whatever

lisa leonard and fair trade.

when i saw Lisa Leonard's line of Fair Trade Jewelry i was in love with it.

Lisa's words:  "We believe a necklace can make a difference, a scarf can change a life and a bracelet can feed a belly! Each piece from our hope{full} collection is fair trade and sustainable, giving work to Ecuadorian women and building families and communities. Additionally, with the sale of each piece from the hope{full} collection, Lisa Leonard Designs will donate a portion of the proceeds back to Jungle Kids which enables local kids to attend school, each sale will provide a school lunch to a child in need! Thank you for being a part of changing lives!"

that is awesome!

 

and beautiful.

lisa's shop is FULL of all kinds of beautiful jewelry.

i have several pieces from her collection but i always have a list going of new favorites.

i want you to go and look through her shop.

shop for yourself.

shop for your mom (mother's day is coming up quick!)

shop for any one special in your life.

and then come back here and tell me your most favorite piece.

i am giving away a $50 gift card to Lisa Leonard Designs!

leave me your favorite piece in the comment section

and i will pick one winner on friday!

 ok....GO.

but hurry right back.

:)

 

 

color blast.

BOOM.

how did you like that?!

a BLAST of color for your day.  

 

how is your creating coming along?

i made one thing for two days.
and it turns out that even when i WANT to be creating all day.... i remembered i actually have things to do.
like work... oh yeah... i have a job. 
dang.

but i still made time to be creative and will keep at it all week.

and i ran on monday and tuesday!

can i make it tomorrow too?

i think i can.

i think i can.

i think i can.

 

snowed in.

we had a wonderful day yesterday.
so laid back and fun.
i am sure if we had a snow WEEK that it wouldn't go so well but this surprise two days has been fabulous.
we found plenty of things to keep us busy. 

memory and oatmeal.


 
more drawing.  
she is almost through this whole How-To drawing book she found on our book shelf.
i got it at a thrift store years ago. 
on wednesday night she drew for over two hours straight!
i told her we would soon have an art show in in the stairway.  :)

i did some online fabric ordering from Hawthorne Threads.


 
someone was playing Barbies.



i made chocolate chip cookies... a double batch.
i have made this recipe since i got married.
we use it so much that it is taped inside of the cabinet door so we don't have to search for it.
you can click here for the recipe.


 
icing his ankle.
scott sprained his ankle on tuesday in the beginning of his basketball game.
he is almost back to normal now already, thank goodness.
i was so sad for him right away worrying if it was going to be worse than a sprain.
this snow day stuff was a good rest for him too.



some of them bundled up and headed outside.


 
talby help bury sean in the snow.
it was creepy to hear him singing from under the snow....
he was singing "Home on the Range"  
what a weird choice?





 
while they played outside i made pigs in a blanket...because they asked for a "cool lunch".
see how cool i am!
wow.
pretty amazing isn't it?
ha. 

there was plenty of wrestling.



lots of cookies were eaten.

then i took the youngest three to the sled in town.


having big kids is pretty great.
it used to be such an ordeal to go sledding... there was crying and it didn't last long.
but that is no longer the case.




they sled on their own for an hour and a half!
they only quit becuase it was time to go for me!
big kids rock!




 

 







i ran out for a coffee and watched them from the car after i took those pictures.
i forgot my book which was a bummer but still loved watching them sled.
i cracked the window a half inch just so i could hear all the squeeling screams of joy as all those kids went down.
it's a pretty fun sound.



talby made a snowlady.



the creek we drive over everyday is very frozen and beautiful.
everything around us right now is very frozen and beautiful.  

:)

 

************************************************

ok...

the WINNER of the 31Bits $50 gift card is:

Andrea said...

hands down.....the Everly necklace..... I( love it!

ReplyFebruary 20, 2013 at 07:15 PM

send me an email Andrea and i will HOOK YOU UP!

i hope the rest of you did some shopping with 31Bits this week.
what a fabulous company they are.
i would LOVE to visit their center in Uganda someday!

my kids all had sleep overs with friends last night (four of the five) so they are CRANKY today.
one is already asleep on the couch.
it's going to be a long day around here possibly.
but i have BIG goals....

i think today is the day that we take down the christmas decorations.
it just feels like maybe it's time?

maybe.

ha.

and no... i am not joking.
the tree and lights and all are still up.
but not by tonight.

i hope.

happy weekend to you!

 

 

wowza!

well.... how awesome are you?

i was not sure i could meet my goal of 50 stoves...$1000.

and as of NOW we have raised $4230 and sponsored 211 stoves.

THAT IS SO AWESOME!!!

 

let's keep this momentum going! 

:)

we have five more days.... let's hit $5000!!!!!  i bet we can!!

thank you to everyone who gave so far!
the adventure project thinks you are so cool. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

this fake commercial was on Saturday Night Live last week.
i thought it was very funny....

 

also The Lumineers were on!!!!
they were so so SO goooooooood!
did you see it?
you should go over here and watch  and then watch this one too!
they are pretty dreamy to listen to. 

 

i meant to have my craft weekend post up and ready today.
but it's not gonna happen.
i have been so busy....very happily busy... all good stuff.

how about some instagrams from the past week-ish?  

annie loves to go to the thrift store with me.
i told her she could pick one thing only..... i wish she would have chosen that couch!
instead we came home with that valentines bear from 2006.
i know it's 2006 because that is what is on the bear's foot.

my favorite mug.


kimberlee's coffee cake....it was totally delicious.


many monrings look like this over here.


i went back to the mall last week and the gold shoes
that were completely covered in gold glitter were 70% off!  
score. 

annie shouted "MOM pleeeeeease can i get one of these?! They are only $39.99!!"

only???

 

ran five miles by myself.... well, me and the avett brothers and mumford & sons.


tulips.
they are so nice on the eyes.


talby found these in the bathroom and wanted to know WHY? 
Why do we have them? Whose are they? What are they for? Where did they come from?

(they are a mold of craig's teeth...fascinating right?)

a vase of dr.seussy flowers were sunny and nice during this FREEZING week we have had.
 

so cold.
going running in this cold weather is quite something.
frozen thighs no matter how far we go.
but the reward will be endurance when the weather improves.... right?
i hope so.

i love this breakfast.
cutie...greek yogurt... granola... coffee with LOTS of half & half.


cleaning at the craft house is always pretty decent because it's all so pretty to see.


i steal my husband's socks for cold running.... they are just better.


on friday we did our run and then gathered at my friend's house and helped her prepare 25 meals for her freezer as a birthday gift to her.  :)
the gift was helping it get accomplished.
she is super organized so we did what we were told and it all worked out great!
that is my favorite way to cook... "just tell me what to do"

i chopped and chopped and chopped.


then i put together calzones.
it was a lot of work but so worth it!  it's a GENIUS way to cook meals.


saturday morning i snuck in some time under a blanket with coffee and my book.
the sun came up and became too much for me sit there anymore.
but i will take that sunshine anytime!

i took sean to his basketball tournament for the day... just the two of us.
he had three games and i really enjoyed it all.
it has been SO MUCH fun to watch my kids improve in their sports this year.


after sean's three games we went to scott's game at our old high school gym!
it was very surreal to be there as a grown up... as a parent... of a HIGH SCHOOLER?!
so weird.
and lots of the same people sitting or standing in the same place they did when i was in high school?!!

i am reading The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out.  

it's wordy but so far it's reeeeeally good.

"for grace proclaims the awesome truth that all is gift"

sunday night swimming.... yes please.
craig and sean spent almost the whole time wrestling.
why do boys do that so much?

talby organized all annie's babies for her so annie had to feed them all before going to bed herself.


and this morning.... we ran 6.17 miles in 17 degrees.
it was HARD.
but it's done. THANK GOODNESS!


then we met AGAIN but this time at the craft house and we made freezer to crock pot meals!
we made 6 recipes all together and bagged them in freezer ziploc bags!
awesome.

touching all that raw meat all day was kinda gross but i think we will all happily eat it.

i will definitely blog the recipes we tried and show more pics of that soon!
i honestly can't wait to do it again!

and now i am stinkin' tired.

i am going to bed.

 

thanks again for the stove sponsors!!!

you are RAD!

if you haven't given yet and you want to... CLICK HERE  and it will tell you how.
it couldn't be easier.

 

twenty nine.

i kind of threw everyone for a loop when i just casually mentioned i would be traveling to Haiti next week.
as in... everyone.
my own mother texted me within minutes "WHAT!? WHY don't you tell me these things?"

all day my friends were texting me asking "how did i miss this?"
they didn't.

i think i had mentioned it to three people. 

total.

it was a coping mechanism.
i knew it was coming but i also knew i had a very busy month and needed to get through it one thing at a time.  
so craft weekend january is done and now it is time to think about going to Haiti.

i am nervous deep down.  for my heart to break.  for my world to be rocked again.
but i am not scared.
i am aching in my heart already because once you SEE and KNOW... you see and know.
it doesn't go away.
you can't UNSEE it.... and that is major. 

so here we go.

i am going with Becky Straw and Jody Landers. (they are the two women in the video)

i have not met Becky yet but i am stoked about finally getting to meet face to face.  

Jody was the team leader from the trip to Sierra Leone, Africa a few years back (so sad that it's been years)

there are a few others going along that i will meet there too.

we will be documenting stories and photos of the stove vendors that are part of The Adventure Project.
i am SO excited!!
i don't have any idea even where to begin with the emotions in my heart about it all.
i feel like i cried my way through africa.... it was a lot of crying.
and i hope i can be a little more composed on this trip.

hmmmmm.

pray for me ok?  
that i will have a servant's heart and mind.  
that i will see what God wants me to see... not necessarily with my eyes.  
that i would listen when i need to listen and keep quiet when i should.

and that there will be no speed boats.  (just kidding)

 

i would LOVE to reach my goal of 50 stoves sponsored in the next 7 days.

i would actually truly love to exceed my goal and i would really like your help.




i need 29 more stoves sponsored to reach my goal.

each stove is a $20 donation.

twenty dollars.
that is.... a disney dvd.  a new cardi from target.  ONE earring at anthro.  

twenty dollars can provide so much good!

{{{sigh}}}

 

Give a Stove this Holiday - The Adventure Project Campaign on Vimeo from The Adventure Project on Vimeo.

 

twenty nine more stoves.

 

i am fully aware that a stove won't change the world.

(but... will your cardi?)

i am not trying to "save the world."
i am trying to help where i can and when i can.

the leading cause of death is from breathing smoke while their mothers cook their meal?! 
oy.

lets help to change this.

 

thank you for helping reach my goal of 50 stoves.

if you sponsor THREE stoves your name is put in with all the others who sponsored 3 stoves and we will draw one name to win a trip to Haiti!  
seriously?!
you would get to see it all with your own eyes.
i get to help pick the winner!
wouldn't it be so rad to see that YOU won?!
life changing. 

but one stove is awesome.
it's super amazing.

and so much better than a cardi.

(that says a lot coming from a cardi collector....)

 

SPONSOR A STOVE TODAY.  :)

 

 

 

new sign.

so.... before this post you should listen to this song... Home by Edward Sharp.

maybe open it in another window and litsen to it while you read.

 

ok.

songs is on... ready to go?

 

we moved to this little farm house rental in march.
it's cozy and we love it here.
in case you don't know our back story or forgot.... we moved to be in smaller community, closer to our kids' school and to use the other house for craft weekends.  it was such a big decision but has been nothing less than awesome.

our bedroom at the (now) Craft House was a ridiculously LARGE room.
it made no sense to have a bedroom that big...it was GIANT.
but of course we also got very used to that size of room after 7.5 years.
and now our bedroom is more of normal to smallish size and has also taken some readjusting too.

and it's just fine.

we got our bed when we first moved to the craft house.
and craig has said several times "i can't believe you haven't painted it yet"

someday.... 
but who has time for that? not me right now.
and it's fine how it is. 

we have my grandmother's night stands that she had in her bedroom my whole life.
she always had her rotary dial phone where i have my computer.  :)
the bottom part pulls out to give more space or tucks in if you don't want it.
mine is always out and filled with junk... over flowing onto the floor and all around. 
while's craig's is tucked in with nothing on or around it.

that is such a true picture of US.  

:)

we have room for one dresser in the corner and we each have a closet.
i decided to hang my jewelry on the wall because there is no other place and because it's pretty.

my jar of heart rocks...such a fun collection over the all the years of motherhood.
my "be intentional" art work was several years ago by Jeanne Oliver.






what got me determined to take care of our room and make it a priority after 9 months of not...
even though it's a rental...
was because of this sign from Between You & Me.... with the lyrics from a song that remind me of our decision to move and take crazy steps to do what we needed for our family.
as we tried to make those big decisions last spring that song was on the radio at all the right times.
and i would smile and know that we were doing the right thing.

all we needed was each other.
no matter where we lived... we were HOME.



so i hung the sign first and then worked around it with pictures of us over the last 21 years.

we have been married for 18 years but dated for three years before we got married.






this print from Studio Mela was the perfect touch.


the butterfly pillows are at target right now.
they needed to live at the farm too. 

pictures from our first prom, our wedding, our favorite vacations, our 10 year anniversary trip and family pictures all hang here.
this is a special wall.

it's sacred ya know?

marriage is a really big deal.
you vow to stay together FOREVER.  
until you die.
so... it really should be honored and cherished and nutured.
surrounding us with reminders of where we came from, who we are and are becoming is one way to do that.

between You & Me has a pretty shop filled with signs you will love!

if you go to her shop and use the code WHATEVER you will get 10% off your purchase in january.

that is awesome!!

tara YOU are awesome.

so... go look it over and find the sign that would spark some creativity in your home.

yay for discounts!

yay for rockin' hot marriages!

yay for teeny farm house bedrooms!

 

:)