Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category
Porch Shop
Porch Shop will be open this evening if you would like to come by and shop, let me know! Here are a few new items: Adorable little bowls Prints and paintings A new BUNDT pan. Old bench/table Retro fan
read moreBody Image
I love how my girls are 100% comfortable in their bodies. They feel no shame about the way they were made. Tummies, dimply legs, fleshy arms..they are perfect and have no reason to believe they are not. I have a deep-seated dread for the day when they begin to come aware of the emphasis our culture places on the body of a woman. A dread for the day when they begin to criticize themselves. This is going to break my heart. Today while I was at the gym, I saw a lady weigh herself. First of all, why in the world is the scale in the middle of the cardio section of the gym? Like, why is this the perfect place to weigh oneself? But the thing that stuck with me was how afraid this lady appeared to be…her arms were
read moreAnniversary Debacle
Are we the only ones who annually find ourselves utterly disappointed with our anniversary celebration? Like, what is the deal with that? We have an ongoing joke that our major fight each year lands on our anniversary night. This year was no exception. The added pressure of the “this must be an amazing, sexy, perfect evening” cannot be helpful. We also now, however, have the anticipation of a disappointing evening. Hurt feelings, ruined plans, missed reservations, or a crazy hormonal wife (for at least a few of the eight years) have all been the culprits. This year it started with me. I made a joke (well, really I was trying to make a point) and it didn’t come off as funny. It was a slippery slope that led us both acting friendly only when the waiter came by. How embarrassing.
read moreCommissioned Art
I have some pretty savvy artists around here. After a little rearranging, I decided Caroline needed to create some original pieces for our walls. Lets be real, most abstract art looks like a 4-year-old could do it. Here are the very expensive tools she used… Her first piece. She said this is Penny and her toys. Love. I worked alongside her. I call this one…circles. Get it? Then there’s these two: the one on top she said was my face. I am flattered, of course. And I will actually need her to recreate this using paper that does not wrinkle. Maybe we will splurge on real watercolor paper?? And the item in the bottom frame is a pear I created. I did limit her palate, which she was not pleased with. We might expand our colors in phase two (once
read morePorch Shop
I think I am officially on a canister kick. How cute are these?? $20 for the set of 4 And a closeup And these… $10 for the pair. A perfect pop of color for the kitchen. Or bathroom counters with cotton balls and such?! And these! I acutally already had the Crackers one and found his cousin canisters the other day. So happy. $24 for the set. This perfect summery and happy in every way pitcher. $10 This beachy/shabby side table. $55 And this oddly/uniquely shaped bookcase? $70 That’s all for today! Hope you are loving this perfect summer weather.
read moreRetro Orange Chairs
Added these sweet retro style orange chairs to the porch shop. Here they are staged in my dining room. $100 for the set of 4. So fun and funky. And on a sidenote, did you know orange was deemed the color of the year in the design world? I don’t know who makes that call. But, good for them. And for us, cause I love orange!
read moreDirt(y) Floors
It’s been a relatively easy transition back to “normal” life. The girls have been well-behaved, our stomachs have adjusted to our usual eating habits and the shock of being back in the land of wealth and opportunity has not been quite as jarring as it was the first time around. There are still moments, however, that stop me dead in my tracks. A few days ago when I was sweeping up the usual suspects (dog hair, crumbs, and dirt) from my floors, my mind was racing, thoughts like: “Ugh, this dog! there is no way to keep my hardwood floors clean with a dog” and ”crumbs! The second I clean the last round of crumbs another snack or meal is consumed and boom, the floors are crumbly again” and “where does all this dirt come from? This is so stinking
read moreBe Careful
In Shauana Neiquest’s book, Cold Tangerines, she says many people desire to go overseas and serve the poor, “I encourage them to go and recommend organizations and churches to connect with, but inside myself, I whisper to them, Be careful. You will be haunted by what you find there and you won’t be able to wash away what you’ve seen and heard. You will see things and hear things and then you will be responsible for them, for telling the truth about who you are and who you discover you are not, and for finding a way to make it right.” This is not my first time in El Salvador, however the home I spent time in yesterday will haunt me. Maybe for a few reasons: one, I was already emotionally invested in Kimberly. I knew her face and her
read moreThe Words I Don’t Know
The precious people of this country have faced much hardship. Each conversation that goes beyond soccer and the weather tells of pain and loss and need. While speaking my broken, incorrectly congiated “Spanish,” I am at a loss for certain words. Of course I can remember really important ones like biblioteca, cheestoso and piscina. But the words I need here like: jail, pain, death, robbery, loss, fear, gangs, drunk and abuse are not in my reportoir. Yet, these are the words I need to know. I need to know them when speaking to a 60-year-old woman whose eyes well-up with tears as she tells me of the sudden death of her husband who was killed in a robbery. When listening to a 26 year old mother of two talk about how her husband went to the US to find work
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