to inspire.

Inspiration is bliss. In-spuh-ray-shun. The very word, in its English form, makes me think of swirls and colors and sparkles and rainbow splatters of paint on the blank canvas of my mind. Or sun flares and glittering eyes dancing before a camera lens. Inspiration. It is to be embraced whole-heartedly, and not without courage.

I revel in the times when good ideas flow like water, and live in detestation of moments--or hours--or days--when my "blank canvas" remains insufferably blank. I want to inspire; to give to others what some have given me--the gift of a new thought.

It takes persistence to seek out hidden beauty, to perceive the world in color instead of black-and-white, to go beyond boundaries--to inspire and to be inspired.

I want to be the writer that can describe a grandmother's home like a magical realm; the photographer who can capture love in its original form; the artist who looks beyond the palette and into the soul of her subject; the speaker who knows both passion and artistry.

Inspiration is bliss. It can find us naturally, but most often we must seek it out--through books, through pictures, through an hour of deep thought--and determine what we will do with it.

What inspires you to inspire?

photo copyright 2012 lucia m. // please do not use without permission. 

enchanted heart. // a photoshoot

^ Linking this photo, "Enchanted Heart," up to:

..and just for fun:

"Darling Herbert finally wrote!"

He. He. He. I think this ^ charming young man--we aren't quite sure who he is--is long passed from this world. Sad. It could have been such a match...;]

>>> 

This photoshoot was pretty much all whim + last minute creativity-ness (um, yes, not a word, but the book of blogging says you are allowed to make up your own words in times of need for expression. trust me on this.). Not to mention a little bit of work. I had this idea, and then a few more ideas, and then I decided I would go ahead and see if it all would turn out how my brain was picturing it. 

I cut out hearts. I hung them in a tree. I found a white wicker chair. I grabbed our antique mirror. I grabbed a frame.Olivia, my ever-faithful model, donned her best dress with our white bridal skirt beneath it (Goodwill = win). 

And off we went.  

Let's just say that the result was not what I expected, but at the same time the result was better than I expected. For those of you who were expecting an engagement shoot when I said "Valentine's Photoshoot," I certainly hope you weren't disappointed...and I hope to bring you an engagement shoot someday. :) 

But...sigh. I think I've found my photography niche somewhere between enchanted-ness and softness  and filtered pinks. What say you? 

Happy Love Day, friends. Now go spread some. 

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go 

I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you too. 

  owl city + taylor swift // enchanted




all photos copyright 2012 lucia marie // please do not use without permission. 

do your eyes smile?

I'm sitting here eating cake batter and thinking about smiles. 

I love smiles (and cake batter). Who doesn't (like smiles, I mean)? I think that of all the things God made humans capable of, the act--no, art-- of smiling is one of the best. And since there are tons of cute quotes our there about smiles: 

"A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you're home."

..True, right? I mean, even the very spelling of the English word, S-M-I-L-E, looks like a smile (I love it when words do that..). So they must be important. :) 

Nevertheless, smiles have their shortcomings, too. The only thing I don't like about them is how easily they can deceive us. It is just so easy to put on a smile and pretend everything is just fine in the world.

..Or is it?

Awhile ago, a girl confessed to me that she "hated her smile." I told her that she had a beautiful smile,  which she did. But what I didn't tell her was that  it wasn't as beautiful as it could be, for one reason: her lips smiled, but her eyes didn't. And it showed.

It's crazy to think about it, but our eyes, our "windows into the soul," truly are exactly that. Some people are experts at hiding their feelings, but even the best can't fake a genuine smile. I love meeting people who's joy--even when they're going through the roughest of times--spills out of them everywhere...through their smile.

Habits are usually bad things. But wouldn't it be lovely to get in the habit of smiling--not just with our lips, but with our eyes, too? I know it's not as easy as it sounds, especially when days are rough. But God promises to give us His joy if we ask for it, and I think smiling comes along with the package.

So ask yourself--do your eyes smile when you do? :)


-lucia 

better blogging tips from lucia.

I have been blogging for two years this month. It has been a great, inspiring, growing experience, and I can't even begin to say how much my writing, creativity, and photography skills have been enhanced by having a blog.


But. There was a time when I was a boring blogger (I hope the same isn't said for me today!). I lacked creativity, I lacked motivation, I even lacked continuous posts. Maybe that was because I was so new to it all, and I had no idea what I was doing. I wish I had come upon a post of blogging tips (which are happily supplied by so many bloggers now) back then--I might have come out of my non-inspirational shell sooner. Alas, I had to learn the hard way--through experiance.


Even after two years (wow! You guys have watched me grow up. *sniff*), I in no way consider myself a "pro" at blogging. Who is, really? I've decided that there is no such thing as "better-than-you" blogging, but there is such a thing as improvable blogging. Take it from someone who still needs improvement. 


I decided to write my own little list of "better blogging tips" just for fun, and in the hopes of helping someone out there who is like me (or to entertain you, if nothing else). Plus, I need to remind myself of all of these things, and lists always make things so much more manageable. 

1. "There's no one who's you-er than you." 

..A.k.a., be unique. I know this is cliche, but really--I struggle with it. The trends right now in the blogging world seem to be all fashion, make-up tutorials, interior design, and lowercase letters. I'm not saying you can't incorporate some of those into posts once in awhile if you have something you want to share, but...if you didn't start out as a Vogue blog, don't suddenly leap into daily outfit posts just because everyone else is doing it. 


So find your own niche, even if it's simply posting about your family and animals around your farm. Your blog is by you, so it needs to reflect you. Could your family could read your blog and know who's writing it was without even asking? 

2. Post like a boss. 

Being yourself is great, but try to get beyond using a whole post to say, "It snowed today. We had fun making forts" -- and then posting a picture of a snow man you found on Pinterest. I'll discuss the photos thing next, but always try to think outside the box. Describe how you felt when you saw the first snowflakes drifting from the sky, include pictures of your siblings laughing during a snow ball fight...you get my jist. Write a post that you know you would love to read. 


Secondly, besides make your posts fun to read, make them readable (I'm going to be contradicting myself here, because already this post is getting lengthy--but I have to say in this case, it's acceptable. ..Right? ;). 
There's nothing that hurts the eyes more than a huge post with ten paragraphs and squished font. If you need to do a long post, break it up with photos and spaces between lines. 


When posting pictures, don't load 25 into one post. I adore pictures, but my internet is slow and literally chokes if it has to load more than 10 pictures at one. 

3. Original photos = for the win.  

I used to be so bad at this. First of all, me + my camera were not best friends two years ago. Secondly, me + my computer's picture up-loader were mortal enemies. Copying and pasting from WeHeartIt and Google Images was just so much easier...and really, there's nothing wrong with this. I just always failed to link back to the source. Not because I wanted people to think I had taken the pictures, just because I didn't think.


 ..But really, people love seeing your own work, and what you come up with. So try to use your own photos as often as possible (I'm totally contradicting myself here and using pictures from Pinterest for this post). Either that, or be sure to link either below your photos or after your post. It's being nice, and it will keep you out of trouble, too!  

4. Spread the love. 
If you appreciate your readers' comments, send some love back to them! This is another thing I'm really bad at--but I can truthfully say that I've visited every single one of my commenter's blogs (yes, your's, dear reader!). I don't have the time to comment on all of those blogs, but I try to leave some comments when I can. 

5. Numbers are just numbers. 
Speaking of "popularity," most bloggers I know are, understandably, on the quest to gain more followers. Is this a bad thing? No. It's fun to know that people like what you write and do enough to follow you, and the more the merrier, right? Followers are great, and are a part of what makes blogging fun. But only a part. If you're getting to the point where every time you lose a follower you feel tears rising to your eyes, or you immediately go to your blog's facebook page and say, "I lost a follower today! Ahh! What did I do? I am so depressed!" ...chances are, you're taking things way too seriously.


I've lost a lot of followers in my blogging time. Sure, it's not a happy feeling, but I've learned just to shrug and ignore it. I am honored that the followers I still have are there, and it is a true statement that when you forget about the numbers, suddenly they don't even matter as much. I don't really like the statement, "You're blogging for you, so forget about the followers!" because it isn't true for me. Sure, I blog for me, but I blog to give others encouragement and (hopefully) inspiration, too. If you think about it, even having an audience of ten other people is huge. Imagine ten people listening to you, and only you, talk! Then think about 30. 70. 100. 


..Numbers are just numbers, but sometimes they're bigger than we think. 

6. Advertising and gloating: big no-no's. 
So you have 400 followers. Great! It's a good feeling. But remember? Followers don't define who you are as a blogger, so don't go bragging about it:


"355 followers today! Yes!" ..then the next week: "We're up to 356! Keep 'em coming!" 


...Followers are fun, and I know it's exciting to gain another one, but this^ is basically bragging. It's totally fine to announce milestones, such as 50 or 100 or 500, because those are milestones. But don't gloat--even if you aren't meaning it, because it comes across that way and people will think you're obsessed. 


Another thing is advertising. If you are just getting started on blogging and would like a few more readers to make the experience exciting, it's totally okay to do a little advertising. But don't visit the most popular blogs out there and leave a comment like, "You are invited to follow my blog." Ever heard of Steve Finell? He pretty much visits every blog out there and leaves a comment exactly like this. As a result, he has over 3,000 followers, but...can someone say, "annoying?" 


Instead, leave a genuine comment just because you want to, but get in the habit of leaving your blog link after your name. That way, if people want to visit your blog, they will--and won't feel pressured into it! 

7. Design matters.
This is really stressed out there by all bloggers giving tips, mainly because it's so important: have a good design. In other words, if you are serious about blogging, spend a little extra time (or even some money, if you want something really special) on your blog's appearance. Make it look simple, yet eye-catching.  People will come back to your blog if it looks nice, but will steer clear and not even give you a chance if it looks boring, so do some work or find a reasonable design studio and get that blog looking spiffy. 

8. Break it up. 
Change your blog around sometimes. Get a new design after a few months--write a variety of posts, even if you are a solely photography or cooking blogger. Keep your readers interested, and try to enter into their worlds through post questions and activities like giveaways, blog parties, or photo challenges.  

---

..Do you know what my favorite kind of blog is? Yes, there's no denying that I like a place with inspiring projects, amazing photos, and uplifting articles...but if your blog makes me feel like I could grab a cup of tea and sit down to read your corner of the web like I'm chatting with an old friend, you are a truly good blogger. 


Keep doing what you're doing, friend. Maybe your blog could use a few tweaks, or some things could be changed, but don't change your style if it ends up changing you. A blog that truly reflects its author is the best blog of all. 


-lucia

// all photos via Pinterest //