a little nudge

I've had a post from sho and tell called 'Writers on Writing' opened on my tab list for over a week. Whenever I'd look at my browser all I thought was I'll read this another day, I just don't have time right now. Well, tonight I finally decided to read it because I needed to take a break from writing. It was the perfect "little nudge" to remind me that I'm not alone on this path that I've chosen. I especially love that the Shared Worlds photos just encourage you to write and to finish what you're writing. They're not telling you to be a great and talented writer or to write the next bestseller but just to write, write, write. Below are my two favorite photos.

neil gaiman via sharedworlds

patrick rothfuss via sharedworlds

Hope this post helps nudge you to create whatever your happy is!

not someday

via triptrotting

I don't know about you but I'm going to create my happy today. It's a perfect spring day in Chicago- the sun is shining and the weather is relatively warm, or at least it's getting warmer. There are so many possibilities for fun and adventure this weekend. I hope you can get outside and enjoy!

the great gatsby

via themovieblog

I admit I wasn't too excited about a remake of this classic even with the imaginatively talented Baz Luhrmann writing and directing it, but then I saw this trailer. Wow! I think they've cast this perfectly. However, I'm going to try not to compare this Gatsby to this Gatsby (or to this one or this one or this one).

"He smiled understandingly – much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced – or seemed to face – the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey." ~ The Great Gatsby

middlewest magazine

via middlewest

Chicago has a new modern food magazine called Middlewest Magazine. The magazine arrives in an envelope as recipe cards- genius idea! The recipe pictures are so pretty. It makes me want to spend an afternoon in the kitchen and make this! Seriously, can summer get here already.

happy foods

via refinery29

via refinery29

via refinery29

Refinery 29 has a list of foods that can help put you in a good mood. Good thing I eat most of these foods on a daily basis. But I don't care how much happy food you eat when the weather is s%*!, like it is in Chicago today, you just need summer to get here already.

I want to know what happy list wine, french fries, and cheesecake are on because those foods can definitely make me happy!

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gratitude jar

via modernhepburn

This is a post I've been meaning to write for quite some time and today seems like a good day to finally share it.

At the beginning of the year I started a gratitude jar- everyday I write down one thing I'm grateful for and put it in this jar and at the end of the year I'll have three hundred and sixty five little reminders of all the things I've been grateful for. This little jar filled with gratitude makes me happy!

There are some days when I don't feel very grateful but even on those days I write something down because you know what…I can always find something to be thankful for, even it it's just a little something.

week in photos

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*guest photo by ebert

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*guest photo by ebert

not tomorrow…today!

via zefrank

A great video to watch to jumpstart your creative weekend. What are you going to do today?

"If you want to be something, start being it." - Ze Frank

grilled cheese

via joythebaker

Today I came home from work in a mood. Nothing specific happened to put me in this mood I just wasn't feeling it today. Of course, since I was in this mood I couldn't decide if I was hungry or not. I kind of was hungry but then again I kind of wasn't. I didn't really want to make anything for dinner, or did I? Leftovers didn't sound appetizing and I certainly couldn't justify ordering take out since I wasn't even sure if I was hungry or not. The worst part was that Ebert was coming home late so he wasn't here to help me with my indecisiveness.

What I finally decided to do was pour myself a glass of wine and try to write. Tonight's attempt at writing was not going very well so my mood had not improved by the time Ebert came home. He asked if I was hungry and I gave him some wishy-washy answers- "Well…I'm kind of hungry, but not really." "I don't know what I'm hungry for." "Nothing sounds good."

He patiently listened to my whining (because lets face it that's what it was), then asked if I wanted him to make me something. He even offered to go out and pick up anything I was in the mood for. I declined both, insisting it was too much effort.

Ebert then goes into the kitchen while I try to finish writing just one page. That's all I wanted to get done was one page, but even after an hour of writing I was still a paragraph or so from my goal. In the meantime, I can hear Ebert clanking around in the kitchen but I don't think too much about it. I thought he was either putting the dishes away or making himself something to eat. But a few minutes later he comes back into the office with a grilled cheese sandwich…for ME! My super awesome husband made me a grilled cheese sandwich. Now, it wasn't a fancy grilled cheese, it was a simple, regular grilled cheese but it was delicious- one of the best tasting grilled cheese sandwiches I've ever had! I'm sure you can guess who's no longer feeling blah and now has a happy smile on her face! A little love and kindness sure goes a long way.

Thanks, Ebert! You're my favorite!

even if it sucks!

via wit&whistle

This is a great reminder to all of us who judge our work along the way. It's going to suck at the beginning, that's part of the creative process. You just can't give up- you have to give yourself the opportunity to make it better. One day it won't suck as much!

clap your hands

Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band via sideonedummyrecords

It's a dreary, rainy Monday here in Chicago and I don't know about you but I need a reason to clap my hands today- feeling a little on the low side is not how I want to start my week.

If you need a jumpstart to your week too then watch this video from The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, I guarantee you'll be clapping your hands and stomping your feet in no time. Ebert and I went to their show this weekend and it was awesome!

Let's turn today into a Happy Monday!

week in photos

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easter fun!

Ebert and I hosted Easter brunch this year. It was our first time hosting a major holiday and our first time having any type of sit down meal for 16 people. There was a lot of borrowing of stuff and all hands were on deck but that's what's great about the holidays- everyone's in it together wanting to help out.

I decided to go with a green and yellow color theme for a springtime feel. I love how cheery and bright the apartment became with this color combination- it definitely made it look like spring inside even though it was still 40-something degrees outside. At least the sun was shining!

We used our old desk for one of the tables. I didn't have an extra-long white tablecloth, and I wasn't going to buy one, so I got creative and used what I already had which was a full-sized sheet. The green flowers were the perfect color, the size was perfect and nobody could tell the difference. I bought yellow scrap paper from Michael's for the placemats- a great idea when you don't own 16 matching placemats. It's inexpensive and you can really get creative with all the different color and design options. The flower vases are jars that I reused filled with gerber daisies and my favorite flowers.

We had so much delicious food: quiches, french toast casserole, potatoes, hash brown casserole, sausages, ham, asparagus, deviled eggs, salad, fruit, rolls…oh geez! I'm getting full just thinking about all this yummyness! The best part was that everybody brought something so all I made was a lemon zucchini loaf, mini frittatas, and...

…a pistachio apricot cake with a cream cheese marscapone frosting. Everything was delicious!

We also had a DIY Bloody Mary bar with particularly every kind of garnish. Bloody Mary's are a great brunch cocktail but I have to admit this drink is probably my favorite.

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend filled with love and laughter, delicious food, and warm weather.

Spring is almost here in Chicago…this is so exciting!

{all images via create.your.happy}