an open letter to anthro

Dear Anthropologie,

Really? Really?

Usually, you never fail to delight me in the whimsy and beauty of your products. Seriously. When I get one of your catalogs, I go straight to the couch where I read it twice. Once all the way through and again, pausing to picture myself in my favorite outfits. To imagine my life if I wore pretty girly dresses all the time and spent my days in old abandoned houses or huge, green fields.

Shots like this make me happy:

There's a theme, right? Lovely clothes that are adorable and flattering.

So, I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I got an email from you suggesting that I buy these pants:

Oh, Anthropologie, it's like you never really knew me at all.

{tear}

Please fix it!

xo, fanny

when I grow up...

What would happen if all kids answered this way?

An update on my happy search is coming soon. I'm figuring things out - slowly - and learning to really appreciate the time I have. So, things are coming along, but I am having to fight my natural urge to do everything fast. now. getitdone. And this is a huge lesson!

image from hazelweatherfield via icanread

wednesday's inspiration

I've written about Jess Gonacha's work before. I love it. I think it is all so positive and inspiring.

I was thrilled to read a couple of weeks ago that Jess has started a new blog: pecannoot where she shares her work and work of other people. I encourage you to spend some time here and check out the amazing artwork and sentiments displayed.

Everything posted is so lovely, and she's posting new things all the time. Oh, and she also takes submissions, so if you have some artwork that might be a good fit, send it over to her (*ahem* Laura: hint, hint)!

All images via peacannoot

daily inspirations

Last week, before I left for Colorado, I had a consultation with a life coach. It was a 30-minute session with a Coach who is working on getting her certification. How fun!

One of the things that we talked about was how I have some grand schemes in mind of what I want to do with my life but that I'm having a hard time focusing on specifics and seeing exactly how to pull all of my big ideas together. Et, voila! Enter Life Coach.

One of the big things that she wants me to do is to keep an inspiration journal while I'm traveling. Not a regular journal, this is a small journal that I carry around with me always to write down any and every thing that inspires me. She also advised me to keep track of my visions for my life: where do I see myself, what do I see myself doing? Hopefully after the end of my travels in a couple of months, I'll be able to look back over everything I've written and have a pretty clear indication of what direction I'm going in.

The daily inspirations piece has been a really interesting exercise. Are there things that inspire you daily? Things that you encounter in your everyday life that make you see things in a different light?

Here are some of the things that have been inspiring me lately:

People smiling. I flew out of Oakland on Wednesday and it seemed like everyone at the airport was happy and smiling. People made eye contact, said good morning, and generally seemed to be in very high spirits. As someone who things that people aren't nice enough to each other in general, I found this to be very inspiring.

Gennifer Goodwin's wardrobe in He's Just Not That Into You. I saw this movie the other night. It was cute, but the highlight for me was Gennifer Goodwin's clothes. Adorable! I am having a hard time finding any good photos, so take my word for it!

Polka Dots. Is there anyone in the world not inspired by polka dots?

Cinema Paradiso. Tim and I watched this last night. It was so wonderful, so sweet. I loved how Alfredo told Salvatore: "Whatever you end up doing, love it."

This inspiration thing is pretty fun. Has anything inspired you lately?

on giving up gossip

As I mentioned here, I decided to give up gossip for Lent. Some find this weird since I'm not even religious, but I am doing it in the spirit of self-improvement. I used to give things up for Lent when I was younger and didn't have a choice. I always tried to give up things like cleaning my room, but would eventually decide to give up things like chocolate or french fries instead. And while giving something up for Lent is a religious exercise, I think there's a great deal of value in using a set period of time to try to break or develop a new habit.

Inspired by the lovely Jessica of lovepuppy, I decided to remove gossip from my life for 40 days. That means no perezhilton (I would link, but in the spirit of giving up gossip, it's best that I don't open the site), no gofugyourself, no "did you hear?" whispers.

I like gossip. I have always said that celebrity gossip is like my porn, my dirty secret. I like being in the know. I like being the person that folks can go to when they're wondering what the story is with so-and-so.

But, it's the gossip in my personal life that's really gotten me down. It's when the bad side, the mean side of me comes out that I just eat up the gossip. I've realized that it's also when the insecure side of me comes out. And, that's not good. I have found that whenever I gossip, afterward, I feel a bit empty inside and don't really like the person that I am capable of being. When I'm doing the gossiping, I feel great, alive, but afterward, it's no good.

So, I'm stopping. No more until Easter. It's been tough, but I haven't slipped up once on the celebrity stuff. I've even been averting my eyes at the grocery store check-out lines. I can't say that I've been as good on the personal stuff. I'm still trying to draw the line between gossip and just finding out about how other people are/what they're up to. I think the line stands at judgment, what kind of judgment I attach to the information.

It's a process, a transition, but I'm hoping to come out of all of this a better person, a person who doesn't need to talk about others in order to make herself feel better. A person who can live her life with her own standards instead of feeling the need to compare herself to others.

And you know what? So far, it's been a whole lot easier than I thought it would be.

Photo credit: kamshots

friday's confession

I'm about to ask you for money.

It's not for me, don't worry. And it's not for my friend, don't worry. Remember the fundraiser I mentioned I was doing here? Well, now I'm going to tell you all about it!

Here's the deal: I am currently in the process of finding my most happy life. You know that -- it's what this blog is all about. I suppose that's also why you read it.

I realized about a year ago that there are some things about my life that could use improving. Not because they're bad per se, but because they're not great. Because they're just fine. I decided that just fine isn't really enough anymore. I had a job that was just fine and it left me wanting more. So, now I'm off to find it.

I'm searching for my great, my happy.

YOU: That's cool, I guess. But what's your point?

Ah, I'm glad you asked! Here's where the fundraiser comes in!  I have embarked on a fundraiser for At The Crossroads, a homeless teen outreach non-profit in San Francisco. Their mission is to help homeless teens "build healthy and fulfilling lives."

It's like the same thing that I'm doing, but it's not. Not at all, because I am embarking on my journey after 29 years of living a safe, supported life where I know I have been loved by so many people. I have grown up with my mother telling me constantly that I can be whatever I want, that I can get whatever I want out of my life. These young people that At The Crossroads is helping haven't had these opportunities or the luxury of the opportunity to look at their lives and make a change.

So, here's what I'm asking of you, my blog friends. Click here to view and contribute to my personal I

Think I Can campaign: http://atthecrossroads.org/campaign/tiffanymoore. I don't want to be repetitive with what's on my campaign page, but there are some direct benefits to you that come along with contributingto my campaign: 

• For $25, you will get hand-written, autographed proof that you knew me when...this will be very handy once I make it big and go on Oprah. Then you can sell it on ebay. In this time of economic
  uncertainty, how could you pass up an investment like that?


• For $100, you get to make a happy-finding suggestion that I promise to seriously consider and write about on my blog. Oh, and you'll also get the card to later sell on ebay. Imagine: you could donate $100 (tax-deductible too!), make a brilliant suggestion, I find my happy and then write about you, YOU! in my book. And then I say your name when I go on Oprah. Cool, huh? 

One note: if you do contribute (thank you!) and I don't personally know you, please send me an email listing your address so I can send a card. It's craftyfanny (at) gmail (dot) com.

I do realize that now is a really tough time for a lot of people. Like really tough. And I understand that. Trust me, this is coming from the crazy girl who just left her job. I get it. No pressure! But, open considerations are always welcome!

Thank you all for your support and for keeping up with my journey. And, no worries, this blog isn't going to become an outlet for all of my causes. Just this one!  There will be more fun, normal stuff to come, I promise! 

laughternoon break

I'm in Denver for a couple days, visiting a friend before Tim comes down to whisk me away to the mountains.

I saw this yesterday and thought others might find it amusing:

I hope you find it as funny as I do!

wednesday's inspiration

Well, it's official! I have left my job and my apartment. Walked away from what other people might deem success into the great unknown. Into the promise of something better.

I'll be traveling for the next three months or so. I'm in Denver now and then I'll be off to Portland, Charleston, and then France at the end of April. I cannot even tell you how excited I am to be able to do this, and how much I'm looking forward to spending this time with people whom I consider to be magic. People who make me feel my most alive, my most creative, my most inspired.

I consider myself to be on a journey to discover what I want to do with my life, what I want my career to be, and how to find a life-work balance that fulfills me.

And, the whole time, I'll be keeping this in mind:

I think this translates into more than just work, although it certainly applies there. This is the mantra that I want to keep in mind for all aspects of my life -- the people I spend time with, the activities I commit myself to. What's the point of doing something if it isn't something you love?

For example, I no longer want to watch television programs that are "just okay." I don't want to fill my time with things that exist only to fill my time, to help me avoid boredom until I can move on to my next activity. I'm taking a stand right now: if something doesn't bring me joy, it's not worth doing. It's better to do nothing than something you feel apathetic about. 

Sadly, I don't think this applies 100%. Bills must still be paid and chores my still be done. BUT, if you are living your life joyfully, don't you think that you won't mind the small stuff so much?

Print available at LookyLoo's etsy shop, found via Paper Schmaper via Design is Mine.