Friday, September 20, 2013

Share.

Recently I asked myself the question, "What can I do to make each day matter?". I wanted to learn how I could impact society through my daily actions. We are always surrounded my quotes telling us that life is short (stay away for it). Thus I wanted to know how to make each day of my life count for something, whether big or small. After asking the same question to one of my favorite bloggers, I made a huge discovery. You ready?

The key to making any day matter is sharing.

Sharing your love with others. Sharing thoughts and ideas. Sharing your writing through blogs. Sharing your attention when listening to others. Sharing your curiosity to spark new thoughts. Sharing enthusiasm. Sharing gratitude towards kind acts from others. Sharing your wisdom... in moderation. Sharing kind words and compliments to those who need and deserve them.

The list goes on & on...

If your questioning what the act of sharing, I'd like you to ask yourself... What good is anything if you don't share it with others? Where will that brilliant idea take you if you don't get input from others? What will your love life look like if you don't share love in return with the ones that share it with you?

The question "What can I do to make each day matter?" will have different answers and actions for everyone. But it's the act of sharing that can transform any action into one that matters.

Inspired by Hey Amber Rae

Tuesday, September 17, 2013


With the start of a new school year upon us, there are so many things to look forward to.

Fresh starts
New challenges & new goals
Changing seasons
Clean planners & clean slates
Aspiring attitudes
Bright futures
Open Minds

And so many more...

This is exactly why Fall is my favorite time of the year. I love trusting the process of what Fall will bring. Not only do I use this time to examine my mindset and attitude, but also of those around me. I always find it motivating that others usually carry a sense of rejuvenation during this time of year. It's a simple pick-me-up!

With all the possibilities of Fall at our finger tips I encourage you to soak up your potential this season!

Saturday, July 27, 2013

After a busy 12 days... I'm back!

What a great way to welcome myself back to this space (after a stressful few days) than by talking about one of my favorite things, yoga.

Now, I wouldn't call myself a true yogi, just the occasional practicer (that's not a word) and that's what I love about yoga. You don't have to be super flexible or amazing at meditation to do it. I find that what I enjoy the most about practice is simply giving myself a bit of time each day to focus on something other than life's distractions. It's a time to breathe, move, and get my blood flowing. What could be better than that?

I have to admit, some yoga classes are pretty intense. I went to a yoga sculpt class once and almost died in the process (same thing happened in hot yoga). That's when I discovered that I don't go to yoga to get a good workout, that's not my purpose. My purpose is to relax and renew. I don't know about you, but my stress tolerance is pretty darn low and yoga is one way to help me cope with that.

I was so excited to find a place, literally 2 seconds away from where I am living, to practice yoga this summer. It's perfect after a long day at work.

One thing I have notice during my short time of practicing yoga is how expensive memberships to studios can be. My tip on this: find a different studio. There are so many of them out there and if you keep searching you'll find one that knows the price of relaxation. Also, I found that the smaller the studio the cheaper. Plus, small/unique studios are a better experience in general and it's where the real yogis go.

Anyway, I could probably keep writing and end up with a novel on this topic. Instead I'll leave you with a little quote that I found on the wall when I went to yoga this morning:


Have a great weekend!
Happy blogging

Monday, July 15, 2013

Why I Blog


Why do I blog? Because blogging is awesome (simply put).

Whenever I tell people that I read blogs in my free time the first reaction I usually get is a confused expression, followed by a comment like "Wow, I didn't know blogging was still a 'thing'". Yes, thank you, it's still a 'thing'.

When I first started exploring the blogger world I was simply interested in following photographers. It was like attending a free art museum from the comfort of my bed, and it was amazing. I quickly realized how many talented writers, artists, and entrepreneurs express their craft in a simple space on the internet. Slowly, I started expanding my interests and began following crafters, foodies, motivational speakers, and stay-at-home moms that transformed blogging into their full-time job. It still amazes me the amount of creativity that could go into a blog. Each one is different and unique to the writer's personality. It's like reading a picture book for adults (bad analogy).

After realizing the endless possibilities that blogging held, I contemplated starting one of my own. Of course, I had no idea what I would write about. I just knew I wanted to have fun and be semi-creative in the process. Now we reach present day.

Although I am still trying to figure out my purpose and goals for my little corner of the internet, I have found the process to be a learning experience. Not only is it a way to express oneself in writing, but it's also a way to document life's thoughts, memories, and adventures. Unless you are one to keep a journal, how often do we get this type of documentation? Not often.

To sum it up and to answer my previous question, the reason that I blog is because I want to create, express, learn, and document life one post at a time.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Let's talk about success.

What defines success? Who is successful and how did they get there?

These questions may be answered a million different ways, but never have I come to understand the perfect recipe for success until I read Outliers.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell speaks directly to the question of how one becomes successful. It mentions that a successful individual is made up of several components: a dash of intelligence, a tremendous amount of hard work, dedication, and most importantly, luck.

Gladwell notes that Bill Gates, the Beatles, Bill Joy and others became successful and incredibly talented at what they do, not just because of their DNA (of course that is part of it), but because of  the countless opportunities they "happened upon" throughout their lives. Outliers explains that if Bill Gates' parents had not chosen to send him to one of the few high schools in the world that had access to a time-sharing terminal (a.k.a. the school had access to a computer that was beyond its years) then he wouldn't have been able to practice programming every day after school. Another example is if the Beatles weren't initially invited to play in Hamburg, then they wouldn't have had the opportunity to play 270 nights in just over a year. I don't need to say it, but that's a lot of time to practice! No wonder they were so good...

Without opportunities like these who knows what kind of world we would live in... a world without the Beatles' musical genius or a world without Microsoft?

Malcolm Gladwell's definition of success opened my mind to the idea that success can stem from anywhere and at anytime. Some people work their entire lives and never become "world renowned" and it's not because they aren't working hard. They simply haven't found themselves in an outlier situation or a situation of extreme opportunity.

It's ok that we all define success differently. What's important is to understand how those that deem themselves successful got there in the first place.


Sunday, July 7, 2013

A Thought to Ponder



"Millennial's - a generation that may change the world as we know it?"

Okay, that may be a bit extreme and perhaps sounds a bit bias considering I am included in this group of individuals, but I think it goes without saying that there is a curiosity (from all ages) about how life, business, and our cultural structure will change as Millennials grow older and become society's leaders. 

A few weeks ago I had a conversation with a women I currently work with on this very subject, which actually inspired me to write this little tid bit :) . This woman was in her early 40s, had a substantial amount of experience in the corporate environment, and had a lot of questions about folks my age. She had already recognized that many "folks my age" don't just want to go to work, but rather we want to work for something. In other words, she was essentially saying that in order to keep the younger generation engaged and satisfied at work there needs be some purpose or greater good in the things that we do everyday in order to make those things worth doing

I completely agree. 

Take a moment and think of how many companies have incorporated a "socially responsible" aspect into their business model, or how common it has become for employees to volunteer during works. If Millennial's are even partially responsible for this transition in the workplace, imagine what the corporate culture will be like in 20+ years...

I'm not saying that corporations will all look and feel like Google in the future, and I'm also not saying that today's business leaders are not socially responsible. What I am saying is that there is a growing vision and desire for a future that looks a little bit different than what it does today. Change can obviously be a scary thing, but if change simply means bringing additional purpose and meaning to the things we do everyday, then by all means... bring it on!

Another source of inspiration for this post
http://www.fastcoexist.com/1682348/millennials-genuinely-think-they-can-change-the-world-and-their-communities ]

Monday, July 1, 2013

Happy Monday

It's a Monday and I think everyone needs a few words of wisdom at the start of any week :)

Sunday, June 30, 2013

It's not a secret, there are an overwhelming amount of great companies out there. Sometimes A lot of the time I find it hard to even get a sense of all the companies and opportunities that are located in my own "backyard". After doing a little internet-digging I found an article that sums up some of the best companies in Minnesota into a manageable list of "100 Best Companies to Work For". From small, medium, and large-sized firms, this list demonstrates that job satisfaction can be found in almost any environment.



Sunday, June 23, 2013

Current events in my life:

Justin visiting
Going to the beach (and successfully not getting burnt)
Volunteering at the Travelers Championship
Cheesecake Factory. need i say more?
Watching the entire Twilight series
Joining a yoga studio
Discovering my love for Panera's Chai Lattes
Going to the science museum and loving every minute of it
Learning lots and enjoying work

Hope life is treating you well!

From the quaint little garden on the rooftop of the science museum

Thursday, June 13, 2013

I don't know about you, but I am always a fan of company's that sell awesome products and do good while selling them. Here are a few companies that are worth mentioning...

Serengetee
"Connecting people to the globe through fabric while giving 
back to the communities that inspire and create their designs."
www.serengetee.com

Threads by The Shine Project
By helping transform the future of at-risk youth, Threads 
employs students to make trendy bracelets so they can 
pay their way through college.
www.theshineproject.storenvy.com

The Home. T
"A stylish way to show your state pride, while helping 
raise money for multiple sclerosis research. 
Not to mention, they are insanely soft and 100% 
USA made."
www.thehomet.com

Monday, June 10, 2013


Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Mine looked a little bit like this...








Good food. Good shopping. Good adventures.
[Side bar, if you have not seen the internship, go see it. Classic Vince Vaugh and Owen Wilson movie that makes Google look like an awesome playground for grown-ups.]




Sunday, June 9, 2013

A few song suggestions for your summer enjoyment...

The Wild Feathers "The Ceiling"
Michael Franti "I'm Alive"
Serena Ryder "Stompa"
The Neighbourhood "Sweater Weather"
Bruno Mars "Treasure"
Ben Howard "Keep Your Head Up"
Captial Cities "Safe and Sound"
The Lone Bellow "Bleeding Out"
Churchill "The War Within"
We The Kings "Just Keep Breathing"

They are all pretty well-known songs, but they're some of my favorites. 
Enjoy!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Well folks, after five long days without the ol' internet, I finally have it back. It's pathetic, but I'm excited.


First and formost, I have arrived to my internship destination (woo!). Besides being extremely busy over that past week, I won't share many updates on the work front. Partly because I don't think I am allowed to. However, I will say that everyone has been extremely welcoming and kind, especially since I look lost half the time trying to find my way from building to building.

Life on the east side of the States is different, but good. I haven't been able to explore much of the area yet, but that's what this weekend is for. I am excited to hopefully share more pictures and stories throughout my time here. However, since it is repetitive to share photos both on Facebook and here, I'll mostly just  post updates and pictures on this space. Pictures are limited in this post so I'll share a list of my must do's this summer:

Try Dunkin' Donuts
Develop an east coast accent 
(but not permanently)
Learn my way around the office
Find a yoga studio
Visit New York and/or Boston
See the ocean 
Take pictures
Relax
Do my best
Have fun 

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Photo-taking, Crafting, Painting, Oh my!

(congratulations Jack and Kacie)


Over the past week I put my creative cap on and took advantage of some time off. The first photo is of a wedding gift I made for my roommate that got married this past weekend. I wanted to give the happy couple a gift that wasn't on their registry... so a heart-shaped collage of their engagement photos it was! The project was done using iPhoto and Microsoft Word and was printed and framed at home. How easy is that?! The red flamingo/bird was inspired by a similar painting on Elise Blaha's blog. If you haven't read her blog, it's a must! The beak didn't turn out exactly as planed, but overall it was fun getting to use my paint set again. 

"Curiosity about life in all of its 
aspects is the secret of great creative people"  
-Leo Burnet

Tuesday, May 28, 2013



Hello and Welcome to a little journey I call life. Another day, another attempt at a blog from yours truly. It might not always be exciting, but that's life! This will be a space for documenting experiences, thoughts, and sharing photos. Maybe it will transform into something more, we'll see what happens. For now all I can say is Hello and Welcome.