Happy Thanksgiving, thankful first of all for this gorgeous day in the East Bay :) but forever grateful for a beautiful family and dear friends… and these recent turnouts in my life that have made such a difference ♡♡

Minus one; my big sister who is currently in England right now. Missing her add I am deeply thankful for her too (and that she is happy)!

THEY LIVED AND LAUGHED AND LOVED AND LEFT.

As told by James Joyce, in the most simplest and loveliest words to sum up the universal human story.

This was written on a sympathy card at work.  It felt too broad to credit as just a quote. It deserves our  attention; it certainly caught mine. It’s one of the most beautiful proses concerning death. And the lack of punctuation keeps this a flowing, current little piece that captures It in writing.

Just keeping this in mind.  Always.

Sick day well spent. Reading David Copperfield to get me excited for England this January.

those last nights

The perils of am LDR means finding comfort last night in this:

Maybe love is in New York City, already asleep. You are in California, Australia, wide awake. Maybe love is always in the wrong time zone. Maybe love is not ready for you. Maybe you are not ready for love. Maybe love just isn’t the marrying type. Maybe the next time you see love is twenty years after the divorce–love looks older now, but just as beautiful as you remember. Maybe love is only there for a month. Maybe love is there for every firework, every birthday party, every hospital visit.

Maybe love stays. Maybe love can’t. Maybe love shouldn’t.

Love arrives exactly when love is supposed to, and love leaves exactly when love must. When love arrives say, “Welcome, make yourself comfortable.” If love leaves, ask her to leave the door opened behind her. Turn off the music. Listen to the quiet. Whisper, “Thank you for stopping by."

-Sarah Kaye and Phil Kaye

6 hours until I lead my first workshop at Paper Source!

2 months ago I was at home and making pimped out book covers from grocery bags. Never thought I’d later on be getting paid for doing practically the same thing. Weird how the world works? Undoubtedly grateful,  everyday thankful to wake up and go to a job I’m so proud to be going to,  a company I’m so amazed by.

Shoot, I like paper, I write on it. And it occurred to me to get a job devoted to it. I may not have ended up at a magazine or publisher house straight out of college, but I’ve gotten out of a hard summer into this incredible and fun post-grad opportunity. All in good time, for my writing career— I’m still freelancing anyways. Right now, workshop captain is for me, I’m meant to craft something beyond my abilities of writing.

Fingers crossed!

A Happy Accident: my own Blackcurrant vanilla tea

French vanilla creamer
Twinings blackcurrant black tea
a shit load of sugar

that’s all. go drink!

Instagramin' it!

Writing on Big Smile has definitely been slow,  having been blogging from my Tumblr.

But if you are social media savvy and then some,  I've finally joined Instagram!

Follow me @pariskimwrites to see what you've been missing and what I've still been smiling about.