YES to gratitude (my corner)

Last week, a visit from a dear friend gave me a reason to visit the Washington Coast. 

I spend a lot of time at home...working...living. And I do take time to notice the beauty right outside my door. Standing in my backyard and taking five deep breaths is almost daily self-care first aid around here. But sometimes I forget that I really can get in my car and drive just 90 minutes to the ocean (and that is why I wanted to move here almost 10 years ago).

It is like a reboot for my soul.

I'm deeply grateful that when I stand with my feet in the sand, looking "eye to eye" with the ocean, I hear my soul's song. I feel deeply at home. I find myself dancing until I find the rhythm that I need to make sense of things. I'm so grateful for this gift.

In the comments: What are you grateful for about where you live? Let's make a community gratitude list this weekend! Share a few words in the comments today.

Extra Credit: Get outside and take a little video of your corner of the world. Upload it online. Come back and share a link. (I might even pin to my YES board.)

Blessings and love to you today,

Liz

*****

This November, I'm exploring the idea of saying YES to gratitude in all its gorgeous, sometimes confusing, heart-expanding ways. And I'm inviting you to come along on the adventure here on my blog.

Throughout the month, there will be a practice in letting others know I'm grateful for them, a few stories, a collaboration or two, inspiration from others, some giveaways, a special Etsy sale for my newsletter subscribers, and a few other good things. 

You can find all the YES to Gratitude posts right here. 

there are things i want to tell you

current studio altar

I want to tell you about the sound the rain is making as it drills onto the roof today. And then it taps. And then dances. And it is insistent. And almost relentless. And it has given me a rhythm to make sense of things.

I want to tell you about how it felt to sit in a classroom last evening and listen to someone talk about my child as a student. Suddenly I saw years pass in front of me, and I thought about how important my first, second, and third grade teachers were to me, and I imagined my own daughter sitting at a desk a couple of years from now watching how her teacher moves and talks to others and wanting to be like her. And I was so struck by the beauty of it all that I could have ugly cried right there.

I want to tell you about the synergy of collaboration and how there can be an exquisite awesome found when two people just show up as themselves and share without fear and with their hearts open to all the crazy and the brilliant. (And I want to tell you that this isn't always easy to find but it is always worth nurturing if you suspect it might be there.)

I want to tell you about the dream I had about my grandparents' house last night and how I could see every detail in every room and how just at the end of the dream I realized that someone else is living there now and I saw my hand writing those people a note of gratitude for holding the love in that house for me since I won't ever be inside it again.

I want to tell you about the way my heart feels extra big today (and I kind of don't want that feeling to ever go away even though it isn't quite comfortable).

I want to tell you about how this article takes my breath away. And I mean literally. I mean I'm still crying. And you should go and read it. Or save it for when you need to be reminded that life is about being "all in" to the last minute. But whatever you do, don't just pass over it. It is a must.

I want to tell you that you are not alone in it over there.

I want to tell you how grateful I am to know you are out there.

And you? What do you need to tell someone today?

***

Using the prompt "I want to tell you" is a favorite of mine. Today's post was inspired by the newsletter my friend Jenna sent out today. She has a new short writing ecourse that starts Sunday. It's all about writing into the heart of your story. And it is going to be so good. Check it out here.

YES to gratitude (learning from my fifth grade self)

My hands are freezing as I move the necklaces from the rocks to my dress form to the box that sits on the chair beside me. My fingers are stiff and my breath feels airy almost wheezy in my throat in the way that happens when you aren't wearing enough clothes and are moving very fast and fall seems ready to give in to winter. And then I collide into a memory of my fifth-grade self playing soccer. 

Running, wheezing a bit in the frigid air, trying not to be afraid of the ball. Always on defense. One of the two tallest, most "developed" girls in the class. I'm not the fast one. I'm the nice one. The one who decides team sports might not be for me when a sixth grader on the other team says, "Bitch, get out of my way." At the next pause in the game, I raise my hand to my coach and say, "I'm happy to sit out so someone else can play." And I cheer on the sidelines until my voice is hoarse.

I Open My Heart, new in the shop

I move the jewelry back and forth quickly and think about how I am literally a photographer losing the light like someone in a movie. A real photographer. A real artist. A real business owner making a living creating things and teaching about keeping your heart open to the beauty and the shit.

I focus on phrases like "live it baby girl" and "I am home" and "I open my heart," and I keep thinking about that girl raising her hand to her coach, knowing when to say, "This isn't for me." 

And gratitude arrives. For her wisdom, her ability to set boundaries, her way of recognizing that something wasn't a good fit. She might not have known this was what she was doing, but she took care of herself in this really specific way. She recognized what she was good at and what didn't feel right. And she cheered at every single game.

I'm thinking about her today as I navigate my world over here. I'm thinking about this old story that I've often turned into something funny when people ask me if I played sports in high school. I'm wondering why I feel this need to make myself so small. I'm thinking about how I could reimagine this story and listen to what it has to teach me.

And I'm thinking about how much we focus on what we can't do, what we aren't good at, what we failed at, how we feel not enough.

When really we are miraculous beings finding our way. We are amazing. We are figuring out this crazy, awesome life. And we are stumbling. And we are doing brave things. And we are creating businesses and finding new ways to live our dreams into reality and becoming ninja warriors and opening up our hearts again and again.

And this is what I know: When I look up from my corner, I see so much love. I see so many of us cheering each other on until we are hoarse.

Yes.

A gratitude prompt today: What can your younger self teach you today? What gratitude do you feel for her (or him)? Take out your journal and write down the words that come to you in this moment.

*****

This November, I'm exploring the idea of saying YES to gratitude in all its gorgeous, sometimes confusing, heart-expanding ways. And I'm inviting you to come along on the adventure here on my blog.

Throughout the month, there will be a practice in letting others know I'm grateful for them, a few stories, a collaboration or two, inspiration from others, some giveaways, a special Etsy sale for my newsletter subscribers, and a few other good things. 

You can find all the YES to Gratitude posts right here. 

pinned it. did it. {with meg}

Meg is sharing another Pinned it. Did it. adventure today. I've seen these "salad in a jar" pins and always wondered, "Does it really work?" Her answer might just get me to try it. 

*****

Occasionally while I’m browsing on Pinterest, I come across something and think, “why didn’t I think of that?” This is one of those very things: Salad in a jar. I really like to eat salad. I like to get creative with the ingredients and I am adventurous in experimenting with my own dressings and combinations. But sometimes I struggle to use up the salad vegetables before they go bad. This is a great solution to that problem and makes eating a salad for lunch (or dinner) even easier than eating fast food.

A friend of mine posted in a group I’m in about doing this method for preparing salads. She noted that they lasted and stayed fresh for the entire work week. And I knew it was something worth trying in our house. I bought a 9 pack of Mason Jars for around $10. I purchased wide-mouth jars so they would be easy to fill and wash. I bought jars that are a pint and a half in size.  

Last week we made caesar salads. The order in which you fill the jars does matter. The idea is to start with the dressing on the bottom so that it doesn’t make the rest of the contents soggy. So we layered caesar dressing, grilled chicken, parmesan cheese, and romaine lettuce. By the end of the week the lettuce was still crispy with no signs of wilting or rusting. I don’t like to leave chicken in the fridge longer than 5 days so we were sure to eat all 9 salads (between my husband and myself) by the end of the week. 

What I love about this is that with about 20 minutes of prep work, we had lunches prepped for both of us for the whole week. It was so great to pull a jar from the fridge, give it a good shake, and enjoy it. And I did the math and each caesar salad worked out to be $1.72 each. Today I am prepping another batch of salads for our week: BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad, yum!  

I’ve created a board for salad inspiration and ideas. Here are a few we’re excited to try next:

• Mediterranean Salad
• Roasted Beet Salad with Orange Vinaigrette
• Greek Salad
• Harvest Cobb Salad

If you would like to join me in pinning to this salad board, leave us your Pinterest user name in the comments section below and I will gladly invite you to pin to this board with me. Or share the link or recipe for your favorite salad for us all to try. 

Meg Brothers is an artist, photographer, mama, and dreamer. She loves cooking, tattoos, and sporadic dance parties in the kitchen. She prefers dark chocolate, black coffee, and flip flops when weather permits. She is a lover of Pinterest and truly believes in integrating ideas and inspiration - big or small - into normal life. Meg lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Dustin and son, Julian. Meg writes about photography, family, and creative inspiration at megbrothers.com. Find her on Pinterest here and on Twitter here. 

***

Note from Liz: Over here in my corner, I'm trying to "use Pinterest for good." I really see it as a community of people trying to see the beauty and possibility in their lives. I'm adding a few new features here on my blog inspired by or directly about Pinterest as a way to invite others to look for this beauty within a social media community. Connect with me on Pinterest here. Read other "Pinned it. Did it." columns here.

YES to gratitude (putting it in writing)

One big way I'm saying YES to gratitude this month is by writing gratitude notes to 30 people in my life. I'm using Lori Portka's A Month of Thank Yous Gratitude Kit, and it is already changing me. Seriously. And that is honestly a bit unexpected.

When I decided to embark on this adventure of writing 30 notes of gratitude, I had the thought that I didn't know 30 people I could thank. I mean do I even have 30 people in my life? It feels so quiet over here because I spend so much time alone and with my little famly.

But then I started writing the notes.

Four notes in and I can't stop thinking about new people to write to. I feel deeply steeped in really seeing and thinking about the people who have guided me to this moment in my life. And this specific kind of gratitude is a feeling I needed to experience in my bones.

The reality is, we don't always practice what we know, what we teach. October is a challenging month each year around here, and my husband's stress level is always high. Yet, somehow I'm always surprised. (Kind of like how each year in early March, I am shocked by my own stress level about getting my taxes done. Happens each year. Still catches me off guard.)

Gratitude can seem very far away when the stress of the everyday stuff is high. The word alone can bug me, and invite me to feel guilty and even angry. These feelings becomes clues of course, but that doesn't mean I always want to investigate what they are telling me.

Last week, as I was thinking about this idea of inviting in more gratitude and deciding to do this practice of writing out my gratitude and sending it in the mail to others, I gave myself permission to set down some of my stories around the word "gratitude" and see what would happen if I explored it with my heart simply open. 

I'll be sharing more about the experience of writing these notes throughout the month, and I'd love for you to come along and share your experience with the practice too. Consider joining me and writing your own notes of gratitude (you could even just write 5 or 10). 

Be sure to check out Lori's kit here. There are 30 different postcards in the kit, so you are actually getting 30 small prints on gorgeous, thick, easy-to-write on cardstock. Lori's offering my readers a 15% discount this month with the code THANKFUL (just put the code in right above your order total on the shopping cart page).

*****

This November, I'm exploring the idea of saying YES to gratitude in all its gorgeous, sometimes confusing, heart-expanding ways. And I'm inviting you to come along on the adventure here on my blog.

Throughout the month, there will be a practice in letting others know I'm grateful for them, a few stories, a collaboration or two, inspiration from others, some giveaways, a special Etsy sale for my newsletter subscribers, and a few other good things. 

You can find all the YES to Gratitude posts right here. 

love this: everyday outfit ideas (october)

Lately, I've noticed how much joy I'm feeling by wearing the clothes I love, so about once a month, I'm going to share some favorites from my everyday outfits.

1) Loving this tee from Anthropologie. Shown here in plum, I have it in mustard and lilac. It is soft and just roomy enough to still be flattering.

2) These scarves from World Market are favorites. Love this color combination and I often wear the black. 

3) Cob Hill is a new-to-me brand and it might be my new favorite. I put these boots on in the store and had that "oh my gosh my feet are so happy right now" feeling. And they are cute!

4) This Let It Go Tiny Devotions mala is gorgeous. I actually wear the Mermaid mala several times a week over here, but my stone is different from the one they have now. The Sea of Possibility mala is on my wish list right now.

5) I'm a wee bit obsessed with this cardigan. It's from Nordstrom and comes in quite a few colors. Super soft + perfect with jeans or a skirt or even a dress. Love the cut of it, and there's a hood! (And I might even wear it to bed sometimes.)

And I usually pair this look with jeans (these are my current favorite) plus my own one word bracelet. It is an everyday look that is comfortable enough to get me out of pajamas and works for errands, lunch with a friend, and the jeans can easily be exchanged for yoga pants at the end of the day.

(Some links are affiliates, which means I receive a small commission when you purchase from that online store.)

YES to gratitude

I'll begin by saying how grateful I am that 2200 of you came along and said "Yes to this moment" when we went on a deep dive into being present during Yes, This* earlier this month. The experience of teaching that 10-day course was transformative for me and I want to continue sharing ideas about ways we can say YES in the midst of our beautiful, messy lives. 

This November, I'm exploring the idea of saying YES to gratitude in all its gorgeous, sometimes confusing, heart-expanding ways. And I'm inviting you to come along on the adventure right here on my blog (no need to sign up for anything). There will be a practice in letting others know I'm grateful for them, a few stories, a collaboration or two, inspiration from others, some giveaways, and a few other good things. I won't be blogging about gratitude every day in November, but it will be a theme I visit a few times a week.

Thank you for being here and sharing your stories. I look forward to continuing to say YES together.

*I've received a few emails from people asking about the next time I'll be offering Yes, This or wanting ways to dive deeper into the concepts explored in that course. I will be sharing it again in the future, but until then, consider joining me for my December Water Your Soul course where we'll be exploring ways to stay centered in the midst of the holiday season. And you might want to sign up for my (almost) weekly newsletter all about creative self-care that shares stories of my in the trenches exploration of holding beauty in one hand and the messy in the other and saying YES to all of it. 

over here

The last few weeks have been full and beautiful and hard and so very good. There have been incredible conversations and a trip to urgent care and deep understanding and laughter through tears and a visit from my mom and trips to Portland and wide hugs and a bit of letting go and time in a salt water hot pool. Oh yes. Beauty in one hand, messy in the other. The usual. And I look forward to sharing some stories soon. For now though I'm just going to share these peeks and take a deep breath and enjoy a dear friend who is visiting for the week and work on my holiday Soul Mantra collection and breathe in and out some more.

Soul Sisters was really wonderful. As in, you should think about putting it on your calendar for next year. I'm putting it on mine.

(Jenna took photos 1 and 7. The snippet of poetry is "Voices" by Naomi Shihab Nye from her collection Red Suitcase. It took my breath away unexpectedly last week and is now one of my favorite poems of all time.)