Monday again. And I’ve got a busy and fun week ahead of me. There will be a lot of running around and mucho caffeine for sure, but I’ve learned that these are my favorite kinds of weeks. Here are five things in particular I’m really excited about:
1. This Is Childhood.
My friends and colleagues and fellow HuffPost contributers Lindsey Mead and Allison Slater Tate have dreamed up an amazing blogging project and have asked me to participate. It is called This Is Childhood. Each Tuesday, a different writer will muse on a different age and what that age means. I have the distinct (and anxiety-producing) privilege of going first. Tomorrow is my day so please come back to see what I have to say about the Land of One. I urge you to check out the nine wonderful writers who will also be participating in This Is Childhood over the next ten weeks:
Kristen Levithan
Nina Bazin
Galit Breen
Allison Slater Tate
Bethany Meyer
Tracy Morrison
Amanda Magee
Denise Ullem
Lindsey Mead
♥
2. The End of My Year Without Wine.
Last January 16, I stopped drinking alcohol and vowed to stay dry for a calendar year. Well, Wednesday marks the end of my Year Without Wine and I simply cannot believe it. I’m not sure I ever truly believed I would follow through with this experiment, but I am so happy I did. Two more days!
♥
3. A Happier Hour With Lee Woodruff.
I am hosting my next Happier Hour this week with the lovely and talented Lee Woodruff whose recent and bestselling novel Those We Love Most I absolutely adored. I met Lee last summer at a bloggers’ luncheon at Ladies’ Home Journal and was struck by her intelligence, poise, and humor. I am thrilled and honored that Lee will be joining all (70+) of us thinking women as we squeeze into my yellow living room to talk and, yes, to get happier.
♥
4. My New Writing Room.
I could call it My Study. Or My Office. But I will not be studying or working in this room. I will be writing. Thus: My Writing Room. It will also double as a spillover guest room and I have been obsessively scouring the city and the web and harassing my design-genius sister Ceara and my former decorator Blair for the perfect pieces to populate this space. So far, we have settled on his/hers desks from Blu Dot and a sleeper sofa from Room & Board. I think surroundings matter and am starting to read some really groovy design blogs. (Any recs for good ones to read?)
♥
5. Fiction First.
Related to #4… Last week, arguably inspired by the fact that it is a brand new year, I woke up at 5am every morning to write fiction. This got easier and easier as the week went on and I found that writing during that early hour of darkness – when my creatures were snoozing and my mind was still soft from sleep – worked very, very well. It is my goal to finish my novel this year so putting fiction first literally and figuratively feels right and good. We will have to see if I can keep this up, but maybe with a new-and-improved and super-serene Writing Room, this will become a happy habit? (Btw, I am in the middle of the fascinating book The Power of Habit and have become very curious about the topic.)
Can’t wait to see the writing room.
I am also reading the Power of Habit right now and am so into it.
And on the topic of one year olds and being up a 5:00. I am up at 5 today but only bc my one year old woke up screaming and is now asleep on my chest. So while I’m not writing (or sleeping!) it did give me a chance to read and comment on your blog before work!
Loved the fiction last week!
So excited about our series – and thrilled you will be kicking us off! xoxo
So excited for your Happier Hour tomorrow! I *loved* Lee’s book! Just finished this weekend.
Wednesday, right?
Isn’t the book wonderful??
I loved The Power of Habit. I read Duhigg’s article in the New York Times Magazine last February, and couldn’t wait to dig into his book when it was released. It really opened my eyes in an interesting and slightly profound way, and I find myself going back to it from time to time for a refresher. Hope it does the same for you.
Can’t do better than your standard Aeron chair…
Love that you are setting up the “perfect” writing room! We’re living in a temporary place right now while our house is being renovated (and believe me, I can’t complain – living in construction would be seriously no fun!) but I am counting down the months until we get to our new/old, expanded house and I actually have a desk again! Like you, I am trying to finish a novel and I need to give myself mental AND physical space to do it. Oh, and random thought but I loooove Room and Board. Favorite furniture store – we have a couch and coffee table (and herman miller chairs) from there that I adore…
I know that there is no such thing as the “perfect” writing room, that this quest for the ideal furniture is about much more than furniture and yet I persist in this (fun) endeavor! And, yes, I adore R&B too. Such sleek, beautiful stuff.
Hi
Just curious why did you choose the stop drinking wine day ?
Why did I choose to stop drinking wine or why did I pick that particular day, i.e. January 16?
hi
i was curious why that date its not a start of a month or year etc or did you wake up and say enough ?
I would love to enter the unknown of a year of the wine and beer
Looking back, I think I was probably inspired by the start of a new year but wanted to take a few weeks to think through my decision to dry out for a year. I liked the idea of starting on a Monday.
thanks and good on you ! i am almost at the start point i have a huge sports challenge and want to finish 2013 in good health
two of my fun events this week are two of yours, my friend! so excited for our series and thrilled to see you, in person, after all this time. last time I saw you your pregnancy with your littlest one was very newly minted.
xo
Oh! So many goodies here. Wish I could attend one of those gatherings in your living room! (Do I sound like a stalker?) So impressed about the year, but not surprised. From following your blog over the years I can see that you finish what you start and are generally great at follow through.
Would love an office! Eventually!
Thrilled to be part of the This is Childhood group. Looking forward to the launch tomorrow!
This is awesome, and I am mostly excited about your fiction!