There are a lot of things to worry about right now. The coming hurricane (if you’re on the East Coast), the drought (if you’re in Texas), the economy (if you’re anywhere), to name a few … Which is why I thought I’d spread a little positive-thinking link love and share some blogs, sites and images that have been helping me maintain a positive attitude.
I could probably come up with 101 reasons why I find Heidi Swanson’s blog 101 Cookbooks such a source of inspiration. Here are my top two. 1) Her delicious and healthy recipes. They’re vegetarian but you don’t have to be to enjoy them, they’re so full of flavor. I’m one of those people who think most things taste better with bacon, so you can trust me on this! 2) Her lovely photographs. They remind me that sometimes the greatest joys in life are the simplest —a ripe lemon, fresh flowers, a thoughtfully prepared meal.
The blog Plenty of Colour by a Vancouver-based designer named Chloé will literally brighten your day. Check it out and you’ll see what I mean. In fact, her recent post about these Action Pencils (each is printed with a positive action and, cleverly, the only one that has an eraser says “Don’t worry if you make a mistake”) led me to another site that’s packed with positivity.
We Are What We Do is a UK-based nonprofit that creates products (like the Action Pencils mentioned above) and digital tools that encourage people to take small, simple positive actions. The idea is that together these small actions will make a big difference socially and environmentally and make the world a better place. Cool, huh? Take a look at their list of 131 positive actions. Some of my faves include #2: Read a story with a child; #32: Do something you think you can’t do; and #114: Love where you live.
As you might guess from the title, Adventures of an Almost 40 Year Old Intern is the fun blog of “a formerly successful career gal trying to find herself again.” Holly in Los Angeles lost her job as a marketing exec last year and decided to look at her unemployment as an opportunity to find a new path that makes her feel happy, creative and fulfilled. She’s taking art classes and is doing an internship (yes, at age 39) with an interior design firm. Her fabulous, budget-friendly D.I.Y. projects (click here to see what she did during “Carmageddon” last month) are really inspiring. So are her upbeat attitude and sense of humor and gratitude.
I’ll leave you with a little something I found in the shop LuciusArt on Etsy. Be awesome today. Great motto to live by, don’t you think?
