Happy Friday friends!

Last week’s SUPERMOON.

(Image found here)

Though I am pretty busy with work and adapting to a new and ever changing schedule these days, some things have peaked my interest this week.

1. I have been exchanging favorite Ted Talks with a co-worker. Here is his favorite one.

2. I watched the documentaries Love, Marilyn (somewhat cheesy) and Pussy Riot through HBOgo and both left impressions on me.

3. I am loving this smoothie.

4. I listen to Here’s The Thing, a podcast hosted by Alec Baldwin, every morning. He interviews some really interesting people that are clearly already comfortable around him.

5. Billy Joel is awesome and always will be.

(Image found here)

I never thought I would actually LIVE in California. Being from Cleveland, it is quite a move. I was pretty unsure of it before we left, however it has really been such a treat to be here. The best part about living in California are the options. There are so many places to see. There are parts of this state that you wouldn’t even believe are the same country. Whether it is driving the cliffs of Big Sur or beating the heat in the desert, I always feel lucky to be here.

The other day when I was driving up to Ojai after paddle boarding with my co-workers in Malibu, I couldn’t help but say out loud “I love my life.” It wasn’t a loud exclaimation, but a small, soft fact.

Thanks, California – for being so beautiful.

Last week, my friend Kate (who I first met when I reached out to her to see if she’d like to be a Homie of the Day here) and I hosted our second Taking It Offline event.  Taking It Offline is an ongoing event series for women in NYC who are pursuing (or considering) their personal, creative or professional passions online. It was a wonderful evening and so nice to talk with a number of creative and inspiring ladies doing a range of things in the online arena.  From arts businesses to fashion design to fitness blogging for the working professional to online marketing strategy and freelance writing (there was even another joint sister blogger!), these ladies were awesome.  I’m already looking forward to our next event.

If you or anyone you know would like to join us next time, sign up for our mailing list here.  Taking It Offline is also on Facebook and Twitter.

(image via here)

“To be mature you have to realize what you value most. It is extraordinary to discover that comparatively few people reach this level of maturity. They seem never to have paused to consider what has value for them. They spend great effort and sometimes make great sacrifices for values that, fundamentally, meet no real needs of their own. Perhaps they have imbibed the values of their particular profession or job, of their community or their neighbors, of their parents or family. Not to arrive at a clear understanding of one’s own values is a tragic waste. You have missed the whole point of what life is for.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt

I receive Gretchen Rubin’s daily Moment of Happiness email in my inbox each morning. Yesterday’s message was the above quote by Eleanor Roosevelt.  I spent the whole day thinking back on it and trying to consider whether I’m prioritizing the things I value most.  The idea also reminded me of something I heard before about personal finances, and how your spending habits serve as a reflection of what you’re prioritizing in your life, consciously or otherwise.

(image via here)

The one where I’ve climbed to the top of a steep outdoor staircase, the others in line behind me, and it’s my turn to transfer onto the wobbly, metal platform adjacent to the stairs.  Most of them are encouraging me, even cheering me on. But I’m stalling and anxious until, at an unpredictable moment, I clumsily make the transition.  Once I’ve reached the other side, the only one who acted impatient and unsupportive started telling the rest of us who we were & what she thought of us.  To me she said, “You are the same as me.”  This was certainly not a compliment and I didn’t receive it as such.

When I woke, still aware of the terror I felt by the height of the stairs and the unsteadiness of the metal platform, as well as my indignance at her words, I thought of my family and the saying we learned together: First you mock the position, then you’re in the position.

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As If It Were A Dream is an ongoing series in which I will pair an image with some of my own writings. Previous installments: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

I am home.

There is something so dainty and girlie about my childhood bedroom that I never fully resonated with until I got a bit older. It is funny how now, at a time when I care about design and aesthetics, I fully feel at ease in the room that has been mine my entire life.

Though there were times when I cursed the wallpaper while blasting Bush or dying my hair with Kool-Aid – it is now in my adult life that I fully embrace the softness that comes up in me when I am in this room.

(Cedar Point, Ohio via here)

I went to a presentation yesterday in which someone compared a long-term project to a roller coaster ride. He emphasized the need to just go with it. While this is a comparison we’ve all heard – many times, probably – it somehow struck me in a deeper way yesterday. The point was less about expecting “ups and downs” and more about surrendering to the ride with a sense of acceptance and grace, rather than one of resistance and panic.  This made me think of the soothing voice of Mary Maddox over at Meditation Oasis.  I continue to keep her guided meditation podcasts loaded up on my phone.  If you’re interested, you can listen to one here.

This week I started my new job at the Clean Program and I am sitting with my best friend drinking a green juice. What more could a girl ask for?

This weekend we are going to this. We are also going on some hikes and having a picnic on the beach. Life is but a dream.

Something funny to start your weekend

(Image via Pinterest)

It’s not quite beach weather around these parts but that’s not stopping me from celebrating the unofficial start to summer this weekend. I’m hoping to find myself a little out of town at some point. Maybe go to a bbq. Do some reading.

If you have a bit of downtime (now or later), I highly recommend listening to this episode of On Being: A Shift to Humility: Andrew Zolli on Resilience and Expanding the Edge of Change.  If you’ve been feeling a little bummed by recent things going on in the world, I think this conversation realistically speaks to what we’re collectively facing.  I’ve been thinking about the interview all week and have replayed portions of it a few times.  I truly & sincerely hope you’ll check it out!

Listen here

Clearly I should have worn the layered button down blouse with my over-sized handbag and above the knee skirt.  What was I thinking?!  In this overly pulled together skirt suit and classic bag I screamed standard, safe…predictable.  I didn’t stand a chance under the black and white lense.  It wasn’t my fault, exactly.  No one told me that there would be a geometric overlay.  In two colors no less.  My shoes were adventurous but how would you ever know?  And it’s not like his shoes were anything exciting.  But they were visible and that’s something, I guess.  Next time I’d know better.  I’d loose the understated but eternally classic double button jacket.  I’d shorten my skirt.  And I’d inevitably second guess the change when I spotted her looking just like I do today.

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As If It Were A Dream is an ongoing series in which I will pair an image with some of my own writings. Previous installments: 1 / 2 / 3

Image via here