Bed Days Rock!

In Kimberly Wilson's "Tranquilista: Mastering the Art of Enlightened Work and Mindful Play," she talks about having a Bed Day. Basically, there are no rules for them, but just to have the intention of staying in bed. I think this idea sounds absolutely luxurious especially when you've been busy taking care of things all day or you had a tough workout at the gym. It's a great way to unwind and relax.

Wilson also leaves some tips in order to make Bed Day a sweet success. I've put down the ones that I find helpful for me.

:: have comfy clothes
:: brew a pot of tea
:: light candles (I have this fancy candelabra for six tealights!)
:: place laptop or cell phone nearby so you don't have to get out of bed!
:: water, books, journal and of course, the trusty planner pad
:: books, magazines, and other sources of inspiration
:: the intention to lose track of time

I am so excited about declaring the rest of my night a Bed Evening. Now it's time for me to indulge in a Netflix, sip some tea, and relax.

My Do-Gooding Adventure: Fairy Godmother Project

One of my intentions for Lent was to seek out opportunities to serve others. And, last week I had the opportunity to help out The Fairy Godmother Project at Define Studio. I got an email from the studio announcing that they would be canceling two Saturday classes so that The Fairy Godmother Project (FGP)could host their annual Shopping Day.

FGP collects donated dresses from all sorts of places (perhaps a mother donates her daughter's old prom dress or a former bridesmaid gives away her old dress). Then, the organization takes these donated dresses and gives them to girls who need a dress for prom, graduation, or any other special occasion.

The Friday night before the shopping day, we got to sort out the donated dresses. Sifting through clothes with other volunteers can be an incredibly entertaining ice-breaker. For instance, one lady next to me picked up a gold dress with sparkles and asked for an opinion. Needless to say any outdated, stained or inappropriate dresses were placed in another pile. The cool thing about the project is they also have a resale shop. So if they end up with nice evening gowns that don't end up being matched with a girl, they will put it in their store and the proceeds go back to the nonprofit. By the end of the evening, we were prepped on how to personal shop for the girls and had the place set up like a cute little boutique.

Since we were providing these girls a boutique experience, I showed up wearing a nice black dress and heels. It was so fun to meet the girls I'd be helping. There was huge range of emotion: excitement since it's the end of senior year, fun because this is probably the first time any of these girls tried on formal dresses, and awkwardness since a lot of them were definitely out of their element. I'd forgotten how much our opinions on what looks good changes over the years. Not only were they able to pick up dresses for prom and graduation, but they also had free hair and make-up consults and got free shoes, handbags, make-up bags, make-up, AND accessories. These girls were very excited and so grateful.

It was so fun to spend an afternoon "shopping" with these young ladies. And, I'm sure they look forward to wearing their selections in the coming weeks.

My next do-gooding adventure will be with Dress for Success this weekend. Hopefully, it will be another enjoyable time of service.

Photo Courtesy of seanmcgrath on Flickr

Highlights from the Week

1) Spirituality: Made an effort to be still and calm. Meditation X3 at my altar, listened to Kimberly's spring teleclass, went for a contemplative walk around campus, a hot bath, time in the gym's hot tub and sauna and went to church.

2) Fitness: My poor quads and hamstrings! From a few weeks of inactivity, I pulled myself out of my fitness hibernation and worked out once a day this week. I went to yoga class x2, ran 3x, swam and lifted weights, and attended athletic conditioning class. Whew!

3) Time with buddies: Caught up with friends at Cedar Creek, Jennie's Noodle House, and Teala's. The weather is getting warmer and it's nice to have drinks out on a patio.

4) Creativity (with my food): Me and the beau made breakfast this morning, and I made a crazy pancake dish (see above photo).

Surround Yourself with Inspiration

Have you ever walked into a room and been given a jolt of happiness and energy? (Sometimes walking into other spaces can have the opposite effect, too.) Sometimes your surroundings can need a bit of sprucing up!


The above is a cute little postcard I got in a magazine store in France. When going to France was just a little figment of my imagination, this very wall had a map of Paris and a magazine article about the city. I like how the whole experience has come full circle. And, I enjoy grabbing postcards wherever I go because they are easy ways to decorate a place.

Lately, I've been sporting this awesome bag with an owl on it which was a token of appreciation from a volunteer of mine. The cool thing about the brand, SAKitToMe, is that it can be stuffed in a little pocket and used for later.


Always have your gym bag handy. It's a great reminder to get some cardio in and sweat! With the bag already to go with all the goods (rosemary mint shampoo and conditioner, a water bottle, and workout gear), you really don't have much of an excuse NOT to go.



I thought this thank you card was really cute. So, I tacked that on up the wall, too.

I heart my new planner pad.

I love spring. It's a wonderful time to start planning another chapter of the year. One activity I really enjoy doing is getting a brand new planner pad (yes, very akin to getting new school supplies). If you check out the planner pad website, you can notice that the planner pad look is a little boring. So, I actually go through and pick out things from my sketchpads, journals, random ripped out magazine pages and stick them on my planner pad cover. Above are photos of my front cover and inside cover.

The front cover is just a pink collage I made at Mama Shelter while my friend Frances and I were watching movies. After a full day of roaming around Paris, I decided to just stick my museum ticket stubs, ripped up magazine pictures, and a city map on there. I also included a quote from Oscar Wild which says, "J'ai les gouts les plus simple du monde. Je me contente du meilleur." From my translation, it means "I have the taste for the most simple in the world. I am content with the best." I know that creating collages has been compared to scrapbooking, but I'd like to think of it as more fun.

The middle shot is a list of 12 Key Zen Habits written by Leo Babauta and designed by Leonie Allan. You can download a copy for yourself, too. My favorite reminder is the three MITs (most important tasks). It helps align your long term goals to what you should be prioritizing each day. It's the three things that at the end of the day would make you feel like you are creating progress in your life. There are stickers in there because I want to use them as ways to "gold star" myself. Yeah, I know kinda lame, but if I can see numerous stickers after going to yoga or going for a run, it makes me feel better. Remember the simple quote?

The last photo is just the backcover, an ink and pencil drawing I drew while passing the time on a long, long flight back home. No real significant reason for putting it on the back cover. It's just because it looks cool.

I think blank calendars are great because it inspires new beginnings and adventure. And, it can push me to think about certain things like:

1) When am I gonna schedule in some time for prayer and thinking on my own without distraction?
2) What kind of weekend retreat or trip should I be planning?
3) Where am I gonna put in my artist dates or bed days?
4) How am I gonna celebrate my upcoming birthday?
5) What do I want to do, create, experience in the coming days, month, or year?
6) What do I want to do with my time?
7) What the heck am I doing with my time?

Choosing to Grow

Fortunately for me, I have a three day weekend. And spring has truly arrived in my city. One of the prettiest things about this time of the year are the azaleas. As the winter months appear to be behind us for now and we continue to shift to spring, I've noticed that I've been resistant and hesitant to grow and change. I don't know why I'm so stubborn and impatient OR why my pride and laziness get in the way sometimes. But, it's time for me to stop dwelling in old bad habits and continue to keep trying, be hopeful, and grow.

From Sarah Ban Breathnach's "Simple Abundance":
"We've got the big picture but it's backwards. So we cry when we should be laughing, are envious when we should feel inspired, experience deprivation instead of abundance, do it the hard way instead of the easy way, pull back instead of reaching out. And worst of all, we close our hearts so we won't get hurt, when opening them is the only way we'll ever know joy.

How many times have we waited for [the] Spirit to move for us when in fact [the] Spirit is waiting to work with us?

Today take the negative of your Divine Plan and let Love develop so that you can begin living the life for which you were created. It's time to move forward."

Shots of Gratitude

I've had this entry dancing in my head for a few days now -- perhaps even longer than that. There is something so nice about having Hipstamatic right at your fingertips. I often think these shots capture something that a regular digital camera doesn't. I don't know - like there's a little more art, edginess, and spirit when you just randomly take shots from your phone highlighting beautiful things that you see.

Inspired by Sarah Breathnach, I really liked recording shots on my phone especially moments that I wanted to remember and feel grateful for. It's funny. I think life just comes about at such high speeds or we end up getting so distracted that we lack the ability to take a pause, sit down, and reflect on beauty. At the very core of this blog, it's main purpose was to distill and inspire me to reflect on God's limitless grace on me and those around me.

So, below are just a few things and people that I've been grateful for lately...

My balcony view of Paris from Hotel Jules. It was just a nice sunny afternoon, and Frances and I were reflecting on what a fun time we were having right before she hopped on to the metro towards Gare du Nord. Across the way, you could see Parisians doing their normal everyday things: picking up things at the grocery, walking to the boulangerie, or just zipping through town. I've been wanting to take a trip to Paris for a long while, and it was just nice to see it actually come to fruition - actually just sitting there with Paris below me, hearing French, sketching in a museum, or wandering aimlessly along the Seine.

I'm not typically a coffee junkie, but moments that I do enjoy often involve the freedom to sit in a cafe and be still. Observe what people are doing. Read a book. I especially enjoy it when I don't have to be in a rush to do it. The cafe in Le Bon Marche had some adorable details to their coffee. First off, why does the coffee taste so much stronger in France? Yum! Also, I love the cute heart-shaped brown sugar sitting on the rim of the demitasse. Plus, there was a tiny cookie on the saucer. I like when restaurants put little add-ins like that. They make me smile.




Jacob- Yes, of course, him! I'm putting him in here because of the things he has motivated me to do. Things that I didn't think I could do, but somehow he saw those things in me. The night before I left for the Philippines he gave me a sketchbook and some pencils. He told me to draw what I see. I've really taken that to heart. When we were vacationing in Montreal and I complained about how much I wish my French was better. He basically told me I could do it - take classes when I get home, practice with my French-speaking friend, and just try. Without his support, I don't know if I would have ever really had the courage to try being a better artist or signed up for French class. Even when people criticized my decision to go to art school or study French, it didn't matter. I built up the confidence to just jump in and go. Thanks to Jacob's encouragement.

My longtime friend, Frances! Little did I know that we would keep in touch for this long (almost 9 years!) She has given me the best advice and her enthusiasm for life is completely infectious. It is so nice to have a friend in London. And our traveling adventures are often some of the fondest memories I have.


My adorable gray and pink trail runners and Lululemon leggings! So maybe I just like the way they look. I also like this photo because I enjoy walking and wandering around the neighborhood. I like how a few minutes a day exercising your body can really clear your head.



And last but not least- Bookstore browsing. I have to thank Kimberly Wilson for inspiring me to take my artist dates. This has to be one of my favorite activities. I can spend hours in the bookstore and sometimes it gives me that extra piece of inspiration/knowledge/or entertainment that a dull mind desperately craves. I took a picture of the travel section because I am already thinking about the next adventure I'd like to have.

march zen or march madness

So, I noticed I took a one and a half months hiatus from my writing. I don't know how time flies like that! It's incredible. And, I can't believe it's the day before St. Patrick's Day. A couple weeks ago, I was vacationing in London and Paris and having a wonderful trip. That's me in the above photo enjoying un cafe avec lait chaud. I will definitely have to write another entry about what makes Paris (and traveling in general) so grand. What is it about going to a new place that heightens our awareness? Is it the brain having to come up with the French words to translate? Is it the sense of freedom knowing you can explore the city at your own pace and walk back to your hotel for a nap whenever you feel like it? But, I like the jolt of excitement and relaxation that comes to me when I return from a trip.

For me though, I didn't really have much time to transition back to time zones. My body had to re-adjust which isn't anything new! I had quite a busy week when I returned home working some 10-12 hour days. I did get to enjoy a wonderful reflexology massage and have Tony give me a long, long overdue haircut. So, that's the kind of thing I need when I return home from a trip. Some doses of self-care and time to catch up with my friends.

So, I have a feeling that I will be oscillating between zen and madness this month. And, I will just have to continue to focus on evening out the highs and lows: more refinement on the most important things and people and more focused and meaningful activities for me inward and outward.