Wishful Thinking {a guest post by Besotted Brand}

I have a very haunting memory that includes an unfulfilled wish (don't worry, this story may have a happy ending). My beautiful beau at the time, (if you can call him a beau I was quite young), casually brushed my cheek with his finger and held out the tip with great anticipation. I narrowed my eyes to see the object of his excitement only to be greeted by a rogue eyelash. “Make a wish,” he commanded. I stared at him with confusion at first and then the recognition settled in, I rolled my eyes. I informed him in a tone I suspected was very mature, “I don’t believe in wishes.”  I assumed that my proclamation would parlay some sort of worldliness, a girl that knew that a wish was a silly frivolity. Instead, I saw the hurt in his sweet blue eyes, the hurt was not for himself but for a little girl that didn’t believe in magic. He closed his eyes and was silent for a second, shrugged his shoulders and then blew my eyelash off his fingertip. I don’t know what he wished for that afternoon, but I assume it was for me and it came true. From that day forward after my 8^th year of being, I made wishes with fervor. Besides ‘eyelash-gate’, there was no other impetus to start, but what I took from that moment in time was that a wish is your hearts request, frivolous as it may be. A wish gives you something to hope for, an anticipation. It is almost as good as the real deal. A wish is free and plenty, why deny yourself such a luxury? My wish is for everyone to have at least one wish granted in his or her lifetime, there is quite a delight in a wish come true.

Where do I begin to share the many delightful things about the ever so talented Miss B of Besotted Brand.  I've been a long-time fan of this lovely lady, and just recently, I had the grand honor of meeting this beauty in real life. {It just happened to be right after she became a MRS.!}  She has an eye for exquisite details and creates extraordinary stationery and accoutrements that should be on everyone's wish list. 

Thankful {every day}

My heart overflows with gratitude for the life I have been given.  Truly, I pinch myself regularly because it just seems unbelievable to me that my daily existence is filled with such beautiful love, good health and glorious abundance of food and breathtaking nature.  My complaints are few, for I realize how fortunate I am and it's not something I take lightly.  We have one life to live, and with every sunrise, I awaken with a thankful heart.

There shouldn't be just one designated day for giving thanks and reflecting upon all the goodness which fills our lives.  If we all made more of an effort to appreciate the good fortune which comes our way versus the focus of what isn't up to par, then I believe there would be more smiles in this world.  Let's give it a try, there is nothing to lose.  Here's to being thankful for each and every. single. day.

[Reverie-Daydream Image]

When it rains...

....total cuteness abounds!  I have to admit, my girl has made me love the rain again.  What used to be a total nuisance, now is a playful pleasure. 

The forecast is predicting a fair share of rain drops throughout the weekend, so look out puddles, our eyes will be on you!

Wishful Thinking {a guest post by Goodnite Irene}

this wishful thinking series has been absolutely stunning. haven't we all been moved by our fellow bloggers' eloquent candor of wishes for more meals to be shared with loved ones, and hopes for a life full of courage and more dreams fulfilled? tears streamed into my coffee the morning i read a sweet mother's wish for a more peaceful heart for her dear daughter, and the illinois country girl's longing for her land had me googling farms.... all beautiful, all deeply profound.

when mel asked me to contribute to this series i was afraid that blonde-haired beauty had imbibed too much napa wine. how could she possibly expect ME to produce a post worthy of past depth and grace?

but after some hermetic, extensive, almost dali lama-like meditation {in fact mr. lama might want to snag some tips from me}, and going way downward-dog deep into the bowels {yes, i said bowels} of my inner buddha, i found the essence of what truly inspires and drives my soul.

i don't mean to sound smug, or overly meta and siddhartha like, but i know if i could just have this one wish, world peace and goodwill toward men would be as easy as vomit and the word “kardashian”.

are you ready?

i wish...........i could eat anything & everything, as much as i want, and not get fat.

there. i said it.

take a moment to fully embrace the enormity and weight of my sage-like invocation.

if you read my blog, you know i have major food issues. i love food. i think about food all the time, and when i'm not thinking about food, i'm trying to eat food.

basketball is not a sport to me, the buffet is my sport. and if i see you at the waffle bar, watch yo'self. i'm gunning for that whipped butter, and i don't care if it IS easter sunday. i’ll cut you.

as for as the types of foods, i don't discriminate. i fancy them all, with abandon and wantonness. give me a cheese plate, and i'm like a cheap slut during fleet week. my one exception is beets. beets were invented by the devil. they taste like dirt, and i'm convinced they are part of some underground terrorist plot..... haven’t you noticed the prevalence of beets in everything these days?? salads, cocktails, ice cream? get the hell out of my food you damned beets!

also, creams, i love creams: sour, whipped, sweet, devonshire, iced, shaving? doesn't matter as long as the letters: c.r.e.a.m. are involved.

all the food i want to eat, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and still fit into a pair of jeans i bought during “the breakup of 2005” which fit for a total of 9 hours, during which i was probably the most miserable and unattractive i ever been in my entire life. but still those jeans fit, even if i didn’t feel like eating at the time.

if i get a second wish, it might be for an extra hour a week with my psychiatrist.

thank you for letting me share my wednesday with you.

love, katie

I've professed my adoration for Katie on multiple occasions whether via a post or twitter or just singing her praises to any passerby who might listen to me.   And then for her to talk about FOOD ... well, I'm over the moon with this wishful thinking! Obviously, this girl rocks!

 [images 1,2,3,4]

A Thanksgiving Must ~

Does tradition dictate your holiday menu?  I'm kinda all over the board when it comes to keeping or letting go of traditions, but there is one food that is a must at our Thanksgiving feast ~ Sweet Potato Souffle.  And to be honest, I'm not sure it really qualifies as a souffle, it's probably more of a casserole, but a twitch develops every time I use this term, for in my mind, it equates to a hodge-podge of ingredients...so let's go with souffle.  

My beloved Aunt Dean is the one who opened my eyes to the delicious goodness of this root vegetable and ever since, I've been addicted.  

Sweet Potato Souffle

3 cups of cooked {mashed} sweet potatoes

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a mixer, combine and 'whip' all ingredients together.  
Pour into individual baking dishes or one 13 x 10 baking dish.  
Prepare topping.

Topping

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 c. flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 c. softened butter 

In a medium size bowl, use a fork or hands to mix topping ingredients together, 
sprinkle on top of sweet potato mixture. 
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes {individual baking dishes 30 minutes}.

[Reverie Daydream Images]

Wishful Thinking {a guest post by not your average ordinary}

There are so many, they could be like the starlight at night. Some of my wishes have already been spoken here: that everyone has access to fresh healthy food, that we find and hold on to hope… More th[ian anything else, though, I wish for a world where we all follow our dreams and achieve great things.

During my somewhat extensive time in universities, I have seen too many students following the path their parents have set out for them rather than the one that they really want, the one that makes their heart sing in a way nothing else does. Sometimes they rebel and embrace their love, but often they accept what they’ve been told to do without question.

Our dreams begin when we question the world around us, when we challenge the status quo. Somewhere in there, we discover a purpose: to bring beauty into the world, to help those who need it in some way, to gather people and teach them to experience the wonders around them. 

My wish is that we all take the time to sit, listen, and discover our dream, and once we have that dream, that we hold it close and passionately pursue it.

This is exactly what I adore about Brandi, she makes a plan, she follows it and she sees it to fruition.  She is one of those beautiful souls that I've had the grand fortune of getting to know in real life, and I look forward to watching her dreams become a reality because I truly believe her imprint on this world is going to be grand in a wonderful way. 

 [image by Lissy Elle]

 

Wishful Thinking {a guest post by Pretty Mommy}

Thank you to the lovely Melissa for inviting me to hang out here for a bit in her lovely space...It was so inspiring to go back and read so many eloquent and heartfelt Wishful Thinking posts but also a little daunting - well written and deep are never my strong suits...so while, as the mother to two young girls, I wish for many things emotional & complicated and many things simple...like a good nights sleep, a strong cup of coffee and a clean house, I thought I'd tackle something a little lighthearted and frivolous....

As a young girl I was pretty convinced that I was destined (as many a young girl does) to be a big, name in lights singer...helped along, no doubt, by my uncles dubbing me "the world famous Michelle Lee LeBlanc" and so I spent many an hour roaming the backyard singing heartfelt versions of "You Light Up My Life", the entire Urban Cowboy soundtrack, and "Close to You"...but somewhere along the way, after many years of practicing Madonna's Lucky Star choreography and Gloria Estefan's sultry stylings, did I finally realize that perhaps my tunage was just one note shy of a bad Star Search audition, so I put that dream on a shelf and never looked back...after all, I had Oscar winning actress to fall back on, no?

Then many years later I happened to catch Tina Turner in concert...Tina was amazing, the real deal...60 something at the time, shimmying and shaking like nobody's business...and when she broke into River Deep, Mountain High...whoa lordy...with every fiber of my being did I want to be up there with Ms T whipping my hair around and belting the lyrics from the bottom of my toes...there was just something so liberating, so effortless, so unbelievably powerful in those notes...it must be a magical feeling to open your mouth and have that voice emerge from it...so that's my wishful thinking...for one day to magically channel Tina Turner's pipes, hear the roar of the crowd and whip a fringy, spangly dress into a frenzy like there's no tomorrow...xoxo, M

Right on sista!  I'm all for the simple and frivolous wishes in life...it's what we need to keep us feeling a bit lighter on days that seem so filled with 'heavy real life stuff'.  Michelle is the amazing curator behind the stunning selections of clothes and accessories that can be found in her shop Pretty Mommy.  Her blog of the same name is also a place filled with current buzz on beauty, fashion and simple every day muses of her pretty life.