Elephant-astic!

You know I have a thing for owls. I think I've made that abundantly clear! But lately I've been loving another animal. Our friend the elephant.

Every morning as I prepare for the crazy day ahead, I drink my coffee out of this cool elephant mug. Isn't she cute?

via World Market

In the Hindu religion, the deity Ganesha has an elephant head and multiple arms. He is revered as the Remover of Obstacles. And so my little elephant mug reminds me of the obstacles I face but inspires me to work past them.

In decorating, I like to place elephants by the door. It's my own little Feng Shui tip - a sign that you are moving obstacles out of the door.

Life presents many amazing, unbelievable, incredible and unforgettable opportunities. And sometimes you have to bust through some major road blocks to get to them. But I'm going to keep plugging away - I can't wait to see what happens next!

Gratitude!

Being thankful is and always will be an important part of my journey both personally and professionally. Lately I have really been practicing acknowledgement for where I have been, where I am now and where I am going and being grateful for all that has occurred to make me who I am. I am even thankful for things that at the time I did not think I wanted to happen that only lead me on a path to something better. I truly believe when one door closes (even if you did not close it willingly) another door OPENS if you allow it to!

When we lived in Columbus, Ohio we were robbed when we were all home and it rocked me to my core and made me question my "security". It was that robbery that moved me to my home here in Hudson, Ohio and MOVED me to the beginning of my current state of being which is even more secure than what I thought I had. The point is, I am even thankful for the robber and say, "I had to be robbed" so only then could I know what is MINE to protect.

My husband, my daughters and I have started a gratitude journal in which we all write something we are thankful for each day. It is also a dinner ritual. I love what we all come up with and my husband and my children are very thoughtful with their answers - yeah! When we are thankful we only get more things to be thankful for!

This gratitude garland I found on Pintrest and LOVE it! It is such a cool reminder for us to be thankful and I think it looks so neat! You should consider making one of your own or if you have kids, have them participate as well.

THANK ALL OF YOU for reading and supporting me as it only feeds my spirit to keep on creating!

So Birchin' - Birch Tree Wallpaper DIY

Sorry for the lame title, but it made me laugh! Have any of you watched the show "Once Upon a Time"? How about this awesome birch tree wallpaper in the Evil Queen's office? Isn't it amazing?

How incredible would that look on one wall, a la my office? Or in a small entry way?

I saw similar paper at Anthropologie, but it came with a hefty price tag - $198 a roll. But check this out, for $39.99 you can recreate the look with these birch tree wallies.

You can decide your background color (the tan here is incredibly blah!) and then adhere these for a custom look. And if you get tired of them, they are easily removable. It's the perfect solution for someone looking to make a big statement without too much commitment!

Another idea is to DIY life-size birch tree trunks. Believe it or not, these images are made from left-over cereal boxes and house paint.

Totally custom and totally cool, right? You can read more about how it was done here.