i'm so delighted to share a few photos from our spring shoot. the spring palette (bluebonnet, peony, iris) looked beautiful on our model, allison. featured photos: all-in-one as a one-shoulder in peony, 2-in-1 long sleeve in bluebonnet + palazzo pant, sleeveless wrap dress in noir, longer cardi-shawl in iris over noir jumpsuit. i hope you love it as much as i do! the line is currently in production and will be unveiled at our spring trunk show mid-march at the TranquiliT showroom. details forthcoming.

tonight's sugar + champagne benefit for the humane society was a total treat. fresh home and relishing in the sugar buzz by the fire while finishing up the day's work - including finalizing the spring 2009 line for our saturday photo shoot.

look at the AMAZING cupcakes from the event - including the darling cupcake that looks like a dog from buzz. such fun and SO creative. who would have thought cupcakes could get any more amazing?

today was my first time in the ring and i loved it! learned five whole punches and felt quite uncoordinated at times, but it was SUCH fun. to warm up he had moi running stairs and doing crunches - not quite my usual downward facing dog.

as a proponent of creativity, i do LOVE learning new things and truly find this to be empowering - even with my pink gloves, zebra socks, and pink boots. poor guy was like, "um, you don't have tennis shoes?" i can't wait for lesson number two - hopefully my wrists will no longer be sore. gotta buy some wraps for them. i hope they make 'em in pink.

today we got a beautiful blanket of snow and sir louis the pug loved it. he's all dolled up in beau's alma mater posing for the camera.

despite getting home at 3am, dashing to a 9am meeting, and getting home at 10:30, i'm feeling good. i love full days that leave me wanting more. now i'm going to kick up my pink boots and indulge in a little r & r. 'night!

here are some shots from today's adventure with our boutique manager, marq! we picked up some gorgeous, glittery recycled paper cards and journals; yummy soy candles and matching reed diffusers; handmade soaps from nepal; and reusable stainless steel water bottles in great patterns! all in all, a fun day despite the sore feet. now gonna get my yoga on!

Now is the Time

By Hafiz

Now is the time to know that all that you do is sacred.

Now, why not consider a lasting truce with yourself and God.

Now is the time to understand that all your ideas of right and wrong were just a child's training wheels to be laid aside when you finally live with veracity and love.

Hafiz is a divine envoy whom the Beloved has written a holy message upon.

My dear, please tell me, why do you still throw sticks at your heart and God?

What is it in that sweet voice inside that incites you to fear?

Now is the time for the world to know that every thought and action is sacred.

This is the time for you to compute the impossibility that there is anything but Grace.

Now is the season to know that everything you do is sacred.

on a bus headed to nyc for the day. first the gift show to find fabulous eco-friendly goodies for the studio boutique, then a yoga class, next some bookstore browsing, finally to moby's teahouse teany, and then onto the 11pm bus back to dc. oh, and i assure you there will be some cupcake-indulging in between places to go! i think i could live on cupcakes. is that wrong?

this weekend was jam-packed with days starting at 8am and ending at midnight. i hear weekends are for restoration and i'm hopeful that i will experience that soon. day off on valentine's day. woo-hoo! i digress. during this exciting weekend, we had a guest teacher - alanna kaivalya - in town from new york to teach our advanced teacher training group. i was lucky enough to join her all three days. my favorite part was the discussion of patanjali's yoga sutras - always a treat. i had just come from a meeting and sold-out class at one of our studios where some yogis were quite disappointed that the class was full and there was no space left for them to practice. it was yoga day usa (put on by yoga alliance to raise awareness of yoga) and it drew many new students to the studio.

with the discussion of the sutras (wish i could recall the exact one, but i don't have my notes on the bus with moi), the notion of compassion to all came up. compassion and love to all. yes, even those who are not nice to you. i was still a bit jostled from an interaction earlier that day where i practiced my usual "kill 'em with kindness" mantra, yet it had lingering effects. it's important to remember the "nothing others do is because of you" bit from the FABULOUS book the four agreements by don miguel ruiz. this discussion allowed me to let go over the feelings i was holding onto and to instead practice compassion.

i used it this morning, too. my cab was to arrive at 7am. usually i get a call 5-10 minutes before the time to let me know that the cab is en route. i carried the phone around with me all morning - to the shower, to the kitchen - so i wouldn't miss the call. it never came so i continued making my rose tea, donning additional accessories, pulling together my planner pad and then i got a call at 7:05 - "did you call a cab?" "indeed!," i replied. "well come down." and he hung up.

um, good morning to you, too! i headed out and asked if he was the one who called. yes, and he had been waiting 10 minutes. i asked why i didn't get a call that he was en route as i normally do. he said i should have come out to see if he was there. in that moment, i decided to let it go.

dirty little secret, i LOVE being right. it's a personal mission of mine to always be right. think it comes from being the little sister of a bully big brother growing up. can you say still 5 years old? sometimes we have to release being right, and just be.

as i got out of the cab, we had a lovely interaction about why the bus i was taking was great (cheap + WIFI). i let him know that i was sorry that i hadn't thought to come out to see if he was there. after all, he had been waiting (not a favorite pastime of mine) and probably growing impatient while i was simply brewing some rose tea wondering when my call was coming. no right or wrong, but it is important to recognize that compassion is a better route for all involved! try it this week when a challenge arises: think compassion over being right.

• direct download (mp3)

Bonjour! Welcome to the 145th edition of tranquility du jour: a guide to bringing tranquility to your every day.

Today’s show menu features happenings and musing on creativity with Leigh Standley of Curly Girl Design.

Workshops + Retreats: Join moi for our next teleclass Bloom into Spring on March 23 and our next online creativity circle starting January 26 PLUS events around the globe: a luxurious weekend of tranquility and creativity at our 3rd Annual Hip Tranquil Chick retreat in a lovely farmhouse not far from NYC March 27-29, 2009, a decadent retreat to Costa Rica over Memorial Day, and another tranquility-filled week at Kripalu August 9-14, 2009. All the scoop is on my workshops page.

Featured eco-luxe TranquiliT: 2-in-1 long sleeve top - $20 off!

Featured guest:
Leigh Standley
Leigh's whimsical and witty work has been in the making for the better part of her thirty years. Born and raised in St. Louis, Leigh began designing in seventh grade where she got poor marks in Math class for doodling. She went on to attend University of Kansas School of Design and holds a BFA in Visual Communications. Her work has been featured in national design publications and regional art shows and is inspired by her incredible friends and family. Leigh has lived in Boston for six years and likes it so much she only occasionally wishes it were Paris.

Leigh enjoys traveling, old movies and singing. She can't live without: yoga, her family and Snickers. She has strong feelings about education, believes in magic and is quite certain that given a cape and a nice tiara, she could save the world.

Chic Community: Mingle on our forums, Facebook, Twitter, and youtube.com/hiptranquilchick.

Au Revoir: To close out the show, we’re playing vOX by The Shanghai Restoration Project from Promonet. You can learn more about their music in the shownotes.

Leave your thoughts on hip tranquil chick by writing a review at Amazon.com!

• You don't need an iPod to listen to the podcast! Click on the player at the top of the post or click here to listen to older episodes!
• New to podcasting? Get more info at Podcast Alley.
• Do you have iTunes? Click here and subscribe to the podcast. You'll automatically get the latest edition as soon as it's available.
• Do you use another podcatcher? Use this link for the podcast RSS feed.

Interested in starting a podcast for yourself, your organization or your business?
Check out nineball media.

Labels: podcasts

we are excited to share to launch of two pieces for the our male yogis: a bamboo hoodie and a bamboo v-neck tee in noir and slate. these two designs come in M, L, and XL. made exclusively for tranquil space. visit our washington, dc location to indulge your favorite eco-fashion guy with a great gift.

since we're usually taking photos of each other (with louis, of course), we don't have many photos together. in honor of our 5 year anniversary (today!), i wanted to pull together a collage of our journey thus far: tradeshows for TranquiliT in the early days, time in the woods, post-dancing in tobago, book launch soiree for hip tranquil chick, hiking in oklahoma, enjoying a boat cruise in montreal, + more.

the journey has been so fun and i'm honored to have such a supportive, intelligent (he knows the answer to EVERYTHING i ask - what makes air conditioning cold? what keeps a plane in the air?), and funny beau! merci beaucoup, beau, for being you! xo

as you can imagine, tuesday was pretty electric in washington, dc - the home of TranquiliT! i wanted to share this photo as a reminder that TranquiliT goes EVERYWHERE: yoga studios, inaugural balls, weddings, farmer's markets, dance classes, and the symphony. our mission is to provide you with fabulous eco-friendly pieces that are all about versatiliT. enjoy!

i'm excited to share that the yummy sugar-coated cupcakes are back at starbucks. i rarely make it into a starbucks anymore since the studio is no longer across the street from one. today during a stroll back to the showroom post-appointment, i ducked in to indulge in a soy chai latte. and what to my wondering eyes appeared - the annual holiday cupcake! i recall wanting one so badly last year around this time and was pulling on a starbucks door with my mouth salivating, eyeing the gem in the case, and the door being locked. i walked home with my head hung low. now they're back. get 'em while you can!

if you're in the mood to learn to knit using sustainable yarn, please check out our knitting workshop at the TranquiliT showroom THIS saturday at 10am. the teacher has lovely energy and is excited to share her craft. here's more about her and her fabulous art. hope you can join! in the meantime, wishing you lots of cupcake love mingled with DIY sustainable yarn love. a perfect concoction.

as i dash off to a warm cozy bed after enduring chilly temperatures in heels and a slinky armani gown (courtesy of a bargain a la tj maxx circa 2002), i am delighted to share a mini pictorial of today's extravaganza.

dc was truly electric today and it has been an absolute pleasure to take part in the festivity. i feel honored. i hope these photos can give an idea of today's excitement: louis + moi hitting the streets, beau + moi pre gala plus at the gala, biden + jill, obama + michelle. such fun! patriotism + hope is literally oozing from this city right now. i heart the united states of america + am incredibly proud to be a part of this next era. love seeing history unfold before my eyes.

i'm over the moon! not only did my pink boxing gloves arrive yesterday (yay!) BUT we are experiencing a very monumental day here in dc AND i was just given 2 tickets to tonight's southern inauguration ball! beau, pug, and moi are off to the studio to watch the excitement continue to unfold via the computer and then head down to partake in some of the festivities. teaching my 7pm yoga 2 tonight, then home to get dolled up and head to an INAUGURATION BALL! can you tell i'm excited? AND i had a senator in class last friday. living in dc right now is super-duper exciting! i promise to take oodles of photos.

on another exciting note, city girl shared her experience from saturday's gala on her blog.

wishing everyone a joyous connection to change. be the change you wish to see. live by example. give freely. shine brightly.

this little boy has won my heart. he regularly gives his mother origami and sweet handwritten notes to pass along to moi. at our bethesda studio holiday party, he purchased a TranquiliT scarf in slate. i thought it was a gift for his mother - a TranquiliT connoisseur - but, alas, it was for him. note him dolled up in the scarf reading in front of the fireplace. a boy after my own heart!

DC is electric right now and tonight we're hosting a fun 2-hour workshop with a dj playing house music. it's exciting to be part of this historic moment and to celebrate it through a practice focused on change and being the change we want to see in the world!

yesterday's gala was a total treat. an amazing group of women from the dc area, illinois, and vermont. we set intentions, wrote in our journals, did some yummy yoga, dined on tea sandwiches, learned about nutrition, explored the 8 petals of creativity, and set goals for 2009. here are some photos of the lovely ladies in action.

after a brief kicking up of my fringed boots, beau and i headed to the mac store to pick up my healed laptop. super-excited to be reunited with my beloved friend - especially now that it has a speedy (and working) hard drive! then to dinner complete with my favorite reisling from chateau st. michelle and finally to a bookstore for my favorite pasttime- bookstore browsing. came across this super-cool book: the creative entrepreneur. two of my favorite things rolled into one! genius.

the next two days are full of teacher training, a 12:30 MLK day class at tranquil space (come one, come all) and tomorrow night's liberation flow to house music with a dj! come celebrate MLK day and the inauguration with us. SUCH an exciting and historical week in dc (despite the closed roads including the one in front of chez moi - where are the locals supposed to park? AND heaps of tour buses). honestly, the anticipation of change and possibility definitely outweighs any short term annoyances!

beau is out in west virginia getting a possible cabin inspected. he's been looking for the perfect place for a few years and decided to shift his efforts from dc to a weekend getaway. keeping my fingers crossed for him as this would be an exciting lifestyle shift (and new, fun place to hold creativity and yoga workshops!).

wishing all of you a delightful and blissful sunday. i'm still in bed - where i've been for about 14 hours now. time to rise and shine and make the most of my next few hours before dashing to the studio. just so hard to part with my beloved reunited laptop that has been MIA for 4 days (almost 85 hours), but who's counting?

A BIG thank you to the lovely Melissa for sharing TranquiliT with her readership. Check out this sensational product review at Now What Baby. TranquiliT is a comfy line that works well for growing bellies, breastfeeding, and living the mommy life in style.

gearing up for tomorrow's all-day hip and tranquil gala and so looking forward to seeing everyone. stuffed goody bags, tied bows around incense, and am putting the finishing touches on the event later tonight after teaching two classes. happy to see that we were featured on capitol b. thanks for the shout-out, barbara. two spots left in case you would like to join us!

can you stand these gloves? just ordered them. have been toying with returning to a class ever since i showed up in my silver pumas and kickboxed with a dear friend a few months ago. such fun, such a workout, and made me feel super-tough. then i came across these PINK gloves and i've been thinking about them daily ever since. so tonight i stopped into a nearby boxing gym after a tranquil space foundation meeting, got the scoop, ordered my gloves, and look forward to hitting a class next week. i kept saying to the people assisting the "odd girl with sparkly eyeshadow and lots of questions" (ok, that was MY interpretation of what they were thinking), "i'm so excited to take class - i found these really great pink gloves!" the buff guy was like, "um, that's great - get the 12 oz ones." poor thing - has no idea what he's in for!

my macbook air decided to take a break from offering moi a working hard drive so i've felt a bit displaced today. using one of beau's old laptops while mine is serviced and don't have access to all my e-mails, documents, files, etc. random e-mails trickle in through a gmail account he set up, but i'm not a gmail girl and the whole thread thing throws moi for a loop. i miss my beloved macbook air. i will gratefully await its return with a working hard drive on friday! despite my best laid plans, these technological delays set back my long list of to-dos but tomorrow is a new day. isn't that what scarlett o'hara said?

my focus continues to be on spaciousness and i'm consciously seeking it on a daily basis. i love this notion of staying attune to a word that resonates. makes for a great mantra. alas, maybe i'll find it while boxing in my new pink gloves!

our celebration of 5 years (10 days in advance) was a lovely escape from urban living. having lived in the mountains of colorado for almost a year in 1996 i know that i absolutely adore the country, but am a city girl at heart. however, getting out of the city to bask in open space, down time, and simplicity always does a soul good. a couple of friends joined us for two nights and we loved laughing, exploring the big city of martinsburg, indulging in a celebratory dinner, and relaxing in front of the fire. off to the studio to teach two classes (one being a pay-what-you-can class - so come one, come all) and get back to city living.

a few lessons from the cabin:

1. indulge in the simple things. reading by the fire is an absolute treat. noshing on steel cut oats topped off with banana, walnuts, and brown sugar is super-yummy.
2. make tiny changes for comfort. one night we slept in front of the blazing fire rather than retreating to the loft.
3. surrender guilt. sleep until noon. stay up until 2am. write in your journal with reckless abandon. buy the creative tool you've been eyeing (got my serger last night!). sleep in the same clothes you lounged in all day.

• direct download (mp3)

Bonjour! Welcome to the 144th edition of tranquility du jour: a guide to bringing tranquility to your every day.

Today’s show menu features happenings and musing on financial finesse in a tricky economy with experts Sarah and Candi Kaplan.

Workshops + Retreats: Join moi for our next teleclass Bloom into Spring on March 23 and our next online creativity circle starting January 26 PLUS events around the globe: a day focused on creating a fabulous 2009 at our 2nd annual new year's gala, a luxurious weekend of tranquility and creativity at our 3rd Annual Hip Tranquil Chick retreat in a lovely farmhouse not far from NYC March 27-29, 2009, a decadent retreat to Costa Rica over Memorial Day, and another tranquility-filled week at Kripalu August 9-14, 2009. All the scoop is on my workshops page.




Featured eco-luxe TranquiliT: skirt dress. Use coupon code INTENTION and save 20% on this piece through Monday, January 19.







Featured guests:

Sarah Kaplan
As a financial professional, Sarah Kaplan creates value for clients by providing them with the professional expertise necessary to help them achieve their financial goals, offering ongoing service and advice as their needs change.

Sarah specializes in helping to develop financial solutions for corporations, business owners, and individuals. She offers a vast array of financial strategies, services and products to help implement these solutions. These include an in-depth financial needs analysis and business, estate and retirement planning strategies tailored to clients needs. She is licensed to provide life, health and long-term care insurance, annuities, and investments. Sarah will also work jointly with clients’ CPAs, attorneys, and other professionals to create a well-integrated, simplified financial program designed to help meet all of their financial needs.

Sarah is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s R.H. Smith School of Business. She has received her Retirement Planning Specialist designation from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Unlike many financial professionals, Sarah has had life-long exposure to the industry through her mother’s successful 29-year practice. Sarah draws upon that unique perspective when working with her own clients.

What separates Kaplan Financial Group from other financial services firms are individuals like Sarah, who take the extra time to really listen to their clients, discover their needs and help provide recommendations for real solutions.

Phone: 301-564-0088
E-mail: sarah@kaplanfinancialgroup.com

Candace G. Kaplan, CFP®, RHU, ChFC earned her BA degree at George Washington University. She is the CEO and President of Kaplan Financial Group, Kaplan Benefits Group, LLC and K- Financial, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor. She has served the financial and insurance needs of organizations and individuals for over 29 years.

In 1993 she was honored by the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York as “Man of the Year”, the third woman in MONY’s 150 year history to receive that prestigious award. She has been honored with company and industry awards for her leadership, sales performance and outstanding client service every year of her career.

Kaplan is also a member of the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), recognized as the standard of excellence in the industry, and, has also earned a place at MDRT’s Top of the Table.

Kaplan is the past Chairman of the Dean’s Council of the Columbian College at George Washington University, a member of the Planned Giving Committee of the University, and has been active at GW for many years. She is a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and the Financial Planning Association.
She also serves on the Advisory Board of Congressional Bank.

She lives in Potomac, Maryland with her husband Lawrence. Her daughter, Sarah Kaplan, is her business partner, and her son, Jonathan, daughter-in-law, Doris, and grandson, Eli, live in New York.

Chic Community: Mingle on our forums, Facebook, Twitter, and youtube.com/hiptranquilchick.

Au Revoir: To close out the show, we’re playing Crush by Natalie Walker from Promonet. You can learn more about her music in the shownotes.

Leave your thoughts on hip tranquil chick by writing a review at Amazon.com!

• You don't need an iPod to listen to the podcast! Click on the player at the top of the post or click here to listen to older episodes!
• New to podcasting? Get more info at Podcast Alley.
• Do you have iTunes? Click here and subscribe to the podcast. You'll automatically get the latest edition as soon as it's available.
• Do you use another podcatcher? Use this link for the podcast RSS feed.

Interested in starting a podcast for yourself, your organization or your business?
Check out nineball media.

Labels: podcasts

this one infuses lots of hip and tranquil things: color, petals, planner pad, and last monday's teleclass. i totally heart these. thanks, ladies, for keeping the inspiration coming. may we all continue to blossom and bloom into our most mindfully extravagant selves in 2009!

i'm delighted to share the TranquiliT spring palette: iris (purple), bluebonnet (blue), peony (pink). clearly we've got a bloom theme going on! designs are being finalized and a shoot is prepped for later this month. i'll be sure to give you a sneak peek! yay for a new collection full of lots of your eco-favorite staples.

i'm delighted to share the TranquiliT spring palette: iris (purple), pansy (blue), peony (pink). clearly we've got a bloom theme going on! designs are being finalized and a shoot is prepped for later this month. i'll be sure to give you a sneak peek! yay for a new collection full of lots of your eco-favorite staples.

i am overjoyed with the number of ladies willing to share their beautiful experience from monday night's teleclass. here is dee's interpretation of the eight petals of a new year, new you. a BIG thanks to so many people for sharing their creative spirit with others!

i'm getting packed, have some fabric swatches to ship, items to drop off at our arlington studio, and a few loose ends to tie up. oh, and desperately seeking a mani and pedi in my favorite shade: lincoln park after dark (if you don't know this shade - check it out, you'll love it!). we'll see if there is time. then, off to the woods i go . . .

this week has been a blur of shipping after our big "green is the new black" sale last weekend (woo hoo), dealing with a belly bug (boo!), teaching classes and a new living your yoga series, chatting with brides-to-be about our eco-luxe bridal line, hosting a teleclass (super-fun!), late night dining with dear friends, lots of sleeping in to shed the belly bug, and meeting with my seamstress to hand off inventory. truly a delightful week!

i've included two photos from my week: louis on the showroom couch cuddled up on a velvet pillow stuffed with sustainable kapok (an amazing, but messy product) and the showroom event table covered with inventory to ship out. tonight i'm putting lots of finishing touches on a somewhat chaotic week as beau, pug, and moi are dashing off to the woods to celebrate our 5-year anniversary. no wifi (though we'll hit the nearby cafe up for it on occassion or i may go into convulsions) so i'll be doing lots of reading, writing, cuddling, sleeping in, sipping tea, warming by the fire, finalizing the spring collection, journal writing, dining on smores, putting 2009 goals onto cute notecards in pink sharpie, doing yoga, being, and more being.

tonight's first living your yoga session was a total treat. lovely ladies. it was fun to explore the five yamas from the yoga sutras and how they play out in our everyday lives. a consistent theme was being true to who you are (satya) and ensuring your thoughts, words, and actions have a positive effect on those around you (ahimsa). when these conflict, we are to choose ahimsa over satya per swami satchinanda. kill 'em with kindness, ladies.

Here's the Skinny:

Date:	Saturday, January 17, 2009
Time:	10:00am - 4:00pm
Location:	Josephine Butler House
Street:	2437 15th street, nw
City/Town:	Washington, DC

Join moi and special guest Kate Vickers of Bountiful Living Wellness for a delightful day filled with modules designed to help live your most fabulous year yet! Escape the winter chill to sip organic tea, nosh on succulent scones, and mingle with like-minded women in a gorgeous ballroom in the heart of DC complete with hardwood floors and two fireplaces. Enjoy a day filled with modules on yoga, nutrition, creativity, and goal setting. You will leave feeling inspired with clarity on how to manifest your most hip and tranquil 2009.

Bring your yoga mat, journal, colored pens or pencils, and an open heart.

Investment: $125, includes oodles of tea and treats, yummy vegetarian tea-style lunch, tranquility-filled goody bag, and 6 lifestyle modules. Register at kimberlywilson.com. Check out the event's Facebook page.

merci clara for sending! beautiful!

LOVE all the creativity that came out of our teleclass. mark your calendars for our BLOOM INTO SPRING teleclass on monday, march 23 at 9pm ET.

when you need a jolt of inspiration, roll out your yoga mat and move through this series:

wide-knee child's pose
down dog
down dog split with right leg
deep lunge - reach arms up
vinyasa: chaturanga, updog, down dog
down dog split with left leg
deep lunch - reach arms up
repeat 2-10 more X on each side: add in a twist and half split

sun salutations - step back or surya A
from down dog: warrior 1, warrior 2, triangle on both sides with a vinyasa in between
tree pose on both sides, vinyasa

jump through to seated forward fold
baddha konasana
double pigeon on each side

happy baby
reclined twist on each side
bridge or wheel
headstand
child's pose
shoulderstand/plow
fish pose

savasana

namaste!

thanks to lauren for sending her lovely flower and inspired drawing from last night's teleclass. i also appreciated her comment asking whether i was keeping my e-mail "hours." way to hold me accountable!

fresh off tonight's teleclass with other lovely ladies from around the globe. attached is a gorgeous visual of notes taken by the artful woman herself. wishing everyone a lovely start to the new year. each day offers a chance to start anew.

may 2009 be full of sparkles, joy, do-gooding, simplicity, and tall vegan boots!

i've taught the 3-hour new year's reflective practice at all 3 tranquil space locations over the past few days. alas, my "world tour" is over. so fun to see all the inspired and excited faces ready to take on 2009.

since returning from oklahoma a week ago tonight, life has been moving at uber-fast pace with a return to my over-packed days. i'm losing steam and my mindset is suffering. despite the fact that i love so much of what i do, i'm longing for the quieter days of december. the inbox wasn't as out of control, the projects were pending, and i even took some days off.

january is always a hectic month at the studio and with numerous changes and some fun additions (like the exciting creativity classes at the showroom - click on image of events and a big online TranquiliT sale), it's in full swing.

a friend asked me today if i had chosen a word for the year - something to focus on. the word that immediately came to mind was *spaciousness*. more time between meetings. more time between appointments. more time to get to meetings and appointments. more open space in my schedule. less travel. less scheduled time. more space in my closet. more open space in the various nooks and crannies at home. less heaviness. more joy. more laughter. more organization. more reflection. less frustration. ah, spaciousness how i long for more of you in my life in 2009. now i ask . . . what is your word?

i got home from the studio around 11pm friday night and crawled into bed. read some of the martha stewart biography that i've been absorbing and off to dreamland. up after a long slumber and dashed to TranquiliT's showroom for our planner pad par-tay led by the lovely julia and jlo from last week's podcast. attached are two photos from the extravaganza - note beau on the far right who got the recording equipment set up for those who purchased the class via mp3 since they couldn't make the event live and in person. your mp3 is coming soon!

next i dashed to our arlington studio to teach my 3-hour new year's reflection practice to a group of lovely ladies. then a jaunt to whole foods where i dined on yummy cucumber/avocado sushi and a to-die-for cupcake. the meal looked so pretty that i had to photograph it to share. truly one of the prettiest cupcakes out there! now i'm desperately procrastinating the edits to a 30-page document due tomorrow. oh how i'd rather crawl under the covers and enjoy more slumbering. alas, it's time to make it happen. after a day of fun plan pad decorating and teaching, i'd better start the editing process . . .

i wanted to share some exciting upcoming events in celebration of the new year!

new year, new you teleclass on monday, january 5

4-week living your yoga series at tranquil space starts thursday, january 8

all-day new year's gala on saturday, january 17

liberation house: yoga with house music by dj on monday, january 19

5-session online creativity circle starts on monday, january 26

wishing you a very fruitful start to our new journey into 2009.

life is not about finding yourself. life is about creating yourself. - author unknown

TranquiliT is delighted to launch its bridal LUXE collection - the perfect dress for your wedding and beyond. Brides, be the friend that finally gives your maids exactly what they deserve: a beautiful, sustainable, luxurious bridesmaid dress that they can't wait to wear over and over again.

No longer do bridesmaid dresses have to be frumpy and constructed out of scratchy, uncomfortable materials. TranquiliT offers a new way of thinking about bridesmaid dresses: comfortable, eco-friendly, versatile and as always, fashionable.

Even more fabulous is the fact that you are no longer restricted to the colors and styles that someone else thinks are right for you. You are in complete control of the color and style of your dresses. You pick your color out of our wide selection of 95% organic bamboo fabric (or choose to eco-dye your dresses) and you choose the style that your bridesmaids wear by wrapping our luxe bridal dresses in one of over 20 different ways!

muse from january 2009's tranquil space museletter:

bonjour and welcome to 2009! this is our chance to get it right, start anew, and make some changes. the possibilities are endless. a new beginning is offered every day, not just january 1. each morning you are given a fresh canvas on which to paint. you choose the paint colors, the strokes, the pace, and the other players. your life is a constantly evolving work of art. create your new year consciously through reflection, intention, and action.

reflection: reflect on lessons learned in 2008. write out a year in review. note highlights, lessons learned, and what you have to be grateful for from these key experiences.

intention: set your intentions by getting them down on paper and staying mindful of them throughout your day. collage or write out on paper what you want 2009 to look like. become mindful of qualities you hope to cultivate.

action: create action steps on how you plan to get there. post these action steps where you see them every day.

sample reflection: feeling stagnant and in need of more doing things differently.
sample intention: i want to live more creatively.
sample action: sign up for a watercolor class, wear red, learn the tango, browse the creativity section of amazon.com, read the artist’s way, try your hand at DIY projects (see our sustainable crafting classes at TranquiliT’s showroom), sign up for french lessons, start that novel, get a sewing machine)

as my favorite marianne williamson poem states, "we are all meant to shine and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same." let your inner light sparkle in 2009 through ongoing reflection, intention, and action. watch amazing things unfold. the potential that lies within you is infinite. take some sacred time to mold it and then live out loud!