make your saturday that much more lovely... sent to me by the beautiful and talented angela and her boyfriend ithyle - who co-wrote and directed this stop motion short - music by and starring a fine frenzy. hope it makes your saturday. it made mine.
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i have been so looking forward to sharing this with you - blog it forward - an idea to share the love - share the inspiration from the amazing victoria of sfgirlbybay - and featuring 300 bloggers - think of it as an enormous digital chain letter! passed to me from natty michelle, today is my day {along with 9 other bloggers listed below} to share some with you some of the things that inspire me every day...
i spend a lot of time meditating on water. it balances me - when i swim i feel incredibly at peace, anything that may be ailing me does not matter in those long moments. because of this, i find my self wholly inspired by water and attracted to art, music - anything that honors this element.
i am of the school that believes there is no education like that of travel. the voyage - both physical and spiritual can transform you forever. the butterflies that beat their wings against my belly as i prepare for a trip are a welcome sensation - it is something that my husband and i hope to share with our daughters throughout their lives...
i find a great deal of creative inspiration in music. i find my desires changing as often as my mood - sometimes it is french pop, sometimes the blues - very often the likes of danzig and the ramones. right now i am loving...
~ the heavy;
~ dragonette;
~ field music;
~ and zoot woman.
after returning from italy last summer i began i rather intense affair with fellini. and marcello mastroianni. i watched every movie i could several times. the world of 1960's italy in black and white is intoxicating and i have yet to move on from this inspiration. it permeates all facets of my life - my photography, certain aspects of the way i dress, the music - la dolce vita.
my life was forever changed when i was in sixth grade. i came across a copy of edith hamilton's mythology in the school library and have since been forever lost in the mists of mount olympus. the stories and their associated heros have played significant roles in my creative life for nearly 20 years. and athena - the great goddess of war and wisdom has been a constant presence in my life.
above all else there is love. i am so inspired by love. for the love i share every moment with my daughters. the unconditional love i am so blessed to have from my husband and family. the supportive and encouraging love i have from my friends. i see it everyday in the people in my life - and they inspire me to love more and more. because regardless of anything and everything else, i know without a moments reservation that i can look to those in my life for love and comfort. and that when they are sinking, my love can keep them afloat - it is awe inspiring - it is unconditional. it is love.
for more inspiration, please visit the other participating in blog it forward today and be sure to check in with nest dallas design as i pass the torch to her tomorrow...
~ angiegoboom;
~ pois rouge;
~ s.hoptalk;
~ lilac & ivy;
xoox~jla
p.s. the message of blog it forward is to pay it forward. i had a simple, but wonderful experience yesterday with the same message. sitting in the drive thru at starbucks, about to pay my bill - i was told by the cashier that the woman in the car ahead of me paid for my drink. "why?" i asked. the cashier shrugged with a smile. so i wanted to pay it forward - and i bought the drink for the woman behind me. a simple thing - but kindness is simple, is it not? and incredibly powerful. so today, pay it forward.
another week that completely got away from me - i am hoping i can slow down a bit next week before things pick up again in march. in the midst of planning a country fete for adie's sixth birthday {six!! when did that happen?} and wrapping up some personal projects. in the meantime, some more links to capture your soul... be well friends.
~ beautiful new {to me} blog;
~ the golden smith - another new read;
~ have you seen this? if not, it will make your day;
~ crushing on spool no. 72;
~ so happy to find my favorite pencils online;
~ another interview over at shutter sisters - thank you irene!
~ and just received a box of my copies of this - i am so proud of it!
xoox~jla
p.s. with more snow in the forecast i am trying really, really, really hard to transport myself back to southern california - sitting on a bench and eating watermelon with alya eve...
so valentine's day. well, here's the thing. we are pretty much over it. why? let me start by taking you back to our first valentine's day together. we happen to be in paris. we happen to have tickets to the opera {in paris!} and reservations at an incredible restaurant. we spent a lovely morning wandering the city - i had been there before, but with girlfriends - and honestly i was expecting nothing short of a near religious experience being there with my fiance. that afternoon we picked up a rented tux for den and eventually we made our way back to the hotel. as we began to get ready we noticed that the rental was missing a bow tie. and i began to freak out. oh, if that were the worst of our problems that night - i would have been so much calmer. we called down to housekeeping - the front desk - anyone we could think of who might be able to help at this late hour. eventually the maitre'd of the hotel's restaurant was kind enough to lend his to den for the night. profuse thank you's and mercis followed as did the request for the front desk to call us a taxi. oh there is a stand out front you say? and no one waits more than a few moments? okay then - we shall go and wait.
and wait.
and wait.
twenty minutes later - the opera set to begin in about ten minutes - we hurry into the taxi and make our request. the driver was japanese and his french was worse than my own - and my japanese was inexistent. we finally all agreed that the opera is where we wanted to be. he dutifully drove us across town, dropped us off - and in a mad dash we climbed the stairs of the opera house. panting and i am sure quite the vision at that point, i offered our ticket number to the gentleman at the door. who barely looked at it before informing us that there was no opera tonight and we must be at the wrong opera house. in fact, he smiled, there were three of them in his great city. the tears would no longer hold. i walked out of the building and stood on the steps in a gown - not a dress - a gown - feeling rather deflated and looking much like a stood up prom queen. we tried to catch another taxi to no avail- about another 30 minutes of drama ensued before someone was kind enough to invite us into their little hotel and allow us to use the phone to call a taxi - this was after more tears and beating on den's chest of course. we climbed into the cab - sitting on opposite sides of the car and silent on our way back to the hotel. i could not stomach the thought of dinner - i just wanted to call my mom and cry some more - den was rather sick of it at that point i am sure - though he did a wonderful job hiding it. at some point den ordered dinner from room service - $16 cheeseburgers, fries and a bottle of merlot. it was wonderful and while at the time i did not feel the evening was salvaged, i found i enjoyed our evening together in that little room.
the following year - our first as a married couple, i was determined to take back valentine's day. i surprised den with a lobster dinner - rose petals cast across the dining table and a decadent chocolate desert. he had had a bad day at work and when his response was not what i imagined i freaked out a little bit. okay a lot. and there were more tears and our worst fight - and really - it was all so ridiculous. the following year i had a major migraine - i didn't want to get out of bed. but he surprised me with a dinner of cheeseburgers, fries and merlot. at first, i didn't get it - i was out of it from my headache - once he explained why he made cheeseburgers for dinner - there were more tears - but those of happiness.
since that night we have tried to maintain that tradition. the one year that we made plans deviating from the cheeseburgers - we planned on a multi-course romantic meal in a new restaurant that had just opened in town. as i was driving back into town from dropping the girls at my parents house - the volvo i was driving at the time literally caught on fire on the interstate. i took it as a sign. can you guess what we ended up having for dinner that night?
whatever your plans tonight do remember that you are loved... and really flowers, chocolate - the "perfect" evening are not true reflections of this. embraces, warmth - being unconditional in your love for one another - whether that be your partner, your children, your friends, your furry friend - just love. just love. and do it every single day. not just today.
xoox
it has been a hectic, stressful week - something i hope to share in more detail next week. i am excited to slow down just a bit this weekend... some things i am loving:
~ mr. darcy;
~ i want to look like this in my later years;
~ my favorite post swim listen: dragonette;
~ this Polaroid;
~ i would very much like to make these;
~ and these;
~ while wearing this;
~ and this;
~ and if i were shopping for cutout booties - these would be my first choice;
~ this is my favorite new etsy shop {via cc};
~ excited to be a part of this - watch for my post on 25 february;
~ and a little interview - thank you so much stephanie!
~ oh - and that little cherub pictured above? she is really coming into her own as of late - and finding her way into mama's bed in the middle of the night - just like her sisters before her at this age. and what a love bug - snuggles, kisses and embraces every moment *le sigh*
xoox~jla
everything in the little italy shop is 20-50% off until 11 february - this is the last chance to purchase anything from this collection as my work will be taking me in a new direction this year. hurry - there are only four calendars left!
xoox~jla
water is sacred, holy and spiritual. often, i feel as if no one knows this better than fire signs - we need it to quench our tempers and balance the lapping flames. connecting with water in a spiritual way is one of the reasons i swim. after nearly a six month break in which i have no excuse for, i have returned to the water. i have been swimming a mile several days a week and once again, i feel connected in a way that was missing. the connections manifest themselves quiet quickly through the physical - but it is the emotional connection to water that draws me back - it is an ancient energy that i feel at one with.
my mother - also a fire sign - has a strong bond with the deep blue as well. she recently came across a project by white forest pottery's nancy bauch that i would love to share with you. it is called the water mala bowl. mala is the buddhist rosary - or prayer beads - and there are 108 bowls in this collection - the same number of beads found on a traditional mala. the 108 water mala bowls were first created in dedication of famed cultural historian thomas berry who passed away just last september. a second set has been handmade now and is available here. every morning, i meditate on my water mala - i think of the water this tiny vessel holds and thank the earth for this gift. it is a tiny thing - meditation - thanks - being grateful - but it's power is all encompassing.
xoox~jla
p.s. and thank you. i know i say that a lot in this space; but truly i am so grateful for you - for understanding me, my faults, my crazy dreams - i love sharing with you and you always, always help remind me that those dreams are what life is about - thank you for the love yesterday.
i forgot about something last week and i am not sure how that happened. i forgot that nectar & light turned two. it has been a blessed two years. when i began sharing my life on this blog, i never imagined the journey that i would take. it is a journey that has brought some wonderful people into my life - a journey that has afforded me some incredible professional opportunities - a journey that has been a study of introspection. the small slices of silence in which i sit down and begin to write to you {and to me} each morning, acts as a cathartic reminder to be a better mother, a better wife, a better photographer, a better person. this is my happy place. yes - there are things in my life that are chaos - that are full of stress - that worry me endlessly; i curse like a sailor; i can be pretty snarky; i loose my temper with my children and yell. but this journal acts as my daily affirmations and reminders that the important things - finding balance, creating a warm and welcoming home and meals, pushing myself as an artist - and most importantly - working everyday on being the best mother i can be, are of the utmost importance. nectar & light keeps me balanced.
as most bloggers who write about their personal life, i have struggled in the past with how much to share - how much of me to really reveal through the curtain of this little space. i mentioned last week that life is getting ready to change for us this year. we are ready to explore - to find something new. we will be spending a great deal of time on the road traveling over the next 12 months and this will effect every aspect of our everyday - school, work - everything. we are still working out the details but we are excited. i considered starting a new blog about this adventure - but that adventure is a reflection of my life - and so is nectar & light. so you are invited to share in this journey with us... of sunshine & lollipops... more details soon.
thank you friends... thank you for supporting me, my words - my work - thank you for believing in me; thank you for sharing the excitement of my vision over these last two years and thank you for your constant words of love and encouragement - they fill me up and renew my energy every single day. thank you.
xoox~jla
