{memories}
. . . film tickets from late-summer nights, blowing kisses in photo booths, champagne corks from momentous occasions, stacks and stacks of faded photographs and love letters tied with ribbon — a hopeless romantic and at times all together too sentimental, tend to keep small remembrances of beautiful moments . . .

{the ocean}
. . . what is it about the lull of crashing waves and soft, sandy shores that seem to fill sunlit afternoons with reveries and endless possibilities?

{traveling}
. . . whether it’s a weekend away or a week in paris, taking in the moments of life in a far-off place is one of the loveliest things . . .

{little luxuries}
. . . a weekly bouquet of hollywood cerise roses or a new pair of heels, a summer picnic or a handwritten letter, vintage champagne or being lost in daydreams — little luxuries are like moments of repose in the midst of busy days . . .

{being in love}
. . . it is said to make the world go round and is by far the best thing of all . . .

{images: 1 – here; 2 – here; 3 – here; 4 – here; 5 – here}

i love getting mail
….all kinds. i love letters, and packages, and magazines (i would buy them by the truckload if i could), and catalogs, and even some junk mail if it comes in pretty envelope.

i love car trips…
if we have a free day, i love jumping in the car and going somewhere. I like being in the car and just talking, and relaxing, and even snoozing as much getting to the destination.

i love new shoes….and boots
they are my absolute favorite purchase.

i love my family….
they are what make me smile.

i love thrifting….
you never know what fabulous little thing you will find.
Iam totally in love with giving a new life to something that has been discarded or forgotten.

1. etsy, 2. barefoot posse 3. the daily foto, 4. amelia kay, 5. blue moss girls

{Nature & Relaxation}
There is nothing more calming to me then being outside in a forest, even if I get a few mosquito bites. The clean air, the fresh smell and nothing to do but talk with friends and admire the greenery is fun and relaxing to me.

{Doing what I love}
I love designing whether it be an interior, business card, website, or crafting cards and journals. I love it all!

{Reading and Learning}
If there is something I don’t know too much about I will look it up or ask my husband. My husband is that guy who Googles everything if we cant think of something. It makes me happy when it comes up again and we know it already. Knowledge is power!

{Being with the people I love}
If you can be with the people who you trust, who treat you well and make you feel good about yourself I think you can live a very beautiful life.

{Travel}
Going outside of your normal routine can be so healthy and rejuvenating. Living on an island can feel monotonous at times and whenever I leave I notice how gratifying it can be. I usually want to be back though in about a week.

{Setting Goals}
Completing them brings me joy and a great feeling of accomplishment.

I hope this list puts a smile on your face. It’s nice to look at the things that make life beautiful in a bigger picture. I think I am going to make them be part of my New Years resolution. Cheers to 2010!!

- Rachel Follett from Lovely Clusters

Photo Source: SWAN clothing, stylemepretty, aimeelikestotakepics, liebemarlene, oxcar,

Enjoy her lovely list and we hope that you have a wonderful holiday!

{Flowers}
I have a firm belief that flowers were put on earth just to make us happy. Whenever I need a lift, I’ll grab a small bouquet. Otherwise a tiny bud or just a whiff will do the trick!

{Love letters and keepsakes}
One of my favorite things in the world are trinkets from the past. Just having tiny mementos that were so thoughtfully written and crafted with such detail brings a beauty to daily life that modern technology and mass production just can’t match.

{Bedding}
There’s nothing as beautiful as fresh sheets and pillowcases on down pillows. It’s one of life’s simple pleasures and if they’ve been pressed, well, that’s pure bliss.

{Family}
Life is more beautiful when shared with the ones we love. Family means everything to me and I don’t know where I would be without any single one of them.

{Lounging around}
Nothing makes me happier than spending time relaxing, reading and having absolutely no agenda. It’s only when I have time to myself that I can appreciate the beauty in the little things, like breathing and daydreaming.

{Fantasizing}
I love to imagine what it would be like to fix up an apartment in Paris. It’s wonderful to imagine creating a beautiful life in the city with all the trimmings. Everything starts with those daydreams!

{The Ocean}
Nothing is more beautiful than nature. At the ocean time stands still, and the only things that matter are earth, air, fire and water. It’s one of the few places to get to infinity and beyond!

{Travel}
Traversing this glorious planet is my obsession. There is not an inch of it I wouldn’t love to see from the castles to the caves.

{New Shoes}
They put a spring in your step that nothing else can quite match. Especially if they’re Chanel.

{Old books}
Being in the presence of old books; their smell, their feel, their energy…it’s a way to be transported to another time and place. They’re so constant and quietly beautiful.

{The future}
Looking to the future I see a beautiful world developing that’s clean, efficient, friendly and hopeful. A world where we use the power of nature to make sure every person on earth has water, food and shelter.

{Security}
My life is only beautiful because of the selflessness of others who have and still fight for my freedom. I don’t have the words to express my gratitude to these perfect strangers who live and die so that I might have the opportunity to indulge in any of these dreams, but grateful I am!

Love…

Love ignites the soul and can add beauty in even the simplest of ways. Once when I was away on a trip, my husband had packed away several tiny hand written notes and tucked them in the pockets of my suitcase and clothing. Each day I found a new one. I still remember how thrilled I was and how my heart would melt each time I found a bit of folded up paper…

Faith…

My faith in God is what gets me through each day – and especially the darkest of times. Faith is what brings the light shining through and reminds me that there is so much beauty to behold here…if we only stop to notice…

Family…
We would be lost without family – those that know us best and accept and love us just as we are. My life would not be near as beautiful if I didn’t have my family to share it with…

Generosity…

I believe life is about sharing what you have. Not hoarding it away. I love, love, love to give gifts – especially those that are personal or handmade. I love to wrap them up creatively too…just taking a little extra time to show how much you care. And , I am always overwhelmed and blessed by gifts received – a handmade card is surely enough to bring tears to my eyes…

Remnants of the Past

Anything with a history, a past, a story to tell – these things can be found all throughout my home and life. From my vintage sofa to a scrap of paper found in an old book – they are all reminders of the past and give my life beauty and character…

A Neutral Palette

Surrounding myself with a simple palette helps me to notice the textures and details of everyday things. It also creates a peaceful and soothing environment when done right. I love a room filled with whites, creams, beiges and grays with perhaps a bit of darker browns and blacks thrown in…

The ability to Create

Without it, I would be lost. The ability to create has richly blessed my life. I love tapping into different avenues of creativity from painting, to collage art, to sewing, to jewelry making. Whenever I am creating my soul feels fulfilled and satisfied…as if it knows I am doing what I should and following my deepest passions…

We focus on the beautiful here everyday. As you know, it is impossible to live a beautiful life without giving and kindness. It’s vital to take the time to consider the value of others. It helps us be aware of our own value and our role in this life. I firmly believe that we are all made of something precious and shared. I believe that everything in this universe is connected. So, today I’m asking you to take a moment and do something kind for someone else. Do something beautiful for your universe…

Paloma at La Dolce Vita approached me with this wonderful project. She rounded up several bloggers to give back this holiday and make a difference for a very special charity. Pencils of Promise is a kick-ass 501c3 {aka non-profit} that partners with local communities and organizations to build schools of early-stage education in developing nations for some of the world’s most impoverished and undereducated children.  There are more than 75 million children in this situation worldwide. I find that totally unacceptable, as I’m sure do you.

Last December, the Pencils of Promise team visited a small village in Laos. By July 2009, they had built a new school for the village children who started attending classes on September 1^st.

The next step?

Pencils of Promise is focusing on helping the girls of Champet, a village in Laos that is home to the only high school in the area. In order to attend this high school, the students in the village and surrounding villages must leave their families and homes to live in dormitories. These dormitories are basically makeshift bamboo huts. They are not safe, but the girls are taking this huge risk to get an education. They are taking the risk to better their lives, their community, their world. How courageous is that?

In the spirit of the holiday season, we are asking for your help today on behalf of these children. Just think of the enormous impact we could have if each person who reads this post donates just $1.00. If you are willing and able to give more ($35.00 buys shelves for a classroom, $50 provides pencils for one year, $100 provides a teacher’s salary for three months and so on), it would be greatly appreciated. We are in the midst of the giving season and hope that you will find it in your heart to make a donation to this worthy cause today. If these girls can put their lives at risk to better themselves and their universe, can’t you spare a minute and one dollar? I think we all can.

The goal for Blogger Action Day: Build safe, legitimate housing for the female children to have access to further their education. Currently, some parents are unwilling to send their kids to school because of the danger of these huts that you will see others living in. This dormitory size will fit about 200 young Laotian girls.

The cost: $1 and 1 minute

The result: More than I could possibly express on the pages of this blog.

{btw} If you would like to stay informed about the difference Pencils of Promise is making, be sure to become a fan on their Facebook page.

photography by nick onken

{Being in love} My boyfriend Anthony is the love of my life. He makes my heart smile.

{Chocolate} The darker the better. My favorite is Green & Blacks dark chocolate with dried cherries. Seriously, I cannot get enough of it. In fact, I am eating some right now. Not even lying.

{New York City} It’s an amazing thing to live in the greatest city in the world. After 5 years I still have moments where I think “wow, I live here!”

{Etsy} I can waste hours peeping all the lovely things. People who make things totally inspire me. One day I will join them. Some recent pretty finds here and here.

{Food Blogs} Another tine suck of mine, food blogs. I never tire of looking at them and reading recipes. Bonus points for food blogs that feature gorgeous photography like SproutedKitchen.com which is one of my faves.

{Good Books} I like to fall asleep reading. Right now I’m reading Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. I’ve just started it but have high hopes, considering she wrote probably the greatest book ever.

Photos: 1. weheartit, 2 & 3. Flickr, 4. Etsy, 5. SproutedKitchen, & 6. Scribner

Judy of the fabulous frock heaven, known as Sunday Brunch Dress Shop, is our EBL guest this week. She’s witty, intelligent, and following the dream as young, female entrepreneur. {Within months of launching, her shop was featured in Lucky.} She kinda rocks. I can’t wait to meet her, although I’ll have to; I missed her last time I was in NY.

{Love} My wonderful amazing loving wonderful fiance makes my life more beautiful and happy than I could have ever imagined for myself.

{Fuzzy Best Friend} My English Bulldog Munch. We adopted him when he was 4 years old. He makes my life that much more joyful and funny. All he needs from life is food (preferably as much as possible), pets and a soft bed to snooze in all day. We can all learn a lot from him.

{Paris} There is something magical about this place. It’s something in the crepes perhaps. Everything is more beautiful in Paris. When I’m there all I can think about is when I will be back.

{Internet} Um, really. What would my life be without the Internet??

{Sketchbook} I’ve never been good at keeping journals or diaries. But since I started keeping a sketchbook my brain has felt much less cluttered. It feels good to get ideas and thoughts and images down on to paper. This is the first step to creating.

{Coffee} I have no problem saying this: I love Starbucks. I love them for their dependability, and I love them for their ubiquity. They are there when and wherever I need them. I’ve also taken to purchasing their beans rather than the hit-n-miss I did too often at Whole Foods. Every morning I feed the bulldog and brew myself a strong cup of Starbucks in my French Press.

{Fashion magazines} I love the glossies, always have. It’s glamorous, mysterious and unattainable beauty at it’s finest. I can’t identify with them at all, but I don’t need to identify with things to enjoy them.

{Freshly laundered bed sheets} I hate stripping the bed, washing the sheets and putting everything back on. But in the end when I get into bed….aaahhhh. Totally worth it.

{New tube of toothpaste} I LOVE opening a new tube of toothpaste. It’s so clean. And full of hope! With most things I will be sure to use up every last drop so as not to waste xyz. But the anticipation of opening a new tube of toothpaste results in recklessness and me throwing out the last week of toothpaste in an old tube, to my fiance’s dismay. But we’ve come up with a new system. Where I get to open and use the new tube as he finishes up the old one. That is love.

{Fry something} I love fried food. Oh I know I know it’s not good for you but when I’m having a bad day, nothing satisfies me like a big order of fries.

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Each day begins with a cup of tea. It’s a quiet daily ritual that centres me and readies me for the day.

I don’t leave the house without lipstick, which to me is a wardrobe essential. Not only do I not feel properly dressed without it, but I love the old school elegance of it, too (no lip glosses or the like for me!).

Blogging has led me to so many happy discoveries — at the click of a mouse I can view beautiful images of art, interiors, clothes and more. There’s so much beauty out there, just waiting to be found. Every day brings something new.

I always have a book or two (or more) on the go, dipping into in here and there when I can during the day — exploring the worlds within the pages of a novel is an ever-renewable pleasure to be savoured.

I love being an illustrator for a living, even when it’s tough (such as slow work periods or slow payment). To have a job creating art is a real joy, and I look forward to spending a day creating something beautiful.

Photos {via} 1. Debbie Trolar, 2. Marta, 3. Design*Sponge, 4. Sweet Home Style, 5. Lori Langille

Something {Audrey}:- I love Audrey Hepburn… like a lot. I have never owned a pair of sunglasses (after my first pair ever) that did not resemble the big, black ones Audrey Hepburn wore. I did ballet, I model part of my clothing style after her, I am obsessed with ‘Moonriver’ and I want my wedding dress to look like her ballgown from My Fair Lady. For me, Audrey Hepburn isn’t something to be like, or model yourself after, it’s a way of being, it’s a way of life. Period.

Something {Bookworm-esque}:- I love books. I love literature. I love to write. I love reading. I love Harry Potter. I wish Jane Austen were still alive so I could speak to her. I want to travel back in time to see a show at the Globe Theatre. The man I marry has to be a cross between North & South‘s Thornton and Pride & Prejudice‘s Darcy; perhaps with a tad of Severus Snape in there for good measure.

Something {Chocolat!}:- creamy, decadent and heaven in a mouthful. Spiced, melted, hot or liquored up — I love it.

Something {iDance}:- I love to dance. I think Isadora Duncan said it best, “The Dance – it is the rhythm of all that dies in order to live again; it is the eternal rising of the sun.”

Something {Girly, Pearly & Everything Nice}:- I’m a girly (with a mental masculine streak) and I act like one. I love my pearls that my mother gave me and my Laura Ashely bedroom set that hangs sweetly upon my real wood bedroom set that I’ve had since I was girl. There is something sacred about the traditional, the simple and the classic.

Something {Makeup Me Pretty}:- My first real job, ever, was with MAC Cosmetics as a makeup artist. I love makeup. I love wearing it, playing with it and putting it on other people. I love shopping for it, playing around with colours and testing out different textures. Vibrant pigments make my day; shimmering shadows make my life.

Something {Musical}:- There is something ethereal about listening to Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard illustrate the ‘Tears of the Sun.’ There is something intoxicating about ‘The Music of the Night.’ There is something alluring about Michael Buble’s ‘Feeling Good’. There is something sexy about ‘Ojos Asi.’ There is something regal and damn near perfect about Clarke’s trills in ‘Trumpet Voluntary,’ Pachabel’s polyphonic delays in ‘Canon in D’ and Sarah Brightman with Andrea Bocelli pouring their hearts out in ‘Time To Say Goodbye.’ Most of all, there is something human about harmonious notes written on paper and spoken to the world through lifeless instruments. I can’t live without music.

Something {Pinkalicious}:- I have a real Little Pink Book; in fact, I have two. My Petal Pink Vera Bradley wallet goes everywhere with me. My airplane pillow is pink. My favourite lipglass is from MAC and it’s a golden pink little number called Nymphette. I have a collection of Barbie Dolls from all over the world and my favourite doll ever is an original from 1989 called SuperStar Barbie. I had my fondest moments as a kid with her. Heck, when I joined my sorority, people told me it must have been fate because their colours were pink (rose) and white. Go figure.

Something {Sparkly}:- I have this strange obsession with bokeh. I don’t know why. I don’t own anything with glitter on it because I find items like that to be tacky and tasteless. I am not a fan of overtly sequined things that look like the 1980s vomited them back up again. I don’t care who is wearing it or how in style it is. I loathe sequined-glitter object. But there is something to be said about bokeh. In photography, as a stock image, as a texture for editing in Photoshop or Illustrator — even manipulating in Coral Painter. I {heart} bokeh.

Something {Teaful}:- I have a cuppa tea every afternoon. There isn’t much more to be said about it. My favourite brand of china is Spode and my favourite print is the (Blue) Willow. Not sure if it’s exciting or sad, when you go into Harrod’s looking for pieces for your mummy and you happen to know more about the China than the expert trying to sell you some. Like I said, at Harrod’s no less. At my house, we have the Christmas set too. I guess I am my mummy’s daughter.

Something {Tech Geeky Girl}:- I’m a geek girl. I admit this. I love Adobe Photoshop, I can’t live without it or my Wacom and I don’t want to know how life would be different without them. I am Twitter obsessed, I’ve been on Facebook since 2004. I own the geeky phone from Nokia known to man (currently) and yes, I even have the Spock 2009 Ken Doll from Mattel.