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There are so many businesses online. So many creative ideas, projects, initiatives, missions. They are popping up all over the place and they are inspiring and motivating. But they can also be overwhelming. They can make you feel inferior or like a failure because you haven’t built your own successful business, because you don’t have that “million dollar idea.” But the truth is, just trying to reach your dreams is the definition of success. Taking that step, putting yourself out there, making a leap into the unknown is the sign of courage. Try everything. Be curious. Discover your passion.

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” – Ursula LeGuin

I am a sucker for a New England fall. The dramatic drop in temperature. The vibrant colors that light up the trees. The crackle of fallen leaves. The cold fingers and toes at night as you snuggle deeper under your covers. It makes me feel brilliantly alive. It’s days like this that make me thankful to live where I do. Yes, when the long, hard winter months start hanging heavily over my head, I do wish for the summer skies of California. I long to feel the warm sun radiating on my body and I sense a definite change in the moods of those around me. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a real thing and I can tell you it makes an appearance every February/March without fail. But for now, the chill is delightful. It hints at holidays and time with our family. The winter chill means hot apple cider on the stove, a fire in the fireplace and cozy clothing (with elastic waists!). I am going to really try and hold onto this winter cheer for as long as humanly possible. I will try to see the beauty in everything it brings and really try not to complain too much around January, February and March. (But I can’t make any promises).

The holidays are fast approaching so that means the temperature is dropping…rapidly. I have become a bit of a fire fiend. I love the smell, the crackle of the logs, and the warmth a fire provides. It is soothing and comforting, it’s like coming home. Nothing makes me think of home more than the holidays. I’m really excited to spend Thanksgiving with the people I love, who mean the world to me. So my week has been spent decorating for Thanksgiving and prepping my baking skills. I’ve also been taking long walks, enjoying this brilliant fall in New England, watching the last of the leaves fall from the trees. Super Storm Sandy forced the leaves off the trees a little earlier than expected but it’s beautiful nonetheless. I’ve also been doing lots of fall cleaning and have found a great little trick. Leave a big, canvas bag in a central spot and throughout the day, as I find things that need to be put away or brought back to their home, I drop it in the bag. Instead of having clutter everywhere, I have a bag-o-stuff that I can carry around while I return things to where they belong. It works great! Plus, the bag looks cute in my hallway.

I love Project Life!

Yes, I know Halloween was last week and Thanksgiving has yet to come, but I’m already planning my sister’s Holiday Party. Yes, it happens to be a party she has yet to say she’s having and she may discover she is having this party by reading this blog. But still, better to be prepared, right?

So I’m already falling in love with all of the sparkly, brilliant ideas I’m finding on Pinterest.

I can’t wait for this party {obviously} and I think it will be fun to spend the next two months planning. Although, maybe I should work on my Thanksgiving table first? Oh well. So much to do, so little time.

Happy Holidays!

via Amy Atlas

via Amy Atlas

via pinterest

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

I promise next time I will talk about Thanksgiving and I feel badly for not giving any love to Halloween. So in closing, I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween filled with sweet treats and spooky times!

Warning! These little princesses will steal your heart!!!

I am literally using my blog to remind myself to BUY this agenda in August…yes, you will be mine!

“Live your Life. Live your Life. Live your Life.” ~ Maurice Sendak (1928-2012)

Exercise

Mondays. They’re pretty tough. Typically you feel overtired and overwhelmed with the work load that has built up over the weekend. But there is nothing that solves the problems of a Monday better than exercise. It clears your head and gives you a feeling of power and control, something that we often feel is lacking in our lives. It erases guilt for any overindulging you may have done (or plan to do). And most importantly, it makes you feel ALIVE!

I am grateful for the way a simple run makes me feel more alive. I am grateful that I am able to go for a simple run every day of my life. I am grateful for the simple power of putting one foot in front of the other.

This girl is the love of my life and has filled up the past nine and half years with so much joy and jubilation that I can’t imagine the days that came before. How boring and bleak those days must have been. How devastatingly dull. But today. Today she is here. Today I hear stories of playground drama and art class achievements. She shows me the joy in simple blessings that are all around us. The sounds of puppies playing, the beauty of a rock and birds landing precariously close to our feet. She sees it all, notices everything and graces me with the opportunity to see the world through her eyes. Her innocent, precocious and hopeful eyes. All that is beautiful in the world comes shining through and I am left speechless. Speechless and blessed.

Now that I’m officially a MAC person (still waiting for my phone contract to end so that I can be 100% with the iPhone), I am falling in love with the streamlined style of Apple products. This cool shelf is designed in the same vein as Apple products and looks like it would be incredibly helpful in keeping your desk organized.

Metal Space Bar

Found at Quirky via SwissMiss

This is a pretty amazing cake!

sometimes it seems

the world is crashing down

things are failing

everyone’s faltering

fears abound

but in your heart

deep within the pain and suffering

you know

that hope is stronger than pain

faith is stronger than fear

and this too shall pass

Random statement of the day, I LOVE iMOVIE! I love it! I have been playing around with it for less than 24 hours (after taking a class at the Apple store) and I absolutely love it. I could become obsessed with this new toy! Slowly but surely I am becoming a Mac person. I never thought the day would come but I’m so glad it did!

Men, take note!

This poster is so rad. Just love it. Find it here.

Roses

Today is Sunday. It is also Academy Awards Day! I am a huge, huge fan of the Oscars. I sit, riveted to the screen, from the minute the arrivals start to the final closing comments from the Oscar host. I have watched Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic interview celebrities on the red carpet for so many years that I feel like I know them. I love everything about Oscar day. I love the prepping. I love all of the filler interviews they do all day long on E! I love the dresses, the interviews, the actual awards themselves. It’s just a super fun day all around.

Last night M and I went out to dinner. Our table was up against a floor to ceiling window and I noticed a young man walking around outside the restaurant, talking on his cell phone. Nothing unusual about that. What was unusual was that he was holding a dozen roses. Immediately my mind started running through probable stories regarding this young man. Was it a first date? Was it an impending engagement? Was it an anniversary? He kept pacing in front of the restaurant, nervously shuffling the roses from one hand to the other as he checked his phone. Who was he talking to?  Was he being stood up? It’s funny how this stranger became a central focus for M and me. We couldn’t stop analyzing him. M suggested that this man was using the flowers as a ploy, an act to attract women. The story he tells at bars to gain sympathy. “I’ve been stood up,” he’ll say, as he lays the flowers beside his beer at the bar, getting ready to drown his sorrows in alcohol. The women would flock to him. There’s something about a man carrying roses that makes the female heart melt.

As M and I were preparing to go, M ducked into the bathroom and I headed for the front door. I came face-to-face with the man and his roses…and his date! They were speaking with the hostess and she was directing them towards their table. Success! I felt a surge of excitement and happiness for these strangers. As they turned the corner and disappeared into the restaurant, M appeared from the bathroom. “You just missed it,” I said. “She came!” M immediately knew what I was talking about and was immediately frustrated by his bad timing. “I missed her!  What did she look like?”  I described what I had seen and we walked out of the restaurant discussing the strangers. After spending the night dissecting a strangers life, I felt like I knew him…and maybe her, as well. Just like the celebrities on the red carpet. The truth of the matter is that none of us are really strangers. We’re all sharing the same time and space with similar stories, struggles and successes.