Recently in Positive Things Category

Don't you love how if you look hard enough, you can find joy almost anywhere?  Even in, say, animals that aren't humanoid emoters?  A million thanks to the folks at Huffington Post who compiled a totally giggle-inducing collection of smiling animals.  Check it out, and vote for your favorite on HuffPo!

Click here for the gallery of smiling animals!

I ask because I am.  I love their shiny paper-feel in my hand.  I love the gorgeous photography and enticing headlines.  I love the ritual and reward of looking forward to a new issue, which feels like a gift when it arrives.  And I love curling up with a stack of unread mags and diving in, flipping through, and maybe even learning something in the process.

Today was a very good magazine day--my mail just came, and I joyfully discovered 5 gleaming new mags in the pile!  I think the magazines we subscribe to say a lot about who we are, what we care about, what we are striving towards in our lives.  Here are the 5 that just came today (not all of my subscriptions, I feel compelled to add...):

1.  Newsweek--my love of magazines might actually trace back to my mother's weekly ritual of sitting in a comfy chair and reading her Newsweek, casually calling out interesting tidbits to my sister and me as we did homework.

2.  The New Yorker--because I trust them.  And, duh, the cartoons.

3.  Brew--a beer-brewing magazine that my husband gets because he's a make-your-own beer guy.  And though I'm not a beer drinker, I do love the smell of hops....luckily! 

4.  Organic Gardening--so many projects, so little time (and land).  Inspiring every month.  This month, an interview with Michael Pollan!

5.  Everyday Food--not my all-time favorite food mag (that's Fine Cooking), but a sweet, compact magazine that always has something new and good (and easy) that I want to try.

What mags do you most look forward to?  Do you have a love affair with magazines?  Do you have special tips for saving the best clippings/ideas/recipes you find?  I'm a binder girl myself....

(image via: http://www.interaccess.org/blog/?p=294)

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Our sparkling blog sister Janice Taylor writes the Our Lady of Weight Loss blog, and if you are a loyal reader (which you should totally be!), you know that she preaches the gospel of filling your life with happiness, not empty calories and meaningless filler.  A wise and uplifting message indeed.

Today, I'm proud to announce that she has a new gallery on Beliefnet, 21 Simple Ways to Be Happy.  Here are some of the fun, easy tips she offers--note that none of these requires you to change your schedule, quit your job, buy anything, or do anything radical whatsoever.  The idea is that happiness is a choice that each one of us can make.  What will you choose today?

Janice Taylor's Simple Ways to Be Happy

1.  Sing out loud!
2.  Expect miracles
3.  Laugh at your shortcomings
4.  Wake up early
5.  Create a personal affirmation

Hungry for more?  Check out the full gallery of happiness tips by clicking here!  And add your own below!

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From the people at Improv Everywhere who brought you the "Surprise Wedding Reception" we posted back in July....an impromptu New York City subway photo booth set up to collect yearbook-style photos of all the beautiful, different, big, small, young, old, etc folks who thought they were just getting on the train to travel from point A to point B.

I love the combination of curiosity and vanity that the uber-cheesy high school cafeteria setup (complete with blue backdrop and short-sleeved, mustachioed photographer's assistant) evoked from the New Yorkers.  I also love the way that the video shows only smiles and enthusiasm (check out the Improv Everywhere site for photos of some who were slowly converted to the project after initial skepticism), without a drop of meanness to be seen.

Not exactly what we non-New-Yorkers think of when we imagine what goes on in those subway tunnels..... Majorly inspiring for hump-day or any day! 

More Brain Breaks:

Pencils for Giants

Transformed by Travel

Dave's Guide to Hugging

Fun with Food Art

Creative Wedding Processional

Dinosaurs Saying 'Hey'

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This mesmerizing timelapse video follows Christoph Rehage as he walks 4,500 km across China over the course of a year...and grows the mop of hair and impressive beard to prove it.  Today is the "first day back" for many of...

Do you know Maggie Mason?  I don't--at least not personally--but I love, luff, lurve her blog.  The guiding principle for her writing on design, shopping, marriage, parenthood, etc is the concept of "Mighty Life," and more specifically her "Mighty Life...

This morning I was talking to a co-worker about the Moody Blues show she went to last night--all extra beamy, she talked about how much it brought back memories and inspired her. It got us sharing some highlights of our...

"Smile, breathe, and go slowly." -- Thich Nhat HanhNeed more morning inspiration? Read our whole Fresh Morning collection!...

Wow, there are 60 gorgeous entries in the "magic light" photo caption contest I posted last week.  Thank you, everyone, for the uplifting and affirming words that you put to the mysterious shot that I took in our empty condo...

Our occasional "Brain Break Inspiring Wedding Video" series continues today with a vid that has me writing this through the happiest of tears.  My colleague Dena (go visit her on our sister blog Idol Chatter for all things awesomely pop-culture-y)...

I just discovered--via Valerie, thanks!--the fabulous Color Me Katie blog, which chronicles the bright, sparkly escapades of a Brooklyn artist whose work is as much performance as it is pretty.  Her most recent post bears sharing--in it, she decides to...

Throwing a surprise wedding reception for a random couple who just got married at City Hall might qualify as one of the best, most inspiring random acts of kindness ever.  The video below chronicles just such an event, hosted by...

I remembered this oldie but goodie the other day when I was talking to a friend about what kind of animals we were. She said she thought I was an otter because they're playful. (See? I can play!) And that made me...

The summer rain we've had here in the northeast (we're getting a blessed break from it this week) has been awful....except for the times when thunderstorms have blown through.  There's something so cleansing, loud, natural, and exhilarating about thunderstorms.The video...

The economic downturn is real. Unemployment is high, business is down, people are grapping with horrible realities of home loss--these are scary times. There's an overall tone of gloom. Here in NYC people are extra-crabby on the subway (I hearby...

What's in a grandparent name?  A lot of meaning, I think.  My four grandparents were split in the name department.  My dad's parents were Nana and Papa, simple, loving grandparent names that fit their traditional sensibilities.  My mom's parents were...

On the first day of every month I try to say "rabbit rabbit" first thing--an old wive's tale says it's supposed to bring good luck. Other mornings I try to catch myself when the first words out of my...

After days--days!--of rain, the sun is finally shining, and it once again feels like summer is just about here.  And in summer, a woman's heart turns to thoughts of fun.  Vacation fun, outdoor fun, lazy fun.  All of the above. ...

Today is a rainy, bleak-weather day.  I'm tired after a long week.  I have things on my mind.  This is where comfort clothing comes in.  You know what I mean - that garment that you reach for when you need...

Last week, I posted about the budding New Dawn rose in my front garden, and how meaningful a plant it is for me.  Below are photos of the rose as it climbs to its full-bloom glory.  As you gaze, maybe...

Are you the kind of person who sees "signs" in random places?  I'm usually not--maybe it's my Taurus nature, but I find that looking for and interpreting signs can easily become a) an anxiety-provoking exercise in how inaccurate future-prediction can...

I came across this "stop what you're doing and watch this--twice!" vid on Mighty Girl.  It's an exuberant musical take on the traditional wedding video, set to Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" and starring the guests at what looked like...

If you're in the Northeastern U.S. today, you're wondering when London came calling--weather-wise anyway.  Just outside my window it's cold, raw, wet, foggy, and...um...cold.  It's a particular challenge to find happiness on a gray day, but I think we can...

Today's crafty Fresh Living theme has me thinking. This weekend I had the happy task of delivering a blanket I crocheted to good friends who just had a beautiful baby girl.  I shared with them that every blanket I've ever...

Valerie and I were talking about what a rare, precious thing it is to find a good listener these days.  So we decided today to each offer a tip on listening, the process by which we take in the world...

Dear readers, I'm moving.  My husband and I bought a single family house, and we are leaving our condo behind after 9 happy years here.  And following a full weekend of staging the condo for showings and initiating the packing...

I had a blast reading the wonderful Stacie Stukin's Fresh Living guest posts when I returned from my vacation (to Paris....aah, Pa-ree! But more on that later.).  A thousand namastes to her for carrying my Fresh torch with such spark!Her...

Last night I watched the Michael J. Fox ABC special Adventures of an Incurable Optimist -- a companion piece to his new book, "Always Looking Up." Fox's goal: to figure out why some people are optimistic and how being...

Earlier this week a 400-pound, one-year-old cow escaped as she was being hauled into a Queens slaughterhouse. According to the New York Post, she ran several blocks before being caught and pulled into a home's backyard. After the press caught...

The other night I went to check out a reading by Beliefnet's amazingly talented blogger Victoria Moran. She read from her new book, Living a Charmed Life, a really lovely, uplifting, practical guide to being happier. Here's a video...

Brava to Diana Butler Bass over at our sister blog Progressive Revival for her eloquent post on how important and meaningful it is to find a room of one's own - a little corner of the world that is a...

Folk legend Pete Seeger turned 90 yesterday and celebrated with a concert at Madison Square Garden.  Bruce Springsteen, Emmylou Harris, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, and many more sang the praises--literally--of the creator of "We Shall Overcome," "If I Had a...

Louis L'Amour once said, "No school, no matter how excellent, can give you education. What you receive is like the outlines in a child's coloring book. You must fill in the colors yourself."  What an apt Earth Day thought: the...

In the spirit of fun, "just because" holidays that I wrote about when I spread the word about Feel Better Day, today is National High Five Day!Not shockingly, this holiday was started by college students, at the University of Virginia...

I don't know about where you are, but it's graaaay here in NYC today. Again. Which is why this gorgeous animated video by Jeff Scher for NYT.com, "Welcome Back" made me so happy. Enjoy the petally, springy soft goodness:...

We've all heard the phrase, attributed to peace activist Anne Herbert, "Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty."  So here's a question: Have you done any lately?  Seen any?  I suspect that among you are many perpetrators...

A friend just sent me this amazingly simple, fun tone matrix, and I can't stop playing with it!  You start with a blank slate, and boxes light up as you click.  A "sound wave" travels across the box, and your...

Last night, The Biggest Loser brought back contestant Nicole, who after being eliminated near the beginning of the season lost an amazing 87 pounds at home and earned a spot back on the ranch.But (spoiler alert if you DVR'd it!)...

So...a confession: Even we at Fresh Living occasionally (ha!) indulge in some good, old-fashioned whining. Most of the time, since we live and work in different states, this takes place online via instant messenger, and as often as not, our...

Um, seriously?  I've watched this video about 10 times today, and I snork with laughter each time. Not only have these pugs mastered the adorable "you are saying words that I understand" head-tilt, they're sporting the names Mabel, Minnie, and...

In a down economy, one affordable, easy-to-execute home improvement is to give your walls a fresh coat of paint. But what color to choose? The decision can be much fun, as you luxuriate in the knowledge that anything is possible...

Many thanks to Therese over at Beyond Blue for the fun, fabulous interview she did with us! We are looking forward to returning the favor and getting some juicy tidbits from Therese very soon, so stay tuned.Click here for the...

How gorgeous a video game idea is "Flower?"  In it, you are a flower petal, and the object of the game is to float through an ever-changing landscape of growing things.  There's no way you can "die" in this game--in...

I love that question. It started with a friend of mine. We had recently been talking about the Law of Attraction and keeping our minds clear of unnecessary negativity so a more fluid flow of goodness could come out...