I love the springtime. For most of my life, I’ve been excited about spring in anticipation of my birthday. I am big on my birthday. And while spring birthday season is still very much a thing for all the members of our household, it’s not the sole reason for my excitement.

My excitement grows from a lot of the same feelings you are likely feeling — the anticipation of more sunshine, the lifting of the winter blues, and just this general sense of renewal. Renewal not just in the natural but also metaphorically in the areas of my spirit, my space, and myself. I am ready for something new on all fronts, and this month I intend to focus and meditate on renewal in the same way that I centered my thoughts around love last month.

I’d love to know how you’re feeling this month. Are you anticipating refreshment and renewal, too? Is your spring cleaning underway? (Y'all know I am full steam ahead!) Maybe you’ve given something up for the Lenten season and find yourself going inward? Or maybe you're the opposite, and just ready to be outside? Let me know! I love hearing back from you.

xo, m.

The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come.

— Solomon 2:11-12 (NIV)

There’s something about shaking off the winter chill and welcoming even just a little more sunshine that helps lift our moods and renew our minds. This scripture from the book of Solomon evokes that feeling of beauty and hope that comes with the changing seasons. And just as nature has this rebirth each spring, we too can open ourselves up to renewal.

For a lot of us, the season that we’re coming out feels a lot like winter — long, dark, isolating. A time when things didn’t appear to be growing. But like the winter, this season must make way for the next; the frost will melt away, and those things that looked not to be growing, maybe even appeared dead, will blossom and bloom.

As we welcome spring, I am ready to let go of the past, to release the weight of burdens, and to embrace the possibilities of new beginnings. My word for the year is ‘lighter,’ and that’s how I am entering the coming season — cleaning and clearing, purging and purifying, organizing and in order.

I’m taking inspiration from the flowers, the birds, and bees. Immersing myself in the beauty of nature, reconnecting with people I love, and pursuing the passions that bring me the most fulfillment. In a society that says we should decide who we are early on, brand ourselves as such, and then stick to it — I want to extend an invitation to evolve, just as nature does. To embrace growth, change, and something new.

I invite you to join me as I welcome the month of March with an open heart and open mind, ready to embrace all the beauty and blessings it has to offer. Our season of singing has come.

I am loving all things spring — the longer days, sunshine and rain, pastel prints, and floral facades. I can’t wait to see the Cherry Blossoms in peak bloom in the city I love later this month, just before the emergence of one of my favorite flowers, tulips at the Floral Library just near the National Mall.

And, in the spirit of spring cleaning – which I have been doing feverishly all February long – I’m also loving the Brightroom storage collection at Target. It’s reasonably priced, modern, and has modular mix & match organization for every room in the house. I’ve used it to get all the little nooks and crannies of our home organized and in order.

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