welcome to just a little ditty...


After two years of blogging here, 
I decided it was time for just a little ditty version 2.0!

I'll no longer be posting on this site, but you can find me here!

And Thank YOU for being on this ride with me... 
it's been amazing, and I have a feeling, the road is long...


xo,
Dickie

today

 
"Anything is possible. Anything can be."  
- Shel Silverstein

in life...

You'll find this manifesto on the Lululemon's website and on all their shopping bags.
It's their mission statement -- and it's a great outlook relativity.

My favorite: 

"Creativity is maximized when you're living in the moment."

What's yours?

take one

S. Carson  

“All journeys have secret destinations 
of which the traveler is unaware.”

-Martin Buber

success


I saw these trophies recently in a window display... 
they are good reminders that success means 
something different to everybody. 
So why not
Define your own...
Create your own...

?

(and enjoy the adventure along the way!)

September 11...

Middletown Fire Department

Middletown, Rhode Island

Where were you on September 11, 2001?

Remember how we came together?

Say hello or introduce yourself to a neighbor…

You might need each other one day.

Thank someone who’s serving our nation – 
fire, medic, military, intelligence, law enforcement…

You might need them one day.

Honor those we lost by finding your own way to serve our great country…

So we can come together again.

--

Guest Post by:
Jay Lavender

hope week

 George Lenker/ESPN


This article by Rick Reilly is absolutely amazing.... 
it will change your day, at the very least

day by day

One day your life will flash before your eyes. 
Make sure it's worth watching.

-Unknown

ready. set. go.


One of my very best friends sent this to me... and it's definitely worth sharing.
Just a little something to think about on this beautiful Tuesday afternoon...
Enjoy the day...
enjoy the journey!

here

good call

spreading smiles

This is a pretty cool way to start the day!

Try it!

(the smiling part... painting your car is up to you...)

yahooooo!

 
Life should not be a journey with the 
intention of arriving at the end of it 
in a well-preserved and attractive body - 
but rather to skid in sideways, 
body thoroughly used up, 
covered in scars 
and screaming  
'yahoo'
what a ride!


tuesday tunes


Just a few tunes to start
your Tuesday off right...



Long Distance Call            (Phoenix)
I and Love and You            (The Avett Brothers)     
Sunken Waltz                     (Calexico)                       
Boy With A Coin               (Iron and Wine)  
The Pirate's Gospel            (Alela Diane)
        
turn it up!!


moments in time

"We do not remember days, 
we remember moments."
 -Cesare Pavese

spotted

So...what are you going to do today?

the starting block

begin anywhere
john cage

take a hike

Nothing fuels me more than spending time with creative people. Yesterday I went on a hike with two of my good friends, Kate Barton & Kiki Slaughter. Both are local artists, who are talented beyond words.  We chatted about life, what it means to be creative and how we get from point A to point B.  Check out their work, read about the artists behind the canvases; I have no doubt you'll be inspired too.

eyes wider

For the past two years I've wanted to take this photography immersion class in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I've read about it, talked about it, thought about it...and finally -- this past week, I got on a plane and went. It was one of the coolest experiences. From sun-up to sun down, we lived and breathed photography. We had a great teacher who loved photography, teaching and the world. We had a class who bonded effortlessly over the 7 days -- and I found that it was possible to actually understand my camera. I not only learned how to use my camera and capture the images as my mind sees them; I've noticed that I've begun to view the world in a slightly different way. There are so many interesting angles to capture, stories to tell, details to shoot. This experience has opened my eyes wider than before.

...

inspire someone today?

going out on a limb


Having just made some pretty significant changes in my life, 
seeing this yesterday made me smile...

(t-shirt by Jamba Juice)

time

"Time is precious, waste it carefully."
- Kate Morris

a little ditty


"It's the little details that are vital. 
Little things make big things happen."

food for thought

I found this in my inbox this morning... 
It's something worth sharing... so if you're inclined,
pass it along!

daily reminders

It's not hard to get caught up in the ins and outs of daily life. Sometimes I feel like I'm moving through my days just checking things off my to-do list. Sometimes it's nice to be reminded to take a breath. That's why I smiled when I saw this message on my teabag. Good call!

today



today: it's all we have!

Coming Home


Photo by Erin Dietrich

I'm addicted. I'm admitting it. The Pioneer Woman's blog is hard to resist. Ree Drummond is the Pioneer Woman. She's a modern day Martha Stewart, but oh-so much cooler. She is a Jack-of-all-trades... posting everything from cooking tips, reader recipes, photography lessons & assignments, to the daily happenings in her busy life. She and her husband live on a ranch with their four kids (who she lovingly refers to as her "punks") and it seems there is never a dull moment. You could read one section of her blog and be entertained for hours. Me, I've become absolutely addicted to the photography crash courses and her weekly photo assignments. She invites her readers to submit photos (she gives them a theme) and then she posts the ones that speak the loudest to her. They are fun and always make me laugh or smile as I troll through the pictures. This week's assignment was coming home, which obviously can mean a lot of different things for many different people. She's honoring those who have served our country, and their families and friends who have supported them along the way. I bet that this series of photos will certainly move you, as they have me. They are inspirational at the very least. Amazing.

  click pic to learn more about Ree...

moments in life



A good family friend of mine, Wistar Murray, is the creator of this blog. I just finished reading her most recent post, on the power of bird poop. I highly recommend it.

...

do one thing today that will make a stranger laugh
i dare you

catching up


Driving home today I started thinking about good friends in my life that I adore, but who I haven't talked to in awhile. We've emailed, texted, and left voice mail after voice mail...but never seem to actually connect with the other.  It's a new world filled with technology that helps us stay better connected than ever (ichat anyone?) yet enables us to screen calls and voice mails -- replacing them with the impersonal text responses and to the point emails.

Whatever happened to those days where we picked up the phone, even for a minute, to say hi? Or wrote a long, ink smudged letter to catch up with an old friend. For some reason, chit-chat looks better sketched in ink, than it does on the face a phone or computer screen.

It's not to say technology isn't incredible -- it certainly has a place in my heart. It's just to say that sometimes it's nice to hear a friend's voice, or open a mailbox to a handwritten, postmarked note.

My hope for the world is that we all start taking more time to reconnect, really connect, with the friends and family that matter to us. Today is the most important day we have, or will ever have. It's best not to let it pass you, or your cherished relationships, by.

Cheese!

There are people in life that you look up to. Patricia Lyons is one of mine. She is a self-taught, bad ass photographer. She has three kids, an addicting energy and quick wit. Oh -- and she has an incredible blog that will inspire your every day. Her wedding slide shows have the capacity to make you cry, her editorial photos will capture you, and her daily anecdotes about life and kids will make you smile. She is, in a word, awesome...

She just sent me this picture of her dog eating one of her peonies this weekend...hilarious. It was snapped with her iphone... and I have a feeling it was this picture that inspired her latest blog post. So check out her blog, but don't say I didn't warn you.. I have no doubt you'll be immediately addicted!

Lemonade from Lemons

There is a lot of good in the world, and a lot of sadness too. I don't pretend not to be affected by both. 

We've all heard the saying that it's the rainy days that make you appreciate the sunny ones. It's the same with sadness. The sadness makes you appreciate the goodness in the everyday -- the simple things -- and the inspiration in the world around you. We each live different lives, filled with different people, different paths and different stories. Thank goodness everyone's world is unique to them. 

I look at the past year and am amazed at the difference 365 days makes. There have been ups, there have been downs -- there has not been a day when I haven't learned something about myself, based on what is happening in the world around me.

I came across this image, which I posted last year. It's a gift my dad gave me a few years ago -- that has helped define how I try to look at the everyday. I'm trying to keep things in perspective. It's all relative.  That doesn't mean sadness can't make you sad, it just means you have to harness the sadness -- to create something good from it. Easier said than done, I know. But it's worth a shot...

today


i hope today's a great one

Collection Day


My sister came into my room a few months ago and told me she'd read an interesting quote on her drink bottle that day. "The less you own, the less that owns you". I'm in the process of moving out of a house I've lived in for the past four years-- and that quote is constantly in my head.  I'm moving into a much smaller house -- and I can't wait to get rid of the unnecessary clutter that has become my belongings.  For most items, when you don't have it, you don't need it. I'm looking forward to testing my theory -- so it's yard sale time!

Speaking of stuff... My mom just sent me a link to this cool blog, A Collection A Day, 2010. It's a collection a day for 365 days -- and the kicker is -- the woman already has these collections in her house.  I can't say I'm jealous of the quantity of stuff she has -- but I love the idea and the collages of her collections are fun to peruse. Check out Day 100 -- it is my favorite...

Magic

I spotted this in a window of a closed store this morning.
I love it.
I believe in omens. 
Do you?

good energy

My friend Meredith  and I were out walking on a busy street this weekend. We walked by a woman  wearing this shirt. She greeted us as we passed her on the sidewalk with a big smile and cheerful "hello". Those are the people you want walking around -- making your day. Such a simple, friendly message has the ability to create such positive energy. I'm proof. It's five days later and I'm still thinking about a stranger who I passed randomly on a city sidewalk.

(This is not a picture of the actual shirt she was wearing. That would have been slightly creepy if I then asked her to stop so I could snap a shot of her shirt...)

reminder

be present.

read me

I found this link in my inbox this morning... it's an interesting article and good food for thought. Take a second to read it -- and see if it's something you want to apply to yourself and your life, in some capacity.

Georgia Tech Players check phones at door

map it

it's true, we all are

get dirty

                                                    (poster created by: Roland Reiner Tiangco)
Re-posted from

little reminder







yesterday i was just having one of those days. you know... everything seems to go wrong, all at once.
this appeared on my phone, just in time... to remind me to stop sweating the little things.
they don't matter. at all.

dinner table quote worth contemplating

"Nowhere in life does anything 
replace enthusiasm"
- JL

dear life

 
i love everything about this picture

live well

i love this hat

today

"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, 
to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." 
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Help Haiti Rise


"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little."
 -Edmund Burke

 Everywhere we look right now we're confronted by pictures, stories and footage of the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.  Over three million affected. It's real, it's catastrophic and it's something we should not ignore.

The American Red Cross
Text Haiti 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross Relief in Haiti.

Raise Awareness,  Partners in Health
Partners in Health, a non governmental organization, has been working on the ground in Haiti for over 20 years. Buy one of these t-shirts for yourself, and another for a friend... One hundred percent of the proceeds go to Partners in Help. Their mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. They have started treating the injured and continue to be a strong force to help save lives.  You can order one here. ($15 with free shipping).

snowy sunday


it doesn't get much better than a snowy sunday
hope you make the best of it!