Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts

Thursday, June 30, 2011

sseko

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I love everything about this amazing shoe company, Sseko (pronounced say-ko).

Not only is the product beautiful, so is the mission and the back story! I can't get enough of their super-stylish website. I just ordered a pair of these lovely, incredibly versatile sandals, along with two extra sets of interchangeable straps (brilliant!).

You should too.

Monday, June 20, 2011

UPDATED: The Sakura Bloom Styleathon, Round 1 Entries!!!

Have you been keeping up with the Sakura Bloom Styleathon contestants? If not, you should be, since all nine of them have now posted their Round 1 entries on their own blogs.

I cannot tell you how moved I am by all of their words and photos. What a talented, articulate, beautiful group of mamas! I am truly humbled and honored to know these ladies.

Now run over and check out all the incredible Styleathon entries, and prepare to be inspired and delighted. Here are links to the posts (in no particular order):

Danielle (and Henry) of Sometimes Sweet

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Elizabeth (and Elodie) of The Littlest

Natalie (and Huck) of Nat The Fat Rat

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Joanna (and Toby) of A Cup of Jo

Sharmadean (and Roman) of London Momma

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Jen (and Rowan) of Jen Loves Kev

Aura (and Elodie) of Aura Joon

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Melisa (and Blake) of The Lil Bee

"Miss" James (and Gemma Bird) of Bleubird Vintage

Stay tuned to Marvelous Kiddo for our second amazing Styleathon giveaway and the Round 2 Assignment! Fun!

Monday, May 16, 2011

big rings + bright nails

A combo I am so loving.
Most of all, I want that beetle ring in the second photo, stat.

Monday, May 2, 2011

9/11 healing: The mothers who found forgiveness, friendship

This is so beautiful and important. Please watch and share. I can think of no better observation of Mother's Day than to learn from the example of these two courageous women, and take their message of forgiveness, compassion, love, and acceptance to heart.

Thanks to Susan for sharing this.

Bill Cunningham New York

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Last night I joined up with Abbey and Samantha and went to see this amazing documentary at the IFC Center. I have been a fan of the legendary street-style photographer, Bill Cunningham, for ages but I knew very little about his life or the stories behind his art. Well, this flawless film painted a riveting portrait not just of Mr. Cunningham, but also of the New York and Paris of the last 40 years.

It was so captivating and moving, it made me laugh and cry and I truly didn't want it to end. I left feeling utterly inspired by Cunningham's singular talent, devotion to his craft, and incredible commitment to personal integrity. The fact that the story happens to be focused on the world of street fashion is just icing on the cake.

I cannot recommend the film highly enough. I'll be purchasing it on DVD and referencing it again and again!

thought for your monday

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Found here.

Monday, April 18, 2011

stuff i dig

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This warm and glow-y art-filled kitchen, found here.


How to make your own kid-friendly set of travel watercolors.
DIY details here. Found here.

This gorgeous photograph, from here.

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Every single thing about this book-themed baby shower.
Created by these folks, obviously!

Wings! Easy instructions here. Found here.

What things are you digging today?

Sunday, April 3, 2011

thought for your monday

“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you’re sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and somthing else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.”
- Chuck Close
Photo found here, quote found here.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

thought for your wednesday

“The most common way people give up their power
is by thinking they don't have any."
--Alice Walker

Monday, March 7, 2011

Meeting Ina May

That's me, beaming away, just moments after meeting Ina May Gaskin and having her sign my copy of her new book at an appearance in Brooklyn on Sunday.

Ina May has been called the mother of authentic midwifery and the most important person in maternity care in North America, and I have long admired her and utilized her books equally as reference texts and spiritual guides to birth and motherhood.

It was such a thrill to hear her speak (at length, before a packed venue), such a privilege to absorb her wisdom in person (from the front row -- I got there early!), and an absolute joy to experience her down-to-earth personality and hilarious sense of humor. To top it all off, I have to say that at 70 years young she has quite the quirky-cute fashion sensibility (making her even more of my idol than she already was). My girlfriends, Jen and Nancy, and I were just plain giddy to be there.

Early on in her talk, Ina May said something that I keep thinking about: we live in such a fast-paced, mechanized world -- we inhabit vast urban and suburban environments, we rely ever more on our beloved phones, computers and electronic gadgets, we do so many things with the aid of machines and technology -- it's easy to forget a simple fact, which is that
we are Nature.

Other memorable moments:
  • Hearing Ina May debunk some of the fundamental building blocks of Western thought, including Plato's ideas on the body, before going on to opine on the merits of fart jokes and Wayne's World.
  • Listening to her talk about humor as an excellent anecdote to fear.
  • Two words: Sphincter Law.
  • She shared the story of the birth of her first child, which occurred in a hospital and involved various unnecessary and traumatic interventions, which was very fascinating and moving to hear about. She said she is now grateful for that experience because of what she learned from it.
  • "Men think only their stuff can get big and then small again without being ruined." Brought the house down.
It was great. I can't wait to read the new book!

Friday, March 4, 2011

rainbows for your weekend

It seems like every image I've saved in the last week has been inspired by rainbows, so I thought I'd throw them all into a post and share! Enjoy the colorful goodness and have a wonderful weekend :)

XOXO, Leigh

PS: What are you up to? Today we're going to visit Jen and Steven at the Pulse Art Fair, tomorrow we're hanging out with friends, and on Sunday I'm joining Nancy to meet Ina May!!!

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Images, top-bottom: Shrimiatreya on Flickr via Honestly...WTF, Zara pants via Style Essentials, Gabriel Dawe thread installations Design*Sponge, Isabella's party via Ohdeedoh, yarn gift wrapping from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts via Oh Happy Day, Rain Bow Tote by Ross Zietz via Swiss Miss.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

the manifesto of encouragement

giraffes
Photo found here.

Needing a little mid-week boost, I am reminded of this lovely piece forwarded to me several days ago by my good friend, Nancy. Originally posted on White Hot Truth, The Manifesto of Encouragement was written by Danielle LaPorte. It totally made my day better, so I had to share:

Right now:
There are Tibetan Buddhist monks in a temple in the Himalayas endlessly reciting mantras for the cessation of your suffering and for the flourishing of your happiness.
Someone you haven't met yet is already dreaming of adoring you.
Someone is writing a book that you will read in the next two years that will change how you look at life.
Nuns in the Alps are in endless vigil, praying for the Holy Spirit to alight the hearts of all of God's children.
A farmer is looking at his organic crops and whispering, "nourish them."
Someone wants to kiss you, to hold you, to make tea for you. Someone is willing to lend you money, wants to know what your favourite food is, and treat you to a movie. Someone in your orbit has something immensely valuable to give you -- for free.
Something is being invented this year that will change how your generation lives, communicates, heals and passes on.
The next great song is being rehearsed.
Thousands of people are in yoga classes right now intentionally sending light out from their heart chakras and wrapping it around the earth.
Millions of children are assuming that everything is amazing and will always be that way.
Someone is in profound pain, and a few months from now, they'll be thriving like never before. They just can't see it from where they're at.
Someone who is craving to be partnered, to be acknowledged, to ARRIVE, will get precisely what they want -- and even more. And because that gift will be so fantastical in it's reach and sweetness, it will quite magically alter their memory of angsty longing and render it all "So worth the wait."
Someone has recently cracked open their joyous, genuine nature because they did the hard work of hauling years of oppression off of their psyche -- this luminous juju is floating in the ether, and is accessible to you.
Someone just this second wished for world peace, in earnest.
Someone is fighting the fight so that you don't have to.
Some civil servant is making sure that you get your mail, and your garbage is picked up, that the trains are running on time, and that you are generally safe. Someone is dedicating their days to protecting your civil liberties and clean drinking water.
Someone is regaining their sanity. Someone is coming back from the dead. Someone is genuinely forgiving the seemingly unforgivable. Someone is curing the incurable.

You. Me. Some. One. Now.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Monday Loves

Since I didn't give you any Friday links,
I thought I'd share some clicks of awesomeness
to kick off your week. Happy Monday!



The best Ikea hack ever, via Table Tonic.


Rummey Bears on cosleeping.


Her nubby-hat-pink-suit-woven-bracelet-dark-sunnies perfection,


Blanket fort inspiration, via Flux Capacitor: