Hi fam, how are you? Is it sunny where you are?
This morning there’s a warmth in the air that feels luxurious after a shocker of a cold snap these last few weeks. Dealing with icy winds that go straight through you is exhausting, getting to work everyday is also exhausting and keeping everyone fed and in reasonably clean clothes sure can be exhausting but here I am and the sun is out and it looks all beautiful. A long weekend (sigh of joy and relief) here in Australia feels pretty luxurious too.
Whatever your doing this weekend I hope there’s plenty of taking things at your own pace and in your own way on the agenda and as always I hope these few words and reads will be fresh air and kind company to you also xx

A Good Word

Find flowers, find a garden, find a sky or a sunset or water, find beauty – it’s good for you

Julia Baird “Phosphorescence”

A Good Look

Cosy house tour anyone?

See more of these heart warming creations HERE

A Good Idea

from Muriel at The Grateful Elm

I got to have a phone date with an old friend last night. We get to see each other a few times a year, and I love that we’ve been more regularly messaging and scheduling phone chats.
I love her dearly and we have such meaningful, spirit lifting conversations.

We talked about how we often feel the pressures of never finishing the to-do lists, never feeling like we’re doing enough, working out enough, eating a good diet, reading and learning about the right things, exploring our own minds, working on our dreams, etc so much that we forget how amazing we actually are right now.

What we’ve accomplished thus far in life–the delicious food we’ve learned to cook, the relationships we’ve built and nurtured, the books we’ve already read, the hearts and minds we’ve already cared for, deserves to be celebrated.

And we need to give ourselves a break from the mentally and emotionally draining rat race of our own making.

So….we pledged to ourselves that we are embarking on a “No Improvement Summer.”

No pressure of goals on top of goals, and lists on lists on lists, and feeling like what we’re doing is never enough.

I’m going to intentionally practice enjoying my life as it is right now because what I’ve worked so hard to create up this point deserves my full and undivided attention.

I want to enjoy it.

I want to look back and deeply feel that I was fully present and I soaked it all up like a toasty piece of sourdough in a dish of really good olive oil.

A Few Good Reads

from annvoskamp.com

The Power of a No-Matter-What Kind of Love

When my husband, Luke, and I were in our mid-twenties with exactly zero parenting experience, we welcomed Royal, a six-year-old boy in foster care. Royal exposed us to countless realities previously unknown to us as we cared for him for one year – and then said an abrupt and unexpected goodbye.

Through a series of unpredictable twists and turns, we lost touch with him for thirteen years. His summer birthday was always circled on my calendar, and I wore a ring I always associated with him, one with a stone that was chipped when Royal accidentally dropped it from his first-grade fingers. As I turned the ring on my finger, I said silent prayers for him during the years that we were lost to each other.

Royal and I unexpectedly found one another again when he was nineteen and living out every dismal statistical outcome associated with youth who bounce around foster care, including homelessness and incarceration – – –

Keep reading

from Melanie Dale

A Stirring Story

I stare laser beams into my phone. I don’t know if it will be a call or an email or a Hogwarts owl swooping down with news. Caw!

We spend our lives waiting on results.

What are our grades

did we make the musical

college admission

pregnancy pee stick.

Our days are a constant queue at the theme park of life and I’m at the top of the hill dangling before the big drop.

I’m ready for the results, whatever day they come. I already have a plan. Of course I have a plan. I always have a plan and the more out of control I feel the harder I try to pin down whatever I can.

Our good friends had given us the most expensive bottle of red wine I’ve ever had, and I tucked it in the back of the pantry. When the results come, whatever they are, I’m going to open the wine, Alex is going to sit on the barstool at the kitchen counter, and I’m going to stir risotto while we sip together, whether in celebration of good news or comfort for bad.

I think the stirring will be centering. Risotto takes time, and I want to take the time. I want to create something wonderful with my hands while my mind wraps around whatever the news is

Keep reading

from Cup of Jo

9 Great Reader Comments on Rituals

These past few weeks have been bumpy, so I’ve been looking forward to moments in the day when I can catch my breath. Here, nine Cup of Jo readers share rituals — including barefoot walks in snow and Friday Fun Days — that bring them joy…

On the magic of water:

“Every night, I read in the bathtub after my three-year-old goes to bed. Sitting in silence and delving into a book while finally getting warm is the highlight of my day. It also gives my introverted husband the alone time he is sorely craving, and gives me some time with my book friends, which fills the gap in my extrovert heart.” — Hilary

keep reading

from Sean Dietrich

Dear Sean

DEAR SEAN:

I have been going through a hard time since losing my mom and don’t know what I believe anymore. I’m not sure whether I believe in God or any of that stuff. I’m so lost. What do you believe in?

ANONYMOUS

DEAR ANONYMOUS:

You’ll have to pardon me. I’m writing this from my sickbed. Currently, I am sidelined with COVID and my body feels as though it has recently been assaulted with the wrong side of a pool cue.

As far as my beliefs, for starters, I am now a big believer in washing one’s hands thoroughly.

Also, I believe in fried chicken. The kind made by every granny you’ve ever known. The kind fried in black iron skillets.

I believe it is powerful stuff. Which is probably why you see it at funeral receptions, baby showers, and church socials.

I also believe in hand-rolled biscuits made from flour, fat, salt, baking powder, and buttermilk. To add additional ingredients to this mix would be like drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa.

I believe in teaching young men to clean fish. I believe in kids who ask too many questions. And I believe in girls who are gutsy enough to be themselves.

I believe girls have it harder than boys. And I’m sorry for that.

I believe in giving money to the homeless—not once or twice, but every time I see someone down on their luck. Every single time. I believe in giving more than I should
keep reading

Lets finish with this – an ode to the power of paint.

Our Dining Room Makeover

That’s all for now friends. Have a beautiful weekend. Rest up. Do something you love xx