Tissue paper flowers spring from the branches of trees. They slowly dance in the breeze, against the backdrop of a periwinkle sky. The tips of their petals are tinged slightly pink, as if they’re blushing from getting caught being so free.

Here and there sunlight breaks through the shade. It illuminates creamy yellows and bright spring greens, as if a light has just been turned on in a dark room. This is the time to stop for a moment and appreciate the shade of spring.

Yes, it takes longer to make something by hand. But there is such a simple satisfaction and pride that goes along with it. And you get to make the thing exactly how you want. It’s your vision, not someone else’s. Will there be mistakes? Probably. But what in life that’s worth doing doesn’t come with a few mistakes. And those mistakes help us learn. They are useful in the end.

So embrace the mistakes and make beautiful things with great love – whatever that looks like in your life.

The last golden days slowly start to fade. The sun reaches the horizon more quickly with each passing day. Cool breezes skip through brittle, bright colored leaves. The flowers of fall get ready to take their final bow before the sparkling white curtain comes down.

The bright pinks, deep purples, and sunshine yellows of summer are replaced with the deep reds, burnt oranges and golden yellows of fall. Animals slowly pick their way across open fields and dense forests, adding to the brilliant, breathtaking spectacle of the season.

I’ll admit, I still get excited every time I find a bird’s nest with eggs. It’s like a treasure hunt trying to find one. You can often hear them. And you can often find a nest. But it’s not every day you find a nest with eggs. And certainly not one you can get close enough to take a picture of.

But this was my lucky day. A nest with two robin’s eggs. And it was quite low in a tree so all it took was an old plastic chair and my tiptoes to see inside. Was it the most safe? Probably not. But the excitement of seeing those two, beautiful blue eggs, snuggled together in a twisted bed of grass, weeds, twigs, and dog hair, made my heart skip a beat. And that was totally worth it.

If you really want to be inspired, check your closet. There is way more inspiration in there than you think! There are colors. And textures. And materials. And even feelings. Because things in our closet do that. They evoke feelings. They hold memories. They give you a direction.

Often, our closets hold the secret to things we are really drawn to. It’s all part of self-discovery.

What do you do when you walk by a pile of rocks with a single painted rock in the middle? You stop to take a picture, of course! That one rock reminds you that it’s ok to be different. It’s ok to be unique. It’s ok to radiate happiness, even when those around you are a bit dull and gray. You don’t have to be like everyone else to be part of the group.

Much like the pattern on that stone, that reaches out from the center, we must also reach out. Sometimes it gives those around us a direction. A path. A way out of the gray world and into the beautiful light.