From Pucci to Pudding

new year's, creatively, part 2

zesty new year's celebrations can come in any stripe, polka dot and color. set your intentions for the year to come and then have fun designing a fab fete, homegrown or on the town, to celebrate the best of 2011 and the new horizons in 2012! here's to health, love, happiness and abundance!

 

new year's, creatively

there are endless ways to celebrate our annual fresh start, none of which need to be pricey. the most delicious option is to design a celebration that inspires you--whether that's with family and friends, with your squeeze, with the kindness of strangers/new friends, with furry family members or with a fab book or movie... do what you love with those you love to be with. and cheers to new beginnings and a most happy healthy 2012!

seasonless lights

hanukkah and christmas celebrate the season of lights. and yes, traditions abound for both holidays, but at their essence, they remind us of the light we each have within us.

remembering and honoring our inner light, our inner candle, and sharing that light with others--that, to me, is truly honoring the spirit of the season.

while the holidays remind us of the importance of tending our flames, the importance of our inner light is seasonless. every day, we keep our inner light alive and shine it and share it with as many as we can. there is never darkness as long as there is one light shining. so no matter how challenging it may seem at times, focusing on our inner light and sharing it with even one person (or animal) keeps us on our best path.

so here's to a year ahead abundant in light and love.

daily tone setting

we create each day we live.

setting our intention every morning sets the tone for the day ahead.

what kind of day do you want to have? before you get busy with your morning, set an intention that gives you the feeling you want to carry through your day.

 

imperfections as strengths

i've always been fascinated by portraits (those fabulous oil paintings of centuries past and now the myriad of photographic portrait styles) as a study in masks--the masks we don to hide our perceived imperfections or weaknesses or insecurities.

maybe we feel that we can hide aspects of ourselves--selectively shining light on some and shadowing others.

but the simple truth is this: when we allow our vulnerabilities air time, we grow stronger. in embracing our full selves, in uncovering our perceived imperfections, we grow in positive directions.

chanukah and christmas, creatively, part 2

happy chanukah and merry christmas!! i wish everyone a most joyful, peaceful, healthy and soulfully rich holiday! i wanted to share a few more ideas to get our creative juices flowing for new and heartfelt holiday traditions to begin this season. most importantly, i wish everyone lots of love.

what would it look like if...?

sometimes i can talk myself out of something that i really want to do by envisioning the challenges more than the benefits. it might require a lot of logistical prep, it might be a lot of investment in time, energy, money, i might be tired and would prefer to nest than travel, i'm sure we all have our reasons that can dissuade us from taking on things we want to do at our core, but wish they were easier.

if i feel like i've hooked in to the cons of a potential scenario and haven't given the pros a proper chance in the debate, i ask myself, "what would it look like if...?" and then i paint the picture of how it would look if i transformed the unknowns into positives. what would it look like if the logistics were smooth and easy, if i was energized from the experience, etc.

simply creating the vision of how it could play out in a happy way can be enough to sway me to taking action rather than opting out. and there are definitely those occasions where i know i want to do something but i just don't feel the vigor for it. spending a few minutes painting a happy canvas in my mind can move me into leaping for it.

the more i live, the more i realize so much of how we go through life and who we are boils down to how we view things. our choices are all based on our views. being a visual person, if i don't like the view from my current standpoint, i shuffle my vantage until i can see the positive potentials.

we can choose to live fully and positively or we can choose to be listless and lose out.

 

the gift of curiosity

one of the lessons my new puppy ernie is teaching me in spades, is how delightful it can be to be curious. he is very keen to learn and explore his new world. at one, an immigrant to city life and loft living and to our pack of three, ernie loves to check out all that we do and wants to share our experiences with us, even if he's a little cautious about them.

curiosity is such a gift. it is how we step out of our comfort zones. how we explore new excitements. discover new opportunities. learn about ourselves and our world. yes, curiosity is best practiced with some gumption. but as ernie shows us, an open heart and a waggy tail can transform any trepidation about exploring into a celebration of curiosity and the gifts it brings.

one of my favorite blogs, the improvised life, shared this image and i wanted to share it forward. this season being gift-centric, it struck me that curiosity is indeed a gift worth cultivating.

chanukah and christmas, creatively

the holidays are upon us. the first night of chanukah is tonight and christmas is this weekend. we were driving this weekend and got stuck several times in shopping traffic. i am extraordinarily happy to not be in the fray. holidays have become a time for me to appreciate time together with people (and pups) i love, sharing an extra boost to those in need (my tradition is to give to animal rescues), and making gifts that come from my heart--whether they be yumminess or personally illustrated cards or books, i focus on sharing joy and love. there are endless ways to celebrate chanukah and christmas, creatively. a few tidbits to get us inspired to start new traditions...from my heart to yours...

the gift of listening to the magic within

i want to weave together 2 seemingly unrelated strands of thought here, but i think their combination is quite a gift. and since it is the season of giving, i am keen to share gifts of a soulful nature.

this weekend, i happened upon TCM's video tribute to those industry talents who passed away this year. i always feel a sense of loss to see the ever-growing collection of creative souls who contributed to our cinematic riches and to realize their voice is silent now. yes, thankfully, their gifts live on in their work. but it gives me pause to reflect upon the magic they shared with their careers in creativity and to ponder the magic within each of us.

strand 2 is that i have been acutely irritated by the NOISE in the city. sirens, irritated people, belching diesel trucks, train horns--a cacophony that makes it challenging to listen to my own soul and thoughts.

but listen is what i most particularly need to do. the greatest gifts in life come from listening to the magic within:

• listening to our intuition guiding us on our best path
• listening to our inspiration that seems to come from out of thin air
• listening to the materials we are creating from--be they food ingredients, paints, words on a page, they all speak to us
• listening to our instinct that tells us to venture into new territory
• listening to our heart for our purest truths.

listening can be challenging with outward chaos, noise, schedules, irritations. but listening is a gift. it is a practice. just like being an artist is a practice. and an athlete. but when we listen, we tune in to the magic within each of us. and that magic, like those creative icons in TCM's annual memorial video, can carry us into our most creatively fulfilled life.

happy holidays. here's to listening daily to our inner magic.