Lisa Leonard Loot

I love Lisa Leonard's jewelry.

And I love me some free stuff.

Simple Mom is doing a giveaway

for $50 towards one of Lisa's pieces.

If you've never seen her stuff, you must.

Go check it out.

Go Green. Recycle a cow.

Buy this lovely little lady here.

Kick-Ass Kitchen

One of Greta's favorite things to do is to play with the kitchen she received as a birthday gift. She mainly enjoys taking out the sink and hauling it around the house and hiding the fork and spoon in odd places like in our bathroom or in my shoes in my closet. Here's Greta playing with her cousin, Ella, just a couple months ago. They look a little perturbed that I dared to interrupt their playtime with taking a picture. THE NERVE OF ME!

I was inspired to write this post by a recent blog entry that I came across, featuring a television entertainment center repurposed as a play kitchen. I may be 31 years-old, but I'm a bit jealous of the kiddos who get to play with this fun concoction. Check it out!

What Mama Does When She's Away to Play

I went to a three-day crop at For Keeps Sake this past weekend. It's always nice to get away for a bit and have some time to myself, although I sure do miss the little rugrat, but that only makes it that much sweeter to return home.

I've never posted my work online before, but I thought I'd give it a shot. The photos aren't the best, but aw, well.

I'm figuring it out.

I love quotes. I collect them. When I find one I like, I write it down in a little book that I keep. I just found one that really struck a cord with me. It's by Anais Nin.

"We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection."

Last week I wrote a post, attempting to delicately express my frustrations of a seemingly non-existent audience and about my apprehension to continue blogging. Or maybe I was just whining about feeling underappreciated. I don't know. But I do know this: maybe I don't know the sole purpose of my blog and I don't always have a particular focus; but I DO NOT blog to feel appreciated. That is definitely not the reason I write. It never has been. I've always written for me. Because I like it. Because it feels good to write. And I feel like the truest most authentic form of ME when I write.

Nin's quote reminds me of why I blog. And also of why I want to blog more.

I'm loving life right now, and I want to savor it. Blogging helps me do that.

Impressed

I keep meaning to post more about Greta's birthday -- maybe some photos and maybe a little 411 on how we celebrated the big day. Truth is, we just keep getting further and further from the date (July 6), so I keep putting off writing about it.

Here's a little "taste" -- a little look-see at the invitations I made for Greta's first birthday party. The theme was ice cream. Greta loves ice cream, and frankly, so do Eric and I. (Um, who doesn't like ice cream? Well, I'll answer that -- Greta's Poppy doesn't like ice cream, but that is because he exercises, eats well and makes other healthful lifestyle choices. And he's trim and in shape. Skinny people don't like ice cream. Fat people do. Well, fat people and apparently children. I digress...)

It took me quite a bit of time to make these invitations. Lots of time shopping for the perfect paper, cutting and gluing and all that. Thank God for my mother-in-law. She likes to get her craft on every once in a while. I think the time spent was well worth it. In the end, I was quite proud of the result.

In fact, I was so proud of my invitations that I decided to enter my work into a contest. And guess what!?! I won! There's a little shop called Impress Rubber Stamps. I sent them one of my invitations, and a few weeks later, I was greeted by a surprise package at my front door. I'm not sure what I was more excited about -- the fun contents of the box or the fact that I'd won something!

Splish Splash

We've been keeping busy these days, enjoying the August days of summer. Greta loves the water...

with Daddy @ the pool

Scrubbin' in the tub

First time @ The Lake of the Ozarks


Loving the fountains

@ the City Garden

World's Worst Blogger?

One of my favorite all-time favorite hobbies is going to the movie theatre to catch a film on the big screen. Last night, I decided I was long overdue for some fun me-time, so I went and saw the movie Julie and Julia. The movie intertwines the lives of the famous chef, Julia Child, and Julie Powell, a young woman who decides to follow Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and then blog about her cooking experiences.

Powell's blog has a purpose. And that purpose is to showcase various Julia Child recipes over the course of 365 days. Powell's blog attracts an audience mainly of friends and family but over time draws a sturdy readership of foodies. Powell's blog has a target audience. She has a reason to blog.

This is why I think that I am such a bad blogger. I don't have a target audience, and I don't have a specific purpose. I've loved to write since I was a young child. And while blogging provides an outlet for me to creatively express my thoughts, it sometimes feels like a chore. It's not a chore because I don't enjoy it. Like I said, writing has always been my passion. I think it feels like work because I don't know what to say. I don't know WHO I'm aiming at or who I'm talking to. Frankly, I feel like how Powell felt in the movie, when she first started blogging. I don't know if anyone reads what I write, and it's not like I just do it for the sake of other people, but since I don't think anyone reads, I don't feel any sort of accountability. It's like, why bust my butt to write an essay -- albeit however enjoyable the subject matter - if there are no professors or other students in the class?

Another thing that makes me such a bad blogger? My tendency to ramble.