Monthly Faves : December

Well, friends, we made it. I, for one, am really ready to bring 2011 to a close. It's been a hell of a year, with both good bits and not-so-good bits, and I'm feeling really hopeful as I head into 2012.

Let's finish off 2011 with my 12th Monthly Faves post. I can't believe I've been doing these for a whole year! It's become one of my favorite posts to put together, and I don't think I'll be discontinuing it in the new year, although I might take a different approach on occasion. Happy New Year to all!


• The nicer, more positive version of the to-do list: The TA DA! List.
• This photo of Prince William = Priceless. ADORE it.
• LOVE this inspiring series from Salon: My Brilliant Second Career.
• This is the one of the cutest and most creative ways I've seen to feature a recipe!
• A story and a reminder about Pinterest and copyrights.
• A look inside Promise Tangeman's business evaluation and planning process.
• Creepy, intriguing, and Tim Burton-esque: Children's drawings painted realistically.
• Made me giggle uncontrollably: The 20 Unhappiest People You Meet in the Comments Section of Year End Lists {I'm definitely guilty of #1, for shame}
• Beautiful new-to-me Tumblrs: The color-licious Cubicle Refugee and the dreamy, woodsy Oh Pioneer.
• Best New Blog Find of The Month: Stumble and Leap, by far. Technically, I was introduced to this blog last month through her post on young women and career burnout, but I went back and read her archives. I love Becca's thoughtful writing, which I both identify strongly with and feel challenged by. If don't you read anything else, check out her post on goal setting and values and vision statements.


• A lovely short film about a year in New York City. Maybe it's just me, but some scenes evoked my dear Chicago.
• 25 ways to wear a scarf is embarrassingly useful for my life.
• Patagonia's Common Threads Initiative is something I can get behind.
• Two worthwhile visual lectures to watch: 23 1/2 Hours and The Surprise Truth about What Motivates Us.
• A darling look inside Miette Bakery.


• I've gotten word from hip friend in Seattle that Pickwick is a band to watch out for in the coming year.
• Kimberly's interview with Tara Gentile was one of the best Tranquility Du Jour podcast episodes to come out this year.


• Reflect: The 45 Most Powerful Images of 2011 via Buzzfeed, Top 10 of Everything in 2011 from Time Magazine, and a video of The Year in Big News 2011 from Good News. And for some humor, here's the 25 best "Damn You, Auto Correct" entries of 2011.
• Indulge: Red velvet hot chocolate with cream cheese whipped cream {OMG} or Nutella fudge with sea salt {OMGGGG}.
• Buy: This Me, at Parties print because it illustrates your {or at least my} life. Or this adorable buttonboard trivet.
• Download: Pretty iPhone wallpapers from Etsy artists, and these iPhone wallpapers from graphic designers that feature New Year's resolutions {isn't it a cool idea to put your resolution on your cell phone screen so you're bound to look at it multiple times per day? Justin Mezzell's "Drive Less, Bike More" illustration is killer.}
• Transform: Join in The Reinvention Project, a 30-day {free!} program aimed at getting unstuck hosted by health coach Paige Lysaght. Or download this cool free app called Unstuck if you're an iPad owner {be sure to check out the promo video}.
• Do the Impossible: The Impossible Manifesto and an inspiring TED talk from snowboarder Amy Purdy.

Monthly Faves is a series featuring my favorite links and bits around the interwebs. 

Do you like my Monthly Faves posts? Then make sure you follow me on Twitter! I've found that I end up with more links than I can possibly share each month, so I'm going to be regularly Tweeting some of the extra finds that don't end up in my Monthly Faves posts.

Best of 2011.

{TV: Breaking Bad; Ritual: Blogs and tea in the morning; Trip: New Mexico family reunion; Recipe: Beet burgers; Project: Collaged monogram; Blog Post: The Life Less Bullshit Manifesto from Nicole is Better; Place: The lake house; Cookbook: Super Natural Everyday; Book: Desire to Inspire; Restaurant Meal: Demera Ethiopian in Chicago; Purchase: Merrell Barefoot shoes}

And, in honor of my blog's 2nd birthday tomorrow {Happy Birthday, little blog!}, here are a few of my favorite posts from the past year:
- Embracing a "Yes, and" Philosophy
- Exploring Values {a.k.a. Why am I wasting so much time watching TV?}
- Ten Tips for Savoring Spring and Ten Tips for Savoring Summer
- Girl Seeks Determination and Stick-to-it-ness
- Graphic Design Pet Peeves
- Creative Questions: Developing Your Interior Design Style and Commitment Phobia in Home Decor
- Foodie Friday : What's In My Kitchen
- Crediting Photos and Better Practices for Pinterest
- Foodie Friday : Meal Planning for Sanity's Sake

Thanks to each and every one of you who has continued to read along with my musings and has commented, emailed, Facebooked and Twittered with me this year! You make blogging so much fun for me and encourage me to keep creating solid, creative content. I have hopes that 2012 will be an amazing year and that I will continue to be passionate about blogging and the community that surrounds it.

{revisited} Soft Ginersnap Cookies

 {Note: This is an updated post from 2010 that I've scheduled while I'm away.} 

Have we had our fill of holiday cookies yet? What's that you say? You can never have enough cookies? Well, I'm glad we're on the same page, then :) Before we switch to salads and kale chips as we try to keep our New Year's resolutions, let's bid adieu to 2011 with a delicious treat.

One of my favorite cookie recipe finds from the past few years is this recipe for soft gingersnap cookies from Marta's blog. They are chewy and sweet, the perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of tea. The cinnamon, ginger and molasses make these cookies wonderfully warm and homey without being too much like Christmas gingerbread. And the recipe makes an abundance of dough. Like a lot. But the logs freeze really well. And in the case that you *have* had your fill of cookies already or have amazing willpower (good for you!), these cookies make wonderful belated gifts or thank-you's for neighbors and the mailman.

Soft Gingersnaps (from Marta Writes)

1 1/2 cup Shortening
2 cups Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Dark Molasses
1/2 tsp. Salt
4 tsp. Baking soda
2 tsp. Baking powder
2 tsp. Cloves
2 tsp. Cinnamon
2 tsp. Ginger
4 cups Flour

Cream together all the ingredients except the flour. When dough is creamy, gradually add the flour. Form dough into small balls and roll in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and flatten each cookie with your thumbprint.

Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes. (The key is to under-bake them a little for truly soft cookies. If you want soft and small cookies, you'll want to only bake them for 7 minutes, so they are set but still soft when you take them out of the oven. I let them sit for a minute on the sheet and then carefully transfer them to the cooling rack for ten to fifteen minutes. Then i'll slip them into a ziplock storage bag or tight tupperware container to ensure soft cookies.)

{revisted} A Winter Walk in Oak Park

{Note: This is an updated post from 2010 that I've scheduled while I'm away.}

One of my favorite little winter traditions is to take a walk around town after the first real snowfall of the year. Since we've been lacking snowfall other than a light dusting so far this year, I'm looking back fondly at these pictures I took during last December's snowy walk. This town has so much charm when it's covered in white-- everything from the brick streets to the swags of evergreens to the Victorian homes have a pristine snowy cap and the streets grow peacefully muted. And I may be the only crazy person out strolling through the cold streets, but I love how invigorating the cold air can be when it first hits your lungs.

Happy Holidays!

Well, friends, I'm signing off for several days for the holidays. I'm wishing you a beautiful and relaxing Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice, and hope that you get to spend time surrounded by all the best things in life-- family, good friends, good food, and laughter.

Since I'll be away for a few days, I have a few favorite posts from last year that I've updated and scheduled for the next week or so. I plan on doing a personal "Best of 2011" photo post sometime next week, and check back in on December 31st for my December Monthly Faves links. Then, as we head into the New Year, I'll be sharing my new One Little Word and give a look into my planning process for 2012. It's gonna be a good year, guys, I can feel it.


Blessings to you and yours!

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String

Brown kraft paper is one of my favorite ways to wrap up holiday gifts because it is so versatile. Add a little bit of festive flair and you've got a cheery, simple, and eco-friendly way to wrap your gifts.

Pictured above is last year's wrap. If you want to replicate this look here's what you do:
1. Wrap your gifts in brown kraft paper, or use dismantled brown paper grocery bags.
2. Use this 5-point snowflake tutorial from How About Orange to cut several snowflakes from regular computer paper (bonus "green" points for using the blank backside of scrap paper). The five-point method makes traditional paper snowflakes look a little more fancy.
3. Using spray adhesive (you could also try a glue stick or Mod Podge, if you're careful about your application), spray the backside of the snowflake and adhere to the package.
4. For the packages with the flowers, I used this tissue paper flower tutorial and attached them to the packages with baker's twine. The white paper lace under the flowers came from a now-defunct Etsy shop, but you could use any sort of pretty ribbon in it's place.

Other ideas for kraft paper packages:
- Use silver or white paint pens and draw lines, a plaid pattern, snowflakes, geometric shapes or any other doodles you can think of
- Attach strips of washi tape, either randomly or in a stripe or plaid pattern
- Print the gift recipient's name in a large sans-serif font on white computer paper and cut out the letters. Tape/glue to package.
- Alternatively, you could use the white paper printed with the recipient's name as a template and cut their name out of fun graphic paper (other wrapping paper or scrapbook paper)
- Make colorful bows out of old magazine pages
- Tie your packages with baker's twine or yarn and attach an evergreen sprig, a tree branch or a pinecone to the top
- Use Trader Joe's or Whole Foods holiday paper grocery bags as your gift wrap, which have perfect winter-y motifs, no extra decor necessary

So many possibilities! And so cute, too-- It almost makes me not want to open the gifts when they're dressed up so pretty.... Almost :)

Snapped Snippet : Flossin'

Here's a little insight into how Caiti's brain works. Four days ago, I blogged about my new obsession with typographic embroidery. Fast forward three days, and I find myself coming home from the craft store with 105 skeins of embroidery floss and two embroidery hoops thanks to a 50% off coupon. Huzzah! Once the creative seeds get planted, I can't get them off my mind until I give in. On a good day, these projects end up developing into new loves {art journaling, crocheting}. And on a not-so-good day, they might end up in the crafty cemetery next to misshapen pottery bowls, uneven knit scarves and a bucket of scrapbooking supplies. We'll see how this one goes for me-- but for now, I'm enjoying staring at this plate full of pretty rainbows.

Snapped Snippets is a blog series in which I share bits and pieces of my creative life that I capture on camera. 
 

#Reverb11 / #WEverb11 Day 18 : Lunch

 Ladies Who Lunch Vintage Print by alicebgardens, $20

Lets do lunch!

If you could have lunch with anybody, who would it be and what would you like to discuss? 

Of course, just after I declare my retirement from #Reverb11, an awesome prompt sneaks in there and lures me back in. Today's prompt attracted me because I haven't seen anything like it come up before.

The idea of sitting down with people I admire over lunch has been in my head ever since Nicole posted about her 100 Lunches project. I've heard that stock interview question about what living or dead people you'd want to invite to a dinner party, but that seems much more hypothetical and famous/celebrity-based than the idea of actually sitting down with a real, awesome person, picking their brain, and hearing their stories-- and hopefully soaking up at least an ounce of their their radness.

Here are 18 people I've been thinking about. There's no significance to picking 18. Just decided to keep it to 18 in honor of today's date-- pretty sure I could easily get to 50. There are so many fabulous people doing completely envious and amazing things.

1. and 2. Grace Helbig of Daily Grace and Hannah Hart of My Drunk Kitchen. Together. But we wouldn't go to lunch; we'd cook lunch together. And video it, naturally.
3. Elizabeth Duvivier, founder of Squam Art Workshops. I'd love to hear more about how she transitioned from a typical corporate job to creating the workshops, and how she works to keep the magic of Squam alive.
4. Sarah Von of Yes and Yes, to discuss life and travel and blogging.
5. Kimberly Wilson of Tranquil Space and Tranquility Du Jour about how to manage multiple businesses while staying centered, stress-free and creative.
6. and 7. Joy the Baker and Tracy 'Shutterbean' about producing a fun podcast and running food blogs.
8. Christen Olivarez, Editor-in-Chief of Stampington publications, about what it's like to run creative magazines. And maybe a few tips on how to get published in one someday :)
9. Kris Carr, to discuss health, wellness, creativity and authentic living.
10. Elsie Larson of Red Velvet and A Beautiful Mess, about indie business, blogging, goal-setting and developing a personal style and creative vision.
11. Elise Blaha Cripe about running a creative business and how to keep the ideas flowing.
12. Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks, about how to get started in cooking without having a culinary background and how to take such soft, homey food photographs
13. Sera Beak, author of The Red Book, about spirituality, developing a personal/individualized spiritual practice, and living with purpose.
14. Ira Glass on storytelling and developing your craft.
15. Ali Edwards on creative careers and balancing family and work.
16. Alice Waters of Chez Panisse on eating local, school lunch reform, and the slow food movement.
17. Jessica Hische on design, typography, illustration and creativity.
18. Jamie Ridler on being a creativity and life coach and living a creative life.


Who would you dream of sitting down to lunch with?

Monthly Faves : Christmas Edition

Since my regular Monthly Faves post on the last day of the month would be too late to share the awesome holiday-related links I've found, I've pulled together a special Christmasy edition. Get some hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies ready, and click away :)

Pictured Above:
- I'm all about non-traditional holiday colors-- Last year was all white/gold/silver/cream, and this year is turquoise/lime green/black/white. This Paper Bag Wreath from Bloesem Kids {via How About Orange} would fit right in with this year's scheme and I love the quirky handmade quality-- it looks like it belongs in one of those stop-motion animated movies.
- Since these trees can get pretty pricey at antique stores and on Etsy, these DIY Bottle Brush Trees from Quill {via Kyla Roma} are a great option for those on a budget.
- Awesome freebie download: coordinating pink wrapping paper and tags from Domestifluff {and I love the gingerbread decorations on top!}
- Very cool look at a paper sculpture artist's process of creating a holiday poster.

Not Pictured:
- A powerful story about the gifts we give each other.
- I love this family's non-traditional "video greeting" in lieu of sending Christmas cards. How fun would that be to film?? {Check out their 2010, 2009, and 2008 cards too}
- OBSESSED with the idea of throwing a Favorite Things Party with 5 girlfriends. Such an awesome concept.
- As I struggle with my feelings surrounding Christmas each year, I really loved this post about finding the Christmas spirit.
- Super tiny and petite twinkle lights would be perfect on a tabletop rosemary tree.
- Love this "wishlist" concept: A family fills out a poll/survey each Thanksgiving with questions like "What was the best book you read this year?" and "I'll always remember..." and "I cooked/would like to cook..." Then they use each other's answers in lieu of traditional "Dear Santa" wishlists as they shop for gifts for each other. Plus, it's a great way to reflect on the year.
- As a designerd who enjoys well-presented statistics and infographics far too much, I love this wrapping paper so much.
- Blush and Jelly has fabulously specific gift guides {"The Camper," "The Gardener"}. Be sure to check out the colored gift guides based on birthstones. Very clever.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous pre-holiday weekend! We're finishing up the last of the DIY gifts... I won't reveal the deets yet, but I will say it smells pretty darn good in here ;)

Foodie Friday : Iron Chef Dinner Party

This past weekend, Mark and I hosted our first grown-up dinner party. One where, you know, you're not balancing a plate full of barbeque in one hand and a red Solo cup of beer in the other while trying to find a seat on anything resembling a flat surface. We managed to rearrange our tiny condo to seat 12 people, even if the chairs were a bit mish-mash and we didn't have enough place mats and cloth napkins for everyone. We'll just say it was cozy and quaint :)

We settled on an Iron Chef theme-- the invitations I designed revealed a secret ingredient of citrus fruits and instructed guests to bring a specific dish {appetizer, salad, dessert or drinks} with the only rule being that it had to incorporate lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit in some way. As the hosts, we took care of the two entree items and provided the drinks.

A few of our friends share our "foodie" mentality, but several more aren't quite that adventurous when it comes to cooking and eating, so we didn't know what to expect from everyone. But we were pleasantly surprised at how fun everyone seemed to have with the challenge. Here was the final menu:

Appetizers 

Meyer Lemon-Fava Bean Bruschetta topped with a Orange Slaw and Greens 

Tequila Lime Barbeque Chicken Wings

Salad 

Mixed Green Salad with Cranberries, Oranges, Goat Cheese and Pecans

Entrees 

Pork Tenderloin in an Orange-Herb Sauce 

Antipasto-style Pasta Salad with Artichokes, Olives, Pimentos and Cheese in a Lemon Vinaigrette

Desserts 

Orange-Ginger Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce 

Lemon Cake Pops and a Lemondrop Shot

Drinks 

Clemojitos {Clementine mojitos} 

Cucumber Lime Margarita Jello Shots 

Rosemary Lemonade with Vodka

Sorry for the lack of photos! We're were having too much fun eating and forgot to snap the action.

I also designed a scorecard to score each of the dishes 1-10 for Taste and Creativity {we eliminated the "presentation" category used on the Iron Chef TV show because our guests were bringing their dishes already prepared, and we didn't want people to worry about how dishes having to be plated all fancy}. After dinner, we spent a few minutes scoring the dishes-- we skipped scoring our own dishes, and us non-meat eaters just scored the ones that we ate.

Mark added up the scores for everyone and averaged them {to account for people not tasting every single dish}, and we presented a few edible prizes from Trader Joe's to the winners. First place went to the Lemon Cake Pops and Lemondrop Shots-- a deserved win, since our friends shaped each pop into slices of lemon and lemon halves, and were quite disappointed to hear that we weren't scoring for presentation. Second place was the Cucumber Lime Margarita Jello Shots, but since that was one of our contributions, we passed the prize on to third place-- the Meyer Lemon-Fava Bean Bruschetta with Orange Slaw (my personal favorite of the evening).

Interested in throwing an Iron Chef party of your own? Here are a few of my tips/notes:
- Potluck or family style works really well. I've heard of other Iron Chef parties where two competitors cook for all dinner guests on the spot, but that seems too stressful and requires much more space than we have in our kitchen.
- Planning a detailed/involved party within two weeks before Christmas is not the smartest idea. If we do it again, we'll aim for April or May.
- People love competition! Even the non-foodies got into it because they wanted the glory of winning.
- It's fun to have everyone introduce their own dishes as they get passed around the table-- bonus points for pretentious titles and descriptions!
- We were worried about the meal being entirely too acidic from all of that citrus, but we found that it all balanced out really well and had a lot of variety. Only the drinks were really in-your-face with citrus flavors.
- Other great ingredients for an Iron Chef party might be: some kind of alcohol (red wine, spiced rum, etc), an herb like basil, chocolate, or anything else that can be used in savory and sweet applications.
- I got a few questions about the invitations. I used this tutorial to make the silver scratch-off portion.

Have you ever been to a themed dinner party before? I'd love to hear about it, since we definitely plan on doing it again!

Loving Lately : Typographic Embroidery

Sources: Hello by Emma Smart via Swiss Miss, Go Play by MaricorMaricar via Get Addicted To, CMYK Alphabet by Evelin Kasikov, Embroidered French Knot Monograms by In The Wabe, Morning by Emma Smart via Swiss Miss, Alphabet Mini Quilt via Ohdeedoh

Lately I've been obsessed with the beautiful fusion of typography and embroidery. Embroidery is such an old-fashioned technique, but I think each of these samples shows how modern and stylin' it can be. My design aesthetic has always leaned towards a mix of clean/simple/modern with a handmade quality, so these samples are right up my alley. It's got me dreaming of candy-colored embroidery floss, burlap and wooden hoops. I think a weekend trip to Hobby Lobby is in order, yes?

PS- Wondering what happened to my #Reverb11 / #WEverb11 project? Well, I'm basically weaning myself off of the Reverb prompts {although I might do one or two more if the muse strikes}. Much like last year, I feel like I get to a point where all that reflecting isn't doing enough good for me and can make me sad about all that I didn't achieve. Plus, I worry that it's getting boring to read my prompt responses everyday. So, instead of over-reflecting, I'm working on manifesting the year ahead. I've pulled out the Joy Equation guide and I'm finishing up weeks 3 and 4 of the program, which are focused on cultivating powerful habits and committing to your happiness-- perfect for my desire to look towards the year ahead. I'm keeping this process to my paper journals right now, but I'll be sure to share my big goals as we get closer to the new year.

Well Said : Teddy Roosevelt

Diving by My Silent Side

"It's not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at best, knows in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

~ Teddy Roosevelt

#Reverb11 / #WEverb11 Day 12 : 12 Things

Simplicity is Hard by Will Lion 

12 Things {via Geekin' Hard email list}

What are 12 things your life doesn’t need in 2012? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 12 things change your life? 
(Props to original Author: Sam Davidson) 

If you did Reverb10, how are you making out on your 11 Things from last year?

When looking back at my 11 Things from last year, I was pretty successful with a number of them. The decluttering process has been wonderfully freeing, even if it feels like it's never-ending. I've gotten really good at saying no when people ask if we want a hand-me-down and avoiding all forms of freebies that I don't really need. We've also taken at least 12 boxes of items over to Goodwill this year. The kitchen and living room are feeling much more airy and comfortable than they used to, but the bedroom and office still need some serious work.  As for bad TV shows/movies/books, I have no shame in bailing if I'm not drawn in or actively detest it {ahem, Dexter season 6, I'm looking at YOU}. I'm doing better with filling up my previously empty social calendar, and I'm continuously working on eliminating excuse words like "busy." And I only bought two ecourses this year, The Joy Equation from Stratejoy and Elise's "Big Minibook Workshop" PDF. I took a month-long break from Facebook and deleted my LinkedIn account as a part of my assessment of time wasters.

Onto 12 in 2012. A few of these 12 things to eliminate are repeats from last year, and I've added some new ones that seem pertinent for the year ahead.

1. Dairy. This was something that I had been avoiding pretty consistently, but recently fell off the wagon. We've had too many get-togethers where I haven't been able to avoid the cheese and crackers platter, cheesy pasta dishes, and have indulged in at least one glass of dairy milk with a chocolate chip cookie. And my formerly-clear complexion is suffering for it {cystic acne in particular can often be helped by eliminating dairy, as well as some issues with (eww) congestion/mucus}. I felt so much better by only eating *small* amounts of goat cheese and Greek yogurt, so I'll be returning to that way of eating.

2. Doubt. Stop second guessing myself, my abilities, and my choices. Simple as that.

3. Buying clothes. I didn't buy much this year, but I enjoyed the decluttering and simplifying process so much that I've decided not to buy any new clothes in 2012 {except for basics like socks and underwear and other completely necessary replacement items like the white t's that get grody}.

4. Buying books. This is much harder for me to commit to than clothes, because I like books more than clothes. But after Kaileen decided to challenge herself not to buy new books, I took a look at my bookshelf and found 67 partially-read and unread books. I'm joining in on a book ban, except for book club books. This also means no trips to the library. If a book purchase happens, there has to be a "one in, one out" policy.

5. The "all or nothing" mentality. This often deters me from trying new things, because I fall into the trap of feeling that the only things worth doing are the things I can do well. I know that's not true, especially with all the thought I've put into the idea of closing the gap that Ira Glass spoke about.

6. Flakiness. I've written about "stick-to-it-ness" before, and although I now have more tools in my toolbox for setting and sticking to goals, I really would like to work on utilizing them regularly. This also applies to social situations-- while I've definitely been better about trying to meet new people, I admittedly flake out on commitments on occasion. I don't want to be that friend so this is something else I'd like to eliminate in 2012.

7. White foods -- white bread, white rice, white pasta, white potatoes, flour tortillas. While I already love health foods like brown rice, quinoa, and whole wheat bread, I also have a weakness for pasta, fresh bakery bread, sushi, mashed potatoes and burritos/fajitas with flour tortillas. I don't plan on banning them completely {because that would give me the sads} but I do want to incorporate healthier options like whole wheat pasta and sprouted grain bread and tortillas, saving the white versions for the occasional treat.

8. Time wasters. Namely, the internet. I have some ideas for time management to put to use that should help me stay focused and on-task as I work on committing to my goals.

9. Devaluing. I want to be able to take a compliment, be proud of my work {no matter who else is or isn't}, and not be afraid to share myself and my work with others.

10. Convention. I'm really good at being creative and living my life in a creative way, and I love that about myself. BUT. I so often try to fit into convention, the norm, what's possible or "normal." This causes me to worry too much about what other people are thinking about what I'm doing, and therefore limits my creativity and my sense of possibility. A better approach: Ignore the people who seemed concerned with what's standard or traditional, and focus on pushing my own boundaries.

11. Background TV. Because it's annoying. Background music {or NPR or podcasts} is so much better.

12. Multi-tasking. I used to pride myself on my multi-tasking abilities. I'd go to the gym and have my iPod on, the TV on the machine going, and be holding a magazine. I work with a ridiculous number of tabs open in Firefox, and open a new one every time a new thought pops into my head. But I don't feel productive this way anymore. I feel distracted. Maybe this is what happens as you get older, or maybe I've hit my mental threshold when it comes to how many pieces of technology I need to manage in a given day. I've already found myself unable to continue at my former pace, and I plan to scale back even further to get to a comfortable state of focus instead of trying to do it all at once.

#Reverb11 / #WEverb11 Day 11 : Try.

Play by thewheatfield, $15

Try. 

What 12 new things do you want to do/accomplish in 2012?

1. Take an international trip or a large road trip {possibly to Glacier National Park}
2. Attend Squam Art Workshop again {and convince at least one fellow blogger that they should attend as well-- Squam Meetup 2012, anyone?}
3. Write/publish an e-book
4. Visit all major Chicago museums {Art Institute, Field, Museum of Contemporary Art, Adler Planetarium, and the Shedd Aquarium. MSI and the Nature Museum are already checked off our list}
5. Try a Zumba class
6. Work on {re}learning Spanish
7. Complete Couch to 5K
8. Commit to a cause, and immerse myself in it {Volunteer. Read books/articles. Discuss. Contribute.}
9. Establish an at-home yoga {and Barre3} practice
10. Write my personal manifesto and life mission statement
11. Open a second Etsy shop with the ideas that seem to resonate more than the current shop
12. Take more photos of everyday life

This list is pretty much a stream of consciousness based on some things I've been thinking about recently. I still have my One Little Word, life list updates, and new birthday/yearly goals to consider, so my priorities may shift as I think more about the values and intentions underlying each of the above ideas. But for now, it's a good starting point.

#Reverb11 / #WEverb11 Day 10 : Create

Create.

Share a creative project you undertook this year (art, writing, DIY, cooking, home decoration, crafts, photography … whatever comes to mind). How do you use your creativity to express yourself?

I crocheted. Collaged. Baked. Cooked. Doodled. Designed. Painted. Art journaled. Granny squared.

Lots of projects, yes, but I also want to share a snippet of a blog interview I did recently because I think it sums up an important point about my views on creativity:

When people hear the word "creative," I think they automatically think of artistic or crafty activities. Many think of "being creative" as an output-- a crocheted scarf, a scrapbook, a painting. I'm all about bringing creativity back to the root of the word: the verb "create." Creating is something that we are all doing, everyday. Every action, every decision that we make is creating our life. I think it's a really empowering sentiment because it gives us the power to shape our experience through our intentions, actions and openness. 

What kind of life do you want to create?  Asking yourself this question forces you to examine your intentions. It identifies areas that you may need to let go of if they aren't serving your vision, and focus more deeply on what matters.  These thoughts are all summed up in my blog title, "Life is a Canvas." Cheesy as it might be, our own lives are the biggest work of art we will ever create, and I think it's worth putting the time and thought into the "materials" (our careers, our health, our friendships and relationships, our hobbies, etc.) as well as the overall story we want to tell.

 

In that sense, the physical things I created this year weren't nearly as important as the creativity I cultivated and the intentions I put forth to shape my life vision.

#Reverb11 / #Relish11 Day 9 : In Words

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo. 

In Words {via Relish Life}

What quote, or line from a poem or a song, most captures what this year was for you?

I posted this quote by Ira Glass back at the beginning of August just before it went completely viral and was on every creative blogger's site {not to suggest I had anything to do with that. HA! Hardly.}. It really resonated with me because I know I am "in the gap," and probably have been for a long time. I'm confident I have really high taste level when it comes to design, writing, interiors, fashion, etc. I love that I can see the common threads that run through my Pinterest boards and Etsy treasuries and how they influence my own personal and design style. I understand when something can be considered good design even when it doesn't appeal to my own tastes, and I definitely know what doesn't qualify as good design-- the design snob in me comes out on a pretty regular basis.

Yet, I've spent a lot of time disappointed that my own work and creative output doesn't live up to my expectations, just as Ira spoke about. Whether that be from a lack of life experience, the fact that I was mainly trained as a print designer in what's now a heavily online world, or simply a lack of confidence that keeps me from pushing myself through to the next level, I've let this experience of being "in the gap" trip me up.

Hearing Ira speak about this as such a normal part of the creative process has really helped me shift my perspective. It gives the days of slogging through mediocre work a possible light at the end of the tunnel. It makes me consider the successful artists, designers, and writers that I've put on a pedestal as people who've pushed themselves to get out of this gap instead of people who've just been lucky or blessed with something I think I don't have {even the amazingly successful Elsie shared that it took her years of playing around with her style and pieces of her life before it felt like it came together}. Instead of freaking out and thinking that everything I do sucks, I'm shifting my mindset to look at the things I produce as stepping stones to get me where I want to go. It's all a part of the process. Keep going.

Runner Up Quote of the Year: "Follow your heart" by Steve Jobs