Decomposing Leaf: by Victoria Bennett Beyer

When I opened my email inbox to find that someone had sent me an image this beautiful, I was filled with gratitude. The detail in this decomposing leaf is astounding. It amazes me that things that seem so simple, like a leaf, are really so complex.

Victoria Bennett Beyer is the special someone who sent me this photograph. She says:

"I've been saving this leaf since last winter and I just photographed it yesterday.

The delicate patterns that nature riddled it with as it decomposed are overwhelmingly beautiful to me. But it is more than just that. I think this image, this leaf, reminds me that there is abundance always, even in the letting go and the leaving. What was left behind - the little bits of leaf that are gone - change its nature and make it even more beautiful."

Such insight. I like thinking about people this way-- as we get older, pieces of our youth fall away and our nature changes, but maybe what we are left with is more beautiful, just like this leaf?

Boy oh boy is Victoria talented. There are a number of places where you can find more of her gorgeous images:

*Victoria's website
*Her blog
*Her photography etsy shop
and
*her paintings etsy shop

*A big thank you to Victoria for sharing this beautiful photograph with us!*

An Eye for Annai: by Jon Klassen & Dan Rodrigues

This is so sweet. And the animation is so good. If you want your heart to feel a little warmer, I would watch this right now. :)

Have a good Thursday!

{check out more from Jon Klassen on his website and his blog. And I'm trying to find more on Dan Rodrigues, and I found this, but I'm not sure if it's the same guy...? Regardless if it is or isn't, you might want to watch this anyway. He's singing Beyoncé with acoustic guitar... YES.}

heidi klum's halloween costume

I love love love Heidi Klum. She seems really fun and smart and friendly to me, and I was so excited to see her awesome and elaborate Kali Ma Halloween costume that's been splashed all over the internet. WOW! Now THAT'S how you celebrate Halloween. (I found these images via Ink & Wit.) I'm all inspired now. I used to get *so* into Halloween when I was younger (even all the way through college!), but now I let myself get sucked into my husband, Ryan's lack of enthusiasm for the holiday. Last year he let me dress him up, though, so I made us matching costumes, for FULL embarrassment on his part. Ha ha! WE were bears dressed as pumpkins, complete with homemade furry hats, mittens, and booties. It was awesome.

I think I'll take matters into my own hands today. Step one: buy some pumpkins to carve. Step two: track down "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and "The Worst Witch" to watch while carving pumpkins. Best.Halloween.Movies.Ever. Step three: costumes. I better get cracking!

What are you doing for Halloween?

spice and color

{from lux & pixel on flickr}

One day my travels will take me to the spice markets of India, Morocco, Istanbul.... until then I will admire these gorgeous photographs and dream about it in my head... I can practically smell the spices already!

{from dachalan on flickr}

{from matthieu aubrey on flickr}

{from matteo_dudek on flickr}

BLISSFUL MONDAY on Treasuring

Good morning!

Today I'm going to send you over to my other blog, Treasuring. A couple weeks ago I talked about creative mission statements and starting something called Blissful Monday, and today is the installment! It's very much in alignment with the theme of Pecannoot (abundance), so I thought you all would like to check it out.

So, click here to read the first Blissful Monday post, and join in if you please! I posted my bliss list for the week, and I would love to hear yours.

Curious?

stressful thoughts

Now this is a revolutionary way of thinking. You mean, I can choose whether to feel stress or not? Stress is not a real thing that exists, it's all made up in our heads? This is mind-blowingly, brain-openingly, empoweringly, freeing.

In the midst of a stressful thought (or stressful day, or stressful week), how can I choose to see the other side? Can I see and really get that I'm choosing the stress, and then decide to make a more empowered and balanced choice? What am I getting out of feeling stressed?

It's usually easier to fall back on old ways of being, even if they're not serving us anymore. I think seeing those patterns is the first step to changing them. Choosing new thoughts and new responses is scary, but wow, so exhilarating!

So, my intention for today: to be aware of the choice in each moment and situation and to make powerful choices. What's your intention today?

{Wayne Dyer's website is a wealth of information and inspiration. You can follow him on twitter, too! His tweets are very lovely.}

Have a fantastic weekend!!

It's a Beautiful Day: by mmelox

Hi friends! I finally made it back to the blog, just one day late. Please forgive me. :)

I found this image by mmelox on flickr this morning and thought it was the perfect way to start the day. It is a beautiful day.

What are you going to do with it?

Also, it is Deepak Chopra's birthday! Did you know you can follow him on twitter? I'm going to wish him a happy birthday. Twitter is amazing. So is Deepak Chopra.

SAY YES: by Gustavo Pedrosa

{image from Gustavo Pedrosa's flickr photostream}

One of my pieces of homework given to me by my coach for the week is to think about how I can say yes to life. I make excuses for why I don't want to do things, even about things that I actually do really want to do! It takes a lot more energy to get things done this way, and it's certainly not very inspiring, and I end up feeling like a whiny drama queen.

So! This week, I'm going to say YES.

What excuses do you make that keep you from saying yes to YOUR life?

Some of my most frequent excuses are:

- I'm tired
-I don't feel as good as I could (or "should")
-What does it matter anyway?

As you can imagine, all these excuses are motivation and enthusiasm suckers. And that's not cool with me!

I want to say a big fat yes and have awesome and inspiring days. It sounds much better than wandering around complaining about being tired. :)

What excuses do you want to give up so you can say a big fat yes this week?

{ps- I'm going to Boulder tomorrow morning (for yet another wedding(, and I won't be back until Tuesday night, so I'm taking a mini blogging break. I'll see you back here on Wednesday!}

just a link today

Click here.

Get inspired.

Take Courage: by Sarah Gardner

I was having a discussion in the car yesterday with my dear husband, Ryan, about a terribly cranky lady that works at the post office. (I think there is at least one of them who works in every post office.) I was telling him how every time I end up in her line, I have the hardest time not being snippy right back to her, because she's just so rude and nasty that I don't want her to think she can just treat me that way!

But then I realized, just because she treats me that way does not give me the right to treat her that way. Is that what I want to put out into the world? No, it is most certainly not. I want to be kind and loving, especially to people who aren't friendly, because they need love more than most of us. Right? Right.

So, I'm challenging myself to exactly what Sarah Gardner here is challenging us to: to take courage and be kind.

Who wants to join me?

{for more from Sarah, you can browse her lovely flickr stream.}

This is such a lovely story about appreciating the people that love us in our lives. Stephanie Freiss just started her first "real job" as a librarian at a grade school (a position for which she has no professional training and was hired on pure faith that she could do the job, because of a clear passion for books and her English degree-- she says it's been quite the challenge, full of ups and downs!) Here is what she has to say about her lovely photo above:

"Fall may not have arrived in the still hot and muggy Louisiana weather, but it was sitting on my bathroom counter this morning thanks to my sister/roommate, Kristen.

The sight of these gorgeous oranges and golds first thing in the morning opened my sleepy eyes wide and completely started my day off on the right foot. I only wish my sleepy brain had registered that the little packet to the left was World Market pumpkin spice coffee before I made my regular old cup o’ java! Oh well, I’ll thoroughly enjoy it the rest of the week. The card at bottom quotes You’ve Got Mail, “Don’t you just love the fall? If I knew your address I would send you a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils” and on the back tells me how proud she is of me, that she knows I can handle this job.

And I realized: in the past month and 2 weeks since I started this job, I have received so much support and encouragement from everyone important to me. My parents sent me beautiful flowers on my first day, and my mom emails with me daily and listens to my triumphs and despairs. My dad calls me at least once a week when we’re both up and driving before the sun to check on me, and he mailed me an engraved desk plaque. My sister talks with me every night and morning, and makes splendid gestures like sharpening 17 pencils by hand for this bouquet. My boyfriend texts with me all day long, staying abreast of my ups and downs, lifting me up or rejoicing with me accordingly. He’s also left a note on my windshield during one particularly down week.

With all of that loving support, how can I ever feel down and defeated? I still do, often, of course, but there one of them always is to love and support some more. It was good for me to realize all of this. Way too often, God's abundant provisions of love, encouragement, and support in the form of the people we interact with daily go unrecognized or under-appreciated. It's the old story of taking things for granted, but the truth is that the more clearly we choose to see the lovers and supporters in our lives, the more uplifted we are and in turn, the more uplifting we become to others. Look around you today and choose to see someone more clearly."

Great message, yes? It's so important to show the people we love how much they mean to us. Go give someone a big hug and thank them for being so wonderful! It'll make you both feel good.

*Thank you, Stephanie!!*

Go Ahead... Jump In: by Kim Creagan

Good morning, Pecannooters! Kim Creagan sent us a terrific reminder that I wanted to share with you at the beginning of this brand new week:

Since graduating school and not being able to find a job in my profession, I've been trying to piece together some other creative means of making a living. It seems I have a lot of ideas, but I am having a hard time putting them into action. I often get caught up in the planning aspect of making it just right or figuring out if it will work, instead of just jumping in and seeing where it goes. So, here's a little reminder, to all us planners or procrastinators out there, that sometimes all it takes is jumping in. You may get wet and flounder around a little, but at least you tried.

I like this little quote that goes along with it too:

"Doing is a quantum leap from imagining. Thinking about swimming isn't much like actually getting in the water." ~Barbara Sher

Let's DO this week, instead of just imagining doing! I sometimes get stuck in the not-doing stage, and the excuse-making, and the time-wasting, and this week I want to jump in, get down to business, and drop the fear. How about you?

For more from Kim, check out her etsy shop and her other etsy shop. Photographs and artwork galore!

*Thanks, Kim!*

circular rainbow

I saw this image on the Telegraph website this morning and thought you would all like to see it, too. A circular rainbow! That is a rare sight, my friends! Wouldn't it be amazing to look out the window of an airplane and see this shining in the clouds?

It's just one more reminder of how lovely and beautiful and wondrous our world is.

(via Telegraph.co.uk)

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! If you are in the Atlanta area, I'll be at the Candler Park Fall Festival all weekend, selling my art. Come see me if you are here! Otherwise, I'll meet you back here on Monday.

Gourds: by Sally Mae Velleux

I love fall! It's absolutely and completely my favorite season. The pumpkins, the crisp air and falling leaves, the small of apple cider, the gorgeous colors... ahhh, yes. I love it.

So I was happy when Sally Mae sent over this little gourd illustration. She says:

My sister had a little surprise in her garden this year when a crop of renegade gourds popped up that she did not plant! Needless to say, at first she was a little irritated, but it's hard to stay mad at a gourd for very long! They are such a hearty plant that all it takes is one tiny little renegade to grow a whole crop. We are enjoying her crop of gourds quite a bit and decorating our houses with them like crazy! I couldn't help but sketch the cute little gourds and remind myself how nice it feels to bring a little bit of the outside indoors sometimes.

I would love to have a big patch of renegade gourds! What a fun little surprise that would be. I guess I would need a garden first. :)

To see more of Sally's work, check out her blog.

*Thanks, Sally!*

Mandalas: by Lisa Baus (Purple Bears)

I love mandalas. I love the singular focus of them. They are a prayer. They ask you to calm down a little. They ask you to be grateful.

So I was extra pleased when Lisa Baus sent over her lovely mandalas for us to enjoy. Here is what she says about them:

In particular, my mandalas affirm one particular positive word/intention/energy. It's amazing, as I create each piece how the books I pick up, the songs I hear, the TV shows I watch, and the people I talk with would all bring up that one word or concept. This didn't just happen with one mandala - but all of them. Like attracts like. Scientifically and spiritually sound principle.

Check out Purple Bear [my etsy shop] for color pictures of my mandalas. If you would like coloring pages, I have those available as free downloads at www.lisabaus.com.

I think they're just lovely, and I'd like to have something like this next to my desk to remind me to focus on the positive and what I want to bring into my life, rather than what I perceive that I lack.

Because our lives are all perfect circles, just like the mandala, if you really think about it.

*Thank you so much, Lisa!*

abundance is amazing boots

I just want to put it out there that I am seriously coveting these boots.

This is not typical pecannoot material, but hear me out. These boots are $278.00. That's more than I've ever paid for any pair of shoes. Like, *way* more!

But here's the thing. We need to believe that we deserve nice things. I need to believe that I deserve nice things.

So, back to the boots. I want them. I deserve them. I think these boots would make me feel like a bad ass, and that's never a bad thing!

What would make you feel like a bad ass? (In a good way, not a judgmental, yucky way.)

I'll keep you posted if I decide to splurge. :)

beauty: by shelley kommers luna

Oh Shelley, YOU fill the world with beauty! This card is beyond gorgeous.

If you are not familiar with Shelley's work, you should be. (That's my humble opinion!)
You can find it in these lovely places:

-Shelley's website
-Shelley's blog
-her etsy shop, called Oiseaux
-her second etsy shop, called Oiseaux Noir

*Thanks for sending this over for us to enjoy, Shelley!*

It's Never Too Late...

Sometimes I get myself down a little bit when I see really young people doing really amazing things. Like, 23 year olds doing things that I would kill to do. OK, well, that's a little dramatic-- I don't think I would kill to do anything. But you know what I mean. :)

So I'm happy for this reminder from the My Life Imagined blog this morning.

It is nice to know that there are people of all ages doing incredible things. What rock star thing do you want to do right now, today?

I hope you all have a magical weekend! I'm driving to Mississippi to go to a dear old friend's wedding, so that is sure to be an adventure! I've never been to Mississippi before, AND I get to drive all the way through Alabama! Excitement. I'll see you on Monday with stories to tell and photos to share!

xo

Your choices...

Just a friendly reminder this morning.

[via prettyfnmess's flickr photostream]