"Eat Pray Love"

Eat Pray Love was my main summer read. I'm a little behind the times, I know. I haven't seen the movie yet either, but this has been the perfect book for me to read for this season of my life. In a nutshell, its about a woman going on a search across 3 countries to find herself & her spirituality. As for the "finding myself" part, there's always plenty to learn. This summer has been a "me" summer. I've learned that I need to find fulfillment from within myself and God alone. No one else can do that for me. So, I'm working on it.

Anyway- this post was inspired by a paragraph from Eat Pray Love that talked about the author's definition of happiness. Since this blog just so happens to be entitled, "Happiness Is..," I had to include it.

And so she says, "I keep remembering one of my Guru's teachings about happiness. She says that people universally tend to think that Happiness Is... a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descent upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness Is... the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't, you will leak away your innate contentement. It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuting to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments."

Thoughts? Anyone?

Sidenote: Way off subject, but I keep forgetting to update you on the baby birds. Well, they have flown far, far, away now. They've been gone for atleast a month & I kept forgetting to update. The fern had seen its better days and was getting brown and crispy in the hot sun so I threw it away along with the empty nest. We'll start over next summer :) Maybe my birdies will return and lay their eggs in the spot where they were raised.

Caroline

Restored Faith in Mankind

Well today was an adventure by accident. My friend, Julie, and I decided to get together and go for a bike ride around The Landings. I know- it was scorching hot, but we're both sticking to our Rock N' Roll (half)-marathon training, so biking is better than running in this mad heat. Secondly, let me say that neither one of us live at The Landings & didn't know which way was up, so we were just planning to follow one straight trail & not deviate.

The plan went perfectly for the first half of our trek. After about 30 minutes we were getting hungry & tired so we turned it around. "Not so fast," says the old man on the golf cart, wagging his finger at us. He proceeded to tell us that we were not allowed on the cart path while biking because it is a "safety hazard." Such a rule follower he was. Julie and I heeded his warnings and kindly exited the path onto the traffic ridden street. Much less of a safety hazard, I'm sure. (Sarcasm). In retrospect, we should have let him ride on by and hopped back on the path.

Long story short, we got all turned around, tried to navigate our surroundings on bike for a good 30 more minutes, then ended up at a Marina within The Landings, clearly nowhere close to an exit. Fail.

There in the marina parking lot was just one lone man, grey-haired, standing outside of his car, smoking a cig, and looking off into the distance. Julie took matters into her own hands and approached him, asking if he could give us a tip on how to get ourselves back on track. Sadly, he informed us that we were a long way from our destination and it would be a pretty good haul on bike to get where we needed to be. He must've seen the defeat in our eyes because the next thing out of his mouth was: "Want me to just throw your bikes in the back of my car and drive you there?" What an angel. Not to mention that his "car" was a brand new Expedition and he was just in the parking lot trying to regulate the compass on it. It was that new. And he still offered to fold his seats down and squeeze our dirty bikes into the back.

The bikes barely fit and I'm sure they dinged up the inside of his car. We couldn't even shut the back window. Julie and I sat in the back of his Expedition on his folded down seats and hung on to the bikes while we did a slow ride all the way home. That's right, he drove us all the way back to where we started. We chit-chatted all the way...him saying that we were welcome back to The Landings anytime and he wished people weren't such sticklers about the cart path rules. So, one man ruined our bike ride only for another man to restore our faith in mankind and give us a lift all the way back.

There really are good people in this world :) Thanks Nash!

Caroline

A Good Love Story

Girlfriends- If you need a good chick flick, here are my current recommendations.

Movies aren't typically my thing, but I sure do enjoy a good love story every now and then. I watched Country Strong the other day for the first time & I never realized how much I like Gwenyth Paltrow as an actress...she has such a pretty & clear singing voice. Garrett Hedlund isn't so bad himself! I'm a sucker for his deep, raspy-ish voice. This scene made me melt...so I had to download the full song off the soundtrack when the movie was over.

And while we're on the subject....I have to recommend "Crazy, Stupid, Love" as well. I had a movie date with my friend Emily yesterday and it was the perfect choice. Well, anything with Ryan Gosling is a perfect choice in my opinion. I left feeling all giddy like a teenager. Steve Carell is also in it & he never lets me down. Gotta love Steve. So, here's the trailer if you care to take a peek!

Caroline

Yoga

On Wednesday I went to Savannah Power Yoga (in Sandfly) just to do a little something different and change up my workout routine. It is now Friday and I can feel every muscle in my body. Even my fingers and toes are a little sore. At SPY, they crank up the heat and make you sweat. I had sweat dripping off the ends of my hair. Looked like I had jumped into a pool. (TMI? Sorry.) When I left though... I felt SO invigorated and my skin looked remarkable! I think I sweated out ALL impurities in my body...no literally, every single one. I was so refreshed afterwards. Why I don't get into a yoga routine, I don't know. Everytime I do it, I rave about it for days to everyone I know. Its just one of those things I like to do once in awhile. If you've never done hot yoga, you should. You'll either love it or hate it....maybe even pass out. I seriously considered getting up and walking out a few times b/c I thought I might not make it. It's intense.

I was brave enough to venture next door to the Piggly Wiggly afterwards in my sweat drenched clothes. I needed some avacadoes to make fresh guacamole!! It was important. Maybe I shouldn't have...lots of funny looks from normal people who were going about their day in dry clothes. I was hoping not to run into anyone I know. That never happens in your neighborhood grocery store. Of course a mom of one of my students was in the line ahead of me. I just didnt make eye contact, quickly paid for my avacadoes and bolted. Anywhooo... do some yoga, you'll feel better!

Caroline

Clean Sheets

Amen to that! Every Sunday is my clean sheet day. Its ritualistic. It just makes for a nice start to my week, ya know? Well, of all the things I love about clean sheets, there is one thing I despise. Folding them. Specifically, the FITTED one. What a waste? Grab the "ears," flip it inside out, match them up, yadda yadda yadda. It takes two people and its a pain. Everytime I try it looks like a jelly roll anyway.

So then one day I came across this little gem of a saying. "Life's too short to fold fitted sheets." I felt so liberated! I guess I'm not the only one who completely sucks at it. From now on...no time wasted on the stupid fitted sheets. Jelly rolling it up and proud to admit it.

Now off to cook some noodles for my dinner in the time I saved from folding a fitted sheet.

Thank you very much!

Caroline

** I realize today is Monday. I'm a day off.

Playing Martha Stewart

I've been crafting it up over here lately. Ever since Pinterest came along, the world has been my oyster! There's not enough time in the day to make all the projects I have pinned. Here's what I've been up to lately.

1) Window Frame Chicken Wire Message Board, inspired from this one from Etsy. I went on an adventure over to my grandparents house in South Carolina to round up this old frame. I knew they would have some good junk in their old barn behind the house (and I mean that in the nicest way possible!) Their trash is my treasure. I was pleased with the finished product. So Shabby- Chic!

2) Framed Letter after seeing this design on Esty...I knew I could make one, easy peasy. My first attemt was an epic fail. I tried to super glue the letter to the fabric. No good, my friends. Looked like a Kindergartener got a hold of it. Iended up attaching it with a paper bag

handle. Just use your imagination. I kinda like it. Doesn't it make such a perfect addition to my shelving? Very Pottery Barn-ish (thank you Cathlin.) New picture frames are my next mission for the shelves. They need some work.

3) Fabric Covered Pumpkin, my most favorite project in awhile. I just discovered what a "fat quarter" of fabric was a day before I found out how to make this....in which the directions state: USE 1 FAT QUARTER OF FABRIC. I felt like a pro for having this knowledge. So, I will be welcoming Fall with this little guy. Pumpkin is ready to decorate the mantle. And ready for sister and brother pumpkins to be made. PS: I realize this picture makes it look more like an apple...but I will use orange on the next one.

4) Vase Twine-Wrapped Hanging Lantern. (Click the link to see a much better picture & a tutorial on how to make.) Very simple and elegant. And simple enough for me to make in about 15 minutes! Its not quite completed yet though. I'm still looking for a candle to go inside. The small tea candle doesn't quite cut it.

5) REAL Rice Crispies. Haven't made these things since '91. Ever since Kelloggs took over the rice crispy treat market, I feel like the real things have taken a

back seat.Well, I brought them back and they were marvelous. Much greasier than the pre-packaged ones. The best part was eating the gooey leftovers out of the pot. Truth be told, that ended up being my lunch for the day. Next time I might add some chocolate chips if I'm feeling adventurous.

So for all of you who asked, what are you plans for this summer? This is what I do. This is my relaxation. Ahhh, an outlet for some creativity.

Another PS: Right now must be feeding time for baby birds because they are chirping away (meep! meep! meep!) right outside my window as I'm typing.

Caroline

Baby Birds III

Look at us! We're getting our big bird wings!