PUBLIC MARKS from blackgoldfish with tag inspiration

every monday for the last year my love has written me a special note. i laid them all out on the floor tonight and read them all again. and then i realized... every monday, for the rest of my life, i'm going to wake up excited to read his note. and if we're lucky, and we live for another 50+ years, i'll be the receiver of over two thousand love notes. not bad huh? :) i think i'll keep him.

""she held dear her collection of moments and memories." how true it is. our lives are a patchwork of moments....."

Choose quality over quantity with everything - shoes, friends, food - everything. Look into alternative forms of medicine. Take the time to figure out who you really are, what you like and dislike, what you need and don't. Live within your means and respect every dollar you make. Cultivate a passion. Eat Real Food! Stay away from processed and buy local whenever you can. Refuse to give in to texting. As hard as it is, acknowledge and work on whatever keeps you from living the life of your dreams. Refuse to play small or dim your light in order to make others comfortable. Listen to your body. Spend part of every day in silence, even if it's ten minutes. Create a living space that reflects who you are. Make visual beauty a priority. Tell people you love them often. Be true to yourself at all costs.

We have a birthday tradition in our family we’ve been doing since we were kids. We go around the dinner table and each person takes a letter of the alphabet, and we say something nice about the birthday girl/boy. A is for Artistic! B is for the Beautiful! We go around and around the table until we get to Z

for permission to have heady days and overwhelm while still being aware and in the center of the best life imaginable.

Hearing: Norah Jones, The Nearness of You, and the tappity tap of small-scale furniture being re-positioned in it's wooden doll house Smelling: rosemary bread in the oven Touching: chopping freshly rinsed basil for pesto penne alfredo Seeing: a yellow no. two pencil with a fat nub eraser scratching out spelling words on double-ruled paper Tasting: iced ceylon tea

Today, my baby, you turn four. When did this happen? Was it not just yesterday that I had to put you inside my coat to keep you warm? Now look at you! Almost as tall as your sister with just as much spunk. Happy Birthday my punkin. What four is looking like so far: You pronounce your Rs as if you lived in Boston your whole life- A feather is a featheh. You sing from dawn to dusk- singsong monologues of your life. You eat a peanut butter sandwich every single day. You wake up hungry and must immediately eat a granola bar or your world collapses. You love coffee Your favorite color is blue You swing so high that I have to hold in my own concern because I see how much you need to do it. When you get mad, I suggest people step away, as you get a bit ferocious. You will brush my hair four an hour straight, and therefore I'll not ever cut it. You like to get your back lightly scratched, just like Mama. Happy Birthday, my sweet girl. Every day with you is a treasure and a surprise. I love you.

we can learn a lot from his films. a quick list: 1. life and people are impermanent. 2. slow down. 3. look people in the eye. 4. drink tea. 5. be kind. 6. simple things hold the secret.

what are your intentions for the day? here are mine: * today i will get 45 minutes of exercise. * today i will clean our condo in preparation for our lovely house guest arriving on thursday. * today i will have a relaxing and fun trip to the hair salon, which will result in a gorgeous new hairdo (hee hee) * today i will not gossip, complain, or make excuses. * today i will drink oodles of water. * today i will remind simon that i think he's really hunky. like, the hunkiest. now it's your turn!

what are you doing today? here's my plan...

and i said yes....

{ my keeping lists: tea + checked out library book slips}

Don't panic. Wherever you go, go with all your heart. The smallest deed is better than the biggest intention. Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without. The only reason you die is because you live. Take the chance while you still have the choice. The only thing you truly own is your time. Be brave enough to live creatively. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Impossible is a word only to be found in the dictionary of fools. Keep true to the dreams of your youth. The beginning of wisdom is to desire it. Always begin with an end in mind. The eyes believe themselves; the ears believe other people. Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Pick a path with heart. Take a chance in the near future. Change your luck today. Rest is a good thing, but boredom is its brother. Let the spirit of adventure set the tone. Dare to dream, hope, believe, seek, feel, find, and love. Be mischievous and you will not be lonesome. Originality overcomes everything. Good luck is the result of good planning.

Finally, jewelry designer Blanca Monros Gomez handmade our rings in her Brooklyn studio. (Read the full story here.) My ring has the engraving, "All my love," and Alex's ring says, "All my life."

Joy and gratitude are inextricably intertwined -- true joy is impossible without gratitude.

"You've got to follow your passion. You've got to figure out what you love -- who you really are. And have the courage to do that. I believe the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dreams." -- Oprah Winfrey

"love how time seems to move differently at the beach. how i can sit on the beach for hours and the day seems to melt by like honey. how i can spend an entire day looking out over that ocean, laying in that sand, eating sandwiches smushed from the cooler, painting, swimming, gathering rocks (don't get me started on the beach rocks!), walking, talking, napping, reading, looking out at the ocean some more, and suddenly the sun is starting to set and the day has gone by in what feels like an instant. i love that. all of it."