Nicole, a former coworker of mine, is one of those girls who’s always wearing the cutest thing while her hair falls in just the most naturally enviable way, with a creative talent you wish you could bottle. So I wasn’t surprised to love her latest post called Hopes that Reach the Sky. The post is about another cool blog she stumbled upon called The Beginning, which is full of sharp, inspiring or spot-on quotes presented in delectably artful ways.

Nicole posted her favorites on Truth + Fairytales, and I adore her choices. So my suggestion today is to check both blogs out and skim them for a few minutes to see if you find something that speaks personally to you. Sometimes when you’re feeling lost or buried under or mildly hopeless in life or love, just seeing that someone else has felt something you’re feeling can make all the difference.

One of my favorite quotes, for instance, is presented on the image of a little girl hiding behind a balloon. It says:  “I’ve finally discovered that my greatest fear is not being alone; it’s being vulnerable.” Amazing, right? Because when you figure out something big like that, it can change how open you feel with others every step of the day.

Find yourself an insight that resonates with you like that, and here’s to your hopes reaching the sky.

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Big love,

She's dying. Die-ing. (from BravoTV.com)

I admit that when I first watched the show last season, I thought her passion for fashion went a bit too far—clothes being something that, when measured against the grand scheme of life and death and health, didn’t seem worthy of such gasping to me.

But I’ve since changed my tune about Rachel and her Project. Why? Because Rachel isn’t one of those fakerdoodles who “ooh” and “ahh” about clothes because they think they should. She really eats, breathes, and dreams this stuff. She absolutely luh-huves it. Her kidneys have probably even adapted to help regulate fashion through her system so she doesn’t—literally—take in too much and die.

Take for example, a few things that Rachel said on last night’s episode alone:

“Die. Die. . . Every girl rocks DVF.”

“This dress is amazing! Uhhh [gasp] I love this!”

“I’m DVFing right now. Oh please, break my arm. Really? Really? Please don’t ask me to try this on. Have I ever looked as happy as I do right now? This is amazing.”

“How. Bananas. Is that.”

“Oh my God, babe? That’s insane. Truly a piece of art.”

“[Gasp.] Is that suede? It’s so gorgeous.”

“You guys [the Marchesa designers being the "guys"] it’s honestly? Like, beyond. Beyond. Beyond. Beyond.”

And during the visit from the Armani team: “Oh my God, oh my God. Wow. God. I’m dying to see what’s in the box. Oh my God, I’m so excited. Wow. Wow. Oh my God. Oh my God . . .”

“It’s, like, a fashion fairytale come true.”

She reminds me every week that life is meant to be lived with a little gung-ho. What is life if you don’t have something that makes you gush with hyperbole? What makes you gasp like Rachel Zoe does over an Armani Privé gown? No, fashion doesn’t have to be your thing. And, yes, ideally, the love relationship you find will make you gush that much about your partner. But you know the drill: If you want a passionate relationship with someone else, you’ve got to find the passion within yourself first. Where is the spark inside of you that makes you in love with your life first?

So think about what you live for or love doing deeply. Maybe it’s hiking, biking, writing, cooking, surfing, sketching, filming, designing, dancing, drumming, or a million other active “ings” out there. (I say active because napp”ing” and TV-watch”ing” don’t count.) The point is, you should have an ing. And if you don’t, find one! Do what Rachel does, find whatever makes you want to say, “Oh my God, I die.” Before and after your search for love, your personal passion is what’ll make you live happy, date happy, and definitely most certainly…die happy.

Big love,