Have you checked out the “Joyful simplicities” Section at the end of each month? I used to wait until the last day of the month to peruse these goodies, , mostly because I had a hard time remembering that they were there. Now I look through them with anticipation a t the beginning of the month to see what joyful things I can do each month.
This month as has some fun ideas, these are some that struck my fancy;
~ Wearing perfume each day in February. I love this one, I love smelling good, even if my husband never notices, It makes me feel extra feminine to wear perfume.
~Writing a love note to yourself form your authentic self. This one seems way out of my comfort zone, so I decided to write down things that I love about myself, and pat myself on the back for the things I manage to do right.
~Add a bit of lace to a suit or pantry shelf…This one admittedly seemed a bit 1990’s, but I did have a shirt that had shrunk in length, so I added a bit of matching eyelet to the bottom to add about 3 inches of length to it. It now fits perfectly, and I feel just a bit more feminine when I wear it.
~Try a red lipstick… Now we are talking, I love a good red lipstick, and as those of you who have tried it may know, it is difficult to find a shade you love that loves you back. I have a host of red lipsticks/ glosses and liners for special occasions, and who couldn’t use more red lip stick?
Listen to the music of Cole porter- I have to admit I did just this, and really he is not quite my cup of tea, I like his songs, just not when he is singing them. I saw DeLovely a few years ago, and really enjoyed it however. You could listen to any music that speaks to your soul. I personally love Ella Fitzgerald, or Billie Holliday.
~Create a sacred space; this one I plan on doing. I think like most women, I tend to put my family first and me last, and it really takes a toll. I hope that with my sacred space, it will be a place for me to go and read, or just relax (or escape), and listen to music, and best of al it will be a “Boy free” zone.
~Make old fashioned fudge for Valentines Day; or cookies, or brownies. I have a wonderful recipe for homemade truffles and will be making them to give away this year.
~ Become an incurable romantic; Alas, I am already an incurable romantic, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fan the flames. I plan on accomplishing this by reading at least one “romantic” book. For me this will be “Dead until Dark” by Charlaine Harris. (The books that inspired the true blood series on HBO). I also plan on cramming as many “romantic comedies” as I can into this month.
I hope you check the ideas out for yourselves, and would love to hear what you have tried.
Oh, Jen - I love this. Yes, I used to do the same thing - forget until I got to the last meditation for the month that there was a richness of ideas I could have been indulging in for the entire month only I had forgotten to look at the beginning. Just last fall I started getting good at reading the Joyful Simplicities at the beginning of the month. I have had the unconstructive thought that I wished they had put this section at the beginning of each month to aid those of us whose most obvious personality trait is ‘I Forgot’. But it does look beautiful at the end, and I suppose it is a good character-stretching exercise for me to make myself remember to Go To The End Of The Month First.
ReplyDeleteI don’t wear perfume any longer – alas, my favorite perfume of all time was Fendi. In the late 80s or early 90s department stores stopped carrying it because of some feud or disagreement with the Fendi company, so you could only get it at Fendi boutiques, which were not exactly everywhere. There wasn’t even one in San Francisco when I lived there. One time I was running to catch a connecting flight and ran past a boutique in the Dallas Airport. Oh, and I have often seen Fendi Perfume in those little perfume outlets, but it has always turned yellow, which means stale perfume, and that is not a pleasant thing.
As for the music, Cole Porter is OK – I have always, always, since before I could talk I think, loved George Gershwin. For years I didn’t love his show tunes, just his symphonic stuff – i.e. Rhapsody In Blue , American In Paris, with Concerto in F being my favorite. I appreciate his show tunes more now. Songs like S’Wonderful S’Marvelous, Strike Up The Band, (they often play this at patriotic events, which makes me giggle – look up the words sometime), The Man I Love, etc. And who can forget Porgy and Bess?
The lace thing isn’t something I long to try, but the note-writing is a great idea, in whatever form it turns out to be in; The red lipstick, not so much. Can’t carry it off anymore. The Sacred Space is something I have gotten good at.
I wanted to do the fudge thing, but I want to use the old recipe we used to use that called for marshmallows (not the crème), chocolate chips AND giant Hershey bars. No one has it (including me).
I hope you have a great time with the romantic part. Love - Victoria
I have that recipe!!!! I will send it off to you, or I could just blog it I suppose. It is the only recipe that has ever worked for me. I made it once, and it was absolutely divine!
ReplyDeleteI found the fudge recipe in the family blog. Again, Thanks. I went ahead to look up the lyrics for for the Gershwins' Strike Up the Band and couldn't find what I was looking for. I mean the part that is a bit irreverent was not included. What I can remember is "We don't know what we're fighting for, but we didn't know the last time). I used to have a lovely book with George's biography and the lyrics to songs. Megan was a baby when I had that book. I found out then that George died from a nasty ol' brain tumor in 1937, on July 11, fourteen years to the day before I was born. Then I'm born just loving his work. Hmm. Who knew? Victoria
ReplyDeleteDid you know you can get fendi online at target.com? The perfume looks clear in the picture.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love Gershwin as well! I was introduced to many of his songs in jr high. Our choir director was obsessed with Gershwin, so we sang many of his hits. How cool would it be to find those lyrics!