Words To Live By

My friends, love is better than anger.
Hope is better than fear.
Optimism is better than despair.
So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic.
And we’ll change the world.

- Jack Layton, 2011

August Inspiration

One of the blogs I follow, Pink of Perfection (http://www.pinkofperfection.com/2011/08/the-charmed-life-challenge/), had a very inspiring post today. What she suggests is making a list of things that make you feel better instantly and open you eyes to the beautiful world around you. What makes doing something like this fun is that the items on the list are easy to accomplish and you only have to do one each day. I thought about coming up with my own list...but didn't have the time...I know, a very lame excuse. So instead, I have posted the list from the Pink of Perfection blog. I really like her list and it has some ideas that I would have never some up with on my own!

So without waiting any longer, here is the list from the Pink of Perfection blog:

1.Give something broken a new life (a skirt, a squeaky wheel, scuffed shoes).
2.Put something beautiful on a bit of blank wall you see every day.
3.Wear something you love that you think “just isn’t you.”
4.Send a thank you note, for anything.
5.Spend an afternoon reading.
6.Cook in a vintage apron.
7.Have luncheon: a slow midday meal with cloth napkins and wine.
8.Go out of your way to do something kind for a stranger (offer a seat, hold the door, leave your copy of Us Weekly on the elliptical).
9.Donate five items from your closet that don’t make you feel unstoppably gorgeous.
10.Take care of a nagging life admin item (a trip to the post office, filing an insurance claim, making a doctor’s appointment).
11.Buy an utterly frivolous piece of lingerie.
12.Invite friends over for cocktails, dinner, or brunch.
13.Wake up an hour early to have a leisurely morning.
14.Try something that looks like pure fun (accordion, crochet, burlesque).
15.Dance. In public, in the living room, with a partner, with yourself.
16.Flirt with a stranger. (Smiling counts.)
17.Get rid of five things in your home that don’t bring you pleasure.
18.Go to a parfumerie or department store in search of a signature scent.
19.Buy flowers for your home or office.
20.Make a recipe from a fruit, vegetable, meat or fish you’ve never cooked before.
21.Walk barefoot in the grass or on the sand.
22.Have a media-free day.
23.Write down everything you feel grateful for.
24.Hold a baby.
25.Pet a puppy.
26.Ask someone to tell you their life story.
27.Read a biography of your favorite glamorous screen star, or the bravest, most badass real life heroine.
28.Eat fresh berries, straight from the green paper pint.
29.Create an occasion to wear your most impractical pair of shoes.
30.Write down your wildest dreams.
31.Take one itsy-bitsy, teensy-weensy step to make one real.
32.Have a proper weekday coffee break: ceramic cup, idle gossip, and staring out a window.
33.Visit a playground and swing.
34.Make lemonade. (Literally or figuratively.)
35.Go to a junk or antique story; consider what your favorite object has seen in its life.
36.Jump in a body of water. Float.
37.Give someone a hug; let them let go first.
38.Look at the stars.
39.Replace one utilitarian item you use every day––a measuring spoon, a file folder, a key chain––with something really, really beautiful.
40.Pamper your body with a massage, an overdue haircut, a trip to the sauna, or a soak in the tub.
41.Research something that sparks your curiosity (Arthurian legend, photosynthesis, investing). If you’re still curious after a 15-minute google session, dive deeper.
42.Make a collage of beautiful images that resonate with you.
43.Read aloud to someone you love.
44.Forgive yourself.
45.Forgive someone else.
46.Spend an hour in silent reflection.
47.Dine by candlelight on a weeknight.
48.Take a walk after dinner.
49.Wear your no-fail, cheer-me-up lipstick.
50.Give a genuine compliment to an acquaintance.
51.Have a glass of champagne, just because.
52.Spend one day taking pictures of everything you find beautiful.
53.Describe your perfect day in writing.
54.Block out an afternoon (or day) on the calendar to make some (or all) of it real.
55.Select one drawer or surface and organize it.
56.Write a love letter.
57.Do something you loved as a child.
58.Upgrade your sleep wear, or go Marilyn-style.
59.Do the one thing you were relieved/sad wasn’t on this list.
60.Pretend for one day that you are as confident and amazing as you want to be.

I will be printing up this list and checking one thing off each day this month. Check back to see how I am doing and what simple pleasures I come across! And maybe, this post will inspire you to do the same!

I Believe...

I came across this quote from Audrey Hepburn and it inspires me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

I believe in pink.
I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner.
I believe in kissing, kissing a lot.
I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong.
I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls.
I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.

- Audrey Hepburn

Words For Thought

Recently, I was going through some paperwork and came across the following. I wish I knew who wrote it so I could give credit where credit is due. I know that I probably clipped it out of the Columbus Dispatch since it is from 2008 and that is where we were living at the time. I hope that it gives you as much to think about as it did me.

Blooms are frozen in time.

But the plant - which should have lived only the summer - had already

far exceeded expectations, thanks to a pocket kept warm by stone,

concrete and marble. As we being 2008, I can gather inspiration from the snapdragon.

The lessons?

You don't need a lot to live well.

Ignore those who say you can't succeed.

Hang tough through the worst of times; the situation is bound to improve.

Beautiful things can result from powerful struggles.

Life might not always be easy, but it's always colorful.

And last: Live fiercely all your days, however many you have.