Monday, August 4, 2025

Living the Lore: 3 Ways to Enchant Your Day

Most of us have heard the phrase "romanticize your life." Today, I discovered three new ways to weave a bit of magic into my everyday that I hadn’t come across before. This blog was sparked by Baylie Fortier’s video on YouTube.  Let's have some fun! 


1. Train Like You’re Preparing

Picture this: instead of just exercising, you’re training for battle or for your travel through the wild lands. You’re not just lifting weights or doing yoga but forging the strength to wield your blade with precision and power. Running the treadmill isn’t just cardio, you’re preparing to flee an enemy’s pursuit through the darkened woods.

Example: A Court of Thorns and Roses series - Think of Feyre at Windhave, the Illyrian war-camp, or Nesta training high in the sparring ring atop the House of Wind. Every movement is more than just working out...you are preparing to defend your realm. 


2. Write About Yourself in the Third Person

There’s something that shifts mentally when narrating your own life like it’s part of an epic tale. You are the world-weaver! 

Here’s an example when I thought about my drive to work today:

As pink and gray sunlight crested the hills, the light-keeper pulled a soft shroud around her shoulders. She sipped a chilled, creamy brew and noted a mist curling over the meadows but felt there was nothing nefarious in its movement. After a deep, calming breath, she walked over and slid into her traveling vessel. It was a blue machine bearing the power of 151 unseen phantom stallions. As she took hold of the halo reins, she whispered to herself and the awaking morning, 'Whatever lay ahead, I'm ready.'

When you write about yourself this way, your actions, even small ones, feel more alive and meaningful. And sometimes we just need that. So, finishing a work project can become the final strike that secures victory in the day’s campaign or cleaning changes into banishing the dark spirits that linger in your fortress. It's refreshing.


3. Rename Landmarks

Your everyday surroundings may feel ordinary, but they can take on new life when you rename them in true fantasy fashion. When I thought about it, I remembered that Anne of Green Gables did this. So, that intersection you drive through? It’s now Prickle Crossroads. The route you run for exercise through the neighborhood? Dragonfly path. The tiny doughnut shop across town? The House of Sugar Enchantments.

Once you rename a place, you can’t help but see it differently because to rename it makes you notice details you once overlooked. Your senses awaken because you are looking for a name to describe the white glow spilling from your office window or renaming the streets on your way to the dentist because a tall cactus always catches your eye at the corner of 5th and Main. The world feels more vibrant because you give it more of a story.


Enchanting your day in a fantasy style isn’t pretending your reality is something it’s not but maybe just uncovering the magic already there. Why do things have to be bland? So, whether you’re sweating through your “battle training” or renaming the corner store like it's from a fairy tale, I think that weaving a little more wonder into the everyday is beautiful. 

My hope is that tomorrow when you pass your favorite café, or lace up your shoes, or pick up your cell phone, maybe you’ll take a moment and see your life through the eyes of a storyteller.

Tuesday, July 29, 2025

The Quiet Question That Guides Me

Recent Sunflower at my home

Some choices pull you in fast, but not every pull is worth following. I’ve been asking myself a question and it's been helping me cut through the noise and find what actually feels right. Basically it's, “What am I really reaching for?” And this is helping me see my true desires verses those that are negatively emotion driven. 

  • True Desires reflect your values and support your long-term goals.

  • Emotional driven feelings are temporary distractions, filler impulses or disguised needs.

Here are a few examples:

  • About to scroll social media: Am I craving connection or just avoiding boredom? What am I really reaching for?

  • Feeling I need to exercise: Do I want to care for my body or just a response to outside pressure. What am I really reaching for?

  • Sudden urge for a new purchase: Do I really need this or am wanting the thrill of impulse buying? What am I really reaching for?

  • Considering a new commitment: Do I genuinely want to be part of it, or am I saying yes out of obligation. What am I really reaching for?

  • Calling a friend: Do I want to connect with them or am I seeking their reassurance or validation? What am I really reaching for?

This little check-in has been helping me choose activities with intention instead of reaction. It’s a shift I didn’t know I needed until recently so I thought I'd share. :) 

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Seeking Pemberley: Our Ladies' Elegant Escape

 

Philbrook gardens
In June, I had the joy of taking a much needed trip with my mom and daughter. I called it our Ladies Elegant Escape. The idea was simple but powerful: to step away from the routines of caring for everyone else and simply care for ourselves.

We leaned into every moment, savoring great food without rushing, lingering over pie, laughing freely, and letting ourselves just be. There is something deeply restorative about carving out space for three generations to connect, uninterrupted.

One of the most memorable activities was visiting the beautiful Philbrook Museum of Arts and gardens in Tulsa, OK. This stop fit perfectly with my Heartistry – Pride & Prejudice inspired activities. Walking through the elegant galleries and looking out over the gardens felt like visiting Pemberley itself. It was beautiful and peaceful, with just the right touch of history and charm to make it unforgettable. No photos do justice to any of these paintings but I've put some of my favorites below with details. If you click on the photos, they should be larger. 

Side note: The museum also surprised us with a Samurai exhibition. The intricate armor and striking displays added a dramatic contrast to the soft elegance of the galleries and garden. 

William-Adolphe Bouguereau
1889

Rosa Bonheur
1891

"An Angry Sea” by Thomas Moran (1887)

"Judith" 1675 by Simone Pignoni 
Her expression close up was fascinating.

N. C. Wyeth
1929

My cute coffee cup at the AirB&B. :)

Love her! 

Momma is so beautiful!



Momma with 
D'Ascenzo Studios
c. 1927

Female Great Dane by Anna Hyatt Huntington 
One of the first works to enter the Philbrook collection in 1939
People shouldn't, but you can see visitors have pat the pup on the head and 
kissed it's nose a few times.

Winslow Homer
1887

"Grand Canal at Venice"

"How to be Happy though Single" - 1891; Julia B. Folkard



Felice Schiavoni
1850
This was more beautiful than I ever imagined. 
I had to go back to view it once more before we left. 

Three Sisters” (2024) by Muscogee Creek Artist
The Three Sisters is a Native American gardening method where corn, beans, 
and squash are planted together. Each helps the others grow — 
corn supports beans, beans enrich the soil, and squash shades the ground.

(Les Pommes)  The Apples, 1947 - The first Pablo Picasso painting I've seen in person.
I did not like it...at first, but it's grown on me. 

Amphora with Heracles and Dionysus Greek, Circa: 530 BCE !!!

Mathieu Ignace Van Brée
1797

This was my favorite painting. 
The delicate silk dress and the subtle details revealed themselves the longer I looked. 
It brought me to tears. A closer photo is below. 
 
Francesco de Mura
c. 1735

Gosh! "The Death of Cleopatra" - Caspar Netscher 1673
 
 Bathsheba at Her Toilette 
Jean François de Troy
c. 1750
 
In person, King David's lurking doesn't catch your eye right away 
but it stands out when you view it from the left.


Famous Blue Whale on Route 66

Worthington Whittredge
c. 1868-75