Another year begins and I am so ready for it. This illustration is definitely perfect for the range of emotions I went through this year. 2013 started with much sadness in a couple big areas of my life (my heart and my job) and the sadness managed to turn its way around. The bad and sad didn’t disappear magically–I made a distinct decision to dictate my happiness rather than wait for it to appear. Good leads to good and bad leads to bad. The more we wallow in our sadness, the harder it is to rise from it (I know–I’ve wallowed a lot.) Every day chosen correctly is an increased probability that the next day will be even better.

I won’t overly share the above mentioned challenges, as this is a place for happy things, remember? Certainly and by far, there are many improvements to come (some much needed) but it’s all about further than before and this past year was the best yet.

Of course and notably, this past March brought this blog into existence and it is my proudest accomplishment. I spent many years putting off for many reasons making it happen and this year was the year it did. Yay! I am excited to continue to make it bigger and better in the coming year.

Thank you to my small but mighty group of readers for all the support! It means the world.

Happy New Year!

+ Illustration by Hiller Goodspeed +

Gosh, it's been sweltering in Los Angeles lately. We've had a break the past day or two but it's set to ramp right back up there. Anyone who has crossed my path in the past two weeks has heard my endless analogies for my apartment which has no central air (lowest level of hades, the devil's breath, palace of fire and brimstone, etc.) I have an A/C unit in the bedroom but the living room is just a sweat box. So, needless to say, I've been a bit irritable. I've always openly admitted to being quite unpleasant when it's hot. 

I had a breakthrough this morning though, while waking up to the day and before my spin class, I was watching the 5:00 am hour of QVC (don't judge) and there were some simply marvelous fall inspired flameless candles on the air (seriously, stop judging me). It got me so excited for fall, I could barely contain myself. So, I called and ordered 3 sets–just kidding. But seriously, I can't wait. 

There are so many cinnamon sticks, scarves, and roasted root vegetables in my future. We're almost there.