practicing and expressing gratitude can have positive impacts on our mind, body and spirit. an attitude of gratitude improves your wellbeing, enhances empathy, and encourages an optimistic outlook towards life.

— ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ january

• i am grateful for sunsets that blush the skies in lavender.
• i am grateful for the sound of a spoon mixing a teacup.
• i am grateful for cicadas humming outside windows.
• i am grateful for morning breezes wearing wisteria perfume.
• i am grateful for little stars gently touching the ocean’s edge.

— ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ february

• i am grateful for sidewalk chalk rainbows washed by rain.

• antiques: porcelain teacups · leather books · pressed flowers
• architectures: stained glass · wrought iron · arched doorways
• baked goods: croissants · scones · madeleines · brioche
• birds: hummingbirds · nightingales · mourning doves · robins
• colours: periwinkle ⋅ mauve ⋅ porcelain ⋅ gainsboro ⋅ lilac
• desserts: blueberry cake ⋅ macaroons ⋅ shortbread cookie
• feelings: connection with nature ⋅ contentment in stillness
• flowers: hyacinths ⋅ roses ⋅ lavender ⋅ baby's breath ⋅ wisteria
• garden features: trellises · bird baths · stone pathways
• hobbies: reading ⋅ pottery ⋅ flower-picking ⋅ journaling
• insects: fireflies · ladybugs · dragonflies · ...

• when she enters a room, she meows at everyone present.
• she smells every new flower that blossoms in the garden.
• hates visitors and bites them when she wants them gone.
• climbs fruit trees, then meows to be brought down.
• only hunts the bugs and critters that are colourful and pretty.
• enjoys being carried stomach up, like one carries a baby.
• prefers to drink from the watering can than from her bowl.
• is terrified of fireworks, but calms herself when chopin plays.
• squeaks, purrs, and hums when she is dreaming.
• poses elegantly when someone approaches with a camera.

i am an april-born daydreamer, quiet-talker and rabbit-hearted girl. i'm an enthusiast of handwritten letters, secret gardens, old music boxes, overgrown cottages, forgotten journals, and all things which can collect and safekeep memories. i enjoy reading poems, picking flowers, drinking tea, daydreaming, listening to orchestras, and writing notes about it all.

i love... birds singing in the early morning ⋅ chamomile tea with honey ⋅ claude monet paintings ⋅ flowers that grow against all odds in harsh places ⋅ public libraries ⋅ reading books while sitting by a window ⋅ evenings at the ballet with my friends ⋅ lavender perfume ⋅ raindrops tapping gently on the roof ⋅ receiving handwritten letters ⋅ nurturing plants into flourishing ⋅ first dates at the café ⋅ old music boxes with twirling ballerinas inside ⋅ identifying constellations ⋅ french and italian opera ⋅ freshly picked blueberries ⋅ old photographs of family members ⋅ the scent of the earth after rain ⋅ barefoot dancing ⋅ gentlemen that open doors for you ⋅ the full moon in a clear night ⋅ frederic chopin ⋅ the pages of a well-worn journal ⋅ afternoon naps ⋅ beginner-friendly pottery classes

• miniature pie tarts with a blueberry filling ✦
• blueberry macarons with a cheesecake filling ✦
• blackberry and lavender macarons with lemon filling ✦
• the best chocolate chip cookies of all time (really) ✦
• buttery shortbread cookie with blueberry jam ✦
• raspberry crumb bars with a sweet jam filling ✦

• wake every morning with gratitude for the blessing of living.
• offer a kind word to bloom in someone's heart like a flower.
• bear witness to the sunshine, let it bring you gratitude.
• speak kindly to yourself so you may speak kindly to others.
• help carry the burdens of others as a breeze lifts the leaves.
• embrace your silence, allow others to share their own stories.
• let hope become a light to someone lost in the darkness.
• use kindness as your compass, go where it leads your heart.
• use your words like a river, flowing gently yet unwaveringly.
• walk barefoot on the grass, connect with the earth beneath.
• be mindful of each footprint you leave on...

i believe that poetry is the most beautiful form of human creativity. every month i select five favourites poems that i’ve read. they are often about hope and wonderment, the beauty of nature, and love for the world.

— ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ january

• for the new year, 1981; denise levertov. ✦
• where everything is music; rumi. ✦
• who knows if the moon; e. e. cummings ✦
• if no one ever marries me; laurence alma-tadema ✦
• in blackwater woods; mary oliver ✦

— ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ february

• in the name of the bee; pádraig o’ tuama ✦
• where does the temple begin; mary oliver ✦

• a: attentiveness ⋅ auroras ⋅ affection ⋅ affirmations ⋅ autumn
• b: blossoms ⋅ bookshelves ⋅ blueberries ⋅ ballet ⋅ butterflies
• c: clovers ⋅ cottages ⋅ compassion ⋅ candles ⋅ constellations
• d: delight ⋅ dandelions ⋅ daydreams ⋅ dewdrops ⋅ daffodils
• e: evergreen ⋅ eucalyptus ⋅ empathy ⋅ evenings ⋅ ephemeral
• f: forests ⋅ feathers ⋅ forget-me-nots ⋅ friends ⋅ fireflies ⋅ fawns
• g: gardening ⋅ green tea ⋅ gratitude ⋅ golden hour ⋅ gentleness
• h: hummingbirds ⋅ hyacinths ⋅ hope ⋅ honeysuckle ⋅ hues
• i: ivy vines ⋅ instrospection ⋅ irises ⋅ incense ⋅ imagination
• j: joy ⋅ jardinières ⋅ jasmines ⋅ journaling ⋅ january ⋅ jokes
• k: kisses ⋅ keepsakes ⋅ kindness ⋅ kn...

• le jardin de capulet · roméo et juliette, mvmt ii · berlioz. ✦
  • the capulets' garden is silent and deserted, until it is filled with the sound of the young capulets leaving the banquet singing snatches of music from the ball.
• allegro giocoso · symphony no. 4, mvmt iii · brahms. ✦
  • an eruption of triumphant energy, pounding like a victorious dance, before yielding to a soft trio of woodwinds, tinged with an autumnal melancholy.
• con grazia · symphonie no. 6, mvmt ii · tchaikovsky. ✦
  • a graceful waltz set in an unusual rhythm, where the feeling of sorrow glides across the ballroom amidst moments of tender and almost desperate lyricism.
• poco allegretto · symphony no. 3, mvmt iii · brahms. ✦
  • once described by clara schumann as “a ...