Blissful Monday

Good morning, lovely people!

Did you have a nice weekend? A good Valentine's Day? I hope so. Mine was lovely and mellow and quiet, just how I like it. :)

There's so much to be grateful for this week. Here's what's at the top of my list:

1. A real live snowstorm in Atlanta! I've been missing my hometown of Boulder, Colorado lately, so the snow was a nice, comforting reminder of home. I love waking up to freshly fallen snow-- how it glistens and makes everything feel really quiet.... beautiful.


2. A very surprising (and exciting) email late last night-- I can't say a word yet, but it's good. Details as soon as I can, I promise.

3. A bad mood turned into an inspiring realization. (And a new illustration to go with it!)


4. I ate my first macaron yesterday on Valentine's Day, and it was intense and delicious. It was oh-so-sugary, which is not typically a part of my diet, but what a treat! If you're in the market for some macarons (or cupcakes), make sure you check out Crumb Bakery in Atlanta. They are tip-top!


5. Trusting that everything will be ok. I've been a big worrier pretty much my whole life, and lately I've been letting it go a little bit and trusting that everything will work out as it's supposed to. It feels so good to relax a little.

And you? Now it's your turn to share your bliss list!

Blissful Monday

Good morning, and welcome to another Monday morning, friends. Are you ready to have the best week ever?

This last week was full of stress for me, so I'm going to pluck some of the lessons out of it that I'm grateful for this week. Ready? Okay!

• Saturday was tax day. Doing my taxes stresses me out beyond belief, and somehow I'm ending up owing again this year, even though I paid all my estimated taxes on time and Ryan and I are filing jointly for the first time (he is in medical school, and thus, he has lots of debt and little income.) What I'm grateful for: I'm starting to set up more workable systems for myself. I'm also realizing that I need some help learning about efficient accounting systems for my business, and I'm working on getting some help! Yay for help and updating old, unworkable ways of doing things.

• The sun finally came out yesterday, which lifted my spirits. We went on a long walk through the neighborhood in the morning crispness. Very nice.

• I spent too long this week worrying about having too much to do, instead of just jumping in and getting to work. It's amazing how my mind can help me procrastinate while at the same time telling me that I have to much to do! So, I'm grateful to see this pattern so I can start tricking my mind into just getting to work already, dammit!

• I got a super-cute haircut (amidst a day of complete and utter unproductivity, I might add.) Why have I spent my whole adult life up to this point without bangs? I have no idea, because I'm completely in love with them.

• Guacamole. I'm eternally grateful that guacamole exists.

And how about you? What was your week like? What bits can you pull out to feel absolutely grateful for?

Blissful Monday

Top o' the morning to you, my friends! I'm having trouble motivating myself this morning, so I think a little bliss list will be just the ticket to kick start my week.

Shall we?

Here are some of the things I'm grateful for in this moment:

1. My husband and I got married exactly 6 months ago today! August 1, 2009 was one special day, and I think I'm going to force Ryan to look through each and every one of our photos from the wedding later tonight. :)

2. Breakfast. I loooooove breakfast. Sometimes I get excited before I go to bed because I know that when I wake up I'll get ot eat breakfast. (You think I'm joking, but I'm not.)

3. Did you see the full moon last night? It was *incredible.* Ryan was driving home when he saw it, and he called me to tell me to go outside as fast as I could to look at it, and it did not disappoint. This full moon coincided with its perigee, which meant it looked bigger and brighter than it will for the rest of the year. I'm fascinated with the moon, can you tell?

4. Yoga. After falling out of my practice since living in Georgia, I occasionally practice at home when the mood strikes me. Saturday was one of those days-- it was rainy and gloomy outside, and I didn't want to go to the gym, and yoga felt like just what I needed, and I was right. It reminded me how much I love (and miss) it.

5. Waking up to a snuggling cat. My cat, Anika, is not one for snuggling when we ask her to. But I when woke up the other morning she'd curled herself into my arms tight against me and was fast asleep next to me. It was precious.

What are you greateful for in this moment?

Blissful Monday

Monday. Breath of fresh air. Or not wanting to get out of sweet, cozy bed. It's both of these experiences for me this morning.

But while I'm slow to get to work this morning, it's a good time to think of all that I'm grateful for this week, right? To ease my way in...

1. My favorite Indian restaurant, which my hubby and I thought had closed down for good (and which we were NOT happy about), was in fact just remodeling! They reopened, and the food is more delicious than ever. Yay!

2. I got an email from my mom about a project that she wants to work on with me and my aunt (her sister.) It's going to be awesome, and I'm super excited to start. (Mysterious, no? More details will come...)

3. Falling asleep on the couch. Last night the book I was reading fell out of my hand and I conked out around 9pm. It was wonderful.

4. My new kitten is in love with me. She trots around the house behind me everywhere I go, sits on my lap every chance she gets, crawls up my back to sit on my shoulder, and snuggles my face. Here is a piece of evidence:


5. My husband. I'm really, truly, so grateful for him. He makes me laugh, he drives me crazy, and he's just the best guy ever. Awwww. :) On the 19th, we passed our 7 years of being together mark! Amazing. And we've been married for almost 6 months now. Time FLIES, whoa.

And you? What are you grateful for this week?

Blissful Monday-- this week in gratitude

I'm going to get right to it today, because there's a lot of goodness around these parts this week! What I'm most grateful for this week:

1. Our new kitten is on the mend. She's been sick for a couple of weeks, and she's finally acting like a real kitten and starting to get healthy! This is terrific news in our house.

2. I'm working on a kids book with DANIELLE LAPORTE! She's doing the writing, I'm doing the illustrating, and needless to say, I'm beyond thrilled. More on this to come sometime soon, I hope...!

3. Yesterday morning I woke up without an alarm, ate breakfast, and decided I wanted to get back in bed to read a book for a little while. And I did it. Now, this might not sound like anything incredible, but for me, it's a big deal. I have a very strong "work work work, all day long" mentality, so the fact that I'm learning to take it easy a little bit is BIG.

4. I helped my little sister make a decision that needed making at the very right moment. I like to say I swooped in and saved the day. :)

5. A realization about myself. My favorite kinds of realizations are the ones I have while I'm drawing. That's what this was.

What about you? What are you feeling most grateful for right now?

Blissful Monday

Ahhhhh, Monday. The sweet anticipation of a new week. I like it.

On my bliss list today, as I begin this new week with gratitude:

1. My new kitten, Juneau. The poor dear has an upper respiratory infection and wants to sleep and cuddle all the time. She is just the sweetest thing ever, and my cat, Anika, is starting to love her already, too.

2. Dinner with fun friends who were passing through Atlanta. Thai food. Yum.

3. I went to the Atlanta Gift Show at Americasmart for the first time ever. Holy moly! 3 buildings and 18 floors of showrooms and booths = inspiration overwhelm. It was a fun and exhausting experience!

4. SNOW DAY! It snowed the teensiest bit here on Thursday afternoon/night, so everything was closed down on Friday, including my husband's medical school, so we got to have a snow day, which we thought was hilarious coming from Colorado, where NOTHING shuts down, even where there's 3 feet of snow!

5. I'm finally working on designing some new patterns for Surtex, and I feel the obsession beginning to rage again. Bring it on.

What's on your bliss list this week??

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Friends. It's 2010!
What do you think about that?

Here is what I'm declaring.
- 2010 is the year I am able to financially support both myself AND my husband on my income as a self-employed artist/illustrator/designer. (He is in medical school, so we have loans loans loans...)

- January is the month that I let go of my addiction to checking my email. Productivity and focus, here I come!

- I intend to practice meditation and read a lot of books.

- I intend to deepen my connections with my family and dear friends.

- I intend to streamline and simplify. EVERYTHING.

- 2010 is the year of insane abundance and gratitude!

[What are you declaring for 2010?]

And my bliss list from my time away for the holidays:


- my brother-in-law and sister-in-law had a new baby girl, named Sophia, who I got to meet when she was just 2 days old. What a miracle babies are, no?

- I got a fabulous new gray coat that I'm in love with.

- My husband and I adopted a new kitten! Her name is Juneau. She is getting spayed today and will come home tomorrow, and we're so excited to discover her quirks and personality. I love kittens! Hopefully our your-old cat, Anika, will love her, too. I'll post pics soon!

- Visiting Pasadena, CA for the first time ever and LOVING it. I want to move there.

- Staying in for New Year's Eve and making a vision board with my husband of what we want our dream life looks + feels like. It was a nice way to welcome the new year.

***
I hope this brand new year is a refreshing, mindful, and inspiring new beginning for you!
2010 is going to be the best year ever. I believe it.

Blissful Monday: week 5

Good morning, my friends!

Here we are on Monday again-- let's make this a good week, what do you say?

I skipped my Bliss List last week, so I'll make this one extra good. :) The time since Thanksgiving has been quite nice around our house, so there's much to be grateful for:

1. 3 days away in Asheville, NC with my husband was the BEST. We stayed in a gorgeous house in the mountains, built fires in the evenings, snuggled up in the cool weather, slept later than we normally do, and had fun exploring a new city.

{That's us at an amazing waterfall in Highlands, NC-- definitely worth seeing if you're in the area!}

2. My Cyber Monday Sale in my etsy shop was a huge success!

3. To celebrate the success of my sale, I finally bought my dream boots. They are supposed to arrive today (I ordered them from Piperlime), and I'm practically jumping up and down I'm so excited! Now, I am not a shopper, and I hardly ever spend money on clothes or shoes or anything, so this was a big deal.

4. We put up our Christmas tree! Tonight we are going to watch The Grinch (the Dr. Seuss version, of course,) which is one of my favorite parts of Christmas.


5. Spring was launched, after months of talk between Michelle, Carolyn, Jess LC, and me. The response has been beyond what we'd hoped for for our first episode, and I'm so grateful and excited to be part of this project with these inspiring women!


6. Pumpkin pie. Need I say more?

*Please feel free to share what's on your bliss list in the comments!*

Blissful Monday: week 4

Good morning!
It's Monday, and you know what that means. It's time for Bliss Lists!

On my list this week:

1. A clean house! (Ryan and I had been majorly slacking in the cleaning department recently. While our house is always tidy, underneath all that was a serious need to deep clean. So we spent Saturday afternoon cleaning from top to bottom-- the fridge, underneath the stove, everything. It feels so nice and fresh!)

2. I finished my super secret project that I mentioned a few weeks ago, and I'll be releasing it next Monday- I can hardly wait!

3. It was 76 degrees here in Atlanta yesterday. What is there not to love about that kind of weather in mid-November?

4. Ryan and I decided to go to Asheville, NC, for Thanksgiving next weekend, and I'm so excited! We'll be staying in a family friend's rental house, and I'm hoping for chilly nights, cozy robes, and a fireplace. (If you have any recommendations for things we must see and do in Asheville, I'd love to hear them!)

5. Persimmons. My friend Caroline was raving about persimmons recently, and I spied a whole big bin full of them when I went to the Asian grocery store yesterday. I'd never had one before, so I decided to be adventurous and try one, and man are they yummy! Plus, they're so pretty.
What's on your bliss list this week?

Blissful Monday: week 3

Here we are again, on Monday morning. Some people dread Monday mornings. I really like them. Fresh week, fresh start.

I'm loving these Blissful Mondays, too, because it's a reason to focus on gratitude and positivity instead of being sucked in by the Monday morning blues.

So, my bliss list for this week:

1. I really truly took a day off yesterday, and I sat outside on the back porch and read a whole book! It was sunny and perfect, and wow did i feel rejuvenated afterwards. (Oh, and I took a nap on the couch somewhere in there as well! Bliss.)

2. I bought my first ever baby clothes-- my brother-in-law and sister-in-law are having a baby in December, and my husband and I bought the cutest things at the Beehive Co-op here in Atlanta! We bought a onesie by happy family that says "chillin' in my crib" and couldn't stop laughing about it-- it's so funny! (This one is hilarious, too.)

3. The most delicious bread ever from Whole Foods.

4. My new duck bag that I ordered from baggu. It's the perfect size to lug all my stuff around, including my laptop. Perfect!

5. Wayne Dyer. I think this man is beyond brilliant, and his books rock my world.

***
Now it's your turn! What's on your bliss list this week? What are you grateful for?

I hope you have a beautiful start to your beautiful week!

Blissful Monday: week 2

Hello hello hello! Happy November- wow, right? November already.

Here are some things that have made me happy in the past week. My BLISS LIST, if you will.

1. Waking up on Sunday morning without an alarm, and remembering that the time change had happened over night. So it was an hour earlier than usual! Love that.

2. New friends + trivia night at a smoky suburb bar. SO FUN. (Not the smoky part, but the rest of it.)

3. Beyoncé. I've had "Single Ladies" stuck in my head for DAYS, and I've even gotten Ryan in on it. We run around the house dancing to it while we're making dinner!

4. FALL. Oh swoon, this is my favorite season by far. The air smells good, the temperature is perfection, and walking around my neighborhood gets me all inspired.

5. Working on a super fun, hilarious project that I'm keeping *secret* for right now. I worked on it all day yesterday, even though last week I said Ryan and I were going to start taking Sundays off. Oh well- next week! To be revealed in the next few weeks.... :)

What's on your bliss list this week?

BLISSFUL MONDAY: week 1

Good morning!
A couple weeks ago, if you remember, I talked about creative mission statements and starting Blissful Monday here on Treasuring, and by golly, I think today is the perfect day to begin. And I want you to join in!

So here is the deal. Blissful Monday is a place for us to make our own rules. It's a place to talk about what makes us really truly happy. To ruminate on what we want our bliss-filled lives to look like, in all its dreaminess. To reflect on the past week and what we've loved. Memories. Aha moments. Insights. Touching compliments. A gorgeous breakfast. A smile. Gratitude.

Sound like fun?

The only guidelines:

There is no room for complaining on Blissful Monday. If you need to vent about something, please take it elsewhere!

There is also no room for judging. It's just not helpful to anyone, right? Right.

Please keep it positive and fun, and feel free to interact with one another in the comments!

So, here is my BLISS LIST for today:

* My husband, Ryan, and I decided to start taking Sundays off together as often as we can. We decided this while sitting on the porch in the sun, drinking protein shakes after going to the gym, and it was pure loveliness. This means no work, no feeling guilty about not working (this is key), and no studying (Ryan is in med school.) We decided that it'll help us stay motivated through the week to focus and get done what we need to get done, so we can relax fully on Sundays.

* Stepping on acorns while walking through my neighborhood. I get an enormous amount of satisfaction from this, I'm not sure why, but man I love it!

* Fresh, clean sheets on the bed.

* Soup. I made a delicious vegan tomato corn chowder last night. I'm planning to make LOTS of soup this fall/winter.

* Feeling cozy. This means: tea, my fuzzy white robe, being on the couch under a blanket, soup, my pink knit hat, my car heater, rainy days.

***
How about you?

What are you loving? What do you want more of in your life? What is your inner urge telling you to do that would brighten your day if you listened to it? What can you let go of that's keeping you constrained and stressed, so you can feel relaxed and happy instead? (Hint: it's probably something you "should" be doing. Those shoulds can really cause trouble!)

I hope you have a fantastic Monday!