love this: luvocracy favorites (november)

I've been adding new finds to my Luvocracy boards to give you some gift ideas for the holidays. Here are some favorites:

1. First, I might have found your new favorite pencil sharpener.

2. And this Tea Buddy might be one of my best finds ever. So glad someone finally thought of this!

3. Haikubes! A poetry game is a very good thing. Perfect for writers and poets and people who just love words. My brother also uses these to help him write song lyrics when he gets stuck. 

4. All 11 Doctor Whos as Doctor Hoos on a mug? Yes, please. Jon has this as a t-shirt and now this mug is at the top of my Christmas list (well, right after a new kitchen because a girl has to dream when she's making up a list for Santa).

5. So this "word a day" journal would solve my wordiness problem. Love the idea of looking back at the end of the year. It might even read like a poem.

Note that there's free shipping on orders over $25 over on Luvocracy through Monday. My current favorite boards are my stocking stuffer gift guide and "gifts for him" ideas and my really popular "fill it with something hot" mug + tea board.

If you need a quick refresher about Luvocracy, check out this post. And if you have questions or suggestions, let me know and I'll pass them along.

YES to gratitude {an hour steeped in it}

This morning, the house was quiet. I found myself slipping into the overwhelm about the to-do list, about the blog post ideas I had yesterday that I forgot to write down, about so many other things. I took a deep breath and decided getting in the shower would clear my head.

But instead, the ideas and "you should do it this way" thoughts started swirling. My shoulders were hunched and I could feel my face frowning.

So I turned my face toward the water and let it fall over me. Breathing. Noticing.

And I started to just make a list of gratitude in my mind. For this warm water. For the time I have alone in this moment. For the warmth of my home. For the strength I feel in my body today. For the ways I know how to take care of myself. For the kind voice Ellie used this morning. For the sound of my mother's laughter after Ellie handed the phone back to me when they talked before school. For Millie, curled up on the floor outside the bathroom door. For the way the soap lathered in my hands and felt on my body.  

When my mind would start to wander, I would pretend I was in a meditation and greet the thought (literally saying, "hello over there. I see you. I'm coming back to gratitude.") and take a breath and begin listing again. 

As I got out of the shower, I just kept practicing. 

For this favorite sweater and shoes that help my feet not hurt while I stand in the shower. For the notes my customers have been including with their Soul Mantra orders. For the warmth of this favorite brown rice tea. For the smell of this raisin bread as it toasts. For the silliness of licking the last bit of peanut butter off the knife. For the sound of the rain on the patio roof as I walk to the studio. For this sacred place of my own. 

And I didn't want to stop. I felt lighter. I started to cross to the computer to check email, but decided I wasn't ready to come back to that abyss of "to do" and instead took out my gratitude postcards and got to writing.

Letting this lightness I was feeling transfer to notes that will be sent across the miles. To an uncle I haven't talked to in years. To a friend who was such a kind listener while I was pregnant. To a new friend who teaches me with her open-hearted ways. To the friend whose known me for more than 20 years and still sticks around. 

And I felt rebooted. At home inside. Ready to be open again, stepped in gratitude, self-kindness, and love.

Yes.

A Gratitude Prompt: Consider spending an hour or even just five minutes steeped in gratitude. Noticing the truths of this moment. Noticing what you hold in your heart. Noticing the light that comes from paying attention to what makes your life so full of beauty (even in the messy times).

*****

I'm using artist Lori Portka's A Month of Thank Yous Gratitude Kit to send these notes of gratitude out into the world this month. 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. 

new silver collection (and a shop coupon)

I'm so excited to announce my new silver collection is in the shop. New pewter pendants (with customizable options!), silver-plated lockets, and a few sterling silver pieces (including the popular "so i fly" necklace).

Over the years I've had a lot of requests for silver pieces, and I'm so thrilled to be able to offer some options at several price points.

(And if you look through the new items, you just my spot my tentative word for 2014. Have you been thinking about your word yet? I'm going to spend some time writing about my 2013 word soon and what I've learned from it.)

And just for fun a little pre-holiday sale in the shop! Use coupon code FIFTEEN to take 15% off your order through Friday. (Remember, just click "apply coupon code" right above your shopping cart total and enter the code there.)

Thank you for supporting my shop and my family. I'm feeling deeply blessed to be able to share my stories and create these talismans to be sent out into the world.

Big love,

Liz

YES to gratitude {I want to remember...}

I want to remember how excited you are to wear your rainboots so you can walk in the water and explore.

I want to remember that you asked about Millie's family and listened thoughtfully as I explained I didn't know her dog family but that Daddy and I rescued Millie from a human family that didn't want her anymore for reasons we don't know or understand. We talked about how much we love her and are glad that she's part of our family.

I want to remember the moments when I realized you know almost every word to the first stanza of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and just about every word of Of Monsters and Men's "Little Talks." I want to remember how your little voice was singing along with such joy as you painted.

I want to remember how much you love Grandma Fina's pasta sauce and often remind me that it is the best pasta sauce in the whole wide world.

I want to remember the way you talk to the little babies at school and how you gently touch them and say, "Good morning."

I want to remember the excitement you had on your face when you said, "Come on Mama and Daddy, be in a band with me!" And we got out all the instruments and played and drummed and sang and you were definitely in charge.

I want to remember how much you love making chili.

I want to remember how I found you in child's pose in your room after you'd stomped down the hall so mad because I said "no."

I want to remember that I'm trusting my intuition when it comes to so many things and modeling this for you is one of my most important moves as your mama.

I want to remember the moments when you wrap your arms around my arm as you cuddle up with me on the couch and say, "Mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, I love you."

*****

"I want to remember..." is one of my favorite prompts to use here on my blog, in Project Life, and when I'm stuck (or when I think I don't have any stories left). Each statement becomes it's own access point to a story I want to tell. And, so often I find threads of gratitude woven within the memories. 

An invitation :: Get out a pen and paper and write your own list today. You might even want to leave a comment sharing an "I want to remember" story.

*****

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. 

Spring 2014 Your Story Retreat

Come along to the Oregon Coast for five days with Elise Blaha Cripe, Kelly Barton, and me as your guides!

Next year's Your Story Retreat will take place March 26-30 in Gearhart, Oregon. During our time on the coast, we will explore ways to tell our stories through writing and poetry, painting and printing, sharing stories, and lots of other creative fun. We will look at how our dreams can inform our stories and dive into the topic of how to embrace the everyday joys and the messy parts of daily life. 

Throughout the retreat and workshops, Elise, Kelly, and I will share stories and creative tools while creating a safe, encouraging environment for everyone. We will let our cameras guide us, walk on the beach, and let the sun shine upon our heads as we listen to one another and share pieces of who we are.

Note: Registration for Your Story 2014 will open at 7AM PST on Wednesday, November 13. (Last year's retreat sold out in less than 24 hours so keep that in mind.) There are just 25 participant spots at this small retreat. 

Head over to the Be Present Retreats site to check out the retreat details including the workshops each teacher will be sharing. And just let me know if you have any questions.

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.