Read Fiction.

Is it weird that the advice which stands out to me most on this is "Read fiction?"

It's ridiculous; I read constantly. Multiple books, articles, magazines, and letters all at once and somehow I feel guilty slowing down to find some good fiction. It's like I'm a lazy over-achiever, or a misguided one. I get burned out and sometimes feel like I'm not absorbing any of the good stuff I'm reading after a while. It's information overload, and it's counter-productive.

I'm working on it.

ain't nothin gonna breaka my stride...

 

today, this is my jam.

i started out singing it triumphantly when i solved yet another stupid conundrum related to my ridiculous situation here at home (and honestly i screwed the words up pretty bad. that's what happens when i learn the words to a song by listening to it in the car as a small child.... but the feeling was the same!) and now, having been on repeat for the last ten minutes, it is the only thing other than devotchka i've listened to all day long.

i love having complete control over a stereo. simple things.

nobody gonna breaka my stride! nobody gonna slow me down, oh no! 

i got to keep on movin!

much love to ya (said in my best reggae voice...)

nico

p.s. i just learned that sporks were invented in 1874!!!! just thought you'd like to know...

fresh starts.

2013 is going to be lovely. I can hardly wait one more day. The first day of the year really feels so fresh. Over fifty weeks of possibilities. All the disappointments fade away. They may show up again here and there, but there truly is nothing like a fresh start. It's hard to avoid feeling invincible.

I never think of resolutions until New Year's Eve, and then I feel it's too late to really set my mind to something in time. So I just run with the fresh feeling of invincibility and try to use it to be more positive and improve my life. 

This year I'm looking forward to finding a new home, experiencing new adventures (with trips coming up soon to Baton Rouge and Colorado), living more simply (like I used to when I depended much less on money), growing my very small business (on Etsy and beyond and collaborating in my community), and just generally being free and positive. I'm going to take care of me first, because I know that's the only way to really be able to take care of those around me.

There is so much in store for me and the people around me this year, I can feel it.

See you next year.
Nico



photo source

sweet baby james

For those of my friends whose parents never shared the JT love with them, they may just never understand. But for those that know, boy do we know...

ah, the mustache years...

Here are some gems for your education:

And here's a video from Apple Records

I recently decided to make sure I listen to at least one record every day, since I realized I've fallen out of the habit of using my turntables. Tonight is a James Taylor night. First Mud Slide Slim, then Sweet Baby James, now JT and probably Gorilla next...

"There's nothin like the sound of sweet soul music to change a young lady's mind."
<3 Nico

how to be alone.

This video is really beautiful. (You can find more of Tanya Davis' work here.)
I've just spent a few weeks of some really special alone time and it was really refreshing. I journaled a lot, cleaned and reorganized my house a lot, baked some cookies, listened to some new music, and did a few crafts. Sometimes I'm really uncomfortable with being alone and winter would normally be a really sensitive time for that, but I think the promise of the new year and changes have helped me stay buoyant and positive.

C.S. Lewis talked about putting the most important things first, and explained that once you do that, the other things will not suffer, but thrive. I believe this wholeheartedly, though I don't always follow through. I'm trying and getting better every day, and that's a really good thing.

 

I've found some really great books over the years that inspire and encourage independence and creativity.
I love reading books by Sabrina Ward Harrison (this is her website, but I haven't been able to find any new activity from her during the last couple years, which is sad, because she's amazing. Luckily we have her books - my favorite is Brave On the Rocks.)

SARK is another wonderful author and artist. All of her books are handwritten and illustrated, and super inspiring! She even has a free hotline you can call for bits of inspiration and an email newsletter for encouraging ideas. This is her website: Planet Sark.

(swh)

If you don't go, you don't see.

Here's to truly loving yourself.

<3, nico

yummy vitamins

Gummy bear vitamins are the best invention ever. 

I have to keep reminding myself that yes, you can have too many vitamins.

Not a bad problem to have.

Here's to being (slightly) more healthy this year.

cheers, nico

p.s. I'm building a health-themed board on my pinterest... Check it out:

a little nudge in the right direction...

I've been pouring through Etsy's online resources for new sellers. I love the wealth of information on everything you could possibly need to know, from photography tips, to dating vintage items, to blogging....
     

 

Last night I found this post, from their How-Tuesday series a week ago, and thought I'd share some of it here this Tuesday! I'm obsessed with tips for boosting creativity. I honestly think I like reading them almost as much as I like being creative - which sometimes slowwws my creativity. Oh, well. It helps in the long run!

Noah Scalin writes about his book Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing, at Home, at Work & in Your Studio and highlights six big ideas to help you move closer to productivity. These are his words on the Etsy blog:

1. Let Go of Preciousness. One of the biggest creative stumbling blocks is our need to get things right. Believe me, I’m a perfectionist myself, so I know how hard it is to let that go. The reality is that treating your creations as precious little things to protect keeps you from the world of possibilities the comes from trying new things out, making mistakes, and getting things wrong.
2. Freedom Comes From Limitations. If someone were to give me an infinite amount of time and an unlimited budget to create something, I would be frozen. It’s only from narrowing down the options that creativity becomes possible, as you are forced to push against the walls that close you in.
3. Get Out of Your Environment. No matter how inspiring your workspace, there’s only so much creative work that can be done within it. Of course, if you’re in a place that’s not so inspiring to begin with, the need to be elsewhere is even more urgent. Since most people spend the majority of their time inside, they’re missing out on the much wider world right outside their door.
4. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone. At some point in your life, you’ve probably been told not to make a fool of yourself, but the fact is that it’s one of the most effective ways to get creative inspiration! Fear of rejection and fear of embarrassment: these are the recurring enemies of creativity.
5. Get Things by Giving Them Away. It may sound counterintuitive, but you get a lot from giving things away. If I had kept my own project under wraps, rather than sharing it as I went along, I probably would have had a fraction of the positive experiences. The more I gave away, the more people gave back to me.
6. Collaborate. There’s no substitute for the benefits you receive when working creatively with other people. Some of the best things that came out of my own project were the friendships that blossomed from incorporating other people into my work. You get results that are exponentially greater when you don’t work alone.

I think one of my resolutions this year should be to live one of those tips every day. Experiment with something (try new things, make mistakes, maybe even waste some materials!!), make a fool of myself, give more away, collaborate... These may be super vague, but if I keep track of them by journaling, I'll be more and more conscious of the actions.

He has a blog called Make Something 365 & Get Unstuck with a ton more ideas.. I'm definitely interested in doing a 365-day project, but I've never come up with a good one. One of these days it'll come to me, I know it will.

Here's to a very creative new year!

cheers, nico