The elephant in the room...

I see you mister!!

Friends. As many of my more regular readers have likely noticed, recently I've been a bit less regular than usual with my Seek to Be Merry postings. Once priding myself on "5 days per week, never missing a day!" for the past few weeks (since starting my new job) missing a day has become more the norm than not.

When I started this blog nearly 3 years ago (whhhhat!?) it was because I was desperate for a creative outlet, because I have a passion for writing and talking (#truth) and because I had quite a bit of spare mental energy at the end of each day (#energyismymiddlename). For better or worse (but almost entirely for better) I'm not nearly as creatively desperate or overflowing with spare energy anymore. "Real life" has picked up in ways I could never have imagined when I started this blog and sometimes that gets in the way of being the blogger that I love to be. But do not despair! This space is so much a part of me now and continuing to post is a job I take as seriously as the "full time/real life" gig that pays me. With each day that goes by, I become more comfortable with the routines and demands of my new job and that will allow me to find the right balance for all things merry...

So if you don't mind, stick with me. I promise I'm not going anywhere and I promise I still have plenty to write and share. And finally, a big thanks for reading and making this blog something so special and worth holding on to!

Juggling Act.

I am the master of ceremonies as well.

Last week, as you likely noticed, I missed two consecutive blog posts (for the first time in my 2+ years of blogging). Last week I also ate spaghetti dinner at midnight, wore tights I pulled out of my hamper to work, had the craziest and most professionally fulfilling week of my career, ran a half marathon, chilled with Mickey Mouse and welcomed a new nephew. Last week I was a master juggler... sort of.

As I have written about many times before, (HERE, HERE) I am a person who frequently struggles with scheduling. I love to plan things, do things, see things, go places and take on projects (almost always) not out of obligation, but out of a genuine desire to live "a life full to the brim". But what happens when you're fortunate enough have so much good stuff on your plate, that you just can't possibly get it all done? How do you prioritize when you've already brushed the non-essential (cooking, sleeping?) and undesirable (laundry, cleaning?) aside and nevertheless have your hands full with things you desperately want to be your best at? I'm not sure anyone knows the answer to this question, but I'm hopeful that through trial and error I can at least find my own personal solution and make peace with the obnoxious reality that days are just 24 short hours long... Because while I was away from you all last week a LIST of potential post ideas came to me and I felt a renewed excitement for sharing in this merry little space. So even though my three ring circus act dropped the ball, it's refreshing to realize that all I need to do is scoop it up and juggle on...

2013.

Another year gone by, another chance to remember that being merry is a wonderful way to be! Tonight, celebrate everything you've been, everything you are and everything you are absolutely determined to become. You got this.

Cheers to 2014!

don't forget to sparkle :)

Merry & Bright!

Sending Christmas Cheer from NYC!!

Wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas!

See ya in a bit!!

(I'll let you know what movie I see and how tasty my Chinese food was. xox, m)

Une vie á plein bord.

Bonjour my merry friends and a most sincere apology for leaving you all on your lonesome at the end of last week... I had fantasies about finishing up the last two F.I.T.S. posts once connected to wifi abroad, but vacations sometimes need to be vacations from everything and sitting at a computer was just not part of my itinerary. I hope you can understand :)

Today I'm back, and struggling, I think as we all do, to put vacation behind me and a normal day-in-the-life Monday in front of me. I miss the French countryside air, spending hours each day on a bicycle, that magical Parisian elegance and also... where is the fromage?! After 8 nights in France I can tell ya a thing or two about good fromage. #insanelyluckygirlproblems

As I dive back into the ordinary and reflect on my time away, a quote I discovered at the Rodin Museum in Paris (Rodin being a most favorite artist of mine) really stands out. He said, "une vie á plein bord" which translates to "a life full to the brim". I think this is an apropos mantra for a girl who writes a blog focused on happiness and really for any of you out there who also "seek to be merry". I think, if we make it our goal to fill our lives to the brim, hopefully with wonderful things, but also with struggles and hard work, we can finish each day with a unique sense of contentment and personal pride. Our victories will be more joyful, our power to overcome challenges more obvious and our love for people and places more fulfilling. Because to me "full to the brim" isn't necessarily about a jam packed schedule or constant thrill seeking, but more making sure that at the end of each day you know you threw it all on the table. Maybe all Rodin was saying was the Frenchy elegant version of "give it your all", but whatever, I like it and I'm in. 

More pics and a full run down of the Dr. H and Merry Meri Tour de France coming soon, but for now let's get back to our 31 days of Halloween!!! It's a Q-Tip Skeleton!

Click HERE for the full instructions from Alive & Mortal on this simple and kid friendly holiday craft!

A very merry start to your week...

Meet Ms. Cescapades!

Even though the skies are grey and rainy, it's a very sunny day here on the blog because I have ANOTHER wonderful friend to introduce to you all! In my continuing effort to keep the content here fresh (and to get the occasional reprieve from dreaming up original posts!) I'm bringing a 2nd guest blogger into the Seek to be Merry family. So... welcome to the lovely Cesca, also know as Cescapades, an aspiring writer, college student and all around awesome girly who will be stopping by once a month to share adventures, stories and merriment with all of you. Today we’ll have a “meet n greet” and tomorrow you’ll get to go on your first Cescapade! Enjoy!!

A few weeks ago, our favorite merry blogger asked me to join the team. This left me to ponder… what do I do in the pursuit of merriness? I am a Bostonian, a college student, a runner. I love children’s books, writing, and oriental ramen noodles. I’m known to quote Nikki Menaj inaccurately, talk about my goats, and brush my teeth six times a day. I come from a noisy family of six. I’m happy. On the Seek to be Merry team I hope to share a little piece of my merriment with all you beautiful people—everyone who loves Meri enough to read the ramblings of her father’s sister’s son’s girlfriend that is. Stay happy everyone :)

Introducing...

Meet Ms. (parent)thetically speaking!!

Friends… today is a most exciting day! After nearly 17 months and somewhere around 365 posts from Ms. Merry Meri alone, I thought it was about time I brought in some fabulous friends to share in the fun. Now this idea is somewhat self-serving (5 posts a week is A LOT I tell ya!) but it’s mostly all for you – a chance to hear more voices and share this happy little space with a few ladies who can bring new and exciting things to Seek to be Merry. So, without further ado, I would like to introduce my dear friend E, also known as (parent)thetically speaking who will be stopping by once a month to share some merriment with all of you. Today we’ll have a little “meet n greet” and tomorrow you’ll get your first taste (literally) of guest blogger goodness! Enjoy!!

Hi! I’m E and I’m married to my high school sweetheart A and we have 2 really, quite adorable children, J and H (I am totally biased, but it’s still the truth). In the past 5 years, I’ve gotten engaged, married, moved 5 times, left my job, had a baby, bought a house, and had another baby (so take that, job interviewer circa 2006 – that’s where I see myself in 5 years!). I get stupidly happy when I make a yummy meal, or bake a treat, or decorate (some days I settle for straightening) a room, or manage to keep a plant alive, or re-read a Harry Potter book, or wear stripes, or dream about going to Paris or watch The West Wing. My true joy though lies with J and H, and it’s ridiculous how many clichés come to mind when I think about them (my greatest accomplishments, happiest moments of my life, heart walking around outside my body, blah blah blah, it’s gross). I’ll be sharing little snippets of the things that make me happy (merry, if you will) – hope you enjoy.

Have yourself...

... a merry little Christmas.

From my home to yours, wishing you a holiday that's merry & bright. xox, m

The Lemonade Stand is Closed.

They say when life gives you lemons...

I am in a post-vacation mindfuzz (that's the G-rated version of clusterf**k in case you were wondering). Though my first day back at work was nothing terrible, it was especially work-y (go figure) and my mind is a bit cluttered/overwhelmed by upcoming events (moving) and travel (8 weeks, 4 states, 2 countries). No matter how hard I tried yesterday, I could not turn my lemons into lemonade. For example:

- I woke up in a toilet paper-less apartment. Nothing like starting your day by yelling for your husband to bring you the bedside tissue box.

- It rained. A rainy day in NYC is the most opposite thing from a sunshiney day in Maine one could possibly experience

- I packed a gym bag feeling super "work off that second (third?) serving of lobster mac" motivated, only to realize I failed to include a sports bra. No comment on how that spin class worked out (a bouncing good time!?)

I pride myself on seeing the sunny side no matter how funkified my mood, but funkified I was. I resorted to old techniques (call mom; listen to upbeat music; dress in a favorite outfit; look at old pictures from a happy day) and I tried new techniques (plan a delicious dinner to look forward to; splurge on a SoulCycle class) but nothing seemed to work. I wasn't even in the mood to online shop!! My revelation after all this was that maybe it's ok to just funk-out sometimes. My determination to make myself feel happier actually turned into added stress as I failed to find a way to "snap out of it". I guess we're all entitled to the occasional very un-merry mood and when it hits we should be willing to embrace it, face it and then move on. Screw lemonade, sometimes sour lemons taste just fine.

Something beautiful.

Something beautiful and lonely.

Something beautiful and classic.

Sometimes, it's helpful to look at something beautiful.

Something beautiful and magic.

Beautiful things keep us merry, even when times are tough.

Something beautiful and merry.

Also, something adorable.

A milestone.

Celebrate every milestone, no matter how small

Guess what!? This is my 100th blog post! The response to my daily musings has been amazingly positive and flattering so first and foremost, THANK YOU for reading! It makes my day to have someone tell me that they loved a post, related to an emotion or tried a recipe I recommended.  Connecting with people through happy thoughts and writing rocks.
 

For me, a blog is kind of like a (free!) subscription to a magazine. You pop in to read snippets of something you’ll enjoy, to discover things you might not have known about or just to take a little mental break.  And in truth, I am writing for nearly all the same reasons… Seek to be Merry has me cooking, crafting, writing and sharing the day to day situations which make me laugh.  It is my happy place! The fact that you peeps are actually reading is the icing on my tasty blog (cup)cake.

So where are we headed!? Who knows, but I’ll keep writing and we can journey towards 200 together! Have a merry weekend.

Resolve to be...

Merry.

See you next year :)

Image via Pinterest