Archive for October, 2011
Green Tip!! Jar labels…
Reuse reuse reuse… Easy. We say it all the time. Not only are you saving a little of the green stuff in your wallet, but the green goodness of the earth too!
One complaint we hear on switching over to the reuse of containers… “it’s an old jam jar… it’s not that cute… it doesn’t match my flatware”… no more excuses, Love Mae pretties them up with lovely fabric adhesive labels! Oh, and of course, they are removable and reusable.
A sweet thank you to our dear friend Lily of Daydream Lily for sharing!
Coat time…
While there is no snow falling in So-Cal, icy flakes have definitely graced many part of the U.S. already this fall season… Time to coat up? Yes.
If all you need is a nice light coat… go with the Kipton! Sporty letter-man style, with raised collar and thick ribbing (wearing it as we speak!)
Need to bundle up for snow? The Primrose coat is the perfect anorak cut, with removable fur hood and vibrant Aztec patterned lining!
Porcelain books…
Made by Kristine and Sabine of Denmark… with a love for storytelling
What book are you eating off of?
Pretty discovery from Where the Lovely Things Are
Couch Surfing to Wake Surfing by Guest Blogger Brooke Kelley
My first night back at home, I sat there on the end of my bed pondering. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a whole bed/bathroom/room to myself…to call my own.
You see I had mastered the sport of couch surfing and wasn’t so sure about this whole sleeping by myself, let alone, a whole room to myself thing. Honestly, I don’t like it… nope, not one bit! I came to the conclusion that some people are just natural born couch surfers. It’s a lifestyle few can handle. If you too find yourself traveling on the road, jumping from one place to the next and are in need of a place to crash, here are some helpful tips that might help:
Tips on how to couch surf:
1. Try and pick families to stay with rather than kids your own age…the families usually have moms (which also means a stocked fridge) that love to take care of a grateful youngin’.
2. If you are not a heavy sleeper… pretend that you are. By being or taking on the roll of a heavy sleeper, the household you are staying in will never be worried or nervous that they will wake you. Therefore you are not a hinder to their everyday routine.
3. Don’t even think about munchin’ on their grubby grub! Even if they offer, they are doing it to be polite. After becoming tight with the host home, you will know when the time shall come when to take the next step… Which is mooching their food.
4. No over lingering. You don’t want to come off as hobo mooch that has nothing better to do than to sleep in, watch the food network and eat all of their honey bunches of oats. Get outta there early, as if you have somewhere important to go and let them miss you and want you to come back.
5. Use your noodle and think outside the box. Leave them a little love note saying how much you appreciate their humble abode and how much greater the couch is then your car.
These are just a few great tips that will get you far. Literally. You can travel anywhere with skills like these.
I would like to also take this time to thank all of the families and friends that have offered up there cozy comfy (some not so cozy…and sort of smelly…) couches to me. I will be settling my couch surfing cravings with wake-surfing here on the lake until I return to you.
With much love and appreciation
Brooke
Marvin Shagnasty by Guest Blogger Brooke Kelley
This post is one of my favorite additions that we created inside the Paint Box Café. My mom had a great idea on how to hide this beyond ugly post that stuck out like a sore thumb. As we were preparing to open the café we had all of our closest friends and family bring by a trinket or keep safe of some sort that meant something of special value to them to mosaic onto the post. Its so neat when someone pops in that has something stuck to the post and begins to spill about their story or why they stuck what they stuck into the post.
One of my personal favorite doo-dads stuck in the post is a hand full of golf tees. My brother and I stuck them in there in honor of my dad. All of his buddies would always refer to him has Marvin Shagnasty and he would never tell us why, until that one day came, when we were finally old enough. Long story short, he was quite the ladies man… or so we heard. Growing up He would sign his name as Marvin Shagnasty any chance he got and all of his lady friends literally thought that his name was Marvin. Now the nickname has been passed down to my brother Blake. After my dad passed away when I was young his best friend had these golf tees made for a good chuckle or two.
Here’s to you Kim o’daddy Kelley! You clever son of a gun!
Time to think…
Eden Advocate Brooke Reidt‘s journal “doodles” are pure masterpiece…
Whether you draw stick figures or paint the Mona Lisa in perfect form… doodling is good for the mind!
More on Advocate Brooke Reidt
Borrow from the boys…
Sharing is caring… Looks like Sophia Lie borrowed boyfriend Ashton’s Element Cornell hoody!
“Where troubles melt like lemon drops” By Guest Blogger Brooke Kelley
One thing I love about long road trips or plane rides is that it almost forces you to do, mmm close to nothing. Which leaves you lots of time to ponder and just be still. As we were inching our way closer and closer to home sweet home I began to prepare myself for the changes to come. Just then the air began to fill with the sweet smell of a warm fall Midwest rain. Ohh how I missed that smell!! The droplets pitter-pattered against my poor worn out car and I continued to daydream.
Daydreaming about how much joy I am so blessed to receive by so many all over the country. Joy from working with so many, in hopes of helping to make their visions or dreams come true. That sort of joy is unlike any other that cannot be bought or found through material things. I quickly snap back to reality as we drive over an old familiar bridge that crossed the lake that is so near and dear to all locals at Lake of the Ozarks. Just then over the top of the next hill, there formed not one rainbow but TWO! I could not have asked for a better welcoming gift!
I am thankful that I learned about this joy through example of all of the amazing people I grew up around, here in my hometown. Because of them I feel empowered to go out and be just like this rainbow, a vessel of hope… Hope that brings a promise of sunshine and clear skies.
Stay tuned! The adventures are just beginning!
1 day and 3 hours… without traffic by Guest Blogger Brooke Kelley
They say home is where the heart is. Looking back on these past three years of traveling and sofa surfing up and down the west coast I am blown away at how many homes have stolen my heart. BUT as amazing as each and every sofa and family I impose on…nothing beats good ol’ home sweet home. It is because of my amazing rock of a family and friends that I have been so blessed with at home that I am able to have the confidence and endurance to take on the rest of the world.
I could not have dreamed up anything better than exactly what I was doing in Cali. but at the same time I could not ignore the faint long distance call to wonder back homeward for a little. “Cali. has everything any one could ever ask for!” I hear everyone say. Oh, and I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I hear this one…”Missouri?!…oh you mean Misery!!” At the end of this adventure, every single one of those scallywags will be asking to sleep on MY sofa for a change! Stay tuned to the journey homeward and the hidden treasure that is to be found in good ol’Lake of the Ozarks!
Guest Blogger!!
Brooke Kelley is one of those women that could could turn a button, tin trashcan and old newspaper, into the most beautiful creative craft project one could ever imagine! Using her passionate and artistic mind to teach, inspire, collaborate and create, Brooke has made it her mission in life to put her hands to work (literally), building up and blessing those around her.
While we were blessed enough to meet Brooke through our good friends at Toms Shoes… our time with her in So-Cal was short and she is now on an adventure to share her creativity throughout the states, landing in her home town of the Ozarks in Missouri!
Since we couldn’t join her on the road trip (and I’m sure many of you readers won’t be joining her either) we figured the next best thing would be to have her take over the blog with a photo journal of all she hits along the way!
Stay tuned as she launches with a post on her going away “art-party” at Zebra Coffee House held last weekend!
More of Brooke Kelley on her blog Vanilla Abstract