Colorado Arrivals

If there is one thing I know for sure...it's that I have amazing friends. They have shaped me. Changed me. Blessed me. They are each inspiring in their own way. I am so so so excited that a bunch of them are coming to see me in Colorado in April!

Monica arrives the 19th and Sarah will be around these parts for a couple weeks visiting family. Natalie, Jen, Jen, Jennifer, Khrista, and Rachel arrive the 26th from all over the country for one craaaaaaazy weekend. :) Many of them have never met each other...they only know each other from Instagram, so it will be awesome indeed. Get ready Colorado!

Their blogs and Instagram feeds are on my list of "daily check-ins". I know you'll love them too...so I just have to share! I could write LONG, separate blog posts on each of these women. Yes, they are all that cool. Click the photos below to be taken to their little worlds...

(sweet rock magnet created by the talented Amy Komar! card given by my dear Jess, who just visited me in Colorado herself!)

Rainbow Out My Window

Rainbows. I love them. Color! Happy! Yes. About 3 months ago, while walking through Home Depot with Matt and the girls...I exclaimed: "I WANT A RAINBOW FENCE!!".

I have a really great husband and he said, "OK honey. Pick your colors". But being that we rent our home we couldn't paint directly on the fence. So Matt brought home a scrap piece of fence that he rescued from a tear down and screwed it to the existing fence. And finally this morning, with a project high of 72 degrees and sunny...the girls and I got busy and added some color to our little backyard.

For all the paint geeks out there, here are the Behr exterior colors we used:

Red: Red Velvet Orange: Marmalade Glaze Yellow: Saffron Strands Green: Retro Avocado Blue: Caribe Purple: Darkest Grape (this purple is delish!)

I had a bit of a problem getting my rollers off between colors...which led to me looking like a member of the Blue Man Group at one point in the process. I still have paint under my fingernails.

My little helpers. After some sisterly squabbles earlier in the morning, they came together and had so much fun with the process. A little fresh air and paint does the trick every time.

Emma was a trooper...she slept for most of the project, which lasted exactly 2 hours. And yes, I am totally in my pajamas and slippers. When I decide to do something, I don't like to waste time doing extra tasks like getting dressed :)

photo 1

While we had the paint out, we also added some color to our birdhouses. And a stump. And a big thrifted art canvas. Color is addicting!

And so...this is the new view from my kitchen window! It makes doing dishes a lot more fun...and it will tide me over while I wait for the colors of spring to arrive!

Small Things

I've never considered myself a collector of small things. But over the past couple of years, I've come to realize that there is great beauty in the tiniest of treasures. I needed a place to keep all of these bits of inspiration in plain view...not stored away in a box. So I roamed about my house with my tape measure...seeking the perfect opening to place my desk. Low and behold, it fit like a glove right in between my pantry and my fridge.

I have friendsand family who give me the most beautiful and meaningful of trinkets. The windowsill above my desk is an altar of sorts...holding these loved items. My grandma who passed away a week before Lucy was born loved rocks. And she had an impressive collection of crystals and gemstones. This is one of them. Every time I see it, I remember her. The seashells were a gift from sweet Sarah.

She gave them to me during our Santa Cruz mama weekend and I just adore them. Adore. They remind me of crashing waves and redwoods and moss and dancing. The "you are beautiful" sticker is from Catina Jane and the wine cork from a fun night I had recently with good friends.

A few yummy books, my favorite Bible, and Kinfolk. Oh Kinfolk. And Story People. I could read those all day long!

A knitted mat from Khrista and my green plant. Reminding me to have deep roots and seek wisdom and grow.

Smooth rocks from the Pacific Ocean...reminding me to seek BALANCE, and a piece of art from Rebecca.

Aspens from a recent trip up the mountain and a few elephants. They are fascinating to me on so many levels.

A rainbow star hangs in the window above my desk. It was a gift from Olya and it reminds me of how all of life intersects and how we're all connected.

It feels good to sit at my desk. Surrounded by truth and good things. I read here. I learn about Jesus here. I nurse here. I sing here. The sun shines in on me here. All because of a few small things.