Cloverdew Creative

I remember, as I drink my morning tea, that we are all children of Earth.

I breathe in and remember that we all are born and we all must die.

I breathe out and remember that from death comes new life.

This morning, I am drinking Teavana’s Arcadian Apple green and white tea blend and connecting with the earth. I steeped my tea and breathed in the steam, a tasted the tea and thanked goodness that I am here and alive and that I can enjoy these small pleasures in life. What are you thankful for today?

Image credit: Heather Spriggs Thompson of Gathering Spriggs.

♥ Seth Godin tells us exactly what we don’t want to hear: No, everything is not going to be okay. (Except reading this post really made me feel like everything IS going to be okay. How did he do that?!)

♥ Need a laugh? You must check out Sleep Talkin’ Man, who says things like “My bagder’s gonna unleash hell on your ass. Badgertastic!” and “Oompa loompas don’t sing in heaven. They tidy up the clouds.” The transcripts his wife posts online mornings after are hilarious. And very odd. But mostly just hilarious.

♥ This year, I want to get back to basics: writing in a paper journal. I found some great inspiration on how to turn a (cheap!) composition notebook into an art journal at Lil Blue Boo.

♥ Have you heard? Pantone Is Blowing Up In 2010.

♥ Do you have a thirst for giving? Try KOR’s water bottles, each benefiting water-related issues: ocean protection (blue), watershed protection (green), container recycling (orange), and global water crisis (pink). They’re beautifully designed and these innovative products reduce environmental impact (plus, 1% of all sales goes to water-related non-profits).

♥ Need a little zen in your life? Check out the Zen Salutations blog. You might also want to check out 8 Unconventional Ways to De-Stress and Relieve Tension.

♥ Need a pick-me-up? Try 14 Ways to Beat the Blues.

♥ I am in love with the whimsical style of Randi Brookman Harris. Her prop styling and creative direction is quirky, but simple and pretty. I particularly love the bright colors with white for weddings (she’s done styling to Martha Stewart and Kate Spade). Lovely!

♥ This first look of Zac Posen for Target is awesome and I can’t wait to see more. I particularly love that red cocktail dress. It’s sexy, cute, and classy all at the same time!

♥ Do you love Helvetica? Ever wonder why? Well, here’s a testament to the Simplicity of Helvetica (along with some history of the font, too).

♥ Possibly one of the prettiest weddings I’ve ever seen, straight out of a fairy tale. Every detail in this collection of photos is filled with magic. From the beautiful, intricate headpieces, to the priestess’ staff, the flowers, the shoes. Everything looks as if it were sprinkled with fairy dust. Gorgeous!

♥ Check out the amazing textured, patterned wood floor inlay that Jana shared on her blog, Rooted In Style. Gorgeous!

♥ Jane, from Sea of Shoes, is one of the luckiest girls in the world. And not just because she gets to go shopping in Paris, walk down the runway in haute couture gowns, and has a great family to keep her grounded. This girl is fortunate enough to have been inside Coco Chanel’s home! Here she shares her experience of going to 31 Rue Cambon…

♥ If you sew, which I’m going to get back into when my new Brother LX 3125 Sewing Machine arrives, you might want these instructions from Simplicity on How To Resize Any Pattern.

♥ For those savvy green girls who want to save some money, save the earth, and DIY: crafting from trash, recycling and repurposing plastic bags for the holiday season!

♥ For those other Steepsters out there, check out this adorable homemade tea shelf! And there are directions on how to make one yourself, too!

♥ How much do I love Rachel Zoe? She’s fabulous and always gives the best dirt on the most amazing fashion and beauty products, like this twinkly Sublime Radiant Powder from Guerlain. I die. (Rachel must know that one of my favorite scents ever, in addition to my favorite color, is violet!)

♥ For some adorable and classy birthday humor, why not check out Wiley Valentine’s letterpress shop, Inspired Paper Designs, which have beauties like this “Happy Birthday Ewe!” card.

♥ Run out of pretty wrapping paper for your holiday gifts? Try wrapping them up with brown paper from the post office, plus some cut-outs of magazines or catalogues, and some pretty ribbon a la these beauties from Maura McGovern’s tumblr, texturism.

♥ Of course, if you’re a bibliophile like me, you might want to order up some of these library-themed holiday tags from ourcitylights.org.

♥ Nubby offers some great Shoe Care Secrets. Go buy yourself your ultimate pair of heels and then take great care of them!

♥ I recently discovered the cutest little porcelain and silver jewelry pieces from Wah Wah Wears by Zoe Churchill. If you like quirky quotes and kooky images, this independent artist’s site is for you.

♥ If you want to give your mom, dad, or significant other a great gift, why not leave your imprint on their heart on a chain they can wear?

♥ If you’ve ever wondered the difference between Pantone, RGB, and CMYK, check out this quick little lesson from eightyonedesign.

♥ In the season of giving, it’s most appropriate to visit a place like Ark° (Acts of Random Kindness). As their site (and t-shirt) says, “The name, the movement – Acts of Random Kindness° The idea – one ark° every time the clothing is worn. That’s it – buy a stranger a cup of coffee, give up your seat on the bus. Just make someone’s day, it’s up to you how you ark° on it.” Great idea and great clothing!

♥ Looking forward to the new year? I know I am. And with this adorable calendar from Sam & Cheryl, you can get your New Year’s groove on early, too. Check out this printable project on Ez’s blog, Creature Comforts.

♥ Daily Candy features green and good-for-the-soul trash bags: Green Genius (Get a free sample from their website and they’ll send you a $2.00 off coupon, as well. I’m hoping for these emerald beauties in my grocery store soon!)

♥ The A. V. Club picks the best short story collections of the 2000s. Among them is featured one of my favorites, Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things (If you’re a fan of Gaiman, Lovecraft, or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, read: A Study in Emerald. Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire and October in the Chair were some of my other favorites.) They obviously have great taste and the reviews are worthwhile. I’ll be adding a few more collections to my “to-read” list.

♥ I’m so excited for Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland that I already have the date (March 5, 2010) marked on my calendar in anticipation. Midnight viewing anyone? I’m SO there! One of my favorite stories told by one of my favorite storytellers. And speaking of Tim Burton, I’m trying to figure out how to finance a weekend trip to New York to see the exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

♥ Get your daily dose of chocolate, whether you eat it or paint it on your wall! Dezeen Blog showcased this awesome innovative interior design for a Godiva chocolate shop in Harajuku by Japanese interior designers at Wonderwall.

♥ Paste Magazine shows the Evolution of the Hipster from this decade. Can you find people you know? Or maybe even yourself?

♥ I don’t have any fancy holiday parties to go to this season, but if I did, you can be sure I’d be wearing this dress!

This week’s edition of Twitter #followfriday recommendations includes some great men who provide helpful links, engage with their followers, and are genuinely awesome, as well as awesomely genuine:

	Christopher Scott (@christopherscot): Not only a great web designer, but also friendly and helpful. He’s a self-professed hipster technocrat and Apple fanboy, as well as animal lover, husband, and home owner. (Check out his site.)
	Peter Kobel (@TheEcoist): Peter sends out many helpful green links, his Twitstream is full of interesting articles, blogs, features, and talking points. If you’re into greening the environment, you should also check out his webpage and blog at www.peterkobel.com.
	Brian Cray (@briancray): Brian is has a wide variety of interests and skills, which include just about anything and everything to do with the internet and posts really great resources on all of them. If you want to know more about web development or social media, he’s your man.