Surround yourself with good words!

 

 

 

 

It’s no secret that I have a crush on quotes, typography, and handwritten notes.

 

My Pinterest board "Words give me butterflies" is full of beautiful quotes that inspire me, make me think, capture emotion eloquently, and make me happy just looking at them.

My house is infused with a random mix of framed typography prints

I read a LOT of books from inspirational authors.

I pack a handwritten note in my daughter’s school lunch every day.

My husband and I leave each other love notes on a dry erase board on our fridge.

I have favorite quotes taped to my computer monitor at work.

 

Paying attention to the “type” of words I surround myself with is a great exercise in being positive.

That’s one reason that I stay away from politics, news reports of disaster and despair, and why I filter my Facebook newsfeed of people who choose to do nothing but complain.

What you focus on magnifies and grows.

Try surrounding yourself with positive words, images, music and people and see what happens!:)
{And while you’re at it, this would be a great week to give someone else some unexpected happy notes!}

 

:)Charin

 

Four Simple Goals

 

 

 

 

 

 

I saw the idea of Four Simple Goals on Elsie Larson’s blog and thought I’d share mine for the New Year!

I know that an important part of goal making is to make yourself accountable by remembering what those goals actually are, long after New Year’s Day. ;)

I have a lot of personal goals that are a bit less tangible and not as easily defined to another person, and those are always going to be things that I will work on. But here are four that are defined, relatively simple and attainable.:)

 

*Eat consciously. I want to start shopping our local farmer’s market for fresh produce, and take the time to plan more meals for my family that aren’t heavily processed foods. I want to reach for water more often. I want to skip some snacks in favor of cherry tomatoes or fruit. Being real, I am fully aware that this won’t happen all the time.:) I work full time, and I have three precious kiddos who keep me very busy. But if I can make better decisions most of the time, I will be a happy girl.

 

* Keep my home current and happy. I want to regularly purge our house of “stuff’ that is not being used. Anything broken needs to be repaired quickly or tossed out. Clothes that the kids have outgrown need to be taken to the consignment shop or given away quickly. Magazines from three years ago really don’t have a place in our house anymore. I could go on and on, but these are a few things that I need to do soon!:) There’s a lot to be said for a minimalist lifestyle when it comes to your house.

"Have nothing in your house that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."- William Morris

 

*Take more pictures with my camera, instead of just my iPhone. I love the convenience of my iPhone for pictures and take some almost daily (like I did for the picture on this post!), but have been really disappointed to see that the quality just isn’t there when I print them. (This is mostly true for indoor photos, since we’re spending the majority of our time indoors during the Winter). Time to pull out my DSLR more often!:)

 

*Make time for creativity.  This blog has been a step towards that for me.:) I don’t have a lot of free time,  so choosing to spend what time I have on things that are refreshing and make me happy is important to me. I can give more to those close to me when I’m not drained. “Me” time seems like such a luxury for a lot of us, but it’s really important!

I’d love to hear yours!:)

I’ll be checking in throughout the year with ways I’ve found to meet these goals!