Monday Reminder: Never Lose Faith

Never lose faith, never lose heart.  There is always something unexpected and wonderful just around the bend. -Unknown

Monday Reminder: Choose Your Own (Adventure)

It is so important to choose your own lifestyle and not let others choose it for you. - Susan Polis Schutz

Monday Reminder: New Years Eve Special!

In honor of New Years Eve, I think this was especially appropriate.

Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country. - Anais Nin

Monday Reminder: Dreams Can Come True

"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them. - Walt Disney

Monday Reminder: A Brand-New Path

"Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman."  - Maya Angelou

Monday Reminder: Surrender to the Dance

"The art of living is based on rhythm — on give and take, ebb and flow, light and dark, life and death. By acceptance of all aspects of life, good and bad, right and wrong, yours and mine, the static, defensive life, which is what most people are cursed with, is converted into a dance... The acceptance of the situation, any situation, brings about a flow, a rhythmic impulse towards self-expression. To relax is, of course, the first thing a dancer has to learn... It is extremely difficult, because it means surrender, full surrender."  -Adapted from Henry Miller

Monday Reminder: Think, Feel, Do

Happiness cannot come from without.  It must come from within.  It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes up happy; it is that which we think and feel and do, first for the other fellow and then for ourselves. - Helen Keller

Monday Reminder: How Lucky I Am

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." - A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

I usually leaves these reminders without a lot of explanation but this one begs for a little extra.  Thank you to my friend Cathy for sharing this quote on her blog a few weeks ago.  It is so incredibly appropriate in my life right now and Winnie the Pooh holds a special place in my heart and in my family.  For the last few months, it's been so hard to say goodbye when I leave home after seeing my friends and family (and of course the boyfriend).  Now it's hard to say goodbye to Kentucky when the move back home is actually happening.  I'm a lucky girl to have so many wonderful things to say goodbye to.

Monday Reminder: We Are Limited

I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want & live all the lives I want.  I can never train myself in all the skills I want.  And why do I want?  I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited. - Sylvia Plath

Monday Reminder: Delicious Ambiguity

Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the member and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity. -Gilda Radner

Monday Reminder: What is Cool?

I meant to post this last Monday, but got busy and simply forgot. That being said, after my decision last week to go back to my blogging roots, it is even more appropriate to share with you today.

My reminder today is taken from an old Banana Republic ad. I tried desperately to find a digital copy of the original but I wasn't successful. Anyway, the ad itself wasn't so important as the quote itself. All I know is that it came out sometime while I was in high school or college and I remember cutting the quote from a magazine, crying (yes, crying over a quote in a magazine) because I knew I wasn't ever going to be any of the first definitions of cool, but knowing that I was on a path to falling in love with what I had been given.

When I decided to share this quote, much like the one I shared a few weeks ago, I knew I wanted to feature another of my friends who does amazing photography. Meghan was one of my first friends in Lexington. She has an amazing family - complete with the two little munchkins pictured above - and recently made the decision to start her own photography business. To me, her pictures scream timeless, classic, and cool. She isn't all about the "trends," but she doesn't dwell in the past and yet she certainly isn't chasing the next best thing. She is one of those remarkable people who understands that the smallest moment - the simple act of "now" - is something to be treasured and her pictures show it. Because I have the pleasure of knowing Meghan personally, I know that her photos don't just embody the philosophy above - her entire life does. 

Keep this reminder with you today. Be happy with your today and don't worry about what the rest of the world sees as cool. Being cool is as simple as being content with what life throws your way.

And while you're reminding yourself of how awesome now is, check out the Meghan Beth Photography website and Facebook page to show her some love! 

Monday Reminder: Follow Your Dreams

The quote above so perfectly embodies why I hold on to my dreams.  Having dreams, sometimes seemingly unattainable goals, allows me to stretch beyond my comfort zone and fly to places I could never imagine.  I first read this quote on a graduation card which was given to me in 2003.  I have long since lost the rest of the card - only saving the front with the applicable quote - and have no idea who gave it to me.  But the quote has shaped my life for almost a decade and because of that I wanted to share it!

When I thought about sharing this quote with you, I knew I wanted to feature beautiful photography taken by someone I hold dear - someone who also subscribes to the "follow your dreams" philosophy - namely, my friend Bobbi who took the photo above and recently launched her own photography business.  As she states on her company's Facebook page, her photography is "spiritual, emotional, and natural."  That statement, and the launching of the business itself, sums up the philosophy described above and her photos truly reflect her style.  I am proud to call her a friend and share her work with all of you!  Take a moment to check out her work and if you're in the Lexington area, consider doing business with her.  

Let this quote and photo guide your day today.  Allow yourself to be lifted up and guided to places you never imagined.  And never, no matter what, never stop dreaming.

Monday Reminder: Decisions

Maybe I'm the only one wrestling with life-changing things bright an early on a Monday morning (or all the time lately!), but I doubt it.  Wanted to share a good reminder with everyone else who is also making big decisions.

Happy Monday!  May your day be productive and full of love, laughter, and good decision-making skills.

Another Gem from the Magazine Purge

An article called "Girls of Wisdom" in the January 2011 issue of Better Homes and Garden got me thinking.  How would I answer their (random) questions.  For that matter, how would me many girls of wisdom who are out there answer?

If I were stuck on a desert island, I'd need:
A rubber band & handful of bobby pins, and my Kindle (the desert island magically has internet access right?) 

How to save a bad hair day
Aforementioned rubber band and bobby pins 

Worth the Splurge
I don't really splurge on beauty products because I've never had to.  I swear by my Aveda shampoo, mostly because I only have to shampoo every couple of days and it only costs me $20ish every 6 months.  I don't really splurge on clothing either - unless buying everything on sale so I can buy it all counts!

Cheap, but worth a million
Chapstick in every location I could possibly use it - next to my bed, in the bathroom, a couple in my purse, one in my desk, in the car...

I wish someone had told me
Even though I had perfect skin through college and high school, it isn't always going to be perfect.  Now that I'm stressed out as an adult, I break out when someone looks at my crooked.

I'm so glad someone told me
My mom was a big proponent of the "God made your body the way it's supposed to be" talk when we were kids.  I'm thankful for that every day because it takes the pressure off of looking "perfect."  I'm never going to be a 5'7", size 2.

Beauty pet peeve
Women who get gussied up to go to the gym, grocery store, etc.  It's really ok to go out of the house without making an effort to get ready.

Best bygone beauty
There is nothing better than old-fashioned cold cream to soften your feet over night.  I'm sure it's out there still, it's just harder to find in the generic brands!

I don't leave the house without
(First of all, I hate the answers these women gave.  You really don't leave the house without lipstick and t-zone powder?!  I don't think I actually own t-zone powder.)  My answer is so very simple.  I never leave without my wallet, my keys, and my phone.  That's it.

I wish someone would invent
An instant cat hair remover

Aging is
not scary to me because all of the women who have gone before me - mom, grandmas, great-grandmas - have all aged remarkably gracefully even when they haven't lived easy lives.

Lipstick or gloss
I have never liked lipstick.  Gloss all the way.

I feel confident
Almost all the time.  Whether that's a good thing or bad thing, it's the truth.



Any of my ladies have anything to add?

Things I Have Said Today...

It's one of THOSE days...

Via Text Message (Regarding the fact that I'm a grouch): I did wear awesome shoes today.  This way if I have to stab someone, I have a weapon AND they make my legs look great.  So that helps.

To My Best Friend (Regarding dating): I really don't know why I ever try... I literally do not have time for this.  But I also don't want to die alone and have someone find me 8 days later after my cats have eaten me or something like that.  So I guess I have to keep hoping there is someone out there who will want to be there to save my dead body from cats.  And that is the most morbid thing I have probably ever said.