holy crafty mama.

the other day i received the most-awesome package in the mail from my mom.  priority mail- straight to our doorstep.  the box was a belated valentines, happy everything kinda present stuffed with shaving cream and lotion and girl scout cookies and love notes.  it also contained the most thoughtful messenger bag.

at first glance, i thought it was purchased- and then upon closer inspection of the fabric, i noticed it held a similar resemblance to the yard of random fabric i found in my mom's sewing kit over the holidays and planned to take home (only i completely forgot).  i guess it's a good thing i did- otherwise i wouldn't be have in my possession such a rad bag.

growing up my mom made a lot of our holiday clothes- you know, those 1980's poofy floral onsies?  no?  well, i knew them all too well.  she also made us some killer halloween costumes and much to my dismay today, when the time came for me to learn sewing, i wanted nothing to do with it.  had i know what a kick ass seamstress my mom was, i wouldn't be learning techniques via youtube.  but i digress...

anyway, she wanted to make each of us a camera/messenger bag and has a good friend who makes bags as a hobby (check out her etsy shop!).  my mom worked with her to get some killer fabric and went to town, pattern in hand.  she made a bag for each of us (well, she's still making the fourth) careful to take into account our various personalities, color preferences, etc.

isn't it amazing?  it was honestly one of the best gift i've received in a really long time.  not only because of it's functionality, but also because of the thought, energy & love that went into each stitch.  i took it with us to lake george and it made a great purse during our travels.  she knows us all too well.  sometimes, even though we're hundreds of miles apart, better than we know ourselves.

ps: my bag is the burlap with the chevron inside and my sister's bag is the one with the birds.  there are two more bags out there that i was unable to get pictures of- but they're just as awesome.

pps: to send me that cool montage photo, my sister used and introduced me to picframe.  i'm obsessed.

letters for soldiers.

recently i signed up to adopt a solider.  it kinda happened on a whim as i was looking into a few things online but since a.s been home, i've really missed supporting the soldiers overseas.  that said, when i stumbled upon this website, i thought this would be a fantastic way to continue to show our appreciation.  i signed up, received our adopted soldiers profile and was asked to begin writing letters immediately.  

writing letters to complete strangers isn't as easy as it sounds.  you have to wonder how much information to pass along and what they would be interested to hear.  this brought me back to my pen pal days.  minus the barrage of questions and the new pals that changed as often as my grade. so i wrote and the words came, as they always do.

i had so much fun writing to them & found this purpose extremely gratifying.  if you enjoy writing letters and are looking for something kind to do for someone else, write a note to a solider.  it's lonely overseas and your gratitude and good cheer will help keep their spirits high.  seriously, it's amazing how much appreciation soldiers (or anyone really) have for a single letter.  

and yes, this card was created by yours truly.

a quick weekend retreat and a new purpose.

this weekend a. and i spent the weekend in lake george on a marriage retreat.  neither of us had ever been to lake george- and the sleepy town totally lived up to it's name.  with the exception of our little group, there weren't too many people out exploring...so it was almost as though we had the village to ourselves.  & considering that we were there to spend time re-connecting- it was the perfect backdrop for this weekend.

occasionally, the army offers a weekend marriage retreat.  when a. first signed up for the military, we scoffed at this option- considering, he spent so much of his week around all things military why would we bring it into our weekend if we didn't have to.  so for the first 5 years, we opted not to go.  then, when a. was getting ready for his second deployment, he signed us up.  basically, it was a free trip to niagara falls.  why would we say no?

we had an outstanding time in niagara.  the lessons learned were nice- but better yet, was the quality time we spend together and the thought-provoking conversations that followed after the workshops, made the trip so beneficial.  so when we found out they were offering it again, we signed up in a heartbeat.  

this year we were given and reviewed the book, the 5 love languages.  i'd heard about the book before and was excited to dive in deeper.  much to my dismay, we didn't review the book or challenge ourselves as much as i had hoped.  to be honest, i left feeling a bit unfulfilled- and kinda jipped.  you see, as a military couple (or any couple with a long-distance relationship), we spend a lot of time apart.  between trainings and deployments i've known couples who have spent the better part of 2 years away from one another (that's a long time).  and when you're not apart, you're living in a state of transition: adjusting to living with one another and prepping for the next deployment. 

talk about stressful.  luckily for us, we only had 4 years of that life- but other couples have an entire marriage and family built around that uncertainty.  the 5 love languages is a great book with some very cool insight.  but if you're a couple like a. and i who both share a primary love language of quality time- how do you implement that language into a long distance relationship?  better yet, if you can't, what's the next step to leaving your partner fulfilled and your relationship strong?

we thought we had figured this out during a.'s first deployment.  there were lot's of boxes and care packages and as many skype calls as the shoty internet would allow.  the second deployment was harder and while the lines of communication were open- the time wasn't there.  and try as we did- it was very, very hard to stay connected.  so what do you do?  

to be honest, i don't know.  but i walked away from this weekend with a mission: to find the happy forever after.  for everyone.  you see, i love love.  and i want everyone who falls in love and marries their one and only, to foster in a happy, strong and healthy relationship.  it's possible.  it won't be easy, but it has been done.  and through a. and my trials and errors and lessons learned- i hope to share how.

red + white stripe crush.

i've been swooning over stripes these days and for personal reasons, red and white stripes in particular.  i'll share the reason for my infatuation eventually, but in the meantime, i'm totally digging the bold contract and classic vibe.  

1. tote 2. paper bags 3. table cloth 4. cupcake 5. pillow 6. straws 7. shoes

i hope you have a festive and enjoyable weekend! 

not your typical kinda day.

yesterday i woke up early (& i never do that) to start my day with yoga.  it was fantastic and a perfect jump start to a beautiful morning.  i then had a relaxing morning as i pulled everything together for the day.  again, pretty rad.  work started out organized and happy...then i wound up at the urgent care.

not just like that- but kinda.  you see, i had to grab some conference tees from the back of my car so we could ship them to the venue.  as i was walking out of the parking garage, my arms full of boxes, i exited through a heavy, metal door backwards.  as i was walking from the door, the door slammed onto my poor heel & left me fighting for my life.  kinda.  sorta.  okay, not really.  but there was blood- and lots of it.  

i made my way up to my office on the third floor, walked to the ladies room and stuck my foot in the sink to wash out the dirt and grime.  minutes later, we had a restroom full of co-workers, 2 incomplete first aid kits and my ankle wrapped with the last of the gauze and bandages.  

once in the urgent care, i waited.  & waiting is always the hardest part.  this time was especially difficult since i was there on the clock and have some pretty big deadlines looming at the end of this week.  so i kept on waiting.  & when the doctor finally saw me and assessed my mere flesh wound, she gave me the scariest news...i needed stitches.  gulp.  

somehow in all my 28 years i have managed to skate through life without a broken bone or single stitch.  and there i was, after carrying a box of t-shirts into our office, getting 4 stitches in my heel and a tetanus shot in my arm.  needless to say, the day was ruined- though i think i got a relatively good story out of it.

so there you have it.  it definitely wasn't your typical kinda day.