This is a page for me to look at when I need to remember what is beautiful and inspiring. I’m going to let you look at it too. Here are my favorite things in no particular order:

Writer’s block

And by ‘writer’s block,’ I mean this block of amazing writers:

Some of the writers who have managed to rock my world: Roald Dahl, David Sedaris, Augusten Burroughs, Tina Fey, Everett DeRoche, Bill Bryson, Matt Groening, Paul Theroux, Lena Dunham, Douglas Kennedy, Jon Krakauer, Danny Katz, R. L. Stine, Stephen King, Patrick Süskind, Antonia Murphy, Elizabeth Gilbert, Suzanne Morrison, Sebastian Junger, Emma Donoghue, Sara Gruen, Jennifer Egan, Wally Lamb, Jean M. Auel, Nikki Gemmell, Cheryl Strayed, Tom Rachman, Bree DeRoche, and Summer DeRoche.

Goats on horses

This needs no explanation.

Books

I want to curl up and nest inside their pages. I buy books compulsively, and I have far more than I can read. The great tragedy of life is that we only have X number of years to read X number of books.

Friend me on Goodreads for my full list of favorites.

Cheese

Any time of day. Any kind. Served with anything, especially wine.

Art

Dirtying my hands with charcoal and paint is enough to make me happy. Seeing an exhibition makes me swell up with so much joy that I almost burst. Some artist’s I adore:

Smart people

“I didn’t lie, I was writing fiction with my mouth.” — Homer Simpson (Matt Groening)

“Art is either plagiarism or revolution.” —Paul Gauguin

“A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom.” —Roald Dahl

“Art should astonish, transmute, transfix. One must work at the tissue between truth and paranoia.” —Brett Whiteley

“Fear isn’t overcome, it’s managed.” — Teresa Carey, Sailor

“I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions.” ― Augusten Burroughs, Magical Thinking

“If you’re looking for sympathy you’ll find it between shit and syphilis in the dictionary.” ― David Sedaris, Barrel Fever

“I think you have to know who you are. Get to know the monster that lives in your soul. Dive deep into your soul and explore it.” —Tori Amos

“I was kind of excited about going to jail the first time and I learnt some great dialogue.” —Quentin Tarantino

Blogs

In no particular order: Zen Pencils, McSweeney’s, Almost Fearless, Terrible Minds, The Oatmeal, Hyperbole and a Half, Fevered Mutterings, Antonia Murphy, Bacon is Magic, Zen at Play, So Many Places, Sarah Somewhere, Further Bound, Forgeover, The Rhythm Method, Legal Nomads, The Everywhereist, The Good Men Project, Dina Santorelli, Nathan Bransford, Nomadic Matt, My Dad’s My Mate, BlogcastFM, Edenland, The Runaway Guide, World Tour Stories, A Beautiful Mess, Beers & Beans, Expert Vagabond, What’s Dave Doing, Go See Write, Bridges and Balloons, Jenny Blake, Brain Pickings.

Internet peoples

Coming soon.

And also…

Good hair days (I hear they’re great)

Creative flow

Brave people

All things small and furry

Serendipity

The smell of paper

The smell of freesias

Generosity

Tea parties with earl grey

Picking at beer labels

Confessions

Humility

The macabre

Getting paid to make art

Working in a robe