Observing the Now

Posted by Shayla LaFreniere on Tuesday, April 22, 2014.

My friend Breanna posted this blog that was inspired the lovely Cassie of The Veda House. I really liked the idea of stopping and taking a moment to just be in the now so I thought I’d share my observations of the present moment and think it might be fun for you all to do as well.

So here I am…

MAKING good progress on a huge Mother’s day illustration project for a fabulous blog.
COOKING a baked potato for lunch.
DRINKING water, pretty much what I’m always drinking.
READING essentialism, the disciplined pursuit of less by Greg McKeown
WANTING my husband to come home so I can hug him.
LOOKING at the storm clouds rolling in.
PLAYING my soap opera, General Hospital in a little video in the corner of my computer screen while I work.
WASTING my time doing this instead of work.
SEWING nothing – I can’t sew but I’d like to learn.
WISHING the new laLa grace e-commerce website was finished already!
ENJOYING this overcast rainy day.
WAITING for my lunch to be ready, I’m so hungry!
LIKING this print because when your hair is curly like mine you’ve got to embrace the mess.
WONDERING if I should paint the 2 shelves in my office gold.
LOVING my husband; always.
HOPING to make new friends at the National Stationery Show next month.
MARVELING at all the talented people in this world.
NEEDING nothing, God has graced me with more than I ever even hoped for.
SMELLING the shampoo in my freshly washed hair.
WEARING leggings, a t-shirt, sweater and socks.
FOLLOWING my dreams.
NOTICING that my body feels so much better when I workout in the morning.
KNOWING that God will always provide me with everything I need.
THINKING that I really need to get back to work.
BOOKMARKING clothes and shoes, I hate to shop, but as the seasons change it’s time to buy a few new things.
OPENING the box that just arrived from my printer with my new foil cards, so excited to see them!
GIGGLING about how silly my soap opera is.
FEELING blessed.

Hand Lettering by me.

{ Ellie } May 5, 2014 at 1:54 AM
Love your lettering really much, also this post is sweet!

Distractions From the Now

Posted by Shayla LaFreniere on Friday, March 14, 2014.

Sometime between the ages of 14 and 15 I began to immerse myself in the study of Philosophy, Metaphysics, Spirituality and Religion; I read any and everything I could get my hands on. These studies are what led to my becoming a Vegan and why I started to practice yoga (but that is another topic).One thing that kept coming up was the idea of living in the moment, to be completely and fully present, to be here now. I think I was particularly interested in this idea because being a creative person I have always tended to live in my head and I sometimes spend more hours in the day dreaming than doing; which is not very productive. Dreaming of course is a good thing but only if you are able to convert some of that energy into actually manifesting your dreams (if not all of them, at least some of them).

I also tend to look back a lot, particularly when I have new idea.
I often find myself bogged down with thoughts of past mistakes, things I wish I had done differently; things I wish I hadn’t done at all, and more often than not I find myself wishing I hadn’t waited so long to move through the cobwebs of my dreams to get to where I am today.I find myself repeatedly thinking things like…

Why did it take me so long to get here?
I wish I had known this a few years ago. 
I wish I had realized that sooner. 
I wish I hadn’t spent so much time on that. And on and on and on.I am going into the second year of business with laLa Grace and as many of you know we are also trying to have a baby so now more than ever I find my mind simultaneously filled with big wonderful Dreams and what sometimes feels like completely debilitating fears. Many of those fears stem from thinking way to much about past mistakes and my ongoing struggle with letting go of what has passed and just be here now.My husband is constantly telling me to stop worrying about the past and just move forward. Why is this so hard to do? Do you all have similar issues? How do you overcome it?Hand Lettering by me.

Miranti Kayess | An Illustration

Posted by Shayla LaFreniere on Tuesday, March 11, 2014.

Miranti Kayess of the blog and shop Pen & Peplum was one of the first ladies I connected with through my blog so it was both a pleasure and and honor to create an lustration for her.

Illustration by me.

{ Angel Y. } March 11, 2014 at 5:13 PM
This is an excellent illustration of Miranti! She's so wonderful.
{ Shayla LaFreniere } March 14, 2014 at 8:11 AM
She certainly is!
{ Miranti Kayess } March 12, 2014 at 2:30 AM
Shayla, I'm so honoured! xo
{ Shayla LaFreniere } March 14, 2014 at 8:11 AM
xo :)
{ Audrey } March 12, 2014 at 10:00 AM
Love! It shows her warmth-- true to form!
{ Shayla LaFreniere } March 14, 2014 at 8:11 AM
Thanks Audrey!
{ Erika Lee @ A Tiny Rocket } March 14, 2014 at 4:13 AM
aww so perfect and I think you captured her personality
{ Shayla LaFreniere } March 14, 2014 at 8:14 AM
Thank you so much Erika, just checked out your blog you are very talented!
{ Latrina M. } March 22, 2014 at 12:21 AM
Oh my gosh. Love. Love! This is amazing. :) Pretty Miranti!
{ Danielle Marshall } April 15, 2014 at 2:35 PM
This is just awesome. Miranti is such a sweet lady!