{ summer luv }

this picture perfectly sums up our summer spirit - lots of snuggling, lots of love, lots of laughter and lots of time together...Speaking of which I'm off to Moab with the kids and my folks for a few days of early morning hikes and lots of pool time. Have a great week everyone ~

{ps - you'll also note my new blog design via the lovely Hannah at Sherbet Blossom Designs...we are still getting everything transferred over so it isn't quite done yet.}

{ brain mosh }

A random bunch of things that I've been liking a lot lately...

I've been loving my new clothesline (despite all of the rain we've been getting and the "extra" washings the clothes have been getting out there!) :)

These vinyl wall/floor stickers (the hopscotch one would be perfect on our cement floors)...

Been liking this blog by the folks at Sunset Magazine.

Just discovered this amazing blog entitled {500 pieces of prudent advice for my baby daughter}

Laughed out loud about this Twilight post.

Like this alphabet poster a lot.

Been thinking that I'd like this red bag to come home with me but that I don't NEED it. ;-)

A lovely free download.

Liked this article about the {recession generation}.

Am totally going to do this at the next baby shower I host!

What's on your mind lately...?

{ spending hiatus - month 2: week 4 }

Nothing noteworthy last week (we were busy getting ready for a race, so hard to think about shopping when trying to find time to coordinate logistics for a 3 day stage race, take care of 2 kids (sans television) and entertain visitors from Korea (long story). Anyhoo, this week I did buy a few things that fall under the make life better category...I caved and bought these un-paper towels off of esty discovered via Josyln... I've been trying hard to kick the paper towel habit (hard to do with all of the messes those I love create around here) and I think these will help. I also bought Henry some new bibs and bamboo wash cloths - the kid drools all over the place so I am constantly going through bibs & cloths. Onto the good news, I SOLD over 50 items on ebay and my school loans (private university and grad school) are almost paid off! That will be reason to celebrate. Since you know, I am 33 years old and am not using either of my degrees (environmental studies or nonprofit management)! Gulp. Anyway, I've been funneling all extra $$ towards those damn school loans this past year...while at the same time setting $ away for our kids college in the future (while secretly wishing that they have some fabulous idea/invention and won't need to go to college)...Speaking of which do you have any idea how much 4 years of college will cost by the time your kids are 18? You will freak. I did. Okay, so back to the spending hiatus...I'm still doing good. How about y'all?

{ love this }

"But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while
doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly
clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs.

There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a
quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1.
And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and
how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish
I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner,
bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the
getting it done a little less.... - Anna Quindlen

So, today, I am taking the day off from work, household tasks, errands, etc. and the kids and I are going to spend the day at the pool, picnicing and frolicking about...without anything to rush to next...because look how quickly time flies by....

{ feed ME }

This week's meal plan...keeping it simple.

Monday - green juice all day - detox from too much caffeine consumed at race this past weekend.
Tuesday - at a friends BBQ (bring mexican quinoa salad)
Wednesday - grilled chicken with mixed green salad.
Thursday - chicken & spinach quesadillas (using leftover chicken from night before) with black bean, mango & avacado salad
Friday - date night (post father's day celebration) with Will (sushi + hot springs). {can't wait}.
Saturday - free-range burgers from local ranch with pineapple salsa and sweet potato fries
Sunday - blackened salmon with leftover pineapple salsa, brown rice and edamame

image via real simple

{ lobotoME giveaway }

Enter over at {the brightside project} for your chance to win a LobotoME sanity kit (all 8 notepads yours free)...all you have to do is answer one fun question... Open thru 6/24.

{ waste not want not }

Tea towel from here.

Are you guys sick of hearing about my spending hiatus yet? :) So, I've really been contemplating a lot lately how it seems as though we have lost the simplicity and practicality of our grandparents generation... I've been thinking a lot about my gram + gramp lately (now in their mid-80's) and still living in the same house they lovingly restored and raised 6 children in. They came from very modest means and gramp fixed everything...and I do mean everything. They didn't waste food (and still don't to this day). They grew their own veggies and hung their laundry on the line and shoveled their driveway by hand. They have never had a dishwasher or a cell phone. They have had the same phone number their entire lives. I think they are completely mind-boggled when I go back and visit and come back with my iphone, laptop, digital camera, card reader, ipod, yoga mat, portable crib, portable dvd player for Sam, multiple bags, 3 kinds of lotion (day time, night time and sunscreen), several pair of shoes (running sneakers, flats, flip flops), stroller, baby carrier...etc. etc. We have so much STUFF. I want less stuff. We have so many distractions today. I want fewer distractions. I don't have all the answers...all I can do is to continue to strive for my goal of a less hectic, more balanced, simple life. {Waste not, want not.} I've been hanging our laundry on the line each day, I've been tending to our veggie & herb garden, I've been selling stuff on ebay and donating items to the VOA thrift store. I've been slowing down. I've been spending less. Gram + Gramp would be proud.

{ps - I didn't buy anything this week other than groceries + dog food + one of those swimming noodles for sam ($1).} but i would like to buy this, this, and this. but i won't.
{pps - Here is a cute little picture of gram + gramp in their backyard in case you were wondering.}

{ food inc. }

I cannot wait to see this film.

{ a day in the life of ME - tara hogan from ink+wit }

Today's {a day in the life of ME} guest is Tara Hogan, the amazing designer behind the Ink + Wit line of goods and a yoga teacher in upstate New York. I met Tara at the National Stationary Show last year and was instantly smitten with her poise (amidst chaos at the show), her amazing designs and illustrations and her desire to get out of the show and to a yoga class stat (as that is what my body + mind were calling for too - well that and some babycakes cupcakes, but that's another story). I also grew up and went to college right near where she now lives with her husband and cats.

Before I turn it over to Tara...I wanted to link to a couple of great posts on Decor 8 and show a few more images of her home and work.

ink + wit's everything counts poster {seen here in my kitchen}

Pommebirds letterpress print.


Tara's living room via decor 8.


More of Tara's home via decor 8.

Okay, onto Tara and what her days are like... I asked Tara what helps keep her sane amidst being a one woman working show...and how she tries to keep things simple.

I stay sane by doing the following things:

FAST ( with green juices + watermelon)
YOGA (daily practice)
MEDITATE (5 minutes daily)
BREATHE
WALK
KISS AND HUG MY HUSBAND
ASK FOR HELP
PLAY WITH MY CATS
VACATION
PURGE THE OFFICE CLUTTER
TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME
LOSE THE EGO

Staying sane, hmmm, is that a trick question? Seriously, I have had my days where my sanity went out the window. I admit it. And, what I realized I had to do was hire help, take frequent breaks away from the computer and iPhone and just not think. Thinking about everything will give you a heap of anxiety and stress. You just cannot get it all done. It is impossible. Especially in today's world. The demands on creativity are so high that we have almost become robotic at times trying to finish and please the audience. But, it is a commercial profession and with that comes acceptance of grinding out a lot of concept, design, and production. Hence, hire help.

INK+WIT started to grow a lot since October of 2007. As soon as bloggers took notice more and more (a big thanks to you all) more tasks came to be on my end. In the beginning you try to juggle all of them and then you learn to let go. Letting go, here is where yoga philosophy comes into play with me anyway. You must surrender to what is. Be present. Stay still, meditate on what you want. Purify your space, body, mind, and intentions. Practice tapis, yogic discipline. The cleaner the body (the cleaner the mind and lack of attachments).

It is easy to get attached to business, press, stellar performance. I have kept myself grounded by understanding everything goes through a funnel and passes through a series of individuals in this creative world. With that known you learn to receive each bit of press and possibility for your life and business with ease as you fully know it may not work out. That will take a load of stress off feeling like everyone you ask to is going to give you a blog post, magazine coverage, or contract. What is meant to be is meant to be. You plant and sow your seeds. You weed your garden. You decide how to arrange it and what to move and shift. But, you also know nature rules all and that when life is up in arms you remain still like nothing happened.

In terms of what I put into my body {I am a vegan}...
I have to say there is not much meal planning, even with my Feed ME meal planner! While my husband eats many of the vegan dishes I have grown to love such as quinoa with Braggs amino Acids, sesame oil, agave, and spinach, he eats meat and dairy too. Minimally ,but it is part of his menu. He likes to cook so he often makes his own dinner. Because of the food difference we do not plan many meals with exception to going out for Thai, Indian, and Japanese. Most of what I prepare are young thai coconut milkshakes. I drink one everyday. Meat from 2 Thai coconut, the water, agave, acai, and vanilla. Or, I skip the acia and do banana cacao powder. One example of my lunch and dinner is a large bowl of avocado with greens, and sometimes quinoa, brown rice, jasmine rice, or spirited bread. BUT, the sprouted bread we have now has wheat gluten and can really make me ill. It takes time to test out what works. I feel great being vegan. It makes perfect sense to me and I feel better than ever. Key: GREEN JUICE. It keeps you alert and strong.

{We do not have children but we do have 3 cats that are our kids and they all eat healthy too. They eat Mark's free range chicken 1X a week, some dolphin safe tuna, and Pet Guard's soft cat foods as well as have some olive oil here and there. I did try to make them real people dishes with brown rice, shredded carrot and fish but they got finicky. Animals get tried of the same foods too like us. And, they need their cat dish washed after every meal just like us.}

In terms of new products and projects, I am in the process of launching a line of woman's apparel.



Thanks so much Tara for sharing with us more about your day and your new projects! To check out her great goods click here and to subscribe to her great blog click here.

{ feed ME }

Here's our weekly meal plan...

Monday - Black Bean & Veggie Polenta Dish (already in freezer)
Tuesday - This recipe (pictured above) via Fresh365.
Wednesday - Brown rice & veggie dish (that I already have frozen) with grilled salmon.
Thursday - Pre-race night aka EASY - Spinach & Goat cheese pizza with arugula salad.
{Friday - Sunday - at race, hopefully eating something on the go that is healthier than "aid station food."}

Next week (post-race), I'm going to make this (we had it at a friends house the other night and it was amazing); semi-healthy chocolate chip banana bread (I'll post recipe next week); & more homemade granola.

I've been on a food kick lately - trying new recipes, reading more about food, cooking more, etc... Josyln just started a great new must-read food blog - check it out here. Cuisine Nie is still a favorite for recipes and I really like fresh365 too. What are you eating this week?

{ spending hiatus - month 2 : week 2 }

Still going good on this front of no spending and simple family living - clearing out old stuff and NOT bringing in new stuff, working less/playing more...which is a pretty new concept for us! ;-)
I would like to buy this, this and this. But I'm holding out for now. I've still got some stuff up on ebay for my virtual garage sale - a random collection of sorts if any of you are actually shopping these day. How are you all doing?

{ photobooth - aka cheap summer fun }

Get some fake mustaches at the dollar store (or make your own) and some clown noses, grab some $1 bills and find the nearest photobooth (most malls have them). Fun, fun!

{ Feed ME ~ granola }

I've been making a big batch of this granola each week - it's been a perfect sweet compliment to all of the fresh berries and plain yogurt i've been craving...

{Down to Earth Granola}

4 cups old-fashioned oats (buy them in bulk at the natural food store)
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds (buy them in bulk at the natural food store)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground flax seed
1/2 cup dehydrated unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup light brown sugar (optional)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup honey or agave nectar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups organic raisins (optional)

preheat oven to 300. mix oats, almonds, brown sugar, salt, flaxseed and cinnamon. in a saucepan warm the coconut oil and honey/agave. whisk or stir in vanilla. mix liquid over oat mixture. add in coconut. stir gently with wooden spoon. spread granola in a baking pan. bake 40 min. stirring granola every 10 minutes. let cool. stir in raisins. seal granola in airtight container for up to a week or in freezer for 3 months. yum.

{ Feed ME }

Here's our weekly meal plan...

Some of you have asked how much we spend each week on food - it varies but I aim to keep it somewhere around $125. This week's cost of groceries = {$85} - note: I already had some stuff (chicken, salmon in freezer) and everything I bought is organic.

{ virtual garage sale }

This is what I am going to do this rainy weekend in Colorado...sell stuff on ebay. This huge pile does not include the entire SUV pile of stuff that was donated last week to the VOA thrift store...I really did spend my 20's aquiring stuff and now am spending my 30's getting rid of it! I am re-inspired to de-clutter some more and clear out some more space after reading Andrea from Superhero Journal's latest post. Here's my favorite part of it... "And so I started my cleanse by clearing my physical space. I purged the heck out of it, selling everything I could, cleaning and organizing all the cluttered up nooks. I even pretended we were moving and considered each item with the same precise question, If we were moving right now would I bother putting bubble wrap around this and putting it in a box? I loved this task and felt like with every item I let go of, the more my mind could be clear, the more space there was to breathe." Aren't you inspired to create some breathing room too? All of you not doing the spending hiatus, stay tuned for more goods being added to my ebay account. Those of you on the spending hiatus, don't look! :) Hope you all have a great weekend! Stay tuned next week for a great guest post by Tara from Ink+Wit, more cheap summer fun ideas and some great giveaways coming up!

{ swing ME aka cheap summer fun }

A lot of you have asked what some of the things we are doing this summer are {given the spending hiatus} so I thought I'd post once a week about some ideas. One of the {free} projects we are doing this week is building a tire swing. You can get a free, old tire from a local tire store and we have old rigging rope {you could check with a local climbing outfit to see if they have old rope lying around for free} we don't use for races anymore....oh, and a TREE ;-), and voila, a tire swing! Inspired by the latest issue of LMNOP. Here are some other ideas for free or cheap summer entertainment!

image from LMNOP.

{ round the world }

LobotoME's Pack ME notepad is part of Delight's adorable Round-The-World Travel Set available here.

{ spending hiatus - month 2 }

"Reduce your wants and lead a happy and contented life." - Dharma Mittra

The spending hiatus has been going great so far - the whole family is on board. We've been doing fun (and often free) things together, we've turned off the tv, we've been working on the garden and other outdoor projects (eg. tree house and tire swings)...we are really on board to not buy things but do things and save $ for traveling together. We made a list of fun summer activities + road trips to take and will set aside a little {blow} money each month for those activities + expenses upfront. I'm still selling a bunch of stuff on ebay (my aim is to list 10 items per week) and I donated an entire carload of stuff to the VOA thrift store last weekend. It feels good to get rid of stuff - it certainly makes you realize how much you already HAVE. I hope it keeps working. How's it going for you?

{ feed ME }

Here is our weekly meal plan using the Feed ME notepad. {click on it for a larger view}