Hello 2013.

I have a feeling you’ll be a very good friend of mine. Especially because I truly and honestly believe Paulo Coelho when he talks about wanting things.

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
- Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and rang in the new year in style. I had a busy time with day trips to Ghent and Disneyland, celebrating the start of 2013 with my bestie and of course moving to Cardiff. I start class tomorrow and I cannot wait. After all, the universe seems to be on my side these days.

Time for some serious world domination.

I feel a bit like a broken record these days. ‘Keep focused’, ‘Take that jump and go for your dream’, ‘Be patient’. I feel like I’m constantly repeating myself while waiting (rather impatiently) for January to come. I feel like I’m not doing anything and it’s just about driving me utterly bonkers.

And just when I think this impatience of mine is going to make me snap in two I come across this marvelous print by Kate Moore of the fabulous Blimp Cat Studio and I snap out of it.

I’m actually doing something. I’m working full-time. I take three dance classes a week and go to singing lessons. I take care of myself (which for me mostly consists of getting enough sleep) and have a bit of fun while doing every single one of those things. And that is somehow what it’s all about. That little bit of fun.

Breathe Karen, breathe.

PS: You can totally buy this awesome print right here in Kate’s shop. Wink wink, nudge nudge.

I would like to go traveling. Today. Right now. I would like to jump on a plane and go visit my Swedish dad in Gävle. I would like to jump on a plane to New Zealand to finally – after more than five years – see Claire again and congratulate her in person on her engagement. I would like to jump on a plane to Cardiff so I can start my course on Monday instead of in January.

I am a bit of an impatient woman these days.

Today however I’ve decided to take a step back and be still. I was inspired by the following Eckhart Tolle quote. The man is rather brilliant.

When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world.
-Eckhart Tolle

Thank you for the reminder, mr Tolle. Noted.

We’re nearly at the weekend again. For today I have some wisdom by Patricia Fry for you.

“An intimate relationship does not banish loneliness. Only when we are comfortable with who we are can we truly function independently in a healthy way, can we truly function within a relationship. Two halves do not make a whole when it comes to a healthy relationship: it takes two wholes.” — Patricia Fry

She’s a wise woman, that Patricia Fry. I spent such a long time feeling ill at ease if I would happen to be alone. But over the past couple of years I’ve grown more and more happy with my own company. I even crave some me-space every day. All this however doesn’t mean that I don’t feel lonely from time to time.

That of course leaves the question: what does banish loneliness? And I wouldn’t be myself if I wouldn’t share my own little list with you:

• a great book that totally sucks you into the story
• a good (or so bad that it’s good) movie or tv-series
• a cup of tea – preferably with some thyme honey but we’re not picky or anything
• a relaxing bath – think scented bubbles, candles, some music or the aforementioned great book
• painting – I’m rather partial towards acrylic paint but if you prefer oil or pencils or whatever you like

And if none of the above work then please do pick up your phone and call your friends. After all you’re rather fab so I’m sure they would love to hang out with you.

Have a lovely day!

Hi guys and gals. I’m off work a bit earlier today and I’m enjoying the free time. Plus, my mum and brother left for a midweek this morning so I have the entire apartment to myself. Pretty fab.

While I was browsing a bit I came across this quote and boy, did it hit home.

Let’s – as usual – be honest here: I don’t have the best of filtering systems. A lot of times things slip out that I really don’t mean to let slip. I’ll spare you all the details of my latest foot-in-mouth-story from Utrecht but it involves a male friend. And me going on about Lelo being Swedish design. You can all google that and surely you can then imagine his face.

Anyways. I didn’t want to post this picture to talk about my embarrassing stories.

The reason this quote spoke to me is that it appeals to my person. And with that I mean that there’s only one me. There’s only one Karen and one is enough. I don’t have to try and always be what people want or expect or desire me to be. Being myself is enough.

And whatever is true for me is true for you too:

You are enough.

Seriously.

Talk your talk and walk your walk. Do your thing. If someone tells you you can’t achieve something, prove them wrong. If they say you talk too much or too loudly (often guilty on both fronts) turn around and talk to someone else. Your friends – your true friends – will love that you talk too much or nicely ask you to just lower your voice a tad if the volume is becoming too high.

Be yourself. There are already so many imitations out there.

Have a lovely day!

Just a quick reminder before we go into the weekend. Because it’s true.

Have a lovely weekend, dears!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

—-from A Return to Love, by Marianne Williamson.

 The moment I heard that Nora Ephron had passed I wanted to do a post about it. Her work has inspired me greatly and I love her direct sense of humour. After Casee’s wonderful post on Tuesday I wanted to share the following with you all today.

Nora Ephron was a woman of words and the way she used those still has the same profound emotional impact. She never gave out easy answers in her work, rather offering different layers for the viewer or reader to figure out for themselves. She had an unfailingly delicous sense of humour. She showed the world that women can be funny – really funny – without copying the boys or talking about periods. She was director, screenwriter, blogger, essayist, journalist and playwright. She was very clear about her views on women: we can do anything and be anyone we want to be. She was unapologetic about that.

“Maybe young women don’t wonder whether they can have it all any longer, but in case any of you are wondering, of course you can have it all.” Nora Ephron, 1996 Wellesley commencement speech.

Nora wrote the following lists in 2010 and used it to close her book I Remember Nothing. A wonderful – and as always genuine and honest – list from a remarkable woman.

What I Won’t Miss
Dry skin
Bad dinners like the one we went to last night
E-mail
Technology in general
My closet
Washing my hair
Bras
Funerals
Illness everywhere
Polls that show that 32 percent of the American people believe in creationism
Polls
Fox TV
The collapse of the dollar
Bar mitzvahs
Mammograms
Dead flowers
The sound of the vacuum cleaner
Bills
E-mail. I know I already said it, but I want to emphasize it.
Small print
Panels on Women in Film
Taking off makeup every night

 
What I Will Miss
My kids
Nick
Spring
Fall
Waffles
The concept of waffles
Bacon
A walk in the park
The idea of a walk in the park
The park
Shakespeare in the Park
The bed
Reading in bed
Fireworks
Laughs
The view out the window
Twinkle lights
Butter
Dinner at home just the two of us
Dinner with friends
Dinner with friends in cities where none of us lives
Paris
Next year in Istanbul
Pride and Prejudice
The Christmas tree
Thanksgiving dinner
One for the table
The dogwood
Taking a bath
Coming over the bridge to Manhattan
Pie

It’s been exactly one week now since Nora Ephron passed away. I was talking to Casee (you know, that Girl who stole the Eiffel Tower) about  my absolute favourite movie of Nora’s and there was a bit of an eureka moment. It can hardly be a coïncidence that we both love You’ve Got Mail, right? Seeing as what I wanted to share about Nora’s wonderful work was way too much for one post Casee was gracious enough to want to participate in this two-parter about one of our favourite writers/directors and all-around wonderful woman.

When I was ten years old, and for about seven years afterward (with little diversion from tradition), Nora Ephron’s heartwarming “You’ve Got Mail” was the soundtrack to my family’s Friday nights.  It was, collectively, our favorite film and we never truly got tired of watching the love story between Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly unfold again and again.  To this day the four of us – my mom, dad, sister and myself – will be apt to make a joke when a favorite line pertains to a current situation.  Every year in November: “Happy Thanksgiving.” “Happy…Thanksgiving…Bahck.”  A trip to Manhattan: “The Zipper Man! He repairs zippers on Amsterdam Avenue!”  And you can be sure the words “caviar” and “garnish” never go unnoticed.

When I was young, these little jokes and more were what kept me returning to the film.  But the remarkable thing – and the reason why I will always be grateful to Nora Ephron for bringing this film into my life – is the way it grew as I did.  There’s a remarkable amount of layers in it, and as I grew into adulthood new messages and meanings became clear to me.  I realized how much I can relate to Kathleen, how like her I am, how I share her love of books.  I also came to understand the depth of her relationships with Joe, with her mother, with her store; the movie was the ultimate illustration of life’s challenges, and here was this character who I felt so akin to getting through them, shedding her tears and indulging in her laughs and finally achieving her happily ever after.  As soon as I was old enough to appreciate these elements I discovered an entirely new appreciation for Nora Ephron, for her work as well as her outlook on life.  The foresight, the awareness that it must take for someone to tell a story that not only enchants a child, but ultimately inspires a young woman: this is the mark of a true treasure in the world.  This is a writer to be inspired by, a woman to admire, and a dedicated observer of life who truly got it.  And what she got she shared with the world – through comedy, through charm, through romance, and through relatable, honest emotion.

So as I remember Nora Ephron at this time when the world has lost her in body I know that I – and the rest of the world – will never lose her in spirit.  By introducing me to Kathleen Kelly, by writing these words that would delight me as a child and enrich me as an adult, she managed to give me a piece of myself.  And as I’ll never be able to hear a line from The Godfather without thinking of NY152 or read Ballet Shoes without thinking of Shopgirl, Nora’s heartfelt message through the film and the pieces of myself that I found within it will stay with me forever.

Today I wanted to share this Mark Twain quote with you all. It reminds me about something my best friend once told me: people are in your life for a period of time. That might be a couple of weeks, some months, a couple of years or for the rest of your life.

The people you surround yourself with are important. Choose them carefully.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. When you are seeking to bring big plans to fruition, it is important with whom you regularly associate. Hang out with friends who are like-minded and who are also designing purpose-filled lives. Similarly, be that kind of a friend for your friends.
- Mark Twain

I’ve been lucky in a way that the people who have become my friends are just like that. They support me, push me to grow and whenever I feel like I’m in over my head they point out why I’m actually really not.

Have a lovely weekend!

Today’s my absolutely final day at school in Antwerp. Graduation tonight and even though it feels weird that I won’t be going back to school anymore my future is looking even better. Give me Cardiff over Antwerp anytime.

Even more fun is that with graduation comes the start of summer. I’ll be working for a month but until I start on the 16th I have plenty of plans. Two days at Disneyland Paris with my brother, a sleepover with my bestie not to mention our city trip to Rotterdam, meeting up with various friends I haven’t seen in a while. Oh and maybe a summer cocktail or two…

What are your plans now summer is finally here?