~mindful monday~

the river……...

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mind.ful = conscious or aware of something

Something that speaks to your heart and leaves you feeling beautifully grounded right where you are. If you’d like to share yours…. please leave a link in your comment below for others to discover.

happy monday friends,

~stephinie

kindred :: in print

as a writer and photographer….. i have dreamed of someday seeing my work on a glossy page

in print

when this issue of kindred arrived in the mail

that little dream was in my hands

a piece i wrote and three of my photographs are in these pages

it's actually a poem, sort of….

which makes me laugh because I never thought of my writing as poetic

i didn't share it with a single soul…. so amanda was the first to read it

to be among so many other talented creative souls is truly humbling

amanda has created something beautiful and amazing with this magazine

i still want to pinch myself when i think of me being part of it….

part of something bringing beauty into the world

it's just so good.

to celebrate, amanda has generously given me a copy to send to one of you

and i'm also including one of my note card sets that has two of photographs featured in the magazine

some crafty little bits…..

we’re nursing the sniffles here today….

the little guy has had a cough that will just not be kicked….

and since he sleeps about two inches from his mama’s face,

you know who got it next.

yep. me.

i’m hoping that a whole lot of water, tea and emergenc will get rid of it.

that and hitting the hay as soon as it’s dark tonight….

the house bits are falling together and we’re waiting on one last piece of paperwork for the closing

fingers crossed everything gets done in time for monday

monday!?!

oh my.

mostly though, i just wanted to show you some quilt pieces i’ve been working on…. (for the big girl)

and my sweater….

it’s soooo close, seems to be a theme with life this week

so close…..

i’ll be back on friday with some really exciting news…. and something to share with you.

xo,

ps ~ seems to be some odd ongoings with the photos…. some of you can see them and some not…. hopefully it’s a flickr glitch and you can see them later, thanks for letting me know! so sorry…. but if you go over to flickr you should be able to view them!

~mindful monday~

evening

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mind.ful = conscious or aware of something

happy monday friends,

~stephinie

crystal hunting…..

a treasure hunting adventure,

in photographs…….

happy weekending friends…..

xo,

from my apartment kitchen……

pumpkin maple cinnamon oatmeal

vegan veggie soup with beans + quinoa

amanda's kick-butt chickpea spread

millet veggie curry soup

cheese toast and huge loaded salads

surprisingly delicious improv gluten free chocolate chip cookies

I brought along just a few kitchen basics to my temporary kitchen.

2 cast iron pots

electric kettle

french press

colander

cookie sheet

silverware, plate bowls, bowls & just enough cups

a few utensils

italian herbs, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, garam masala, curry, salt + pepper

I have found that a large cast iron pot does not cook dried beans well. Something about even temperature perhaps? Oval pot vs round burner. I'm not sure. Joe packed my garlic press before I grabbed it for my to go box and I honestly do miss it. I teased him about it quite a bit…. how can I live without a garlic press!?! Turns out I can. I've cooked eggs in the bottom of a small cast iron pot, made toast under the broiler, a little improv makes the girls think I am pretty inventive. The little guy doesn't notice so much… he's just looking for the next plate full of food.

The menu has been simple, but delicious. Easy meals. Lots of soups. Leftover soups + rice for lunch the next day.

Who knew I could do so much with so little?

~mindful monday~

flee to the wilderness, one within if you can find it

~utah phillips

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mind.ful = conscious or aware of something

happy monday friends,

~stephinie

mostly about paint…..

I'm typing this up from the laundry mat down the street from our apartment.

While I do miss the ease of tossing a load of wash into my own washer, it's kind of nice to get things all done at once. Four loads of laundry in under two hours isn't so bad. Add free wifi, tea, and quiet….. it even sounds downright good.

I loved reading through your comments on the last post about leaving. It's taken me years to sift through my feelings about this…. and so many moves. I always hope to encourage my children to walk this journey with an open heart. Even though it is so hard sometimes. Of course, letters to friends and skype playdates to look forward to soothe a hurting heart a little. That and planning a treefort in the new yard if you're little or planning paint and decorating ideas if you're big (and getting your very long awaited and dreamed about own room, ahem.)

We're getting through this in between time. Each day is closer to the excitement of the new house, and to Joe finally making his way home to us. Yes… we're getting there…..

I have no internet at my apartment. So I've not been wandering the internet space as much as usual. When I do have a pocket of time it is usually taken up with corresponding to loved ones and filling out loan paperwork of some sort or another. My goodness, it does take an awful lot of signatures to purchase a home. 17 days until closing!! (that was said in a squealing excited tone, in case you were wondering)

I have been looking a little at some house ideas. Mostly painting right now. We've got a few paint jobs to do when we move in. Number one being the wood paneling in the den/living room area. It has a beautiful brick fireplace with built in bookshelves on each side. I'm hoping to stick with colonial colors…. this is mostly Joe's idea in truth (he's very creative, you know), but I love it. Do you have any suggestions? I found two links to colonial colors on pinterest…. I also somehow got distracted and stumbled onto this studio. Wow, right? But back to paint…. take a peek at these:

These are both old colonial interior colors. I'm pretty smitten with the hues. For the fireplace room I'm looking for something warm + cozy + not too dark. What do you love??

I've been adding ideas to my homestead pinterest board for months and months and I am surprised to see many of them are things we can do and create in the next house. It's really like a bit of a dream coming true for us. I'm still holding my breath a bit, it seems a little too good. But we're getting closer to having keys in hand…. which will most definitely result in me crying happy tears. Because, that's just the way I am. Here I go getting off the the subject again….. I'm trying to write about paint, paint!

Tell me what you love….. tell me the colors that make you smile in your own homes.

Happy, happy friday to you~

xo,

thoughts on leaving…..

I've been mulling over some thoughts in my mind and heart these last few days. Thinking. This last move made number six for our family. I always think it will get easier, but it doesn't. In truth, I think it gets harder.

I know that all the goodbye's before got me to the place I just left, and that something good is waiting for us at the next place we'll call home. I told my sweet southern friend that all the leaving I had done before had gotten me to her. Bittersweet indeed. But every piece of this journey holds a bit of magic. This I truly believe.

Saying goodbye is hard, but you pull together the best you can and get through it. It's the moments after that are harder to get through for me. It's always the little things that do it. That last look around. The letting go of what was once home…. it's so hard. You can never take everything, things will be left or forgotten. Sometimes things hold such strong sweet memories for us that we are torn to let them go. As if we're afraid their meaning will be lost with them…. as if what is everything in this moment will fade. And some of it will, of course. It always does. Even if you never move or leave….. life is always shifting and changing.

This table is one of those things for us. It started as a simple work table for Joe, but after a very worrisome phone call from family he found himself in the garage sketching away as he waited for an update. Praying, hoping, sketching. It grew from there. Visitors made their mark as we sipped home brew or made grilled pizza outdoors. If you stopped by to visit when the months were warm and we were out of doors, we'd have handed you a marker or paint pen. The kids left messages. We all wrote down song lyrics… and sketched and doodled……

I watched each of the kids evolve as artists over the three years it was in the garage. It was something I never imagined would come along, it's far to large and heavy. But I don't want to forget it. The messages. The doodles. The worries and love and fun that line by line and shape by shape made it what it became. I want to share it with you, in hopes I will remember…..

just me…..

i took this right before i left…..

tonight i was making dinner, listening to ani and this song came on.

he's the other half of my mariachi band.

for sure.

"and i've seen so much more than i would see…..

if it was just me, just me……"

i miss him~