I am passionate about showing gratitude.  I feel so strongly that the more you give, the more you get. And I'm not speaking of material things.  The more gratitude you give, the more love you share, the more time you spend on others, the more you will live a happy and enjoyable life of purpose.

Words are powerful!  I have always been in love with quotes and I have loved the idea of having a focus word.  In fact, the book I am writing heavily revolves around putting a focus word into action! Having a purpose, a theme if you will, helps you to stay focused and energized.

I wanted a way to remember my purpose and to keep moving forward positively towards my bliss.  I started making friendship bracelets with my daughter after one of my surgery recovery's and it hit me!  These bracelets would be a perfect way to gently remind me to live a joyful life.

Introducing the Fall line of Sweet-Me Friendship Bracelets.


Each bracelet is named with an inspiring word, and comes with a print out of a quote to keep you focused.  And THE BEST PART?  Each order comes with TWO bracelets.  One for you, and one to share with a friend, sister, mother, daughter.  Show your love and gratitude for those in your life that has made a difference.  Remind them, encourage them, and show them your gratitude with a matching bracelet.

The EMBRACE Friendship Bracelet in wine.  CLICK HERE TO ORDER
"We have to embrace obstacles to reach the next stage of joy."  - Goldie Hawn

The BREATH Friendship Bracelet in dark teal.  CLICK HERE TO ORDER
"Remember how to breathe, how to live...please!!” ― Fuyumi Soryo 

The STRONG Friendship Bracelet in cream.  CLICK HERE TO ORDER
"Life is full of happiness and tears; be strong and have faith" - Kareena Kapoor Khan

The MAGIC Friendship Bracelet in black.  CLICK HERE TO ORDER
"Any time women come together with a collective intention, it's a powerful thing. Whether it's sitting down making a quilt, in a kitchen preparing a meal, in a club reading the same book, or around the table playing cards, or planning a birthday party, when women come together with a collective intention, magic happens." - Phylicia Rashad

The TRUST Friendship Bracelet in slate blue.  CLICK HERE TO ORDER
"Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement." - Golda Meir

The GATHER Friendship Bracelet in rust.  CLICK HERE TO ORDER
"This is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive." - Alice Waters

The SUCCESS Friendship Bracelet in taupe.  CLICK HERE TO ORDER
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."  - Albert Schweitzer

The DISCOVER Friendship Bracelet in olive green   CLICK HERE TO ORDER
."Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” - ― André Gide


To order your TWO friendship bracelets for one low price visit http://www.spreesy.com/sweetme

AND for a limited time you can get FREE SHIPPING by using the code - friends
Just share the love with your friends!

Happy June.  I love the start of a new month.

A new month always brings the promise of something exciting.  June is the start of a new season, SUMMER!!!

Make sure you download this FREE printable to help decorate your home for summer.

 

 

 

 

Life is beautiful!

Life is hard!

I honestly feel both of those statements.  Sometimes on a daily basis.

The week before Thanksgiving, my husband lost a big job he had scheduled.  We were counting on that job to pay for Christmas.  My husband is a self employed paint contractor, and winter is always slow.  We felt so grateful to have a job lined up to get him through the winter, so when his client called and decided to hold off until spring, our spirits were crushed.

I remember feeling hopeless.  It is so hard to find work this time of year, and we had used up all of our savings to move us back to Utah and on some medical expenses.  How on earth were we going to pull of Christmas this year?  We have had to get creative in the past, but this year seemed almost impossible.

We prepared the kids for a small Christmas.  My husband contacted everyone he knew to see if anyone needed any work done.  No one wanted to spend extra money or have their house tore up this time of year. I didn't blame them.

We felt like we had exhausted all of our efforts.  We didn't know what to do.

I was in the bath one night, and I was mad!  I was upset with my husband.  I was upset with the client that postponed his job.  I was upset we didn't have more of a savings.  I was mad at the world!

Then I got a text.  Literally while I was in the bath lamenting on my life!  It was someone asking if my husband could do a small job for them!

Just like that!  I remembered that things always work out.

They really do!  (I also felt a little ashamed of my pity party I was having!)

It wasn't a big job, and it wouldn't save Christmas.  But it was enough for me to see that Heavenly Father was aware of my needs.  I wasn't forgotten.  Things will be okay.

How often does that happen?  Sometimes all we need is a tiny sign that Heavenly Father is at work, and we can keep moving forward with faith.  Miraculous things can happen when we allow Him to do His work. When we are grateful for the steps we are taking,  moving us in the right direction, no matter how small they may be, things always work out.

For years now, I have kept a gratitude journal.  Just a small journal I keep at my nightstand to jot down things that I noticed during the day, that He had a hand in.  Some are small, and some are big.  It is a helpful reminder to me, that when life gets hard  there are ALWAYS things to be grateful for.  I just need to look for them, and acknowledge them.  Writing down the many things I am thankful for reminds me of how blessed I am.   Focusing on what we are grateful for also changes our mind set.  We will be more open to love and opportunity when that is what we are focused on.

I have something SO exciting planned for 2015 and I can not wait to share it with all of you!  Stay tuned for the big reveal next week!  I promise, it will be something you will want in on!

And, by the way.  That text for a small job, led to another job, which led to another job.  All of those small jobs added up to a beautiful Christmas.  One of the best.  Not because we had a lot of gifts, because we didn't.  But because we were focused on our blessings.  We were open to opportunity and we have made connections with people that we would not have been able to, if we weren't in this situation.  We allowed God to do His work, and we made an effort to see His hand in everything.

Merry Christmas and the HAPPIEST of New Years!

One of my favorite things about this time of year is the yummy food!

Food is such a comfort to most people, and it is a way to show love!  The traditional neighbor gift was a fruit cake.  Boy, have we come a long way from that!

I LOVE these ideas I found on Pinterest for yummy neighbor treats!  They are a little different than cookies or bread.











What do you give to your neighbors?

Christmas is a time to gather as friends and family and enjoy each others company, and rejoice in the Christmas spirit.

If you are planning a party, now is the time to get everything final.

I love these theme ideas to get together and celebrate December:
The ugly Christmas Sweater party
A minute to win it Christmas party.
A favorite things party.
Cookie exchange
Hot cocoa get together
Bonfire
White elephant party
Christmas movie with friends
Game night with friends

Some party's will take a lot of planning.  Make sure you have your invites out, your food planned, and decorating done.

Some get togethers don't need much more than a phone call and a "come on over!"

Are you throwing a party this year?

What's your favorite Holiday tradition?

I'm sure you have many!  I know we do.

We like to sit down on Thanksgiving night and discuss as a family all the things we love to do at Christmas time.  Then we make our "Christmas Bucket List!"

It's so fun to be able to get excited about upcoming activities and festivities!!

Check your local newspaper for things going on in your community, you may just find a new tradition to add.

Here is a few ideas we came up with!




What do you like to do?