Hola my dearest hearts!

It’s a Wednesday night and I’m tip-tapping you away as we wait for a cyclone to cross the coast.

What better way to stay happy & calm then by putting together our weekly Goddess Inspiration roundups?

They always make me feel so so good after putting them together…

So, thanks to Cyclone Kiss My Yasi… this week’s Goddess Inspiration!

I hope it is gentle waves & undulating breezes for you! tee hee hee!!!

(P.S. The cyclone has passed & we’re all safe! Yipppeeeeeee!)

First off! Our soundtrack for today!

Amen, darling Macy. There really is SO MUCH BEAUTY IN THE WORLD.

Two of my fave intuitive energy reading posts from ze week:

Akiah Elan & Victoria SkyDancer

I disregard the proportions, the measures, the tempo of the ordinary world. I refuse to live in the ordinary world as ordinary women. To enter ordinary relationships, I want ecstasy. I am a neurotic—in the sense that I live in my world. I will not adjust myself to the world. I am adjusted to myself.
-Anais Nin

Loved this quote from this beautiful post by Terri Fischer

Cass’ Museum of Magic was chockfulla delicious this week.

Also thanks to glorious Cass: Bangable Dudes in History.

I contributed a photo of my {piled with projects} studio desk to the magical Terri Windling’s blog.

Have you read her book “The Wood Wife“? One of the most strange, mythical & compelling books I have ever read.

My new crush is Alexandra Franzen. I heart her article on How To Bestow A Courageous Compliment.

The adorable Amy interviewed me on Confessions of a Fashion Editor.

I need to send this card to my hunky love immediately. Via Design Work Life.

Also love this article on a family switching off… I thought it sounded familiar, then I realised I’d already read ze book six months ago & yammered on about it mercilessly here. Book = Winter of our Disconnect by Susan Maushart. Anyways. STILL GOOD! INSPIRING!

The Vegan Stoner recipe blog is equal parts delicious, hilarious + gorgeously illustrated.

And food related, these facts on sugar kinda made me flip: Why I’m Giving Up Sugar (on Sarah Wilson).

Especially this one:

Our bodies are NOT designed to eat sugar. Until recently (about 200 years ago) sugar was such a rarity in nature (only found in fruit or honey…which were both hard to access) that our bodies were designed without an “I’m full” switch for it so that when we did stumble upon it we could gorge on the stuff and store the energy fast. 150 years ago we ate no sugar. Today we eat more than a kilo a week on average. Over a year, that translates to almost 15kg of body fat.

I love seeing amazing pieces of art through ze wonders of ze interwebs. But my goshness, I would so love to see this porcelain dress face-to-plate. It just makes me swoon. Via Designboom.com.

Loved this post on Creative Whimsy about Goal Setting.

Lovely blog planners on Create as Folk.

Ways to manage your schedule on ze Happiest Mom

I used to say “yes” immediately whenever anyone would ask if I could do something… Now I practice using the phrase “Let me get back to you.”

I can so related to this one. I’m an immediate Yes-er… then I realise that… ohhhh that’s right. I only have like a bazillion other projects on right now.

Beautiful backgrounds by August Empress.

Damn You Auto Correct has me howling. I thought it was just ME who managed to misspell very inappropriate things on my itouch!!!

This beautiful sunset at Blog is Found.

I’ve got one of her art t-shirts. And I concur with Tangerine Meg’s radiant list on why art on my tshirt makes me bold & happy.

Mama Goddess Corner

Andrea’s birth story of Nico was just beautiful. And very healing for me in many ways.

Here’s my favourite bits:

The more I talked with my friend, the more I realized that not scheduling an induction, not having an epidural, etc. was me trying to be good. Trying to do it right… in the “natural” way that people do it here in Berkeley.

“What would a fun and easy birth look like to you?” she asked me. (She knows these are two of my core values) I laughed at the impossibility of it… Birth? fun and easy? Is that even possible? But for the sake of conversation I answered, “I would get the epidural as soon as possible and have a pain free 5 hour labor where I chatted and laughed with Matt and the nurses.” Then that’s what you should plan for! she encouraged.

My body immediately relaxed at the thought and tears came to my eyes. In that moment I realized what was underneath my desire for it to be easy. Although my labor with Ben was great, it was 15 hours of breathing through incredibly painful contractions (often with no break between them). I had to go so deep into myself to manage them that I was somewhere else entirely. My eyes were closed the entire time as I sat on the hospital bed, afraid to move a muscle. I didn’t want anyone to touch me or talk to me, and although at the time I wasn’t aware of it, in retrospect, I see how disconnected and alone I felt. It wasn’t horrible or traumatic necessarily, just something I felt like no one could help me with, something I had to do myself.

Starving Artist Ink’s The Shape of a Mother photo essay is utterly exquisite. What a powerful woman!

As is Creative Leah. I’m in love with the mamas in this world.

I loved this blog post by Pinky McKay on Parenting with Heart:

Trust yourself. Trust your child. Trust your feelings. Take good care of yourself. Laugh, love, enjoy, and remember to be as gentle on yourself and your beloved as you are with your child.

And that’s pretty much the perfectest advice to end on, dearest.

May your world be beautiful today. Just like you.

A thousand times love,