Tag Archives: Photography

101 Ways to Add More Beauty to Your Life – Part 2…

23 Sunday Jan 2011

Posted by in Art, Design, Fashion, Photography, Reflections, Travel, Writing

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© Lydia Hudgens

Continued...

34. Travel to a foreign land.
35. Buy flowers from a farmers market.
36. Stargaze.
37. Create a family tree.
38. Taste exotic fruit.
39. Buy a painting from an art school.
40. Make a cat purr.
41. Learn a few phrases in a foreign language.
42. Visit a cathedral with stained glass windows.
43. Watch a sunrise.
44. Read to a child.
45. Learn to play a musical instrument.
46. Ride a horse.
47. Laugh out loud.
48. Snuggle.
49. Wear your best watch or jewelry.
50. Cry at movies.
51. Display your treasures and collections.
52. Listen to Puccini, Tchaikovsky, or Chopin.
53. Wear cowboy boots.
54. Ride in a fast boat.
55. Watch Masterpiece Theater.
56. Notice your city or town’s architecture.
57. Say “Yes” more often.
58. Listen to a new music genre.
59. Learn a limerick.
60. Buy fine cotton or silk sheets.
61. Write with a different color ink.
62. Visit a National Forest.
63. Buy or make new sofa cushions.
64. Learn to skin and/or scuba dive.
65. Greet your baristas by name.
66. Buy balloons.
67. Believe in miracles.

To be continued…

103 Ways to Add More Beauty to Your Life…

22 Saturday Jan 2011

Posted by in Art, Dance, Design, Fashion, Food, Photography, Reflections, Travel, Writing

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© Joan Currie - Capitola State Beach

Part 1.

1.  Watch a sunset – see the green flash.
2.  Admire rainbows, jet streams, and beautiful cloud formations.
3.  Look through a kaleidoscope.
4.  Use your “good” china and silverware.
5.  Take a road trip.
6.  Decorate a birthday cake.
7.  Blow bubbles in the sunlight.
8.  Examine a postage stamp, dollar bill, or coin through a magnifying glass.
9.  Buy a bird feeder or bird bath.
10. Walk in the woods.
11. Drive in a convertible with the top down.
12. Visit a planetarium, aquarium. or zoo.
13. Learn calligraphy.
14. Hold a baby.
15. Place photos of you and your loved ones at your happiest around your home.
16. Go to the ballet, opera, or theatre.
17. Create a secret garden.
18. Learn to dance the cha cha, tango, samba, waltz, or swing.
19. Read poetry.
20. Spend time with an octogenarian, nonagenarian, or centenarian.
21. Wear something red.
22. Light candles.
23. Ride a zip line, climb a wall, or jump on a trampoline.
24. Make a snow angel.
25. Visit an art museum or gallery.
26. Play catch with a dog.
27. Doodle.
28. Watch fireworks.
29. Paint one wall in your home your favorite color.
30. Volunteer.
31. Buy a couple of goldfish.
32. Forgive past wrongs.
33. Say “I love you!” more often.

To be continued…

Name it, claim it…

20 Thursday Jan 2011

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© Lydia Hudgens

You are not beautiful because I looked at your body, but because I looked into your eyes and I saw what was in your heart. – Anonymous

Several years ago I worked in a health care office. The receptionist was an older woman who had been employed by the group for over twenty years and nearing retirement. Life had dealt her some tough cards and although she performed her administrative tasks well, she had a sour disposition that seemed to infect the entire work environment and everyone who came into contact with her.

One day, a young, new hire named Rob arrived and although she introduced herself to him as Phyllis, he always addressed her as Beautiful. Over the next several weeks, we noticed that whenever Rob appeared, her eyes sparkled and she could not hold back a smile. She was reclaiming the beautiful woman that she had been all along – she just needed a nudge to push her true self out into the open again.

In time, Phyllis sported a new hairdo, applied a little make-up, and even spruced up her wardrobe. Her new-found happiness with her body image spilled over to her relationships with co-workers and clients. Life was good again.

Rob saw the beauty in Phyllis that we did not, but how hard would it have been for us to do the same? Is there someone in your life you can help in a similar way? It is never to late to make a difference.

Model – Lauren DiMarco

Looking inside: Nautilus…

15 Saturday Jan 2011

Posted by in Art, Photography, Reflections

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© Joan Currie

The greatest explorer on this earth never takes voyages as long as those of the man who descends to the depth of his heart.  ~Julien Green

My mother has an impressive shell collection from her travels around the globe. My favorite shell is the Nautilus, half of which is pictured above. I like the way its mother-of-pearl, chambered interior is surprisingly far more beautiful than its exterior.

I started thinking about my other favorite things that also have lovelier insides such as; pomegranates and exotic fruits, amethyst and agate geodes, stalactite and glow worm caves, chestnuts, bees’ nests, eggs, secret gardens, coral reefs, cathedrals with stained glass windows, kaleidoscopes and telescopes, Russian dolls, and jewelry and music boxes.

I know many people, too, who on first meeting may appear gruff or cantankerous, but are really among the sweetest and gentlest people with hearts of gold once you get to know them.

Being prepared…

07 Friday Jan 2011

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© Joan Currie

Be Prepared: The Motto of the Boy Scouts of America

My grandmother loved to tell the story of the television set blowing up after being hit by lightning because she neglected to shut the windows during an electrical storm. Other relatives followed up with really gruesome tales of friends or distant cousins charred beyond recognition from being hit by lightning on the eighteenth green, out sailing, or up on the roof.

In addition to lightning, nearly every natural disaster since time began has happened to someone my family knew intimately. After sharing all the grizzly details of the poor unsuspecting victim’s demise, someone would conclude with, “That’s a corker,” and move on to the next person they knew who had bought the farm.

My relatives’ acceptance of the maws of death appearing at any moment sparked my interest in risk management. I pack a small emergency kit whenever I set out into the wilds and although I have never had occasion to use it, I take it all the same as the best laid plans in hiking, like life, can go awry.

Resolutions Revisited…

01 Saturday Jan 2011

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© Lauren DiMarco

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing.
Abraham Lincoln

In the 1980s we bought most of our electronics, jewelry, and toys from a catalog showroom store. We liked the idea of having the opportunity to preview and test out the merchandise before making a selection and, as a result, were always satisfied with our purchases.

On this first day of 2011, I am reviewing my resolutions for the year. I wish there were some way to test-drive some of the action items, as I did in that retail store, before investing the time, energy, and money necessary to make them happen. Several of my big ideas are fraught with considerable risk and I need to figure out how to manage that element. If after careful evaluation, I decide to embrace the projects full on, then the possibility exists that, by this time next year, one or two of them may have come to fruition!

Model – Lauren DiMarco