what i love about sundays*

"Cat-napping on the porch swing; You curled up next to me,
The smell of jasmine wakes us up.
Take a walk down a back road, Tackle box and a cane pole;
Carve our names in that white oak,
An' steal a kiss as the sun fades,
That's what I love about Sunday"

-Craig Morgan

i love sundays... there's no expectations for anyone to be productive. sunday is a day where you feel comfortable enough to stay in pyjamas and curl up with a good book, and no one will say anything. in fact, they will probably wish they would have done the same...

i spend most of my sundays with my family. family breakfast, lunch or dinner. if i'm really lucky i will spend the morning having breakfast with one group of family, and have dinner with a second group. we are big on nourishing each other and there is nothing we enjoy more than sitting down together for a great meal and even better conversation...

i am happy to say it is my turn to cook dinner this week! so the white chicken chili is simmering on the stove and the homemade dinner rolls are ready to go in the oven when company arrives. if you lovelies have any favorite recipes that you would like to share, please do! i am always looking for new things to try and we are not a picky bunch...

wishing you a lovely sunday - xo

the city that stole my heart*

dearest nyc,

you had my heart the first time i laid eyes on you. you had always been a dream in my heart. a place that combines amazing theatre, great shopping and indescribable beauty... how could i not adore you?

what i didn't know is how quickly you would sink into my bones, into the very heart of me. you made my heart sing from the moment i stepped off the plane.

you changed me... for the first time in my life, i felt like a woman. not a young girl trying to find her way in this big world. I had found this amazing corner of the world and felt so happy to be a part of it.

i'm coming back to visit you this year, and i feel like i'm coming home. i want to spend time wandering your busy streets and photographing your unmeasurable beauty. i can't wait to see you again.

with love,

-S

piece of the world

every morning
i would wake with the fear
of this day being our last...
i could feel the beating of your heart
and see the rise and fall of every breath...
i would lay as still
as i could
for fear i would wake you
and end our perfect piece of the world...
i spent those
early morning hours
memorizing every piece
of you.
one morning,
at some point
during my intense study,
you woke,
pulled me close,
and asked me
"can we stay like this forever?"
"can you love me that long?"
and with a deep sigh
came an unexpected answer...
"longer..."

Hoop Love

I don't know what it is about this magical circle of tubing and tape,
but i'm in love...

I went to my first hoop class and was hooked!

Now, i will admit, I am not a very good hooper (for some reason i just can't get waist hooping down, but am quite good at hand tricks)and haven't been hooping for very long, but there is something that makes me keep trying and trying. One day I will figure it out and never look back.

Usually, when something doesn't come naturally to me, after a while I will give up and admire from afar. Hooping isn't like that at all. I want to do it so badly, so I will keep trying. I don't get frustrated when the hoop keeps falling, in fact that usually makes me laugh. I honestly think I get more exercise from laughing at myself then I do from the actual hooping.

I have spent countless hours watching videos (there are some incredibly amazing ones out there!), reading all I can find about hooping and the culture/lifestyle and reading through the blogs of other hoop lovers. I love reading about their journeys, and their successes. It's incredibly inspiring.

This has changed so many lives in so many ways and I want to be a part of this crazy, fantastic movement of hoopers. I want to connect with the hooper inside of me (and I know she's in there) and feel the energy, the connection and most of all the love...

If you are a hooper, I would love to hear anything you want to share! Your story, how you got started...anything at all!

wishing you a lovely Sunday xo

What Do You Collect?

I have noticed that I am a collector...
There are certain things I tend to gather and keep...
I wonder if it's an artist thing. or if it's just a Sheena thing...

Here's my list:

1) images. I have hundreds of files of images saved on my computer. I make a folder for each month and fill it with photos and images I love. Each month generally has over 500 photos in it. At the end of the month, I burn a CD of the images and it goes into a case with all of the other CD's. These images find their way into my scrapbooks and journals (on a side note: I always note where I get the image from, even though no one else reads my journals or personal scrapbook. I just always want to give credit to these amazing artists that inspire me and would hope that if I had the honour of being in someone's journal, they would do the same)

2) journals/scrapbooks. At this point in my life I have 93 journals. The smallest one has 23 pages (two fell out and have been taped into another journal :) ) and the largest is 750 pages. They are filled with everything, with my life...

3)quotes. I love wise words, words that inspire, words that force you to think and reflect. (these also go in journals ... it's a bit of an addiction :) )

4) love notes. any kind letter that has been sent or given to me is kept... you guessed it...in a journal. I have the most wonderful people in my life and they are so kind and loving to me. If i have a terrible day, all I have to do is pull out this magical love note journal and sit with their kind words.

These are just a few of the things I collect.

What do you collect dear ones?

xo

My Faith*

"if you send out goodness from yourself, or if you share that which is happy and good within you, it will come back to you multiplied ten thousand times. In the kingdom of love there is no competition; there is no possessiveness or control. The more love you give away, the more love you will have"



-John O'Donohue

I have had a lot of questions thrown at me regarding faith lately, in particular what my faith is. Here is the truth; my faith is love. I believe in it, and make it my guiding principal in my life. Below is a list of some of my thoughts on faith and my beliefs. They may change (in fact, I am positive they will), as I am constantly changing. I am still learning and growing, and hope to always be. But here are my truths for this point in my life;

- I believe in duality; the power of male and female.

- I feel a stonger pull towards the female, as she resonates more within me.

- I don't feel the need to go to church to pray; the divine is everywhere and i would rather be in nature, in the world that the divine made, than in a man made building.

- I believe in the power of mother earth and the energy of plants and trees and everything alive in this magical world

- I believe in reincarnation. How could we only get one shot at this when there is so much to learn, experience and marvel at.

- I believe prayer and meditation can be in many forms. For me, it takes the form of dancing and hooping (wild and free) and capturing photos on photowalks

these are just a few of my thoughts on faith and the way I express it in my life.

Happy Saturday everyone <3

Good Morning 2011

I woke up this morning happy, and with a feeling that anything could happen ... anything is possible.

Now don't get me wrong, I normally wake up happy and grateful that I get to spend another day on this planet full of possibility, but there was just something special about this morning.

It's 2011, and I have a feeling it is going to be a really great year ... in fact that is my goal for this year!

I believe in making your own luck, and creating what you most need to find. This year, for me, will be focused on doing just that.

In 2011 I will:
1. focus on photography and learning more about something that gives me great joy
2. find more time to work on my personal scrapbook/journal
3. take the ecourse by the lovely Boho Girl, Denise Andrade
4. focus more on my blog and learning more and more about blogging itself
5. gather inspiration from other bloggers and spend some time absorbing their knowledge
6. visit my beloved New York City again (not so much theatre this time ... more wandering)
7. focus on becoming healthy and learning what works for me and my body
8. Start an Etsy shop to sell some of my prints (stay tuned for more info!)
9. go on photography adventures at least once a month with a dear friend
10. make time for more hooping, atleast 3 times a week for half an hour!

Hoping your 2011 is happy and healthly!

Much Love!