"And above all watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." ~Roald Dahl

I had this zine once, maybe I still have it stashed in a box somewhere because it was my favorite of all the ones I received back in my zine swapping days. 

And it was my favorite because the writer described the most mundane things so beautifully.

Summertime and kids hanging in parking lots, roller skates and ice cream.

I think about that zine a lot when I'm in a slump and things get too "normal."

I think about how, yes, there is beauty and magic everywhere you look if you just look long enough and with glittering eyes.

It's all in unlikely places. Have you noticed the hearts that show up all around us? The shape of a leaf, in a beam of light, embedded in concrete, a rock buried beneath the dirt.

And what about all the things that inspire us to create even more magic? Like Francesca Lia Block seeing the name that would belong to her Weetzie Bat character or the people in the park who inspire a story, a painting, a song.

Magic will come to us, will float upon us like a cloud. You don't have to do much - just keep your eyes open.

But if you're seeking it, it's not just found in the obvious painting or novel. It's pressed between the pages in the form of a dried petal, an eyelash resting on your wrist, that random piece of sparkle that shows up on your cheek.

Veronica Varlow wrote, "This is how I see it...all of life is a delicious meal in some way or another...and some people never stop to savor it."

So watch with glittering eyes the life that moves around you. Shape it into poetry and gratitude lists. Write a blog post and send it into the world as if the internet were the ocean and your blog the message in a bottle.

Share the magic you find with others whose eyes might still be closed. I used to tuck happy messages into books at the bookstore or drop them in people's mailboxes. Imagine what happiness that would bring to someone on a typical Monday.

Share a little, but don't forget to keep some for yourself. Let everything simmer in your heart. Savor life like a delicious meal, lick your fingers and say, "Mmm...that was good."

What magic are you seeing these days? What are you savoring?

Here comes your caravan of awesome links!

6 reminders for when you’re hating how you look

An empire of her own (+ the quest for a bigger game)

The blinding ache to be noticed: I see you

Practical Magic: A Victorian house fit for a witch

Spark Inspiration: a poem to inspire you

I danced naked in front of 13 women...and it changed me (for the better!) I would jump at the chance to do this.

5 famous books that were originally self-published

How to boost desire using the psychology of scarcity

10 ways to enjoy more: what’s your guilty pleasure?

So you've created your inspiration altar and are seeing the creative benefits it's brought you.

Now it's time to bring even more inspiration into your life with an inspiration book! This little gem will work wonders if you need a quick pick-me-up in the creative department or if you're having a blah day and need a happiness boost.

To start, we'll need some kind of notebook. It can be a scrapbook, three-ring binder, composition book, novel, or something like what I used in the pictures here: a hardcover for the front and back, card stock for the pages, and twine to bind the book.

Supplies you might want to have on hand:

• glue
  
• glitter
  
• paint
  
• markers
  
• pen/pencil
  
• ruler
  
• scissors
  
• tape
• stamps
• gesso

You can fill your inspiration book with anything! It's yours after all. 

Personal photos, magazine pictures, kind emails, blog posts, personal praise, inspiring quotes, love letters, magic spells, rose petals, feathers, tarot cards, horoscopes, poetry, fortune cookie wisdom, recipes, dreams, ideas, doodles, concert tickets, plane tickets, passages from books, favorite songs list, gratitude lists...

It's like Pinterest come to life!

You can create little pockets where you can tuck in secret messages. Stamp images. Tear different scrapbook papers and combine them on the page for a layered look.

Scribble your wishes with finger paint and sprinkle pixie dust on top. Put on bright red lipstick and give it a good smack! Write a fairy tale. 

You can keep your inspiration book by your altar or bedside where you can always see it or hide it in a special box underneath the bed. 

Put it on display for others to peruse or keep it as a secret treasure just for you.

Let the words, images, and objects that move you make their way into your book. 

Fill it with magic, love, and happiness and you'll never be at a loss for inspiration.

I didn't get out of bed until almost 10:30 this morning. I took a shower, ate breakfast (eggs and toast with blueberry jam), then got straight back in bed. 

It's 6:12 pm and I'm still in bed. Mind you, I've been on the computer, reading, writing, connecting, discovering, but I haven't been outside except to pull the dry towels from the clothes line.

I felt guilty about it for a twinge of a second - I really ought to get out, pull away from the screen, enjoy the sunshine. But that's not what I really wanted. I wanted to be in bed in front of the fan. I wanted to write and read. I wanted to just laze. 

What beckons you today? What self-seduction are you practicing?

That's what I want to talk about - self-love. What does that look like? What does it mean for you?

For me it's mornings spent lying around for an hour, coffee, reading my favorite blogs and writing. 

Sometimes it's wearing bright pink lipstick, taking a nap instead of exercising or stretching and moving my joints. 

I think self-love can be really simple and luxurious.

It might mean consciously putting on your favorite perfume (ankle, breasts, pelvis), taking a 3:00 break for tea and chocolate, putting off washing the dishes to paint your nails cherry bomb red. 

Self-love is seduction and surrender. (Click to Tweet) Listening to what one's body/mind wants and letting oneself luxuriate in her pleasures.

You don't have to look in the mirror and say I love you, unless you want to. You don't have to make a gratitude list or write yourself a love letter. Unless you want to.

Ask yourself what you really want right now.

Maybe it's to create at your altar. Read poetry. Cuddle your dog. Put on your slinkiest dress and get coffee. 

Whatever you want, bring it into your life. Seduce yourself, surrender, and take a few minutes, hours, a day to practice self-love by doing something you enjoy. Something that lights up your cells, wraps you in beauty, gives you goosebumps.

You are your most precious companion, your best friend. Treat her with all the grace, respect, and love you would your children, your spouse, your parents. 

The woman inside is asking a favor - she is asking you to love her. This is how...she's pointing you in the right direction, handing you a guidebook of little ways you can please her. 

How will you please her today? How will you surrender?

Hello everyone!

I love weekly link roundups, so I've decided to do my own and share with you all the treasures I've come across since last Friday.

I meant to post this on Friday, but I've been without internet for about a day and a half and am still trying to sort things out over here as far as access goes.

But anyhow, here are the goodies. Read on!

5 surprising reasons new visitors leave your site.

Social media engagement success.

A dance a day keeps divine light & divine love alive.

10 ways to feel free.

2 tips for creative bloggers.

The internet is real life.

Wtf, America? We could learn a thing or two from the French.

Modern day magic: using social media as your magic wand.

20 reasons to love a book nerd.

The power of a small tribe.

The art of thinking highly of yourself (without being a totally obnoxious narcissist or something).

I turned the laptop on at 7:18 am; I usually sleep until around 8:30 or 9, but there's no shut eye when the workers outside are banging around and talking.

But it's okay, I wanted to poke around the internet for inspiration for a blog post. But what did I want to write about? What was stirring in my soul?

I read through my favorite blogs, perused Pinterest, but here's the thing...

nothing brings me to the words like ink and paper - how they flow, how they do their tango.

Other people's posts are inspiring, for sure, as well as Pinterest and random quotes and...but it's so easy to get distracted and read and pin for hours and somehow end up on Facebook playing Candy Crush. That's about the time I look at the clock and say, "Oh my goddess, what have I done?!"

Julia Cameron is right about Morning Pages. Those three beautiful pages of longhand open a portal to some magical land in the mind. 

It's like a secret garden overgrown with rose bushes and weeping willows and at first glance we wouldn't dare go in in fear of thorns and ghosts.

But moving our hand across the paper sweeps the cobwebs from the door and we push through and smell the sweetness of jasmine and taste the fullness of plump peaches. 

It's actually rare that I write Morning Pages in the morning, but no matter what time of day or how stuck I am, when I move the pen, the words come. They have to!

At first they may come like a crying child to a doctor's office, stomping their feet and grasping onto chairs and door frames. 

But after just a few minutes, the crying child dances. 

My hand speeds across the page to keep up with my thoughts. Ideas fall like raindrops and splatter the paper. 

Often, I don't want to stop at three pages.

So what I want to tell you is that if you want to write, you must go to the page. 

There are inspiring books to read and pretty pictures to look at, but it all comes down to the page. 

To write, we must do just that, no matter how loud the child is crying. 

Get out your notebook, your favorite pen. Romance the page and seduce the words just by showing up.

The page is your secret garden and the words are waiting to bloom.