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...from the witch behind this gratitude filled computer ;) 
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 HUGE thank you to Jan, the most generous and thoughtful Queen of Crafting I know, for this awesome Welcome Home sign....it was the perfect greeting for B and I last night after a loooong day of driving! (Also thank you to Jenny, for helping to co-ordinate the fabulous displaying of said perfect greeting!) For those of you who are equally impressed by Jan's craft skills, I've got some fun news coming next month that includes a little TGL/Queen of Crafting partnership. Stay tuned for the announcement!
Things are a tad nutsy coo coo around these parts with both work and settling in/organizing, but I will try to check back in again soon. I miss quality TGL time :( In Gratitude, Trish I'm a big fan of The Chalkboard Magazine, a health and wellness site run by the folks over at Pressed Juicery (yum!), so was excited to be chosen out of dozens of blog comment-ers to receive a one time delivery of Goodebox. To summarize, Goodebox is very similar to Birchbox in that you receive monthly shipments of product samples, membership style. But Goodebox focuses on items that are all eco-sensitive, natural and orangic, which is right up my inner-hippie alley. I was so happy to receive my treat this week! Snail mail truly is the best... 
Photo Note: I most certainly am NOT wearing orange nail polish. It's actually a lovely shade of pink/peach (just ask Jenny who helped me pick the color!). I don't know why in the heck it looks so pumpkin above, but I swear I'm not trying to make my fingers say "Halloween". 
My goodies:
So far I've tried out the green tea balancing bar (love!) and the multi-use blush (double love!). I also snacked on one of the dark chocolate treats yesterday which was delightful, though I'm usually more of a milk chocolate kinda gal. I'll be bringing the shampoo, oil and second chocolate square along with me on my weekend trip to Vegas tonight (where I'll be meeting B for the last few miles of cross country moving), so I totally appreciate the travel sized nature of these goodies. The only product I'm slightly hesitant to try is the natural deodorant. While I can totally understand the reasoning behind choosing this over other (aluminum filled) versions, I am deeply fearful my...ahem...*awkward squirm*...sweaty Italian self will render it completely useless 5 minutes into my walk to the office. And really, who wants to be the stinky kid at work? Perhaps I'll give it a go during a less active Sunday-at-home kinda day. Poor B, just as he moves in I decide to use natural deodorant...ha! Thanks, The Chalkboard Magazine and Goodebox, for the fun mid-week treat! I am highly considering signing up for another few months :) In Gratitude, Trish 
Follow @thegratefullife on Instagram!
It's been awhile since I've posted a Fashionista piece on TGL but my new Patchuli Floc platform wedges by Melissa have re-inspired me to dive back in.
Heritage Row has nailed, yet again. I took one look at these navy blue and white (technically a pale yellow, but I like to think of them as a sexy nod to my PSU roots) beauties during my boutique stop on Saturday and stuttered "Jenny. Me. Mine. Feet. Pretty. Now..." A quirky and comfortable mix of rubber (like fancy jellies!) and velvetly cloth, I've managed to keep my normal office pace going without any ouch-owie-oofda-eeks that heels have been known to give me by mid-day (and by mid-day I mean mid-morning. I am, at heart, a flats girl). My coworker asked me "Is it me, or have you traded in all your shoes for super heels lately? You're so tall now." Well Scotty, my new Marketing role at Weebly requires much less racing around/up and down stair action so yes, I have been rocking some pretty high wedges and boots. (I may have also added, jokingly: "I just read Lean In and am using the height to confidently assert my new found feminist power and be...well...physically larger than my male colleagues." To which he blushed and said "Oh. Ok. I feel like I need to get heels, too.") Ha! Special thanks to Jenny for stopping by my house to pair my new babies with a handful of outfits already in my closet! It's like they were always meant to be mine ;) In Gratitude, Trish 
Love Honest Tea's 6 word bottle cap memoirs. I can especially relate to this one :)
"I love the smell of book ink in the morning." -Umbro Eco
A year ago today, B was he usual silly self--Making me giggle with spontaneous text poetry while I rode the bus, trying to stifle my laughter from the first few rhymes he sent as my fellow bus goers shot me concerned looks. He was still using a Blackberry at this time, so each poem was sent while we phone chatted on my way to work; I can remember the sound of him hitting the keyboard as I waited in anticipation for the next goofy line.
"OK. I have one more," he said. "I'm ready!", I replied. It's funny to have stumbled upon a screen shot of this poem exactly a year later (and by "funny" I mean serendipitous, magical and nod-to-the-Universe worthy) -- especially since 2 days from now he will be hitting the road for his long trek to me. Throwing caution to the wind, the entire country he'll cross (again!)...this time by car. Our west coast bucket list grows each day, and we can't wait to share the adventure with you all, here. I guarantee you many a humorous recounting of our quirky, weird little love. Cheers to trusting the process, which has been my best and most successful life motto, yet. (And cheers to B, whom I first asked permission before posting this. He said "Universe, man!" and that I could..."But boy will the fellas give it to me..." ) So fellas, go easy on him! love, Trish 
Art installation at Grace Cathedral
When I learned my sweet friend Erinn, whom I met during my Costa Rica adventure a year and a half ago, was coming up to SF to sing during Grace Cathedral Church's donation based Yoga on the Labyrinth I thought, how have I never heard of this before!? And heck yes, count me in! Excitedly, I emailed my core group of gal pals inviting them to share this experience with me. I pictured us all surrounded by gentle light trickling through the stained glass windows, stretching and breathing with one another, soaking up the good vibes being sent out in this beautiful, historic and blessed San Francisco landmark. This is going to be a great Tuesday, I thought! And then, much to my disappointment, all fifteen women either declined for one reason or another, or didn't respond at all. Ego: Hrumph. Well fine then. Everyone sucks. I guess I'm not going, either. Spirit: Nobody sucks. Maybe you should go alone? Maybe that's how it was meant to be. Sans gaggle of gal pals, slightly begrudgingly, I made my way over after work. And oh, honeys. I am so, so glad I did. Above us hung a splendid art installation of gently swaying, colorful ribbons that cast dancing shadows on our mats below. A (surprisingly young) Priest (who actually participated in the practice--right on, Father!), began the class with a mini sermon of sorts And my favorite part of his message came from his thoughts on love and how, just like yoga, it is very much a practice. While we hope that it comes to and flows from us naturally--while we occasionally assume that it is something fully, inherently, within us from day one, the truth is that love in it's highest, most splendid form is something we can only totally understand...totally appreciate...if we take the time to nurture it through practice. Kind of like a Love trial and error, if you will. Or perhaps a Love trial and trial, since error sounds so negative. "We can only learn to love by loving" he said, quoting Iris Murdoch, the late Irish writer. We moved together, this group of maybe 60 or so people; men, women and even a few children of varying yoga experience levels. We moved together to the effortless and lovely sound of my friend Erinn's voice, who accompanied Ryan Brewer's equally captivating sound both vocally and from his harmonium. We moved together and chanted Om together, sending tiny vibrations throughout the Labyrinth that you could practically feel on your skin if your eyes were closed. The most powerful moment for me personally came at the end of the practice during Savasana, when Ryan sang a hauntingly beautiful rendition of Hallelujah while playing his harmonium. The moment the first verse flowed from his heart, I felt my eyes begin to prickle with tears. I don't know if it was the song or the practice hitting me in certain way. Perhaps it was because of the beautful church surrounding; this place where so many have come over the years to talk to God in their own ways, to pray, to ask for help or forgiveness. To give thanks. Whatever it was, as Ryan sang I felt my heart expand and open with gratitude for deciding to forge ahead with this experience, even though I was alone. With my ego pushed aside, I was able to quietly accept the humble tears trickling down my cheeks. I was able to learn about love by doing something loving for myself. "Practice makes perfect" is so yesterday. But "practice makes love"--now that is something to strive for. With Love, Trish 
me, blurry but content :)
Find the magic. In musical harmony, in the rain on your face and the sun on your bare shoulders, in the morning dew that soaked your sneakers and the wildflowers you picked for free in the roadside ditch, in love at first sight and those sad memories of the one who got away. "Find the magic," Mom always said. "And if you can't find the magic," she added, "then make the magic." -The Silver Star  I have been such a book worm lately--choosing to spend time with new stories and characters in the comfort of my quiet apartment over the company of...well...anyone not living as words on a page. B likes to call these periods of my snuggly introspection "Inside Lands" (a play on the popular weekend-long SF music festival, Outside Lands, that I skipped one day of this year out of a desire to simply rest at home). With just a few days left before he hits the highway and our grand California adventures begin, I think honoring my cravings for Inside Lands activities (read, nap, drink tea, write, take a bath, etc) is important for me. Soon this peaceful space that I've carefully nurtured as my own for the past 3 years will be a shared one. And while this is truly a choice I make with my whole heart, while I know B will bring with him a new kind of peace and love and spirit to share, there is also a part of me that humbly acknowledges the bittersweet closing of an extremely healing, opening, growth-filled chapter of my life. One in which I have learned to love my own company. One in which I felt pieces of my soul return to me, slowly, sometimes painfully, and yet oh so joyously. One in which I learned to not only find the magic, but to make it. So it's mainly me and my delightful book friends for the next week or so, with a few smattered activities to finish up preparing for B's much anticipated arrival in between. And then... Armed with my magic making skills... love and light, Trish A little sneak peek at how I got to spend my Thursday... 
Stay tuned for the full scoop! Happy Friday :) “That's right,' she told the girls. 'You are bored. And I'm going to let you in on a little secret about life. You think it's boring now? Well, it only gets more boring. The sooner you learn it's on you to make life interesting, the better off you'll be.” ― Maria Semple, Where'd You Go, Bernadette (Great, funny, read. Highly recommend!)
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