Complicated Simplicity

love, hate + inspiration (no. 09)...

love:

• jamba juice...right now i am loving the strawberry lemonade refresher. i could seriously drink one every single day. it's so summery (although i think i'd still order it in winter as well)
• this video: where's the octopus.....so fascinating.
• this post by angie: he loves you...i've read it several times and will read it hundreds more. on those not-so-great-days it's a great reminder. my favorite line "i have enough to know that what i don't know is safe." it's beautiful. a lovely, lovely post. take time to read it and savor it.

hate:

• they just raised our rent...by $50!!! that's not chump change. it's all good and i know they have to make money too, but seriously $50 extra? for our super tiny 450 sq ft. apartment? due one week  from now?...a little extra warning would have been nice.
• heat and humidity...i am not trying to rush summer by any means, but it's just a little warmer than i enjoy.
• wet tents...we had to pack up our tent in the rain on monday morning (i woke up literally two minutes before it started raining). i dried out the rain fly on our deck yesterday, but the tent is in the car still. it's just annoying to try to dry it when we don't have a yard to set it up in. later today, i will be attempting to figure out a way to dry it out on our deck.

inspiration:

• choose a lens to view your life from be more with less...love this post. i am so guilty of letting the pesky, annoying things take my focus instead of remembering how truly blessed i am. such a timely post for me.
• this war dog photo essay...beautiful, stunning photos and amazing stories.
• ali's post about photo taking choices...love that she walks through they why of her photos, i'm thinking i'll have to do a similar post in the near future. it's kind of interesting to see why people document what they do.

i'd love to hear some of the things that you are loving, hating or being inspired by this week!!!

love, hate + inspiration (no. 08)...

this will probably be heavy on the love :-)

love:

• have i mentioned how much i love living in portland? because i do. i love it. i loved the mild winter waaaay more than a cold and snowy midwest one. and now spring is just spoiling me even more. it's arrival is way earlier than i'm used to, and i am not complaining (and never will). it's awesome. and with the warm temps today and tomorrow the tulips and other flowers that have been holding out will be blooming in no time. i love it.
• photo prints. i don't get my hands on my printed photos very often, but snapfish had a great deal a couple of weeks ago and i got 450 prints for about twenty bucks. i got a white border on them and i love them so much. mainly photos from our move with some from our first few weeks here in oregon thrown in. i also ordered a bunch of prints for my "autumn in oregon" minibook and am excited to finish that up. :-)
• pinterest. i know i've said it before, but man i love all of the lovely things over there. i love finding new things and ideas.
• temps that allow me to have the sliding door open all day long (and the bedroom window wide open all night-although I will admit that I kept it cracked almost every night in winter as well). glorious.
• our church. i fall more in love with it every time we go. i had lunch with the church administrator, melissa, last week and it was a great time getting to know her. my first portland friend!!! :-) we're slowly getting to know people and have thoroughly enjoyed the sermons and music and love and fellowship. it's pretty awesome.
• iced tea. oh my gosh, how i'm loving iced tea right now. paul brings one home for me every night that he works and we keep a pitcher (that is leaking-we need to grab a new one) in the fridge. i'm still pop free  (32 days now!!!) so iced tea is my choice, although i've added in some water as well. :-) i'm very proud of myself and decided that i'm going to add french fries and other deep fried food to the don't consume list as well. so far, so good.
• balsamic vinaigrette dressing. my new love for my salads. so much healthier than ranch. love it. delicious.
• 24 the show. we have had it in our netfilx queue (streaming) for several months, but wanted to finish the office first. then paul wanted to watch the west wing again (we have all seasons on DVD). however, sunday's sermon (art mentioned it) convinced him it was time to start watching. ha! we love love love it. i'd have them all watched by now if we weren't watching it together. when i get into a show, i am waaaay into it. i watch episode after episode (while doing other things-i like the sound in the background of my day).
• bones. also the show. love it. i'm working my way through season two right now and i love the humor mixed with the crime drama and the anthropology. a new favorite. i told you, i love tv shows. :-)
• new license plates on the car. we got them today, and both p and i felt like it made it feel more "real" somehow. we're oregonians and portlanders and we love it. we miss our families...but we love it here. we both agree if we had the option of moving back to MI or moving our families here, we'd move them here. ha! the only negative about being here is that our families are 2000 miles away. :-)

hate:

• headaches. :-( they've been really bad for the past several days-weather related (lots of thick clouds). nothing abnormal for this time of year, but annoying and painful nonetheless. it makes it very difficult to get anything accomplished. i'm looking forward to when this weather system moves on its way. :-) 
• our computer keyboard. sometimes it refuses to allow me to type the letters h or g, apostrophes and backspace. annoying. it's been doing this for a year or longer now, and we've learned ways around it (copy and paste or the automatic spellcheck in google chrome), but it's still so annoying.

inspiration:

• spring colors and flowers. love them.

love, hate + inspiration (no. 07)...

love

• this succulent wreath. i love succulents and i love wreaths. thinking this is the one i really want to make for our door.
• this "fine china". love every single thing about this and am thinking we might just need to do something similar.
• this post about embracing our handwriting. it's so important to me (and i kinda love my handwriting), but i know that others don't. use it-i treasure those little things that have my family's handwriting on them. :-)

hate

• the fact that the super bowl is a huge draw for human trafficking. go here to sign the petition for the commission to include "I'm Not Buying It" campaign info in their official event materials. It's such a hidden issue in our country.
• that the house is a disaster right now. it looks like we just moved in. i'll be happy with the finished (organized) product, but right now it's driving me crazy!

inspired by

• this post about "building the legacy your children will remember". this year, i've really found that thinking about what you want to leave behind can bring so much focus to the present. love it.
• how to be an artist. love what she says here, especially about how art is her worship. it's one of the main ways i worship as well. so inspiring to think about it that way.
• this story. they are trying to adopt little rinah. please help if you can. :-)

love, hate + inspiration (no. 06)...

love

• this resolution series over on Mandi's blog. There are some great ones in there and I love how different people shared how they're doing (or are planning on doing) each thing.
• these five tools to help you foster an attitude of gratitude. We all need more gratitude in our lives.
• fifteen questions to discover your personal mission. i made a personal mission statement this year for the first time in a very long time and it has helped me to focus down and really be a better me. sometimes you just need to spend time writing down the things you love and what makes you happy and where you want to be in order to be your best.

hate

• that it's taking so long to organize the house (but loving the results so far). it's tedious and is only going to get more so as i have to sort through all of our storage boxes and get rid of a lot of things. so far the kitchen is completely done and the bathroom is mostly done (that's waiting until the end). next week we tackle the bedroom (pulling everything except furniture out and putting stuff back in). the week after that the living room and then we'll be done.
• that my 8 mo. old great-niece Aliya is having intestinal problems and may need some surgery soon. not cool.
• that i can't seem to get prepared for the weekend ahead of time (as far as blog posts and other items on my to-do lists)!!! our weekend is sunday-monday, so it always creeps up on me.

inspired by

• this idea of keeping a God box. i love the thought of getting into the practice of writing down my prayers/concerns/worries in a journal or in a box. 
• this article about fearless creativity. love, love, love this. i tend to operate (or not) out of/because of fear. i've been really trying to get out of my head and just create no matter what my inner voice is telling me. so freeing.
• james' beautiful day in the life photo post. i love it and want to do something similar someday this year (i always think my daily life is way too boring, but hey-it is what it is and i can document it nonetheless).

love, hate + inspiration (no. 05)...

love

• our new printer-it's ink costs half as much as ink for the printer we had (and the printer itself-which came with ink-cost half as much as well) and it collates, which is just awesome.
• the fresh start the new year always brings
• Ali Edwards' Yesterday and Today workshop. I won a spot and am loving it so much already. I'm learning that workshops really have a big impact and inspire me so much.

hate

• those tasks that will be super awesome when they're done, but are super huge and seem almost impossible in the moment (ie. getting the apartment completely rearranged and reorganized)
• when Paul works the graveyard shift on Saturdays (he's only done it once-this past Sat). I don't sleep as well and we also miss church because he's just going to sleep in the morning.
• when the dog is super annoying (like he has food in his bowl, but instead wants the one little piece that fell behind something in the kitchen). :-)

inspired by

• these tips on lighting your creative spark. we all need a little boost/jump start every now and then. love these ideas.
• this entire series on living in the land of enough. i have always wanted to live a simple, content life and there are some great tips here for cultivating that kind of mindset and lifestyle (especially loving the one on enough space).
• this post of Cathy Zielske's fitness layouts from the year. Super inspiring to me, especially since my word for the year is strong and one of my goals is to be physically strong (healthy and fit).

love, hate + inspiration (no. 04)...

 
love:

• Elise's goodness book. I got mine awhile ago, and wasn't sure what to do with it until this week. someone mentioned keeping an "evidences of grace" book (keeping track of big and small ways that God shows His grace in your life), and it just clicked for me. That is exactly what this book was/is going to be for me. I only have one entry right now, but I know that it will be full before i know it. You can see the awesome things Elise is doing with hers here.
• this video Elizabeth's husband made in celebration of the birth of their second daughter. I really want something as beautiful and touching and lovely made if I ever am blessed to have a child. I don't really know if Paul could pull it off, but I'm thinking it's certainly worth a try (and my favorite image from the video is the empty bassinet-what an expression of anticipation and excitement-something about it just speaks to me).
• holiday traditions. I especially love Tara's "bernard the elf" tradition, and am thinking that next year I'm going to plan ahead and do something similar for Paul (and I have a little elf decoration that is already named bernard-how fitting!). Another one that I love is Ashley's tradition of "hope notes" in the stockings. This year, as the stockings go away, I'm planning to tuck some little notes into our stockings to be found next year. What a lovely way to end the holiday season and then start the next the following year!!! Any unique traditions you have that you'd like to share?

hate:

• that it's near impossible to get holiday movies from Netflix. I understand they are in high demand right now, but man we've been jonesing for a few particular movies. Heck, even just one would do! We'll have to keep our eyes out for cheap copies at the stores (we're wanting The Santa Clause, Home Alone 1 + 2, Prancer, and Elf).
• having so many ideas and no way to get them done. ha! I guess it's a good problem to have, but man oh man! My brain feels like it's going to explode!
• crappy video chats. We chatted with everyone yesterday (it seemed)-my mom, p's mom, robbie and mac...and all of them had trouble hearing us. Maybe it was the weather or maybe it was slow internet, I don't know. It takes some of the joy out of it though (just a tiny bit-it's still great to "see" our family!!!).

inspiration:

• this month's anthropologie catalog. it's full of photos taken in the forest (and an indoor forest as well) and cute line drawings and tiny type. It's beautiful and so very inspiring.
• this video of 4000 photos from a trip to Morocco and Spain. How cool is that? Makes me want to travel. And take more photos. And do fun things with those photos.
• Lissie. Wow, I love this video and her voice is just soothing and comfortable. Love it. I also love this video for little lovin'.

You can access past "love, hate + inspiration" posts by clicking on the button to the right. :-)

love, hate + inspiration (no. 03)...

 
This week I...

love...

• this beautiful video of Scarlette with her eyes open over on Kayla Aimee's blog. She's the most beautiful baby ever and it's so exciting to see the progress she's making. Keep praying for her, as she still has a long way to go.
• this post by Jule of UpUpCreative about the craziness that gift-giving becomes and her thoughts on it. I totally agree 100% and love how she so eloquently put it. I don't want to give gifts just to fulfill an obligation, and I don't want to just give "stuff". Love her words.
• this game-T&C Surf Designs. We played this when we were little on our old Nintendo system. It was one of our favorites and we all got really good at it. How cool that you can play it online?! So awesome!

hate...

• that we are so far from our families during the holiday season. Mainly I hate it for Paul's sake, because he's been missing his family more than I have (I talk to my sisters every day over Skype and my brothers ususally call every other week or so and my mom and I talk a couple times each week). I'm trying to get him to fly home for a weekend in January...we shall see how that goes (he can be quite stubborn when he so chooses). :-)
• days when the dog is "on edge" all day long (like today). Some days he's fine, but some days he growls and barks at everything. Every car door slamming outside. Every person that walks up the steps. Every time someone goes through one of the "walkway" doors in the complex and lets them slam behind them (one of my pet peeves-how hard is it to catch the door behind you?-I understand every now and then, but every. single. time?!!!!). Wa drives me crazy and it's really hard to settle him down once he gets "on edge". Now, he doesn't bark non-stop or make lots of noise, just little growls and the occasional bark. It still drives me nuts because I am paranoid about our neighbors complaining even over tiny things. Ha! :-)
• having to buy bras. I am not a small woman, and my bras cost a lot. I hate that I have to spend sixty or seventy dollars on new bras every so often. We don't have that much extra money laying around. And if we do, I don't want to have to use it to buy underclothes. Seriously. I am not one of those women who enjoys buying underwear. I just don't. Like the cost of toilet paper, it is one of those necessary evils, I guess. :-)

am inspired by...

• handmade holidays on the Sew mama Sew blog. So many great ideas for crafts and diy projects. I bookmark the ones that I want to come back to. Love it.
• Christmas decor. I am loving all of the beautiful decor ideas out there. Especially wreaths. I'm hoping to make one for our door. I've seen so many great ones and want to make them for every season and celebration/holiday!
• yellow. I am loving yellow right now, especially with grey or red.

love, hate + inspiration (no. 02)...

 
This week I...

love

• balmy days. I am totally loving this mild weather we are having-upper 50s to low 60s with cloudy, grey skies, rain showers and nice balmy breezes. Love, love, love it!
• all of the holiday inspiration out there. On blogs: marta writes, Smile and Wave (Rachel Denbow), and Apartment Therapy. In magazines: Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple, and life:beautiful. And anywhere else-catalogs, pinterest, store windows. I love it!
• minibooks. I think I may have found my new craft. I've got my foundation pages for my december daily done and am currently working on finishing up another minibook called "right now" which I hope to share in a couple days. I have a list of tons I want to do. Thanks, Elise Blaha Cripe, for inspiring me to try out (and love) this new craft! :-)

hate

• no closet space. We have big plans to get the boxes in our closet reorganized and condensed, but haven't gotten to it yet. The plan is to use the space under our bed to store the boxes so that we can actually hang all of our clothes in the closet (vs. living out of laundry baskets). It's starting to get annoying and I just need to get it done.
• the new body scanners they're putting in at airports. I'm not so sure that I like the idea of them, and I think it's going a bit far. Thoughts? For or against? Too far or worth it for extra safe flights?
• dog hair. I love Wa with a fierce passion, but his hair gets EVERYWHERE. It drives me crazy! I vaccuum and it seems like the hair is back in a matter of minutes. However, I do not like long-haired dogs, so it seems shedding will be a part of my life forever.

am inspired by

• this post on motivation by elise. It's one of those that I bookmarked and have read several times. Makes me want to just do it. To put myself out there, reopen my etsy shop and just make things that I love. (also, these goodness books are quite...well, good :-)
• this post about Karen's son's baptism. I love that he felt like he needed to do it and didn't waste the time worrying for the "right time". Love that God calls wee ones to Himself in ways sometimes adults are slow to see.
• this video of KA and Scarlette. I need to remember to cherish the little things and moments that are precious to me. To celebrate life in all it's crazy little forms and ways. Love that Scarlette is such a little fighter and that she has such an amazing family that loves her so very much.

What are you loving, hating and being inspired by?

love, hate + inspiration (no. 01)...

This week I...

 

love

• autumn candles. We are currently burning this one (Febreeze Pumpkin Harvest) with this one and this one up next (both from Bath & Body Works-4 oz candles are on sale for $5 right now...great stocking stuffers IMHO!!)
• cute note cards. Every week I've been sending my three little nieces each a card. I'll buy a package of cards and use them until I run out. I love getting to pick out a new set of cards (I usually get them from Target). I can't find links to the ones I've been using, but I love these, these, these, these and these on Etsy.
• cozy nights. It's been getting cooler at night, and I love that the quilt is now on the bed. Soon we'll be drinking hot cocoa by the gallon and eating popcorn by the tub. Love those cozy kinds of days/nights spent at home together. :-)

hate

• dishes. They are my least favorite chore. I've been doing pretty well at keeping them from overtaking the sink. I still hate them though...ugh!
• clutter. In our tiny apartment, it doesn't take long for it to look cluttered. We're still in the process of finding permanent places for everything.
• ruined plans. I am a planner, I like to have things organized...even our adventures. We had planned to go to Mt. Tabor last week. Paul ended up working late, it was a gorgeous day (which meant everyone decided to go), and we both forgot that they closed the park roads on Wednesdays (meaning...no parking because everyone parked on the street). Hate when that happens. I'm learning to roll with the punches, but it's still hard not to be disappointed sometimes.

am finding inspiration in

• fall colors. I love the golds and reds and browns of autumn. Our leaves just started to change here, and they are so lovely.
• the fall Pottery Barn catalogs. I don't know about you, but I love getting catalogs, and Pottery Barn is one of my favorites. There are so many ideas that I (or you) can translate and diy. Love that and love that there is so much decorating inspiration also. The current catalogs don't disappoint! Check them out.
• Halloween. Need I say more? I love the cute and the creepy. The sweet and the spooky. Love the costumes and decorations everywhere. This year I'm especially loving the color orange, skeletons, the color black, spiderwebs, gourds and pumpkins!