Curating a series of adventures

If you're reading this in an RSS feed, bounce over to the site for a moment and check it out. I've redesigned it and I've refocused it.

Rather than the daily-posting editorial calendar I experimented with for a while, I'm now structuring the blog around a series of adventures: globetrotting, photography, sundry feats of creativity, meditations & declarations, researching my Danish roots and fueling my expat dreams. Posts about these adventures will come to you as the adventures come to me. I do want to keep a weekly meditation and a weekly round-up of photos, so we'll see how it all starts to shake out.

I'm also launching a creative collaboration with Craft Lake City. I alluded to it before, but the details are ironed out and I can finally share the exciting news. Read all about it...right...here.

Workin' it out.

Love,
me

My Declaration: Trust

The sequencing of topics in The Declaration of You is so brilliant. After spending the summer making a series of declarations, the elephant in the room seems to be: "Now what? How can all this awesomeness actually happen?" Thinking about the next steps beyond the bloglovin' book tour, a scarcity mindset starts freaking out, trying to control the what, the how, the whole of it. An abundant mindset, on the other hand, trusts that it will all happen. Abundance is not passive, though. It's hard, proactive work. But it's calm, knowing and trusting that it will all happen. Enter...

Illustration by the lovely Jessica Swift.

As my final declaration of the series, want to recap each declaration I've made along the way. This time, I want to declare my trust in everything I've worked toward this summer. Ready? (she says to herself) Okay. Go.

Enthusiasm

I trust that recommitting myself to the importance of my core passions in life will bring opportunities that I can't even conceive of yet. I trust that the time and energy I spend reclaiming my creativity is time and energy well spent. I trust that if I focus my creative energy on writing, photography, travel, and building community, I will be a happy happy girl. {read the original Declaration of Enthusiasm}

Uniquity

"Why we all gotta look, gotta act the same? I say if you're born a lion, don't bother trying to act tame" (Ani DiFranco). I trust that when I speak my truth, like attracts like. I will live life as the most authentic version of myself and trust that the people who are meant to walk that path with me, will. I trust that living out loud will lead to a rich, abundant life. {read the original Declaration of Uniquity}

Intention

I trust that I've done the best I could do with the knowledge I had at the time; and wanting to set new intentions now is an act of creation and love. I trust The Universe enough to set the intentions I really truly want to set. I trust The Universe enough to set the intentions that scare me. I trust myself to pour a whole lot of love into those intentions. I trust that as I let go of (my illusion of) control and get out of my own way, The Universe will fill in the gaps. {read the original Declaration of Intention}

Self-care

No one else is going to take care of me. It's called self-care for a reason. I trust myself to know what I need and I trust myself to be able to take of it. I trust that one of the best ways to make myself happy is to make other's happy; however, I also trust that in order to do that I need to be happy myself. I trust that time and energy committed to self-care will allow me to more fully care for those I love, including myself. {read the original Declaration of Self-care}

Success

I trust myself to recreate a definition of success that works for me now and supports the new goals I'm setting for my life. I know that passion matters deeply when it comes to success and so I will assess what I can let go of, only keeping what works for me now. I trust that career moves that might look like a step backward, can actually be a step forward in a new direction. I trust that The Universe holds abundant possibilities and will help me let go of the old paradigms of success that I've outgrown. {read the original Declaration of Success}

Money

I will accept money simply for what it is: A tool. I know that wanting it doesn't make me greedy and getting (a lot of) it doesn't make me a douchebag. I trust that I can declare exactly the kind of life I want and I can appreciate money as the energy to help me do it. I trust that as I raise my frequency and increase my awareness of what's possible, I will also open myself up to the means to accomplish it. I trust that money will flow in and out of my life as needed. {read the original Declaration of Money}

Celebration

I know that the connection between celebration, marking the passage of time, and self-care is important to me. I know that when I get off balance, it's because I'm not pausing and I'm not marking time. I trust that when I give myself permission to reflect and be grateful, to pause, celebrate, shift gears, and re-dedicate my energy in a new direction, I will grow and find new adventures to celebrate. {read the original Declaration of Celebration}

Trust

Dear Self,  

I love you. You got this. Trust that.

xo,
me 

The Fine Print: The Declaration of You will be published by North Light Craft Books this summer, giving readers the permission they’ve craved to step passionately into their lives, to discover how they and their gifts are unique, and to uncover what they are meant to do! 

Pre-order your copy now. Learn more by clicking here.

RSVP on Facebook!

Editorial Calendar: Revamp

Hi. How have you been?

It's taken me a while to regroup my work and personal life after returning from Iowa. In the flurry I fell off my editorial calendar bandwagon, as it were. However, since I've been back in town I've also developed some exciting new projects.

Sneak peak: I'm working with Craft Lake City to create two different series for their blog. I'm excited about the opportunity, but it does mean that some of my goals for this blog will be slowed down or put on hold. Details coming soon...

Another sneak peak: I'm going to shift the focus of my madeleines to become a series of curated adventures (note the newly-designed site header...woohoo!). I've learned that I do really well when I have a structure, even more structure than the editorial calendar provided. The structure of The Declaration of You bloglovin' book tour, for example, was great for me. I'll re-do my own editorial calendar to reflect this idea of different series of adventures, and roll out the details soon.

Stay tuned!

Love,
me

5 Ways to avoid airline fees #traveltuesday

Today's Travel Tuesday post highlights an article written by my friend Joseph Peterson, a freelance writer living in Washington, DC. His article tells fellow wanderlusters how to:

1. Get savvy with a knowledge of different airlines

2. Manipulate the now-tricky world of baggage fees

3. Reserve your ticket without hidden fees

4. Navigate internet deal sites

5. Decide on credit cards and reward programs




Check it out. Leave a comment for me below, or for Joseph on his original article, and let us know how you avoid airline fees.

Love and frequent flier miles,
me

My Declaration: Celebration

Similar to the vibe in my self-care declaration, when it comes to this week's topic, I'm all over it. No angst, no guilt, no metaphysical psychosomatic introspective hand wringing. In fact, I actually think self-care and celebration live hand in hand. They may even be making out at this point.

Illustration by the lovely Jessica Swift.

In my professional world we're constantly saying "close the loop" when we discuss projects, assessment cycles, delegations, and so forth. To close the loop on an assessment project, for example, you don't analyze the data and file it away in a pretty binder on your bookshelf. Closing the loop means you implement data-driven changes to future programming. Closing the loop is an organizational skill that allows you to pause, shift gears, and re-dedicate energy in a new direction.

Close the loop. Pause. Shift gears. Re-dedicate your energy. That is a celebration. {tweet it}

When I think about the topic of celebration, it comes down to this idea of closing the loop. Rituals, milestones, and rewards are important elements in our life. I close loops and celebrate by taking intentional time to honor and mark the completion of things. You can see how this is similar to my declaration of self-care in the sense that even my celebrations are grounded in my love language of time. If you celebrate in your own love language, it will mean more to you. If your language is Receiving Gifts, buy yourself a cute new scarf after you land the gig you wanted. If your language is Physical Touch...well...you can sort that out.

That all sounds complex, but it doesn't have to be a huge act (though it can be). Even something as simple as closing the loop on a long, tough week by leaving work an hour early on Friday to see a funny movie and let myself eat all of the popcorn -- that's a celebration for me. Getting a massage with the stated intention that I'm proud of myself for completing an enormous grant report -- that's a celebration for me. Spending two weeks abroad after saving my pennies -- that's definitely a celebration for me. Hosting a monthly brunch at my house and practicing new recipes (and practicing the act of cooking, let's be honest) on my friends -- that's a celebration for me and people I love.

Recognizing the connection between celebration, marking the passage of time, and self-care is important. {tweet it}

When I get off balance and life starts to be not so rad, it's usually because I'm not pausing and I'm not marking time. I'm usually barreling through a difficult project with no end in sight and no milestones to speak of and 60-hour weeks and I'm canceling time with friends and skipping the gym and blahblah. Celebration breaks our life into fun little chunks. Give yourself permission to reflect and be grateful. Give yourself permission pause, celebrate, shift gears, and re-dedicate your energy in a new direction. Keep going and growing and finding new adventures to celebrate.

Love and cheers to all of that,
me

The Fine Print: The Declaration of You will be published by North Light Craft Books this summer, giving readers the permission they’ve craved to step passionately into their lives, to discover how they and their gifts are unique, and to uncover what they are meant to do! 

Pre-order your copy now. Learn more by clicking here.

RSVP on Facebook!