Monday morning inspiration

Last night I was feeling a bit dreary that the weekend was over, that I hadn't gotten enough done, etc. etc. And then... we watched Pitch Perfect. I guess I'm not supposed to tell on the guys, and make it sound like I watched it all by myself, but that's silliness. Guys can be in the room when singing goes on in a movie, can't they? Of course they can. I am pretty sure I liked the movie much better than either of them, but it was a light little bit of nonsense, if you haven't seen it, and the music is just a bunch of fun.

I'm a big Rebel Wilson fan, since Bridesmaids, and her part was a hoot. (There's a barfing scene mid-way through this clip that you may not want to be eating while viewing. It's a little unreal, but thought you should be warned!)



And of course, you know the PS22 kids have a version of Beca's When I'm Gone audition song too:



Woke up to rain again today; it's like the Oregon Coast has come to us, since we're not going to it any time soon! Misty and drizzly and definitely a stay-at-home day... except it's not!

So I'll watch this video again, and be inspired to put a little urgency in my step today! Love the visual.



And for when summer actually does arrive, a few words for the occasion:

Let peace come to you, out from where it's hiding behind the sofa and under the bed. You have done enough for now. Let summer surround you. Let everything rest.
-Karen Maezen Miller

Happy Monday, I hope it's a great one for you!

Monday morning inspiration

Feels like a long time since I've done my Monday morning inspiration! That whole month of alphabeting kind of got in the way... It was a good break from the "usuals," but as I thought of items to share that have crossed my path recently, a few immediately came to mind:

Hointer. OK, so cool new companies might come along fairly frequently these days, but this one really caught my eye. Cool use of technology to hit a niche market and I am intrigued to see where it goes long-term. Right now you can only buy denim/jeans this way, but who knows what the future holds? Next time I'm in Seattle, I'm checking them out!

Back Bay Pottery. It's not every day I find an Etsy shop where I want one of everything. Well, maybe not EVERYthing, but quite a bit. Rainbow beads? Sure. An owl spoon rest? Well, if you insist.

rainbowbeads

Corgis are on my mind. I've even set up a board on Pinterest for the occasion, and just might have started following too many Corgi-loving Instagrammers, too. I'm trying not to get too carried away, as adding a new pup to our household is not at the top of anyone's list. I've been in this spot before and it didn't turn out so well (Ruby, dear Ruby), so we'll go in with eyes wide open... like these sweet Corgi pups! Ha.

corgipuppy

corgirunning

Also on my mind... are reasons to blog. I've mentioned Narelle at Solid Gold Creativity before, as her posts are often thought-provoking. This one jives with some of my thoughts post-A-Z challenge (I have a reflections post still to come...), about why blog in the first place?, and the connections made possible through blogging.

As often happens, soon after reading Narelle's blog post, this quote then made itself known to me:
"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. For me the initial delight is in the surprise of remembering something I didn't know I knew. I am in a place, in a situation, as if I had materialized from cloud or risen out of the ground. There is a glad recognition of the long lost and the rest follows." -Robert Frost

I'll leave you with one last rainbow for the day; this rainbow salad from Food&Wine practically leaped out of my computer, grabbed me by the shoulders and shouted, "Make Me! Soon!" So I shall, and I'll tell you all about it too. The entire slideshow of vegetarian dishes is really quite enticing, it's got me quite inspired to try a few.... beet gnocchi, anyone?

I hope your Monday is off to an inspired start, and the rest of the week follows appropriately!

Monday morning inspiration

The view for much of our roadtrip this past weekend.

I have been reflecting on my lack of dietary freshness of late. Some winters I do a better job with keeping up on the salads and such, other winters... not so much. This is one of those not so much winters. So, knowing I should be doing better, I have been looking for some inspiration beyond the box of greens languishing in the fridge, and of course, there are plenty of options.

Kale and squash salad or Brussels sprout salad or Winter radicchio slaw or Endive salad with blue cheese, red grapes and pecans. There is surely no excuse for my lack of salad intake... I'm determined to turn this trend around!

I was cleaning out my inbox over the weekend--it tends to creep up in number if I don't keep an eye out, know what I mean?--and saw a leftover devotional email from the very end of 2012, talking about a Psalm for the new year, Psalm 90. I saw this paraphrase below, and love how it aligns with so much of what I want to remember every day, as well as what I've chosen for my OLW 2013: Light. I love it when my procrastination results in an a-ha moment when that same email might have gotten a quick delete a month or two ago.

Spring doesn't seem so far away these days. The sun has come out here and there, enough to tease toward whole days of cloudless skies. And the temperatures have been almost balmy as well. Seeing color forecasts from Pantone never hurts, either. I actually saw the fall one first and thought, "Oh brother, surely we aren't fast-forwarding straight to fall?" and went looking for spring.

Which are your favorites? For spring, mine has to be Tender Shoots or Lemon Zest or Nectarine (I know, hard to choose!). For fall, I'm Acai and Koi, with a little Mykonos Blue... Regardless, I do love both palettes!

pantone spring

pantone fall fashion

Panorama of the lake of my childhood, Okanagan Lake.

Wishing you the kind of week that brings blue skies, fresh air and glassy lakes (even if they're all just figurative!).

Monday morning inspiration

A weekend with some sunshine; that makes ALL the difference. It was simply glorious to get a few household things done while light streamed through the windows. Still chilly, but clear.

If you view this blog via feed or email, please pop over to the site itself and check out my rearranging of the furniture. And, let me know what you think. I was really feeling the need for a fresh feel, and when my friend Heidi mentioned some blogger templates available on Etsy, I did some looking around until I saw one that said "SweetTea&Sunshine!"

I also did some rejiggering of my "pages," which used to be off to the left. Look just below the header and you'll see them, more prominent now. The recipes one is mostly up to date, but I have fallen off adding new quotes, as well as books, and the kitchen and OLW tabs are new. So I have work to do! I will let you know how it goes as I populate those areas.

Last note on the blog re-do: I changed the tagline from "a little food. a little gratitude." to "inspiration, shared." That's an intentional shift for me, a reflection of where I've organically strayed with my content. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

As for inspiration, a post passed my way that had some good thoughts toward creating an inspired life. For me, the part about dreams was a good reminder. I can get caught up in the NOW a little too deeply some days, and forget to look up and out to the future, and dream.

A most intriguing post I recently read came from a site called Brain Pickings, with some highlights from a recent book by Daniel Pink. I have shared it far and wide--email, FB, Twitter, LinkedIn and now here. (I know I may seem like a massive sharer, but sharing on that scale is actually rare for me.) The concept of the middle ground of the "ambivert" is one I think makes a great deal of sense, as well as the "ABCs of moving others."

A couple of artists that I appreciate have songs recently released, both of them not having produced any new music in years. Looking forward to the full album (are they still called that?! Ha.), but between now and then I'll have to make do with these:





I hope you have a fabulous Monday, a kickstart to a great week!

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them--every day begin the task anew.
-Saint Francis de Sales

Monday morning inspiration

ere's Monday! (Say that like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. Go on, I dare you. Your family will think you're as nuts as mine thinks I am!)

This weekend we had one day of fog, one day of mixed (gray-sun-gray); some rest, some work, some joy, some ho-hum. Usual weekendness... nothing too out of the ordinary. Just what I needed!

And while we all scurry off to another week, I thought I'd share few lovely odds and ends I collected over the weekend. It seems to be a new tradition with me; since I did it last Monday, I'm rolling with it for week 2. (Remember, Seth and I both come from the school of "once is a habit, and twice is so ingrained you couldn't possibly NOT do it.")

When I saw the video below, I was a little dumbstruck by the talent in the room. I can honestly say that the chances of our family and friends--much as we love them--singing thusly at a wedding, well, it just wouldn't be possible. But if you happen to be so blessed, I say go for it! So very very fun.

 

I have followed the blog of Jay and Katherine Wolf for some years now, always inspired by their strength and courage in the face of obstacles to Katherine's complete recovery. Katherine had an undiagnosed AVM burst about five years ago, and her resulting stroke changed their lives completely (understatement alert). I found this new PSA that Katherine is a part of, which warns of the signs of a stroke, quite engaging.



This blog from an Australian writer is one that consistently causes me to pause and reflect on all things leadership and "inner life." Her post this weekend about an individual who "...gives her giant kaleidoscope a quarter-turn and sees possibility" was no exception. Loved it.

I spent some time in Pinterest this weekend and naturally came away with 16 new craft ideas, 33 new recipes and a bundle of pretty outfits to pine for. Such is the life of a pinner. But here were a few pins in the "just because" category, that made me smile or sigh.

taste

bottle

pinata

airdog

hummingbird

For this week: If you haven't been feeling well, I hope you beat whatever bug's been ailing you. If you aren't especially energetic, I hope you find that perfect cup of coffee with an extra shot (or a nap)! And if you need a word of encouragement, my tip of the day is to offer a kind word to to someone else and see if that does the trick of coming back around to you too; it often does for me. Not rocket science, but it's amazing how often I forget that...

Have a great week!