Flickr Favorites: Inspiring Images

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See more of these amazing photographers at Flickr.com or here:
1. Card catalog., 2. Felt Mushroom Cottages, 3. Devotion, 4. new love, 5. Wednesday breakfast, 6. you are one with the burden of lost dreams, 7. Afternoon tea @ St. Mark's Square, Venice, 8. first day of winter, 9. llibreria - bookstore - Amsterdam, 10. Hydrangea Still Life 2, 11. Tell me the truth about Love, 12. Gelato, 13. 20060516 P5165407 Italian icecream (gelato) shop, Florence, Italy, 14. Tea & Tintin, 15. colorbands2, 16. tips, 17. new book, new mug, new yarn, 18. Pearly, 19. Vintage Pink Royal Typewriter Ad, 20. visions of Gracie danced in her head, 21. ballet class, 22. a slow morning at the beach, 23. Kawaii Kitchen, 24. The Tea Cubby, 25. realism, 26. green tea, lavender, and honey cupcake bombe, 27. cherry-vanilla cupcakes, 28. basil cream filled cupcakes with raspberry mousse frosting, 29. cupcakes, 30. scooping frosting

You can search for images by any description. I looked for photos tagged books, gelato, sails, tea rooms, coffee, prayer beads, lily pads, cafes, pubs, rivers, typewriters, pearls and so on.

Many of the photographers are not pros. Just like you and me, they are capturing moments in their lives, things they want to share.
**I made this mosaic using Big Huge Labs mosaic maker.

I have so much to tell you...

I have a log-jam of things I have been meaning to blog about, so here they are in no particular order:

On a recent trip to Chicago, my daughter and I shared a table at Corner Bakery with the sweetest couple and their 10-year-old twins from St. Paul, MN. Lovely lovely people who gave us great tips about the many museums and sites. But what was most enchanting to me was their story of how they arrived for the holidays. The day after Christmas, they boarded an Amtrak train at 8:00 a.m., and as the mom described, "snow was falling and we read books, had snacks, and took naps, the train went by the lake" and at 4:00 p.m., they were in Chicago ready to take a swim in the 1920's art deco style pool at the Intercontinental Hotel. Doesn't that sound magical?



The girls were planning to make scrapbooks of their adventures from their photos. It was a daydream just to chat with them.

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Grazie mille to the kindest readers in the universe who donated to the the Salvation Army Christmas morning Pajama Project. I am overcome with gratitude. Special thanks to American Apparel for their generous donation as well. Please visit Etsy stores for Faye Christian Phillips and Robin's Egg Pink. They each donated to this wonderful cause! (And, 10% of Faye's proceeds benefit the Kelly Autism Program.)

The little ones were SO excited on Christmas morning and didn't have to use their toy tickets for PJs. Because of your generous donation, every child, most of whom live in shelters, got to choose PJs in addition to their toys and toiletries.

I saw one little guy picking out clothes for his little brother before he ever looked at the Buzz Lightyears or Transformers. What's most amazing about your gift is that it gave children a sense of pride: that they deserve something brand new, in a ribbon, with the tags still on, just for them and in their size. You gave them something warm and clean to sleep in that is theirs, even if they aren't at home, and sent a clear message that they matter.


Because of you, I felt like this. My heart grew three sizes. As my daughter says, "My heart so full." I thank you.

A Thoughtful Spot

Watch any of the sold-out TED conference presentations online here for endless inspiration. The annual conference began devoted to technology, engineering and design in 1984.

The scope of topics has expanded, but the conference continues to bring together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

Listen to Isabel Allende on Passion or Malcom Gladwell on What We Can Learn from Spaghetti Sauce or Lakshmi Pratury on The Lost Art of Letter Writing. It's like dropping in on a great dinner party.

All of the speakers seem to have one underlying theme: the future is limitless.

Bedside Table Fodder

This lovely image is from a new-to-me favorite blog devoted to finding and recommending good books. Stop by before cashing in the bookstore gift cards for some thoughtful recommendations that might not otherwise be on your radar.

Pages For You

I begin each year with new music, blank pages, and more stories in my head than I can get on a page.

I've noticed my daughter always starts drawing on a completely blank sheet. If there is even one stray mark on a page when she finds it, she turns the page: clean, fresh paper for her little fingers to transform. Both of her grandmothers are painters and I'm always interested to watch her put colors together. No two drawings are the same.

My husband said of someone the other day, "he just needs to be given permission to be someone different than who he has been in the past." Damn. He's so so right.

We all need that.

Permission to change. To heal. To be better or just different. To find pages without stray marks. To decide which colors to use and where the center will be.

Happy New Journal. New Journey. New Year.

A long distance dedication

It rained for days.
You packed tiny speakers and plugged them into a discman that played this CD. I looked down at the street, that looked much like this one, and felt like my heart would fall into the river drop by drop if I couldn't stay with you.
Years later, you played this song when you proposed and you couldn't finish the question before I said yes.
Thank you for asking and for making my heart so full.
happy anniversary.

Getting Stronger

A word of encouragement for those of you who, like me, are feeling exhausted from the end-of year business push and holiday to-do lists.
You really can do it.
As the 1976 poster for Rocky reads, "It aint over til it's over. Rocky Balboa. Christmas."
I'm putting on my grey sweats (well, technically suit) and running up those damned steps.