Our guest today is Michelle of Blue Moss. Michelle makes lovely jewelry with materials sourced from vintage bits, which she mixes together to make unique pieces. Back in May, she donated a pair of earrings for my impromptu mother’s day giveaway. She’s a kind heart and down to earth. Take a look at her list and then take a moment to think of your ow. Then, you can see her blog here or visit her etsy shop.

i love getting mail
….all kinds. i love letters, and packages, and magazines (i would buy them by the truckload if i could), and catalogs, and even some junk mail if it comes in pretty envelope.

i love car trips…
if we have a free day, i love jumping in the car and going somewhere. I like being in the car and just talking, and relaxing, and even snoozing as much getting to the destination.

i love new shoes….and boots
they are my absolute favorite purchase.

i love my family….
they are what make me smile.

i love thrifting….
you never know what fabulous little thing you will find.
Iam totally in love with giving a new life to something that has been discarded or forgotten.

1. etsy, 2. barefoot posse 3. the daily foto, 4. amelia kay, 5. blue moss girls

Kicking off our first everyday beautiful life post of the new year today! I’m happy to introduce Rachel of Lovely Clusters as our guest today. Lovely Clusters is a lovely place, indeed. I visit it daily and always find inspiration. Rachel gives us an exquisite post and something to think about as we are still making or pursuing our new years resolutions. Enjoy!

{Nature & Relaxation}
There is nothing more calming to me then being outside in a forest, even if I get a few mosquito bites. The clean air, the fresh smell and nothing to do but talk with friends and admire the greenery is fun and relaxing to me.

{Doing what I love}
I love designing whether it be an interior, business card, website, or crafting cards and journals. I love it all!

{Reading and Learning}
If there is something I don’t know too much about I will look it up or ask my husband. My husband is that guy who Googles everything if we cant think of something. It makes me happy when it comes up again and we know it already. Knowledge is power!

{Being with the people I love}
If you can be with the people who you trust, who treat you well and make you feel good about yourself I think you can live a very beautiful life.

{Travel}
Going outside of your normal routine can be so healthy and rejuvenating. Living on an island can feel monotonous at times and whenever I leave I notice how gratifying it can be. I usually want to be back though in about a week.

{Setting Goals}
Completing them brings me joy and a great feeling of accomplishment.

I hope this list puts a smile on your face. It’s nice to look at the things that make life beautiful in a bigger picture. I think I am going to make them be part of my New Years resolution. Cheers to 2010!!

– Rachel Follett from Lovely Clusters

Photo Source: SWAN clothing, stylemepretty, aimeelikestotakepics, liebemarlene, oxcar,

Merry Christmas!!! It’s my favorite day of the year. While we make preparations to roast a pig and gorge ourselves on Cuban food with about 30 other loud Cuban relatives, you are probably enjoying a quiet moment reading blogs before the madness begins at your house. We have an expert on beautiful living for our guest today. Claudia of the blog Paris Apartment is also the author of the book by the same name. You may also visit her website to learn more about how she has made a living from, well, beautiful living. Claudia now resides, like me, in South Florida, and unlike me, she makes frequent trips to Paris. {I wish! Must do something about that…}

Enjoy her lovely list and we hope that you have a wonderful holiday!

{Flowers}
I have a firm belief that flowers were put on earth just to make us happy. Whenever I need a lift, I’ll grab a small bouquet. Otherwise a tiny bud or just a whiff will do the trick!

{Love letters and keepsakes}
One of my favorite things in the world are trinkets from the past. Just having tiny mementos that were so thoughtfully written and crafted with such detail brings a beauty to daily life that modern technology and mass production just can’t match.

{Bedding}
There’s nothing as beautiful as fresh sheets and pillowcases on down pillows. It’s one of life’s simple pleasures and if they’ve been pressed, well, that’s pure bliss.

{Family}
Life is more beautiful when shared with the ones we love. Family means everything to me and I don’t know where I would be without any single one of them.

{Lounging around}
Nothing makes me happier than spending time relaxing, reading and having absolutely no agenda. It’s only when I have time to myself that I can appreciate the beauty in the little things, like breathing and daydreaming.

{Fantasizing}
I love to imagine what it would be like to fix up an apartment in Paris. It’s wonderful to imagine creating a beautiful life in the city with all the trimmings. Everything starts with those daydreams!

{The Ocean}
Nothing is more beautiful than nature. At the ocean time stands still, and the only things that matter are earth, air, fire and water. It’s one of the few places to get to infinity and beyond!

{Travel}
Traversing this glorious planet is my obsession. There is not an inch of it I wouldn’t love to see from the castles to the caves.

{New Shoes}
They put a spring in your step that nothing else can quite match. Especially if they’re Chanel.

{Old books}
Being in the presence of old books; their smell, their feel, their energy…it’s a way to be transported to another time and place. They’re so constant and quietly beautiful.

{The future}
Looking to the future I see a beautiful world developing that’s clean, efficient, friendly and hopeful. A world where we use the power of nature to make sure every person on earth has water, food and shelter.

{Security}
My life is only beautiful because of the selflessness of others who have and still fight for my freedom. I don’t have the words to express my gratitude to these perfect strangers who live and die so that I might have the opportunity to indulge in any of these dreams, but grateful I am!

Could we have a more perfect guest for a mid-December EBL than Alice of Painted White? Her style and her pictures are wonderfully soft and suitable for winter. If you don’t know Alice, she has a lovely shop filled with all sorts of beautiful things for your enjoyment. Of course, she also has a blog. Visit both when you are done reading her lovely list.

Love…

Love ignites the soul and can add beauty in even the simplest of ways. Once when I was away on a trip, my husband had packed away several tiny hand written notes and tucked them in the pockets of my suitcase and clothing. Each day I found a new one. I still remember how thrilled I was and how my heart would melt each time I found a bit of folded up paper…

Faith…

My faith in God is what gets me through each day – and especially the darkest of times. Faith is what brings the light shining through and reminds me that there is so much beauty to behold here…if we only stop to notice…

Family…
We would be lost without family – those that know us best and accept and love us just as we are. My life would not be near as beautiful if I didn’t have my family to share it with…

Generosity…

I believe life is about sharing what you have. Not hoarding it away. I love, love, love to give gifts – especially those that are personal or handmade. I love to wrap them up creatively too…just taking a little extra time to show how much you care. And , I am always overwhelmed and blessed by gifts received – a handmade card is surely enough to bring tears to my eyes…

Remnants of the Past

Anything with a history, a past, a story to tell – these things can be found all throughout my home and life. From my vintage sofa to a scrap of paper found in an old book – they are all reminders of the past and give my life beauty and character…

A Neutral Palette

Surrounding myself with a simple palette helps me to notice the textures and details of everyday things. It also creates a peaceful and soothing environment when done right. I love a room filled with whites, creams, beiges and grays with perhaps a bit of darker browns and blacks thrown in…

The ability to Create

Without it, I would be lost. The ability to create has richly blessed my life. I love tapping into different avenues of creativity from painting, to collage art, to sewing, to jewelry making. Whenever I am creating my soul feels fulfilled and satisfied…as if it knows I am doing what I should and following my deepest passions…

If you read one post this week on my blog, please make it this one.

We focus on the beautiful here everyday. As you know, it is impossible to live a beautiful life without giving and kindness. It’s vital to take the time to consider the value of others. It helps us be aware of our own value and our role in this life. I firmly believe that we are all made of something precious and shared. I believe that everything in this universe is connected. So, today I’m asking you to take a moment and do something kind for someone else. Do something beautiful for your universe…

Paloma at La Dolce Vita approached me with this wonderful project. She rounded up several bloggers to give back this holiday and make a difference for a very special charity. Pencils of Promise is a kick-ass 501c3 {aka non-profit} that partners with local communities and organizations to build schools of early-stage education in developing nations for some of the world’s most impoverished and undereducated children.  There are more than 75 million children in this situation worldwide. I find that totally unacceptable, as I’m sure do you.

Last December, the Pencils of Promise team visited a small village in Laos. By July 2009, they had built a new school for the village children who started attending classes on September 1^st.

The next step?

Pencils of Promise is focusing on helping the girls of Champet, a village in Laos that is home to the only high school in the area. In order to attend this high school, the students in the village and surrounding villages must leave their families and homes to live in dormitories. These dormitories are basically makeshift bamboo huts. They are not safe, but the girls are taking this huge risk to get an education. They are taking the risk to better their lives, their community, their world. How courageous is that?

In the spirit of the holiday season, we are asking for your help today on behalf of these children. Just think of the enormous impact we could have if each person who reads this post donates just $1.00. If you are willing and able to give more ($35.00 buys shelves for a classroom, $50 provides pencils for one year, $100 provides a teacher’s salary for three months and so on), it would be greatly appreciated. We are in the midst of the giving season and hope that you will find it in your heart to make a donation to this worthy cause today. If these girls can put their lives at risk to better themselves and their universe, can’t you spare a minute and one dollar? I think we all can.

The goal for Blogger Action Day: Build safe, legitimate housing for the female children to have access to further their education. Currently, some parents are unwilling to send their kids to school because of the danger of these huts that you will see others living in. This dormitory size will fit about 200 young Laotian girls.

The cost: $1 and 1 minute

The result: More than I could possibly express on the pages of this blog.

{btw} If you would like to stay informed about the difference Pencils of Promise is making, be sure to become a fan on their Facebook page.

photography by nick onken