My Parents, My Idols ...

My Mother - the strongest and kindest person I know. Her heart is bigger than the world, she'll do anything for her children and grandchildren. Her dedication to life and getting through difficult times have inspired me to never give up on life, love, and beyond.

My Father - an artist at heart who's talent is humble yet so unique. His gift to my family is his patience and humor. Teaching his girls to follow their dreams no matter how impossible they seem.

I still watch them cuddle while watching a film, or hold hands while walking, I can only hope that one day I find a love like theirs.

" The most wonderful of all things in life is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a growing depth, beauty and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing; it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of divine accident, and the most wonderful of all things in life. "
~ Sir Hugh Walpole

Home Grown Strength

Strength is found in the depth of pain, the place in which we all fear to face and struggle to remain unfamiliar with. When put in those moments and thrown into those obstacles, the body and mind have no choice but to react. We have the ability to train that reaction, to prepare ourselves for it.

What doesnt kill you makes you stronger, what makes you stronger makes you wiser and what makes you wiser prepares you - emotionally and physically.

When in tact with your own attitude and inner strength, you can build bridges larger than mountains and place them where ever needed.

Start building today, face your fears and flaws and get comfortable with that uncomfortable feeling. Sure, we can all live with the simplicity of an uncomplicated life - but where will we learn? Where will we grow? How will we know what to do when a burden is due?

Master your own weakness and watch how it grows into strength.

With love,
- MF

Ivy & Aster

Beautiful, sweet and romantic wedding dresses





Definitely my pick for (one of my) weddings. ;)

Dissimilar

whether we allow ourselves to swallow the naked truth,
it is poured upon us while we mask our weakness
forcing us to be become
haunted by the instant, predicting that,
it will complete our future.

the only infidelity we possess,
are to those in which we perceive ourselves.
attempting to hide our own identity
to avoid being a part of
not only ones entity,
but another too.
we separate our beings,
our capacity, and our secrets . . .

we bluff our own beings,
we conceal,
we resent,
but do not tell . . .
struggling to remain
dissimilar, forgetting we are
all the same.

- MF (written in 2007)

Ten Ways to Good Health

Less alcohol, more tea
Less meat, more vegetables
Less salt, more vinegar
Less sugar, more fruit
Less eating, more chewing
Less words, more actions
Less greed, more giving
Less worry, more sleep
Less driving, more walking
Less anger, more laughing

I keep the telephone of my mind open to peace, harmony, health, love and abundance. Then, whenever doubt, anxiety or fear try to call me, they keep getting a busy signal - and soon they'll forget my number.

~ Edith Armstrong

Strange Love

A strange feeling of enlightenment ‬
Excites her when she gets close‬
He’s disregarded by very few,‬
Respected and held high by most‬

His thoughts are deep and fragile ‬
His presence is strong and sleek ‬
She felt it before, and feels it again ‬
With him, her worries turn weak.‬

His courage uplifts the world ‬
His passion; to live without regret ‬
She feels the balance and control ‬
How wonderful that these two have met ‬
‪‬
Together, arriving on a different level ‬ ‪
A million flowers have bloomed, eternity exists ‬
‪The aura around is beautiful and bright ‬
She feels weightless, he feels limitless ‬

And if somehow the world separates these two ‬
She will wake up again, and find him in fate ‬
For when her time is wrong, his time is right ‬
And nothing in the universe separates soul mates ‬

- MF

Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking together in the same direction. ~ Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Designers Guild

Established in 1970 by Tricia Guild, Designers Guild designs and wholesales furnishing fabrics, wallcoverings, upholstery and bed and bath collections worldwide.The company is headed and owned by brother and sister, Tricia Guild, Founder and Creative Director, and Simon Jeffreys, Group Chief Executive. The Designers Guild business philosophy is to combine creativity and innovation with the highest levels of quality: quality of design, product, service and people.

Tricia Guild is by FAR the most talented decorator and innovator I have stumbled upon. Her bold mix of fabrics and pattern are to drool for!

GANESHA (Skt., Ganeśa; Hindi, Ganesh) is that aspect of creative intelligence which removes obstacles to success, happiness, and fulfillment.

Here are some of the most important symbols associated with Ganesh.

• His broad crown is an invitation to think big.
• The tiny eyes speak of the importance of concentration and attention to detail for success in any foray.
• One chief form of concentration is to listen to others more, and talk less. This is symbolised by the huge elephantine ears and small mouth He sports.
• Ganesh has only one tusk, with the other broken off. This symbolises the importance of holding on only to the good and discarding the bad.
• The trunk of Ganesh symbolises the importance of being efficient and adaptable in order to be successful in one's ventures. The curvature is also said to represent the rising of the kundalini (spiritual energy that is believed to be coiled serpent-like at the base of the spine) powers.
• His large tummy points to the necessity of digesting all that life has to offer—the good, the bad, and the ugly.
• The abhaya mudra (gesture of fearlessness) of His lower right hand symbolises Ganesh's blessings and protection on a person's journey through life, especially the spiritual one.
• In His upper right hand, Ganesh usually holds an axe, with which He is said to cut of all attachments.
• He pulls the devotee nearer to the spiritual path by the rope that He carries in His upper left hand.
• He offers rewards for penances (sadhana) done with the modak (type of confection, usually made from rice flour and a stuffing of jaggery, coconut, etc.) He holds in His lower left hand.
• The bowls and baskets of offerings at Ganesh's feet are there to symbolise that the entire world, and all its choicest pleasures, are out there for the taking.
• Ganesh's tiny pet and vehicle, his mouse, bowing down close by, is there to indicate that though a little desire is good, it is essential for one to master it. You have to ride your desires and not vice versa.

For a tree to become tall it must grow tough roots among the rocks ~ Friedrich Nietzsche 1844 - 1900

Tattoo

Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world. ~ Miguel De Cervantes