Tag Archives: happiness

home pen sketch

I’ve been doodling this week and decided to create a vision board. Last year I found a piece of paper of a list (from the year before) in an old purse of things I wanted in my life and they were all true. So yes I believe in externalizing your desires and what you believe you deserve for yourself, in a sense.

So, this is my Dream Home in 3 years :)
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Love spanish style homes! A big kitchen (and NO those are not kids; they’re friends… lol), cozy library, lots of woodsy interior. I used pen and watercolors.

This is what I call home now. I decided to draw this and mark it with the date so one day I can look back and see the “progress.” I think when we feel stuck, we forget that where we are now was once where we hoped we’d be. So, I feel grateful :)
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This one looks a little cleaner and neater because I used a ruler. Not sure if I’m going to put watercolor on it. For some reason I like it black & white.

It feels good getting back into sketching. I’m feeling crappy today so I’m just going to zone out, put some music on and sketch til my fingers get calloused.

 

letting go + palm springs

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One year older. I realized some things this past weekend… one thing was my mother (I haven’t seen/spoken to her for almost a year; my choice). There are still many times I get angry and upset and many of my reactions stem from the past with her. But a lot of why I get angry is my mind not understanding why. Why she did this, that, why she can’t understand me, why both our souls were put together in this life, why she is the way she is.

But a thought popped into my head and told me, I’m just going to let go… I don’t need to understand why because it is what it is. She is emotionally stunted along with many other mental problems and irrational fears (that’s putting it nicely; I think she is a monster) so why even try to piece all that together.. it’s like trying to understand an unsolved mystery. Sometimes things don’t have explanations (like life, I suppose). The same goes for people too. I spend wasted energy trying to figure people out but… unsolved mysteries.

It doesn’t mean I’m “healed” or forgive her (I wish forgiveness was as easy as some people make it sound–even if you forgive it takes a long time for that energy to transform into complete peace. Or perhaps I have challenges with forgiveness which is why this is my situation in this lifetime to learn how to do so..)

I may have a lot of things to work through but one thing I’m not going to be held back by is fear. I’m not afraid if it takes me til the moment before I die or when I’m in the darkest place of shadows. At least the dark place is real.

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But anyways, Paris has been pushed back til the end of May (YAY) and Palm Springs was…. duh, hot. We judge cities by their food and this place has a bunch of glorified IHOPS. Food snobs, perhaps?

But I’ll give credit to Purple Palms. It was pretty nice and anytime you get a whole fish head stuffed with surprises is a good sign.

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Currently reading Taco USA. Does anyone else besides me get cravings for a taco so HARD? Like, every hour of the day?  If you want good mexican food… go to a shop with a B rating. Trust me (& not the roaches on the floor).  And if this doesn’t cancel out the food snob in me, I don’t know what will.

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(I love this shirt. It’s from my friend’s clothing line Hardcouture. And the gold shark tooth necklace is from her store too :) )

breaking apart your patterns

Reminiscing and found my old journals from 2011. That was a crazy year. I guess it was one of those years where you would look back when you’re 75 and say “That was a crazy year”

I was living in Hollywood for 5 or 6 years already (this is starting to sound like a sad biography..), going out all the time, partying, meeting interesting characters, shopping, you know, being a Hollywood rat. There are a looot of rats out here.

81510aHere’s one rat.

Anyways, a lot of things happened (a devastating break up, liars, not knowing who to trust, basically that hole you get into where you’re like What the fuck am I doing with my life?) and that’s when I made a conscious decision to cut certain people out of my life, stop going out, stop hanging out with losers, stop caring about unimportant crap. I started reading more, writing again, spending a LOT of time alone, donating and selling more than 75% of everything I owned, meditation retreat, started this blog, went on a solo 4-month trip to South America. I made a pact with myself: If who I’m hanging out with or what I’m doing isn’t a soul-enriching experience for myself or the other person then I’m not doing it. And I still live by that. There’s too many other things I could be doing. I’d rather be reading a book by myself than hanging out with a bunch of people pretending to talk about something. (It’s so true what they say–Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are.)

One thing I’ve learned is if someone is scared of your direction of growth, they will say anything to discourage it. Most likely because they discourage themselves…

So I went to South America by myself with a decent amount of savings (and I don’t care what anybody says; If you’re young and traveling is what you want to do, what do you keep saving money for? Take your savings immediately, go somewhere and come back with zero), little to no knowledge of spanish, one duffel bag, volunteered for half and travelled for the other half. It was the best thing I ever did and I met so many great people with curious, optimistic mindsets.

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That was almost 2 years ago (and after South America, I kept traveling – Costa Rica, Europe) and now I still live in Los Angeles but I have the life I envisioned–well I wouldn’t even say envisioned, it’s more like a feeling you know in your gut–for myself from my true core, but I had all those layers before blocking it away–and I’m still working on removing more layers. I’m truly a believer of dreaming big and if you’re dissatisfied with your self/life (which I’m sure happens many times in one lifetime), it’s because there’s something bigger and better waiting for you; waiting for you to break apart the old patterns and layers that don’t serve you anymore. ♥

happiness jar

Got this idea from the Happster Blog

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new finds + bathroom

found the coooolest piece of wood at the flea market. A lady selling crystals was using it as a display piece and we asked if we could buy it. So, apparently it is now blessed and in a good home. I will stick my head under it when feeling blue.

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The downstairs bathroom needed some updating so I took everything out (which was just leftover house stuff basically–a total mismatch) and started fresh.

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I’d call it Moroccan minimalist?

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Got this cute little cactus. They’re uniquely made by ROTD creations Very nice guy too

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A pen sketch I did. We recently celebrated 365 days together of pure luurve!

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Um.. I cannot absorb all this goodness all at once. Got here several days ago and we still have til the end of this week til we go home. YAY! A whole week of St Martin! Anguilla too! (staying at L’Esplanade hotel right now — it’s hidden away in the hilly part right above the beach and I highly recommend it!! Especially the Loft rooms — soo fawncy, I’ve been spinning and hopping up and down on the bed for hours!)

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The people are so nice and I’ve been glutton-ing away… I’ve been trying to remember to take pics of our food. How do people remember to do that??

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Ceviche trio: thai, peruvian, creole — what a splendid idea indeed!

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A free bottle of gift-wrapped passion fruit rum (with seeds floating all around). I like free. And I like rum

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happy friday

It’s been one of those leisurely weeks where curling up and watching youtube videos sounds like a good idea (btw, I LOLed at this video til I cried. Poor girl. Burning Hair off Curling Iron) , including those mornings you’re up for 3 hours but are still in bed half dreaming, half checking the phone and making lists in your head.

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Just finished this book and cried my lashes off. It’s my new favorite piece of fiction.

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I love my little animals! They come in sheets (Muji store, NYC) and you put them together yourself. Ahh, I love little finger projects.

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need a picture holder? 2 stray slabs of wood = ta da!

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Take-out and plenty of iced green teas

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Cooked a glorious dinner! Whole grain spaghetti, chicken parm (for him), balsamic tomatoes and roasted brussel sprouts (400 degree oven, roast brussel sprouts, tomatoes, garlic olive oil, sea salt, chili flakes, rosemary sprig for 45 minutes)

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See that little wooden mannequin below the painting? People were coming over and I found it hurriedly hidden in a drawer just before they came. Someone doesn’t like little mannequin person. But don’t be ashamed woodman..

Almost done redecorating the guest bathroom and one wood project — will post photos soon.

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ojai california

One of my favorite places in the country is definitely Ojai. The energy is just different. The air is so crisp and clear, you feel like you can run and skip all over. And it’s only a short car ride away :)

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The book here I’m reading is “The History of Love” by Nicole Krauss. I’m halfway through and obsessed. It is so beautifully written. Amazing story…

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project love

I just finished a project I’ve been working on the past week. I have been redecorating the house a bit and an idea popped into my head that got me more excited than anything. After working on it an hour here and there everyday, it’s done and came out beautifully.

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Went to the lumber store (which is my new favorite place, by the way!) and asked for precisely cut slabs of cherry wood. Then I hammered in the hooks in the back

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Measuring…

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So lovely!

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question

If you’re telling your friend something that makes you happy and you get the feeling that they’re not happy for you and attempts to analyze or be critical, what do you do? Cut ties? Or realize that it could be from jealousy/insecurity and find some compassion somewhere deep inside?

I’m finding the compassion thing very hard  because it feels like instead I am stuffing my own emotions inside.

But then, I ask myself “Why does this bother me; what is it touching…” It can really never end :)

On to good news.. St Martin, Caribbeans in less than one month. A much needed vacation. Maybe we will find that little hammock above the sea?

And others news.. I am obsessed with Scrabble.

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