take one sunny day

add two $1.99 ikea chairs from goodwill
(i know they probably cost $2.99 at ikea
but i didn't have to drive to portland
& end up with 14 other things that i couldn't resist
right kate? :)
& an end table turned boy's deskmix in a girl who likes to paint
& a boy who loves a project
with a generous helping of
a mom, who when she gets an idea in her head
& has more than 8 minutes
can't not try to make it happen
bake in the oregon april sun for an hour or so
& enjoy
& the table will have an after-after shot
because painting it greenish (the paint color we have the most of)
was not my brilliant plan...
i may be getting older
& have little to no extra time for projects
but i haven't fallen that far

:)

ps tips for painting with kiddos:
or tips for moms if you want a few minutes of stillness:
give your kiddo a very small brush
& a very large thing to paint...
works like a charm
(for me at least)
even if they don't finish
you've bought yourself a little time...
hopefully to paint, too :)

pps i gave no instruction on paint color
they both just did red with a few accent smears
Q because that's what he was feeling
miss m because anything Q is doing must be the coolest idea ever...
i love that about them...

:)

wonder-style OR style that makes you wonder, depending on what you think about it

fashion confession:
(& i use the term fashion loosely)
sometimes when something i'm wearing feels like it needs something extra
(going for the 'how many times can you use 'some' in a sentence' record)
i just add some of my crafty supplies to it...
the great thing about this is
that if you have a good stash of supplies
you can get pretty much any color combo you want...

this morning i went for rick rack
but i've also done this with ribbon & fabric strips...
it's easy & adds that little quirky pop
i'm always striving for...

:)

ps i apologize for not photoshopping out
the little wound i sustained from breaking in
a new (to me!) pair of cute sandles...
it was totally worth it
& i will share them in the next installment of wonder finds...
reminds me of this:

Cher's dad: What did you do at school today?
Cher: I broke in my purple clogs.
from clueless
(one of my favorite movies
& paul rudds first big part
in case you were wondering...
he was so good on friends too!
when he pretends to play the piano for phoebe!
so funny...)

okay
see you on the flip flop
(ha)
:)

quackin' up...

so i have established before that i am a fan of the University of Oregon
& not just a 'go ducks' fan
a 'i love the ducks & if you don't that's fine but don't
make fun of me or ever ever suggest that UofO & OSU
can get along on the football field' kind of fan
& thankfully i have friends who feel the same
(except for erin
i can't even tell you what team shirts she has
fraternizing around her house
i blame this on the fact that she used to live in california
i don't know why this matters
but it's as good a reason as any:)
so anyway
one lovely evening
the four of us
duck fans & bff's
found ourselves at the oregon duck women's football clinic

i love this picture...
angie's story was INCREDIBLE!
you can tell by the look on rachael's face :)not a great picture
but i love it:)
the Uof O is near & dear to the heart of a certain
shoe company's founder
& therefore the locker room/trainer's area/weight room/gym
is crazy amazing...
i love this wall with the coaches signatures on it
who doesn't want a picture by the bathroom sign
(it says women of oregon
& that we are:)
ginormous shoes :)
countdown to kick off...love me those blurry pictures...

running plays with coaches...taking pictures with former players...



meeting the new head coach..
such a fun night
& better than we even imagined...
totally worth doing if you are a girlie duck fan!

go ducks!

:)

now i lay me down to sleep...

oh they say
'your bedroom should be a sanctuary'
they say
'don't have a tv (or office type area) in your bedroom'
they say
'choose soothing, romantic colors'
& you know what i say to them?
i say
i found this never used
(so they say)
twin comforter for $5 at a garage sale
& bought it to give miss m for her birthday
but i used it once
& it is so cozy
& she's short!
she doesn't need a whole twin comforter!
she has many miss m sized blankets!
don't they understand?
i can't sleep in a room that is all white or pink
or romantic!
(our romance is just fine with all the random color, thank you)
& as for stealing my daughters bedding...
i'll live with the guilt
& sleep soundly with it...

& i know what you're thinking
'how does a twin bed cover a full sized bed?'*
& of course it doesn't
but i have this elaborate layering trick
that makes me feel so happy when i see it...

& we like our tiny tv
& the computer allows us to watch
all of the shows online that we miss
because when the digital change over happened
we lost abc
(hooray for technology!)

ahhh
i need a nap...

:)

*yes you read that right
we have a full size bed...
the benefit is that when we stay in hotels
the queen sized bed feels huge & luxurious!
& forget about a king size
we don't even share each others breath when we are facing each other...
craziness!

:)

& even though i'm not into
frilly romancie decor
cute
tulle clad
accessories
are always welcome...

:)

this morning...

You are very concerned with making the right choices about your work. You have so many options that you are constantly overwhelmed by the question, 'What should I do and what should I not do?'
bam.
there.
he got me...
just in the first two sentences
exactly how i have been feeling.
i keep going

There are issues that beg for attention, books it seems important to read, and works of art to be seen. But what of all this truly deserves your time?

sigh.
so overwhelming sometimes.

Start by not allowing these people and issues to possess you. As long as you think that you need them to be yourself, you are not really free. Much of their urgency comes from your own need to be accepted and affirmed. You have to keep going back to the source: God's love for you.

& that's just it right?
for the past year or so
i have been writing that
& thinking it
& saying it over & over
'it's all about love'
every.
little.
thing.
love & wanting to be loved.
love & wanting to love.
& the connection that comes with it.
but that's not exactly what this passage is about for me today.
more reading into my heart:

In many ways, you still want to set your own agenda. You act as if you have to choose among many things, which all seem equally important. But you have not fully surrendered yourself to God's guidance. You keep fighting with God over who is in control. Give your agenda to God. Keep saying, 'Your will be done, not mine.' Give every part of your heart and your time to God and let God tell you what to do, where to go, when and how to respond.
yes.

but.
it's hard.
& then this

God does not want you to destroy yourself. Exhaustion, burnout, and depression are not signs that you are doing God's will. God is gentle and loving. God desires to give you a deep sense of safety in God's love. Once you have allowed yourself to experience that love fully, you will be better able to discern who you are being sent to in God's name. (And when).

wait.
what?
you mean
tired
full (in a bad way)
overbooked
weighted down
depressed
&
overwhelmed
is not how i'm supposed to feel?

& as i read the words again
this song came into my head

Lord, I offer my life to you
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life

(click here to hear it)

& so.
as the sun rose up behind me
i wrote
& listed
& thought
& felt
& remembered
& smiled
& let it go
all of it.
"It is not easy to give your agenda to God. But the more you do so, the more 'clock time' becomes 'God's time', and God's time is always the fullness of time."

everything in italics
is from
'The Inner Voice Of Love"
by Henri Nouwen
a book that was given to me by my sweet friend, rachael:)
& it is so good...
i wish i could buy one for each of you
i do!

:)

ha ha
that last smiley face was in italics
(which seems to be following me)
it's a cute little side smile isn't it?

:)

paint the town fun...

have i told you about the girls i get to hang out with every week?
6 girls from church
& we meet
& talk
& pray
& sing
& laugh
& sob
& vent
& advise
& complain
& empathize
& sometimes we just play...

a few weeks ago
play was on the menu

i got to be the planner
& i never take that job lightly

so we met at the mall
by the movie theater
(rule #1 throw them off)
& i gave each girlie an envelope
with an assignment
(we were minus one friend for a while...
& plus one amazingly cute & go with the flow baby
sweet simon:)

but we had to start off right
so first assignment...
it took us a couple to get with the program
& even then
goofy goo...
oh how i love it!

second assignment...
breanna
go to the book store & find a book for each girl
with her name on the cover
(in the title or as the author)
& have each girl take a picture with their book...
dawn's book was called
'dawn's awakening'
oo la la :)

third assignment...
dawn
use the ipod to dedicate a song to each girl
(it was my ipod
so she had to go with my weirdo mix of stuff
but she did good:)
michele: dancing queen by abba
emily h: good vibrations by the beach boys
breanna: my humps by fergi
emily g: every little thing she does is magic by the police
& for janna:
& we couldn't let miss dawn off the hook
so she got
sexy back by justin timberlake
very spiritual choices i know...
don't tell pastor gordon
:)

then we were feeling like a part of us was missing
so we went to see michele
as she was having dinner with her cute family
(have i mentioned she is the mom of 8?
mind boggling eh?)

assignment four:
michele
choreograph a dance for all of the girls
to perform

beautiful & graceful
in the applebees lobby...assignment five:
emily h
take this $5
(included in the envelope)
go to a convenience store
& choose a candy that represents each for girls personality

(the lighting in the dairy mart parking lot was bad
so i don't have great pics of the candy)

assignment six:
janna
(this is the only assignment i took a picture of...)

work it girls...

strike a pose...

assignment seven:
emily g (that's me)
as you travel around the city
take a picture of each girl by a sign with the first letter of their name
(i did this once with a friend
& it was so fun
but target
ah target
they have the best signs
so i changed my assignment
cause i can do that
i'm the boss here...
tonight, anyway)& so there we have it
girlie girls
friends for life
always up for a little spontaneous fun...

(those little mini cuties are three of michele's girlies :)

& the night
if i may sum it up
in a sign...
:)

ps everyone also had to get the signature of random people
(dawn grabbed the notebook & asked some people at the mall
just like that)
or people who helped
with an assignment
(breanna's friend the barnes & noble guy :)
so that was fun too
& now we have 6 random signatures
who knows
maybe the person who witnessed our
dance in applebees will become famous some day...

:)

sprung

oh my goodness
the weather lately
is as perfectly oregon as it can get
one day beautiful & sunny
the next rainy & grey...
& i love both equally
though after an entire rainy day in the house
with the elves
i am so happy to see a bit of sun...

:)

i love miss m's hair in the sun
& the tiara
& the slippers that you can't see
& the fact that she loves to swing so much
that she is now pumping on her own
(something that another person i know
doesn't do yet
mostly because he doesn't sit in the swing long enough to learn)
loving spring...

(the picture is from last week
when we were at our
friend's the roberts house...
they have a few acres
& it is a kids paradise...
& it should be because they have eight
no not eight acres
eight kids
yep.
they are pretty amazing...)


so happy spring willamette valley!
hope it's blooming where you are, too
or
doing whatever it is that you like the weather to do in your area
at this time of year
(just to cover everyone...)

:)

the window, the window, the second story window...

i have finally figured out the trick to
before & after posts...
don't post the before until you have an after!
oh!
this is going to change everything for me!
everything!
no more guilt!
no more half done projects!
no more pressure!
okay, crazy...
not really everything
but i do feel like i've found the golden ticket!
onward!

the man i share a room with
(aka my husband)
asked me the other day
if we could perhaps get a new curtain in our bathroom?
i'm not sure what he's talking about
or when he became a decorator
but whatever...

before:

the complicated choice with this particular drapery decision
was green side of fleece baby blanket
or patterned side that says 'i love my toys'
(stop smirking)
the thing that makes it even more complicated is
whichever side we chose for our bathroom
the opposite side faced the driveway for all to see
but we went for green on our side
so that we could feel like adults
even if all of our neighbors
begged to differ...

after...

holy cuteness, right?
i mean in comparison
it's like the difference between
fleece & eyelet
oh wait
it is the difference between fleece & eyelet...

i was going to hang the piece of fabric on an actual curtain rod
that i bought at goodwill for 99cents
score!
EXCEPT it was too short
so not really a score...
three tacks worked just as well
which probably cost 9cents
score! sort of...

the fabric i got at a garage sale for $1
& i love it...
so sweet!

& now onto the empty bookshelf
menacingly sitting in the corner of our bedroom
but you won't see the before's
until i take pictures of the afters...
that's a promise.

:)

ps brian, dear brian
didn't even notice the new curtain
but honestly that is such a blessing
to me the half-finished-projects-all-over-the-house girl...
& when i do point out what i've done
he reacts & oo's & ah's appropriately...
good match :)

just deal.

i finally figured out
why working & being a part of this little (not really itty bitty)
sale is so fun for me...
it fulfills all of my shop owning fantasies
with pretty much none of the negatives that
come with actually owning a shop...

good stuff about a shop
~finding things i think other people will like*
~making tags & pricing stuff
~working with nice people
~figuring out how to let other people know about it
(officially called marketing)

good stuff about this shop in particular:
~i don't actually own it
or have much of any financial investment
~it's only one week every six months
~i get to look through other people's stuff
~great prices
~a nice check in the mail in a few weeks

*i am doing a little experiment...
if i see something great at goodwill
(hanna andersson jammies, for example)
& it's a good price
($1.99, for example)
i'll buy them
& then sell them for a profit
(i'll let you know what the profit is if there is one)
this mixes
the thrill of the hunt
with saving money
& making money...
perfect combo!
if it works that is...
:)

oh & no mention of goodwill would be complete without
this story:
once upon a time
a girl's sister visited their parents
bringing along her adorable twins.
the dad & step-mom of the sisters
offered to watch the twins
& the girl's husband was on spring break
so her little elves were in good hands too.
the sister wanted to go to the wonderous land
of goodwillville
& see what the girl had been bragging about on her blog.
could it be true?
were there deals to be had?
& so the sisters set off
elf free, with money in their pockets.
after visits to a cute little consignment shop
(where the sister got a bumbo with tray for $20)
& a smaller goodwill
(tiny carhart overalls to match daddy's..
now she needs to find another pair
for the cutest photo op ever)
they set off
in search of the great deals
that can only be found at the goodwill super store
(i don't actually believe that
great deals are what you make of them
or what you think is a great deal for you
but it sounds good in the story...)
they shopped around
& the sister
(shall we just give up the charade & call her kate already?)
kate found some things she was looking for
pants for the boys (some 69 cents, some $1.29)
ralph lauren shirts for ryan ($3.50)
a hook-to-a-chair high chair ($3.99)
the girl (let's call her me)
found those aforementioned
hanna andersson jammies
& some awesome UofO shorts for my boy elf
(we all know his name is Q
but it's nice to have an elf or two in a fairy tale...
that is not really a fairy tale at all
but completely & totally true)
so we were standing in line
& i noticed the lady two people in front of us
was holding a doll
i looked a little closer & it was an american girl doll
& i was like
(loud whisper & elbow to the ribs)
'kate! that's an american girl doll!'
so kate
in her stealth ways says
'i'll walk over & see if i can see the price'
so nonchalantly she walks near the lady
looks at the price
& stage whispers
'it's $2.99'
ack!
i can hardly speak!
amazing!
i couldn't hold it in
i said to the lady
'that's a great find!'
& she (glowing) said
'i just got back from the american girl store in new york'
so i said it was meant to be
(though now that i think about it
if she was going to the american girl store in new york
she probably already has one or five
& what about my little miss m?
poor sad girl with only a bitty baby (thank you great grandma!)
& 15 other kinds of dolls?
poor poor thing...)
anyway
the funniest part was
after she paid
the clerk asked if she wanted a bag
& she said
'NO!'
& got out of there as fast as she could
to me that NO='no thanks i need to get outside & do cartwheels in the street'
but other people i have relayed this story to
thought she was afraid that someone from goodwill would
realize the deal she got
& make her pay $20 or something...
perhaps because the lady two people behind her
with only her piddly little hanna andersson jammies
was making a big deal about the doll...
perhaps...
anyway
the best deal of the day
was not mine or kates
(& the only reason i wasn't so sad that it wasn't me
was because i never look at the dolls at goodwill
because of the aforementioned
(i've used that word twice in one post
woohoo!
big word points for me!)
16 dolls that already reside in our home...)
but i have to say
just seeing someone get a great deal
is almost as fun as getting it yourself...
almost :)

& so
if you are in eugene
or lane county
(or are on a deadline to use up your air miles
throw away your brochures for hawaii
& come to eugene
we have an airport!)
come on over to the itty bitty sale
& see a happy me
enjoying all the benefits
& none of the negatives...
unless those jammies don't sell
then i'm going to be so mad...
:)

itty bitty sale
beacon house
90980 river road, eugene

thursday april 2 8am-7pm
friday april 3 8am-5pm

everything is half price:
saturday april 4 8am-1pm

:)