The future is something which everyone reaches
at the rate of sixty minutes an hour,
whatever he does, whoever he is.
(C. S. Lewis)

I greeted the day by muttering, “Spring forward, fall back.” Time to switch the clocks and prepare for colder, darker days ahead.

Today we get a bonus hour.

Sunshine is pouring in through the window, brightly colored trees paint the forest behind our home. There’s a candle burning, new music playing in the background and a mug of delicious tea nearby. My Mister’s working intently on his homework while I type away on future blog posts. Our laundry machine hums upstairs. Cozy socks keep our feet warm.

Next week is just around the corner, but today we enjoy a little extra time.

What about you?

Image Credit: Bench via mrhayata

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.
Nothing can be done without hope or confidence.
(Helen Keller)

Hello friends! I hope you’ve had a nice week. Mine has been a bit crazy, but in a busy/good sort of way. I know I said it before, but I seriously missed all of you. Diving back into blogging has made me such a happy camper.

Last night I stayed up too late catching up on my Google Reader. There are so many talented folks out there! If you’re looking for new bloggers to follow, I highly recommend that you check out my Daily Reads. (Click over to the blog if you’re in a Reader.)

On an unrelated note, the Mister’s been out of town the past few days for an MBA stock pitch competition hosted by The Johnson School at Cornell. If you have some winning vibes to spare, please send them his way!

Do you have any fun plans for the weekend ahead? I’m hoping to get a jumpstart on things by heading to Target and the grocery store after work tonight (something I usual leave to Sundays). If I’m feeling frisky, I might even get my laundry started.

The following list of ideas, links, and creative weekend to-do’s are intended to inspire. Consider this a friendly reminder to seek out little delights and exceptional joys in the days ahead. I invite you to share your plans and creative to-do’s in the comments below!

sign up for a goodreads account
listen to this while cleaning the house
get organized for 2012 with a stylish planner
reflect on last month’s favorite things
do what it takes to follow your inner guide
think about yourself from a different perspective
get a new techcessory for iPhone or iPad
add a new favorite blog to the list
read, run & write for November Intentions

✳ One more thing! Would you like to join me in celebrating a new season of inspiration?
Sign up today to receive Inbox Inspiration and/or Muse Memos.

Image Credit: Autumn. | Walking through leaves | Autumn Sunshine. via Eselle

We cannot live for ourselves alone.
Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads,
and along these sympathetic fibers,
our actions run as causes and return to us as results.
(Herman Melville)

Hello my sweet friends. I hope the beginning of September is treating you well. My 2-year blogiversary is around the corner and to help celebrate, I am hosting a Sparkle Swap!

This swap is all about bringing cheer to a fellow blogger. Send a package with 4 unique gifts — a bit of sparkle, a treat that soothes, something sweet, and a surprise. In return, you will receive snail mail love from a new friend.

To participate, sign up by leaving a comment below with one thing you’re looking forward to this season.

Some key details:

• The swap is comprised of 4 gifts — a bit of sparkle, a treat that soothes, something sweet, and a surprise that your buddy will love.
• To participate, you must have a blog + need to be willing to ship internationally.
• Registration ends Saturday 9/10/11 at 5:00 pm EST. Leave a comment to join!
• Please mail parcels by Tuesday 9/20/11.
• Open, enjoy and blog about your package when you receive it!

Once registration is closed, I’ll email surveys out to collect addresses, likes, dislikes and anything else you want to share with your swap partner.

By leaving a comment below, you are agreeing to the details outlined above. Let me know if you have questions or special requests.

Are you lovelies ready to start swapping? Let the sparkle, delight & snail mail love begin…

Image Credit: Meet me in outer space by Misserion

Only through our connectedness to others
can we really know and enhance the self.
And only through working on the self can we begin
to enhance our connectedness to others.
(Harriet Goldhor Lerner)

It’s been a quiet and productive day. Target and Whole Foods in the morning. Laundry tumbling in the dryer through the afternoon. Chili cooking in the crockpot for dinner. Autumn’s approaching. The sun goes down earlier with each day.

My Mister was sweet enough to build the new bench we picked up at Ikea. I finally found orange sheets for our bed. Handwritten notes to a few close loves are stamped & ready to be mailed. A fresh coast of Essie’s Merino Cool adorns my fingers & toes.

The rush of another week will come soon enough. Early alarms, morning workouts. Successful days at the office. Sweet, loving moments at home. I’ve created a new playlist for the coming of fall, the farewell to summer. Songs4September. I hope you enjoy!

Burning / The Whitest Boy Alive
Cover of Night / Steve Reynolds
The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us! / Sufjan Stevens
A Shot to the Stars / Whitley
Various Stages / Great Lake Swimmers
Matinee / Hurts to Purr
River / Angus Stone
The Longer I Run / Peter Bradley Adams
Goodnight / La Rocca
Islands / The xx
No Cars Go / Arcade Fire
The Crane Wife 3 / The Decemberists
Little Ms. Darling / Robinson
Evening On the Ground (Lilith’s Song) / Iron & Wine
Details In the Fabric (feat. James Morrison) / Jason Mraz
3055 / Ólafur Arnalds

*All links lead to iTunes, so head over and check these songs out.

Image Credit: notes of a rock song via linh.ngân

We all live with the objective of being happy;
our lives are all different and yet the same.
(Anne Frank)

There’s something about September that brings me happiness.

It’s still very warm where I live, but there’s a hint of cooler times ahead. The seasons are starting to shift. This last 1/3 of the year always flies by. I think it might be my favorite.

I have a few goals for this month. Intentions that I hope will help set the stage for a fulfilling and joyful fall season.

Blog daily. Celebrate my 2 year blogiversary with inspiration, confetti, glitter & love. Then get focused on Hot Dates from Sarah J. Bray and Align Your Website from Gwen Bell.

Practice weekly. I miss my regular yoga practice. It’s time to start small and work my way into a routine.

Read. Books, blogs & magazines. Often.

Save money. I’ve had more than my fair share of reasons to go shopping this summer with moving and starting a new job. September is about saving.

What are you seeking this month? Do you have any mega goals or tiny to-do items?

Image Credit: Untitled via Luis Hernandez

An idea that is developed and put into action is more
important than an idea that exists only as an idea.
(Edward de Bono)

Hello and happy Saturday to you. This week has been interesting, and I’m so grateful for the weekend! Sorry for being quiet the last few days, other areas of my life have required extra attention.

In conjunction with my new position at work, I’ve moved into an office with extra space and quiet surroundings to focus. It took me a few days to wrap my arms around new responsibilities and management, but I’m finally feeling ready to go.

If you missed my tweets on Wednesday night, I got a new hairdo! This is the shortest and darkest my hair has ever been, and I’m really enjoying the new look.

I am planning on an extra productive weekend ahead. I hope the following creative to-do’s inspire extraordinarily joyful weekends for all of you. As always, I would love it if you shared your plans in the comments below.

cheer on the Buckeyes with my mister
sip pumpkin spice lattes in the morning
shop for my home & fall wardrobe
watch Jon Hamm & Ben Affleck in The Town
think about upgrading to the iPhone 4
check out Raleigh’s SparkCon festival
work a little in my new office
dream of snuggling one of these
donate to an inspirational resource
work on my pen-pal swap art & letter
start a fresh journal

image credit: weheartit

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.
(Mae West)

Today was one of those challenging days. I planned on waking up early, so I could do my hair and answer a few emails before taking on the world. Instead, I snoozed for an hour and rolled out of bed at the last possible second. Sleepy and allergy-ridden, I did the best I could today with the cards in my hand.

Instead of manufacturing an essence of joy and sparkle, I’m borrowing borrowing bits of inspiration. I hope you find the following links as lovely and encouraging as I do…

autumn, NYC and 1 question
photography postcards for penpals
one reason to buy  a sewing machine
fresh snack idea, zucchini fritters
why post?.. for the love of blog
words worth watching
a perfect outfit for book browsing
the world, in 100 people

Here’s to waking up on the first alarm, good hair days, clean air and bliss amongst chaos!

image credits: ilricettariodianna

Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it.
The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be.
Being alive is the meaning.
(Joseph Campbell)

I felt a hint of autumn’s approach for the first time yesterday morning. As I drove to work, I noticed the sky was darker than usual. It caught me by surprise, especially since the weather will stay warm here in Raleigh for a little while longer.

A change in seasons always provides an opportunity for reflection—and when looking back on my summer, I’m pleased with what I see.

June challenged me to jump into daily life with passion and carefree curiosity. I attempted to practice yoga daily, but fumbled along the way.

Throughout July, I sent my mentor daily digital updates while she unplugged for a month-long digital sabbatical. I also set intentions for the second half 2010, and invited joy out to play. With a holiday weekend by the pool and two trips to the beach, July was the kind of month I could relive year after year.

August has been an exciting adventure in itself. For the first time in (what feels like) forever, I’ve maintained a daily practice of something—and just as my 1st year on the web comes to a close, my enthusiasm for blogging has reignited.

This summer has been an exercise in balance and priorities. While I feel good about the positive strides made, there are certainly corners of my world that have collected dust.

As the leaves change colors, I plan to refocus on 4 simple goals.

I’m ready to welcome September with courage, laughter and an open heart. How will you greet this new month’s arrival?

image credit: weheartit

Once, there was this day…this one day when…
everyone realized they needed each other.
(April Burns in Pieces of April)

I have rather elaborate plans for Thanksgiving considering it will only be my mister and me. With our families scattered across the country, it made sense to stay put again.

Last year we cooked our first turkey together. It came out perfectly, despite our trepidation. Because it’s his favorite holiday, I spared no expense to make it special.

My intentions are the same—to cook in my PJs and enjoy the smells of familiar foods in my kitchen. We might not be surrounded by family, but we’ll have each other.

I am confident we will be able to pull off the menu below. We might be eating leftovers until Christmas and I’m really ok with that!

Breakfast in Bed:
eggs, bacon, hash-browns and blueberry-sour cream muffins

Game-time Lunch:
deviled eggs and salami with sharp cheddar sandwiches

Dinner Feast:
turkey, his grandma’s green beans, mashed potatoes, my great-grandma’s stuffing, canned cranberry sauce, corn, lots of turkey gravy

Delicious Dessert:
chocolate caramel-nut cheesecake

photo credit: Pieces of April

You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces—
just good food from fresh ingredients.
(Julia Child)

I was delighted when I read about this gogonzola-pear pizza over at Lovely Little Things.

During my next trip to the grocery store, I eagerly gathered the ingredients to make my very own blog-inspired dinner. As I excitedly unloaded my groceries and prepared to assemble my pizza, I realized I was missing a very important component—the dough!

Like many things, a great discovery came from my mistake.

After altering the recipe slightly, I created a sweet and savory pizza for one. I’m sure the original is a treat, but it’s always nice to have options for solo-night dinners (that don’t involve frozen cardboard and a microwave).

sandwich thins, Bosc pear, walnuts, provolone cheese, Gorgonzola
crumbles, lettuce, dried cranberries, light salad dressing

provolone on sandwich thin

thinly-sliced pear on provolone

chopped walnuts & Gorgonzola crumbles on pear

toss lettuce with walnuts, pear, crumbles & cranberries
drizzle with salad dressing

enjoy dinner with a glass of sparking water!

photo credit: anthropologie via the art of making do