crafty fanny

inspiration

I always wonder what it would be like to be the person who inspires artists, from songs, to books, to prints.

Wouldn't it be lovely to be the person who inspired this one:

And this is the point where I give a shout-out to all of my friends out there -- both from real-life and the internets -- y'all rock! For realsie!

Hope you're all having a lovely Tuesday!

(Print from the always fantastic Rockett St George)

the Etsy shop has officially launched!

Friends! The day is here!

My etsy shop is live! 

 

WHOA. And, awesome! Now it's official -- I really AM an artist!

In other exciting news, my blogland friend, Nancy Orozco featured me and my art on her blog this morning! Thanks, Nancy, for the super sweet words! It's nice to have internet friends like you!!!

Spring is here!

 

WOW! I am just so thrilled to let y'all know that I am officially the new co-host of Spring!!!!

I get to work on a project to inspire other people! I get to talk about happiness! And gratitude! And being creative! And I get to do this with awesome people like Carolyn Rubenstein, Jess Swift, and Michelle Ward!

Excited much, Fanny? YOU BET! 

You can check out my new introduction video here -- gotta love that opening screen shot! And be sure to check back throughout May to get tons of tidbits and helpful information on Time Management, our topic of the month! And we're even looking for contributors, so if you have any thoughts, be sure to let us know.

Thanks to all of you for your support!!! It really has mean so much!

fanny needs a favor!

Hi everyone!!

My second video for the Spring Be a Co-Host Contest is up and running! Don't y'all want to hear me talk about Gratitude? And about how much I looooove my morning cup of coffee?

I would be forever grateful to ALL OF YOU if you could be so kind as to click through to check out my video and, if you like what you see, please leave a comment of support!

I am just so happy to be a part of this! Thank you, internet friends, for your support!!! 

!!!

Yesterday really was an exclamation point-y day for me!

Remember my introduction video that I made as part of the Spring Be a Co-Host Contest? I found out yesterday that I'm a semi-finalist!!!

Can we just talk for a moment about how excited I am about this? Seriously, SO EXCITED!

I'll be posting another video with them tomorrow -- on gratitude! How perfect is that? I LOVE gratitude! It's my favorite thing ever!

Stay tuned for more awesomeness!

puppy love, part 2

Happy Thanksgiving my friends!

I have been LOVING the gratitude lists that have been making their way around the blogosphere, and I love that Thanksgiving is a holiday completely devoted to being grateful. And eating lots of yummy food!

This Thanksgiving I am grateful for more things that I can list: my happy life, my amazing friends and family, my incredible boyfriend and partner-in-crime, our fantastic house, my health, and, of course, the newest addition to said house.

I am grateful that I'm following my dreams of having a job that I love and that makes me feel complete. I am grateful for having the courage it takes to follow these dreams, even during the scariest of times. Finally, I am grateful for the support of everyone around me in taking these hard steps. It really has meant the world to me to know that I have so many people on my side (that includes you, my internet-friends!).

Now that I've said my piece, let's get on to the other matter of business: naming the puppy. Tim and I have it narrowed down to two names. Wanna vote again?

poll by twiigs.com

I hope that all of you have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!!

turkey's gone: still grateful?

By now, you've probably finished up most of your Thanksgiving leftovers. Perhaps you have one or two more turkey sandwiches to eat, but for the most part, you're back to the regular stuff for lunch.

Thanksgiving is our national holiday focused on gratitude. All around the country, people are gathered at their table to give thanks and share their gratitudes with their loved ones. I think this is great, but I don't think it's enough.

I know I talk about gratitude allthetime, but it's because I think it's so important. Being grateful is one of the keys to being happy. I'm sure of that. Finding the small blessings in life is key if you want to live a life filled with blessings. Finding joy in small pleasures is crucial if you want to live a joyful life.

So, be grateful. Today. And tomorrow. And the tomorrow after that. Spend a week focusing on what you are grateful for and see how you feel. You're gonna feel real good, I promise.

And share your gratitudes. Leave comments on my blog. Send emails to your friends. Write letters to strangers. And say thank you.

I'll leave you with this:

I didn't take any pictures of the Thanksgiving dinner Tim and I made for his family, but I did take a shot of these donuts we got in Seattle. They were amazing -- bite-size, warm, donut holes at the Pike Place Market. I am grateful for those donuts.

something to think about this weekend

What are you grateful for?

Right now. What are you grateful for? What are the good things in your life that you can celebrate?

Try this exercise. List five things for which you feel gratitude. If you can't find a piece of paper, go ahead and write them in the comments. It's an amazing experience to be able to share your gratitudes with the world!

Here are mine:

1. I am grateful to live in a beautiful apartment.
2. I am grateful to have been able to take a pilates class this morning and devote some time to my body.
3. I am grateful for the many amazing friends in my life.
4. I am grateful for being able to clean out my closet to make room for my boyfriend who's going to be staying with me for a few weeks.
   
   • hold on, take note readers -- I just said I was grateful to be cleaning! This is HUGE!!
5. I am grateful for the sun and the beautiful weather and the fact that I get to spend my evening sailing on the bay.

So often, we focus on what's lacking, what we need to be happy, what other pieces are missing.  I'm trying to change that for myself, focusing on all the amazing things I have, the gifts I've been given in order to thrive.

The shift can be hard at first, but it slowly becomes a habit. A wonderful, amazing, freeing habit.

So, tell me, what are your gratitudes for today?

friday's confession

Happy Friday everyone!

So, let's see, I promised 5 posts in 5 days, right? How about I give you 5 posts in a week instead?

Here's today's confession (and, yes, in California it is only 11:16 right now, so technically it is still Friday! HA!): even when I'm not actively blogging, I'm thinking about it. All. the. time.

It's becoming a thing with me. I'll hear a phrase, see a sign, or just have a thought and it's like a lightbulb goes off. Ping! I'm going to blog about that. Sometimes I'll even start a new post, even if I only have a second, and I'll call it "blog about this." Good title, huh?

And, I think about my readers. Who you are. What you want to read. What you like, and what you don't like. I think about comments left, that I haven't yet responded to...

To Laura: Are you a little worried that the Avett Brothers are going to just take off? And get so big that they'll only play at huge arenas where the tickets will cost way too much and they'll lose their magic? No? Ok, then, I'll relax about it too. Yes, you're right: I do wish them all the success in the world. They certainly deserve it.

To Erin: I love the idea of all of us being open to the universe conspiring (great word!) to help us! Thank you so much for your kind words. I could not even begin to list the reasons that I am grateful for meeting Tim, but getting to meet the amazing people he is friends with is certainly near the top of the list. He inspires me to cultivate amazing friendships in my life as well.

Oh yeah, and here's another confession, a bonus for all of you who are checking this blog over the weekend: Did you see my post Wednesday? Yeah, I was tipsy when I wrote that (hehe). Between the debate and the wii, there was just too much potential for drinking wine. I do realize that my writing might be better not tipsy, but, you know what, it was fun! I was inspired and felt joy and wanted to share that.

Thanks to all of you for giving me someone to share my joy with.

what's your theme?

I think that it's really important to take stock every now and then to see if your life fits into the theme that you want it to have.Theme? What theme?

If this seems foreign, you need to first consider what you want your life's theme to be. Is there something, a word, a phrase, that sums up how you want to live your life, how you want your life described? I think it's important that we all develop a mantra, something that serves as a beacon, a guide to how we want to live.

Mine: Be brave, be grateful, be kind. Choose happy.

I feel so very strongly that if I follow these words, make them my life-rule, things will work out. While I realize this all sounds ideally fine, it is hard to live by, on a practical basis. It would be much easier for my mantra to be: Be lazy, be selfish. Choose indifference. But it's not. It's much harder to look at someone with kindness when things aren't going the way you want them to. When someone's causing you some kind of hardship, it's easy to look upon them with disdain instead of compassion.

But we all have choices in how we live. We all have the power to live our lives according to our own rules, not the rules of everyone else. It's hard and takes effort. It's much easier to let other people make the rules, dictate what direction you should go. But, when has someone else *actually* known what's better for you than you? Not in a you-shouldn't-date-that-person kind of way (because, really, every time I've dated someone I shouldn't be, I've known it. There's just been some other more compelling reason to keep the relationship on), but in a I'm-going-to-do-what-this-person-says-even-though-I-know-better kind of way.

So, what's your mantra? Do you have one already? If so, I'd love to hear it in the comments below. If you don't have one, think hard and come up with one. I dare you!