{Go girl} How do you say no?

Christmas time.  The excitement of social gatherings galore.  The pursuit of perfect gifts for your nearest and dearest.  Feeling inspired to at least attempt getting creative in making your own Christmas pudding/mince pies/mulled wine (insert as applicable). Perfecting the appropriate sentiment in dozens of Christmas cards.  Oh, and the art of making your home a cosy, welcoming space to entertain and, given half the chance, relax on those wintry nights. 

Is it just me, though, or does the pace take just a little of the enjoyment out of it? 

Stop. 

What do you WANT to do? 

WHO do you want to share it with? 

Make your choice to spend this oh-so-precious time how YOU want to spend it.  For me...
... finding and decorating a real Christmas tree.  Ahhh, the scent of fir-tree and hot mulled wine, I can smell it now!
... entertaining our fabulous friends this weekend with a little festive shindig.
... family times to celebrate Christmas and bring in the new year.
... a make-my-heart-soar carol concert is definitely on the must-do list.
... plenty of I'm-too-old-for-this traditions (you're never to old to put out a carrot for Rudolph are you?)
... my first Christmas as a wifelet!

Image: One

{Quality time} All the fun of the festive fair

Excited crowds at the Christmas market.  The smell of gluwein, sugary crepes and spicy goulash in the air.  Generous measures of red wine in cosy Nordic bars.  Oh, and a little playful moment on the carousel...

{Take action} A fresh pair of eyes

It's funny how people notice your little idiosynchrocies and quirks.  I've mentioned before that instead of writing new year's resolutions, I create a new year moodboard - it's become a little ritual.  In fact, I've already started curating pictures from blogs and tearing photos from magazines, as my 2012 vision board comes to life.  And so, while this little creative pursuit of mine has become second nature to me, I wasn't aware how aware my family and friends were of it - how 'me' they saw it.  So much so, that it was mentioned in the speeches at our wedding and the board above created by my little sister to mark the occasion.

I love it.  It's my most treasured one yet...

{Romance} Autumn sunshine stroll

Just for the love of this picture....  Crisp November afternoons.  Hazy sunshine.  The last of the autumn leaves.  Walks arm in arm.

Image: One

{Take action} How can you "be amazing" today?


Now this is my kind of bar!  I love this photo from the anniversary edition of the delicious Rue Magazine with the non-too-subtle reminder behind the bar.  (I want me some!)  Ok, so it's Tuesday, not my favourite day of the week.... for me, it's all too easy to groan at the sound of my alarm clock, fuel myself with coffee before "getting through" the day ahead with, already, one eye on my sightline to the weekend.  Not a great way to spend the 52 Tuesdays in the year hey?!  But maybe this Tuesday can "be amazing"....  I'm going to make this my Tuesday PB.

... Cutting back on the caffeine
... Making my to-do list manageable (as opposed to humanly impossible!)
... Taking some time to chat to people I cross paths with rather than losing myself in work work work
... Noticing all the little amazing moments throughout the day

Have  an amazing Tuesday x

Image: One

{Take action} Are you brave enough to go solo?

How do I put this? Hmmmm?  I don't like people looking at me.  Or more specifically, I'm not that good with attention.  I'm more than happy for someone else to take the limelight and I'll be content to be the one cheering on from the sidelines. 

I'm a tough cookie where it counts but sometimes the simplest things can unnerve me - like eating in a restaurant alone.  I've had to do it in the past when I've been working away from home and not been inspired by the safety-net of the room service menu, but I'd take a book or a magazine with me to lose myself in at the table.  Yes, the prop was essential in portraying the independent woman identity but, even with this, I'd self-consciously sit there and eating would be a functional (and fast!) exercise.

But last night was a mini-breakthrough.... A table for one for just little old me. No book, no magazine and I even restrained myself from absorbing myself in my iphone.  This might not sound like much for you well-travelled women but it was a personal milestone.  To sit back, leisurely enjoy my scrumptious dinner and take in everything that was going on around me - the couples indulging in a quiet sunday meal for two, the big, boisterious family gathering at the next table, and the girlfriends chatting away at the bar - I was perfectly content and just a smidgen self-conscious.  This is major progress.....

{WellBEing} A moment of calm

Over the past week I've been setting my alarm clock an extra 30 minutes early to meditate - it has long been on my list of intentions but, sadly, the thing I've never made the time for.  More fool me!


It has made a huge difference for a number of reasons but today I'll share just one.  I realise I was so used to getting up in a rush, running through my plan for the day while ironing with one hand and making my morning cuppa with the other (you get the picture) and setting a manic tone for the day that I was missing everything. When I've heard the phrase "don't be so focused on the destination that you miss the journey" I'd always thought it a bit twee - but I'm about to eat my words. 


As well as starting the day in a much calmer frame of mind, the biggest difference this new little ritual has made is that it seems to have opened my eyes to what's going on around me a little more.  To appreciate all the little things that make me smile.


So, today, I encourage you to take 30-seconds, a minute, (heck 5 minutes if you have it!) to STOP, take a breather and enjoy a moment of calm.


Photo: this-is-glamorous

{Mid-week breather} Take in the moment

The sun is shining and I have a free day stretching out in front of me.  I'm grabbing my faithful camera and heading outdoors to get snap-happy .... and breathe in the moments.

Photo: loveisucks @ Pinterest

{Take action} Trust

Goal-oriented. Ambitious. Type A. Call it what you will, I'm a driven thirty-something who likes to have a plan and I'm not ashamed to say it.  Without painting too stern a picture, I can (and do!) let my hair down but I'm a girl who, at the very least, likes to have a rough direction. 


Lately though, it seems that I've unintentionally thrown caution to the wind - for as many exciting certainties there are in my life at the moment, there are equally as many unknowns that are impossible to plan for.  I actually don't know what step I should take next.  So, over the long, lazy Easter weekend, I've uncharacteristically opted to go with it and let things unfold in their own sweet time. I trust that the path will become clear ...

Photo: Pinterest