North Carolina

June 10, 2016 In North Carolina, Photos

no filter sunset

8:17pm, Thursday June 9th. I walk in and this is what I see:

No filters, no adjustments, just a quick shot from my old iPhone. Pretty awesome.

There’s something about a sunrise and a sunset that just feels…ahhh…

The best part is that It’s getting better as I sit here on my balcony, take it in, and type.

What makes you feel peaceful?

#Sunsets #SummerNights #LessStuffMoreMomentsHappyLife

May 27, 2016 In North Carolina, Photos, Quotes, Uncategorized

last night I wanted to punch the world in the face

And I don’t usually punch things, any things…especially in the face.

I felt abnormally blah all day yesterday, just yucky, even though I kicked off a brand-new (and very exciting) BLR collaborative project that’s a big deal. (More on that in an upcoming post.)

I couldn’t shake the funk, so at the end of the work day I came home and laid right down on the wood floors in my apartment on my back and closed my eyes in hopes to exorcise my funk demons. My arms and legs were right out straight as if I was trying to make a snow (ahem- dust angel.) After a few minutes of lying there I knew I needed to get outside, so I got up, strapped on my sneakers, and went for a 2 hour walk:

…doing my best to hide behind sunglasses and a hat, and just disappear.

Being in nature in the quiet is a wonderful magical medicine.

After sharing about my funk with a friend this morning who knows all too well, the hell that life can bring sometimes, I got this in my inbox:

“There are three things you can do when life sends a wave at you. You can run from it, but then it’s going to catch up and knock you down. You can also fall back on your ego and try to stand your ground, but then it’s still going to clobber you. Or you can use it as an opportunity to go deep, and transform yourself to match the circumstances. And that’s how you get through the wave.”

~ Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs

What I learned on my walk last night and from that friend today:

1.) Exercise has saved my life, mentally and physically- and more times than once. I could never advocate enough for moving your body in any way, shape, or form. Every. Day.

2.) I am increasingly thankful for love and support around me. Being loved and feeling loved is pretty awesome. Feeling lonely is awful.

3.) I feel incredibly lucky to have a healthy body and legs that can walk for two hours, even though the past year or so has been by far the most challenging one of my life, and often left me feeling paralyzed head to toe.

4.) No matter how broken I ever feel, I will always believe that this world is one big party train full of possibility, and we all have the choice to hop on anytime we want to.

Life is always unfinished. Look up, and just keep walking…

#GetUp #GoDeep #AlwaysKeepLookingUp

May 22, 2016 In Inspiration, Links, Live the life you want to live, North Carolina, People, Photos

867 reasons you should have a dance party

Actually, just 1:

Because It’s fun.

I went to the BOB Awards tonight. It was a blast. I went with a crew, one of whom at one point (on the dance floor) said; “This makes me want to take off my boots!…and then he did. It was awesome, we laughed and strangers took photos.

We “snuck” (no one was paying attention to any one or any thing- so why not), into the VIP lounge a few times to get cocktails and treats from the s’mores bar. (Hello dripping, melty chocolate fountain!) We were the group that started the dance party. I personally never need an invitation to get the floor moving and was glad I was with a group that didn’t either.

It’s close to midnight on a Saturday night, and as I type in silence smiling from a great time after my party has ended for the night, I’m hoping everyone is out there in this big world living a little bit of eff-it! – just letting go and having fun. Whether you stayed in or went out, and whether you got wild or stayed calm, remember, there are no rules. What you do with your life is YOUR CHOICE. We should care a lot less about what other people think, we should get that dance floor moving even when (especially when), we’re sober, we should laugh loud enough that our face hurts, and we should sneak into the VIP lounge (ahem…in everyone situation), like we own it. Take initiative, don’t ask for permission, and…

…dance my friends, just dance.

#GetYourGrooveOn #WhenInDoubtBeyonceItOut #Fearless

Bonus fun if you strike a pose with a friend on the way out the door and see how long you can hold your Blue Steel face without cracking up.

May 9, 2016 In Do good, Inspiration, Links, North Carolina, Operation Charlotte, Photos

why you should always hold the door open

I love holding the door open for people. While we all live in all too fast-paced reality of the work day, there are few ways we can experience such a happy interaction with a stranger like we can when we wait that extra few seconds to simply hold the door.

Funny I posted about doing good earlier today. Doing good feels so good! I love the look on a strangers face when I hold the door open- the absolute surprise for such a little thing.

I just walked into Starbucks to camp with my laptop for the afternoon, and a couple guys followed me in. I held the door. (I had to count to three-one-thousand for them to catch up to me, so perhaps I looked awkward, but I didn’t care.) I got a big thank you, then walked into the restroom before ordering. When I came out I got behind these same two guys in line as one of them said “…and whatever she’s having for holding the door open for us!”

Whoop!

They thanked me again, complimented my dress, (hello blue!- my favorite color…wink wink:), and I thanked them again.

Thank you fiesta!

I’m still smiling now as I type. That 3 minutes made my day. People being nice to each other. How easy is that?!

I hope you will join me, and hold the door please, (on everything) just for a few extra seconds. Make sure you smile at a stranger when you can. What you put out, always comes back in some form or another. (At least, I keep still believing.)

Thanks for my coffee, guys!

#DoGood #BeNice #LessHurryMoreDoorHoldingHappyLife

March 27, 2016 In Links, North Carolina, Photos, Recommended reading

check yourself before you wreck yourself

Thanks to modern technology, this was my office for a couple days this week:

There hasn’t been nearly enough of the above in my life during the past few months, which is just totally not cool, and pretty much against everything I stand for, so sand in toes and connecting with a few important people had to happen.

Needed it. Did it. Wanted to smack myself for not doing it sooner. Translation; Check myself (breathe/give myself some space/take a “minute”) before I wrecked myself (exhaustion, frustration, etc. – that beast that creeps making us feel at times like crispy fried bacon.)

In Googling the title for this post just now, this link popped up. I dig no bs writers who aren’t afraid to throw a little weight in truth around, and the occasional f-bomb:

We will all learn eventually how to take better care of ourselves (without feeling guilty), so we can in turn be better at taking care of others. We will all learn eventually how to take breaks (without feeling guilty) so we can remember who we are and be badass in our personal and professional lives.

No more crispy fried bacon. No more victim. Much more creating a life that has a shit ton of joy everyday.

How do you check out so you can check back in?

#StepBackMoveForward #Perspective #HappyLife

March 21, 2016 In Food, North Carolina, Operation Charlotte, Photos, Restaurants

thanks for the clarification

Entertainment all around us:

It’s a good thing they put the labels on these two so we’d know.

#SundayAdventures #CLT #CaptainObvious

January 22, 2016 In Links, North Carolina

baby it’s cold outside…

…but I make a damn good grapefruit vodka martini inside!

It’s 4:30pm Friday January 22nd and we’re sitting in Charlotte, NC at home during this “epic” (thanks, CNN) storm Jonas. First snow, and more coming. Cars are already completely encased in their bubbles of frozen water which means you have to chisel around your doors to get them open unless you want to wait until everything melts. Cars look like this one in Buffalo, NY parked near Lake Erie recently:

Ok, so maybe it isn’t quite that bad, but it is definitely hard to break into your own car during storms like this in the south.

This was the view of a freeway near my apartment this morning. It’s typically packed, often bumper to bumper Monday – Friday:

Nobody.

And this was my view of Uptown (what people around here call downtown):

You can’t even see the buildings. Whiteout. fog out. Don’t go out. The city is completely shut down.

SNOW DAY!

So what to do?

Yes, we were responsible; Thanks to the interwebs, after sleeping in a little, we “hit the (work) books” to wrap the week, and just now got the bright idea for tropical delicious cocktails. (Did I mention our friends were supposed to fly to Mexico for their honeymoon today and are instead, stuck in the queen City until stormageddon stops? Boo. We made our above drinks in honor of them. When life give you lemons…make cocktails!)

Whether it is January or July, this is my favorite martini to make at home:

*Ice in a shaker with at least 1 generous sized squeezed wedge of both lemon and lime

*Vodka of your choice, and amount of your choice. (Hey, I’m not your mother. Go for the heavy hand if you want. No one is watching:)

*3/4 grapefruit juice. (Preferably fresh grapefruit juice.)

*1/4 heavy splash of cranberry pomegranate juice and light splash of orange juice

*Shake it up and serve, baby.

Stay warm out there! And if you need any help with this cocktail recipe, (or anything else fun, drop me a line here.)

#CocktailsKeepYouWarm #LessStuffMoreFunHappyLife #SnowDay

January 5, 2016 In Inspiration, Links, North Carolina, People, Photos, Uncategorized

a long winter’s nap?

Nah…I’m here!

I know It’s been a few weeks, so sorry to leave my blog followers hanging. You know I love to write and share here. I promise to post more regularly. 2015 felt like a whirlwind of what month is it? Then, boom! Here we are kicking off 2016.

Even though work has been very busy, we did manage to escape for a couple days, continuing to follow our “less stuff, more experiences” lifestyle, and opted to buy and spend 2 nights at a friends beach house in lieu of physical gifts for Christmas this year. Whaddya know, it ended up being near 80 degrees in North Carolina for a few days! Yeah!

Bike rides, beach time, and sand in toes was a very happy holiday time:

Nerd pose! I was wearing one of my Play It Forward shirts, so wanted to try and make you laugh:)

Here’s to having more freedom in 2016! Dip your foot in the chilly beach water, then jump in, baby! This is our one life and the blue lollipops are all out there for the taking.

#LessStuffMoreExperiencesHappyLife #BeachChristmas #FindYourMojo

November 23, 2015 In Be active, grow, Inspiration, North Carolina, Photos

circus frenzy fun

(Originally written Thursday 11/19)

This week has been 150 miles an hour with work. Actually, the past several weeks have been at that speed. I dig it. In fact, I thrive in it. I’m loving my work more than I ever have before. It’s pretty awesome. I’m flying high on work life happiness and keeping the chaos for my clients to a minimum even though days end up being like a 3-ring circus sometimes…out of everyone’s control. I can understand why people hate the whole moving process, but that of course makes me more and more determined to not only throw the curveballs back during this stressful time for my clients, but make it fun along the way, too.

How do I recharge after corralling all the monkeys and managing the circus?

At the end of a long day, not much feels better than being outside in the air (especially when It’s 71 degrees at 6pm in late November) running, then coming and sitting here with my balcony door open to just breathe and reflect for a few minutes:

*(No filter, thankyouverymuch:)

Having a body healthy enough to go for that run, even though I’m exhausted makes me feel motivated to do more, and having a clean, safe, clutter-free space to live makes me feel grateful. Combine that with that fact I’m about to go on a huge road trip to feast for Thanksgiving to see people I love and who love me…what more could anyone ask for?

The next time you feel like you’re smack dab in the middle of a Barnum & Bailey show, just step outside and move your body to keep your sanity, sweat out the stress, and get a little perspective. That, or grab someone you love and give them a big fat hug. The circus will somehow leave town peacefully on It’s own, and you’ll be left standing there remembering the things that really matter.

#LessStuffMoreFreshAirHappyLife #GetMoving #Sunset

September 14, 2015 In Inspiration, North Carolina, Photos

hello monday!

(…because every day is a chance and a choice to drive your life.)

I sat on the very chilly balcony this morning to watch the sunrise. Under a blanket I was in the quiet while clutching my steaming cup of coffee to my chest for warmth thinking of my friend Sam. News yesterday that Sam passed away after his 9-month battle-royale with the ever-hated cancer. (F*CK CANCER!!!) I imagined my sweet and always-smiling friend floating to a much happier, healthier place into the blue above:

Uptown CLT sunrise

Yesterday at just about the very second Sam passed, I was starting a hot yoga class at a place for the first time. It happened to be the instructors birthday. As this instructor announced how thankful he was on his day of birth for all the people around him, and how life should be a celebration, all I could think of was Sam and think of the irony of a death day and a birth day.

Not that I have ever been, or would be ashamed of crying, but I did keep thinking that I was thankful for all the sweat dripping off me so everyone around me wouldn’t be able to see my streaming tears.

People like Sam, should never be ripped from our earth this early. Clearly some one or some thing, somewhere, needed him to bring his smiles to do a bigger job than he was already doing living with us here.

I will share more about Sam soon. For today, Monday September 14, 2015, I just wanted to share a quick note about how much much he will always mean to so many of us. A true Mojo Warrior. I encourage you reading this to be inspired by him, even if you didn’t know him. If there’s one thing I know for sure, it is that he would want every single one of us to fully celebrate the time that we have.

TODAY is the day to tell someone you love them. TODAY is the day to take a leap of faith. TODAY is the day to start that thing you’ve wanted to. TODAY is the day to start really living if you are not already. TODAY is the day to be fearless.

Live while you are living. Sam sure did. What a guy.

#TodayIsTheDay #ForeverMojoWarrior #DoItWhileYouCan