Happy New Year!

Let’s catch up, Lovelies.

[Otherwise, scroll down for what’s to come, Moving Forward]

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Apologies, for the radio silence. I suppose, I’m not in the radio business, anyways :) We had a rough Christmas and New Years. The short of it is that we all got a terrible stomach bug over Christmas (the worst we’ve had in my 16 years of parenting), missing all family get togethers and traditions. In a way, it felt like Christmas skipped us. The day after, still out of sorts, we jetted off to Puerto Rico to celebrate my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary (we had a lovely time, other than bringing the sick with us, and gifting it to a cousin). I returned ready to start a fresh, because New Year’s always gifts me with a little “oomph” but then . . . our dog went missing (His name is Mac, and I’ll take all the prayers for a safe return home).  I can’t say much about it, because it’s so upsetting to me . . . trying to find him as become a part-time job. And so, everything has seemed to wait. Since, we are friends, I shall tell you that this past week has been particularly difficult for me.

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But, back to the New Year. I wonder, Dear Reader, do you focus on goals, resolutions and reflections? I am a soul searcher 365 days a year, but January always, find me excavating the garden of my heart. I am a person, who must look back in order to move forward. The work, for me, is to not get stuck in the mud of yesterday, but rather, to till the soil, I stand on, so that it is fertile and fruitful. The nutrients of accomplishment, treasured moments and growth doing their work, as well as the waste–fertilizer, after all, is “you know what.” The two, together, make a rich soil for new growth. Think about this in your own life. The good and the bad. The hopes and the disappointments–how, together, they direct us, inform us and grow us (if we allow).

2018 was a year of big change for me. A thousand tiny movements (good and bad that grew me), along with two big ones, that–without sounding dramatic (although I’ve been accused of that all of my life)–in some ways changed the course of my life. Firstly, moving from my beloved childhood home–which was right and good, but also a great loss, a grieving. I always knew I’d miss that home like a grandparent gone. Second, launching a book–which was exciting and good–a high before an unexpected drop. A bit like a wedding. A lot like a pregnancy and birth. The build up to both of these events, in and of themselves, where energizing and exhausting. Adrenalin. Crash. Adrenalin. Crash. An ending. A beginning. A grandparent. A baby. A re-aquanting myself in the everyday which is, now, not the same.

I, also, have been reflecting on this space. My work. My life’s work. My purpose.

I’m a creative who happens to like black and white and feels safe within boundaries. My need for security, always making me wonder if I’m a 6 on the Enneagram, when I’ve just become certain I’m a 4. A good deal of my life (heart) work, for the past eight years, has been releasing false security and accepting change. As I like to say, “Change takes a slow long time.” Lasting change in us, that is. Change, in general can happen quickly, sneaking up on us, but accepting, adapting, and integrating change–now, that, takes a slow long time.  And, so, even in this space, I’m learning to welcome and embrace change at its rightful pace. To flow, and try new things, while remaining me. At 41, I’m still getting to know myself–the process looking a lot like shedding who I am not, returning to my birthright gifts and to whom the Creator made me to be (I hope to be writing a bit more about this in this space). I’m beginning to conclude that in one form or another I am (and at present) a writer, publisher, leader, and business owner.

Who I know I am as it pertains to this space is: A writer, publisher, curator, student of beauty, and an encourager.

I write, curate, and publish information, ideas, inspiration, offerings of beauty, hope, encouragement, faith development and lifestyle related content.

The content I write and publish is to enrich your spirit and your everyday.

I’ve decided to paint with black and white, this year, and “create” a few boundaries. Boundaries are not to inhibit, in most cases they actually cause us to flourish. I’m looking at this season in my life as a Spring and I’d very much like to flourish.

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GOING FORWARD . . .

I WILL BE PUBLISHING:

01 / THE WEEKLY: 5 Things to Know (for subscribers only)
A quick 5 things to know e-mail from me, delivered to your inbox, weekly. Think of this as your weekly newspaper, where I’ll share ideas, information and inspiration (curated and created). This won’t be fancy, it’s bitesize and easy to digest–a really quick read, in a quick and simple format. SIGN UP HERE. . . the first, subscriber only, issue goes out next week.

02 / BLOG POSTS
You can expect one blog post a week–either an encouraging, soulful post or a lifestyle related post–likely, in the form of my well-loved “La La Loving Posts. Some structures stand the test of time, while others don’t (like posting 5 days a week. You don’t have time to read that many posts, nor I to write them).

03 /MICRO BLOGGING ON INSTAGRAM
The truth is . . . times are changing.  Blogs were the space that we met and had community before social media (I miss those days). Now, we meet on social media and link back to our blog posts for further information. While, I do believe there will be a resurgence in blogs and personal websites, as more and more people become disinterested and disenchanted with social media, it still has it’s place (I was reminded of that these past two weeks with our missing dog. Suddenly, Facebook has become useful to me, again). It’s where we all go for a quick check-in, instant inspiration, and interestingly, and frighteningly enough (thank you, fake-news), it’s quickly becoming the place where we get our breaking news. I’ll be posting on Instagram most weekdays to share the everyday and encouraging words.

04 / BOOKS
I plan to write more books. This year, hopefully, the start of another. Thus, another reason, I’m looking for structure.

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This past year, I tried a lengthy, eye catching newsletters, a few secret posts, and a good amount of sporadic blogging. I believe simple, clear, and concise is the way to go moving forward.

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I’ll also be focusing on a few extra’s that don’t pertain to publishing, but want to make you aware:

EXTRAS

01 / CREATIVE GIRLS
More than ever, I’m interested in building community. Creative Girls is a local endeavor to meet-up and create community, create change–through prayer, create a life on mission, create work we are proud of. If you’d like more info, click HERE.

02 / STUDIES
This is definitely “extra,” for me, but I’m putting it out there, because I’ll be more likely to do it. I’m hoping to create a Video Study / Book Club sometime in the Spring (make sure you sign up for The Weekly, so you’ll be the first to know).

03 / LIVES
Well out of my comfort zone, but . . . when I polled on content last year, a fair amount of friends said that they would like to see Instagram or Facebook Lives. I’m gonna give this a go sometime soon.
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Now, I’m curious . . . do you have a preferred form of content? Blogs, Social Media, E-mails? Video?

AND, anything particular you’d like to me to cover?

Thank you for being a part of this community. I’m so grateful for each and every one of you.

XO . Trina

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FOR NOW:
Subscribe to THE WEEKLY
Subscribe to the Blog
Follow along on Instagram for everyday lovely things.

PS- I’m still pretty active on Pinterest and love to curate beautiful decor, products, fashion and design. You can follow along and get inspiration: HERE.