Just like her music, Amy Seeley’s photography is a delight. Check out her Instagram feed

Jacqueline’s London City guide

New York foods that Chloe loves (via Grace)

This is quite possibly the best thing I’ve found all year

Instagram Talk

Brussels sprout salad | nutty kale salad | vegan apple cranberry oatmeal bake

[video] ‘I just want something to spill off the edge’ – this is so beautiful I got teary

Blown away by these photographs

Inside other peoples’ Moleskines

Of meaning: collected textiles (via Jen)

Crafty friends: Emma’s gingerbread house recipe | Micala’s sweet bags | Jonatha’s new play | Marisa’s having a book launch party tomorrow in LA — go say hi!

Loving Jen’s gifty pinboard | these camera ornaments

9 ways to improve the impact of your email

Mesmerised by this

The January sessions of Unravelling and Blogging from the Heart are steadily filling up – if you fancy starting the new year with me and a community of soulful lovelies, come join us!

And finally, a mixtape of the music filling my airwaves right now… xo

 

I’ve had a few emails from peeps asking my advice on how to best put the workbook together so I thought I’d show you what I’ve done, with a couple of extra ideas, too.

Like last year I wanted to put the workbook into my A5 Filofax (a 3-year-old acqua Finsbury), so I printed out the sheets onto A4 paper, printing two pages to one sheet of paper (had to fiddle around with the settings to get that to work *ahem*). I cut the printed pages in half and punched holes using a Filofax hole punch (have never regretted buying this) — and that’s it. Didn’t take more than 20 minutes and now the pages are safefy stored in my Creative Dream Journal (you can read more about the CDJ over here — it’s one of my favourite things).

 

 

If A5 binders are short on the ground you could also print the workbook pages at actual size and put them in a regular binder. Or even sandwich the printed sheets between two pieces of clear plastic (or card) and have them professionally bound with wire binding (the sort of stuff you’d use for college projects, like this). Doing this gives the workbook more heft making it easier to write in. If you plan to come back to your workbook again and again I’d suggest adding in some extra blank pages, too — turn it into a full-on journal!

Obviously all of these ideas are dependent on you having ink in your printer (or a printer, for that matter) so I’d also suggest reading through the PDF on your computer and journalling straight into a notebook. I’m going to do this for some of the questions, the ones that are asking for lots more thought and planning…

But in all honesty, it doesn’t matter whether your print it out or not — what matters is sitting down and thinking about the questions. I often feel like i’m careening through the days and months completely out of control and at the mercy of the winds so doing this journalling work helps me feel like I have a say in the direction I travel. If nothing else it’s fascinating reading back what I wrote last year.

 

 

It’s been fun getting glimpses on Instagram and Facebook of how you guys are rocking the workbook — the photos above show how Jillian, Tammy, Briana, Lisa, Trina, Esme and Kaz are using theirs. I especially love how Jillian and Briana lit candles to accompany their journalling — this does feel like quite sacred work, the sort that deserves a bit of ritual around it. Or you could just go the coffee and cake route, obviously ;)

Have you dug into the workbook yet or are you saving it for New Year? Maybe waiting for a quiet moment to yourself? I’m planning to block out a whole evening to dig deeply… there will definitely be candles involved.

The title of this post is quite possibly the most over-the-top hyperbolic headline this blog has ever seen, but it’s exactly what I’m feeling right now. I’ve just come back from a weekend retreat with my girls, and I’m tired and in need of a good night’s sleep in my own bed. But as tends happens when you spend time with friends who’ve seen you through good times and a lot of bad, I’ve returned feeling seen and understood. I’ve returned feeling fortified, holding in my heart a clearer idea of what I want and how I can open my self to it.

2012 has been a big year for me, work-wise, and now we’re in December I’m reflecting on what I’d like to bring into my world in 2013. And I can tell you now — there’s a lot I want to bring in. Oh yes, a LOT. Whether I can do it remains to be seen, but what I love most about a new year is the delicious POSSIBILITY of it. The blank slate and the clean page.

The promise of the NEW.

So, just like I did last year, I’ve put together a workbook to help me say goodbye to this year and prepare for the new one. The workbook’s been updated and expanded and I’ve also created a month-by-month planner so I can really plot out the next 12 months.

I got so many emails last year thanking me for the workbook, it was crazy! So it’s my very great pleasure to give you this gift today:

>> Click here to download the 2013 workbook <<

>> Click here to download the 2013 monthly planner <<

I really hope you’ll take a bit of time this month to print out the workbook and work your way through it. I’ve been reading back what I wrote last year and it’s so illuminating to see where I was in my head and heart and what I hoped to call in — and what came and what didn’t. There were quite a few surprises in 2012 (living in London? Didn’t see that coming this time last year) so I’m excited to see what 2013 brings. We can plot our path to a certain extent but it’s also fun to leave space for the stuff we can’t possibly imagine right now.

I don’t make resolutions but I do choose a word to guide my course through the year (more on that soon), so there’s space for that in the workbook, too. Writing down your intentions is incredibly powerful, so find an hour to yourself, roll up your metaphorical sleeves and dig in…

LET’S DO THIS!