interview: marisa haedike of creative thursday

Good MORNING! A big hello to Monday, yes? It's going to be a good week! And I have quite the treat for you to start it out-- an interview with Marisa of Creative Thursday. SO, dig in and enjoy, because Marisa's answers to my questions are thoughtful, honest, and inspiring, and it makes me want to meet her in person!

1. Tell us a bit about yourself. (What's your favorite color? What can't you live without? What do you do all day? What's your favorite way to relax? Share whatever random bits you'd like!)

A bit about myself. How much room do you have here at your blog? As you may or may not know my ongoing commentary in regards to myself is "brevity is not always my strongpoint" I can be shy, and even a good listener some of the time, but once you get me started...I have a lot to say. Clearly one of the reasons I started podcasting and am now teaching and experimenting with video blogging. I do actually like to "say" it instead of write it if I have a choice which is one reason if you ask me to do a written interview like this it can take me a very long time to respond {thank you for your patience Jess!} So other fun facts per your prompting ~ favorite color: right now {as it changes quite frequently} a yellow gold ~ what can't I live without? many, many things ~ clearly being stranded on a desert island would not be a good thing for me although I will say that I've been inspired to simplify my life these days and de-cluttering has been a huge part of that...maybe there is actually quite a lot I thought I couldn't live without that I actually can. You see what I mean about the brevity...! My first answer to that question would be Sean ~ the man I live with ~ just love him ~ and then of course any materials I can create with, those are a must have. What do I do all day? Honestly right now, I try to get my work done and create more space in my life so I can get back to creating and making things. My favorite way to relax? Creating, Surfing, Yoga and lately watching Mad Men seasons 1 & 2 back to back for hours at a time.

2. What is abundance to you?

Abundance is believing there is enough for everyone ~ that because someone else has the great fortune of having something you want, does not mean that you can't have it too. It is instead an example of what IS possible.


3. What are 5 things you are grateful for right now, in this moment?

1. Sean {obviously since I can't live without him}
2. A fan & the ice cold glass of green tea I'm having {we're having a heat wave right now as I write this to you}
3. My creative girlfriends or as I call them the "creative girls" who are THE BEST ~ that's all I'll say otherwise I'm likely to gush on too long
4. the fact that I get to live this life I dreamed of for so long
5. the awareness I've grown into that allows me to finally show up as the person I really want to be more and more each day.


4. What is your favorite part of your day?

Dusk. I'm a dusk girl what can I say. Just as the sun goes down and the clouds turn pink


5. What is one huge, crazy-seeming goal that you dream about accomplishing?

Right now I'm thinking I might like to have my own TV show called "Creative Thursday" ~ or even better make a documentary along the same ideas I have for the show ~ oh and have I mentioned only a million times before, I'd like to explore living in Europe part time too, but that is seeming easier and easier to accomplish.


6. Do you have any irrational fears/worries that you'd love to let go of?

Yes, while my awareness is growing as I mentioned above, there are always things I'd like to let go of. I keep hoping I reach this plateau of being "done" but it seems like the plateau just keeps growing as I do ~ imagine that? Sometimes I'm so grateful for this life, I worry that it might all "go away" one day. When you've struggled to get to where you are, which I don't recommend the "struggling" part by the way, it can really take some time to get comfortable in the idea that the life you've grown into is for real and that it might actually just keep getting better.


7. Do you have any tricks for turning a bad mood into a good mood?

Yes, I'm happy to say I'm getting better at this one too. While I still sometimes get in bad moods they seem to move on a lot faster than they used to. Also I am just having less and less tolerance for a bad mood. As soon as I feel like the bad mood has come on, I try right away to be an observer as to what's causing it exactly, and that in itself softens the mood. And then I can begin to see clearer how to move out of it, or just give into it. Usually I realize there's nothing "bad" happening in that moment and I'm just deciding to interpret things as bad. When I recognize that fact, it's a lot easier for me to move on. If there is actually something making me uncomfortable in that moment, I just try to to take action to change the circumstance if I can and if I can't I'll just ride it out and not judge myself or the moment too harshly. You know that old saying, but it's true, "this too shall pass" and keeping that in mind is also good ~ and if all else fails! Take a NAP.


8. What daily practices do you follow, if any, to stay focused on positivity and abundance in your life? (Journaling, meditating, drawing, visualization, reading, etc.)

I wish I could say that I was good at keeping up with a practice, especially a daily one. I'm working on it. Because while that seems to be the "trend of choice" in spiritual circles it does help. Taking time each day to breathe and notice all the good that is around you. I do go to yoga weekly and while that's also a bit of a "trend" ~ I'm happy to say that it's a trend that has stuck for me over the last 9 years and if I don't go, let's just say I can tell. I find lately it also really helps if I read from a book that inspires me, even if it's just a few sentences. It is the quickest way for me to get back to feeling myself.


9. Do you have a favorite quote or author that help you remember to live and think abundantly?

I never have a favorite quote ~ too hard to narrow down ~ but I do have a lot of favorite books that contain many wonderful quotes I try to keep in mind and I'll share some of those authors with you.

Esther & Jerry Hicks
Elaine St. James
Eckhart Tolle
Catherine Ponder


10. Can you share some books or blogs with us that you think Pecannoot readers might love?

Books related to the authors above:
Money and the Law of Attraction
Simplify your Life
A New Earth
Dynamic Laws of Prosperity

Blogs that remind me to live and think abundantly:
maya made
christine mason miller
soule mama

***
For more inspiration from Marisa, make sure to visit her website, the Creative Thursday blog, etsy shop, and flickr page. Oh, and you can follow her on twitter, too!

*Thank you so much, Marisa!*

Berries: by Susie Lubell

I love fruit. In particular I love summer fruit. I don't eat berries nearly often often, though, and this gorgeous photo is reminding me of that. I love a good berry. :)

Susie Lubell says this of her photograph:

"I took some pictures this weekend while I was solo with my kids and I just feel like this one of my son is magical. He's holding olallieberries. Not exactly an abundance, but to him it's a lot. Because they're not even ours! They grow from a neighbor's bush over our fence so whenever we get a few we feel like we won the lottery."

I can completely relate to this! My husband's parents live in southern California, and their neighbors have an avocado tree. Whenever we go to visit, they pick a few off the tree for us to take home, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world. Free avocados, direct from the tree? Yes please.

Make sure you check out Susie's etsy shop, her blog, become a fan on facebook, and you can follow her on twitter, too!

*Thank you, Susie, for sharing your photo with us!*

Spring Soul: by Mandy Saile

A bunny!

This has nothing to do with the lovely drawing above by Mandy Saile, but I have a funny story about bunnies. I was out walking in my neighborhood one day with my hubby a few months ago, and I heard something rustling in the leaves in someone's yard. I got really excited and said "Look! A bunny!" It was, in fact, a squirrel, and not a bunny. So now, whenever we see any kind of animal out wandering around the neighborhood (I'm talking cats, birds, dogs, squirrels...,) Ryan says "Look! A bunny!" and he thinks it's the funniest thing ever. When we were on our honeymoon a couple weeks ago, we went to the Audubon Swamp in Charleston, SC, which in my mind is the least likely place to see a rabbit, but I saw one, really and truly, and said "Look! A bunny! No, for real, a BUNNY!" That was also quite humorous to us.

So, Mandy is probably annoyed by now that I'm taking up this whole post by writing about Ryan and I acting silly. :)

She created this drawing in colored pencil (holy time-consuming! Wow. That takes some skill, people.) She says it is about "abundance in simplicity, abundance in our natural surroundings, and just the whole soul fill up that rabbits, animals and nature can provide for us."

You can find more of Mandy's work on her website, on her blog, and in her etsy shop.

*Thanks, Mandy, for sharing your work with us!*

abundance: by sheri gaynor

If I had wings, I think I would want them to look like that. Are those sequins? I certainly hope so. I love sequins. In fact, I used to use sequins in my artwork regularly. Maybe i should start doing that again.

Anyway, Sheri Gaynor sent this image over from the Deck of Transformation in my book Creative Awakenings: Envisioning the life of your dreams through art to remind us to be grateful for the little things in life. I want a deck of transformation-- that sounds fabulous!

What are you grateful for this morning?

Here are the little things I'm appreciating:

*feeling sore from the gym yesterday and knowing that my muscles are happy and growing stronger

*bananas ( i love bananas!)

*cooler weather in the mornings these days

*vivid dreams

And here are all the places you can find Sheri and her work:

-Website
-Blog
-Her book
-Sign up for her monthly newsletter
-Her Creative Awakenings Salon

*Thank you Sheri, for sharing your lovely work with us!*

'make your year abundant': calendar

You guys. I can't keep this to myself any longer. I decided to make an ABUNDANCE CALENDAR this year, and I'm *so excited* about it. I wanted to give you a sneak peek, as I don't have it in my etsy shop yet, but each month features my illustrations from Pecannoot- FUN, yes?

And I'll be giving away 2 for free; more on that soon. (You can sign up for my newsletter as well, if you want to get the details first!)

Happy Tuesday to you all!

you're not a real shark

good morning, dear pecannooters!

monday monday monday. i like the beginning of a new week. it's ripe with possibility. i'm incredibly excited this week because i'm going to start coaching with michelle ward (of when i grow up)-- i have some old patterns of thought that i *really* need to let go of, and i think michelle is going to be huge help in transforming my beliefs and thoughts! (oh, and you should read her blog. it's amazing.)

so, this funny little illustration is a beginning to my thought transformation. the "shark" can represent fear. or doubt. it's all an illusion (thus the shark costume. not a real shark. get it?) the fear, the doubt, the worry... it only seems real because we believe it to be real. what if we chose to not be afraid of it and let it stop us from living the life we dream of? what if we simply decided to believe something different?

this is what i want to do.

**what are the sharks in your life that just might not really be sharks at all if you take a closer look?**

lucky

I promise I'm not going to post wedding pictures here every other day, but I just couldn't help myself with this one. Would you just look at how Ryan is looking at me? I'm the luckiest.

I hope you have a terrific weekend, friends!

found love

i couldn't NOT post this here today. i popped over to please sir yesterday (one of the best blogs, in case you don't yet know of it), and i was stopped in my tracks by these photographs.

diana, please sir's lovely author, saw these signs posted on her drive to work yesterday. she didn't know who they were for or why they were there.

i got a little teary just looking at them on a computer screen-- imagine what would've happened if i'd been the one seeing them in person! i wonder what would happen if signs like that were posted around here in atlanta, the land of road-rage and maniacal drivers....

you can find diana's original post on please sir right here, and make sure to browse the rest of her blog, too-- it's one of my favorites!

love life: by inkblok

this is so true.

don't you think?

sometimes i forget this principle, and i get mired in worry. i am always in awe of people that are so clearly in love with their life, just because they are alive. i want to be like that. i want each moment to be a magical wonder. is that cheesy? i want to connect with life in a more profound way. i want to love it all and be grateful for each experience. i mean really grateful-- like, feeling grateful and not just saying i feel grateful. does that make sense?

how do you love life? how do you want to love life?

{you can find this print in many other colors in the inkblok shop on etsy!}

falafel for the soul: a new blog for free encouragement

lesley sico, of 315 thomas, started a new blog to spread free encouragement called 'falafel for the soul.' now, i love falafel. in fact, it's pretty much one of my favorite foods in the world. it''s definitely one of my favorite parts about traveling, because most large cities seem to have delicious and inexpensive falafel all over the place. (the best i've had was in amsterdam. now i'm getting hungry, and i just ate breakfast!)

so anyway, falafel in this case means little notes of encouragement. lesley's project reminds me of things we forget (another post it note project, which i posted about a few months ago)-- i think it's just such a magical idea to leave lovely notes for people to find out in the world. i imagine that on more than one occasion they've changed the course of someone's day. words are powerful, my friends.

{lesley was inspired by jeff and erin's free encouragement project from several months ago and is using some of the submissions they received as the subject of her notes!}

so, go check out lesley's new blog! it's making me smile just thinking of people finding her sweet notes.

it's my birthday!

i'm back from the wedding + honeymoon

hello, my friends! i missed you! i'm back from our wedding and honeymoon, and i just wanted to share a few quick pics with you-- i haven't gotten any of the photographs from the photographer yet, so these are just shots from various guests who had cameras with them. i love them.


the wedding couldn't have been more wonderful-- it was crazy and stressful the couple days beforehand, but everything turned out beautifully, the weather cooperated, and everyone had a good time. phew!

the top photo is my younger brother walking me down the sand aisle, then the next is ryan and i kissing (obviously!) and my dear friend caroline who married us, the next is a photo of my sisters, cousin, and i (it's blurry, but i love it for some reason), and then a photo of me hugging my brother after the ceremony. i'm not sure why the coloring is as it is, but don't you love it?

if you want to see some honeymoon photos today, to, head over to my other blog! i will be back to regular posting soon- i hope you all had a delightful 2 weeks while i was away!