All posts by Beth Berger

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About Beth Berger

Hi there! Finding Delight is a lifestyle and lifelong learning blog written and curated by me in Alabama. Along the way, I attempt to tackle the rough real world with books, budget-livin', brainpower and all the beautiful stuff you can find when you really look. Won't you join me? The true delight is in the finding out.

Backpacks make for happy backs. <3

Fashion, Style and Design, , , , ,

tinybackpack

So, awhile back I dug this old backpack out of my closet. I don’t recall what prompted me to do so, but as I wore it around while running errands that day, a light-bulb went off in my head. It was so comfortable! Before, on long errand expeditions or outdoor events there would always be that turning point where I would get a little grumpy simply because I was carrying a heavy bag on one shoulder. Everything would feel out of whack and no matter how many times I switched my bag back and forth it would just remain uncomfortable. But now, as long as I’m not in dress-up or professional attire, I rock my tiny bag. I love being hands free on outings. I love being able to carry all my necessities (wallet, keys, phone, liter of water, snacks, book, notebook–I take preparation for potential boredom and hunger vAAAry seriously) without feeling bogged down.  It’s sort of become a trademark and I love telling people my tiny bag is for all my tiny things! ❤

Here are four backpack-beauties from ModCloth…

For the farmers market and outdoor concerts–backpack4

Swing Into Action Backpack

For a gallery hop and downtown strolls–backpack3

Park Bench Backpack

For day hikes and park picnics–

backpack2

Landmarks That I Love Backpack

And for brunch and everything that comes after it–backpack1

Backpack to the Future Backpack

Which would you choose? Do you like sportin’ a backpack? My friend Katie said when she started a new job her co-workers gave her a hard time for hers but now they’ve seen the light and are carrying them regularly. True converts!

tinybackpack2

Computer Screen Vacay: Adelaide Edition

Travel, , , , , , , ,

adelaide computer screen vacay

I’ve had about enough of this never-ending winter. It’s been a doozy, don’t you think? So let’s pop “down under” for a holiday in a more suitable locale. Because I’ve been staring at gray snow clumps for what feels like a year and a half and Adelaide always looks gorgeous in pitctures. Let’s go!

I have long felt called to Australia as a vacation destination. I would love to travel on the Indian Pacific Rail from Perth to Sydney or stay in the television set turned B&B McLeod farm house. (Oh, you haven’t watched all 7 seasons of McLeod’s Daughters on Netflix? The hit Aussie drama that chronicles the lives of girl farmers on an all girl-run farm? Get on it!) Not everyone shares my passion for trains and agro-soap-operas though, so let’s explore a computer screen vacay in Adelaide, South Australia.

Where should we stay?

I think for this visit we want a quiet place to relax and really feel like locals. So let’s skip the normal hotel route and stay away from the city centre. Adelaide has lovely historic cottages and they love a good outdoor space (porches, verandas, courtyards). We definitely want to be able to have brekky and a cuppa outside in a sunbeam and perhaps toast the twinkling stars at days end.

cottage1

This cottage looks traditional on the outside while sleek and modern on the inside. I love the white walls throughout–makes everything looks so light and airy. You can almost feel a cool breeze flowing through. And what about that little outdoor area right off the bathroom? Perfection.

cottage2

cottage2terrace

Here’s another cottage option–a little smaller, a little quainter and a little more historic. Basically I DIE for this cottage. I would be in danger of spending my whole vacay on that terraced courtyard with all the lovely plants and sunshine! And would that be so bad? Bonus: yellow walls, fireplace, big tub and stained glass in the bathroom (??!!).

courtyardapt

courtyardaptoutdoor

This apartment option offers breathtaking high ceilings that bathe the whole dang place in natural light. A sliding door off the main room leads to a sweet little brick porch and the furnishings are simple. This looks like the kind of place where after a week’s vacay you think, “I could just move here, as is, no need to return and get all my other crap, this is fine….DON’T MAKE ME GO HOME!” 

What should we do?

The majority of our time can be spent exploring outdoors; the city centre, the green space, random neighborhoods. Super cost-effective fun! Here are a few more specific ideas.

parklands

The city of Adelaide is encircled by a huge green space known as Adelaide Park Lands. The Park Lands are comprised of 29 individual parks which house everything from Japanese gardens to cricket pitches to prime sun-worshiping real estate. This area would be a perfect place to explore with little to no cost involved. The official website is super informational and basically gives a trillion ideas for ways to spend the day in the park. I would love to rent a bike and go on the Bike Art Trail. And of course picnic, see native flora and maybe catch some cricket or play a little croquet.

aborigineart

I’m all for learning about new cultures, even on vacay, so I’d love to check out the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute. We can browse the art gallery, watch performances by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and maybe even take a guided tour. Maybe we’ll feel compelled to purchase a didgeridoo to take home as carry-on. Who’s to say?

Coopers

And what’s a real holiday without some sort of a booze tour? I would love to take a Coopers Brewery tour through the brewhouse, bottling hall and history museum, accompanied by some samples, of course. Most of their brews are carbon neutral and the brewery itself has a huge focus on sustainability and best environmental practices. How cool is that?

What should we eat?

I’m very in favor of grocery shopping and making ones own meals and picnicking on vacations. Obviously for budget purposes this is super helpful, plus that’s how my mama raised me. But, we gotta check out Adelaide’s culinary landscape for a few choice dining experiences!

thestore

The Store. Burgers, pastas, risottos and a bangin’ wine list in a bistro-style setting? I’m in. Their brunch menu is nothing to sneeze at either. Straight drooling over the food porn on their website, y’all. This is my kinda food.

vilis

Vilis specializes in a more traditional Australian comfort food fare. Think: meat pies, pancakes and sausage rolls. Lots of gravy! They even have something on the menu called a Pie Floater, a meat pie floating in a sea of pea soup and topped with mashed potatoes and gravy–which sounds equal parts disgusting and alluring. I’d give it a go. It’s probably delicious.

lucias

Lucia’s offers Italian food and even bottles their world-famous pasta sauce. I love me some pizza so this one is a no brainer. They also boast super delish coffee and a focus on seasonal ingredients! Their dishes sound so legit (and I’ve read Heat so I’m basically an Italian food expert now).

~

Well, I think I’m sold on a trip to Adelaide! Who’s in? Perhaps I should start tucking away some money in a mason jar labelled “Adelaide Funds”? What wanderlust-y fantasies helped YOU get through this winter? I’d love to hear. : )

(Rental photos via Airbnb, Park Lands photo via this ABC News article,  Vilis food photo via Urbanspoon)

Recipe: Strawberry Mini Toasts

Food, ,

strawberriesandsugar

As a budget-livin’, wannabe foodie I try to eat produce seasonally (and when possible local). This means by the end of Winter I am less than excited by apples, pears and citrus. I cheated a bit and made these Strawberry Mini Toasts when my store put strawberries super on sale for Valentine’s day. I love making these in the summer for a light meal with a glass of wine. Having these in the midst of yet another snow storm was just the breath of fresh air I needed! Luckily, strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in spring and early summer so you can nom on these toasts all the time soon enough! This recipe also calls for basil which I can get fresh and locally year round. If you can’t, you can use dried basil or leave it off the top. : ) Enjoy!

Ingredients:

strawberries, sliced

sugar

a baguette, sliced, thrown on an oven rack for a few minutes if you like ’em crispy

goat cheese

balsamic vinegar

basil leaves, cut into ribbons

black pepper

To assemble:

Combine your sliced strawberries in a bowl with a tablespoon of sugar. Toss them a little and let them hang out for half an hour. Spread your preferred goat cheese on the baguette. Pile on some strawberries and drizzle balsamic vinegar all over. Top with basil ribbons and a few cracks of pepper.

Pair with a dry vignole and you’ve got a super simple dinner that feels kinda fancy. Just how this lazy, busy girl likes it!

Book Club: In Pursuit of Female Road Narratives Pt. 1

Books, Brainpower, , ,

book-club

The world is profoundly apprehensive when it comes to women on the move and on their own. Society has it in it’s pretty little head that a woman setting out into the great unknown will be met with a medley of hardships not shared by her male counterparts. Female travelers are viewed as progressive, doomed, and even stupid for flying solo.

When breathing life into my own daydreams about backpacking far-off lands or hiking the Appalachian Trail, the wind gets knocked out of my sails by a common response, “well, you’d have to find someone to go with you first.” And the colors in my dreams fade to ominous ones, get filled with other people’s boogeymen they assume belong in a story such as mine.

ontheroad

In her article, The Lack of Female Road Narratives and Why it Matters, Vanessa Veselka argues that we can’t fathom a positive outcome for a woman on the road because there is no precedent in American literary tradition, “no cultural narrative for [women] beyond rape and death.”

When a man steps onto the road, his journey begins. When a woman steps onto that same road, hers ends.

Veselka explains, we are all seeking something and this search is quintessential to our own human experience. “The Road Narrative” appears time and time again in literary canon, founded on a protagonist’s quest to go in pursuit of something greater than one’s self. From Ishmael to Frodo, Dean Moriarty to Huck Finn…

A man with a quest, internal or external, makes the choice at every stage about whether to endure the consequences or turn back, and that choice is imbued with heroism. Women, however, are restricted to a single tragic or fatal choice. We trace all of their failures, as well as the dangers that befall them, back to this foundational moment of sin or tragedy, instead of linking these encounters and moments in a narrative of exploration that allows for an outcome which can unite these individual choices in any heroic way.

The entire essay has stuck with me and I would highly recommend reading it in it’s entirety. Her words do a far better job than my own in describing to you why I have set out to find and read about women who embark on incredible journeys.

I had been hearing about “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail” by Cheryl Strayed for some time but after reading Veselka’s essay I truly felt compelled to read it. After the death of her mother and a divorce, Strayed decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail on her own.

She would face odds, yes; she would face fears and boogeymen put into her mind by others, but in the end, she was searching for something greater than herself–her quest was to heal. This is a story of heroism. (And her last name is Strayed for goodness sake. How lovely and poetic.)

wild

So, in the name of forging a path for lone women to travel across page and road, I would implore you to pick up a copy of this page-turner. It is at times heart-breaking and others laugh out loud relatable. Over the next few weeks I will be posting some fun, supplemental material that I scouted to elevate my own reading of Strayed’s work. If you’ve read “Wild” before or would like to read it now and join in the fun, pop on back and check it out.

Reading her story may be the first step towards creating an adventure narrative of your own. As Veselka closes her essay, women can no longer waste time justifying our right to tell these stories.

If we have a shot it’s going to be because we stopped asking permission and just started in the middle.

Winter Olympics Netflix Marathon

Media, , ,

winter olympics netflix marathon

What’s that you say? You’re going through olympic withdrawals already? Well, now that you’re a winter sport enthusiast and aficionado, here are six films to get you through the last of these winter nights without Bob Costas and his crunk eye.

1. Lindsey Vonn: In the Moment

skiinglindsey

This little piece about skier and Olympian Lindsey Vonn was a bit self aggrandizing. It spends a lot of time trying to convince the audience how humble and hard-working Lindsey is. We’re meant to be quite touched by how loyal Lindsey is to her fans and how she will spend hours signing autographs because she wants to be a hero to children just like Picabo Street was a hero to her. So that’s fine…but honestly kind of boring. Really the things I took away from this docu-special were: 1. Lindsey trains like a beast and sometimes eats nine hard-boiled eggs after going hard at the gym. Literally, there’s a scene where she just gets down on egg after egg after egg. That scene alone convinced me of skier’s athleticism. 2. Lindsey wears lots of eye makeup even on the slopes. I don’t really have an opinion on this cosmetic choice it just struck me as something I needed to mention. 3. If I had a husband who was also my ski coach I would murder him. Especially if this husband used to be a famous skier but now is a has-been and is living vicariously through me every damn day and video-taping all my runs and making me watch them with him while he comments and I’m just trying to catch my breath from performing crazy feats of strength and gravity-defiance…nope, I would have NO patience for that, none whatsoever.

2. The Price of Gold

nancytonya

I can not recommend this documentary enough. If you were alive during the 1994 Olympics you will want to see this in depth account of the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan story. Their drama occurred, for me, at the peak of my interest in figure skating, so every subsequent story about them ranked high on the list of news I cared about. Theirs is the classic “competitive women” story we will always be drawn in by; the Betty and Veronica, White Swan and Black Swan, Madonna and Whore. This saga is compelling, as one interviewee explains, because it is “so rich in it’s black and whites.” The documentary features some never before seen home footage of the Harding family. This fascinating reel shows Tonya’s mom in a disgustingly cluttered home clad in a fur coat with a bird on her shoulder. Read that sentence again and tell me you’re not interested?? So Grey Gardens!!! The film goes on to cover the fateful knee clubbing but it was the coverage of the weeks after that I found more interesting–the time between Nancy’s injury and the ‘94 Olympics. The Olympic committee allowed injured Nancy on to the team so both she and Tonya were in hardcore training. The difference in their training was striking. Tonya trained at a public rink in the middle of the mall and the press was EVERYWHERE, hounding her there and at home and on the street. There’s even a shot of Diane Sawyer just chillin’ rink-side, waiting to ask Tonya a thing or two as well as paparazzi setting off her truck’s security alarm so she would have to show her face. It looked like absolute mayhem. Meanwhile, Nancy is recovering and training totally shut off from the outside world. Most notable aspect of this part of the film, however, is that in one scene Tonya is wearing a big white sweatshirt that reads “No Comment”–perfection. God, I love the 90’s. And speaking of clothes, did you know Nancy skated at the public Olympics practice (the one EVERYONE was at because she was on the ice WITH Tonya) in the dress she was wearing when she was attacked? Who was her PR person? A genius, that’s who. In the end, we all know how the story went–Nancy skated a gold medal performance but ended up with the silver. The world had to keep America in check for being goddamn lunatics all the time. And that is why the Olympics is awesome and keeps bringin’ people back. But, keep watching! At about 7 minutes and 30 seconds left, Tonya Harding breaks down and delivers a monologue that is GOLD MEDAL material. It’s possible you will shed a tear for her, the villain of our childhoods. If you like this documentary, and I promise you will, keep your eye out for the theatrical adaptation of the Tonya and Nancy story coming to an off-broadway stage and duo final near you. Co-authored by yours truly and Katie Berger, it’s gonna be game-changing.

3. Ice Castles

icecastles

Mk, this is basically a Lifetime/Hallmark channel made for TV remake of an old movie about a figure skater who goes blind. It was fine noise to have in the background while I did some work. Occasionally I looked up for the actual skating scenes because the lead girl DOES land some pretty legit jumps. But in all honesty she doesn’t go blind until like over an hour in so *yawn*. I went into this with high hopes because, as I’ve said before, I love when blindness throws a wrench in a sports-movie plot. See also: Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken. There just wasn’t enough blindness in this movie for my taste.

4. The Other Side of the Mountain

theothersideofthemountain

Dude, I don’t know what it is about movies from the 70’s but they never disappoint for me. Something about the scores and sound effects is so gripping, like they knew they were somewhat lacking in terms of visual artistry and so they make up for it through sound. Not to mention that I covet all the outfits in 70’s flicks. This film is based on the true story of skiing champion Jill Kinmont and the accident she had during an Olympic-qualifying tournament which left her paralyzed from the neck down. You go into the movie knowing she’s gonna take a tumble so I’m not giving any spoilers when I say, the moment of her career ending fall off the mountain caused me to audibly gasp. The score works perfectly in step with the dramatic arcs of the story and there’s even an awesome non-skiing side-plot about Jill teaching on an Indian reservation that I happened to really like. Beau Bridges is totally my new celebrity crush in this movie. He is so charming and funny and such a weirdo! Also of note, I’m currently very interested in the history of medicine so seeing rehabilitative practices from the 50’s for quadriplegia, even fictional cinematic renderings of these practices, was personally interesting to me. I would call  this movie a cross between Love Story, The Shining, and Heidi…just trust me, that’s a good thing.

5. Horgasm: A Love Story

torstein

Short and sweet, this docu showcases some wicked snowboarding scenes while highlighting the day-to-day life and career of Norwegian snowboarder Torstein Horgmo. At times, it tries a little too hard for the look of an MTV special or Jackass movie. Probably one of the more random things I’ve ever watched on the ‘flix but I certainly didn’t hate it.

6. Chalet Girl

chaletgirl

British Rom-Com starring Felicity Jones, Ed Westwick and Bill Nighy. Face it, if this came on cable you would accidentally get sucked in and watch the whole damn thing, so you may as well tuck in and enjoy! (Notice I said “tuck in”…I pick up regionalisms very quickly.)

Enjoy! Sports movies are basically my third favorite genre. Do you have a favorite that I should put in my queue? 

Slum Lords aka The Hell of Renting

How to's, Personal, , , , ,

apartment

Since moving out of my family home in August of 2004 I have lived in 2 dorms, 4 houses, and 5 apartments. I hate the process of moving: packing everything into manageable loads, deep cleaning, schlepping heavy stuff, waiting a month for a security deposit that may or may not ever come and then having a new place to deep clean, set up, find all the “quirks”, and switch over utilities. I hate all of it–and yet I’ve done it, nearly every year, for the past decade.

Why? Because landlords–who rule over the space you are supposed to call “Home Sweet Home” with moneybags clouding their vision–are literally the worst. They do the bare minimum required by law (if that) and don’t care a wit if you want to break your lease, move out after a year, trash the place, live in squalor; because you are just a means to an end. You are just money. And young adults typically get the worst of it. With not a lot of available capital, young people have to settle for less-than-ideal residences with less-than-ideal property companies, landlords or supers. We get taken advantage of by professional slumlords who know every trick in the book.

Renters have to start standing up for themselves so that slumlords start shaping up. I don’t think it is a coincidence that I’ve found myself in so many shitty living conditions or that I have uncharacteristically bad luck (I’ve heard too many concurrent stories from fellow 20-somethings). So, definitely take the time to know your rights.

I was able to get out of my most recent shitty living condition (repeatedly having to ask to get locks/door fixed, mice, THEFT OF MY WORLDLY POSSESSIONS) after I was like, “Yo girl, you can talk to my lawyer…BAI!” But even then I was still out a lot of money simply because a landlord didn’t take the idea that I had a right to a habitable and safe dwelling in a very serious manner. I’ve been illegally evicted by a racist, withheld deposits for reasons not contractually outlined, charged for the most ridiculous of things. Rent is typically a person’s biggest expense, right?–so why do these people insist on making us so miserable when they are already getting such a big slice of our monthly pie?

Rant being ranted, my current rental situation is awesome. My landlord is super nice, I love my neighborhood and nothing catastrophic has happened. I do not take this blessing lightly or for granted. Yet, I still get a little outraged thinking about this rental property predicament. What can we do to change things? I would love to brainstorm!

Also, care to share your rental horror story? Getting robbed was probably my worst, although having the locks changed on the short-lived 11th St. house in BG, KY without a 30-day eviction notice is a close second. We re-visited our former abode in a veil of darkness to check the mailbox, wherein I found an envelope that held the money from my cell-phone rebate–a sum of money that, while now inconsequential, all but saved my life that summer….but that’s a story for another time.

(Painting by Matte Stephens. The print is available on Etsy and is super cute.)

mid-week round-up

Wednesday Links, , , ,

mwru1

I hope everyone had a fantastic Mardi Gras! What are your plans for the rest of the week? Today is technically day one of my weekend…but then I have to go back to work tomorrow and take weekend day two on Friday. Weird, but in the end perfect, as it’s my Mom’s birthday on Friday! Have a killer week, and here are a few Internet gems for your mid-week enjoyment. Give ’em a click, if you’d like!

For those of you in doubt: a powerful message from my dude, Ira.

No cocks needed in her cockpit. ; )

What’s your favorite position? Lauren Conrad’s response is perfection.

What’s next for Wikipedia?

A transplanted Louisiana-native reflects on Katrina and the city of New Orleans.

I know some Mamas in need of this story. 

In response to your Pinterest fit-spiration boards.

A son interviews his mother. Warning: tearjerker.

Quiz: Which gay icon should you go to brunch with? I got Dolly Parton because OBVI.

And in news from my great Commonwealth, here is Attorney General Jack Conway’s statement on Judge Heyburn’s same-sex marriage ruling–

(Does it sound to anyone else like it was his wife who was the voice of reason on this? Kudos Elizabeth Conway!)

In the name of transparency…

Brainpower, Personal, , , , , , ,

laddertothemoon

I’m not awesome at cooking and have never cooked my way through an entire cookbook in order to get awesome. I haven’t radically changed my diet to mirror neolithic, paleolithic or WWII times nor am I actively trying to shed pounds. I’m not training for anything. I don’t live in a gorgeous neighborhood in some hipster city or spend all my time going to concerts and flea markets. I’m not sartorially gifted. I haven’t taken any symposiums on HTML or photography.

I live in the real world. I have a full-time job and responsibilities and seasons of Netflix to watch. I don’t have time to do Pinterest projects every day of the week. I’m also kind of lazy and not independently wealthy. I like simplistic, sustainable approaches.

I feel like this “lazy girl” (read: simpler) approach to all of the above (learning, healthy living, cooking, discovering, decorating, dressing, business) is a voice lacking in the blogosphere. We all have busy lives, so why shouldn’t we focus on doing less in order to live more?  So, if you’re cool with this lazy girl’s commitment to life-long learning and search for the good life by way of an easier lifestyle then I think that’s what I can give ya. Some “smart laziness” if you will.

I really like the idea of maintaining a “lifestyle blog” for the breadth of editorial possibilities that can fall under the umbrella of “lifestyle.” But I’d like to highlight ways in which we can make our lives easier and happier. Cheaper and less stressful. I’d like to LEARN how to live a more thankful and productive life by writing about what’s working and what doesn’t instead of telling other people how to be. I’d like to share knowledge and books and adventures.

Basically, I just wanna write about the shit I wanna write about. Because I like to write and would love to get better. Because I want to have a greater purpose behind new tasks and research. Because I’m seeking a mental and creative outlet to supplement my day-to-day. Because sometimes I miss having an audience.

(Andddd….in total and COMPLETE transparency, if you’ve ever had any sort of online blogging presence and I know you even a little, I’ve probably read it because I’m a big internet stalking weirdo. So, I may as well return the favor and let you creep MY life for a change.)

I think that’s quite enough of the introductory, boring stuff. Let’s start the real fun tomorrow. : ) I’d like to devote Wednesdays to a mid-week round-up of links I’ve recently found and would like to share. So, check back tomorrow!

(Painting: Georgia O’Keefe, Ladder to the Moon. 1958.)

The beginning.

Every day life, Personal, , , , ,

I’ll admit it, I’ve been blog obsessed for about as far back as my internet memories go. Maybe not in the same way we conceive of blogs today, in 2014, but going online with the sole goal of taking a peek into someone else’s life has kinda been my jam for a minute. My first internet memory is going online at my Dad’s office, in Vienna, Austria no less, to look up autobiographical snippets written by famous people. In retrospect, I doubt it was ACTUALLY Devon Sawa waxing poetic about his dog and love of pizza but really some poor PR shmuck, whatevs…the sentiment was there. Fast forward a few years and discovering someone’s Livejournal could kill an entire afternoon of teenage boredom. I devoured them like a V.C. Andrew’s novel–hoping for something scandalous, excusing the use of passive voice until I got there. In college and the early days of my working world, blogs blossomed into escapism at it’s finest. Desperately and ridiculously poor, I could spend hours looking at all sorts of beautiful things I couldn’t have and probably didn’t even want. Look at lives I hoped someday I’d get it together enough to live. And if we’re being completely honest, I turned my financial struggles around (for the most part) with the help of a Christian-Mom blogger (weird, I know…but those gals know what’s up when it comes to money for some reason) and networked within the comments of a business blog to land a part-time gig…which offers me the opportunity to read MORE blogs on the clock.

I’ve wanted to launch my own blog for years now. I’ve made a lot of excuses: I don’t have enough time. I don’t have any fancy equipment. I’m not tech savvy–AT ALL. Yet, the more I daydream about blogging, I realize that those excuses run counter to how I really try to live my life. If something makes you happy then do it. Make the most out of what you have. Commit to lifelong learning. So, we’re gonna give it a go.

braidme

My name is Beth. I live in Lexington, KY. I’m in management at a not-for-profit cooperative. I like to read, go on adventures, marathon series of television, craft, play outside, and do yoga on my living room floor. I like to research all sorts of things for fun and then do nothing with that research–so I’m hoping this new platform for writing can offer a solution. I often say, I can see myself doing and pursuing 10,000 things a day…so I end up doing nothing. This is the one thing I am working the hardest on in my life.

I chose the name “Finding delight.” for this site in honor of the mantra I adopted several years ago which has really shaped my approach to life. FIND DELIGHT. I can not stress enough how much actively searching for things you delight in can alter your mood, situation, happiness, and quality of life. And I know “delight” seems like a strange choice of word. Why not “find the positive” or “find happiness” or “find cool shit”? For me, “delight” invokes something simpler, invokes laughter, life’s unexpected pleasures. When trying to pull myself out of a rut a few years ago, I employed this strategy at the smallest level. As I drove to work each day, I looked for things to make myself smile. I was amazed at the things you can see when you really look–dogs acting silly, humans acting like the weirdos we are, and nature blinging in all it’s glory. I found this exercise wildly helpful and still practice it on the daily. I rarely arrive at work not in a positive mood. This simple search can then progress: Find delight in all aspects of your life. What brings you joy to do? Do it.

This is sounding a bit preachy but that’s the story behind the name. I guess my intent, is that this blog will be a way for me to continue to find delight. And perhaps you will find some within these pages too. In the end, we’re all in this rough real-world together. ❤
streetscene

Have you adopted a mantra that has impacted you in a positive way? My other two favorites right now are “Be brave”–for when I’m feeling like a social situation is about to be awksies or I’m gonna face some confrontation (something I desperately try to avoid) and “Don’t compare your beginning to somebody else’s middle”–for things I’m frustrated by because I’m not automatically the best (read: yoga and this blog.)

(Painting by T. Turner)