"It's only by stepping out of your life and the world that you can see what you most deeply care about and find a home." 

-Pico Iyer

A Daily Reminder

"To stay curious is to stay committed to learning. And if you’re not learning something new, you’re staying in the same place. And while I don’t know everything I want from my life and business yet, I do know that I want to always be learning. Whether I’m learning a new technology, a new piece of photo editing software or just a new trend that’s happening in my community, I want to stay committed to always keeping an open mind. Because an open mind is one that doesn’t miss out on something wonderful just because it’s hidden behind a door that might be hard or scary to open."

-Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge

2014

Bridal Veil

Today, my Sunday drive took me up to Squaw Peak where I was denied by a forest ranger, they've closed it for the season, then to Vivian Park and South Fork to see the horses and lastly to Bridal Veil Falls at the mouth of the canyon. The sight was breathtaking, or that could have been the frigid wind, and parts of the falls have frozen, leaving gigantic icicles hanging from the cliffs. I sat there a while taking pictures, listening to music and reading a bit, both from the Doctrine and Covenants and from Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. There have been many things that have stuck out to me in both books, but in the last chapter of Siddhartha, there was one particular quote that had significant meaning to me:

"When someone seeks then it happens all too easily that his eyes will see only the thing he is seeking, that he cannot find anything, cannot let anything in, because he is always thinking only of that thing he seeks, because he has a goal, because he is possessed by the goal. Seeking means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal."

Maybe this time around a goal isn't what I need, what I need is to be more open, willing to let new experiences in and to stop being so stubborn.

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."

-Khalil Gibran

October

I just love October, it’s my favorite month of the year and it’s finally arrived! The fall leaves are in full swing, pumpkin spice candles are burning and the Dairy Queen pumpkin pie blizzard is back. Plus one of my favorite holidays is just weeks away; what a month.

“Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.”

-Marianne Williamson

"...always remember that, nine times out of ten, you probably aren’t having a full-on nervous breakdown – you just need a cup of tea and a biscuit. You’d be amazed how easily and repeatedly you can confuse the two. Get a big biscuit tin."

-a letter from Caitlin Moran to her daughter

City of Light

 "Lipstick on my belly button and music in the air—thaat's Paris, son. What a lovely city! What grenouilles à la provençale. What Châteauneuf-du-Pape, what white poodles and white chimneys, what charming waiters, and poules de luxe, and maîtres d'hôtel, what gardens and bridges and streets! How fascinating the crowds before ones café table, how quaint and charming and hidden the little courtyards with their wells and statues. Those garlic-filled belches! Those silk-stockinged legs! Those mascara'd eyelashes! Those electric switches and toilet chains that never work! Hola! Dites donc! Bouillabaisse! Au revoir!"

-Letter from Paul Child (Julia Child's husband) to his twin brother Charlie


Doesn't this letter make Paris sound dreamy and exciting?? Other than the garlic belches and broken toilets I'll take it! O a trip to sunny Paris, eating my weight in gelato, wandering in and out of one bakery to the next sinking my teeth into fresh, warm pastries. Trying to "dress French" and fit in even though I know I'd stick out like a sore American thumb and doing every other stereotypical act a Frenchman would do. Well, almost every other thing.

       

         

pictures via Pinterest

Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, He came forth from heaven to live on earth as a mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God.  During His earthly ministry, He taught men the higher law.  His glorious gospel reshaped the thinking of the world.  He blessed the sick.  He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear.  He even raised the dead to life.  To us He has said, 'Come, follow me.'

As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always.  We shall learn to forget ourselves.  We shall turn our thoughts to the greater benefit of others.

~Thomas S. Monson

Merry Christmas!

"Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard.  Do not let pain make you hate.  Do not let bitterness steal your sweetness.  Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place."

-Kurt Vonnegut

"...to hunger is to live, and even when we lose things that really matter, we can always taste, and in tasting, have our appetites restored."

-Tamara Adler

"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can.  He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends and pour out peace.  Whoever will lose his life in the service of God will find eternal life."

-Ezra Taft Benson

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.  The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure.  The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy.  But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty."

-Letter from Chris McCandless to Ron Franz from Into the Wild