Friday Musing: Inspiration vs. Execution

It seems appropriate to end a week that featured a fuse box disguised by a Cuba poster and a list of places I wish I were visiting right now with a few travel related links:

The 46 Places to Go in 2013
I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I have been devouring these kinds of lists. This one by the New York Times is my favorite (of the lists that are released in January. National Geographic Traveler’s annual “Tours of a Lifetime” is the only one to top it for me.) I like how they do a mix of cities and counties, and because there are 46 rather than 10 or 15, it’s almost a guarantee there are going to be a couple places on the list that get my imagination going. All three of my picks from yesterday are on the list, plus Bhutan and Montenegro and cities in Croatia and Italy that get my heart fluttering. It’s worth browsing. (For the record, and because I like to count these kinds of things, I’ve been to six of these places. Think it’s possible to hit the other 40 before the calendar turns?)

Logging Miles (and Miles!) With Clinton
I believe you should learn from the best, and in the case of traveling, a team that visited 111 countries in four years could clearly make a compelling argument as the best. In another New York Times article, Philippe Reines, senior advisor to Hilary Clinton, spills his top travel tips. I like the idea of always having a go bag packed.

House Beautiful

Now swinging back to the beautiful home we all want to return to, I love this image from the most recent edition of House Beautiful. The door color is Benjamin Moore Pacific Ocean Blue, and I loved it so much I picked some up after work last night. It’s a little greener in person than in this photo, so I’m not sure if it’s going to work out or not. If it does, I’ll be back next week with a furniture makeover. If it doesn’t, well let’s not speak of this again.

Lastly, I wanted to share this video I found.

It speaks to me, because as much as I want this blog to be brilliant, for my house to be like a House Beautiful spread, right now the ideas are bigger than the execution. But the all-knowing “they” say it takes atleast five if not 10 years of practice to become truly good at something. I have many years to go, but I’m still working and still learning in the hopes that some day the reality will correspond with the vision.

If you are involved in a creative pursuit, whether that’s writing, painting, knitting or home decorating, I hope you find this video to be as encouraging as I did.

Have a good weekend!