Love & Links for a Happy Weekend.

Oh it’s been a hot, summery and stormy kind of week. A goodie, chock full of exercise on the deck, hanging out in the veggie garden and water play with B boy.

Our front yard is almost complete – yay! Think 3 tiered merbau boardwalk lined with incredibly beautiful and lush palms, birds of paradise, cacti vibrantly lilting toward the sun in their pots, hidden pathways and our glowing mango front door.

My husband, a super-talented industrial designer-turned landscape and construction expert (who has also turned his hand to making custom furniture) is the creative genius behind it all. There are many exciting creations to come, and I’ll be sharing a few sneak peeks here and there.

Celebrations!

Firstly, I’m so stoked to celebrate 888 people over on the Flourish Facebook page AND 400 beauties on Instagram.

Thank you for allowing me to build such an awesome community and to hold a sparkling space in a sometimes noisy online world. There’s an awesome freebie in the works to celebrate when we reach 1000 beautiful Flourishing FB followers.

I’d really like to start a regular social media thread for you to promote YOUR blogs/pages/sites. Dig this idea? If you’d love to be part of it please flick me an email:

hello@flourishing-wellness.com or send me a message via FB.

Closet Cake Maker

Fun Fact: before I started blogging I was baking custom cakes for orders and supplying little gourmet sweets to a local cafe. I even had a logo and letterpresses business card (it’s a beauty) and still sometimes fantasise about a home run custom-cake business.

Last week I got to create a beauty for a family birthday and I have another in the oven as I type for a celebration. Creative Mode: ON.

A gilded chocolate cake for a family milestone birthday. Excuse my blurry photography.

A word on creativity.

All of us are stoking the fire of a creative vision bursting to be brought to life. Whether it be a book, a product, a digital resource etc And while we keep our fires ablaze we dream of the grand end result and then….fear sets in and we freeze.

Doubt creeps in and a flurry of questions follow;

”Who am I to create this”

”Who will buy it/read it/ want it?”

”Do people even care about my message?”

While listening to Mike Robbins radio show he made this statement about creating.

Don’t write a book because you want to change the world, motivate or inspire people. Just write the book because you want to. 

Light-bulb. So simple it almost felt stupid.

Do your thing because YOU want to. That’s it. Make what you’re inspired to make purely because you’re inspired to. Give it out and let it go.  Release the energy of expectation from what you give forth and watch it flourish.

And this: the ‘thing’ you’re creating isn’t as important as the energy that goes into the creation process itself. That’s where the real gold is.

It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with every.single.recipe by Dana Schutz of Minimalist Baker. But this Vanilla Bean Coconut Ice-Cream is the bomb.

5 ingredients. Easy. Plant-based. Vegan. Super delicious.

Go.Make.Now.

This write-up by Forbes proves that self-compassion and success go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Yam and Peanut Stew with Kale by Gena Hamshaw via Food52

As a peanut butter LOVER it would be remiss of me not to share this with you: 13 places to put peanut butter.  None of them involve toast. MY favourite though? Out of the jar with a teaspoon. Happiness.

New Blogs to follow

The beautiful Cassandra Lane, founder and editor-in-cheif of Happiness & Wellbeing Magazine just launched her new site The Fauna Philosopher .

A haven and must-read for animal lovers. This post was my favourite. 

And while we’re on the topic of animal love, and because I’m a proud fur mama and cannot resist, here’s my furry boy.

Dodge Taylor | Rhodesian Ridgeback | Hilarious, energetic and super-snuggable.

Bohdi is nailing it with solid foods, hurrah! He’s obsessed with pears. Trent and I are totally flexible and relaxed about eating, it should be pleasurable and purely for nourishment, not used as a threat or reward. This NY times article about raising healthy eaters was delightfully refreshing.

How cute are these printable fruits by Mr.Printables?

Digging this piece on 10 things confident women do well. #1 was my favourite. 

The Nature Is Speaking series of clips by Conservation International is incredibly beautiful, creative and moving. #NatureIsSpeaking

Taylor Sterling, founder of Glitter Guide, has an insanely cool tumblr. Featuring this wicked pic of Chevy Chase.

Have a Happy Weekend!

Trent is working on another custom furniture project, I’m working on a soft furnishing piece + we’re making homemade sushi and watching The secret life of Walter Mitty. AMAZING movie.

What are you up to?

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