Alt Summit NYC

I arrived in NYC today, 

excited to experience first hand an Alt Summit conference, 

hosted at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

I'm eager to soak up all that is offered over the next couple days, 

and look forward to being surrounded 

by inspiration and ideas,

to help motivate and create 

in the coming months.

Recap to follow!

Practice Makes "Perfect"

It went almost three weeks between my last blog posts, and as I realized this over the weekend, I looked back, wondering where those few weeks went. They were full of celebrations, good food, and not enough sleep or exercise. They were crazy busy, per usual, but also contained a bit too much anxiety for my own good. And with my head in a stressed out scary place, and overwhelming feelings taking over, I found myself avoiding writing, because I was "too busy," unable to even think of where to start, what to write about. There were too many words, and no sentences were forming out of them. 

But in the end, that just added to my ever-growing list of concerns and if I had just taken the time, an hour even, to sit down and devote a little energy to this little site of mine, I might have felt a bit better. I might have turned the worry roller-coaster around. 

How can I expect myself to become a better writer if I don't write? If this is something that I want to focus on for myself and my future, I need to make it more of a priority; I need to be a bit more selfish and give in to my own wants. 

I process feelings and thoughts through my writing, from emails to list making to blog posts, and that alone, makes the act of writing essential to me. And so I refuse to let my insanely scheduled summer steal me away from the act; I'm making writing a daily habit, sitting down and putting pen to paper (or typing fingers to keys) and writing and posting at least four days a week, no less is allowed. 

And while I don't believe in perfection, practice, simply, will make me better. And when I actually do just that, make time to practice what I really enjoy, writing and pushing my creativity, it feels pretty darn great. 

photo via Pinterest

Favorite Finds: Productivity, Paper & Pinot

A lot of various articles and websites grab my attention as I spend so much time online all day, for work and play. I often save these to read later at night when I have some free time or end up emailing myself links to read eventually, as I sometimes can’t find time to read longer length articles in the middle of my busy work weeks. 

While some articles are simply read, acknowledged and I move on, there are others that I thoroughly enjoy, that I’m eager to discuss, that I'd love to share with others.

And since I also love classic lists, here is a collection of some of my recent favorite finds that I’ve discovered and read lately:

1. Continuing with my belief in being more efficient with your time instead of just putting in the hours for hours sake: New York Times article “Relax! You’ll Be More Productive"

2. Motivation to not give up: The Power of Persistence from The Now Stylebook

3. After reading this piece on Jennifer Lawrence, I was even more excited for her Oscar win last night: Vanity Fair’s February 2013 cover story

4. Because anytime we take the characters out of Downton and into modern age, I’m amused: Downton Abbey Alive on Facebook 

5. One of my favorite weddings sites branching out into home style and including my favorite stationer:  Style Me Pretty at Home with Stationery from Cheree Berry Paper

6. Stumbled upon a gem of a site, immediately adding it to my Daily Reads: Note to Self

7. I heart cupcakes, I heart wine, and I heart Cupcake Vineyards, mostly due to their cute label designs. Doesn’t hurt to brush up on some vino basics either: Wine Education & Tasting 101 on The Everygirl

About Me & This

Over the weekend, I finally got around to 

putting together an “About Me” page 

for this site of mine. 

It can viewed via the “ABOUT” tab 

on the top of the left side column,

at the top of the page, at any time. 

Other weekend highlights included

stocking up on papers, stickers, bags, tags, cards and more, 

gearing up for some Valentine crafts, baking and wrapping, 

and trying my hand at domesticity and cooking a casserole.

And then came Sunday and 

with it, time to join in 
with some American traditions

and watch the Super Bowl, 

while I enjoyed some (craft) brews, 
too much chili, chips and dips,

and the commercials and half time show, 

more than the touchdowns.

Have a wonderful week~


photo via Pinterest