manifest.

all we talk about around here these days is moving and list-making. so it seems. yaaaawn! i am certain i can give you more. i need to.

it's twenty thirteen. wow. i kind of forgot to stop and think about that. like really think about it. i am too busy playing and planning instead of reflecting on this beautiful moment. twenty twelve was filled with goodness. there was some bad, of course, but you know a year has been good when you can look back at it and smile... tell it thank you for happening, and watch it slowly saunter into the distance. i hope all the years of my life are like this, remembered as good.

i read this post i wrote exactly one year ago and almost broke down into tears. all i can think of is that i did it. i lived how i wanted to live. and while we're all just works in progress, we're also manifesting our best selves.

i can't stop thinking about this word, manifesting. it came to me from an incredibly kind comment from an instagram friend on my big news post and quite frankly, i can't quite get it out of my head. it reads, love it! big congrats! manifesting your dreams :)

at first glance i thought, who me? and the more it sunk in, the more i believed it. yes, me. 

after reading this post by my sweet friend on her blog, i can't help but think manifest just might be my word for twenty thirteen.

m a n i f e s t.

make happen. live fully. embody. exude. be open. warmth. love. express. proclaim. show yourself to the world.

...all words and phrases i vow to remember this year. all while occupying a new space in completely new situations with entirely new people. ready, go!

may we all manifest our dreams this year, sweet peas.

*photo 1 | 2

solstice.

someone told me that the veils between the earth are the thinnest during the summer solstice. so, what you ask the universe for, will be easily heard. now is the time to call upon your greatest wishes.

i wish for...

although it might be summer, it doesn't feel like it in sf.
once june twenty-first hit, in rolled the fog.

the coldest winter i ever spent, was a summer in san francisco. ~mark twain

i vow to still love you, fog an all... 

*photo found here.

promise.

never lose your passion for people or your positive outlook on life.

okay, she said. i promise i won't.

*twirl.

the arena.

about a year ago, i shared one of my favorite ted talks of all time by brené brown. she discusses the importance of vulnerability in our lives and what it means to live whole-heartedly, with courage. in moments of fear, i often reflect on her talk and become rooted in the thought that while feeling vulnerable is scary, it's a necessity for personal growth, positive change, and discovering our own self-worth.

as she states, in her follow up ted talk, "vulnerability is not weakness, it's the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change."



if you have twenty minutes, i'd recommend watching. it may just be the psych major in me, but i can attest that it has some incredibly valuable lessons on shame, and how feelings of not being good enough can get in the way of who we want to be.

as brené says, "may we enter the arena that is our lives, and dare greatly."


it's all happening has truly taught me we must risk feeling vulnerable by speaking our minds to create something beautiful that is true to ourselves. bring on the vulnerability. we need more of it in this world.

home.

i had one of those moments on this fine monday eve where i fully felt like myself. one hundred percent. hi me, i've been missing you. it was almost as if i came home. like, oh! it's so nice to see you again.

do you ever have moments like that? when other things kind of cloud your vision and consequently make you feel a bit out of step?

maybe it was the simplicity of the solo adventure. the familiarity of an old routine. even the heavy whole foods grocery bags making my fingers burn with numbness only added to the perfection of the moment. i thought about people i hadn't thought about in a while, revisited memories made, admired the high clouds, and contemplated my next turn on the route home. happy is what i think they call it.

things i'm leaving this day knowing...

daylight savings is a wonderful gift.

sometimes it's okay to have two kombuchas in one day. maybe it's even necessary.

an evening walk makes for great natural medicine.

a challenging sixty minute yoga class before bed just might lead to the best sleep you'll ever have. try it.

love yourself first and everything else falls into line {that one i owe credit to ms. lucille ball. i wear it as a daily reminder, and nights like tonight remind me of why i believe it to be true}.

*delights found here and here. funny how days and days after pinning a photo it can fit exactly how you want it to. oh, where oh where would we be without pinterest?

honey.

i'm in a transition phase, i said. it's all a transition phase, she responded.

that's when i realized, we're constantly in transit, aren't we? moving and changing and growing and passing from one state to the next.

often times i think of the yoga philosophy that nothing is permanent. that's so very true.

we must embrace each phase as it comes. with open arms and an open heart. accept it and adjust while channeling that fluidity and grace.

this sounds a lot like flowing through a vinyasa, which i now see as a symbol for moving through our ever-changing lives with ease.  sometimes anna calls it moving through honey.

our transitional life is our honey. now let's move through it in a nimble fashion, whatdoyasay?

meet me.

8,789 words of wisdom.

i've had this book on my shelf for years, traveling with me from one living space to the next. it's one of those great, quick, pick-me-up-and-read-a page-or-two kind. most likely purchased at anthropologie.

well, i haven't opened it in ages, but tonight i randomly flipped to page two hundred and sixty six. and, low and behold, lie none other than a few simple words of wisdom to share.

tell people only what needs to be done, not how 

you are part of a big world and even bigger universe 

you may regret what you say but never what you do not say 

difficulty strengthens the mind as labor does the body 

laughter and crying sound the same in all languages 

a journey begins with a single step, and a road map 

all cats look alike in the dark 

don't weight yourself every day 

good posture means better health 

a drop of ink may make a million think  

remind friends of their own worth 

life has a certain responsibility code 

there are some qualities in life that cease to exist once we realize they are happening 

learn to let go

bolded ones are my fave. happy monday, my lovers. may we have weeks full of wisdom.

plan b attitudes.

so you guys, i have to introduce you to one of my sweeeetest new friends. oh, she's so cool.

meet layla. she's my pilates instructor!

yes, you heard me. p-i-l-a-t-e-s. it's been years since i've touched the stuff.

but every tuesday and thursday at our work exercise class, i'm requesting let's get those deep, internal abdominals so my core will be strong, and more powerful than ever. and flat. well, that's the hope anyway.

she speaks my language with her darlings and dears and when you're done you're done. and, she even touches on my most favorite talk of all, you know, stuff about the universe.



one day in class, before attempting headstands, she taught us this great saying her mom - louise - says {who happens to be a yoga teacher...all of the good ones are, aren't they!?} when you're having a bad day...

alright ladies, let’s grab an apple and a hunk of cheese and put on our plan b attitudes. go upside down and get your ass over your head. now, lay down, tell the universe what you need and it’ll come to you.

we all need a plan b, wouldn't you agree? to get upside down every now and then. shake things up. keep them a-movin' and a-flowin' {another thing we talk about often}.

i heart my new friend. i know you will too.

let's talk about the universe.

one time, in college, alexis and i drove all the way from santa barbara to the roxy in hollywood. it was a friday afternoon and it was time for a big best friend adventure. we tended to do that quite often.

the trip to see the one and only tristan prettyman had been planned for weeks. we were to depart around two with our printed map and directions. smart phones were a thing of the future.

i even remember what i was wearing. embarrassingly enough, ugg boots paired with a ruffled denim skirt from abercrombie and fitch. i swear that look was in.

our first stop was fred segal. our second stop was ashton kutcher's restaurant - dolce - and our third stop was truly the main attraction. the tristan prettyman concert. the internet told us we could buy tickets before the show for a whopping ten dollars. what a steal!

here's how the story really goes...

i bought the ugliest army green, fur-hooded, juicy couture, five-hundred-dollar jacket on our shopping endeavor. oh yes, the one with the be-jeweled "j" on the sleeve. apparently, back then, i had to have it.

it turns out that ashton doesn't hang out in his own restaurant around the earliest reservation time. yup, that would be five thirty. in fact, just as an fyi, you will be the only people - and youngest - dining in this swanky restaurant this early. which, mind you, will make pulling out your fake id way more intimidating than it needs to be.

however, nothing could rain on our parade at that point in our evening, because onto the much-anticipated show we went.

well, not so fast.

i'm sorry, she's all sold out.

but i called! i promise! i say to the woman at the ticket booth.

i'm sorry, there's no tickets left to her show tonight.

...and back home we went.




for as disheartening as that trip turned out, it's a story that will forever make me laugh. all of the silly details of that day make me smile.

throughout the years, tristan has only grown cooler in my eyes. she now writes a blog and is an aspiring yogi, like me.

often times, the things she writes are some of my exact thoughts. she's just cool enough to articulate them in a way that i am unable to. all i know is that more often than not i'm speaking out loud to her "me too! me too! yes, exactly!" we have the same way of getting all preachy. and that, in my opinion, is a great similarity to have.

to be quite honest, i think we'd be dear friends in real life. well wait, this is real life.

anyhow, the whole point of this long-winded {you know me, i'm always rambling to you} note was to share one of my most favorite things she posted the other day.

“first you have to know what you want, defined in terms of the end result. and then you have to physically move towards it, without defining the hows. at which point, the thing you want actually starts coming to you, on its own terms, from a direction completely unexpected. just carry on, detached from the details and timing, and perhaps act like you couldn’t care less.”

so, there you have it.

thank you, tristan, for always reminding me to trust in this universe. i hope someday our paths will cross. i promise i won't be wearing ugg boots.

*photos found among my pins, here and here.

the missing piece.

i never knew writing would become one of my passions, ever. it hit me out of the blue.

i suppose that's how love is. it hits you when you least expect it.

often times, in matters of meeting the one, i think about the missing piece meets the big o by shel silverstein {i think we all grew up with a little where the sidewalk ends in our lives, yes?}.

to me, it's about being your own whole person before you meet your match. to be in true, real love, we cannot serve as the missing or filler piece for the other person just as we cannot expect another person to serve this purpose for us.

falling in love, to me, means two wholes coming together, and as shel puts it "rolling together."




two wholes, well, make an even bigger whole. i like it this way.

here's to being your own big o so you can meet your most perfect o match.

might i suggest reading the entire book online here, too. it'll warm your heart, and i bet you'll take away a sweet message.

tonight as i flipped through my own personal copy of the book, i had a flashback of when i received it.

{handwritten messages inside book covers are such a treat, don't you agree?}

the note reads...

june 2008

gina,

i hope you enjoy this book as much as i do! you are such a treasure and the world is a more beautiful place with you in it! your friendship and insight bring me joy, soul sister! here's to rolling!

love,
karen

the world is a more beautiful place with you in it.

if this isn't the best compliment in all the world, i don't know what is. re-reading this three years later gives me the utmost gratitude.



now, i've since lost touch with this particular soul sister, but i hope she knows what an impact she had on my life. it's almost as if this simple gift she gave me in june of 2008 has helped shape my view on love.

pay it forward, my friends.

even the smallest gestures can impact us in the biggest of ways. i thank you, karen, wherever you are today. sending you goodness and love. i hope you've found somebody to roll with.

xoxo.

give it to the universe.

i made a new friend.

make new friends, but keep the old.
one is silver and the other gold.

{enter preschool rhyme that will forever stick with me}.

there is something so sacred about making new friends in our adult years, yes?

she is inspiring in her own right and i want her to be thoroughly aware of the beauty she brings to this life. big things are in store for her, my fellow blogger and long lost soul sister.

i remember my first week on the job she walked into our office and said something of the sort...

gina, i'm really glad you're here.
i feel as if we're kindred spirits.

we are.

it is vital for me to mention her today as she has taught me one of my most favorite phrases.

give it to the universe.

these seven simple syllables serve as the best life mantra for our daily lives. every time i say it in my head {or aloud} i feel better. try it. and remember, it's bigger than you.



may you trust. hands in the air, hair blowing in the wind kind of trust.

give it. own it.

*freedom found here.