Monday Motivation

I've posted this one before but I needed a reminder this morning. As we enter a new autumn season I'd like to keep this in the front of my mind. 

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Friday Roundup

Happy Friday!!

Hope you have fun plans, it's going to be a gorgeous weekend here in the Northwest and we are heading east of the mountains to enjoy.

Here are some links to kick us off:


This cake looks so indulgent and delicious.

Beautiful wedding inspiration.

Lovely short film about adventure.

9 rad Ikea hacks.

Would you paint your walls a dark color?

Cool idea in Cape Town for clothing donations.

5 minutes in a mom's head, made me laugh and cringe at the same time.

Crazy looking cocktails! 

I'm not sure I'm daring enough but love this skirt for fall.

30 perfect day trips from Seattle.

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Jenny's Favorites: August Edition

I wish my August favorites post was filled with sunscreen and sandals but lets be honest August was a whirlwind of Arrows getting finished and then playing catch up on work and sleep and life. Here's what got me through it!

1. I've been carrying my life around in this bag from Uxibal all month. It's a beautiful gold leather which goes with a ton and the shoulder strap has beautiful woven fabric, a perfect little burst of color. I know I've gushed about Uxibal before, but there stuff is unique, beautifully crafted and made by artisans in Guatemala. What's not to love?

2. I've been reading Molly Weizenberg's blog Orangette for years. She has the best recipes and such lovely stories to complement them so naturally, her book, A Homemade Life is wonderful as well. The end of August is the perfect time to read a book filled with lots of yummy recipes, I now have a long list of sweets to bake and dinners to cook through the fall!

3. After a year where "exercise" consisted solely of mad dashes through airports and loading heavy bags in and out of vehicles, I got a new yoga mat and am determined to get back into a routine that includes yoga.

4. I attempted to garden this summer and the fruits of my labor (or lack there of) amounted to three very small strawberries. Now,  I've been given some small succulents and a cactus, hopefully they'll last longer than all of the other plants I've had. I love having green in the house going into the fall. Any tips on keeping them alive are appreciated.

5. For most of the beginning of August, while Jason was literally living in the editing space finishing Arrows, I was putting myself to bed each night with a giant bowl of popcorn and this stuff is my favorite. If you come to my house, I will make you some :)

Loving My YSL Lip Stain

One of my favorite products of late is my YSL Glossy Stain. I bought it in color 27, Peche Cerra-Cola, which is a coraly pink and I've been wearing it all summer. It is amazing in that it is meant to stay on for eight hours! I find I really only need to reapply every three or so which is very impressive to me. A bunch of us wore it a my friend Tracy's wedding and it was great because we didn't have much time for makeup reapplication. The key is to apply it, press your lips together, then not press them together again -- which is a lot harder than it sounds but really makes it last! Highly recommend.

Would You Hire a Wedding Videographer?

If I was getting married to Patrick again today there are quite a few things I'd do differently about my wedding, but the biggest one is that I would hire a videographer. When we got married I thought that wedding videos were mostly cheesy and why pay money for something I would probably just cringe at. WRONG! Our wedding day was such a blur that it would be so wonderful to have it on tape so that I could look back and remember the details of the ceremony, the music at the reception, some of the things we said to our bridal party, family and each other, etc. Our photos were wonderful (thanks JKOE!) but we spent so much time and money on the day I wish I had even more record of it.

How about you? What would you do differently at your wedding? Did you hire a videographer?

PS. Have you seen the wonderful new HBO documentary 112 Weddings? A videographer who has been filming weddings for 20 years went back to catch up with some of the couples. Patrick and I were glued to the screen, it's definitely worth checking out.

Ten Books

So you may have seen this going around Facebook...the prompt is "here are 10 books (in no particular order) that have contributed to changing my perspective on life/the world at different points".

I think this is quite possibly the ONLY time I've thought, OOOOHHHHH I hope someone tags meeeeee! And then my friend Jenn did! I took this very seriously, in that it took me 3 days to come up with my answer. As required, I posted my list to Facebook, but it isn't enough for me to write a list, I like to give explanations. Basically, I want to tell you all why I love all of these books in hopes that I'll inspire someone else to read and love them too. Here's the list:

1. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
While written for children, these have changed my perspective on God, heaven, and spirituality as it relates to the world in which we live more than any other work of fiction. I cannot tell you how many times I've reread these books to myself, read them aloud to nanny children, listened to the audiobooks, etc.

2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
I love how Steinbeck tells stories. It inspires me to want to write better, to speak better even. Also, this story changed my perspective God and humanity all while keeping me highly entertained for 700 pages. When asked, East of Eden is most often my answer for favorite book.

3. First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung
I read this after traveling to Cambodia, its a powerful story of one girl's life under the Khmer Rouge, giving a personal perspective on historical events. I couldn't imagine going through something like this. This memoir left me me amazed at the strength within a person, inspired to be stronger in my own life and thankful for everything that I have.

4. My Life in France by Julia Child
This is the story of a middle aged woman who couldn't cook, who worked incredibly hard and didn't give up when people told her she'd never succeed. She proved them all wrong in the end. I want to be her.

5. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
The memoir of a boy growing up black in apartheid South Africa. Mark recounts an time in his childhood where he is searching for food with his mom in a dump, they are thrilled to discover rotten eggs. Every time I boil an egg, I think of this scene.

6. The Bang Bang Club by Greg Marinovich
This is a memoir of photojournalists capturing the ending of apartheid South Africa, they saw some crazy things and had to walk that line fine line of shooting things as they happened or choosing to step in and get involved. Even though I've never seen anything as extreme as what these guys were shooting, I am reminded of this book when we shoot in the developing world and the question of which is more important- shooting what's happening to tell the story, or immediate assistance- the question has to be answered over and over and yet still sometimes you walk away wondering if you made the right choice.

7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I think this should be required reading for everyone, ever. I love this book. If you haven't read it, go do so now.

8. King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild
This shaped my understanding on the impact of colonialism on an entire continent and how that's impacted the world today.

9. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling
Among other things, this book has helped me to come to terms with my non-traditional creative lifestyle. If Mindy says it's OK to work from bed, I will no longer feel guilty when I've gotten 10 hours of work done and I'm still in my pajamas.

10. When We Were on Fire by Addie Zierman
Reading this book was eerie. It the story of someone else's adolescence, but so similar to my own. I recommend this to anyone who grew up in an evangelical Christian church in the 90's/00's, whether you identify as a Christian now or not, this book is healing.


Honorable mention goes to everything written by J.D. Salinger. The only reason he didn't make the list is because I couldn't pick one book! I love all of his short stories about the Glass family and you should read them too!

Monday Motivation

I'm in mourning for the end of summer. Oh how I despise September 1st. I keep telling myself that summer technically isn't over until September 21st, but this feels like the end, doesn't it? 

Anyway, it's a sunny day in Seattle, I'm off to meet Teresa and some friends for lunch and I plan on trying to soak up the last little bit of summer to keep the feeling of sunshine, warmth and lightness with me into the cold. 

Image via Brewed Together