For the New Year

Hi everyone! I hope all of you are having a wonderful holiday. As I get ready to wash away 2011 amongst my family and friends, I quietly sit here at my computer and write to all of you. This was a different holiday season for me, and as much as 2011 had a lot of smiles, tears, laughter, lessons learned, heartache, pain, comfort... basically the whole gamut of emotions, I am also thankful for the many things that have brought me back to myself. We are all given choices in life. Everyday we wake up and decide to either stay true to who we are, or let our fears drive us. We decide each day if we are going to listen to sabotaging thoughts that we all have or push them away and love ourselves. For the new year... (I am really terrible at making resolutions), but for this year instead of thinking about what I need to do, I am going to think of all the things that I simply do not want to do anymore. All of the scripts that I have about how things are "supposed" to be, I think I might just burn. I am often terrified of revealing myself, my thoughts, my words, basically who I am out of fear. Fear of not being enough, looking stupid, failing and I think I'm going to throw away all of those thoughts, because they aren't really working for me very well. So, for this post I have to thank all of you for stopping by and letting me share myself with all of you! And I mean truly share what I think and how I feel.

Thanks for listening! ;)

Now, it's time for champagne, wine, cheese and brie!

Cheers! To truth, honesty, loving yourself, allowing others to love you and being thankful for every breath taken! Forgive yourself for any mistakes-- anything that may not have aligned or had the outcome you intended. Wishing you all many blessings this year!

PS- I got my mom a chalkboard cheese tray for Christmas and I have to say that I'm a little obsessed with it! I want to have a party every night, just to bring it out.

The Perfectly Imperfect Home

I saw this book a couple of weeks ago, and fell in love with it. I gave it to Meg for Christmas, and my mom happened to give it to me yesterday. I love it. Deborah Needleman does a great job in creating cozy spaces.

"The point of decorating, as far as I can tell, is to
create the background for the best life you can have."

~From "The Perfectly Imperfect Home"

Wellness

On Monday, I started not feeling so great and by the time I landed here in Colorado yesterday, I felt as if my head was going to explode and I might pass out walking through the airport. It was not a fun feeling. I was burning up and then freezing cold. When I landed, my mom, grandfather and I immediately stopped at Whole Foods to pick up some soup. While in the produce section, I came across some tangerines, which have never tasted so good to me. I will be on the antibiotic, broth, tea and tangerine wellness train for a couple of days! Hoping to get better before everyone gets here on Christmas!! I honestly can't wait!

I hope all of you have a wonderful Friday! Christmas is on Sunday and I haven't finished all of my shopping. What to get my mom has me a little stumped. Any ideas??

White Winter Wonderland

Heading off to the snow!! Houston, as much I love the rain, give me snow and mountains any day!!

Release, Rinse and Receive

Good Tuesday morning! I hope you're having a great week. Yesterday in my yoga class, I found myself feeling a little weak, but not in a physical way. We did a lot of heart openers and a lot of twists for rinsing out our bodies. I tend to keep a lot of energies and stresses in my stomach. Every time I do heart openers, I can feel the energy pouring out. For all of you who do not do yoga, I swear, I never in my life thought I would be saying these things. But, in yoga you can literally move the energy that is within you. When you hold your stress, your anxieties, fears and even joy, love, passion, etc. I think sometimes I get very, very fearful of letting go of things-- of releasing messages that I used as defining characteristics about myself. A few years ago, I built up a lot of layers around me and within me. Terrified of any sort of vulnerability I held onto these layers for a pretty long time. I guess starting about three years ago, I began letting go of them and as I began to "feel again," it was almost like coming out of hiding. Well, yesterday I had another one of those moments. As I changed poses from tree, to camel, to a wheel, I was quivering and feeling like I needed to go into child's pose. The sweat poured off of me and I could hear the rain outside on the windows, I felt myself let go a little bit more and vowed to stay open, even as I was shaking. Sometimes, it's very hard to stay open, to release and let go of any old definitions of ourselves. But, it's necessary. Necessary for growth, renewal and well being... although I have to say when you are used to certain thoughts in your head they almost become comforting, but it's nice when you realize they aren't working for you anymore. If you are taking up space with old patterns, you don't really have space to receive. So, rinse out, release and renew...

Don't hold on so much.

Hard as Nails

Lately, I have been changing my nail polish about as often as I've been changing my outfits. For the everyday, I have been loving Essie's Brooch the Subject. To mix it up a bit, I've been embracing my dark side and wearing Over the Edge and Midnight Cami. I usually never choose to wear trendy nail polish, but sometimes you've gotta go out on a limb... For my toes, I've been going with the Scarlett O'Hara red, and that is one thing I haven't changed!

Top to Bottom: 1. Scarlett O'Hara 2. Over the Edge 3. Brooch the Subject

P.S. Last Saturday I wore this- Boom Boom Pow and LOVED it. I highly suggest it for a little holiday cocktail glamour.

Wooden Beams

I love wooden beams in a house. I am such a sucker for them, but I think they add so much character to a house!

image via country living