Our objective with this guide is to bring you, our readers, some inspiration, beauty, thought-provoking, challenging, fun, crafty ideas EVERY day, and to give recognition to the extraordinary things that we as women do every day. Please have fun with us, leave comments and share stories. Your extraordinary inspires us - and will inspire others. We hope to develop an inviting and inspiring community where you will feel a part of the common thread that holds us all together: humanity. These fractured times have many of us everyone feeling uncertain, uneasy or a bit insecure. Hang tight, and give yourself a moment to recognize your every day extraordinary.
Cheers to a new year and a new way of looking at your day! For today, for any day. Best wishes, Melissa and Marnie
My name is Marnie (named after the Hitchcock film), last name Goodfriend.For real. I am a wedding and editorial photographer living under the letter L of the Hollywood sign with my husband and Dempsey, our (almost) two year old Bullpei rescue we've trained to be a service dog. I am not new to the blogging world: I worked for an internet company, during my engagement I was a Weddingchicks real bride blogger, and I have two other blogs for my photography business and my advocacy work. One of my favorite quotes is from Ernest Hemingway's "Farewell To Arms" (I am)…"strong at the broken places". While my life has been colorful (and by that I mean
challenging) it's the beautiful mosaic of people and places that make my life so bright. I attended college and lived in New York for over a decade - I am very much an east coast city girl who loves vintage finds, great design, typography, altered art, pancakes, sun flare, big sunglasses, grandma cardigans, shoes, pencil skirts always in search of the perfect blend of casual dress up in a dress down city of angels. My work frequently brings me back east as well as new corners of the U.S.; I am eternally grateful for my job, my family, my beautifully real friends, for the kindness of strangers, and the opportunity to help others. I have been a survivor speaker for over ten years, and have worked with numerous not-for-profit organizations. I care about my community and sharing my secrets in hopes that by being open - and sometimes brutally honest - may open the door for another person, and so on. I also believe in a good life/body balance - healthy eating and exercising the body and mind from long runs through the canyon to being spun by my spin instructor Linda. My blogs will be an eclectic mix of my life as an artist, mom, wife who strives to do good and is grateful for the small things.
Hi, I'm Melissa. I'm so happy to have you here! I've always been a busy lady, balancing my time between, a full time job, charity work, alumni associations/clubs, hosting parties, going to the theater, taking in a ball game, dining out, nurturing friendships, book clubs, tennis matches, riding clubs, writing groups, painting class, piano lessons, you get the picture. And... I've always been a big city girl. So, when my husbands job took us to the sticks and, I had a baby, my sexy social life came to a screeching halt, to say the very least. Gone were my designer clothes, bags & shoes. Not only did they not fit me anymore... I had NOwhere to wear them, haaha! But kidding aside, I have had the absolute honor and complete joy to have spent every waking moment for the past 18 months with my darling, love of my life, daughter, and let me tell you, no designer ANYthing can ever take the place of this truly amazing, once in a lifetime, experience. I've taken this time as a SAHM to really immerse myself into this thing called, Mommyworld, and I am having the, time-of-my-life! I'm also finding such fun ways to reinvent myself in this new role as mother & wife. So, from me, you will find most things kid & holiday related. I love to DIY, so you'll get a lot of that too as well as some super delicious and über delectable, decadent dessert recipes. From time to time, I'll share my love of photography, reading, music, travel, design & my newest undertaking... cooking! I hope you enjoy visiting our site and I hope I can inspire & delight you in the coming years.
