Emily here from the Whitney English team! Today I’m sharing our gift-giving rules to help guide you through the season. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when gifting during the holidays. We all want to gift with intention, right? We want to celebrate our relationships. We want to show our loved ones, our caretakers, and service…
It has been a long week of book edits, client work, and preparing for the holidays. Today’s writing is short and sweet. Things I told myself this week: Recognize when you’ve done the best you can. It might not be YOUR best, but it’s truly what you could give in that moment. Honor that, celebrate…
I believe that gratitude changes things. When you have a sense of gratitude (along with purpose and connection), you have the ability to build a more beautiful life. Practicing gratitude — actively choosing to feel it, experience it, and act on it — will make you happier. But, gratitude, is not a one-and-done thing, that’s…
I haven’t always been good with routines. When I was in college, I spent a day mapping out the perfect plan for my daily and weekly life. Gridlines on notebook paper were the original Bullet Journal, and my hand-drawn schedule reflected the best intentions. I took it to work the next day and showed it…
“We’re going to have a little family cleaning lesson tomorrow,” I announced this evening. Halfway between the foot of the stairs and our bedroom door, I was talking to David. But hoping my air of patient authority was wafting back up the stairs to my kids. “Are you talking to me?” David called from our…
One thing I’ve started tracking during my Weekly Review is meals. Some weeks we follow my Never-Ask-Me-Again-What’s-For-Dinner meal plan to a T. Other weeks we’re more relaxed. We’re in the middle of a renovation project (more on that later, there’s a giant hole in the middle of our dining room) so we’re going with the…
Do you ever have one of those nights where you wake up with a sudden burst of clarity and a great idea? It’s rare, but I love it when it happens. And it just so happened last night. In the wee small hours of this morning, a light bulb went off, and I was inspired…
The Bangles were right; it’s just another manic Monday. Last year I made a list of 5 things to do on Monday morning. It’s my start-the-week-off-right ritual. These few little tricks help me get out of a Monday morning funk. If you find yourself in the middle of a manic Monday, or you’re looking for…
I lost a friend this week, and this earth lost a kind, funny, good-hearted soul. My high school graduating class was small–only 44 people–and he is the first to leave us. Even though I hadn’t seen him in years, his death has rippled through our loosely connected community. I’ve said “I love you” to old…
