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New Space, New Ideas + Enthusiastic Welcomes When my parents first visited Tangier over a year ago, not only were they finally seeing the place I had called home for about 2 years, but they were about to meet my fiancé and the Moroccan family that was very soon going to be part of our own. Needless to say, it was a fairly high pressure situation. There were nerves concerning whether everyone would get along, cultural considerations and uncertainties, and, one of the biggest worries, how in the world we were even going to communicate considering the various language barriers.

However, upon arriving at M’s home for that first dinner together, my mother-in-law swung open the door and enthusiastically said “Welcome!” It was one of the first english words I had heard her say and everyone was charmed, proceeding to greet each other with hugs and kisses. Throughout dinner, if there was ever an awkward pause, she would smile and insert another “welcome!” We laughed and quickly realized that one word plus frequent big smiles are really all it takes. The warmth and sincerity behind each welcome from my mother-in-law overshadowed the fact that it was the only word she could use to directly communicate with my parents. It became the common glowing point of connection, and an enthusiastic “welcome!” continues to be an inside joke bringing the families together.

With that story in mind, I would like to enthusiastically “welcome!” you to the relaunched Ruby Josephine.

While the core of the site is basically the same, I have redesigned and expanded in order to clarify, dust off the edges a bit, and allow more open space for growth and communication. If you have been following my blog, you’ll know I write about and am interested in a wide array of topics, but what I hope is to find more of those little connection points between people and ideas- the welcoming links that bring one warmth, inspiration and motivation. You can get a pretty good idea of what has evolved from taking a little tour around here, but specifically I have added some of the following features that I am really excited about:

-The biggest innovation is something I’m calling Monthly Mystery Mail. While I will always love the openness of blogging, I have been reflecting on the idea of email as a more intimate space to share ideas and material. Therefor, I am starting a special feature specially for the lovely people connected to me through my mailing list, in which I will be sending out one mystery mail at the beginning of each month. The contents of this email will be a surprise, but you can bet on it being something related to creativity, food, dance, writing, inspired living, or any other topic I explore in the blog. It could be an extra special recipe, a super secretive travel recommendation, or just a heartfelt letter from me to you. You can read more about it here, but if your interest is already peaked, you can subscribe through the form in the sidebar to your right.

-Since dance is my general occupation, it is going to become a lot more present in this space. I will be sharing more of what I am working on and experimenting with, turning my old Dance me a Poem blog post into a regular feature, and eventually adding dance prompts or exercises for others to try if they are interested (this will probably start out as something in the mailing list, mentioned above). -It’s easy to start worrying about narcissism when you are building a personal website and I am fairly certain that every blogger has struggled with it at one point in their career. However this space is inspired by so many others who influence and support me, from my family, close friends, colleagues, to authors that I read and quote religiously and choreographers whom I admire. I want to highlight the wealth of amazing people I have come across, which is why I will be soon launching a blog feature called Work Behind the Work- interviews and guest posts from generously creative people discussing the background, seeds and roots of their creations. I'm hoping to get this up and running by about mid-February so stay tuned!

-A more minor feature, but look out for Books + Breakfast coming to the blog. It’s pretty self explanatory- talk about books (whatever I’m reading at the time) and make some breakfast recipes. Two of my favorite things.

-Finally, as a general topic, I want to highlight more of the amazing country I have called home for three years now. You can expect to see more stories, scenes and images from Morocco, sharing a slice of a very different world from the one in which I grew up.

My mind has been full to the brim with ideas lately and while the features above are the several that have been developed, you can be sure that more will be extracted from my brain tangle and put into motion as this site (hopefully) grows and morphs. The beautiful thing is that with the redesign, this space feels more authentic and true-to-myself than ever. It is my virtual home for thoughts and reflections to take root and to welcome in all who want to take part in the adventure. Let’s nurture inspiration and keep dancing forward. Books + Breakfast | Madness, Rack, and Honey-Glazed Raspberry Lemon Scones
Books, Creative LivingRuby Josephine SmithJanuary 30, 2017welcome, morocco, features, monthly mystery mail, writing, blogging, redesign, dance10 Comments