Wednesday, April 25, 2012

be more.


   i can't get this post out of my mind.
she is speaking of photography. mostly.
but it spoke to something else in me.

her words:
'i adjusted my settings. and adjusted them again.
and again and again.
it was work, but it was worth it...'

'am i who i say i am?
am i authentic and real?'
+++
i am trying to be more. 
still.

Monday, April 23, 2012

these are the places i will always go...

Come And Find Me (Acoustic) by Josh Ritter on Grooveshark

...though i'm here in this far off place
my air is not this time and space.
+++

i invited bri over on friday.
i needed her help with an important gift.
+++
i pulled out all the ingredients.
my prettiest utensils and fanciest spice jars.
brought them all over to my kitchen table.
turned the blinds and let the sunshine flood my space.
i let briana control my pandora station.
first: come and find me 
+++
i am clumsy in the kitchen - but i measured so carefully this time.
poured the salt in my hand and felt it slip through my fingertips.
i got flour on my shirt. on my pants. even my shoes. 
i hummed through star mile.
whispered along to down in the valley.
+++
the recipe went quick. 
it was in the oven before i knew it...
so we painted ferns onto a piece of the softest linen.
my hair fell in my face. i cried. 
and felt my heavy heart beat along to broken chair.
+++
the oven timer rang.
we ran a tiny sharp knife through the warm shortbread.
tenderly wrapped it up in our linen.
and tied it closed with a cotton thread.
+++
i snitched some of the left over crumbs - let them melt on my tongue. 
i tasted the salt. 
the butter.
the sugary bits. 
+++
she played me one more before heading off.
thomas newman's any other name 
she had lot's of places to be this weekend.
i am so grateful that she spent a moment with me.
here.

photo of briana by alisha stamper

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

design for you | ambrosia girl



my iphone desperately needed a new wallpaper design.
...and then i had an idea.
to gather up some of my favorite blog connections 
and talented graphic designers
to share a bit of their art here with you.  

i'm so excited that jenn kirk of ambrosia creative agreed to participate.
her blog is a daily read of mine. 
i've got a set of her tiny polaroid magnets on my fridge
and some painted geo blocks in the works.
i am so inspired by the way she creatively supports her sweet family.
be sure and give her a visit. 


she's created two wallpaper designs for you.
and they are just so perfect for the spring season that we're in the middle of. 
i'm using them both - one for my lock screen and the other as my main wallpaper.
a little happiness every time my phone rings. 
find her designs along with instructions on how to set them to your phone - HERE.



Thursday, April 12, 2012

be more.

spring should be here. it keeps tricking me with a little peek of sunshine everyday. quickly challenged by moody and mean clouds and that annoying tri-town wind. oh, but when it does show itself! it's so so good to me. there is a direct correlation between the sun shining and the state of my being. 

the sunshine this week has meant family bike rides. and tonight we went further than we've ever gone. it was the perfect adventure that tonights cloud-break was calling for.  

when i am on my pretty blue bike - i am happy. happy enough that i notice. and that is such sweet relief from having 'tired' as my only recognizable emotion. i rode behind lukey for a mile of our ride. his turn as the family leader and something about watching him pedal-pedal-pedal in from of me (those bright green shoes, that red levi's tab and the yellow helmet perfectly snug on his head) made me feel so immensely happy that i can't even describe it. a combination of fresh air, my body moving, and the fact that that colorful, happy boy was mine...

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

six! | the party

the night before luc's party he checked the forecasted weather every ten minutes. not joking. 
it called for not just rain but a thunderstorm the following day. we crossed our fingers and my boy said quite a few little prayers - that his friends would still be able to bring their bikes. 
in the morning we made the executive decision to switch the party from the church parking lot to our home - just in case. 

it was gloomy and drizzly before the party. 
bright and sunny for the few hours during the party.
and the storm clouds rolled in right after the party.
how's that for answered little boy prayers?!

as his friends arrived - they each found a parking cone in our living room to park their bikes - pop the kickstand and get to work. each station had a pile of supplies for decorating their bicycles and getting them ready to race!




our local trophy shop had a stash of old cycling trophies and kindly donated them to us. my husband and i spray painted the trophies to match the party. after cruising the neighborhood bike trail - the boys came back to the house and were presented with their BIG, bright neon trophies.  they each took turns standing on the first place podium for a picture and congratulating each other on their speed. it was the best part. they were so proud of their trophies! 

we then rounded everyone up and went back inside to fill their personalized bike bottles up at the fill station/gatorade stand and sang a little happy birthday over neon cake push-pops. All the boys went home with personalized bike bottles, some treats and a bike pin from lee + latimer. 

party success. 
and my party boy? such a happy six-year-old!

supplies:
push pop containers found here.

*thank you, k. andelin for snapping some of these pictures for us!*

Monday, April 9, 2012

six! | the invite


it's official. 
my lucas jude is six years old! we had the best birthday week ever. but the real fun started weeks before when we sat down together to make the plans. he decided on a cycling party - with hopes that the weather would cooperate and his favorite friends could bring their bikes. 
the invites were my favorite part. he made a list of his six closest friends and we got to work. we found most of our supplies at a local hardware store. neon spray paint for the bike stencil and shiny new bike bells to get his buddies excited for the party. 

he was actually able to help quite a bit. i did the spray painting and he peeled the stencil off. i cut and typed the party info and he stuck them on with a neon dot sticker. carefully choosing a coordinating color. i tied the bright orange bows and he tucked the bells into the boxes.  then we loaded them up and he hand delivered them to each of his pals. 




it was so fun when all the boys showed up to the party on wednesday! new bells attached to their handle bars. find more of the party details here!

invitation supplies:
gift boxes found here
bike bells found here
neon stickers found here
stencil cut with my silhouette machine and vinyl
free bike font found here

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Monday, April 2, 2012

alexandra jade: a giveaway!

the winner of this giveaway is chelsea of the blog rueschlove - congrats!

it's april! my favorite of them all. the first day of spring break AND it's birthday week for me and my little lucas. a week full of happy things are on the agenda and we're both so excited! to start things off and to keep me from spilling all the little birthday secrets i've got up my sleeve - a giveaway!

my sister jade has offered to give one of you run lucas run readers a bracelet from her new etsy shop, alexandra jade. i chose my favorite the shine from her spring collection for you. it will be sweetly packaged up and sent your way just in time to wear with your new springy outfits. i'm hoping there will be one wrapped up for me at the end of the week, too. wink! wink!

simply visit her shop and tell me which bracelet you've added to your wish list.
entries are open until friday at 8 am PST, to everyone! i'll choose a winner and announce it here on this post. good luck!

and if you just can't wait until friday - use the code runlucasrun10off at checkout to get 10% off everything in her sweet shop right now. help me support my baby sister and her brave new venture!

happy april, friends!