let's call it a new year and start it at that.

I know it's about time ladies, it's been...about a year since the last blog post.

(((HA! TERRIBLE NEW YEARS JOKE.)))

I know. I had to. That's probably why you love me. At least one of the reasons.

And to be even more cliche...you know I have to ask...

What are your New Years resolutions?

Call them what you want- dreams, hopes, plans, goals...we all have them.
Sometimes speaking or writing them out help them become more of a reality.
It's a small step, but it's a step.

Think about what you want to accomplish in 2009.

Write a few of them down here to inspire one another.
Happy 2009, No Plain-Faced Girl. You are beautiful.

love,

claire version 200.9

the SPECTACULAR LOVE IT FUN TIMES gift guide!!!

i have some really lovely gift ideas for you.

I know today you had your freak out moment- it's actually THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, the same month as Christmas, and you have some work to do, missy. You've got friends to get gifts for (on a reasonable budget, since economy right now = : ( ) ), and if you're planning on getting them online, you should have them shipped soon and get them all wrapped up beautifully!

So here's the deal. If you haven't heard about the online marketplace Etsy, which carries all things beautiful and handmade, you're missing out. I have gotten some of my very best gifts for people I love from this place. 

Want to know more about Etsy? Okay! On their website they say that Etsy is "an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade. Our mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers. Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice: Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade!"

Need I say more? Get an Etsy move-on! It's so easy to sign up.  And no, they aren't paying me for this, I just love what they do. And just to let you know, this isn't Craft Fair Stuff. It's GOOD stuff. Trust me. 

CLICK HERE FOR ETSY!!!!! BUT NOT YET, BECAUSE I HAVE MORE.....

To give you some ideas about gift giving this year, I've posted some items here from Etsy that I absolutely adore, and that just might be that perfect gift for someone special (friend, boyfriend, mom, sister, dad, etc) this season.  

Click on the link to follow. 

"Forever Print (Orange)" by ameliamae

10 Things I Love...Stationery Set by elsiecake

"Flying Into the Clouds Bracelet" by LillyQueen

Rugged Brown Leather Wraparound Journal by EarthworksJournals

Parachuting Squirrels Canvas Tote Bag by MisNopales

....and there's so much more at Etsy.com. They even have their own gift guides!

NOW GET SHOPPING HANDMADE!!!!!

and for heavens sakes, let me know if you have any success!

Love,

Claire "I like to give things" Taulbee 

thanks. no really, thank you. no seriously, i mean it.

i know, a thanksgiving post, really? way to be creative, claire.

i don't care, i tell you! we must have a thanksgiving post! 

so for this wonderful occasion, all no plain -faced girls shall give thanks together.

and yes, i want to know what you're thankful for. so spill. post a comment and list at least 10 things you are so glad to have in your life. 

you're beautiful. i already know that you're thankful for that.

ten OTHER things :) 

love,

claire

show up.

I Just Showed Up For My Own Life/ Sarah Groves

I'm going to live my life inspired

Look for the holy in the common place

Open the windows and feel all that's honest and real until I'm truly amazed

I'm going to feel all my emotions 

I'm going to look you in the eyes

I'm going to listen and hear until it's finally clear and it changes our lives

There are so many ways to hide

There are so many ways not to feel

There are so many ways to deny what is real

And I just showed up for my own life

And I'm standing here taking it in and it sure looks bright

(add your own lyrics, words, or thoughts, please. have you shown up for your own life? what would it look like if you did?)

click here to listen, player is in the upper right hand corner of the site  

beautiful

exquisite

fair

fine

glorious

gorgeous

lovely

picturesque

pleasant

pretty

ravishing

splendid

stunning

well-favored. 

grow on, now. grow on.

Ask yourself:

 How am I growing more into the person I want to be, and moving away from the person I don't want to be?

Respond with words, another image, or a quote.

(photo by labokoff.etsy.com)

let's just fall all over the place.

I love fall.

I love fall so much it's hard to put into words, but if I tried to write a book titled "Why Claire Loves Fall," it would most certainly contain these words-

crisp

leaves

yellow

orange

caramel

apple cider

chai tea

spice

sweaters

waffles

birthday

headbands

squash

pumpkins

cool

hands

leather 

journal

poetry

candles

fleece

brown

Some of these things might not make sense to you. Do not fear. We all have our own reasons why we love fall. I am, of course, assuming that you do, because you do....right? I sure hope so. 

There's something about fall that makes me feel new.  Does that makes sense? 

It's that first breath you take when you step outside in the middle of a thousand on-fire trees, the sunshine spraying across your face with the cold wind.  It's the red or blue or orange scarf that keeps thoughts of winter at bay, the steam rising into your eyes from a freshly poured cup of coffee.  It's finding that it is in fact possible to lick the caramel sauce off of the whipped cream without consuming both at the same time, and arriving at the cider underneath. 

Fall makes me feel new. Discoveries abound, small joys and delights around every corner. You just have to keep your eyes open and your heart alert--don't let any fall gift go unnoticed!

It makes me want to send letters with leaf stamps and cinnamon sticks inside.  I just might do it. Let me know if you'd like one. 

Share fall newness with someone.  Add newness to their day by speaking something true into their lives- a compliment or a quote, an encouragement.  It's just one more way we can help each other see beauty in us, on us, and around us. 

 Amazing how honoring the beauty in other people makes the honorer more beautiful as well. 

So do as fall does--reveal beauty to those around you.  

with love always,

 Claire

surround me.

I like to surround myself with beautiful things. 

 Art prints, photographs, quotes that inspire me, 

business cards from places I love, delicate perfume bottles,

colorful lamps, fluffy down comforters, lockets,

short notes that friends, poetry that has changed

the way I see the world, a simple pillow,

shirts with soft lace and delicate patterns,

the list goes on and on.

Now that I've shared my list with you, please do share with me 

and all of your fellow No Plain-Faced Girls.  

What do you like to surround yourself with? Write it out here. 

rocking my world.

I think sharing the music we listen to, the sounds that shape our days, is a really fabulous way to connect as women.  Beautiful sounds for beautiful ears, right? So I thought I'd quickly let you in on some of what I've been listening to lately, by artist and album title. Check them out!

*Greg Laswell- "Three Flights From Alto Nido"

*Owl City- "Maybe I'm Dreaming"

*Nancy Wilson-"Elizabethtown (Original Soundtrack)"

*Elijah Wyman- "Beautiful Like Words"

*Brooke Waggoner- "Fresh Pair of Eyes" 

What about you? What's playing in your ears? 

braver than we think we are.

Sorry for the delay in posting!  Moving in has been crazy, and I'm only now getting settled back into the routine of classes, classes, classes! That's right, it means I'm back at school, as I'm sure many of you are as well!

To freshmen, welcome to the crazy world of college.  I hope it holds many adventures and friendships for you.

To all others who have already been through a year or more of college, or are way past college, I also hope all is well.  Keep remembering that life is new every day, and that beautiful things are happening when you keep your eyes open.  I know sometimes it's hard to remember when the same thing happens day after day, but try. You'll like it, I promise.

A quote for you beauties, today:

"We have to be braver than we think we can be, because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are, to see through plastic sham to living, breathing reality, and to break down our defenses of self-protection in order to be free to receive and give love."

 --Madeleine L'Engle, "Walking on Water"

If you were more brave, what would you do?

this is actually the proust questionnaire. for serious.

It's answer more questions about yourself time! I love these times... :)

I love to hear what you girls say! Please comment with your answers. 

To begin, some background on the Proust Questionnaire: 

The Proust Questionnaire is a questionnaire about one's personality, first popularized by the responses given by the French writer Marcel Proust. When Marcel was at a friend's birthday party at the age of 13, they were instructed to fill out the answers to these questions for fun! Pretty deep stuff for such an occasion, and at such an age!  Proust did not make up the questions, but he is known for answering them- both at age 13, and again at age 20, to note the differences.  If you'd like to see all of the questions and both answers from Proust, at both ages, check out this site: http://www.chick.net/proust/question.html.  These questions are now used in every issue of the magazine Vanity Fair, where famous people are asked the Proust questions so readers can learn more about them.

I'm going to post some of them here and answer them myself. Bear with the questions if they seem confusing, they were answered in 1884 and created sooner!  Please do as you did with the "Getting To Know You" questions.  Repost with your own answers! 

1)Where would you like to live?  *Wherever, so long as I'm with those that I love. Oh, also, I want to avoid anywhere that can be labeled "the middle of nowhere."        

 2)What is your idea of earthly happiness?*Knowing the joy and abundant life that comes from Christ. Loving someone and being loved by someone who loves God, and seeks to love you out of that, Love itself. 

 3)Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?*Atticus Finch

 4)Your favorite musician?*I can’t pick one.  The Weepies, Eastmountainsouth, Caedmon’s Call….

 5)The quality you most admire in a man?*Kindness

 6)The quality you most admire in a woman?*Passion and outspokenness, but not at the expense of others.

 7)Who are your favorite poets?*Neruda, Rilke

8) What are your favorite names?*Chloe, Elle, Isaac, Isaiah

9) What is it you most dislike?*Mean-spiritedness

10) What is your present state of mind?* Calm, but a little achy from missing someone. 

 11)What do you most value in your friends?*A positive outlook. No Debbie Downers, please.

 12)What is your principle defect?*The fact that I can have a hard time admitting to them.

 13)What is your favorite occupation?* I’m going to agree with Proust on this one. “Loving.”

 14)What would you like to be?*Truly known by those I want to be truly known by, and by myself. A person who is continually growing up in God’s love, sharing that love with others. 

you girls are commentphobes. but i love you anyway.

Seriously, beautiful women. Let's use our voices and talk to each other.

Regardless of your lack of comments :) (and thank you to those of you who have been so faithful to!! You're the sunshine in my blogging days!) , I hope you are reading, and thinking about the things that I've been posting.  I do it for you ladies, but I realize that it helps me too.  Words are kind of beautiful that way.

* * * So today, an excerpt from something I wrote a few weeks ago, just sitting in a cafe thinking. 

 Comment if you want, if you agree, if you disagree, if you've felt the same things, I want to know. I promise. I do.

"What does it look like to be how I was made, and what do you change about yourself when you know you are not everything you could be?

And how does loving who I am help me love other people better?

If I was completely comfortable with myself, what would I do?

If I started doing all of those things, would I more deeply understand what it means to be free in my own skin?" 

It's not a Proust Questionnaire.  It's just honest questions I realized that I'd been asking myself long before I wrote them down that afternoon at Fusion Brew.  Ask yourself the same questions, beautiful.  See what you find. 

with love. always, 

Claire

the home of mickey, and epcot, and...high school musical. oh yeah, baby.

Tomorrow I will be leaving for Disney World with my parents. It's going to be great.

So dish:
If you could be leaving tomorrow for anywhere in the United States, where would you want to go? Why?

Hello! It's Tuesday, and we're BACK ON....

Beautiful, glorious ladies!

It is good to be back in the swing of No Plain-Faced things, although I dearly miss all of the other beautiful ladies I counseled at Masterpiece. Many of you wanted to know how my week went, and I have so much to say, but put simply- God happened, art happened, love happened, beauty happened. I realized more than ever that my talents and gifts, what we do, what we give to the world, to God, is what makes me feel the most beautiful of all.

For that reason I share with you a poem that I wrote yesterday, in the beautiful aftermath that was Masterpiece Arts Camp. I hope you enjoy it. Please do not hesitate to comment.

"An Ode (How You Made Me)"

by Claire Taulbee

I say

let the sun pour in the windows

liquid happiness on wooden tables

shining halos of hellos, strewn from

truth to fables, and back again.

Let the birds wind their melodies

in grassy strings woven around my hair,

green life in a mass of inconsistent curls,

every blooming bud speaking to my wings.

I am learning not to hesitate, when they ask

earnestly, to be unfurled.

And the world becomes new again,

when you affirm that thing in me that

is spinning on without

my consent, making things beautiful.

I see now how I would much rather

watch it grow alongside you,

as you bring meaning to my madness.

This is an ode to the way you touch my life,

seamlessly. This is how I know You are a poet

who wrote me into worth. I want to

praise You with my words, fearlessly.

Lord God, this is how

I say

yes

to how I was made.

___________________

How were you made? What are your gifts?

I'M BAAAACK!!!

And I'm so tired that I can't stand up. Quite certain nothing intelligible can be shared at this point, so I will post again soon. Camp was more fun than ought be allowed... lots of art, love, and God. That's seriously good stuff.

Please post a comment to let me know you're checking this still! I plan to post again Tuesday, so just let me know you're here. Even just type a number out in the comments section, or something.

Love you, beauties. Glad to be back with you.
Let me know you're hearin' me. <3

'ello lovlies! i'll be out of town for a spot...

My dear I'm No Plain-Faced Girls,

I will be unable to blog for a week due to the fact that I will be a counselor at Masterpiece Ministries--a creative arts camp that I attended all through high school and absolutely adored. It's the place that made me realize that there are people out there with the same passions as me, and opened me up in a whole new way. It really did change my life.
If you have any desire whatsoever to know a bit more about it, feel free to visit http://www.masterpieceministries.org/ and check it out.
Use your cursor to go to the left and the right to see the different areas. If you go to the left just a bit, and you see a guy holding a camera in a blueish-white shirt...that would be my boyfriend. (He wasn't at the time, he was 19 there, is 22 now...) but that's a long love story for another time.

So for the week, I leave you with something to ponder-

Why is gossip so entirely unattractive? Why do we let ourselves as women be so petty (definition- showing or caused by meanness of spirit) at times?

This week, please remember, petty ain't pretty.

Make a decision this week not to talk badly about anyone. I have a feeling you will not only feel better, you'll look better too.

Magical, isn't it, how much the internal has to do with the external? ;)

I love you all, and will return to you in a weeks time. Please come back when I do. I want to see your shining, gossip free faces again here soon.

I'm off to be Creative Claire. Love you girls. <3

So I'm not a slacker in the blog posting arena, I promise.  I appreciate all of you that filled out the "getting to know you" questionnaire.  I really did enjoy reading every single one and can't wait to get to know more about you guys in the future. Until then, I have a question for today.  Think about it. Comment on it.

What are you shaped by? (take that any way you will, no response is wrong.)

<3>

getting to know you...getting to know all about you...getting to like you...getting to hope you like me....

I know it's long. stick with me.

I want to know more about you lovely ladies of "I'm No Plain-Faced Girl!"
So here's the deal. I'm going to answer these questions myself, and then I would be oh so delighted if you would post a comment (delete my answers, obviously) and fill them in for yourself! Let's all get to know each other, shall we?

*Note- some of these questions are ridiculous. Some of them are fun. Some of them are the usual. Some of them ask you things that you may think you were never going to share with anyone. You were obviously wrong there. (Ok, just kidding, you don't have to answer all of them if you don't want....)

And also, I have heard some concerns from a few of you that you would like to leave a comment but you don't know how! THIS IS A SHAME! I have been wondering if you are just shy, or afraid to comment, and I hope it's just that you don't know where the button is to leave one...otherwise...I'm sad. I would love to hear from you girls, and you leaving comments lets me know that you're here and reading.

So please, if only to leave a smile on my face (it'll be a big one, I promise...) PARTICIPATE! Leave a comment by finding the blue font that says "comments" at the very bottom right hand part of the post.

Questions!!!!!!!!

Name (first or full, whatever you're comfortable with): Claire

Age: 19
Birthday: October 8
Name of your First Pet: Sparkles. A snail. I don't want to brag, though.... ;)
Favorite Movie: Elizabethtown
You would automatically reach for what color marker? A light blue, although I am currently wanting to purchase everything I see that's coral....
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Seasonal, but Thin Mint Cookie
Fiction, Non-Fiction, or Essays? Non-Fiction & Essays, also poetry. Did I just cheat at my own question.....?
Nicknames friends have given you: taulbs, ctaulbs, ceebs, claire bear (i know, creative....)
Favorite Number: 8
Most admired quality in a friend: Positive outlook
When you look in the mirror, this makes you smile: My shoulders and my arms always look strong to me.... real and beautiful :) Also, I like my butt. I can say that here, I asked the question... :) (that's what this group is all about, don't be shy, be honest. love your body..love it love it)
You often laugh about: every day occurrences. life is a joy.
Phrase you use ALL THE TIME: "You know?"
Favorite coffee shop/cafe: FUSION BREW!
You show up Early, On-Time, or Late? Always early. On-Time makes me nervous.
Make up a sentece that your mother might say about you: "Claire is our ray of sunshine. She's always making people laugh...." (ok, so I've HEARD her say that...oh moms, they have to brag about us, right?...(blush)
What you might name your first daughter: Chloe. It's pretty much already been decided in my mind.
Best food can be found: I'm on a Thai kick. So, Thai restaurants.
Super crazy color you would dye your hair for one day: Bright purple
Favorite *NSync or BSB Member (that's right, take it back now, y'all...one boy band this time! turn it out!): Original love was JC of *Nsync. I cannot lie.
The type of flower you can't get enough of: Gerber daisies!!!
Favorite thing about your dad: He has never hesitated to tell me that I'm beautiful or that he loves me. I can't remember a day where I haven't heard that from him.
Type of hug you find the most awkward: The hug that lasts too long...you know exactly the ones I mean-- you're about as over it as can be about point 2 seconds in, but No Holds-Barred Friend (literally) just won't release.
Would love to visit: Australia
Favorite website (other than this one, of course ;) : etsy.com...you'll thank me.
You can't imagine your life without: Jesus. The people who love me. Laughter.

Now answer them, beautiful girls! I've gotta know more about you, because remember, there is much more to being a No-Plain Faced girl than meets the eye. Literally.

the view from tippy toes

Last night at Barnes and Noble, after consuming a chocolate chip cookie, a little boy approached the table where his parents and older brother were sitting and said the following, in a VERY loud, VERY excited voice, raising higher and higher on his tippy toes with every word, lifting his arms to the sky, higher and higher:

"I.....LOVE.....CHOCOLATE!!!!"

I started laughing, of course, along with quite a few people in the cafe, and the little boy says to his dad:

"WHAT ARE THEY LAUGHING AT?"

To which his dad replied, laughing also,

"Well buddy, it seems they also share your affection....for chocolate."

So we did. The woman next to me in her twenties just kept shaking her head, smiling, and saying, "That is so great. That is so great..."

How do you explain how such a simple moment can change you?

I so connected with that moment, with the fact that nothing in the world could have stopped that little boy from saying exactly how he felt. I love that his Dad didn't hinder him, or reprimand him, or tell him to quiet down. The boy needed to say something, wanted to say it, wanted to scream it at the top of his lungs, raise his hands high for it, AND DID. I love that.

There was a certain "everydayness" to it, the Starbucks cups with green straws, books and magazines strewn on the tables of readers throughout the cafe, tan legs in summer shorts, and a little boy with his family...nothing out of the ordinary, really.The contrast of ordinary and extraordinary is a gift--and it's the contrast that reminds you, even sometimes shocks you, into really, really seeing. How beautiful God is to help us see with wider eyes, if only for a moment! For a time, perhaps a day, a week, or just a second- the curtain is pulled down a little bit, and the common, everyday things we consider to be boring, or old, or mediocre, are seen to be truly uncommon (what they really are, for we are so often blind, and forgetful that every single day is a blessing, and a gift)- every second alive and breathing should be celebrated. Tip tops of your toes, hands to the heavens, loudest lungs, CELEBRATED.

It's not just about chocolate. It's about life, and joy, and glimpses of the way the world is, if we could just open our eyes a little bit wider with wonder.


I wish you had been there.

snap, crackle, cris(pop!)ia?

I'm in a goofy mood today.

I want you to take your favorite word (or one of them if you're like me and you have approx. 25,) in the English language and your least favorite word in the English language, and make them into one word.

A neutral word, if you will-what with the positives and negatives balancing out and all of that.

My turn, I suppose?

(A) Favorite Word-crisp
Least Favorite Word- cornucopia

Neutral Word = crispopia

Now it may not be magical, but it's a word that doesn't let crisp get up on it's high horse and makes cornucopia just a bit more bearable. It's my way of keeping words humble.

This is what I do on Saturdays.
No need for you to tell me how cool I am, beautiful girl. :) TeeHee....

So please don't leave me here all alone with my strange word. Join me! Find out your word and post it!!!

-Claire

p.s. don't ask why I don't like the word cornucopia. and no, i don't hate thanksgiving. and yes, you can make fun of me.

don't forget.

the firework that cries.

I have the urge to tell you all what my favorite firework is.

You know those ones that explode and then trickle down like a weeping willow?
All sparkles and raindrops and magic?

Yep, those fireworks have got it GOIN' ON.

If you have a favorite, share it. I'm probably the only dorky lady that has thought about it.

On the other hand, being a dork can be pretty fun...... :)

Join me. If you're really embarrassed, leave it anonymously---no one has to know...
but I want to know which firework is your favorite! I care about you too of course, No Plain-Faced Girl. I just know sometimes it's more fun to post strange things like this under a different name. Or perhaps an alter ego?

So I sign off, awaiting your response...

Sparks McGee (Dweeby Me)

pssst. it's just Claire.

think of a girlfriend that you have that you can't live without.

what is it about her that makes her fun, strong, and beautiful?

"be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart
and try to love the questions themselves.
do not now seek the answers, which cannot be
given you because you would not be able
to live the and the point is to live everything.
live the questions now. perhaps you will then
gradually, without noticing it , living along some
distant day into the answers. "

-rainer maria rilke, letter to a young poet

i rant , therefore i respect.

I don't believe that throwing around the word "bitch" when speaking of any female is appropriate.

It's NOT funny, it's NOT clever, it's NOT uplifting, and no matter what you tell me, it should NOT be considered an affectionate term shared between people who claim to be friends.
When I even think about calling my best friend that, I feel absolutely sick.

"Bitch" is not a word that makes anyone feel beautiful.

I know that in our culture, that word is heard often and in many contexts, and means a lot of different things. You might be thinking that I'm a prude and that I "don't get it," but unfortunately, I kind of have to. It's the world we live in.

That doesn't make it right.

You may still think I'm ridiculous. That's okay, I just sincerely want you all to be respected, and lifted up, and there are enough words in the English vocabulary that actually do those things in a FULLY loving and respectful way. If you need some suggestions, feel free to ask me. The use of that horrible term when explaining a living, breathing, human shows at a base level a complete lack of creativity and class.

Refuse to be anything but respected.
And refuse to be someone who doesn't respect other people,
especially the girls you joined this group to support.

I can't apologize for a rant like this. I write this post because I care enough about you and the future of women at large to NOT stay silent about it. (Silence itself being a way of supporting.)

[[You're No Plain-Faced Girl, so don't stand for a word that declares you one]]

"This year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practice ourselves the kind of behavior we expect from other people."

--C.S Lewis

(think: what do you fail to do that you expect others to do? if you think it to be an important behavior, how can you cultivate it in yourself? maybe a change needs to be made in yourself first, before you ask it of others.

What makes you feel beautiful?

I'll start.

a hug from my dad, giving smiles to children and getting them back, God's words, laughter, light blue dresses, reading a book in the sun, writing poetry, having my windows down and singing out, watching someone I love be themselves, wearing pj's around the house.

Now it's your turn, beautiful girl. Even if you don't want to leave your name, leave a comment. Let me know when you feel most beautiful.

<3 [[You're No Plain-Faced Girl!]

The song "Here Comes The Sun" gave me goosebumps yesterday.

What songs give you goosebumps?
Or make you laugh?
Or cry?
Or forget to drive the speed limit or make you drive over the speed limit?
What song has you singing at the top of your lungs?

Post a comment and let me know :)

nothing is hopeless.

we must hope for everything.

-Euripides

why all the embarrassment?

First, thank you so much to those of you who left comments on the first post! I encourage everyone who stops by to leave a comment on this post, either in connection to what's been said, or just a musing of your own.

Alright. It's true confession time, ladies. I assume this blog will be quite a bit of that, as I've already informed you I hope that all of the words I put here will be good and true.

For the past two and a half days, I have stared at red stop lights, rolled underneath green ones, and slowly (or quickly!) come to a stop (or raced through! : / ) yellow lights, asking, "What to say to these fantastic women? What do I want to share with them that really means something?"

I know this sounds ridiculous. Even I find myself saying, Claire, seriously? Just write something! Anything! You're being silly about this. It's JUST A BLOG.

I know that's true. But you also must understand that for me, women knowing that they are beautiful, and loved, and valued, and encouraging women to look inside themselves and see what beauty that can find there, or make there, is something that is such a passion of mine, I am incapable of just pushing it to the side. I know it will be a large, large part of my life for the rest of my life. That's big deal stuff. That's change your life for, raise your voice for, dance and sing for sort of stuff. So I will. Please join me in it.

It may not always seem "super deep," and that's not the point. It will sometimes be so simple you may wonder why I posted anything at all. Maybe you won't be able to see the connection to you as a woman, or a No Plain-Faced Girl right away, but that's part of it. Dig, probe, explore, talk it out. I see all of this as part of the beauty of what this is- sharing ourselves with each other, bouncing ideas off of what you've seen here, raising a voice out there in the big world, where we fight the battle every day to know and feel and believe that we are beautiful.

Consider that the introduction to the first musing. :)

I carried around a small, light brown moleskine for about three months earlier this year, which I kept in my pocket at all times. It was at hand at all times to write down anything I heard, read, or came across that struck me in a new way.

Now the book is past full, and past dogeared, the ink on the front smudged and some water stains on the front pages, but I love it even more for all of those imperfections. In silver paint pen and smudged black marker, the cover reads, "The Aim of Life is to Live," in my sloppy cursive-meets-print style.

I was looking through it just today, hoping that within it's pages I might find something to share with you lovely ladies. The second I came across this poem I had written down, I knew it was the one.

"Why"- Wendell Berry

Why all the embarrassment
about being happy?
Sometimes I'm as happy
as a sleeping dog,
and for the same reasons,
and for others.

Read it a few times. Say it out loud. Picture it.
I'm not going to say anything, just run with it, beautiful girl.
And for the love of all that is potentially good and beautiful, leave a comment--it can be a word, a thought, another poem, an answer to a question, anything.

change your life , raise your voice, dance and sing.

And remember, [[You're No Plain-Faced Girl..."]]




p.s. please facebook friend me if you'd like!!!

you are ever so WELCOME.....

Hello Lovely Ladies!

I'm so glad to see that you've found your way here. Let's call this blog a companion of sorts to "I'm No Plain-Faced Girl!"--the ever so incredible group you joined on Facebook, an affirmation of all things beautiful in you and in every girl you know. I am so glad that I created this group, and not just because it matters so much to me that we all know how valuable and gorgeous we are as women, but because of your responses to the message of "I'm No Plain-Faced Girl." You've invited friends, you've spread the message, and most of all I hope that this group has helped remind you of your beauty-inside and out.

I'll be blogging here frequently...and it's hard to say at this point with exactly what, because every post will be different! Knowing myself, there will probably be a fair amount of quotes, movie and book suggestions, fun stories, a beautiful picture to brighten your day, or just some of my musings. I can assure you I will only post things that I believe are beautiful, good, and true. The only thing I can assure you is that this blog should add some sunshine to your day whensoever you choose to stop by and take a peek. A little ray of sunshine to your summer days, if you will. So bookmark this baby and keep your eyes peeled! The focus is you, beautiful girl--and whatever will bring a smile to that beautiful face, or keep those thoughts turning, or look a little bit deeper inside yourself--probe around, see what you find. It's always a good idea.

Lastly, the great thing about blogger is that you can post a comment without even having an account! So please, engage in the conversation--just click on the comments button to reply to what I've said, say what you feel, mean what you say, and share. A community of women is one with a voice, and all of your voices are welcomed and encouraged here, as long as we're keeping truth and positivity at the forefront. Make sure you put your name with the comment, so everyone can know who those fantastic insights are coming from!

So this is Creator Claire, signing off for now. How 'bout you leave a little comment to let me know what you think about this whole shindig, or even suggestions about things you'd like to hear! Let me know you'll be here to talk. It means so much to me.

And always remember, [[You're No Plain-Faced Girl]].