FEBRUARY FOCUS

calendar :: vikki chu for anthropologie (sold out)

this past week was such a pleasant, but albeit, busy one! full of long days at the 'office' and plenty of life laundry! friday morning, I actually took my car in for its biannual inspection all by myself. no one even skipped me in the line! it was a good day and I was pretty chuffed with myself, so I rewarded myself with a chocolate croissant. okay, so the croissant may have come before the inspection, but it was only to subdue the nerves. I still can't believe how incredibly nervous I felt! like waiting-in-line-at-the-dmv-to-get-my-motor-vehicle's-license nervous. but despite the fact that the car was out of windshield wiper fluid, it passed with a "good enough" and I rewarded myself with a putter around the craft store for a solid half hour or so before I had to go manage other productive, grown-up activities. but still, a fairly successful morning!

now, can you believe it's february? can you believe a week in february has already long since past? can you believe it's almost valentine's day? can you believe that means second block is just around the corner? oh, where does the time go?! I'm not complaining. there is loads to look forward to in this shortest of months. I'm just saying, time flies. so about that whole february thing, it seems a little obvious what its whole focus should be--love, obviously. but I feel like there's a lot to be said on that subject. love your neighbor. love yourself. love your life. but ultimately, do all things with love. there have been times in my life where I'll occasionally get so bent out of shape about something that I'll just let my tongue lash out at them (usually to mitch or in the car by myself because confrontation gives me a bad case of the shakes). but as momentarily indulgent as this may be, I feel like this is neither therapeutic nor fair. in most of these cases, I end up exhausted and worse off for having spent a good 15-20 minutes ranting about who did what and how unfair I found it. and the saddest part is that because I said it to mitch or just myself, I didn't even give that person an opportunity to explain their side of the story! I'm terrible. maybe they're going through something really awful or haven't had their diet coke that morning. or maybe they're just hungry. so here's my suggestion to myself, and to all of you who are you're looking for something to work on this most glorious of februarys, do all things with love. look at everyone as though you love them. like they're someone very precious to you. because truth be told, they're someone very precious to someone, amiright?

just one second while I put away my soapbox. okay. this weekend sped past every bit as fast as the week the proceeded it and my only real recollection of the whole thing is the delicious lambchops I made for the first time last night (it's taken me years to get over the fact that their called lambchops!) and this unshakeable nagging feeling I've been getting to chop my hair, which has been the topic of many long, drawn-out conversations between mitch and me and we both go back and forth on it so often I can't even remember what our last consensus was! all I know is, I'm feeling very snippy over here. how was your weekend? are you all ready for monday? I surprisingly am, even if it is only for the sole purpose of getting junk done. happy february, you guys! thanks for reading!

love, arielle

OF RESULTS AND RESOLUTIONS

calendar :: vikki chu for anthropologie (now on sale!)

it's january! a very happy belated new year to all of you! and yes, I am well aware that it is the twelfth and that I am the laziest girl with a blog there ever was. I have no excuses for you this time. it was just laziness. days full of sitting at home watching football (and by watching I mean napping to) and eating my weight in leftover holiday goodies. except for the occasional trip to the grocery store to simply wander around or the mad dash of packing to come home, we rarely left the house. and then we came back to our island and into our new apartment, which I am pretty much in love with. it's open and airy and small, so I spent the bulk of last week actually selling extraneous kitchen supplies on the web so that it didn't feel so cluttered. the whole moving, unpacking, rearranging experience has been so utterly january that it's been hard to feel anything but festive all week long (despite the lack of winter wear). 

speaking of january, I guess that means I should say something about beginnings and resolutions. I honestly don't believe in the practice of only making resolutions at the new year, which I have most likely said before, I'm sure. no, I'm really a constant resolution maker. whether it's to stop eating chocolate cake at midnight or spend fewer hours a day "plugged in," resolutions are always in the making. whether or not I can stick to them, though. that's a whole other animal. this time last year, I actually made the resolution--for mitch and for me--to become foodies. I don't think I even knew what that meant. I think I thought it meant I would get to go out to fun, eclectic restaurants and avoid cooking and washing up afterwards. which you have to admit, is a pretty clever resolution on my part. but becoming more interested in food this past year has been incredibly fun. my degree sort of taught me to look at food in terms of calories, and it has been amazing to sort of stretch and start looking at those calories in terms of complexity of flavors and odd combinations that go swell together. it's sort of the antithesis of the typical new year's resolution--to hit the gym. which, ironically enough, is part of this year's new year's resolution. go figure.

this year, I'm really hoping to focus on balance. on sweet and savory. on hot and cold. on active and passive. and then hopefully I'll find that sweet spot right in the middle where everything is wonderful and healthy and good for you. I'm cutting back my diet coke (I know!) and hitting the gym a little more often. I'm letting the house get a little more messy and going out to have a little more fun. though today, I'm totally cleaning it because it really does need a good scrub! and I'm hoping to become a little kinder. a little more aware of others and their feelings and become way way less egocentric. it's a big, big world and I should probably look around a little more and discover all of the beautiful people out there. it's gonna be a good year, you guys!

what are your new year's resolutions? I'd love to catch up in the comments below. it's been too long, don't you think?

love, arielle

DECEMBER FOCUS

**original image via wing-ta found via pinterest (link to original broken).

happy first official day of advent! it's officially okay to eat a little chocolate alongside your winter morning oatmeal. of course, it's always been okay in my book. can you believe it's already december? yeah, me neither. especially because it feels like june outside our front door. regardless, I am so excited for the upcoming month. and even though thanksgiving is my favorite, this upcoming twenty-five days comes in a very close second.

there are actually several wonderful, spiritual holidays in december. mitch and I celebrate christmas, but I'd also like to wish you all a happy hanukkah and a happy kwanzaa as your own holidays approach. this time of year is a beautiful one. as we sit down to write our christmas cards and think what others might like to receive under the tree, we literally get the chance to stop and think about others. to go out of our way serving loved ones and even people that we've never met. to forget all of the noise that distracts us constantly and focus on a savior being born into the world and having fun with family. I know I can't wait to see mine later on this month.

so how were your long weekends? are you guys still stuffed as bird. admittedly, I still kind of am. shortly after thursday's thanksgiving meal, I attended my first christmas luncheon and I couldn't believe how full I still was from the night before. I think those sitting around me thought I was on some kind of diet, but that wasn't the case at all. and then we had another thanksgiving meal the night after that. it was a very caloric weekend to say the least and all I want is smoothies for the next seven days. and advent chocolates, duh. speaking of advent. it's finally december first! so I am finally okay with playing my favorite christmas movies on repeat and blasting a little holiday music. and I guess that means it's time to settle down with elf and take a little chunk out of my to-do list. have a wonderful monday, everyone! 

love, arielle 

NOVEMBER FOCUS

source :: the fresh exchange blog

well, halloween has officially come and gone and all of a sudden--boom! there are grand, ornate trees lining each row of every shop, a whole station dedicated to christmas music on the radio, and far too many items on our to-do lists. it really is such a wonderful time of year, wouldn't you agree? but hold the phone. aren't we all missing something? I don't mean to be rude, I love december as much as the next domestic goddess, but I know my favorite holiday was supposed to be crammed into the mix somewhere. that's right. it's finally november and that means american thanksgiving is right around the corner! it is, by far and away, the best holiday. so naturally, by extension, november is my favorite month. there is just something so wonderful about a month, a holiday dedicated to being grateful and getting along. 

every year, I am so thankful for that moment when the pilgrims and the natives sat down together to enjoy a feast as unlikely friends. I love to envision it over and over again in my mind. a rustic table decorated with the fruit of the season, every person contributing something, so many sacrifices being made all around. and the people. people who, even for a small moment, set aside their differences and broke bread together. there is something so magical about all of that. in this sometimes dark and confusing world, I wish we could recreate that first thanksgiving. it would be a very beautiful sight to behold.

now, fair warning :: I'm putting on my serious hat. 

coming up in november, I want to focus on gratitude. on sharing. on forgiveness and moving on. I woke up friday morning feeling sluggish and dissatisfied with various aspects of my life. I literally looked myself in the eye and said, "I can't live like this anymore." this isn't something I always care to admit. especially here. especially to you. but we're friends. we can speak freely and that's how I was feeling. I felt like somewhere along the way I had let my inner-child-self down. I had begun thinking so practically that I had casted out adventure and there is no other word for it, it really made me sad. so I put on my thinking cap and started working through it...

I started by setting goals. goals are good. but I'd heard that if you set too many at a time that you would set yourself up for failure. I scribbled and struck through so many lines on so many pages of my notebook that I was beginning to feel guilty for wasting trees. first, I got overwhelmed, but then I started putting my words together and came up with an idea. what if we could just wake up tomorrow as the person we wanted to be? the person who gets up right as the alarm goes off. the person who immediately heads for the gym. the person who eats more than candy corn for breakfast. the person who knows exactly how she wants to spend her day. the person who remains spiritual and cultured and witty and goes to bed exhausted every night. I wanted to be her and so I woke up the next morning and set to it.

I know november isn't the designated time for resolutions, but there probably shouldn't be just one month out of a year for change and goal-setting, anyway. and besides, I know I wouldn't be able to wait until january (there's that impatience again). honestly, I can't think of a better time to set goals for positive change than a month that focuses on gratitude and contribution and kindness. 

so if you've been feeling sluggish or dissatisfied or obnoxiously adult recently :: 

first, I want you to know you're not alone. I'm right there with you. as are so many others who may not necessarily write it down for the world to see or wear it on their sleeves. even if their life looks perfect, they may be struggling with something. 

second, I want you to know you can change overnight. it's all about our decisions, which are ultimately, the only thing in this life we can control. take your day to write it out wasting every scrap of paper in the house. then, wake up the next day and embody all that you have written down (and don't forget to recycle!). it seems impossible. but so did electricity and airplanes and ipads until someone took the time and invented them. take the time to invent yourself.

rant over. serious hat away.

so now that I've yacked your ear off, I'll leave you with my customary, yet sincere, wish that you will have a wonderful monday and a wonderful third day of november! you guys really are the best. thank you so much for reading this space.

love, arielle