my heart wanders

"What would happen if one day you decided to follow your heart? And where would it take you? Author Pia Jane Bijkerk takes us on her journey as she leaves her comfortable like in Sydney to follow, unconditionally, her instincts. Setting up home first in Paris, then on a house boat in Amsterdam. Pia observes the serendipitous moments that present themselves when letting go and following one's dreams. With beautiful photographs from her travels in France, Amsterdam, Belgium, Italy and Sydney, "My Heart Wanders" is a reflective, inspirational tender memoir that speaks to 'the wandering heart' in all of us."

love this

can't wait to read it =)

books like these always leave me feeling thoughtful and happy

and that is good! 

different like coco

"Different Like Coco by Elizabeth Mathews is a picture book which chronicles the life of the woman who invented the little black dress. Simple ink and watercolor illustrations wrap the text which is longer than the average picture book. There are elegant touches throughout- some of Chanel's beautiful work are used on the inside jacket (such as "How many cares one lose when someone decides not to be something but someone") and there are small sketches of details unique to Chanel such as keeping her dressmaking scissors attached to a long string of pearls around her neck. Mathews deftly covers the decades of Chanel's life with the right amount of detail and the drawings convey her strong personality."

Coco Chanel is such an inspiration. She was named as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. The children's book, Different Like Coco, teaches young girls that being unique can be a great thing and that you should always stay true to yourself. I can't get enough of these books! The illustrations are precious too! =)

a few pages from the book:

The Great Gatsby

"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one... just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."

-- F. Scott Fitzgerald

I started to reread, The Great Gatsby, the other day at the beach. The quote above was on the first page and I absolutely love it and think it is a great philosophy to live by. People can be so nasty and hateful towards each other and lose sight of what is important. For the past year, I have been striving to look at situations and controversies from multiple perspectives in hopes of gaining a better understanding on why people do the things they do.

just being audrey

Soo perfect! It's a video for the new story book written for little girls about Audrey Hepburn. The illustrations are adorable! How sweet... I know just who I am going to get this for too!! :)

Some illustrations from Just Being Audrey:

a beautiful ripple effect

This is from Christina Mason Miller's book, Ordinary Sparkling Moments. I love her book and her!! She is inspirational and always makes you feel good inside :)