Living a Beautiful Life

In 1997 I ran across a book that was sitting in the waiting area of an office I was visiting. I thumbed through it, and was impressed enough to immediately stop by The Tattered Cover and pick it up. I've since bought the book at least 5 or 6 times, because I always end up giving it away to people and then get the urge to read it again.

Strange sometimes, how a book can make such a huge impact.  Living A Beautiful Life, by Alexandra Stoddard was one of the those books that had an impact on me at the time I read it, and ever since.

Alexandra talks about how important the little details are.  About the small things we do each day, and things we come in contact with each day, and how our lives can change when we make small changes.

At the time I read the book, I was single, living in a tiny one bedroom apartment, working for a food bank, and barely had two dimes to rub together.  But I realized that I had been living my life waiting
for someday. Someday, I'd have a house, someday I'd be able to entertain people, someday I'd be married.  The book talked about not waiting for someday, not waiting for a special occasion, but instead, doing little things to make each day special.  Even if it's just for yourself. 

At the time, I could ONLY do small things, as money was an issue, but I went to a Big Lots store, and purchased a set of brightly striped cloth napkins.  I paid 50 cents each, and got eight.  I also bought a beautiful coffee mug for $2.  I've used cloth napkins ever since and always have a good coffee mug, one that looks nice, and feels good in your hands.  Morning coffee is better out of a great mug.  Living a Beautiful Life is full of ideas, "Grace Notes" she calls them, about the details of everyday life, and how we change when notice the small things.

I highly recommend the book, still available along with many others she's written.

Now, more than a decade later, I have continued to use this concept, to effect the things I surround myself with.  And that gave me the inspiration for a new series of posts here, about my favorite things.  You know the song................

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs"

A fairly decent list of 14 nice things.  But I'll do my own list...............with photos.  A good exercise of things I'm thankful for, this Thanksgiving week.

Stand by........