Book of List

When you think of the word “list,” it’s likely that your mind will immediately start racing as you think of that pesky notepad with all your tasks and errands scrawled on it. The good thing is that lists can be so much more than your to-dos. They’re also a wonderful way to share your thoughts and reflections without being weighed down by the pressure of getting the words to flow just right. We’ve become absolutely charmed by the various lists and listicles we’ve received and printed over the past eight years. Whether the writers used the list format to share information, or capture feelings or memories, we always smile whenever a list or listicle arrives in our submissions. We’ve seen lists that share some profound truths about life alongside those…

1. If you are able to find joy in the little things, the tiny, light-up moments that string together, soon you will illuminate even the darkest corners of your life. 2. Magic exists in the place between a wish and a prayer. 3. Learning to appreciate yourself is the first step toward accomplishing greatness. Nothing great can come from refusing to believe you are capable of it. 4. It is remarkable how the same words can mean something completely different depending on who is giving or receiving them. 5. Dreaming is the solution to the monotony of the day-to-day. There is nowhere a daydream cannot take you, and it’s never too expensive a trip. 6. There is wisdom in waiting. If something is worthy of your attention, it still will…

Spring 1. Spend quiet time with your flowerbeds or pots, clipping out the old to make room for new buds to push through the soil and bloom. 2. Walk barefoot in the new, cool grass. 3. Take time to browse book reviews and choose your summer reads. 4. Try a new hobby you’ve always wanted to do, like painting, yoga, or scrapbooking. 5. Become a bird watcher. Baby birds abound in the spring, and their parents are busily arranging their nests, feeding them, and singing happy songs. 6. Instead of buying strawberries or blueberries at the store, go to a local patch and pick them yourself. It is so satisfying to be in a field of fresh fruit in the warm sunshine and fill up your basket. When you get…

cream lace dresses Tchaikovsky music walks in the snow velvet gown silk pajamas dream journals soft curls pink glitter ballet rose-colored ribbon pearlescent nail polish sugar cookies vanilla perfume Audrey Hepburn movies strawberry cake shimmery eyeshadows Vladurée pastries gardens picking flowers love letters freshly baked bread drinking tea confidence and kindness lit candles writing letters pink lemonade stargazing reading romantic poetry sunsets perfume bottles bubble baths daydreams jewelry boxes face masks sweet-smelling candles golden compacts bouquets of roses romantic fantasies museum visits vintage lingerie rosé satin robes soft classical music angelic poetry cashmere raspberries hot cocoa cotton candy rose water…

1. I thread parts of my journey like a memory catcher. I play the radio loud to create a mood. I play “I spy” along the way. I search for animals, signs in nature, to highlight the ordinary path. Sometimes I pick a color to focus on, like searching for all things red in nature. —Ella Wilson 2. I have a watch that instead of numbers on its face simply says “NOW” in big, bold black-and-white letters to remind me there is no time but now. —Vickie Kammerer 3. I’ve learned to limit my planning. Too much living is missed in planning for moments that may never arrive. —Kim Collister 4. The secret is to fully embrace all that seems uneventful: the cleaning, the cooking, the groceries, the to-do lists…

At the mere suggestion of summer, possibilities seem endless. There appears to be a litany of days that run into one another, stretching sunshine long into twilight. Periwinkle evenings are met by petal-pink dawns, and the parade of summer clouds appears with invisible music you don’t hear but can feel. These are my favorite days, not because they are surrounded with external warmth but because they are ruled with an effervescent inward light, fueling me to believe in more. In these times, I embark on an if/then journey. Like a choose-your-own-adventure, this is a path on which you determine what steps you take, when you take them, and which ideas you skip in pursuit of another experience. It’s time for us to stretch into our summer skin, take a deep…