Love This! Let Them Eat Cake + My Birthday Wish List

In the words of one of my friends, whose entire birthday party invite consisted of the following statement, "I was born. Lets celebrate." Don't you love it? And yes, obviously, I was born on this date, many, many, years ago, so today, I'm soaking it up and trying to enjoy my December 19th. It's weird, isn't it? Having a specific day that marks the beginning of our time here on earth? 

So anyways, as you probably all know by now, I'm a BIG fan of birthdays. I'm also a big fan of art, and even more importantly, of fun, colorful, somewhat-girly art. So, I thought that the best way to celebrate here on Starr Struck would be to share the fabulous work of artist Paul Ferney, from an exhibition entitled "Let Them Eat Cake." Very appropriate, no? 

Lets take a look at some of his delicious work...

Ferney collaborated with his wife (who isn't a painter, but who, evidently, loves to bake!) to create 50 (50!) of these small cake paintings, and I think they are simply charming. You can view the rest of them on his website, here. They definitely put me in the birthday mood!

Speaking of birthday moods, another thing that I often do on my birthday, as many of us do, is begin to reflect on the past year and think about the year to come. Obviously, since my birthday is close to New Years, this is a natural time for self-reflection and resolutions anyways, so it's definitely been on my mind. And, as I've mentioned before, I think a little svadhyaya (self-study) is a really important part of our journey. So, although I'm still processing the past year, I have begun to put together a "wish list" for the next year of my life...

*Birthday Wish List*
Before December 19th, 2013, I hope to:

-Create more space for downtime + learn how to relax. Must. Must. Must. 
-Go on a real honeymoon with my honey. Yay!
-Get a dog. This is a hard one, as it means we would have to move (no pets in our building), but I think it's necessary.
-EITHER launch my first e-course OR host my first mini-retreat. Still pondering.
-Reorganize my studio space + home: more shelving, more shelving, more shelving!
-Set aside another day/chunk of time for painting. This will be hard, but is VERY important to me.
-Try going gluten-free (for real this time). See if it helps my headaches/bellyaches.
-Start taking short naps. Doesn't that sound divine?  
-Finish all of our wedding thank you notes (sigh).
-Start getting massages regularly.
-Get to the bottom of all of my injuries and start doing whatever I can to heal.
-Plan a girls trip with my friends! I want to make this a yearly thing, not just a "when someone gets married" thing.
-Do a *bit* more cooking. Not too much, but more than I've been doing...
-Finish developing and schedule a "Yoga & Body Image" series or workshop. 
-Cut my hair short (don't worry, not too short!).
-Get my first root canal (it's already scheduled, so why not make the most of it? ;)
-Make more time for loved ones: friends, family, Ben. 
-Go to the movies! I think I may have only gone to the movies once in 2012? Unacceptable! I love the movies!
-Start riding my bike again + start swimming regularly again. 

I think that's a good starting point, don't you? As I finish reflecting and wrapping up my thoughts on 2012/the past year of my life, I'll definitely be sharing what comes up...

What's on your Birthday or 2013 Wish List?

Namaste!
Mary Catherine

PS. Thanks so much for all of the sweet birthday wishes! It's already been a great day :) I "slept in," read the paper while sipping tea (something I never have time for!), and soon, will head out to teach yoga, have lunch with a friend, get a massage, and then take a class tonight. Ben and I have dinner + a comedy show at the DC Improv planned for tomorrow night. Yay! Birthdays are great!