found encouragement... everyone should try

spotted in the window of a local shop while enjoying a walk in this glorious spring weather :)

xoxo,

lesley

love yourself

my friend jess spotted this awesome graffiti wall in florida... it reads, "love yourself like no other."

xoxo,

lesley

found encouragement... let go.

{photo by tiina treasure}

xoxo,

lesley

senseless beauty

i spotted this bumper sticker on my walk home from the train station yesterday, and it totally made my afternoon. it seems so rare these days to see a bumper sticker that's not political or sarcastic, and this one had such a lovely message.

the world could always use more beauty and kindness... so randomly, senselessly put some out there today :)

xoxo,

lesley

found encouragement... love signs

i recently came across these beautiful and touching photos on diana's charming blog, please sir. here is diana's story about the photos:

during my morning ride to work i discovered these adorable signs posted on the side of the road. a combination of driving, looking, swerving, scouting... and one by one the signs became more sweet and sincere. i have no idea who or what they were intended for, but they touched my heart and brought a little happiness to my day.

what a lovely, romantic story. to the mysterious stranger who posted these signs, thank you for sharing your love with the world!

xoxo,

lesley

you are beautiful.

if you haven't yet seen the you are beautiful project, please, please go visit the site today. i promise it will make your day better.

here are some words from the project's statement:

the intention behind this project is to reach beyond ourselves as individuals to make a difference by creating moments of positive self realization. we're just attempting to make the world a little better.

intention is the most important aspect of the you are beautiful project in its idea of purity. nothing is sacred. everything that has a perceived value becomes commodified. we work extremely hard that this message is received as a simple act of kindness, and nothing more.

basically, the idea behind the project is a group of anonymous people who go around putting up installations with the message "you are beautiful" in public places. and i have to say, this is one of the most beautiful things i've seen in a long time. here are some of my favorite images of the you are beautiful project in action...

click here to see more beautiful photos.

xoxo,

lesley

found encouragement... don't worry.

found on olly moss's flickr stream.

xoxo,

lesley

found encouragement... a love letter for you

according to the city of philadelphia's mural arts project's mission statement, the program aims to "unite artists and communities through a collaborative process... to create art that transforms public spaces and individual lives."

i recently discovered their latest public art project, called love letter, and i am head over heels. the project features a series of murals by stephen powers, which "collectively express a love letter from a guy to a girl, from an artist to his hometown, and from local residents to their west philadelphia neighborhood."

how perfect is that? i can really feel the love that was put into each one of these works of art. the murals are best viewed from the market-frankford elevated transit line... surely they provide a huge dose of encouragement for weary commuters every day!

and of course i couldn't resist this post-it mural...

click here to see more of the love letters murals.

xoxo,

lesley

found encouragement... u. of chicago library

quinn.anya's flickr page has a whole set of photos of graffiti from the university of chicago library.  while many of the images offer up standard graffiti fare, others reveal uplifting and inspiring messages.  here are some of my favorites... wouldn't you love to look up and see one of these while cramming for a big exam?

xoxo,

lesley

found encouragement... mlle. 2nuit

while my husband and i were in paris, we kept seeing these french sayings written in chalk on various sidewalks and streets, signed by the mysterious "mlle. 2nuit."

this one reads, "la vie est belle, et nous sommes comme elle," which translates (roughly) to, "life is beautiful, and so are we."

how lovely :)

xoxo,

lesley

found encouragement... love, paris.

paris is known as one of the most romantic cities in the world, so it's no surprise that i was feeling the love during our visit!  everywhere i looked, there was another little reminder... 

oh paris, i love you too!

xoxo,

lesley

found encouragement... make it happen

here's another great tidbit from my parents' road trip.  they spotted a girl named josie wearing this encouraging t-shirt...

it reads, "don't make excuses... make it happen."  josie was a summer intern at plymouth plantation, and the saying on the t-shirt is the motto of her missouri school's sports program.  

personally, i think it's a great motto for every day!  a reminder that we are responsible for our own destiny and happiness.  so often we sit around worrying and making excuses and letting our insecurities keep us from doing what we really want... get up and make it happen today!

xoxo,

lesley

found encouragement... stop signs

stop sign graffiti has become something of a trend in the u.s. over the past several years (beginning with "stop the war" and "stop eating meat").  

but it wasn't until fairly recently that i began to see it used in funny (stop: hammertime), meaningful, and thought-provoking applications.  a search on flickr revealed some really great messages that i just had to share with you all.

{a simple message... "stop hating." from champagne chic}

{"don't stop caring." from juls at midnight}

{"never stop lovin!" from regular genius girl}

{even with the misspelling, the message comes through.  "don't stop believing." from mint tea}

{my favorite... "stop being afraid." from fucher is now}

i hope you take the time to "stop" for a moment and reflect on how you can incorporate these little bits of wisdom into your life.

xoxo,

lesley

found falafel... you go girl!

encouraging graffiti!

{from skeletonkrewe}

{from embeedub}

{from hunterpowell19}

{from agrinberg}

for more, check out the you go girl flickr group.

xoxo,

lesley