Petition for Cats in the Workplace

In honor of Halloween, I wanted to share a few pictures of my favorite trick-or-treater (and bulldog) Watson!

Happy Halloween!!!

The ‘great pumpkin’

A rare shot of Mr. Watson standing still

A water break is much needed after eating all those treats!

Not a Fan of Roller Coasters

You know why nobody ever said that starting a business was easy? Because it’s not.

While the things on my To Do list aren’t necessarily hard on their own, it can be overwhelming to think about everything that needs to be done.

But the unknown is the hardest bit to get over. I mean it wouldn’t be as difficult if I knew that at the end of my To Do list I would have a successful and sustainable business.

But not knowing what is ahead can be unnerving…and lately it’s been keeping me on an emotional roller coaster.

And I think it’s the unknown piece that often keeps people from continuing on because you never know when all the sacrifice and risk will finally pay off.

But every successful person I’ve ever read about or listened to have one thing in common…and that is that they never gave up.

So when things get tough, I keep that in mind and commit to continuing on! It’s difficult to do sometimes but my secret weapon is my amazing family who carry me forward with their words of support and encouragement.

And because one of my goals for Live Love Life Now™ is to create an interactive community of people who support and encourage one another in pursuing their dreams, I’m asking all of you to share a similar story.


So, what are the doubts or worries that sometimes try to get in the way of your dreams? And what tricks help you to stay positive and focused?!

Petition for Cats in the Workplace

Every morning is a battle against the alarm clock. Sometimes the snooze button wins, but on most Monday mornings I am able to will myself out of bed by the time my second (yes, second) alarm clock goes off.

And I am always rewarded for the effort by two sweet fuzzy faces greeting me as I open the bedroom door. As they race around and meow at me to feed them faster, I get a big smile on my face and it makes the morning that much brighter!

Another thing that puts a smile on my face? Finding Wylie and Sami napping face down – they are such silly cats!

Drowsy Wylie

Sleepy Sami

Photo Album: NYC Shopping - Part Two

It was really hard to cut down the list of photos I wanted to share, but somehow I did! Of course, these only show where I went…a future photo album will actually highlight all of the goodies I found in these stores!!

Oh and a special thank you goes out to Homestilo!!! The fabulous design blog gave me the scoop on some of these amazing vintage stores in Brooklyn.

a) Yesterday’s News* was awesome! b) I fell in love with a cool vintage IBM wall clock at Brownstone Treasures* c) Papel in Brooklyn was so colorful and pretty d) Tacos California was an amazing find for a quick bite e) Close-up from a gorgeous typewriter (definitely a future vintage collection!) f) Gorgeous globes in a window display (I found the small one on Etsy!)

g) Gorgeous typography on a building in Brooklyn h) Sweet street art in Brooklyn i) Amazing Film Biz Prop Shop* j) Awesome neon sign at a drycleaner k) Inspiring wall poster in NYC l) Interior of the City Foundry shop which had incredible pieces but at unfortunately ridiculous prices…boo

m) The famous Hells Kitchen Flea Market in NYC n) Rickshaw Dumplings food truck o) Box of vintage printing blocks p) Jewelry shopping q) One of my favorite pictures EVER…courtesy of the amazing Miguel! r) You know I had to return the favor and take a matching portrait of Miguel…love these!!

*Discovered thanks to Homestilo!

Photo Album: NYC Shopping - Part One

Below are a few pictures from my shopping excursion to Brooklyn and NYC a few weeks ago!

a) Hotel Le Bleu in Brooklyn b) The hotel gave us FREE snacks upon arrival – can you believe it? c) Random tire shop in Brooklyn – I love the piles of black tires against the blue storefront d) Water sampling station – love the typography e) Botanica garden shop f) Dekalb Market is housed in a collection of salvaged shipping containers

g) We walked all the way from the hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge…and over! h) Almost missed this shadow photo op i) Love this pic! j) Heading across the Brooklyn Bridge! k) Mig shooting from one bridge to another l) Literally walking the bridge…in my Toms!

m) Architectural shot of the Brooklyn Bridge n) A random collection of locks on the bridge o) Kiosk store in Soho p) Pens galore at the Muji store in Soho q) “But how else am I going to take all these sweet pictures?” r) View of Brooklyn

Byrd & Belle – Laptop Cases Handmade With Love

I’ve had my eye on the beautiful handmade felt and leather laptop cases over at Byrd & Belle for a few years now. But since I almost never traveled with my laptop, they always stayed on my wish list.

But now with so much work to do for Live Love Life Now™, I’ve found myself taking my laptop with me more often…which gave me the perfect opportunity to splurge on myself!

So a couple weeks ago, I went to the Byrd & Belle website and finally ordered my very own “Gray Wool Felt and Brown Leather” MacBook sleeve! After a short wait, it was finally in my hands and I couldn’t be happier!

It is beautifully crafted by Angie Davis and is just as gorgeous as I had anticipated. I think all accessories offer the opportunity to show off a bit of your style and I think this one is a perfect fit!

I love having something unique and the fact that I was also able to support another small business made it a definite win-win!

Click here to check out all of the cases that Angie Davis hand makes with love in her Minneapolis studio.

Petition for Cats in the Workplace

Last week Ellen DeGeneres (my favorite talk show host/animal lover/philanthropist) hosted her second annual Cat Week during her daily show.

And yes, I was excited!

So in my attempt to prolong Cat Week, I’m posting her video picks from Tuesday…one of which features an enormous Mastiff and the tiniest Chihuahua puppy.

Aren’t animals the greatest entertainment??

If you want to see more, check out her videos from Wednesday and Thursday too!

Courtesy of The Ellen DeGeneres Show & Warner Bros.

My New Collection Obsession: Vintage Globes

While thrift shopping in NY, I came across the most amazing vintage tin globe. Unfortunately, it was extremely overpriced so I had to leave it sitting in the window!

But not to be deterred, I spent part of the drive home searching the Internet for another one in my price range – and I found it over at Vintage Cals on Etsy!

This amazing shop only sells vintage globes and I had to exhibit much restraint to only buy one! But I am beyond ecstatic with my choice – a beautiful 1934 Tin Globe being held up by Atlas.

It’s even cooler in person and adds just the right amount of color to my vintage camera collection!!

New Etsy Store Items: ONE-OF-A-KIND Paper Art

After a very positive response to the vintage postcard paper art in my Etsy store, I have added more pieces to the shop!

Each one is lovingly hand-cut from selected vintage postcards that I found in local thrift stores and 10% of all profits received will be given to my favorite animal sanctuary, Rikki’s Refuge.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to check them out and let me know what you think! And please feel free to forward the links to anyone you know that might be interested!

Live Love Life Now is on ETSY!
www.etsy.com/shop/LiveLoveLifeNow

See more pictures on Etsy!

See more details on this piece in my Etsy shop!

Petition for Cats in the Workplace

After a long weekend of vintage shopping in NYC, I couldn’t wait to relax!

Fortunately, I took today off from work and was able to catch up on the sleep I didn’t get for the last few nights. It felt so nice to be home with Wylie and Sami and I think they felt the same way because they stayed by my side the entire day.

While taking a cat nap in bed…

…and while enjoying the gorgeously warm weather on the balcony.

It feels good to be home!

Steve Jobs: The Entrepreneur Who Changed the World

Image courtesy of Apple

Steve Jobs founded Apple in his family’s garage at age 21. For all the success he must have dreamed of back then, there is no way that he could have imagined how his vision would change how the world operates and communicates.

My first personal computer was a tiny Macintosh and between Miguel and I, we have no fewer than 11 Apple products in our home. Many have been upgraded but we still can’t part with the old laptops and iPods because Apple creates amazing and beautiful technology.

Steve Jobs is an inspiration for all entrepreneurs and dreamers.

Jean Beliveau: A True World Traveller

Today I came across an article about Jean Beliveau, a Canadian man who has spent the last 11 years walking uninterrupted around the world on a mission to “promote peace and non-violence for young children”.

The walk began in 2000 after Jean’s business was lost to bankruptcy and he left Montreal to escape looming depression. Not long after though, he decided to combine his travels with a mission to promote peace, which gave him a sense of purpose that he had been missing.

His story is absolutely incredible and the idea of walking 47,000 miles over the course of 11 years is inconceivable to me!

But it certainly proves that everything starts with that first step. And like any challenge or goal in your own life, you can’t focus and dwell on the big picture all the time because it’s easy to become overwhelmed. The idea is to focus on what you can accomplish each day and that every step counts – literally in this case!

His is an impressive story of what you can accomplish if you just take that first step and persevere. While he came close to giving up a few times when things got tough, he had the support necessary to continue on and stay motivated.

And while my story is completely different, I know exactly how that feels. I’ve felt overwhelmed lately with all that I want to achieve…and therefore with how much needs to get done…but I have Miguel, my rock, to bring me back down to earth and help me focus on what I can do NOW.

And for now, I can write this post which hopefully will inspire you to take that first step of many…or to continue walking down your path!

Petition for Cats in the Workplace

Over the weekend, I added a new cat member to the household!

His name is Space Cat and I had to have him as soon as I saw him during the annual Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair on Saturday! Isn’t he just the sweetest?

I mean just look at those eyes…how could I resist??

Space Cat is the brainchild of artist Jason Thomas and the handiwork of the cooperative Red Rocket Farm based in East Atlanta, Georgia.

I love Jason's whimsical and cartoony style and was tempted to buy some of his robot pieces as well...but with little white walls left in the apartment, I resigned myself to just this one special piece!

And now Space Cat resides on my wall as one of my most favorite pieces of art - always at the ready to make me smile!