monday evening//things discovered

daylight savings is a time for me to unfurl; to come out from under my cozy, textured layers and let my skin breathe; to see the the world in color and not just in the gray/black tones i've found comfortable for the last few months. the change in seasons is truly a turning of a new leaf, of digging out what's been below for just a little bit too long.

as i've said before, i need change - i thrive in the change of seasons (well, in all change, really.) i am more creative, more inspired, more me as the seasons change than at any other time of the year. right now, more than ever, i am craving this change; craving a new perspective on life, seeing things in color and not just through a dusty gray lens.

i need some color, some sunshine and some lightness of being.

oh, and might i add that i turn 30 this week?! maybe i'm feeling this a little bit, too...well, likely that's part of this feeling.

some of the things that are feeding this hunger right now are...

evoke the spirit | beautiful skulls handmade in the sweet town of sayulita, mexico. each skull starts out bare boned (literally) and is woven into beautiful patterns with the brightest of threads.

mexican + aztec print anything | rugs. pillows. prints. you name it. these patterns make a home feel alive and vibrant and i'm searching high and low for the perfect additions to our home. see also: meadow at dusk.

summer nights at dairy queen on riverside drive | i haven't been home in almost 2 1/2 years, so needless to say, i'm homesick...scrolling through facebook today, i saw this and was reminded at how many summer nights in high school were spent here with some people i cherish so much.

mamaandbean | i love going through my old posts - i love to reflect on my world then with the perspective i have now. at this very moment, there's so much of the old me that i'm searching for and am craving for in the me right now.

a rock your bliss retreat | i just started filling my piggy bank for this retreat for SO many reasons, amongst them is spending a transformational week with my best friend and achieving a goal of mine, to boot. it's happening - if there's a will, there's a way, right?

looking forward to taking off my sunglasses this week and thoroughly enjoying everything the sun shines down upon.

monday afternoon//things discovered.

[sigh.]

the penultimate moment of the last two weeks has come and gone. and now, we are here. on a monday, with nothing planned, dressed in my civvies, big felt hat on tip, bright red lips and the perfect jean jacket...sitting in a coffee shop, laptop in front of me, spring in the air, iced latte in a glass.

this is what i've needed. moments of ease. of comfort, of time and space to think and create.

[a-men.] 

a few things to ease into spring:

discover new music. // i often forget how much i love music until i hear something that moves my soul. when do i feel most alive? after a sweaty vinyasa yoga class set to the perfect soundtrack. what's a favorite past time? discovering new music on npr. when do i have some of my biggest a-ha moments? through tears and giant smiles on my mat.

artists to love.// [hozier] obviously. but don't just listen to 'take me to church.' check out his free session on npr - you'll realize he's actually more talented than you think he is. thanks to listening to npr, my ears were first exposed to his beautiful voice early last year. [chet faker] with a voice full of soul and some fun dance beats, he'll get you in the mood for anything. [jessie ware] i'm a sucker for voices and hers is beautiful.

and a handful of others: lord huron, lake street dive, fort francis, leon bridges.

a new mattress.// i think i've inherited a sleepless gene from my mother. [thanks, mom.] combine that with a mattress that my mister has had since at least 2006 and you're guaranteed to lack serious REM sleep. spring calls for a spring-less mattress, so i think we're going with one in a box.

a [re] newed diy project. or 12.// thanks to apartment therapy's january cure, i made a list of projects to tackle in the next couple of months. the list is long, but i'm ready to make our house into a home...even if only for a few more months or so.

on the list:

• give some new life to our diy dining room table project of last summer with this diy.
• finish my bench. be gone, wobbly base.
• paint. specifically, the bright lime green bathroom. it's messing up my feng shui.

happy spring.

monday evening//things discovered

the last few weeks have been beautiful, exhausting, exciting, emotionally draining, stressful, easy, all of the above. the mister and i have been juggling so many different [and really exciting] things, but it has been a challenge to just sit down and breathe.

the things i've needed most this week aren't material and instead will be the guidelines as i head into my week.

1. embrace the ebb & flow. | life gets crazy. sometimes, it gets really crazy. the chaos that ensues almost always wanes and life can be approached with ease. the one thing i do know is that change is the constant and the only thing i can do is do what i can with what i have.

2. live simply. | clear out the stuff that doesn't serve you. that on-sale on-trend top you purchased and never wore? it takes up mental space. donate it to someone in need. the mountain of toys that make it look like you have three children when you only have one? there are less fortunate kids in this city who would be grateful for just one of those. find that child and make their day. your child probably doesn't need yet another flashing, noisy, plastic toy.

3. learn to say 'no' without feeling badly about it. | projects will come and go. sometimes, projects will last longer than you expected and be more fulfilling than anticipated; more important, however, is the occasional drive to the suburbs for a trip to target and a solo lunch date at panchero's. i'm telling you, it's good for the soul to say 'no.'

4. hard work pays off. | we are working our butts off - we like to call it hustling. juggling this with that, throwing this out and bringing something else in. long days, exhaustion, all of it. it's all worth it in the end.

5. don't forget to celebrate the good stuff. | we are kicking ass and taking names and it feels DAMN GOOD. and my husband looks so good working this hard. yep, i said it. and silas has 'textbook' perfect teeth and just learned how to pound fists with the explosion at the end. and i finally found a jean jacket. i mean, come on, people, this is the good stuff.

monday afternoon//things discovered.

my sister once called me a nomad. my good friend, dana, told me i am most alive when i travel. since they know me pretty well, what i can say is that i am most inspired when i get to travel and come back to my 'home' with a fresh perspective [and clearly, i needed a fresh perspective of this city.]

just a few things i discovered on the road:

1. pittsburgh//if you haven't been, you must. it's basically a midwestern city in pennsylvania. pittsburgh stole my heart --- juuuuust a little bit. 24 hours in a city all about love, kindness, community and being great together is what my soul needed.

2. tam dao by dyptique//so, i'm  guilty - i discovered this cologne two weeks ago while shopping for my mister. after a dropped hint or two (and his own wish to wear this cologne), my belated valentine's gift 'from' the little one came on wednesday. i haven't doused myself in anything else since.

3. daftbird//the perfect classic tee. and by 'classic,' i totally mean 'relaxed fit, west-coast styling, flowy cotton tee.'

4. be a nice human by ohmydeer//i've loved these sweet prints for a while now, but this print was such a great reminder of what my soul is craving.

5. perfectly distressed denim//i've been on the hunt for the perfect pair of distressed black denim and gap took me by surprise. high-waisted, stretchy, can't-take-them-off-of-my-body-perfectly-placed-holes skinny jeans. no, really, i actually haven't been able to take them off since.

hope your monday was rad.

xxbon

monday [late]//things discovered.

some days, when i sit down to write, i get distracted.

i forgot to fold the clothes. i have to run to ikea. the floor got dirty [again] and has to be swept. sit to write. oh wait, i need to load the dishwasher. the load of laundry is done. the play-doh has to be cut into shapes. oh, last-minute tickets to see the ringling brothers? of course. you get the picture...

that's how this monday went.

so, for the last 30 minutes of this monday, i sat down to write...and discovered that words don't always flow freely, nor do sentences always make sense.

but when a throwback photo magically appears in your drafts, the opportunity is not to be missed.

enjoy.

(a really late) monday morning//things discovered

L  O  V  E.

there's this book (that i haven't read yet) about the different types of languages there are. the languages we want to speak in our relationships, to feel loved and appreciated and to show love and appreciation. i haven't read said 20-year-old book yet, but i think, by nature, the way to my heart and the way to security, confidence and trust in my relationship is through words of affirmation. 

my mister, on the other hand, speaks through gifts (while i'm still figuring out which language he wants to hear.) i will not complain about his way to communicate. i will, however, brag about the fact that he wrote me a love letter last week...a love letter that has already made my year and it's only february.

 it'll be hard to beat that, but here are a few additions to your vocabulary.

a few things discovered to l  o  v  e:

1. the lbbrand//i am a protector, lover and mother. this is my purpose. 

2. bario-neal//beautiful, locally-made and ethically-sourced x's and o's.

3. date night in (via foodess)//i dream of dinner dates at our beautiful dining room table with my handsome mister and great food sans little. 

4. pick tulip//i like my floral arrangements simple, rustic and beautiful.

5. claire kinder//thin, imperfect, black diamonds in rose gold. could not be more perfect.

6. rms beauty (via glowing)//a new friend just told me about this new line. friends and lip color? perfect collision.

7. birkenstock arizona//a throwback of the best kind.

whatever your love language, speak it loud and clear. make it known.

people can't communicate with you if they don't know how...even when sometimes you communicate via images and links in your blog.

monday morning//things discovered

balancing joy with grief and everything in between is life.

last week came with highs and lows. and while most weeks (okay, every week) are a mixture of both, for me, the impact of last week's celebrations and trauma has weighed on me like a ton of bricks.

a few of the things that got me out of a funk last week:

shane o'neill// the day hell fell through the roof on my second home, my husband was having beautiful work done as a tribute to our awesome little man the day before his 3rd birthday. as partners, we balanced grief and joy in the same day.

rich as kings// anna's photography is stunning and there's something visually calming about her blog.

the capsule show// thank you to my dear friend anna (pronounced ah-na, different than anna of rich as kings) for seeing that i'm craving some inspiration. i'll be taking a day trip to the city to hang here this month.

forge & finish// i participated in a pop-up shop at one of my favorite yoga studios. one of the vendors was this awesome jewelry collective that's just right up the street from our house. i see a studio tour in my near future.

my team [aka a second family]// i am so grateful for the people i lead (and those who lead me) on a daily basis. our week rocked us, hard. and we are so strong because of it.

monday morning//things discovered

a few favorite things i stumbled upon this weekend:

lou & grey // easy, relaxed pieces. as i'm curating my forever-wardrobe, i'm in search of classic, timeless pieces that i can integrate for longer than a year. talk about sustainability, people.

vibe tribe creative // cool, passionate women in my very favorite city in the world, sharing what they love and making things pretty along the way.

iviebaby // let's face it - i love being a mama and have an affliction for anything cool, with arrows or bold prints. can't wait to get some of these prints into a nursery. (and no, i'm not pregnant...yet.)

the january cure // i started this at the beginning of the month and fell off-track about two weeks in. i am, however, so glad i did the first two big weekend assignments because our fridge has never been more clean and our kitchen more spacious (read: no expired condiments, cans of beans we'll never use, bags unknown items from the bulk aisle.) february, watch out. i'm tackling this AGAIN.

bryr clogs // a sucker for clogs and anything handmade. these are beautiful with enough edge to make it acceptable to wear clogs. and if it's not acceptable, i guess i'll take the road less-traveled anyway.

here's to strong coffee and short mondays.