fall.

i heart fall. i really do.

and, i want to soak up every moment {especially the sunny weekend days}.

taking all of the vibrant, earthy tones and crisp, fresh air i can get.

happy halloween!

dive.

i'm distracted this month.

can you tell?

writing is hit or miss these days, dolls. i've been a bit of a miss lately, but i'd much rather be a hit.  just like how i would in real life. and, i do believe the way in which we feel about how we write is a direct reflection of how we feel about ourselves. no wonder i've been down and out.

such is life. with the highs must come the lows.

i'm waiting for something instead of diving in with reckless abandon.

i heard one of those right on statements tonight to share with you.

what you put up with, you end up with.

let's follow our own bliss. and dive right in.

{here}

trust.

needing some trust this week.

channeling that inner cheerleader.

may we find our way.

*inspiration found here and here.

dreamlover, come rescue me.

dear mariah, you make for the perfect monday night recipe.

girlfriends plus mariah carey's greatest hits on repeat plus fake microphones plus dance parties.

this equals pure, unfiltered happiness. it's moments like these that stick with you forever.



your lyrics return to me so easily. i'm instantly transported back to the fifth grade. it's christmas morning and santa brought me my very first "boom box" i just had to have. when you believe - the duet with whitney houston - is on repeat all the live long day. i remember laying on the carpet in front of those giant speakers for hours with the inside CD cover in hand, memorizing the songs word for word. no agenda whatsoever except to get ready for the day's festivities.

m.c., you're a classic who helped define my childhood. the countless hours spent dancing to you in the entry way of my home sweet home are part of my essence. thanks for teaching me to dance like no one is watching.

it's funny. it's reasons like this one that make me realize why i'd ever want to be famous. to inspire. to have an impact on dancing little girlies. but, i guess we don't need fame for that.

dance like no one is watching, my loves. and, sing like no one can hear you.

*dreamlover and hero. two of my all time faves.*

jewels.

i have some pointless, silly, go-ahead-and-skim-it words and pictures to share with you on this lovely sunday eve. oh, just because i feel like it, i guess.

new favorite item... a holder for my beloved jewels. found at none other than, urban outfitters. {on sale!}

what was once a chaotic and scattered mound of jewelry is now perfectly organized and hung up just so.

also a fun weekend purchase... a lion charm necklace. just a little something to channel my inner lion. also reminded me of this beauty of a photo from the jazz days.

i've always had a thing for lions. may this week be filled with strength, courage, and ferocity.

gifts.

i discovered this specific quality that i love in people. consequently, all of my bests have this sweet characteristic {maybe that's what makes them my bests}. it's a rare gift that i'm completely drawn to.

you listen. you make me feel like i could bare my soul to you. and, there is no judgement. just open ears and willing, helpful hearts.

that's all. it's that simple.

and i'm more grateful than a million words on this page could possibly express for my bare-your-soul friends. because, these are the people you need when nothing else makes sense.

t.g.i.f.

*searched for the perfect pair.

the hummingbird.

a bird does not sing because it has the answers; it sings because it has a song. ~maya angelou

i've been dancing this week. like really going for it. have you? i think it's about time you did.

dancing is nature's best medicine. that's what i decided today.

i'm also obsessing over hummingbirds, which consequently happen to be my healing medicine and support at the moment.

i feel like sharing a few highlights, so bare with me, loves, because i don't want to forget this one for my own selfish sake.

the hummingbird sings a vibration of pure joy. it can fly in any direction or hover in one spot.

it conjures love as no other medicine does and its feathers open the heart chakra. without an open and loving heart, you can never taste the nectar and pure bliss of life.

if hummingbird is your personal medicine, you love life and its joys. your presence brings joy to others. you join people together in relationships which bring out the best in them. you know instinctively where beauty abides and, near or far, you journey to your ideal. you move comfortably within a beautiful environment and help others taste the succulent nectar of life.

if hummingbird has flown into your cards, get ready to laugh musically and enjoy creator's many gifts. drop your judgmental attitude and relax. hummingbird will give you a flash of the spirit, darting here, there, and everywhere. get ready for a strange new burst of energy which may send your senses reeling.

the hummingbird is associated with love and joy. its appearance as a power animal is indicative of the sheer delight of living, and of living the bliss of loving. it implies an ability to see beauty in everything and it is concerned with bringing out the best in people and the good in every situation.

  
dance in beauty. embrace what makes you happy. be joyful. count your blessings. open yourself to pleasure.

Source: Sams, Jamie and Carson, David. Medicine Cards (Santa Fe: Bear and Company, 1988).

{if that's not the point of this blog. i don't know what is.}

*birdies found here, here, and here. another tattoo idea in the works, yes?

someday i'll be a duet.

wanna know a secret?

{since, well, this blog is all about secret confessions, isn't it?}

sometimes when i'm feeling a little off or hopeless or a teeny tiny bit glass-half-empty-ish, i look over here, here, here, and never forget here.

life is instantly re-filled with joy and my belief in falling in love is reinstated. 

then i listen to this duet by rachael yamagata and ray la montage and i start to feel love sneak back in.



give it a listen.

it'll melt over every cell of your being.

*let's fly. because if you're a bird, i'm a bird.

oh, hello!

long live the birthday cards.

all y'all are so sweet. never do i ever want to take them down, i can't bare it. there are too many delightful and loving words to neglect them.

currently what i walk into every time i open my apartment door. oh, hello!

what a light week of posts, loves. thanks for still stopping in. xoxo.

space.

if there was ever a meaning for this blog, this is it.

spot on. right on the money, hunny.

make some space for yourself too, please.

candlelight.

so it's getting to be that time of year. you know, where it gets darker earlier and we change the clocks back.

{here comes the hibernating winter feel. bring it on}.

as a result, one of the things i'm grateful for is candlelight at the end of yoga. and, you know me, there's nothing like a good chant in this setting. with the early evening darkness comes the romantic, peaceful, and soft glow of fire light. i guess we can call it wintertime yoga. loving it.

*build a fort with me soon, will you?

fleet week.

it's fleet week here in glorious san francisco.

and, wow, everyone is on the edge of their seat, literally!

it's one of my absolute faves. quite thrilling. so, i'm going to soak it up. got a best in town. wow, am i lucky.

you know that saying, good people find each other. i challenge you to live by it, okay?

see you back here real soon with lots of goodness to share. enjoy yourselves!

*photo found here.

i wear my best friends on my wrist.

i have this thing for wrists. in fact, wrist action seems to be all the rage these days.

here's a little taste of mine on this lovely friday afternoon.

i have this initiative where i want to wear all of my best friends on my wrist. see, i want a tattoo, but am a little too frightened as of yet. so, the symbolism of friends on wrists somehow compares in my mind.

today, we have the kate spade hand in hand bracelet. what a treat from a best! inside it reads there are strength in numbers. {you might also spy the kate spade love notes bow ring. a gem}.

the watch is michael kors, found at tj maxx for fifty percent off the regular price. thanks mama, i love me some rose gold.

the silver cuff bracelet is something i never ever take off. it reads: love yourself first and everything else falls into line. and even has a secret inscription inside that says: happiness is being happy with yourself. may i walk with confidence. you know me, all about the positive reminders.

the next two bangles are quite special. i've alwaaaaays wanted an alex and ani bracelet. always! and, now i have two! the om charm and the feather. feathers refer to our higher spiritual paths. this is a best friend soul sister bracelet to remind us that we must always soar to new heights. it will remind me to have a lighter outlook on life and on any situation that presents itself to me.

may you be light as feathers this weekend, dolls.

overwhelmed.

if only every day was a celebration of being born.

but, i guess, why can't it be? it definitely can.

i think we can shift a little more of this happy birthday energy into our everyday lives, don't you?

let's start.

i'll give you a little bit longer of a hug, and maybe a tight squeeze at the end to remind you that there is no one on this planet like you, oh you unique soul you. i will write you blessed notes of appreciation about how much you mean to me, because, i am grateful for you. not just once a year, but every single day. i'll shower you with love.

i can't wait to share some inspiring, treasured gifts with you, my darlings. birthdays teach you that you have the best friends on the planet that know you oh-so-well. that's what i learned on october the fifth. thank you for caring about little 'ol me.  i would be empty without you.

i've been a bit {well, a lot, in my opinion} under the weather this week. and, let me just tell you, i am no good at being sick. flat out baby. self-proclaimed. i'm yearning for the days of optimum health. we must not take those for granted. off to try and get ohhh eleven hours of sleep. fingers crossed. xoxo.

labyrinth.

so i got a assigned a little project.

i love a good challenge, don't you?

you need to go to grace cathedral. walk the labyrinth. mediate. what comes up for you?

i learned that the labyrinth can be used to quiet the mind, find balance, encourage meditation and insight, and  even be used for celebration. it's a non-denominational and cross-cultural tool for well-being.

seems about right  to me. in light of celebrating twenty six years around the sun and true to libra form - finding balance, oh yes please! - this exercise was right up my alley.

there are three stages of the walk. as you walk toward the center you are releasing and letting go of the details of your life to shed distractions. once the center is reached this is the time of receiving what is there for you to receive. and finally, returning on the path in which you entered where the healing forces at work in the world are felt.

each time you walk the labyrinth you become more empowered to find and do the work for which you feel your soul is reaching.

i love this.

it was a peaceful and sunny fall weekend afternoon. things were still. and, quite calm. everything is as it should be was the feeling in the air.

i have the potential to be so happy. i have the potential to be so happy. i have the potential to be so happy.

that's all that came to me. over and over.

rose.

rose is my alter ego.  do you have one too?

well, i guess she's more like the absolute essence of me.

i love that word, essence.

we once did a project in mrs. rose's seventh grade english class {the fact that it was mrs. rose - a detail i'm just now realizing - really makes this story come full circle} in which we were instructed to create a shield out of poster board. the outside represented the image of us as a person, and it opened up to an inside filled with things that symbolized our essence. the image and the essence project.

i'll never forget that one.

it's one of the lucky crafts that is hidden deep in an armoire at home sweet home. one of those that's too hard to part with.

i'll never forget mrs. rose either. she was the kind that made you think outside the box. perfectly wacky and free-spirited gaining her the utmost respect and leaving us twelve year olds with a hunger for reading and an urge to write.

i think we all have an image and an essence. a façade we are sometimes forced to put forth, and a true being that only our closest of close see. it's the best feeling...not having to try, isn't it? to have no filter and just laugh.

surround yourself with the ones that make you laugh. i love my closest of close and i'm oh-so-grateful for them.

this darling bunch took me to brunch... at rose's, no less!

thank you from the bottom of my heart. my life is so much sweeter with you in it.