At the end of April, I took a short, spontaneous trip up to Seattle to visit with some dear friends from the leadership program I went through in 2004. Fiona was visiting from London for a weekend retreat, so I flew in to stay with her and Lisa for some much needed “beauty” time. These fabulous ladies inspire me to no end.
The last time we were together was at the end of April 2008 in London. I really love how we continue to keep in touch and support each other. Next on our list is a reunion with all four bellas in Brussels where Tina lives.
I was happy that I also got to squeeze in a lunch with my former Ladies Who Launch leader friends, the uber talented Melody Biringer (who is on the cover of the latest issue of Seattle Woman) and the super savvy Hazel Grace Dircksen of Socialbees. More inspiring women!
Thanks to the support of my girlfriends, I was finally initiated into the world of premium denim! Woohoo! I even had buying a pair of designer jeans listed as a goal/reward, so I can now happily (and fashionably) check that off the list. And I had my first reflexology treatment, too! Very relaxing.
While the trip was much too short, I enjoyed every rejuvenating moment of pampering and connecting and can’t wait to visit with them again!
My pal Mindy Tsonas just unveiled her newly redesigned wishstudio, a gorgeous online space brimming with creative inspiration.
I’m blown away by this beautiful virtual community space that Mindy has created. It’s an inviting place where creative souls can gather and where wishes grow wings. Lovely! In addition to the wishstudio blog (where I’ve been a contributor for the past couple of years), there are now online workshops (I can’t wait for the wishfull*retreat happening at the end of the month), discussion boards, an inspiration lounge, and lots of other yummy goodies. Please stop on by and check it out!
The wishstudio is also featured in the spring 2010 issue of Artful Blogging. It was the perfect thing to snuggle up with while I nursed my cold last week. I loved reading about how the wishstudio got started and Mindy’s dreams for where it’s heading in the future. Here’s to wishes coming true!
Saturday was my friend Cami Walker’s book launch party for her New York Times bestseller 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life. At the event, her spiritual guide Mbali Creazzo, who gave her the 29 gifts prescription, shared some words of wisdom and her mediation teacher Angel Stork led us in a visualization. Then Cami read us one of her favorite chapters about the gift she gave to her grandmother.
The 29 Gifts Boutique launched at the party, too. The booth was brimming with so many inspiring goodies including this mandala print by Eileen Bradley of Sacred Circle Art. The online store will be up soon, so check the 29gifts site for more info.
Here’s my sweet friend Kate Prentiss who designed many of the darling gifts in the boutique including the handmade ceramic birds and a gorgeous giving journal where you can document your daily gives.
It was so great to see Cami and catch up with good friends. And most of all, it was very uplifting to see the amazing, positive impact of this worldwide giving movement that has now reached 38 countries and nearly 7,000 givers!
P.S. – You can see more of my photos from the event here.
This morning my friend Cami Walker, author of the new book 29 Gifts, was interviewed on the Today Show. Her story about how a month of giving changed her life is super inspiring, as is her fabulous book which I finished reading last week.
I participated in her 29-Day Giving Challenge last spring and got a lot out of it. It was fun to find creative ways to give gifts of all kinds (from flowers to feedback) and more importantly to be part of this positive movement. If you haven’t joined yet, why not give it a try? It could be a great challenge/structure for doing NaBloPoMo, which starts in November.
For those of you in San Francisco, Cami is hosting a book launch party on Saturday, November 14th. Hope to see you there!
Here’s the darling couple. Tim is such a great guy. It was fun to learn more about all the cool stuff that he’s up to, too.
