As a Leo and a triple fire sign, (Aries moon, Aries rising) born in the summer of love, I never really thought about what it would be like when I turned 40. It was always about summer and just happy being another year older. This year, however, not only marks a new decade in my life (whew I made it!) but also a solar and lunar eclipse this month which has heightened my sense of awareness around everything and I’ll admit it has sometimes been challenging. Last Tuesday (my actual b-day) I awoke to an overwhelming sense of gratitude and this comfortable feeling in my skin that I can’t really describe. I can only say that being surrounded by 11 of my most loving friends (+ 1 loving boyfriend + 1 loving niece) last night at dinner put me into a place where I felt like honey on a warm piece of toast–the perfect union. This 40 year old has arrived and is excited to be alive.

Me hanging with Sisters on the Fly at the Portland Better Living Show.

So check it out. I’m walking around Portland’s Better Living Show on Friday (3/28), looking for some pink inspiration and I run right into these gals, from Sisters on the Fly–a group of fabulous women (it’s grown to 1,000!) ranging from ages 88 to 21 who take yearly adventure vacations and invite sister friends from all over the country to join in. I just love it!

So anyway, on their yearly adventures, they bring along their bedrooms which are vintage 1950’s trailers (!!) each individually decorated…Three of these vintage sweethearts were on display at the show and ooooohhhhh baby, super eco-adorable. No bathroom, each one offers a cute adorable mini- fridge (a block of ice in there works just fine!), oven and stove–the latter doubles as a heater. I felt like I was 7 years old all over again playing in my doll house. An eco-chic girl’s dream! I got great video footage of the inside of these vintage sweets, which I will post this week. You are going to love it!

Look at the sister’s Cowgirl Caravan….So utterly pink….

Thanks for being so sisterly, Sisters on the Fly. It was such a pleasure meeting you. You are all so warm hearted and kind. It’s no wonder your numbers keep growing! Thank-you for being eco-mindful and recycling these fabulous trailers. It’s inspiring.

To sign up for a sister adventure, click here.

A few months ago, my dear friend Robyn and I were walking around hip and trendy NW 23rd Avenue in Portland, Oregon when we suddenly came across a homeless and very grumpy old man, kvetching and blaming the world for all his life’s problems.

Robyn happened to be right in his line of fire when she received one of his ugly slurs, “You yuppy snobby piece of shit!” Yeah, I know….he was angry. She reacted by saying, “You don’t even know me, Sir.” He continued to grumble in his pain as we moved on.

As we both walked away and while he still was shouting at us, I suddenly looked at him and yelled back as loud as I could muster with my arms open wide… “I LOVE YOU!”

Guess what happened? He stopped and just stood there in silence. The angry expression on his faced suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a sweet smile….and then….as he placed his hands on his heart he yelled right back, “I LOVE YOU TOO!”

It was the sweetest exchange and most wonderful transformation. I actually saw happiness on his face.

What I learned was that sharing more “I love you’s” especially to strangers is a bridge to humanity. Try it and let me know what happens.