Beautiful Bloggers

On a rather stormy and challenging day this week I found this award waiting for me, given by a most inspiring writer/artist/all round fantastic blogger friend Lis. Thank you so much Lis, for this award means a lot to me, I feel touched and honored that you judge my website to be beautiful, I have a huge respect for everything you write and create on your blog; you are a wise and wonderful lady :)

Over the past year a whole new world of inspiration has opened up for me since I discovered blogging. I absolutely love to sit down with a cup of tea to read the latest thoughts, experiences and projects of the amazing websites I follow. These blogs have enriched my life incredibly and contribute daily to the magical creative journey I find myself on. So here are fifteen blogs that I most look forward to sitting down to with my treasured cup of tea:

http://dandelionseedsanddreams.blogspot.com/
http://allididwaslisten.blogspot.com/
http://5preciousthings.blogspot.com/
http://eastofthesunart.blogspot.com/
http://kindovermatter.blogspot.com/
http://www.thewordcellar.com/blog/
http://creatingwings.com/
http://inkonmyfingers.typepad.com/
http://instinctandgrace.blogspot.com/
http://lorelllehman.blogspot.com/
http://www.lollychops.com/lollychops/
http://www.ordinarycourage.com/
http://aweebitofcooking.co.uk/
http://www.jenlee.net/
http://www.lifeunfoldsblog.com/

The requirements for accepting this award are as follows:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Pass this award along to 15 bloggers you've recently discovered and whom you think are fantastic!
3. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.
Share seven (7) things about yourself.

Seven things about myself (I’ve tried to think of less obvious thoughts so that you may learn something new about me) :

1.I would love to time warp back to the twenties and immerse myself in the fashions, the music, the energy and the politics, the art, the literature; it all really fascinates me.
2. I am chasing the dream of turning my creativity into a flourishing business.
3. I could live as a hermit in a lighthouse and feel quite content.
4. I have conversations with my cats.
5. I am a bit of a secret murder mystery lover ( although moreso of the cosy mystery where all is well in the world despite the death involved!).
6. I have a bit of thing about stationary; some people might describe it as an addiction.
7. I have a cuddly toy tortoise, given to me when I was born, which still lives in my bedroom and travels with me for luck and that special care that only she( Mimi) can give. Thus, I am proud to say that a part of me will never grow up!

Tea

As I sat drinking a soothing cup of tea I began to doodle, once finished the Noel Coward quote immediately sprung to mind; my sentiment exactly!

Watercolour Cats

Just a quick post to blog this simple watercolour as I'm quite proud of it; I do believe it captures the spirit of my lovely pusses perfectly.

Radiance

This is my final piece of artwork for the mind/body/spirit course 'Radiant Goddess' created by the lovely goddesses Leonie and Sone. The last three weeks have been a rollercoaster ride of new experiences, leaving me feeling so much more alive, both inside and out. With a mixture of a raw food approach to eating, making movement fun and nourishing the spirit through creativity, this course has been amazing and I am very sorry indeed that today is the last day. I have learned so many tools to keep in my medicine bag so that I may continue my radiance :) If you want to find out more just click on the Goddess Guidebook link on the left of this post.

The Juicy World Of Trees

Majestic creatures, guarding secrets, looking down on mere mortals, honest to the core.
Their houses magical dens, fortresses to protect, cosy time warps, separate from compromises, from conventions.
To the sun each individual confidently stretches, to pluck the energy it craves, reaching deep into the earth with crooked fingers, to grasp earthly nourishment with elegant force.
Generous bestowers of gifts to passers by as the servants of the Goddess, most glorious of all the breath of life.
Equality rules despite such a multitude of variety, simply yet powerfully they entrust their own unique magick:
A weeping willow’s graceful, drooping frame infuses with tranquility;
A tiny acer, at the beginning of its journey, whispers such possibilities gently into welcoming ears;
A mighty oak inspires with staying power, the wisdom of the years it has survived evident in every crease of bark;
A wispy silver birch immediately cheering with its wiry beauty.
Survivors, often in the face of adversity, braving the seasons in turn with ancient cycles,
From stark wooden structures they transform into bouquets of dazzling pure colour, as intricate artists they paint each landscape into an original.
Observers of the constantly changing environment, silent witnesses of history in the making,

Each spirit a part of an unfathomably vast story.
Listen.
“When the details become too much, step back, think of me. Visit me, breathe my air deeply. What do I see? What do I hear? What do I say?”

An authentic life

Whilst reading a friend's latest blog post, I stumbled upon her link to the thought provoking website of Brene Brown. I love her definition of leading an authentic life very much:

http://www.brenebrown.com/

Intentions

Having recently purchased the rather fabulous 2010 Goddess Year Planner by the lovely and most wise Goddess Leonie ( see the link on the left of this page) I have been hard at work today, pondering upon one of the tasks, namely to pick a word, which symbolises the intentions I set for myself this year. There were so many wondrous words to choose from, yet I couldn’t settle on a particular one until I stumbled across an old soapstone heart I had picked up in a local Buddhist store years ago, feeling drawn to it at the time yet not quite knowing what significance it held for me. Sometimes messages simply take time to be heard and understood!


The longer I held the stone in my hand the stronger the connection to this coming year became. I had previously completed another part of the Goddess Planner, reflecting on the year gone by; it was all going swimmingly until I came to the section asking me what dreams I had achieved. Although I could list so many things to be grateful for,and a significant list of achievements, very few were honestly the fulfillment of my personal dreams for myself. I realised I had taken the first tentative steps to realising my creative self at last ( a huge dream!) but struggled to come up with more than this. I put others before myself so much of the time, which I know is not a negative, and become so wrapped up in the routines of every day life that I feel I had forgotten to reach for those stars. Therefore, this year is the year of precious dreams for me, as by reaching high I will be a richer me and in turn will enrich the lives of others to a much greater extent than before. It means putting my whole self into my writing and my artwork, putting my work out there into the universe. It means exploring photography, growing my own vegetable patch and creating a garden sanctuary, learning to sew, giving my home the flare,the sparkle to reflect my creativity...I hope that as the year progresses I will continue to add a multitude of dreams as my self-belief is nourished and grows. In connection with this I have been busy creating a Magical To Do List Book as suggested by Leonie, stating my intentions but also working out the steps to release them into reality. It has been such a positive, energising experience for me already and the year has only just begun!

What is your word for the year?