I took my first yoga class a few years ago, at the beginning of the end of a serious relationship. Unsure about the future, the moment was all I had. I remember wandering into a neighborhood yoga studio and taking a basic class. I may have even cried a bit on my first mat (break-ups, man…). Goodness grew and I surrendered. It felt like a deep swim in the sea. No words or wonder. Just be. This little diddy gives an anatomical focus and a note to self: yoga makes you a nicer person. It is true, miracles happen when you go with the flow. 

Image Credit: Irina Kerasoshvili

Hi my JBD’ers. Now is all we have. I’m certain you’ve heard that before, huh? There are times when it feels right to hunker down and contemplate. There are times when it’s a must to stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the moon. And there are times when all you have and all you know to be true is the moment you are breathing in. The time is now. Your life is your message.

Image taken on a walk in Reykjavik, Iceland, January 2014.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. Ferris Bueller’s words have crossed my mind all week. Tonight I went to yoga. Halfway into the second Om Woolf trumped Bueller. Inhabit yourself. It is so damn important. Our personal uniqueness thrives when we are able to feel the ground and surrender to the flow.

Image via peace.love.free

The best of times, the worst of times, the understanding of a day’s spectacular opportunity for growth…life is so much in so many ways. Be in the moment, learn from the past, set goals for the future, stay inspired, and just simply do a little somethin’-somethin’ for yourself. My week is looking a lot like this…

Miami Beach nights warmed my heart and a handful of early morning swims in the sea completely lifted my work-is-so-crazy-right-now mood. Warm ocean air is a cure-all.

Speaking of heart. This little diddy sums it up. And, really, it’s all about being inspired, isn’t it? I do not have the exact words to express how grateful I am for the readers of this blog. Sometimes moments come out of nowhere and this is one special group I am honored to be a part of…

And let’s be honest. Sometimes it’s just fun to be a girl and treat yourself to a spa or salon or yoga or something-like-that-kind-of-day, right? Well, I saw this on Instagram and I can’t wait to get all pretty in pink by Jin Soon Choi as soon as possible.

P.S. Also: Never, ever forget to laugh your way through each week.

Image Credits: JBD / Pinterest / Mandarin Oriental New York / JINSoon

I’ve missed you. How’s life? I hope it’s been one swell sunrise after the next, just like this beauty I caught in Iceland. The past week was chock full of activity, including New York Fashion Week, a major press junket for my day job, a reunion with my nine college roommates (yup, nine), plans to help my parents with a myriad of things, especially their move out of my childhood home (happy new beginning for them, still emotional!), and oh did I mention my crazy demanding movie studio day job? Yeah, well none of it happened because I came down with the flu. For the first time in almost three years it stopped me in my tracks. Nature knows when you need to slow the F down. I’m listening to my body and hope to see a sunrise soon. In the meantime, here’s some link love. Cheers my dears.

Everything is going to be okay. And 19 other things Kid President says we should say more often.

Because New York City is covered in slush, this round up may help keep your feet dry and cozy.

Clare Vivier can do no wrong when it comes to a clutch.

Winter coats and beanies worn well by Blair Eadie.

Psychotic tendencies may actually help promote lateral thinking?

12 hand-written love letters to honor this week of St. Valentine.

Pie, pie, pie! I plan on hitting up Four & Twenty Blackbirds at week’s end to celebrate my birthday.

xx, JBD

I’ve been working on a written project. It takes time. Lots of time. The process is different than blogging. Inventing a much longer form is all about trial and error. I’ve noticed my best writing comes from the same position I utilized in college, as a Political Science major, hatching lengthy research papers. That is, lying on my bed, propped up with a gaggle of pillows, papers strewn around me, door closed, no music, sunlight filtering in. It may sound bizarre, but I am certain stranger things have happened. What I do know is if you don’t get your hands dirty and give it a try, well, you’ll never get to the good stuff, where the sparkle shines. 

P.S. Do you write? Where is your best work created? Is it anything like this? Weird Writing Habits of Writers.

Image via Charcoal Alley

Each of my three brothers celebrated a birthday last week. All the singing and champagne-ing made me wonder: do our birth dates describe anything about us?  And then I recalled meeting a gentle old soul of a woman in a Chicago nail salon last year…stay with me…as we sat beside one another, getting manicures, we discovered we shared the same birthday. She told me her daughter had bought her a book, The Secret Language of Birthdays, and that I should check it out to see if she and I were really alike. I never did buy the book, but the website is a fun way to learn more about what your special day says about you.

Image via Pinterest

It is such a gift to have girlfriends who feel more like sisters. Cherish every freaking awesome, hilarious, this-would-only-happen-to-us moment. Happy weekend!

I hope your days ahead are full of joy. You know, like the kind you got from a carousel ride as a kid. This year, number 2013, really gave me a ride of a lifetime, in the best way possible. My gratefulness extends directly to you, the guys and gals who take time to pop over to JBD. You absolutely make it more fun to write this diary of all things full of delight. High fives to you! And, as we head into 2014, feel free to get in the moment with me on the ‘gram or via a tweet, tweet. Remember: you’ve always had the power, you’ve always had it my dear.

Image Credits: Melissa Murphy and JBD’s Instagram @jennybydesign

 “I had an inheritance from my father,
It was the moon and the sun.
And though I roam all over the world,
The spending of it’s never done.” 
― Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls

Image Credit: Jenny Graham // Iceland 2013