A Wedding Gift Made With Love

I’m a great gift giver with my family, but when it comes to wedding gifts I usually just get something off the registry...and I always wish I had done better!

So I decided to finally take some extra time and handcraft something for my good friend who is getting married tomorrow. He survived a bout of cancer at age 30 and his outlook on life has always been inspiring to me.

So I decided to gift him one of my Live Love Life Now paper art pieces. But to make it more unique and special to the couple, I used maps of their hometowns. I love how it came out and I hope that they love it too!

What’s the most unique wedding gift you’ve ever given?

The groom

The bride

The final product!

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!

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!

Filmmaking Is Not For Wimps!

Even though I’ve helped out with Miguel’s documentary for the past three years, I'm still plenty naïve when it comes to filming actual movies.

Case in point: the first day of filming for the short film lasted fourteen hours. It was all exterior shots and did I mention the humidity made it feel like 115 degrees?

Yup, it was certainly one of the longer Saturdays of my life…to be sure!

The second day lasted nearly as long and was almost as hot but after you’ve been outside for a few hours you start to lose your sensitivity to the heat…though not that gross, sticky feeling that comes from the combination of bug spray, sweat and sunscreen.

Wow, I’m not painting a very pretty picture am I? Well let’s just say that I won’t be posting a lot of pictures of myself from that weekend – ha!

But all in all, it was an absolutely amazing experience with so many creative and wonderful people…and I’m truly grateful for the opportunity. I really proved to myself that I was up to the design challenge and everybody had such wonderful things to say about what I put together – it made me feel so great!

So while the weather didn’t cooperate exactly as we would have liked, it made the weekend that much more memorable! And while I joked that I may not help my friend out again with his future student films…now that I knew what was involved…I didn’t really mean it.

I’m definitely looking forward to the next challenge!

The movie slate…cool huh? And no, those aren’t their real names!

Art Director? Who Me?!

So I had every hope of getting back on track with my blog last week…and then I got a call Friday asking if I would take on the role of Art Director for a friend’s short film.

After initial hesitation, I said yes and jumped in full tilt! But did I mention the film was being shot just one week later?

Yup, not a lot of time for me to learn exactly what it means to be an Art Director and then do it...but so far it has been amazing!

You know how sometimes things come together so nicely that it just has to be destined? Well that’s how I’ve felt about this ride so far. I spent most of the weekend sourcing for props and calling friends to borrow their old school items …and everyone has been so accommodating and willing to loan everything I’ve needed (special thanks go to Nicole and her parents)!

Fortunately the script doesn’t call for a ton of props, but everything has come together really well and I’m so proud of myself for what I’ve managed to pull together in five short days!

If I hadn’t been on this journey to Live Love Life Now, I never would have accepted the responsibility because I would have been too intimidated and fearful. But I am so happy that I volunteered for the job because it has given me so much pride and confidence…and I can’t wait to start putting the set together!

We’ll be filming through the long (and very, very hot) weekend so I may be a little MIA yet again. But I will be checking in every so often and as soon as the film wraps early next week, I’m jumping full force back into the swing of things!


What's the last thing you did outside of your comfort zone?

The Turning Point!

About a month ago, Miguel and I had dinner with a local artist to talk about a collaboration idea for Live Love Life Now®.

We talked and brainstormed for hours and I left on such a high after receiving his amazing feedback and support.

But the incredible thing is that the feeling has yet to subside! That meeting was truly the turning point in my (entrepreneurial) life and ever since I have felt super motivated and driven to push my dreams into reality.

Since I initially started this blog in order to overcome the procrastination that was holding me hostage in my own life, I feel kind of strange writing that last statement...but in a really good way!

I still can’t believe that the laziness and procrastination hasn’t overcome me in the weeks since our meeting, but I truly just feel a constant push to move forward.

Alas, there are quite a few particulars to still work out…including the not-so-small detail of finalizing a logo...but every day I am getting that much closer!


Have you ever experienced a ‘turning point’ moment?

Is It Friday Yet??

This week has been so busy, I can’t believe it’s only Wednesday!

And admittedly, that hasn’t left me time to blog properly as I had anticipated…sigh.

But I did just make a list of great ideas for upcoming posts and hopefully I can get to at least one of them this week – cross my fingers, ha!

In the meantime, it is back to work for me! I’ve been making amazing progress with Live Love Life Now™ and am working furiously to get the Etsy store open soon.

I can’t wait to share it with all of you!!

Motivation from the West Coast!

This past weekend my sister flew to Palo Alto, California for a work conference at Stanford. During some downtime on Sunday, she drove to nearby Half Moon Bay and surprised me with a little note of motivation from the beach.

I honestly almost teared up when I saw that she had written Live Love Life Now in the sand for me.

From the get go she has been one of the biggest supporters of my dreams to start my own company and to challenge myself to a happier life. In fact, she has not only accompanied me on most of my adventures but has initiated many herself as we have both fully embraced the challenge of ‘doing’ rather than talking.

And she is exemplifying this to a ‘T’ as she spends an extra week on the west coast, on her own, to vacation in Portland, Oregon (thanks again to Erika for all your great tips!). It’s something she has talked about for over a year so I’m really proud of her for seizing the opportunity to do it!

She’s having an amazing time and I couldn’t be prouder of her...but I am looking forward to having her back home soon!

First thought: I wish I were there! Second thought: immense pride…

Third thought: this could make for a good inspirational poster, ha!

Petition for Cats in the Workplace

What a glorious Monday thus far!

Yes...I did just write that.

But it’s true because I have taken today and tomorrow off for a much needed stay-cation!

This morning I got a little extra sleep, finally took the photographs for my upcoming Etsy store (yay!) and enjoyed a lovely one-hour massage.

All in all, it was both relaxing and productive…which is my favorite kind of day.

I’m excited it’s going so well because it's a trial run for doing this more often in the coming months. Taking a long weekend here and there will give me the opportunity to dedicate a day or two solely to Live Love Life Now™ and pushing forward with my long To Do list.

And the best part is that I get to enjoy the company of Wylie and Sami during a workday…when they’re not napping of course!

Sweet Wylie (love those bunny feet!)

Adorable Sami (how is this comfortable?)

Supporting Dreams is Always a Good Investment!

My blog friend Erika Lee Sears is inspiring to me because she embodies the true meaning of Live Love Life Now™. She is a self-taught artist who took the leap of faith to leave the corporate world and pursue her dreams of painting full time.

And if that wasn’t enough, she has also created a kickstarter project in order to fund a two-week artist residency in Hong Kong! I am in full support of Erika and anyone else that goes after their dreams wholeheartedly and have pledged my support.

Perhaps you too will be inspired to help! Check out all the details here.

It's About Time!

I started this blog fourteen months ago in order to have some accountability for changing my life.

It became an outlet for me to share parts of myself that hardly anyone knew – my dreams, my fears, my goals…everything.

For that reason, I kept the blog completely anonymous and only my boyfriend knew of its existence for the first six months. As I grew more comfortable and happy with where the blog was leading me, I started to let my family and friends in.

And now I want to share my story with everyone!

So, for a little more insight into me and why I started this blog in the first place, please check out my newly posted ‘All About Me’ profile – fourteen months in the making!

Happy Anniversary…to Me!

Today is the ONE-YEAR anniversary of my blog!

Exactly twelve months ago, I wrote my first post and then sweated bullets as I clicked “publish post” for the first time.

Since then I have posted a total of 149 times, taken an e-course on blogging, revamped my page design and made some new, wonderful friends.

All in all, a great success I’d have to say!

Especially when you consider that I always assumed, in the recesses of my mind, that my venture into the world of blogging might be short lived.

You see, it was all tied into a hope that starting a blog would motivate me to start changing the way I was living life. My theory was that if I set forth goals ‘for all the world to see’, then I would be compelled (due to my always wanting to please personality) to carry them out finally and stop procrastinating on living my life.

While previous attempts had been short lived, the public blog worked better than I ever could have imagined! I spent much of last year trying new things, going new places and filling up my social calendar till it almost burst!

This year I look forward to finding a happy balance between work and play, as well as setting forth AND accomplishing not only more personal goals but also goals for my business.

Thank you for being a part of the journey so far - I hope that you’ll stick around to see what 2011 has in store!!

All About Me

I started this blog in order to change my life.

After graduating from college, I struggled to find myself and quickly fell into a boring routine revolving around an okay job. I didn’t have much of a social life and made up excuses constantly for why I wasn’t doing more.

As I entered my late twenties I realized that I had to make a change and take back control of my life. I wanted to challenge myself to create a happier life – one worth living.

But change is hard and I continued to let procrastination stand in my way.

But once I turned 30, I realized that I had to kick my procrastination habit once and for all and start turning my dreams into reality.

Knowing that I needed to be held accountable for reaching my goals, I decided to start this blog. While I posted for many months before anybody found me, the act alone of putting my thoughts and goals ‘out there’ worked like a charm and I felt motivated to finally follow through on my ideas…or look like a complete and utter failure!

Fortunately, the trick worked and one year later I am happy to say that I’ve made a 180-degree shift and finally feel like I am truly living life! I’ve created a habit of doing things instead of talking about them…but I’m not done yet!

2010 was about growing personally but 2011 is about growing professionally. I still have my okay job and that’s not okay with me anymore. My dreams to turn LIVE LOVE LIFE NOW™ into a full fledged company in order to combine my love of art, design and philanthropy is not going to exist in fantasy-land alone much longer.

I am ready to take that leap of faith and will journal about all of the baby steps here…as well as all the ways I continue to push myself to live life to the fullest!

I hope you’ll join me for the ride and maybe get inspired in the process to challenge yourself to LIVE LOVE LIFE NOW™!

xoxoxo

Life is Precious

Why is it that we only reflect on how precious life is when we are reminded that it is fleeting?

Instead of relishing every day that we are given, too often we are instead consumed with the mundane and stresses of daily life.

This year has been all about self-discovery and pushing myself to Live Love Life Now™ but I still have a difficult time not obsessing over the things that I have no control over.

Today I was reminded that those worrisome things aren’t nearly as important as the health and love of my family and friends.

So tonight I set forth my goal to one day count my blessings more than what I wish were different in my life and to always live in the present and not in the future.

In memory of a strong and loving woman