french films, italian sausages and african dreams

This week has ushered in a feeling of Spring Awakening. I am brimming with ideas to start, improve or complete projects. I wrote about setting up this blog as a way to grow up, expand myself, to take in more from the world and give back more too, of myself. Lately I’ve been grateful to walk on this journey as it’s opening my eyes and heart – awww– but seriously – to opportunities to connect, learn and celebrate. I’m  loving :

making more hours in the day >> becoming a decisive person helps a lot

water >> keeps me hydrated, energized and so coffee-free!
running >> I went once this week so far, every little bit counts

bubble baths

French comedies that make me laugh out loud >> Le Code a Changé (Change of Plans) about family, friends and really great, awkward, funny, “lets-do-it-again” dinner parties.

homemade muffins >> oh the smell pervading the entire apartment

white trellis lights’ soft glow at night makes for a relaxing setting

Loreena McKennitt new CD says chill in
I’m not sure I could live without Pandora…

…or fuet, jamón serrano and olive oil

trying pancetta for the first time >> yums, we will meet again

an apron with cooking instructions on them for the oven-shy :)

Camper boots >>  proving themselves to be as good as handling heavy rains lately as they were stomping in snow in January.

Tips to reinforce your gratitude practice

Carla’s manifesto on designing a life with intention

“Like I said before, if you don’t put it out there into the universe, no one – not the universe or even yourself – will know what kind of life you’re trying to live. Declare it, then live it.”

Elsie and her wildly colorful world >> this woman designs, sews and has carved out a unique life for herself

By any measure Benjamin Franklin achieved a lot in his lifetime and yet look at his schedule. Lately, I’m learning that a little down time increases productivity.

Art inspiring Art

Let the world inspire you and you may inspire the world, is what I say.

And so it went…

I was inspired to shoot these black and whites and develop them in the dark room after I saw the images on either side

Afghan Girl <<  >> Girl with a Pearl Earring

My turban in this imitation of Johannes Vermeer is, in its every day life, two scarves. The story behind the painting, Girl With a Pearl Earring, inspired not just me haha but Scarlett Johansson too. She and Colin Firth took an unglamorous turn in the eponymous movie about the Dutch painter and his muse.

In my take on Afghan Girl, my good friend Jenn poses shyly behind another one of my scarves.

Every time I come upon something that I feel is true, I suddenly hear echos of it everywhere. While reading Karen Blixen’s Out of Africa, I found the lines:
“An arietta you can take da capo, but not a whole piece of music –not a symphony and not a five-act tragedy either. If it is taken over again it is because it has not gone as it ought to have gone.”

That is Life itself.
We get one hit at it so let’s make it a bang.

Have a bangin’ Thursday, Everyone!