I came across a letter which F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote his daughter, Scottie, when she was 11. He gives simple and yet important advises on life to Scottie towards the end of the letter!

After reading it, I thought that I definitely should share it with you, dear English Muse readers! Reading it gave me very much of courage, hope and motivation, I hope it would do the trick for you as well

Here comes the list of F. Scott Fitzgerald:

Things to worry about:

Worry about courage
Worry about cleanliness
Worry about efficiency
Worry about horsemanship

Things not to worry about:

Don’t worry about popular opinion
Don’t worry about dolls
Don’t worry about the past
Don’t worry about the future
Don’t worry about growing up
Don’t worry about anybody getting ahead of you
Don’t worry about triumph
Don’t worry about failure unless it comes through your own fault
Don’t worry about mosquitoes
Don’t worry about flies
Don’t worry about insects in general
Don’t worry about parents
Don’t worry about boys
Don’t worry about disappointments
Don’t worry about pleasures
Don’t worry about satisfactions

Things to think about:

What am I really aiming at?
How good am I really in comparison to my contemporaries in regard to:

(a) Scholarship
(b) Do I really understand about people and am I able to get along with them?
(c) Am I trying to make my body a useful instrument or am I neglecting it?

With dearest love,

Daddy

Wise words, don’t you agree? If only we could internalize them in the course our daily lives…  And, don’t worry about insects in general, I wish I could do this

Guest Post by Gulfem@All Happy Things Around

Photo Credits List of Note and Nantucket Youth)

Museum Girl

Blue Truck, Paris

Modern Reflection

Avenue de New York

Hand in Hand

Finding My Way, Paris

Galerie Babylonia

The Checkered Path

May Day

Stop 'n Watch

Piano Street

Fonatainebleau

Last night in Paris (The Violet Hour)

 ”If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”

-Ernest Hemingway

P.S.  A photo of me & my Mom bundled up for a chilly boat ride along the Seine…

Lately I’ve been missing the weekends back at school I used to spend in the darkroom, causing me to pin black and white images like crazy. Which is how I found this perfect pair:

I love how playful these images are. They’ve definitely put me in a good mood for my weekend. Today, I’m off to the Field Museum here in Chicago on an assignment and then to dinner and happy hour with some friends downtown. And I know it is still winter, but maybe I can find some cotton candy somewhere in the city. I’m craving it after seeing these photos.

What does everyone else have planned?

(1, 2)

Spring is coming. I can feel it in the air and I couldn’t be more delighted.

Don’t get me wrong, the temperatures in Belgium aren’t anywhere near real spring weather but the sun is shining and warming any face who turns towards it.

Even though it’s still way too cold to sit outside reading a book or having a picnic it’s definitely not too early to start planning spring shenanigans. The things I’m planning at the moment are my spring wardrobe (and a little bit my dress-list for a trip to London this summer), little adventure trips with my friends, picnics, bike rides and leisurely reading sessions outside in the park.

What are you looking forward to with spring coming up? Any to do-lists?

Picture credits: 1. 2. 3.

“I like joy; I want to be joyous. I want to smile and I want to make people laugh. And that`s all I want.  I like being happy. I want to make others happy.” ― Doris Day

( images from dorisday.com/Brian from dorisday.net/life.com)

Posted by guest blogger Dominique Lessing.

Life is strange, in a beautiful and mystical way. Reading this blog on a regular basis was a true motivation for me to start my own blog and now I am writing a post as a guest blogger for my favourite blog ever! I am Gulfem from All Happy Things Around, just thrilled by being a part of English Muse.

As this blog was my inspiration to dive into blogging world, I thought that it would be a good idea to write about another substantial inspiration of mine, women who ages in a distinguishably elegant and beautiful way..

I have extreme curiosity about how I will be looking like when I will turn into my 30s, 40s, 50s and so on? What about the look on my face, my smile? Will they all be more meaningful than today or will I just appear sad about all those past years? I am not afraid of having wrinkles on my face in future. For me, they will be just signs of all experiences I have in my life, no matter good or bad. Those experiences are ones what determines our current state of being, who we are at the moment.

Look at those ladies, Meryl Streep, Audrey Hepburn, Julianne Moore and Catherine Deneuve ! How elegant, refined and wise they look… They just embrace what past years offer to them, they did not fight with those years! Their photos have so much to tell us, right?

I am looking forward to hear examples you’ve got dear English Muse readers! Who might be other women who age in a distinguishably fabulous way?

(Text is from Gulfem@All Happy Things Around, photos from joemcneilis, RareAudreyHepburn, miradademiranda, LovesJulie)

Hi, English Muse readers! My name is Dominique. I have been an avid reader here for many years and am delighted to be one of the guest bloggers while Tina is in Paris. February is known as the month of love but people forget it can be celebrated everyday. Here are my  small tips on how to make each day Valentine’s Day.

~ Sit Right Down and Write Yourself a Letter

Send your loved one a heartfelt letter in the mail. This may sound dated but words written down can say so much.  Not only are they fun surprises but can be kept for years to come.

~ Order or make a wonderful dinner when you know you both will be free. The comfort of home can be just as special as a nice restaurant and plus you can eat in your pajamas if you care to.

~ Compliment each other on the little things that make him or her special. This may seem like the easiest task but you would be surprised how easy it is to forget.

~ Parks can be very romantic. If you live in a big city you may find musicians playing during the day. Tip the player to play one of his or her favorite songs or just stroll through the park admiring the quiet and beauty.

~ Go shopping with your loved one and get them something they had not seen that you know they would like. A cookie for example can be the perfect item to show them how sweet you feel they are.

~ Pick or buy flowers when you know your loved one has had a stressful day.

~ Snap pictures together. Laptops usually have a photo-booth setting to choose from. What could be nicer than taking some pictures with music playing, fun props,and your significant other at your side?

~ My last and favorite tip is making  a mixed CD. Grab some blank disks and add a bunch of songs that show you care. This can be a  wonderful way to show your love without actually verbally saying it.

Here is my mix of romantic songs for any loving occasion by my favorite ladies of song.

1] I Know You Know- Esperanza Spalding 

2] All of My Life – Barbra Streisand

3] Lovin’ You – Olivia Newton- John 

4] Love on Top- Beyonce

5] In Buddy’s Eyes – Barbara Cook

 6] Thankful- Kelly Clarkson

7] I’m Just In Love- Nancy Sinatra

 8] A Love That Will Last – Renee Olstead

9] Livin’ For Love – Natalie Cole 

10] If I Ever Had a Dream – Nellie McKay

 (images from Archives of New South Wales & weheartit.com)

While in route to Zurich from Vienna on the train we learned that the mountain pass between Austria and Switzerland had been closed because of a train derailment. All trains were being diverted through Germany. Instead of enduring a 15-hour train trip, I decided to get off in Salzburg. I found a single room at the Wolf-Dietrich for 60 euros. The bed had a really wonderful mushy down comforter and pillow. (White of course). The weather was perfect for a stroll (with a light coat) along the Salzach river.

I couldn’t resist buying a box of the Mozart candy!!

They finally reopened the pass through the Austrian alps this morning, and now I’m in Zurich waiting to board the train to Paris! This station is huge and busy, with people carting big bags of skis…I should probably sign off because with my luck, I’ll miss the train…Too many distractions…

Oh, the great English poets : Milton, Spenser, Chaucer
and the lovely American poets: Whitman, Dickinson, Longfellow
just to name a few…

The questions have been asked for ages:
What is the purpose of poetry?
Is it to create something beautiful (Edgar Allan Poe)?
Or is it intended to lead to virtue (Sir Philip Sidney)?
Should we approach it technically, noting the sense in the sound (Robert Frost)?

 I suppose the question now, in our age, is:
Where does poetry fit in our daily lives?
In an age where production and consumption are high priorities
meaning, how we (as a culture) often associate value primarily with utility,
Where does poetry live in our world?

For that answer, I turn to the flowers.
Objects of beauty, emotion, and also
form, the fruit of hard labor, and life.
I think that poetry — and flowers — both live on to remind us of value.
To value one another … not merely because of one’s usefulness,
but because of breath in the lungs, because one simply is.

                                           Where does poetry fit in your world?

 [thanks for having me Tina, and English Muse readers]
all images from one of my favorite spots in the world: greenhouses in my home town

– Christina @ a wild civility 

Or if you are me “never buy a book by its cover”.  Nothing worse than buying a book for its looks and finding later that the cover was much more interesting than the contents.

Saying that, a while back I went Orla Kiely mad.  Mugs, bag, wallet, I even tried in vain to get something for our kitchen.  Inevitably I had to get the book whose cover she designed, Excellent Women by Barbara Pym (Virago Modern Classics 2008 edition).  After a few months of being a mere decorative object on my side table I read it and to my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is not a story about women in Louboutin’s in New York, and neither are its characters pivotal actors in current affairs.  In fact it’s quite the opposite, this novel’s gem relies on making those ordinary things and personalities seem like something remarkable and peculiar.  And this is why, regardless of the time when the story is set it feels current, the feelings, worries, motives and thoughts in this book are not too dissimilar from the ones we have today, so there is no surprise that anybody in this book could be our colleague, our neighbour and yes, even ourselves.

Despite buying this book for the design of its cover, it has become a book that I will enjoy reading time after time, on my comfy sofa, with a cup of tea and a stack of cookies.

Now tell me, have you ever bought a book because of its cover??

(Text and photo by Lizzet at Living101)