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Filtering by Category: something good

a weekend giveaway!

liz lamoreux

 

on my studio altar this morning

poem note postcard on my studio altar this morning

Happy June!

During the last week of May and first week of June, we have three birthdays around here. Geminis...all of us...can you even imagine?

So today, as a way to invite you over for cupcakes and pink lemonade, I want to do a weekend giveaway! And I want to tie it all in to celebrating the upcoming Inner Excavate-along that begins June 11.

Two people will win a copy of my book Inner Excavation (and I'll mail them out Monday so that you hopefully get them in time to play along or give to a friend who wants to join in).

Two people will win a set of my Poem Note postcards from Chickadee Road

Two people will win a set of Kelly's Studio Wisdom postcards from Chickadee Road.

One person will win an I am Enough locket from my Etsy shop.

One person will win a Trust tattoo and a Tell Your Story tattoo from Chickadee Road.

To play along, please leave a comment sharing one of your favorite words (later, I'll add these words to a word list I'll share during the Inner Excavate-along).

To enter more than once (up to three times total), please share a link to the Inner Excavate-along info page on your Twitter, Facebook, or blog (just come back here and let me know that you've shared it by leaving another comment).

The giveaway will close Sunday at 9PM PST.

PS If you don't see your comment appear right away, never fear, it is just awaiting moderation. Sometimes certain comments seem to get caught up in the moderation filter. I will get to it as soon as possible (so no need to write the same one multiple times). Thanks!

UPDATE: Comments are closed as the giveaway has ended. I'll announce the winners on Monday!

a little sneak peek

liz lamoreux

 

sneak peek of something coming (eeeee! I'm so excited!)

 

So so excited to share this wee sneak peek of The Gift of This Moment!

I will be sharing more details soon, but I am so delighted by these postcards showing all the pieces of this project (which is really a home retreat kit) and simply had to share right now! Jen Lee is producing this project (and has gently held my ideas and hopes throughout this experience), and Liz Kalloch has made everything look so beautiful. 

I can't wait to hold all the pieces in my hands and share them with you. 

Over here: The Create Space classroom is ready, the students are gathering, and today I'm creating my personal altar I'll use and share during this session. Ellie Jane's new favorite game is asking me to put at least eight and sometimes twelve barrettes in her hair (and mine) at one time (evidence here). I'm planning to rest today as much as possible since a cold seems to have grabbed on to me during the trip home. Lots of mugs of tea in my future. I'm hoping a movie date might be part of our Sunday. (Seen any good ones?) The rhododendrons are in full bloom everywhere in our neighborhood (gosh how I LOVE them). I am filling a Smash journal with notes to myself (and using my new lovely Washi tape from Freckled Fawn and some fun designs I found from the Recollections collection at Michaels [can't find a link on Michael's site but found this great blog post about this new line of tape]). I am planning to begin The Best Day The Worst Day: Life with Jane Kenyon by Donald Hall while drinking the previously mentioned mugs of tea. And I know I will be soaking up the joy of hearing a little girl giggle as she dances with her daddy (life can be so so hard but joy still arrives when I choose to see it).

And what are you up to in your corner?

May your weekend be full of rest and joy and hopefully some time out in the sun...

Blessings and light,

Liz

a little more about my business coach Nona Jordan

liz lamoreux

a photo because oh my goodness look at all those shades of blue . lake superior

Since we started working together almost a year ago, I have mentioned my business coach Nona Jordan a few times here on the blog. Simply put, working with her has pushed me to own that I really am making it happen over here when it comes to running my business and growing it beyond what I imagined while working from home and taking care of Ellie.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that Nona has pushed me to own that I am a warrior when it comes to all the roles I play in my life.

One big piece of this has been talking about money. (Oh how I did not want to talk about money.) Through our conversations, I moved from saying, “Well, I have this little creative business…” to sitting at my computer after adding up all the money that came into my business in 2011 (which was the first year my income came solely from my own business and not in addition to my “before Ellie arrived” full-time editing job or any freelance editing) and saying, “Every cent that came into my bank account was from someone who believed that what I am sharing with the world was worthy of being part of their story.”

Wow.

And here is where it gets even crazier.

I was excited to pay taxes.

Nona has taught me to see taxes as evidence that my business is growing. And owning that felt freeing because paying taxes didn’t come from a place of fear but instead from a place of believing in myself and what I have to share with the world through my work. So I was actually smiling when I wrote the check. I was also smiling because it was a bit less than my guesstimating math had thought it would be. Still, seeing taxes as evidence of my business' growth was an entirely new way of thinking for me. (It feels like I am rewriting my money story over here.)

And she has taught me that a piece of all of this is having clear conversations with people in my life when it comes to money and boundaries about money or the role I will play in collaborations etc. Two pieces of this have been:

1)  Noticing the areas of my life where I have “fuzzy boundaries” and calling me out on it.

AND

2) Asking me my favorite question “Liz, whose yoga mat are you standing on?” when I start saying the reasons why I don’t want to make an idea a reality or not charge as much as I think something is worth and so on. This question is her gentle but firm way of reminding me to let go of the “Who do you think you are?” gremlins that plague me sometimes and let other people take care of their feelings and assumptions.

Big stuff. Good stuff.

In a couple of weeks, Nona will be guiding a small group of women through her incredible program “Get Right with Money.” It is all about knowing you are worthy, investigating your mindset around money, and one of my favorite tools she has taught me, “to know what you truly want financially and learn how to get there.” She is also incorporating some tools around having bare conversations in this curriculum, and shares her first-hand experience with one of her own conversations in this incredibly honest blog post.

She is a good egg, this one. And she is someone I think you should have on your radar if you are thinking about or already running your own business. Learn more about Nona’s Get Right with Money program and her one-on-one coaching services over on her site.

 

a ruffle or three

liz lamoreux

sporting my PDX beanies newsgirl hat on today's little adventure + lunch + writing at a cafe with jon

A few weeks ago, I mentioned posting some outfit posts every now and then. And I have really wanted to share them with you because it simply is fun to share the things I love with my girlfriends. But I have to admit to feeling a bit, well, blah about the photos I have tried to take so far. In the middle of my day, there really isn't time to pack Ellie up in the car to take a cute photo against the best background ever (even though oh my goodness I really love Elsie's tips about taking cute outfit photos). And I am just beginning to use my new tripod and remote (and by just beginning I mean I have put them in the car a few times but haven't used them yet). So the best way for me to get an outfit photo right now is to use the mirror...in the hallway...the hallway with the oatmeal colored walls and beige carpet. Sigh. 

But I am going to do it anyway...

 

...because I am just in love with this simple "dress" I found at the Gap outlet this weekend. And by dress I mean "nightgown" kind of thing as it is "Gap Body," but the ruffles...oh the ruffles! They just make me so happy. It is a denim blue color and I have paired it with my Sarah Clemens wide ruffle bloomers, a simple lace tank from Target, and a wrap top by Comfy (no link) but it is very similar to my favorite wrap from Wildewear on Etsy. Today's necklaces are a long locket from my shop and a handpainted necklace by Mindy Lacefield from her shop Tim's Sally. The whole outfit is a bit like wearing pajamas I suppose, but the ruffles make me smile and I am in this place where feeling happy in my clothes is most important right now. It is really part of my self-care.

(Speaking of my shop, I am taking a break for a week to continue to rest and spend time with my family as Jon has some time off this week. I plan to reopen on the 27th.)

I really do hope to take some fun outfit photos out in the world when I go on some self-portrait adventures when my schedule for such things falls on the same day it isn't raining. But until then, thank you for indulging me as I just wanted to share this today.

ruffle-izing

liz lamoreux

so this ruffle obsession, well, i am not kidding. i have been dreaming a bit about possible outfits (and then there is that ever-growing-in-the-middle-of-the-night pinterest board), so today, i "shopped" from my own closet and found some ruffles.

since i posted about my new journal last week, i have been thinking about how your comments and emails reminded me of how much we really just love to know how other people "do it." we sit in our homes around the world from one another, looking at these little boxes and connecting "through" them, and sometimes, it is simply fun to see a glimpse into the ways others live their day-to-day lives. like i would love to know more about your favorite shoes, the books on your bedside table, the way you organize your paper crafting supplies, what your go-to lunch is, where you get your sparkly eye make-up, and how you eat a double-stuff oreo. and if we met up for tea or you came over for lunch, we would share these things.

about a year ago, i mentioned that i wanted to blog more about a few different things, including clothes. but last year i didn't have a smash journal full of blog ideas and i wasn't reminding myself of all the things i wanted to do here in this space, so i didn't post about clothes or lots of other things i meant to. but today, i snapped this photo of this outfit that made me smile and just wanted to share it with you. 

as i was downloading the photo, i started thinking about how i wish i had a group of girlfriends here in my town who i went shopping with. a few girls who would share their go-to places for everything from dresses to yarn to spices. 

but here is the awesome thing: we have each other. (i mean you and me.)

so in case this ruffle-ized outfit that made me feel so happy today is your style, here is some info (and if you just want to let me know how you eat double-stuff oreas or tell me about your current favorite book and skip this part and just head to the comments, that is totally okay):

bloomers: these wide ruffle bloomers from sarah clemens in light brown stripe (looks like she might not have this color anymore, but she has a similar color in a grey stripe). i have quite a few items from sarah and her clothes are well made and adorable.

white layer: sundress from old navy. it actually even has spaghetti straps that tie but i never wear it alone. instead, i always wear it as a layer under something and kind of think of it like a petticoat or slip. (i bought it in three colors and i bet they will have a similar style in stock soon as they already have summer clothes in. this one would work as either this layer or the next.)

navy layer: dress from target several years ago (but it has so many holes in it and a bleach stain on the back that i have started wearing it as my painting "smock" at retreats. but decided to wear it today. i would really like to replace it with one like this from gaia conceptions on etsy. her clothes are wonderful and really well made.)

black layer: this crop top from treehouse 28. (here is the part where i tell you it has taken me several years to figure out how to wear this one with my shape [aka the size of my chest]. finally figured out that the top pairs really nicely with the empire waist items i have.)

scarf: scarf shop giant size in olive moss. martha's scarves are wonderful. so beautifully hand-dyed and so soft.

you can't see: the boots i've mentioned before and these fun (a bit over the knee) knee socks in plum from sock dreams (if you don't know sock dreams, stop everything and head over there. right now.). you also can't really see my favorite "nest builder" necklace by nina or my globe earrings by jen. and the camera strap that i have been using for year is by vmjess.

thank you for indulging me with this list. it is fun to share as though we are sitting at a coffee shop catching up.

tomorrow i am going to check in here about how things our going as we attempt to sit at the table for meals and i try to cook more. i am even going to share a recipe or two. one of them involved purple potatoes!

authentic living

liz lamoreux

New somerset life at barnes and noble

a peek at my new article

"In This Moment: Healing One Patch at a Time" is my new article in the Autumn issue of Somerset Life. It is the first of three articles I am writing for their Authentic Living column. So honored to be sharing stories about being "in this moment" in the midst of it all.

In this article, I share the story of how making a quilt earlier this year helped me to begin to come out of survival mode and lean back into living and getting out into the world. 

 

a backyard poetry reading for one (photo in the article)

Oh how I love this quilt.

You can find Somerset Life at Barnes and Noble and other bookstores, and you can order a copy here.

inviting in joy (a musing and a shop special

liz lamoreux

this year, activiely seeking joy is part of my daily practice. i want to be in this place where each day i send joy an invitation that if said aloud my sound a bit like "hello joy. i know you are out just waiting to be discovered. know that my heart is open and ready for you. i choose you. i invite you in."

and joy comes in.

because it is always there. even when my face frowns and my heart is heavy, it is there. i just have to open my eyes, my heart.

this truth annoys me at times. does that sound funny? well, sometimes seeking joy is not at the top of my list, but still in comes joy with its happy pink blooms and chocolate-covered goodness and its laughter and its kindreds and its silliness and its quietness and its music and its dancing.

each day, joy pushes me to know that it can be a companion to real and truth and all that happens in a life. 

joy can be my companion.

so tuesday, i found myself packing up the family in the car for a late evening trip to barnes and noble (with an oh my goodness she is getting a molar already 13 month old) because rumor had it one of my lockets had found its way into the latest somerset life. and when i sat on the bench in the magazine section and found that locket on the "things we love in life" page, i smiled widely as joy snuck in again. even though i had tried to stand inside the grumps and fears most of the day (it was one of those days), there was joy in the form of a little paragraph from christen olivarez about the locket she had purchased at the pen & paper retreat

hello joy.

(thank you christen and somerset life.)

today, i want to stand in the joy that comes into my life when i create these talismans of truth and send them across the world to be worn by someone in the midst of her journey. i want to honor this joy with a little celebration in the shop!

new necklaces

 lockets from the new current collection now in the shop

here is the scoop: spend $30 in my etsy shop and I will send you a simple soul mantra necklace as a free gift with your purchase. i will choose one for you (like one of the examples pictured below) and package it up in the hopes that it will be the message that you most need in this place on your path. i am also happy to send it (with free shipping) to a friend, if you think a friend might need a quiet, powerful message right now.

when you check out, just mention "joy" or this post in the notes to seller. (note: this isn't a coupon code. just mention this in the notes to seller box that will appear right below your items in your shopping cart.) this special is available through this sunday, july 17.

past simple soul mantras

thank you for you...for sharing your joys and truths with me...for just being out there in your corner shining your light.

with joy.filled blessings,

liz

somewhere is home

liz lamoreux

my brother matthew morgan and his girlfriend catherine odell are the band hello mtn. levi's is using their song "somewhere is home" in a commercial that is currently appearing on the levi's blog. (for reals.) join me in hoping that the commercial goes national because that would simply be the bee's knees. don't you think?

find out more about hello mtn on their facebook page and blog. find out more about Upstate (the girls in the commercial) at the levi's blog.  

and in case you missed the photos i shared of hello mtn last fall, here is one of my favorites...

hello mtn 3
(oh and yes, i am still tucked away on the oregon coast recharging just a wee bit before heading up the 101. see you soon...)