man what a week. i just want it to be over so i can move on! i feel so overwhelmed and heavy with my emotions. my poor family is moving in a very tip-toey circle around me…giving me space and trying to save themselves from being sucked into the dark vortex that is my mind.
deep breath.
thankfully, there is always something to smile about! always something to lift your spirits. you just have to search them out sometimes. that is why i surround myself with things that make me happy. why my photos and my scrapbook pages are geared towards that same thing-something for me to see to make me smile. why i buy things for my house – i want to be able to look around and see things that i love. things that inspire me to want to keep smiling.
my favorite flower:
yes i really do have this sign on my downstairs bathroom (got it at staples) DEF makes me smile:
a note from nate post it’d onto my computer:
above my kitchen sink (flowers from anna spilling out of my tiny vases):
a little girls imagination:
if you are having a rough day, week, month, year…take a step outside of yourself and look around you. find something to make you smile. and hold onto it until eventually you dont have to look so hard.
Nice advice and inspiration for my day, thanks Tara.
I hope you are feeling better soon but we all need that ‘down’ time so we know how happy feels too. Everything will be ok and you will be smiling bigger and brighter than ever soon
Loved your post and the photos. I love how such small, simple things can make us smile. I had to laugh at your bathroom sign…I have thought about putting that same sign on my bathroom door but wondered what people might think (why do I still worry what people think?!?!) I love that you have it up.
Wow Tara. This is my first time to post on your blog. I have been a fan of your work for a while… what you wrote today really hit home for me. Things have been rough in our household for a while. My husband is looking for his first real job out of grad school, and it is taking longer than we expected. It makes it difficult to remember your blessings sometimes. Thank you for your uplifting words. We always have to keep trying, no matter what the circumstances.
Thanks, Tara, I needed something to boost my mood, and your blog hit the spot. I am at a bittersweet moment in my life. I graduated from college on Saturday with my bachelor’s degree in nursing. I am moving 3 hours away to where my husband is stationed. Into our first home together (we just got married in March). I also start my job as a brand new RN in two weeks. So, there is a lot of happiness coming. There is also sadness. My children are having to leave their friends and move to a new school. The home that the three of us made (my two sons and myself) after my divorce is no longer going to be. I have to take all the pictures off the walls, and all my notes from my kids over the last two and a half years. It is so bittersweet, but something much anticipated. Thank you again… for giving me some ideas (both to better my mood and for my new house!!) with your photos!
How sweet. Thanks so much, that definitely put a smile on my face. :)
Thank you, Tara. :)
is it the time of year maybe … feeling a bit dark and overwhelmed.. moody?? hmmm I have been feeling similiarly.. I have been taking lots of pictures because it helps me forget all those feelings.. at least for awhile.. Glad I am not alone..
E
(((hugs)))
funny, i have ranunculus’ on my dining room table right now too. i often by them for these 3 little vases i keep there. i love them too. feel better. you are doing all the right things by surrounding yourself with the things you love and of course, writing in your blog. xo
Loved your post! I think events happen to keep us aware of how fragile life really is and to remind us not to take things for granted. Allow yourself to feel sad for what has happened to that family and know that you are attempting to live your life with your family to the fullest. I loved all the little reminders of the love in your house. I like to surround myself with that too. Take care! Shelley
AMEN! Great post! :) Now where did you find your wooden letters? The ones on your wall. I ordered some & they are u.g.l.y. LOL!!! Grrrrrrrrrr…I can’t find any!
thanks for reminding me.
smiles ria
i forgot to ask.
what kind of flowers are those?
they’re beautiful.
ria
your house is beautiful….i wish you would share more of it. I love seeing your home decor peek through photos. :)
sorry you are having a rough time. JUST BREATHE…it will pass. It is all ebb and flow baby. hoping you are smiling and happy again soon.
Tara,
I wish for peace for you right now. Remember peace is not the absence of chaos (in this case it is not the absence of feeling badly), it is the feeling of calm in the midst of it. This will pass. Hang in there!
Great advice Tara.
I have been feeling a bit like you describe lately.
The ranunculus is one of my faves too.
Your pictures made me smile as always.
XO
You are beautiful. You are talented. And gosh darn it, people love you. Feel better. :o)
You will enjoy this card about the special relationship between mother and child. I send this because in Mexico May 10 is mother’s day, no matter what day of the week it falls on.
http://www.tonyrobbins.com/Marketing/Mothersday/mothersDay.html#ec=135534
ooh, tell Anna I like My Little Ponies too. Those were the only girly toys I played with…soooo not a Barbie kinda girl.
hope you feel better soon Tara…you have lots to love and certainly deserve to BE loved.
get OUT! WE have that sign on our bathroom door downstairs! I kid you not! Okay…we did. Our realtor made the suggestion that we take it down when our house was on the market. LOL But seriously…cracked me up to see that you have it too!!!!
amen sista! I love the note…I think I would die, or just become a complete puddle if I saw that. :)
wishing a speedy return of your joy & peace. (it’s not just for Christmas anymore!)
I can see you peeking thorugh the dark.. keep peeking… the light is coming. :)
Tara,
I hope you are feeling better soon! Your house is seems so cheerful looking..one that could put anyone in a better mood. I love your wall arrangement at the top of the stairs where it says “Family.” Any chance of getting you to take a picture of that and post it on your site? It looks so cool!
Hugs to you Tara!
Hope your things you love help uplift your spirit!
Great post….thanks…I needed to hear that
peace
Kim
Your ideas/photos are always so inspiring! I am totally hunting garage sales for an old scrabble game! Love the ranoculus!
i’m sorry you are having a rough time emotionally. I’ve been going though the same thing (on the edge of slipping into a dark hole), and it really sucks. I love the little shots around your home…i do the same thing a lot!!
Here’s to beauty, summertime, crazy-sweet kids, and the love we get from the people around us.
great post Tara- I just got done crying (at work no less) and your post was just what I needed! :) Hope you have better days….
I don’t think I’ve ever posted before but I really admire you tara for all you are. i hope things start lookin up for you! I agree with the above poster that I too wish you would share the arrangement at the top of your stairs. I love how that looks and wish I could do something like that. You are so talented in so many ways!! I love how happy and fun and homey your house feels. Just from looking at the pictures. That is what I want my house to feel like.
Great reminder.
I hope things are looking up for you soon!
Tara,
a little poem I like…
All skies have clouds,
what mortal sky does not.
But, it’s allright.
I am a sunflower.
I will find the light.
-unknown
you seem like such a sunflower. Finding the right ‘light’ on so many things…your art & photography, the way you write & topics you address. Thank you for all you do. I know sunnier days are ahead for you.
I always take my kids to the flower fields in Carlsbad when I am having a rough time. Something about being surrounded by all the color and new growth rejuvenates me. And my pictures always turn out so great–I know you could do wonders there!
Thanks for the reminder to look for the things to make us smile. :-)
Your posts always seem to make the gears turn in my head creatively, thoughtfully and inspiring. Thank you.
Actually your yesterday’s post got me thinking too, dark thoughts…and then it later it transformed into things and thoughts I am thankful for.
We all get into those cycles, don’t we and those cycles get really long and dramatic if you are nine months pregnant ha…ha…ha…
I love this, Tara. Awesome thoughts, beautiful pictures. You always inspire.
yummy ranunculus! i love those & the shelf over the kitchen sink should always be reserved for only the sweetest things (& little pieces of things that you can’t find the other pieces for yet but you are SURE you will find someday)…thanks for sharing…i always love your perspective!
Long time reader, first time commenter.
I really enjoy the picture of your window ledge above your sink. Great composition and colors.
Thanks Tara:)
Ok ..you are amazing.
Tara your house looks fab!! I love the photo of above your sink. So many simple little beautiful things :)
I have been having a really bad week too (getting laid off from my teaching job next month) and have been struggling to look on the bright side. Thanks for the reminder, I think we can all use one every now and then. Hope you feel better soon :)
Hi, Tara…
I visit your blog weekly, and saw this post before the one prior to it about the accident, so I understand it better now.
I was supposed to be getting some work done, but for the last hour I’ve been crying and looking at pictures of a family I don’t even know, but can only imagine how incredibly broken they are right now, and I’m terribly saddened to see that these three beautiful children are now gone.
I just wanted to send some hugs to you and hopes that you will be in better spirits soon.
Thanks for posting the story because we all need these little reminders about how fragile time and family and little faces can be… and how we need to slow down sometimes and really soak in how blessed we are to have each day that we are given… and each day that our children get a chance to learn and grow.
It’s scary that we can do everything to protect these little ones…and in an instant, someone else’s actions can wipe that all out.
I hope you have a beautiful Mother’s Day.
such a beautiful message
and such happy images.
love those tiny vases
and the scrabble message.
thanks for sharing these.
warm wishes to you.
OK, didn’t notice this the first time I read today’s blog entry —– the Scrabble letters on the windowsill??? BRILLIANT! Musat steal that idea for my house. Love. It.
gorgeous flowers!!! makes me want to run out and get some fresh flowers right now.
LOVE the bathroom sign. That’s hilarious!
Tara, this is about the post about the accident. I’m so glad you posted that because I would never have know about it (living in Kansas and having tornado problems right now…that’s all that is in the news here). I needed to see that and I need to pray for that mom and dad. Thank you for letting us know.
nancy
I don’t know if you’ll see this but I’ll give it a shot…
What kind of flowers are those? They are beautiful! I’ve never seen them and I’d love to ask about them at my local florist.
Thanks!
Jennifer
lovely pictures. love the pictures with the little girl and all det horses..
Have horses like that when i was little
Hey there Tara.
I too have had a rough week and have been trying to pull myself out of being sad and overwhelmed by “things”. I am so hugely sadened by the post previous to this one and can’t even imagine what that is like for that poor mother losing all her 3 children at once and also how that is for you to have driven past the accident and thought it could have been your family. That post and this recent post has given my brain a huge reality check and made me realise to not sweat the small stuff.
I’m searching and finding things left, right and centre that make me smile now that I’m looking and like you say when you take a step outside of yourself to look around there is so much to see that makes you smile!
Thank you Tara for sharing, you have helped so many of us to feel better about ourselves this week so I send my new smiles your way too and hope you can carry them with you into your week ahead.
Jo Andrew from Australia