Beautifully Better: The Bright Side Project*****

TODAY I breathe in Spring. Pulling down on the window shade, feeling it resist, then loosening my grip so it pulls up tightly into a roll, it reveals my morning view. Sliding open the window, I breathe in a new day: spicy pine tree leaning against the fence, dark mysterious richness of the wet garden below, ephemeral sweetness of flowers born on the breeze.

What scents remind you of the sweetness of Spring?

TIRED OF HEARING NOTHING BUT BAD NEWS? Well, you're not alone. A year or so ago, two New York friends decided to bring a little sunshine into a world of dreary predictions and a weakening economy. On that day (yay for us!), TheBrightSideProject.com was born.

How do they brighten the world, you ask? By giving away goodies every single day. They did this for months on end; now giving away something every week.

And not just anything. Good things. Wonderful things. Beautiful things. All contributed by trendy artists, up-and-coming designers, good companies. Yep. The good stuff.

But wait! It's not exactly free. You have to answer a question and if the contributer picks yours as the best answe, then you get your goodies.

These girls (Miss B & Miss Lindsey) are so chatty & up beat. I just love them.

I mean, look at their website:

Oh. Their mission is a little hard to read so I'll type it out for you: "The Bright Side Project is here to bring you sunshine everyday with themed giveaways and witty repertoire. We hope to inspire you to stop for a second and remember life is (still) beautiful out there."

How can you not love them?

Even if you don't win, you'll still be happy because now you know where to get some beautiful, unusual products direct from the artist/designer/business like these:

Cake bunting from Kiki La Ru (see http://www.etsy.com/shop/KikiLaRu). Who knew cake could have bunting? Genius!