Dear loyal readers,

For the longest time, 2012 just sounded like the distant future, and I had to keep reminding myself it was the now.  Now we’re in 2013, and we might as well be strapping on our jetpacks.  (Btw, have you heard this band?  I am heads over heels over their name. )

The last half of this year has just blown by, with barely a post from me in the last few months.  I’ve missed you so. I’ve changed jobs, gone to India, got stranded in Austria, found myself waist deep in a relationship, gained some friends and misplaced some others, and generally have been lucky enough to be good, happy and healthy.  I hope you have too.

First, guys and girls, thank you, thank you, thank you for reading.  It means so much to me that you read Smartest Cleverest.  Second, I’ll be making some exciting changes to the site.  In the process of writing on a more regular basis for Smartest Cleverest in the past year, I’ve noticed that the posts that I get most excited about writing are the recipes.   They are fun. (Please say you think so too.)  For a while there, I had a pretty big mental block against being a food blog.  “The world is awash in food blogs.”  “Who doesn’t have a food blog?” “No one one cares about what you ate last night.”  (That was my brain mocking itself, by the way.)  But I’ve decided it will be fine, this is what I’ll be doing.  Check out my new About page and the slight name change. New categories, and posts will follow shortly.  Stay tuned!

Love,

Grace

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And to make up for the recent temporary lull, a list of things that have inspired me in the last year.  May it spark a light in you.

1. Have you read Steal Like An Artist by Mr. Austin Kleon?  The bit about how blogging is learning what you want to write about?  And yea, all those other really brilliant bits.
2. Penelope Trunk.  Yes, she’s craaazy and arrogant, but damn smart.  And also unapologetic about cutting to the chase.   Like this.  And this.  And this.
3. This quote by Woodrow Wilson, a reminder to look above the fray: “You are not here merely to make a living.  You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with great vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement.”
4. Jiro and his bone-deep commitment to his craft.
5. This poem by Kathleen Lynch I ran into on Swiss Miss.  It is currently being transferred from my (paper!) planner 2012 to planner 2013.
6. Beyonce at the United Nations belting out ‘I Was Here.”  Girlcrush forever.