I've moved!!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I am sorry to inform you that I've created a new and wonderful blog. You can go here to get to it: http://cestlaviebillet-doux.blogspot.com

Enjoy!!
<3
Aubrei R. Albin
XOXO

Happy 4th of July!!!

Hope every is having a great day thus far! I plan on hanging with my beau and my Fam Bam. Looking forward to good food, great conversation, sun and some fireworks. :) I'll be blogging tomorrow to let you in on what I've been up to for the past few months. Let freedom ring! Be safe and enjoy! XO

Bloglovin!!

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God made Cabernet Sauvignon, whereas the Devil made Pinot Noir

I found myself recently at one of my favorite wine bars in Seattle. The dim lighting and candles places on each table, set this relaxing and tranquil mood. It was a little after 10 p.m. and I had just sat down. The background noise consist of the people that filled that room, the mix of artist like The XX, Band of Horses and Bon Iver playing on Pandora and the clinging of wine glasses as each party commerced in a harmonious Thursday night. I ordered a Cabernet Sauvignon, as usual, I don't even know why I bother looking at the menu sometimes. Once my wine was placed in front of me, I took in the atmosphere and let the smell enter my nostrils. It was nice to be able to enjoy this time for myself. I'd been coming here for 5 years and every visit was better. Like fine wine ages with time, so does The Black Bottle. Not to mention the staff. They seem to be getting cuter and nicer. :) And it's nice to be able to share one of my many  secret hideaways with you. Hope you're all having a wonderful Friday. XO



"Close friends contribute to our personal growth. They also contribute to our personal pleasure, making the music sound sweeter, the wine taste richer, and the laughter ring louder because they are there." ~ Judith Viorst

A kiss to build a dream on....

I can see it's been awhile since I have updated my blog. For a few months I've had to deal with a break up, a move, and trying to start a new business, while trying to accomplish writing a novel. Not only have distractions and writers block gotten in my way, but my passion for something I once loved diminished before my eyes. I began to lack in empathy and the arts of creativity. My perspective adequately equipped me with bitterness and   distaste for picking up a pen or pencil. I suppose over the past few weeks, I've grown out of that dark phase that lurked above me like a murky cloud or the smog that covers the once radiant LA skies. I think what helped was the few trips I have had recently. Being on an airplane or a city bus; watching the people come and go. It has brought inspiration and newfound attitude into play. The me I once was months and months ago, is slowly finding it's way back. I feel like maybe I had lost my way, lost myself in my relationship and with the person I had spent 9 months of my life with. When I think of all the time that I wasted and all the time that has gone by, I become sad. But only for a minute. Then the me, that girl every one I know loves so much, the one that is open minded and optimistic... comes back and realize that this was a growing experience. Many more where that came from. But also, no need to dwell on what has already come and gone. Like the quote I love so much and live by (and is also tattooed on me), "A mind that is stretched by new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." ~Oliver Wendell Holmes. Therefore, I have nothing to be sad about at all. Only to be grateful there is more on the horizons. <3

Hope everyone is having a great Monday full of sunshine and love. XOXOXO <3




         "I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so you cab appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together."

                     ~Marilyn Monroe
   
 A kiss to Build a Dream on ~Louis Armstrong <3

Want me to throw a lasso around the moon....

It's that time of the year again, and you know what that means! Sitting once again single on your couch, with tissues all around you, stuffing chocolate in your face and watching the classic Notebook, wishing you had someone to cling to. For some it's the opposite. And why shouldn't it be! As girls in grade school, we spend our days daydreaming of Valentine's Day after the Christmas and New Year's Eve Holidays pass. We wish the boy we had our eye on would get us a card or write us a letter that confesses his undying love. And we wait patiently at our desk to see if he sent us flowers. Television advertisements and romantic movies glorify this so called "holiday" to plant a seed in our fragile young minds from the very beginning. But why shouldn't it be like When Harry met Sally, or It Happened One Night? Why shouldn't it be like a 1940's black and white movie where we are swept off our feet and ride off into the sunset? Even Disney movies hype it up that we get to live happily ever after. In pretty much every movie! So there is no way of getting around it, we were doomed from the start. Let's face it, this day does not make single people feel any better about "love". How about instead of putting so much thought about being in love with another individual or actually being in a relationship, we focus on just LOVE  in general. For instance, I love my new laptop. I love the guy at the Starbucks for making such an amazing latte. I love the person who held the door open for me today. I love that even though it is somewhat raining out, the beauty of the sound and smell of the rain makes up for it being so shitty out. I especially love, the people I have in my life and the things that make me…well, ME. So wipe away that grim look on your face and go do something for you. Or maybe for someone else who wouldn't expect it. Don't do it out of expecting something in return, do it because making someone happy (including yourself), is more gratifying then waiting for something to happen. Even if it is just holding the door open or giving a smile, that small gesture will go along way. 

Happy BELATED Valentine's Day!!

Love, Aubrei

XOXO

Love cannot be loved without "le singing"...

And February is not the month of love without CUPID! Awe... February. My favorite month of the year (besides October), with so many things going on. We get to enjoy a few holidays:

• Groundhogs Day
• Lincoln's Birthday
• Valentines Day
• Presidents Day
• And MY BIRTHDAY!

I also have many friends and family with birthdays during this months so I'm jammed packed with lots of productive things to do. But then again, February wouldn't be a great month without LOVE. Put on your rose colored glasses because you have a pass to fall deeply in love, helplessly and unconditionally!! Weather it's with your boyfriend/ girlfriend, husband/ wife, someone you don't know or just met, Or even yourself. Let the love in and enjoy the passion in the air.

Happy 1st of February!!!!

Luvs & Hugs!

Aubrei R. Albin




Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives.
~C.S. Lewis

When your smiling.. the whole world smiles with you.....

I received the most insightful advice last night from a very dear person to my heart. I was upset about something that I was going through; crying and venting about my problems to this individual as if they were a priest and I was in the confession booth. At the end, I said in embarrassment, "I'm sorry you had to hear about my sad and pathetic life." He smiled and said to me with his kind eyes "Aubrei, you have such an amazing life, full of adventure and people who love you very much. I know you are feeling like your world is being crushed but it will get better. They say that your 20's is the most depressing time in your life because you're still trying to figure out who you are and what its all about. Right now you feel hopeless but  tomorrow is a new day. Think of it this way....'' he paused and then looked deep into my eyes, ''Your 30s, 40s, 50s  and 60s are suppose to be the best times of your life because by then you have matured and learned to be around people who are like-minded. You'll eventually get married and have kids who will have kids of there own. And these emotions you are feeling will all be behind you. So smile, because you're a quarter through your life. You have so much more to experience and it has only just began." At that moment, I realized I had been so caught up in my emotions, that I let all my problems get the best of me. Maybe I was just due for a good cry. But the ending effect of this comment had such an impact, that all night, as I slept (or tried to), as my dreams allowed my to fantasize of what to come.
           Now..... I sit at my laptop, with a wonderful feline on my lap purring away and all the ambitious goals I only temporary put on hold, rushing back to me. The sun shines gracefully upon the trees outside and the wind moves the branches, as if they are swaying to the music from the neighbor below. And like my post said last week; regardless of what happen the day before, only think of good things happening. Because today is a new day.


Hope you enjoyed!!!
Luvs!
Aubrei R. Albin






Another great piece of advice I try to live by:

"Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together." ~Elizabeth Taylor.

Say cheeeeeeeeese!

Here is just a little thing I'd like my readers to do for today. Start by trying an experiment; If you've already started your day, no worries, you can still start now. As you go about your daily routine, make sure you smile at everyone you come across. Even if it's that one person you work with that you can't stand. A smile at a stranger can go along way. And as you start to see that you are making others happy, you yourself will have a change inside you. Expect good things to happen no matter what occurred the day before. Bottling things up will only make things messy. Don't you agree? So let go of all the hostility, all the worries of your past and those "problems" that seem to distract you from the things that are right in front you that we take for granted. Instead of pondering on that "problem" like its an ambiguous test, focus on one thing you can do to make your day better. Being optimistic can be good sometimes. And if you take at least one step towards resolving it, eventually there will be a solution.

Luvs!
~Aubrei Albin
aubreiralbin@gmail.com

What I told a friend yesterday: "Do you realize your joy affects the entire world? To begin with when you are in joy you don’t inflict negativity on anybody, which means you don’t harm anybody. But more than that your joy touches those around you, then it touches those around them, and so it continues rippling out touching one person after another. You are one person but YOU have the power to affect the entire world!" – Rhonda Byrne

Easter has come early!!!!

I've been reading this book lately to help enhance my creativity. One of the exercises I'd like to share with you is called, "Incubate a New Project." I happen to have a TON of projects I am working on. ADHD...I don't think so. Ambitious.... VERY. This exercise is not only easy, but its fun.

What you'll need: 

1. a bag of plastic Easter eggs (dozen)
2. twelve slips of small paper
3. a pen or marker


How it works:
1. On each slip, write down an idea of something you've been wanting to do for awhile. These ideas could be for example, "Learn how to grow herbs.", "Take a cooking class" or  maybe "Run a marathon."
2. Once you have written on a slip, fold it up and put it in its own individual egg.
3. Here, you have two options. A) Hide the eggs were you'll regularly run into them. Example: Car, laundry basket, office, freezer, ect. or B) Put them in a basket or bowl. Once a week, take one egg and say yes to which ever creative idea you pick.

Not only will you get that pesky TO DO list out of the way, but you open up to being more open minded and creative in your daily life. This could also be a great idea for your bucket list and doing this in moderation, once a month.  Hope you have fun and enjoy!!!


If you like this book and would like to purchase it, click this link>>>  The Creativity Book by Eric Maisel


Luvs, Aubrei
Feel free to comment below or if you have any suggestions or ideas for post, emial me at aubreiralbin@gmail.com. Thanks!!!


"Each conquest of distance reveals greater distance." Martin Marty

And Now Let's Welcome The New Year....

...... Full of things that have never been.
                     Oh my goodness! It's been 6 months since I've written??! Well, I must say,  a lot has happened since July. But instead of reminiscing of the past, let us look forward into the future. What better way to start a new year by starting with a clean slate? This blog was created so that, as a writer and aspiring author, I can get my best stuff out there and express to the world what goes on inside this very creative and active mind of mine. I will be sharing with you writing exercises, quotes, book reviews, creative stories, helpful advice for the everyday woman and things that make me happy that I think you'll enjoy.  Please feel free to comment on my post. If you have any questions, or would like to request something for me to write about, feel free to contact me. Thanks!!! And look for my next post later today.

Luvs, Aubrei
aubreiralbin@gmail.com  












Live, Laugh, Love. ♥