One Step Closer

I just gave notice to my property manager– I suppose I could back out now, but it’s hardly likely – this is just one more step closer to San Francisco. Then, let the games begin!!

I feels good, really good. I thought I might have more trepidation, but not at this point – being insanely busy helps I think.

In a few days I am off to experience Fashion Week a la Southern California style. I promise to let you know all about it – I said ‘yes’ without knowing or caring about the details. I’m excited just to be in new surroundings, meet some very creative types, and get a chance to do something different. That’s right up my alley yes?

I’m off to get some serious R & R….

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Yes, I've been to Tiffany's....no, I've never purchased anything there, and the thing I loved the most about it was their turquoise boxes. But last night I watched the movie again, and so enjoyed a moment of extreme style...Audry Hepburn style, and bold quirkiness. I thought wouldn't it be fun get all dressed up, pick up a coffee and Danish and go to Tiffany's on Union Square in the wee hours of the morning?

The Mean Reds have me in their grip today - and even though it's not New York (where the real Tiffany's lives), I wonder if Tiffany's could give me the same sense of peace and connection as it did Holly Golightly. . . . now were is my black cocktail dress?

Day Dreaming . . . (Can't You Just Feel the Summer Breeze?)

Daydream Daybeds - Richard Frinier for Dedon

I don't know about you, but I could sit and dream for hours in this day bed....

Dear GPS Lady,

You sound so sure of yourself – like the time you told me to “turn left now” – and I was on a bridge going over the road you wanted me to turn on.

Then there was the time you told me to make a legal u-turn – yet I could see my destination 300 feet ahead of me.

And how come you have no idea where my brother lives? – he’s been there for years and years and still his street isn’t in your data base.

Of course the funniest time was when a friend was driving my car across the Richmond Bridge in the Bay Area and Ms. GPS told us to make a u-turn…I was used to her shenanigans, but you should have seen the look on my friends face.

So I wonder – how many other times have you steered me wrong?

Today, Always and Forever . . .

Today, always, .       . . an       . and forever.

May you live fully and             deeply in your passion

Today should be a day filled with love and adventure.

Let tomorrow be also filled with love and adventure.

Let no day pass without spending a moment 

or a lifetime deep in the arms of passion....

Passion for who you are and 

what you stand for. 

Always

Z

Change Your Lenses to Change Your World

I’m working in a new writing project right now and it’s really turning out to be loads of fun. Usually writing takes me on an inner journey – one that I love but it can become extremely isolating. This project, however is really taking me outside of myself.

I’ve been finding dozens of ways to view the ordinary in an uncommon way – examples give you a way to put on a new set of lenses and see your world from a different angle. Things like: “If your closet could speak, what would it say about you?” “Expect the unexpected”, “Visit a foreign land without leaving the grocery store”, “10 things a day giveaway”….these are some of the ways we can add some newness to our lives without spending money or a lot of time – adventure is an attitude - happiness is a frame of mind. Practicing a change in attitude will do wonders for your world – and besides, it’s FUN!

These ideas are going into an eBook that I’m working on – if you have a favorite one that you think should be included, don’t hesitate to send me an email with the ideas (you'll get full credit) – the more the merrier: zan@zanpackard.com – just be sure to put IDEAS in the subject line so that I know you aren’t spam - 'don't like it in a can, don't like it in my inbox!'.

RePurpose on Purpose

I bought some yarn the other day in my FAVORITE color Turquoise...too pretty to put away and not ready to work on it yet (sweater or afghan, can't decide). I saw an empty canister sitting on my kitchen counter and thought "Why not?"

Sea shells and Peruvian alpaca

Then there was the sea shell that usually holds fruit...

Empty planter in need of some color

And sometimes a flower pot isn't always a flower pot...
What can you re-purpose on purpose today?

Is Your Past Carved in Stone?

Have you ever reminisced with an old friend or family member about an event only to find out that you both have different memories? That happened to me the other day as I was recounting a childhood story. My friend stopped me half-way through, laughing and wondering if we were talking about the same event. She had her side of the story and I had mine – both so different that it made us pause and think about what else in our memories that might be skewed from our singular perspective.

Try this: with a pen and journal write out a story from your past (that involved at least one other person). Write out what you remember, what you smelled, what you heard…everything that comes to mind. Write out where your head was at (in general, not from or because of the event) - were you happy? Sad? Confused? Anxious?

NOW place your memories to the side for a moment, and put yourself in the other person’s shoes…first, write out everything you remember about the person’s life at that time – were they happy, lonely, angry – how were they feeling about themselves and their place in the world? Now that you’re sufficiently in their shoes, describe the event from their point of view…

What (if anything) changed? Isn’t it amazing how the event looks different from their point of view? Makes you wonder about everything that is stored in our memories – it’s all colored by our age, our circumstances, our world view – everything is open to interpretation isn’t it?

Kinda fun to see that things are always carved in stone.

I Do This…

This could be my new look

Every time I plan a move I start decorating the place I haven’t even found yet….it must be a strategy that helps make the move more exciting and less daunting. BUT I’ve also found that when I have a very clear vision of what I want (and how I want it to look), I magically find the perfect place.

Warm and cozy

I’ve been spending a lot of  time on two web sites: Apartment therapy.com and House of Turquoise.com….I admit that sometimes time gets away from me as I dream of how my new place will look….it’s more than images, it’s a feeling – the kind that you can identify in your body – the kind that makes you feel alive and excited and tingly.

Sleek and modern

I wonder if that’s why I move every few years. I know this….even with my next move to San Francisco – I’m not done.

What is Courage?

Courage is not the absence of fear – or pretending fear isn’t there. But the manifestation of courage is the opposite of fear – fear will keep you stuck, but courage will release you. But just what is courage and how do you get more?

I’ve been reading about some pretty courageous women who are doing some amazing things and there is NO WAY that they haven’t had an up close and personal relationship with fear along their path– so how have they done it? What makes them so significantly different from you and me?

I know they each have perseverance, a level of stubbornness, and an unwillingness to accept defeat (in their cases defeat could very easily mean death). It doesn’t mean that they have never wanted to give up or walk away – it just means that that isn’t an option for them.

But that’s after they have committed themselves to a dream….it’s the dreaming I think that makes the difference. We all embody a range of perseverance, stubbornness and unwillingness to accept defeat – but we don’t all step into our dreams with 100% commitment.

So can courage can be defined by the outrageousness of our dreams and going for it anyway. If we do that then, is courage only granted to the outrageous? Or is it more a matter of faith? Trusting that things will work out – no matter how far the deck is stacked against you….trusting that this outrageous dream of yours means something and that something is worth taking a risk for – trusting that you’ll always land on your feet – even if you have to dust yourself off a few times.

Consider also that what is courage to me is child’s play to someone else…as I read about the physical and mental fetes of other women who are putting their lives at risk, I begin to compare my own adventures – a dangerous practice I can tell you…I am not rowing the oceans or climbing Mt. Everest, but what I’m doing takes courage none-the-less….I’m more like getting into the water one toe at a time – whereas there are those that jump in and then figure out how to swim. I’m a baby stepper – they are leapers, but we all are letting our dreams guide and lead us on this journey of life…..

Limbo is Only Good if it’s a dance

OK I admit it, I feel like I’m in limbo - standing in the doorway, outside, just waiting to go in….a bit stuck in today’s reality. So I started wondering just what is reality really? It is, of course exactly what we make it, so why am I making mine feel so stuck?

Yes, I went on adventure the other day – traveling roads I’ve traveled many times before, but with a new perspective – but it didn’t really work. Gone were the excitement and the expectation of new. So I have to ask myself, why am I accepting this right now? Not sure, but currently it feels like I can’t go forward until I actually move. WRONG. I must find a way to create sparkle and vibrancy for the next 6 weeks – a life of freedom is a precious thing.

I have lots of projects waiting for me – things that I can do that will up my energy quotient…so maybe it’s time to get into my craft room and start rummaging through my supplies – maybe the excitement isn’t without, but within. Maybe my instincts are spot on after all…

Smell that Coffee!

Fresh coffee never smells so good as it does in the wee light of dawn Saturday morning. You might think that because I work from home that I have the ability to have coffee whenever I want – and you’d be right, except that I’ve learned that working from home takes some discipline. It’s all too easy to just keep working – 24/7. I’ve done it before, it’s been necessary before, but it wears thin very quickly.

Today I’m taking the day off – I’m taking time to not only drink the coffee, but smell it too. I’m heading into town to explore….I’m craving new, and unique – not always easy to find in small town USA – so today I have to mix it up….just because I’ve done it many times before doesn’t mean it’s old hat (whatever the ‘it’ is).

There is ALWAYS a new way to look at things – the biggest challenge is to look at things that feel common and ordinary and find their uniqueness. The biggest challenge is to stay in the ‘now’ and not revert back to been there done that – today I will travel the same ground with new eyes – sounds like a good kind of day.

Is Less, More?

For a few years now I’ve been seriously downsizing (well, except for boots, but that’s another story). When I first moved to the Central Coast, from a place I’d called home for over 20 years, everything fit into an Audi Avant and a 10’ x 10’ storage unit. I’m down to what would fit in the same Avant and a 5’ x 10’ storage unit and I couldn't be happier. Less really is more.

I have so few things now, but what I do have really counts. Don’t think my home doesn’t matter to me – it does GREATLY. It’s my haven and my refuge, but it’s filled more with attitude than stuff: I have candles everywhere, which I burn regularly; my treasured, eclectic art hangs on all walls – giving me emotional hugs and kicks in the pants as needed; my extravagant and wonderful Eames chair is my ‘office’; I’m within reach of books that make my heart sing with adventure; and sunshine that bathes everything in glorious, healing light, and, of course boots - they just make me happy.

Although anything can (and often does) happen, it’s very likely that I’ll be living in a studio in San Francisco. They are challenging to say the least – I hate clutter, and I hate cramped – but I love small and cozy so I’m excited to try my hand at creating the perfect place to call home: My perfect nest that makes me feel welcome, and glad to stay awhile; a place that will ground me when I’m spinning from too much excitement and chaos from the outside world.

The correlation between a studio and a hotel room is not lost on me….now, if I could only find valet parking.