Give Yourself... A little Love

Good morning my dears! Happy Valentine's day. For some reason, I have always loved Valentine's Day. Not for the sake of romance, or a love relationship, but I think love is a very important gift. Not only is it something you should share with the world, but it is something to give yourself. In the book Happy Yoga, it talks about love unattached from anything else and it's important to love yourself.

“Be love. It’s that simple. If you can, let go of wanting approval. Let go of wanting love. Give yourself some approval, give yourself some love. You may realize that this is enough. If you can let go of resisting who you are, and allow yourself to be, exactly as you are, you might feel a tremendous relief. That is loving yourself.” -Steve Ross, Happy Yoga

image via everlytrue tumblr

{Happy Monday}

I hope all of you had a great weekend! I am looking forward to this week to get going on some work, as well as spend some time having fun. When I think of things that I want to do/accomplish, the scariest thought I have is "What if I fail?" Or what if the outcome isn't what I planned?

It's important when doing anything, not to listen to other people's voices and it's even more important not to listen to that little voice in the head, that robs us of our strength to try...

Sometimes we have to let go of anything anyone else has ever said to us, that negatively effects our being.
I was reading an excerpt this morning that really resonated within that sense.

"Respect the power of words and thoughts, both your own and others...
If we're not careful, it's easy for others to cast their spells on us...
How easy it is to not be aware of the process, to walk around with other people's words in our head, taking them as truth, taking them as our own, letting their ideas about us control our lives and beliefs.
We don't have to let others put their spells on us. We don't have to believe what they say."- Melody Beattie

Take that with you today, tomorrow, all week, all month, all year.
Don't let other people define you, control you. It's hard to do at times, but when we become aware of what is true and what isn't, it is easier to sort through the crap if you know what to keep in your heart and head and what to throw away.

Hope you all have a great Monday! : )

images via moodboard

Feeling Sunny

Good Morning my dears! Happy Friday. I woke up particularly early this morning, probably because I have been going to sleep so early all week, but needless to say... I am very happy it's friday! I woke up thinking about the sun, and the ocean. Not that I don't love the mountains, but it would be so nice to sink my feet in some sand and feel the waves. I am getting excited for spring and summer and this editorial felt fitting so I thought I would share it. Enjoy these sun-drenched photos. ;)

image via fashion gone rogue

Warm Love.

Everyone needs a little sometimes...

Van Morrison is one of my favorite artists. Thought I would share a little "Warm Love" with everyone. Enjoy! Hope you all are having a great week.

Just for a minute...

Hello all! I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Mine has been wonderful, relaxing, full of conversation mixed in with some reflection. I got to thinking about beginnings and endings. We have often heard the phrase that things must come to an end, so new things can begin. In life we may experience many new beginnings and lots of endings... or only a few. In my life, I have experienced many. In fact, I feel like my whole life has been made up of beginnings and endings. I have moved to places, taken jobs, moved away, switched jobs, made friends, moved away from friends and have lost and found myself all over again through it all. The process has been painful at times, but also full of love and gratitude. It is never fun to recognize that perhaps something didn't work out the way you thought it would. So, what if I said to you that I thank God for every single step taken. Every move, every job, every relationship because... let's think of it this way shall we? Perhaps, it's all worked out exactly the way it was supposed to. Life often presents us with lessons and keeps "throwing" it in our faces (or I run into them like a brick wall, as I have done many times!) until we finally get it. I don't think without these things-- the jobs, the cities, the relationships, the friendships, teachers, bosses... that I would have ever truly learned to fall in love with who I am. Do I still have self-doubt, yes. Absolutely. Do I wish that I would have said things and done things differently at times, of course. But, inside of me there is something that says you are doing exactly what you need to be doing, and you did exactly what you needed to do then...
I don't necessarily have a plan all the time (I used to) trust me, I used to have a running list in my head of things I needed to do, needed to accomplish and needed to be, but for now, I've learned to get comfortable with not knowing and accepting everything, including myself.

I love this excerpt:

Honor the Beginning

Beginnings can be delicate or explosive. They can start almost invisibly or arrive with a big bang. Beginnings hold the promise of new lessons to be learned, new territory to be explored, and old lessons to be recalled, practiced and appreciated. Beginnings hold ambiguity, fear and hope.

Don't let the lessons, the experiences of the past, dampen your enthusiasm for beginnings. Just because it's been hard doesn't mean it will always be that difficult. Don't let the heartbreaks of the past cause you to become cynical, close you off to life's magic and promise. Open yourself wide to all the universe has to say.

Let yourself begin anew. Pack your bags. Choose carefully what you bring, because packing is an important ritual. Take along some humility and the lessons of the past. Toss in some curiosity and excitement about what you haven't yet learned. Say your good-byes to those you're leaving behind. Don't worry who you will meet or where you will go. The way has been prepared. The people you are to meet will be expecting you. A new journey has begun. Let it be magical. Let it unfold.

All the parts of your journey are sacred and holy. Take time now to honor the beginning.

From Journey to the Heart by Melody Beattie

Spring. Carnival. Craving.

Elle Spain February 2012
Photographer: Matt Jones
Stylist: Alberto Zanoletti
Hair: Kristin Rowe
Make-up: Amy Nadine
Model: Camille Rowe

images via studded hearts

{Happy February}

Sorry for the missed post yesterday. The day got away from me and I have been lacking in ability to really sit down and focus lately. But, I guess sometimes, that's okay...
I hope all of you are having a great week! Around this time of year, I always start daydreaming of spring. The dresses, flowers, sunshine-- I love it all.

images via notetoself and bippitybopppityboo