Handmade Journal Love

I made this special journal for a very special girl, my niece Jaden. 

The cover is a gessoed canvas, made from recycled cereal boxes and cardboard mailing envelopes. Although I used rubber stamps to embellish it, I hope she will redesign it and make it into whatever she wants it to be.  

Inside, is filled with all different paper types and sizes

and embellishments too!

I think I love the tab details the most. It gives it that extra little pizazz.

Positive messages, a must!

and prompts to stimulate thought. 

Most importantly, this journal is a place where she can write down her thoughts, get lost in her imagination, forgo perfection, color outside the lines and express who she is.

"Let your heart come out and play" as you "dwell in possibility" dear Jaden.


How about you? When, where and/or how do you come out and play?

Black Beans and Brownies, Say What?????

Never in a million years would I think this could work, but it does! Joy Bauer, a nutrition and weight loss guru, who finds ways to reduce the calories and fat from the dishes and desserts we love was on The Steve Harvey Show.  She found a way to reduce the calories of brownies and it works.

She substituted black beans for the oil and eggs. I tried it, following her instructions and was very pleased. You can find the directions here.

The brownies are very fudgey and even though I happen to like cake like brownies,  for some reason, these were perfectly fine. The directions are so simple; however I wouldn't skimp on the puree step. I used a blender that really purees very nicely.

Black beans in a brownie, who would have thunk it? I'm so glad Joy Bauer did! She has a new book, From Junk Food to Joy Food. I'm  definitely going to check it out. 

I haven't gotten any feedback from my family as of yet. That will be the real test. If I get the okay from my two sons then this will be the way to go from now on.

Why not give it a try and see for yourself and let me know your thoughts. I hope you are as pleased as I am.

DIY for B2B

The last couple of weeks have been somewhat stressful At the last minute I was given the task of putting together a company table for a B2B event.

I had 10 days to scramble around and design a brochure, find and a company to rush order personalized pens and USB flash drives, order a tablecloth, and table overlay (with logo). 

Doesn't sound or look like much, but there were a lot of details that factored into everything including delivery time, file formats, assembly time etc. The last delivery arrived the night before.

As for the overlay, I couldn't find one that could be ordered and arrive in time, so I went to Joann's Fabric, found suitable fabric and made one myself. I found  a local embroidery/screen printing shop to screen print our logo on it. I lost some days sending the wrong file formats. I finally enlisted my son to use Adobe Illustrator to trace the files I had to create the vector files needed. What an ordeal! The logo placement was a little off (my mistake) but I made it work. I will alter it for future events. I liked how it turned out, because it was different from the kind you normally see. All in all, I was happy with the look. I thought the candy dish was going to be a unique touch, but many had the same idea. 

Now that I know what goes into this kind of event, I will be better prepared for the next time. I learned a lot. Live and learn, right? So glad it was on Friday. Afterward, I went home and literally crashed. I think it will take most of the weekend to recover and restore order to my home, in slow mode of course. No marathon cleaning sessions for me this weekend. 

How Are You Doing?

One month into the new year, how has your journey been so far?  Making progress with your resolutions or struggling to keep them? 

Would you agree it's easier to keep the promises we make to others than it is to keep the promises we make to ourselves? Remembering to direct some of our daily efforts and attention inward, even if it's only for a few brief minutes, is a sure way to keep our promises to self alive and well. We are deserving of that, don't you think? If you are finding it difficult to hold yourself accountable, what's getting in your way?

On the other hand, if you are one of the lucky ones who finds it a no brainer to keep your resolutions and promises, please tell the rest of  us your secret for doing so. 

In the meantime, wherever you fall in the resolution spectrum, I hope your journey, going forward, is fulfilling, meaningful and brings you joy.

Holiday Gift Blooms

My boss knows me too well! When I unwrapped my holiday gift, I was ecstatic!

A rustic box populated with paperwhite bulbs. Yes!!!!

And a most wonderful message, "BELIEVE".

This gift is not about immediacy, rather, it's about patience.




The patience of watching, observing and waiting for these bulbs to grow and mature into fragrant blooms.

They have already grown to record heights each one, a different height.

Everyday, I pause to appreciate its growth, waiting patiently for the blossoms to appear.  If not today, then maybe tomorrow.

And behold, tomorrow has come! A bloom appears. Delightful tiny white petals peak out, barely there, yet very fragrant.





































I adore this beautiful gift of patience. You did well boss, you did well!

Wondering why or how my boss knows me so well?  Well, it just so happens that my boss also happens to be my husband. LOL Yes, I work for the husband. Thankfully, however, it's a partnership that works.

Joy and Happiness

I love quotes, so much so I have a diary of quotes that I refer to often.  Recently, my sister and I had a conversation about happiness and she shared a quote she heard on rebroadcast of Super Soul Sunday with Shawn Achor: "Happiness is the Joy we feel striving towards our potential ". Love that!

This aligns perfectly with my  "year to dare"  2016 state of mind as I am happy, joyous and excited about my vision for the new year. At the same time, fearful, cautious  and  apprehensive thoughts infiltrate my pysche as well. As  the seesaw of emotions totters within me, I make a point to focus on the bubbling joy, rather than allowing fear to consume me.

About 5 years ago, I realized that I had a book inside of me begging to get out. Although, I wasn't sure just what type of  book, I just began writing  from within. Three years ago, things started coming together and I have been working on it passionately ever since. Yet there's a small part of me that doubts the message, my abilities as a writer and whether or not future readers will be receptive. With trepidation, I forced myself to attend a writer's group and  writer's conference in search of feedback. Suffice it to say, for the most part I have remained protective and that protectiveness is rooted in fear. This year, I vow and dare to do better.

As I strive toward my potential, I can prevent self-sabotage and indecisive behavior from taking over.  It's only normal to feel angst and discomfort as we push ourselves beyond our comfort zone, right? Remaining mindful and present of all we are feeling, especially when feelings are at opposite ends of the spectrum,  can be a beautiful blessing, don't you think? It allows us the opportunity to acknowledge and recognize fear for what it is, disengage from it, so that we can press on.

So how about you? Experiencing any tug of wars from within? What or how do you keep the negative thoughts and feelings at bay?

Happy 2016!

Happy New Year!!!!  From the start 2016 had a very different feel so I decided to do something different than my usual end of year/ new year reflection. 

Instead, I gathered past issues of my favorite magazines, got down on the floor, kid style, and started collaging my thoughts. 

No resolutions  for me, just a promise.

A promise to play
  with an open mind and heart
to dream
  with no limits
to do
  without fear or expectations
or not do
   wallowing in stillness when necessary
to continue to recognize
   joy in the ordinary
to approach everything
    with all that I have and all that I am
and to make
  every moment count!

That's it! A simple promise. So many ideas and things I want to accomplish and feeling very optimistic!

My 2016 be a good year for all.

Do you have any plans for the coming year?