{new in the shop}

I'm beyond excited to announce that I'm now offering notecards in the shop!

While sitting in my parent's garden one breezy summer evening, I was inspired to draw the salvia blooming next to my chair. That doodle was the inspiration for the Backyard Garden Collection. 

This collection is available as a set of four notecards, or four prints in a choice of two sizes.

Everyone loves receiving a hand written note in the mail, and these notecards offer lots of lovely white space inside to jot down happy thoughts.

And the prints will make a lovely gallery collection above a sofa or bed.

Hope you love them as much as I do!

XO,

{hello friday}

                                              doodle available here

Hello friends and hello Friday!

How has your week been? 

I've had a few days off this week so it has felt like a mini vacation around here. We didn't go anywhere special, but we did get a new toaster oven...

So there's that.

Our oven died this past Sunday and our new one isn't coming until tomorrow. And we needed pizza. Bonus points for being entertaining. 

Other than that, we've enjoying being lazy...

going on ice cream dates...

and making dinosaur exhibits in the family room...

In shop news, I've been working on a few new projects, including a new look!

I wanted a logo/header that matched the new blog design and it makes me super happy. 

I also have a fun collaboration in the works...

And a new product for the shop {details coming soon!}

July is going to be a big month for my doodles and I can't wait to tell you more about that. Feeling very thankful and right where I should be.

XO,

{distracted driving} #DecidetoDrive

Tonight, I was driving home from grabbing the family some dinner, and I came to an intersection behind a stopped car. They didn't have their turn signal on, no one was coming, and they weren't moving. After waiting for a few seconds, they turned on their emergency flashers, so I started to slowly drive around them. I looked over to see if the driver needed any help, and she was looking at her phone.

Seriously. Is this becoming a thing? 

When a text is more important than paying attention to the road and your fellow driver? 

She was at least stopped, but that isn't always the case.

A few years ago, our car was totaled when a neighbor looked down for a second, swerved, and hit it head on. It was parked in front of our house thankfully, but she hit the car so hard that it flipped ours into the middle of the street and her air bag deployed. She wasn't seriously hurt, but I can only imagine how the outcome could have been different.

Here is what our car looked like after the accident...

It doesn't look horrible, but it was enough to total the car, and it wasn't drivable. I still miss that little red car.

All it takes is a second. A small distraction like a text, phone call, or even changing the radio station. 

I will admit that I allow myself to be distracted while I'm driving. I'm better about it when the boys are with me, but when I'm alone I can let my phone grab my attention. Lately I've been trying to leave it in my purse, and only check it when I'm stopped, and sometimes not even then.

It just isn't worth the possible consequences.

The Decide to Drive campaign was created by the The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Auto Alliance to increase awareness about the risks of distracted driving.

The Decide to Drive program aims to empower drivers and passengers to speak up about distracted driving, continue the conversation at home, work and play, and reduce distracted behaviors behind the wheel. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), of the nearly 33,000 roadway fatalities in 2012, there were 3,328 fatalities and approximately 421,000 injuries in distracted driving-related crashes. Scary, huh? To think a lot of those could have been avoided by simply putting down a cell phone? 

The AAOS and the Auto Alliance urges all drivers to keep their most sophisticated safety features engaged at all times: eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. 

Have you experienced a distracted driver moment, either yourself or witnessed one from another driver? I know thinking more about this and the scary statistics will keep me from letting my phone distract me like I have in the past. 

Let's stay safe friends!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

XO,

{oh hi there!}

If you didn't already notice, the blog is getting a new look!

New header, doodled by me of course, and a cleaner & brighter layout. It is a bit in progress right now, so pardon the random sidebar stuff. And big thanks to my friend Alyson for helping me with the new template!

I'm working on a new Etsy design to match also - fun stuff!

Today is a big cleaning day at our house which feels appropriate after the dusting off the blog received last night. Here is a peek at the boys' new crafting station which makes me smile whenever I pass by...

Hope you're having a great weekend!

XO,

{using our pieces}

I put together a new bookshelf for the boys' craft supplies yesterday.

The fact I assembled it unassisted, with minimal cursing, made me pretty darn proud.

But what I want to talk about today are the creations the boys made out of the pieces and scraps of cardboard and styrofoam that came with the packaging.

There were four long and sturdy L-shaped cardboard pieces which first become the frame of a teepee. Then Ben figured out they would make super cool car tracks and tunnels. We tested them with virtually every car they own.

Landon grabbed a bent rectangle of cardboard and turned it into a laptop.

Ben crafted an airplane out of styrofoam and masking tape.

They occupied themselves for literally hours using "trash." Armed with nothing but their imaginations and a few pieces of masking tape, they built amazing things. 

This makes me wonder about the parts of ourselves we overlook or view as less than worthy of attention. I can think of a few about myself...

My anxiety.

The fact that I can get so caught up in a creative venture that I lose track of time and adult responsibilities.

My "mom belly" still going strong 6 years post-partum.

Are those things to be thrown away, shamed, ridiculed? Or instead turned into something beautiful and useful?

In Love Does, Bob Goff says, "It has always seemed to me that broken things, just like broken people, get used more; it's probably because God has more pieces to work with."

So what about those pieces of ourselves we would sometimes like to throw away? What if we embrace them as a collection of precious objects God is using to shape us, and in turn, positively influence others? 

I've already seen how sharing my journey with anxiety has helped others to feel less alone on theirs. I can't make a rad race track out of my muffin top, but surely I can do something useful with it.  

Landon looked at a creased piece of cardboard and saw a computer. 

Are there things about you that look different than you would like, but could be seen in a new and exciting way? Do you have pieces that might help fill someone else's puzzle?

XO,

{hello friday}

I don't know about you, but I've been singing "Happy" all day today...I'm so excited for the weekend!

My hubby has tonight off of work and we are going to relax with a yummy dinner and let the boys play outside in the gorgeous weather. Summer is treating us well so far. :)

It has been a good week for clearing things out both physically and mentally. We got new carpet at work so I had to clean my office out completely, which turned out to be the best thing ever. I rearranged my furniture and brought in some new decorative pieces. It is like a new space and I feel so much clearer headed now when I'm there. I'll share some photos when I get it all finished. 

I brought this fake succulent planter from home and put it in the window next to my desk. I love the simplicity of it, and am already enjoying sitting right next to this view!

 I also started purging and organizing the boys toys with some help from some new storage containers...

I grabbed an under-the-bed box for all of their cars, green totes for their legos, and the drawer unit is holding miscellaneous block sets and games...

I still need to tackle the other side of their playroom, but yay for one clean corner! 

I also ordered a bookshelf for all of their craft supplies...it is due to arrive today! I have to admit that I had a slight breakdown early in the week because their toys and craft supplies were in such a mess and all over the house. I was CRANKY. :( 

I bought these storage pieces out of desperation and am SO glad I did. I am making a promise to myself that I won't let it get this bad again. 

In another keeping-it-real mom moment, I enjoyed a krispy kreme while I cooked dinner the other night...

How's that for an appetizer? ;) 

And we were out of milk so the mac-n-cheese got a dose of half-n-half. I might just make it like that from now on. Sooo good!

In other yummy food news...these are BBQ nachos...

Holy crap they are delicious. If you live near Richmond, Indiana, you need to order them from the Firehouse BBQ and Blues. You can thank me later. Their BBQ sauce is what sends them over the top. Now I'm drooling.

In boy related news, this one usually gets up 1-2 hours before his brother now that school is out, so we enjoyed a little one-on-one craft time Sunday morning...

That is a paper plate and straw dinosaur if you were wondering.

And this one...

Can you tell he is a bit of a ham? Just a bit. 

Of course I also did some doodling this past week. 

I worked on a new blog header...

Another nature doodle...

And a special one inspired by this book... 

I'll definitely be blogging more about that later. 

It has really been a great week. Going into the weekend with a clear head and a full heart. How was your week?

XO,

{yesterday}

I woke up an hour before the boys.

I left my phone untouched on the bedside table.

I made some iced coffee and read this book for an hour.

I woke the boys up with an enthusiastic smile and promises of an adventure.

We took Happy Meals to the park.

The boys went down slides of the bumpy and twisty variety.

We watched a semi truck dump a mountain of soft mulch next to the playground.

We inspected the mountain to see how it felt. 

We admired an allosauraus and a mastadon. 

We looked at coral and fly wings under a microscope. 

We touched a live snake.

We bought mystery books.

The boys drank ginger-ale and ate sweets.

I devoured a grilled cheese with bacon.

We found treasures we couldn't live without at Hobby Lobby.

We watched How to Train a Dragon and napped {OK...I napped}

The boys went on a ghost hunt in the grocery while I filled the cart with milk and grape jam and frozen pizza.

We played tennis in the yard, the concrete driveway between us our net. 

We threw a frisbee.

Ben practiced his yard sliding skills.

Landon filled his new treasure box with crayons.

Ben drew superheroes. 

I drank too much lemonade. {is that possible?}

I think I delivered on my adventure promise. 

I want to have more of these kinds of days. 

Evidence of the allosaurus...

XO,

{etsy favorites}

Its been awhile since I've done a round-up of some of my Etsy favorites, so here are a few pretties I have my eye on...

1. I love absolutely everything from Hen and Chicks shop...

You can customize this cuff too!

2. You know I love a good mug...

3. Oh hoop art...

This one.

And this one.

4. The colors in this pillow make me drool...

5. And I'm obsessed with succulents these day...

These felt ones are TOO cute.

What are you loving on Etsy these days?

XO,

{hello friday}

Happy Friday friends!

Whew...did you make it through the week? 

It has been a strange one for us...adjusting to our first real summer break with the boys. Figuring out work schedules and when the boys need a sitter. But the sleeping in...oh the sleeping in. Just that extra half hour in the morning on work days is heavenly for me. 

Here's a little peek at our past week!

The boys' had their 6th birthday party on Saturday...

We did some dinosaur digging on the patio...

No one is safe from Nerf darts around our house...

I did some more nature doodling...

And some Stitch Fix wearing...

Landon and I put together some backyard bouquets. He brought me a pill bottle for his which was the cutest/funniest thing...

A little more doodling...

The boys had their 6-year check-up...they think the blood pressure cuff is so hilarious...

And I started my morning with an iced coffee at work...only way to start a Friday! 

Dan has been making big batches and pouring it into mason jars so we have one ready to go in the morning...he is a keeper, that one. 

What did your week look like?

Linking up with...


XO,