Hello my dear friends. I hope you’re starting off your week with sparkle, style and sass!

Today is my mister’s 26th birthday, so I’ve been a bit busy celebrating with him. I was so excited after wrapping his presents yesterday that I asked if he’d open them early—I’m not very good at keeping surprises a secret.

After work we went to a delicious dinner and caught up on life, work and future plans. To finish the evening, we spent some major time standing in line at the Apple store for a brand-new iPhone 4!

I simply adore my mister. He is a smart, strong and silly man who loves me just as I am. (Plus, he’s an amazing proof reader who catches my typos before they make it to you.)

It’s been a treat to shower him with love, gifts and extra kisses today. I hope we can always keep Steve’s words of wisdom in mind… Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

image credit: via weheartit.com ~ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Sometimes you have to let go, to stake your claim.
Be still, to move forward. Give, to receive.
Cry, to feel the joy. Pretend, to make it real.
Fake it, before you make it.
And sometimes, oddly enough, you must first decide
to feel their love, to find it was there all along.
(Notes from the Universe)

Hello gorgeous souls. A reminder to those of you who are participating in my Good Karma Gift Swap, today is mail day! Please do your best to send all packages before the post office closes today.

Remember that your package should include 4 gifts—a treat that calms, something that comforts, a bit of celebration and a piece the promotes creativity. If you have any questions, send me an email or message on twitter.

I’ll be connecting with each of you this week via email to make sure everything goes smoothly. I’m so excited to see everyone’s blog posts about the good karma (and gifts) they receive. Thanks again for your participation. Happy swapping!

photo credit: moi – package from stephanie @ heart piercing life

Love is love.
All, everything that I understand,
I understand only because I love.
Everything is, everything exists,
only because I love.
(Leo Tolstoy)

Hello gorgeous friends. I want to wish you a fabulous Valentine’s Day. Take time out to nurture yourself and those you care about. Enjoy a restful nap, relax by the fire, read a book, soak in a hot bath. Smell the roses, nibble some chocolate.

Find peace in your heart and joy in your soul. Know that love is all around you and it always wins. Check out these last minute Valentines and consult this kissing checklist if you’re in need of some holiday help.

Thanks for sharing your love, support and sparkle with me. Happy Valentine’s Day!

photo credit: papaya! blog

The greatest gift you will ever learn
is just to love, and be loved in return.
(Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge)

Hello sweet souls. I hope you’re having a fantastic start to February! I simply adore this month. It’s full of chocolate, sparkles, hearts and joy—what’s not to like?

In an act of celebration, I am inviting you to join me in my first Good Karma Gift Swap.

If you heart snail mail and want to participate, please leave a comment below with a favorite way to pamper yourself.

This experience is all about sending love and getting love in return. It’s a chance to make a fellow blogger’s day. All you have to do is gather 4 unique gifts that will delight your swap buddy (nothing expensive, just pour your heart into it).

A few juicy details:

Be sure to include 4 gifts—a treat that calms, something that comforts, a bit of celebration and a piece the promotes creativity.

To participate, you must have a blog + need to be willing to ship internationally.

Registration ends Friday at midnight. Leave a comment below to join in on the fun.

Surveys will go out Saturday—please take a moment to respond over the weekend.

Swap buddy details will be emailed early next week.

With the help of your swap buddy’s survey answers, you will be able to send a completely custom and totally thoughtful Good Karma Gift Swap package.

Please mail parcels by Wednesday, February 17.

Open, enjoy and blog about your package when you receive it!

By leaving a comment below, you are agreeing to the details outlined above. If you have any questions or special requests, please send an email to hello AT kaileenelise DOT com.

Are you lovelies ready to start swapping? Let the good karma and snail mail love begin…

photo credit: williams-sonoma

Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.
(John Barrymore)

Friends, I am elated to announce that another weekend is on its way. This week has been full of exciting moments and challenging times and I’m looking forward to spending the next two days enjoying creative bliss.

I have more than enough inspiring items on my to-do list for the weekend ahead. I hope the links and ideas to follow help inspire you to pick up a sketch book, sing along to a favorite tune or type out a bit of poetic prose.

Whatever your weekend holds, please share your creative plans with the rest of us!

order this organic (and inexpensive) tomato gift box

consider the possibility of an oceanside retreat

develop a morning routine renovation plan

get cozy at starbucks & check out their new healthy treats

email a friendly reminder to the future

journal about style icons

clean the apartment & get to know a few corners

make love packages for sweet friends

remember to shine brightly

forget to care about what other people might say

photo credit: aunt owwee via flickr

As you begin to understand the immense power and love you hold inside,
you will find an unending surge of joy, light and love
that will nourish and support you all the days of your life.
(Susan Jeffers)

Happy 2010!

Here’s to an abundant year full of sparkle and joy. After an 11 day break from reality, I am preparing to settle into old routines while creating new ones. Like many, I’ve thought of a word for 2010 and decided on a few resolutions. Over the course of this week I will share with you my thoughts on 2009 and my plans for the upcoming year.

Thank you so much for sharing your love and light with me. I am really looking forward to the wonderful things this year has in store for all of us.

photo credit: gifrancis

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world,
I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport.
General opinion’s starting to make out that
we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that.
It seems to me that love is everywhere.
Often it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy,
but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters,
husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends.
When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know,
none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages
of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love.
If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find
that love actually is all around.
(Love Actually)

photo credit: 1 | 2 | 3 via 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

these soul sisters live all across the map
inspiring, writing, reading
reaching out to one another

creative
yoga-doing
sparkle-loving types

i knew you were there all along

inside we’re all so similar
tiny little girls wearing tutus & soccer cleats

grown-ups now
still playing in the mud &
coloring outside the lines

(written with ♥ by me)

I have spent the last few days soaking up an overwhelming amount of inspiration from so many of you. Your comments, emails, tweets and soul hugs travel from far away—and I welcome them with open arms.

I started this blog with the hopes of connecting with kindred spirits, but I did not realize the kind of impact you would have on me. In just a few short weeks, I feel transformed. There is a new light inside me. Thank you for letting yours shine.

The poem above came to me today in a quiet moment. Immediately, I wanted to share it with you. I feel lucky to be a part of your universe. Thanks for sharing bits of your world with me.

photo credit: playwithbrushes via flickr

Take that first step.
Bravely overcoming one small fear
gives you the courage to take on the next.
(Daisaku Ikeda)

It is hard to believe that we’re well into the middle of Martha Beck’s book, The Joy Diet. It seems to me that every week I fall behind—and then I remember this is not a race.

I am beginning to accept that I won’t be implementing this diet “by the book” but rather slowly folding it into my preexisting routines. Thinking about The Joy Diet as a practice instead of a requirement has softened me in a way that is hard to describe.

Thank you for showing me that we are all on this journey together. Reading so many blogs on the same topic has helped me realize there is no right or wrong way to practice Joy.

I am living between the sentences in Beck’s narrative and discovering simple moments that were always there, even though I never noticed them before.

Yesterday was rough, but by the end of the day, I was content and happy. With your help, I found my smile. I took myself to Starbucks after work, where I enjoyed the comfort of a purple armchair and the sweet warmth of a pink Raspberry Chai Soy Latte.

The past two weeks of Creativity and Risk have blended together, and all I can say is that I am learning…

to try something different when the patterns of my actions hold me back.
to embrace mental yoga poses that make me feel uncomfortable.
to examine why some goals scare me.
to be ok with being afraid.
to know I am ok.

I am excited to enjoy treats while I continue my practice of nothing, truth, desire, creativity and risk. Thank you again for sharing your journeys, you are all the best teachers in the world.

photo credit: me