tears of understanding. So thankful for this post.

Love how Effy came to realize that a small self-care move is enough. Yes, yes, yes! (And she shares a poem inspired by Poem It Out.)

Leonie's self-portraits are simply, profoundly taking my breath away each time I peek in to see what she has shared next.

Jen Louden's post about having lunch with your enemy is one I'm tucking away to read again and again throughout the next few months.

I'm seriously loving Gluten-Free Girl's first book right now. I love how this girl tells a story. And I have been reading her blog more often and am deeply inspired by her family. Here's a hint that you might want to know: It isn't just about being gluten-free. I'm not eating gluten-free right now, but the way she writes is infused with the senses in a way that pulls me in and invites me to want to get into the kitchen and then get out into the world and live.

As we get ready to "go back to school" around here in two weeks and find our way with a new schedule, I've been turning back to Amanda's ebook Zen & the Art of Being a Work-at-Home Mama. This book continues to remind me that I am not alone as I find my way with my family and my business. So thankful for the wisdom here.

What has you inspired over in your corner?

home. savoring.

backyard blanket fun

the sound of millie walking through the halls

the feel of my own pillow under my cheek

the happy pink flowers still blooming in pots

being part of Hannah's The Joy Up (still a bit of time to join us)

watching the olympics

just enough shade and slight breeze to stay cool when it's hot

unexpectedly finding peanut m&ms in the cupboard

huge juicy sweet local strawberries

poetry being shared in a safe, open space

ideas flowing while flying and unable to grab a pen but still remembering them hours later

finding a space of ease between us

watching her sniff the peppers, squash, tomatoes, and mushrooms and then put them back without taking a bite (we hadn't purchased them yet, so this was a good move)

knowing that in a few weeks i will be unpacking my creative world into a new studio space

***

i saw a note on facebook this weekend about how sometimes social media can invite us to feel like we aren't doing enough cool things or hanging out with enough cool people and so on. i get this; i really do. but that feeling that comes up, i believe what we do with it is a choice.

today, i invite you to just make a list of what you are savoring or what you love in your home or your favorite moments from the last week. just make a simple list and let go of comparing and just notice and choose to live inside this moment...

around here

in the kitchen tonight

Around here, I can almost hear the kitchen calling me...I long to cook more. I am hungry for meals made from fresh food that we eat together at our table. Even though I want to just dive in (like I tried to do in January), I'm starting slowly. Last night was a simple pasta dish. This morning I want to make toast with an egg in the middle because I've been craving it since reading Tara's post. [When trying to find a recipe, since I thought I needed a recipe, I discovered this dish is called "Toad in the Hole" by many. Crazy. Pinned this recipe.] 

Around here, Ellie is obsessed with shoes. My shoes. Her shoes. Daddy's shoes. She tries them on. She puts them on the wrong feet. She giggles. She gets super frustrated. It is equal parts awesome and oh my gosh I hope she figures out how to put all her different types of shoes on soon without so much frustration. 

Around here, I am continuing to update my website. If you read in a reader, I hope you will come over and look around. The colors of this site feel like home. And I have a new banner that I LOVE that was designed by Liz Kalloch. She did such a beautiful job with the design of the pieces of The Gift of This Moment, and I love how she integrated those designs in the banner. The photo in the banner was taken by Vivienne McMaster. More photos and more about our photoshoot soon.

Around here, I'm counting down the days until we start construction on the garage that is going to become my studio/office. Everything is going to change around here when this mama is able to go out of the house to go to work...even if out of the house just means to the backyard. I can't wait.

Around here, I'm adding a few new pieces to my offerings, including mentoring sessions that I'll start scheduling later this summer. Find out more details over here.

Around here, I'm staying open to creating space for more community...in-person community. Ever since it was the topic of last week's Inner Excavate-along discussion, I've found myself seeing different ways to connect more here. I'm kind of giddy about it.

Around here, the rhythm of summer seems to have finally arrived even if it has been cool enough to wear flannel pajama pants to bed.

this is what i'm holding close

walking in the woods . photo by jonny

The cuddles and the carrying and the giggles.

Friendships and how they are born and then ebb and flow and how this truly can be beautiful if we choose to see it.

Making more space for clarity and love.

Gentle self-talk about letting go of the comparisons and choosing not to click sometimes.

Piles of blankets on the floor with books and stuffed animals as our companions.

Remembering I am not alone as I continue to create space in my home and let go of what I no longer need...others (perhaps you) are doing this too. Every single day. 

Putting the laptop away and sharing a bowl of popcorn while watching some smart tv.

Several hours alone in my home to work and dance and just be.

Growing our collaboration at Chickadee Road.

The simple act of dropping my shoulders and finding my breath and then letting myself feel rooted to the earth, to home, to what I know. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

seven

saying an unexpected goodbye to a favorite cafe

Seven things I heard at WDS that I can't stop thinking about:

1) "Your capacity for wholeheartedness cannot exceed your willingness to be broken hearted." Brene Brown

2) "When we lose our capacity for vulnerability, joy becomes forboding." Brene Brown

3) "I am beautiful." Quote from a woman in Africa who is now able to bathe and wash her clothes when she needs to because she now has daily access to clean water. (From Scott Harrison's speech about CharityWater.org)

4) The idea that when someone says he is disappointed in you, it is really about how you didn't act in the script he had planned for you. [from Chris Brogan]

5) "The best supervillians think what they are doing is good." Chris Brogan 

6) "All of our contradictions make us whole, but we are trained to round off our edges." Danielle LaPorte

7) "Go where the love is." Danielle LaPorte

(I'm so appreciative of your comments and notes about last week's post about opposite assumption. I am thankful to know that others want to have conversations like this one. I have to admit to still feeling that the topic seems trite after all the goodness that went on at WDS. All the same, the topic feels like part of a bigger conversation that I want to keep having here.)

***

Oh and I'm having a bit of fun changing things up around here as you might have noticed. Back when I lived alone, I would often rearrange my bedroom just because I wanted a new view when I woke up the next day. I've been restless for a new look for this space for over a year, and instead of waiting for everything to be just so, I am diving in. Updates to pages and other good things to come throughout the next few weeks.

this is not...

this is not a post about how not being enough is tugging on me today.

this is not a post about how sometimes i think about how small ellie jane's heart was inside her nine-pound body when she had surgery and the way that thought almost pushes me into a ball in the corner but then she will run into the room and laugh and insist on putting on her sparkle shoes so she can run outside and i find my breath again.

this is not a post about how the labels that float across the universe and into my mind feel like leaden balloons that won't let me dance the way my heart and legs long to dance.

this is not a post about how i almost forgot to pay attention because i was so wrapped up in the old story of feeling forgotten.

this is not a post about how i've had two horrible nightmares in the last two weeks that i still can't shake since they seemed so real.

this is not a post about how much i'm looking forward to staying at the ACE hotel in Portland next weekend and how i am slowly realizing i have an entire day to myself on monday with nothing on the agenda until the evening.

this is not a post about how i'm having first day of school jitters about the world domination summit.

this is not a post about how much i can't wait to show you the photographs vivienne took at the your story retreat.

this is not a post about how i might be the only person excited that it hasn't been hot this summer (yet).

this is not a post about how much i love my new haircut.

this is not a post about how much iced tea i plan to drink from my huge starbucks cup this summer.

this is not a post about how sometimes i talk about simple silly things because all i really want to talk about is grief.

this is not a post about how much i wish you would remember. 

this is a post about how important it is to do things together, just the two of us. even if one of us is working on her half of the table. even if we are annoying each other. even if the restaurant is so loud we can't have a conversation. even if i might get more "done" alone. even if he would have rather gone to a movie. yes. this is a post to remind me to create more space for two people who need to see one another.

in july, i will...

backyard book picnic (so far really enjoying how to read a poem)

In July, I will:

Drive around downtown until I find that blue wall and then take out my tripod and take a self-portrait or 30.

Eat a lot of watermelon.

Send a letter or two each week (the kind that needs stamps).

Get outside every single day.

Nap.

Read just for fun in the middle of the day.

Take a deep breath when I feel my assumptions rising to the top.

Picnic (often).

Go to a few movies.

Go on a few dates with Jon.

Hug my dad.

Eat more salads filled with the goodness that is summer veggies.

Wear a headscarf or two.

Learn all the words to Gotye’s “Somebody that I Used to Know” so we can sing it loudly on our next road trip.

Make limeade.

Make ice cream.

Play in a fountain with Ellie.

Keep the inspiration for leaning into summer flowing by adding to a growing Pinterest board of good things.

And you? What do you hope to invite into your world next month?

five (really) good things :: this week

  

1. Amanda over at Kind Over Matter has created a gorgeous new book called Zen & the Art of Being a Work-at-Home Mama. I am honored to be one of the women interviewed in this book and was lucky enough to read a sneak peek this week. 

And as I was reading, I kept nodding my head and thinking about how the experience was like being curled up on the couch with a dear friend sharing stories about all that being a work-at-home mama means. Amanda holds nothing back as she shares glimpses into her real world paired with accessible tips you can implement right now. I loved every word! If you are a creative mama who needs to be reminded you are not alone in this crazy, real, awesome, hard magical work-at-home world, then this book is for you.  

2. Washi tape: So this is most of my ever-growing collection. I'm working on a project that has me playing with paper + words + color over here and washi tape is playing a big part. When I posted this on Instagram, people asked a few questions, so I wanted to share some of my resources. My favorite online shops are: Pretty Tape and Freckled Fawn. The birds on wire and in birdcages, the arrows, and the silhouette tapes are from Michaels (they have them right now). There is some Tim Holtz tissue tape in there too.

3. Oh my goodness how I love Molly's blog over at Orangette. And her post about granola bars had my stomach rumbling and then had me looking at several of her granola recipes,which caused me to begin to feel nostalgic for something I've never even experienced (aka home made granola baking in the oven while I sit at the counter doing a crossword puzzle). This weekend, granola in some form or another will be made around these parts.

4. Have you seen Jennifer Louden's new Creating Your Own Mastermind Group course? I've signed up and can't wait! 

5. Remembering this simple truth: When I get out of the house alone, even if just for a few minutes, I feel like I reboot and come back to center. And reading Andrea's blog post this week (and her link to this article) had me really feeling like I'm not alone (or crazy) in wanting and needing this. 

*****

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 other 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...