IT FEELS LIKE SUMMERTIME

it is so warm here in southern california that it feels like summer. but i know this isn't the case for many others who have been hit with horrible weather and tornadoes. my prayers are with those who've lost everything they owned in the storms and for their animals to be reunited and safe by their sides. sometimes i don't really realize how blessed i truly am. have a safe and wonderful week.  xo, am photos: reckless asylym, coastin

THE ROW - PONY HAIR

the first few photos are beautiful, precious little ponies. the last photo is a pony hair....handbag. the row came out with a new pony hair handbag, made from the hides of...ponies. it retails for $5,600 dollars. i don't even know how to process this. what are people thinking? email the row, or barney's or fb if you feel like it. let them know that ponies are for made for enjoying and appreciating and making us smile. lots of love and peace to all creatures. xo, annette  photos,  photos

YOUR BODY IS YOUR TEMPLE

 

you are an angel. and i don't mean the victoria secret kind of angel. you are an angel to animals, to nature, to yourself, to your friends, your art, your vision, your family, your kids and husband/boyfriend/girlfriend. you are an angel with wings that soar and you are beautiful. inside and out.  photos: olivia bee, watercolorqueen, annettem

PERFECTION WINS BEST NARRATIVE!

the film i produced 'perfection' just won best narrative feature film at the oxford film festival! this is beyond exciting because it's our first film festival and the writer/director/actress, christina beck also won best actress award! this is amazing because we had so many meetings while fund-raising and in pre-production where people told us over and over and over and over that christina should not star in the movie. ha! i feel like going back to those investors and showing them the wreathes with 'best actress' and 'best narrative'!!! they didn't believe it could be done. they didn't believe christina could do it. they didn't believe i could do it. so please visit christina's blog and keep checking back here as christina will be chronicling her process, and i will be writing about the film as well. xo, am

GUIDELINES TO LIVE BY

gratitude. it is a privilege to be alive in this moment. i don't mean this to sound airy-fairy, but it's true. although there are problems and trials and pains and all sorts of injustices in this world, it is paramount to face life with a base of gratitude. to be able to participate in our lives--to be present in our truest nature, is a gift. and it is from this place of gratitude that all things can start.

don't be afraid of the pain
the world is filled with beauty. it is also filled with suffering. therefore it is natural and normal to feel anxious, uncertain, out-of-sorts, afraid and filled with uncertainty. do not be afraid of the anger you feel. it is the flip side of your compassion. do not be afraid of the pain. there is nothing pathological about your discomfort, in fact, it is a healthy, normal response to the world you see.

vision
whenever there have been periods of darkness and i use the term darkness to mean upheaval and a challenging of the status quo, it is often followed by a paradigm shift. new ideas are able to emerge out of the crisis. and it is in these precious moments, before the mind catches up and begins down it's well-worn path, that a new vision about ourselves and the world can take shape. have a vision that comes from your truest self.
 

do the work
it's overwhelming to make a decision about where to start! and in the bigger picture, it doesn't matter. when we are following our dharma, our heart, our inner-self's direction, we heal ourselves and in turn we heal others. so find your tribe, find your partners and get your hands dirty. we are all in this together. 

act your age
this is directly from one of my dearest mentors, the indomitable spirit called joanna macy. "since every particle in your body goes back to the first flaring forth of space and time, you're really as old as the universe. so when you are lobbying at your congressperson's office, or visiting your local utility, or testifying at a hearing on nuclear waste, or standing up to protect an old grove of redwoods, you are doing that not out of some personal whim, but in the full authority of your 15 billions years."

these are my personal guidelines and i share them with you because joanna macy shared them with me.   take them, share them, live by them, change them, make them your own. oxo, annette  photos: pinterest

MARCH TO THE BEAT OF YOUR OWN DRUMMER

binki shapiro, from little joy has the most lovely voice. check out her song/video unattainable here:  xo, am  photos: fybs

INSTAMATIC

i found this amazing piece of dried tree bark in the shape of a perfect 'tiara'!! i put it on my head and my husband snapped this photo. now the tree bark tiara is on our bookshelf and every time i see this symmetrical, elegant 'tiara' i am reminded of the beauty and creativity of nature. blessings. xo, am

A NEW MOON

i came across this designer sunjoo moon and her new line, of two minds on the blog le catch, and immediately fell in love! sunjoo's clothes are intricate and chic and effortless, all the things that make clothes(and art) interesting. i've picked my favorites and when the line launches this year miss moon and of two minds will probably be very successful, very soon. let's hope so!  xoxo, annette

LOVING COUPLE

mildred and richard loving(yes, their last name was loving) were an interracial couple living in virginia when interracial marriage was banned by the racial integrity act of 1924. i love that a statute banning two people from marrying even dares to use the word 'integrity' in it's title, but there it is. so mildred and richard fell in love, began dating and in 1958 traveled to washington, DC to legally marry.

when they returned to virginia they were arrested at 2am by the county sheriff and were charged under virginia's anti-miscegenation law with "cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the commonwealth."

mildred and richard pled guilty and here's the deal....they were convicted! then sentenced to one year in prison! i can't help but think about their struggles and the pain of not being able to visit their family in virginia once they left the state. i also can't help but think about this debate, ridiculous as it is, over same-sex marriage. it's the same prejudice all over again.

the lovings decided to take their case to court and in 1967, Loving v. Virginia was decided unanimously in their favor!  "We loved each other and got married. We are not marrying the state. The law should allow a person to marry anyone he wants."

on the 40th anniversary of the Loving v. Virginia supreme court decision, in 2007, mildred loving issued this statement:

Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the “wrong kind of person” for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights. I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about.

bravo for two people willing to take a chance, to challenge the system, to say no to the status quo. two people who faced enormous prejudices and hardships and despite it all, at least as recorded by history, loved each other through it. through thick and thin they raised a family and with their love changed the course of history and paved the way for others to marry whomever they wanted, despite the color of their skin.

trailer from HBO doc, amazing archival footage of mildred and richard
facebook page to HBO documentary 'the loving story'
the lovings 
twitter the loving movie