yes, i am here.

Happy Summer Solstice! I hope you have lots planned for this very long day.

I wanted to check in and explain my absence and the canceling of the Dream Lab. I have had emails asking if I was ok and wondering what was going on.

Well, yes, I am fine. Nothing traumatic or majorly upsetting is going on thankfully.

And, no. I am not fine. Life is in a very busy season right now. There is the readjustment to life after our trip (and all the attendant feelings it brought up), many birthdays, job issues, adolescence, and the constant big underlying questions that follow me everywhere have made me stop for a breath.

Also, I was very, very shaken by Whip Up founder (and personal inspiration) Kathreen Rickerson's horrible death.

I feel like I need a sabbatical to sit and rest. To decide what to do with this space. I am overwhelmed by the noise of the internet and am feeling a strong responsibility to not add to the useless and rehashed content.

I need to clarify my voice and mission.

The Dream Lab is written and pretty good, I think. But, I have to know that I can give myself completely to the participants. The last Book About Me Labs were really intense and ground breaking. I triggered something much bigger than I anticipated and I need to get comfortable with that. And explore what we can do with that immense energy and connection.

So, it will be quiet here this summer. I am still around: feel free to email me and chat.  But I am going to be embracing and living the s l o w lifestyle - not just writing about it.

I will be walking in the humidity, soaking up the sun and thunderstorms, writing, painting and reading with my kids.

And hopefully thinking lost of disruptive and radical thoughts.

Love,
Amy

Paris :: marché aux timbres {stamp market}

A big part of the fun of traveling with your kids is that they bring their interests to the voyage and take you to places you might have otherwise overlooked. My daughter collects stamps and one of the first places she wanted to check out was the stamp market right off the Champs Élysées on rue Gabriel (metro :: Franklin Roosevelt or Champs Élysées-Clemenceau). 

What a wonderful little market! There were, of course, stamps that were very expensive and out of reach, but the relaxed atmosphere and displays allowed much browsing. And there were bins of "junk" stamps that could be had 10 or 20 for a euro. A perfect souvenir. 

There were also many old postcards and letters with faded inky script that would be fun to pick up and use to create stories of forgotten lives with. 

From the market we spend some time in a nearby park and then headed up the Champs Élysées, window shopping and macaron eating here. We ended up at the Arc de Triomphe and gave it a climb which was strengthening and worth the 284 steps for the view (which was nothing compared to the 710 steps we hoofed it up on the Eiffel Tower). A perfect little little weekend itinerary!

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Markets of Paris is a wonderful book that I used many times last month. A complete listing of food markets as well as marches aux puces and other interesting markets make this an essential book to bring if you like to wander through stalls. 

i dream...

Well, that was an amazing month. 

I am back and still a little shell shocked and not sure that I am ready to fully immerse myself back in the busy hustle of my previous life. So much has happened, I am sure that all I will write about for a while is Paris and things to do experience. Hopefully, some of that will translate into your life - where ever you are living. I know there are certain lessons/ideas I will be trying to keep relevant in mine, even as I spend the next 4 months sweating in the Florida humidity.

Spending a month in Paris with my kids started as a dream. 

A long shot dream. 

Somehow, we were able to make it happen with a combination of gifts, strategies and risks. 

Somehow, we can usually muster the magic to make our wishes come true.

I want to have a deep conversation with YOU for 10 days this month about inklings, and dreams and internal nudges. 

I want to help you, as Emerson wrote, "insist on yourself."

I am tired of awesome women feeling stuck as they try to live up to a popular cultural version of what is acceptable - 

-of walking through life without passion or energy

-of simply checking off the to do list.

This 10 day intensive lab will give you the tools to uncover forgotten yearnings, teach you to cultivate magic, share the nuts and bolts of getting it done and connect you with other wild women who can become your tribe.

If you are interested in manifesting your dreams  - please join us here. We set sail on the auspicious day of June 21. 

We need you.