Valentine is pleased to present

new and recent paintings

by

Todd Bienvenu & Gili Levy

with

Katherine Bradford

Opening Friday December 6 from 6-9

The show runs through December 29

Gallery hours are Friday � Sunday 1-6

and by appointment.

The gallery is easily accessible by the L and M line.

 718 381-2962
valentineridgeood@gmail.com

navigating the roads of friendship

I�ve been struggling with a challenging friendship situation. And while part of me wanted to just continue on with things, without any real resolution, I knew that wasn�t the best way to handle the situation. It didn�t feel right to continue hiding my feelings (I�m not very good at that to begin with since I wear my heart, well, my entire being, on my sleeve).

 Instead, I took the advice of St. Paul who expressed this universal principle beautifully:

Everything is shown up by being exposed to the light, and whatever is exposed to the light itself becomes light. 

Instead of continuing to withdraw from the friendship in order to protect myself or remove myself without any explanation, it was so much better to discuss my feelings and needs with my friend, openly and honestly, without any pretense or bullshit. There was much more to be gained than lost and this was definitely a friendship worth mending.

Now that we�ve talked and I�ve shared my feelings, I no longer have anything to hide, protect, or project. The darkness has disappeared and everything has come into the light.

And you know what? I also feel lighter mentally and physically - a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. No matter how the future unfolds, I know I was authentic and genuine and that feels really good.

Ideally, I�d like all of my relationships to be founded on love, trust and reciprocity. With that being said, it�s important to realize that we�re all human, we all make mistakes and we all need forgiveness and understanding. Myself included.

Have you ever had to navigate through a difficult friendship situation? What did you do to improve things? 

P.S. Can you tell I�ve been reading books by Bren� Brown? Highly recommend. And make sure you watch this, too. It�s inspiring and thought-provoking.

anthropologie giveaway

It's my 150th post, friends! And I can�t think of a better way to thank you for your friendship, comments (gosh, do I ever love & appreciate your comments) and support of my consistently inconsistent blogging than with a giveaway.

From now until next Wednesday, enter to win a $50 Anthropologie gift certificate & a box of my favourite Croatian chocolates!

Interested? 

Here's how to enter:

1. Like all kinds of lovely on Facebook.

2. For additional entries, follow all kinds of lovely on Instagram or Twitter.
3. Please leave a comment below for each entry (and tell me what you're currently coveting at Anthro). Don't forget to leave a way to contact you via Facebook, Twitter, your blog or email. 
4. Cross your fingers and check back next week to see if you've won. I'll also announce the winner on Facebook and Twitter.

Yep. It's just that easy. Best of luck!

Update: The winner has been contacted. Thanks to everyone who entered and commented!