a mama's heart

I read this amazing story almost two years ago and was touched by Kelle's raw, honest voice and the beautiful photographs of this life-changing moment. Her experience is all about grief and families and numbness and mostly love and facing a new, different kind of life than the one she imagined; it is a story of true human experience.  Kelle's story broke my heart in all the right ways, if that makes any sense. It opened my eyes and heart to the strength of women and mothers everywhere, and it showed me how truly beautiful people are made.

This morning I was happy to read her post about little Nella's second birthday and about the people they are today. I needed to be reminded that chaos, fear, uncertainty, and pain are only temporary, fleeting states of being, and that love, courage, families, and truth stay always, sustaining us while we learn to change and accept a bigger and more meaningful version of ourselves.

Kelle also shared this quote that made my heart catch in my throat:

"Awareness born of love is the only force that can bring healing and renewal. Out of our love for another person, we become more willing to let our old identities wither and fall away, and enter a dark night of the soul, so that we may stand naked once more in the presence of the great mystery that lies at the core of our being. This is how love ripens us -by warming us from within, inspiring us to break out of our shell, and lighting our way through the dark passage to new birth."

-John Welwood

Thank you for all of your kind comments and messages during the past few weeks. I can't express to you how important it is to feel connected and supported and heard while sorting out and moving forward with our "new normal". Thank you for allowing me to feel all of those things. XO

move, eat, learn

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.


"3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38,000 miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras, and almost a terabyte of footage...all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning, and food into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling films. "


This series of sweet videos made my morning. I love when creative people make such beautiful things. You can find the other two videos here; I think they'll make you want to shake things up a bit (and maybe regret the leftover grilled cheese sandwich crusts you ate for lunch!).

writing sheds and cabin dreams

I recently stumbled upon this interesting article about famous writers' small writing sheds and backyard cottages. The one pictured above is Roald Dahl's writing hut, the Gipsy House (the yellow door!). I've always been fascinated by the objects creative people choose to surround themselves with in their most intimate spaces: loose papers tacked to walls, photos of family members, plenty of light, magazine cuttings, comfortable chairs, and bits of nature tucked here and there.

I thought Dahl was fantastically particular about his surroundings:

"The whole of the inside was organised as a place for writing: so the old wing-back chair had part of the back burrowed out to make it more comfortable; he had a sleeping bag that he put his legs in when it was cold and a footstool to rest them on; he had a very characteristic Roald arrangement for a writing table with a bar across the arms of the chair and a cardboard tube that altered the angle of the board on which he wrote. As he didn't want to move from his chair everything was within reach. He wrote on yellow legal paper with his favourite kind of pencils; he started off with a handful of them ready sharpened..." - from The Guardian

 

I think my favorite is Dylan Thomas' "wordsplashed hut", which was actually a boat house located on a cliff in Laugharne. The walls were covered in lists of rhyming words and alliterations, and magazine clippings of Walt Whitman, W.H. Auden, and William Blake.

I think I'm particularly drawn to these spaces because all I want to do this summer is find a little cabin in the woods somewhere and hide out for a few weeks (or months, if we could swing it). I just want to wander around in the woods for a while, go fishing, swim in a lake, maybe write a bit, and definitely read late into the night. It just sounds nice to get away, hang out together, and be as far away from Wonder Pets and the Fart Piano app (ugh. i can't tell you how much I dislike both of these things, or how much my kids love them) as humanly possible.

What about you? Any big plans or dreams for the summer? Maybe a spare cabin I can borrow for all of August? Yes?

anna lappé: yoga, food, and activism

image via green spaces

Earlier today, as I was thumbing through my March issue of Yoga Journal I came across a beautiful and powerful essay by Anna Lappé and was incredibly moved by her words, specifically this excerpt:

"Like yoga, activism is a practice.  There are days when you stare setback in the eye. Yesterday you held Handstand; today your legs feel like lead. On those days, I remind myself that sometimes what feels like a setback is really preparation for a big leap forward.  And that progress isn't a neat linear path.


"As we align our daily choices with our environmental values, we shift our sense of self.  The German physicist Hans-Peter Dürr said that once we understand ecology, we see 'there are no parts; there are only participants.' While our efforts may vary in size and strategy, they're all about shifting our mindset to see ourselves as active participants in shaping the future of food. When we do this, we see our food differently."

And now I've spent the entire evening finding out all there is to know about Anna Lappé; from her books, to her roots (her mother is Frances Lappé, author of Diet For a Small Planet), and even her wonderful blog, which is full of great articles and thought-provoking videos, including this one I found particularly sweet entitled Nourish Means... where you will see many familiar faces (Jamie Oliver, Alice Waters, and Michael Pollan, just to name a few).



Isn't that beautiful?  I think everything I truly believe about wholeness, awareness, and community is summarized perfectly in this short clip.

"What nourish means to me, in the really grand sense of the word, is attending to one another in a way that encourages one another to live well."

around the house + fighting the doldrums

Helllooooo, February! Man, was January rough for the Swan household. Lots of sick bodies, teething babies, and a big fat dose of cabin fever for all. I kind of thrive on green and warm and no shoes ever; so, needless to say, my winter heart is feeling a bit weary.

Here are a few things that have brought me a lot of joy lately, maybe you'll find something that will warm your heart too:

-I bought a few new house plants to bring some green to our lives, and I spend many an afternoon with the drapes open wide and the blinds pulled way up watching their leaves follow the sunlight.

-I also found these happy, watercolor-y pillows at Cost Plus a few weeks ago and they kind of remind me of my all time favorite pillows from bluebellgrey ( I really love linen. And pompoms.). They make my heart happy every time I walk into my living room.

- Last week I checked out a big 'ol stack of David Sedaris books, and my out loud belly laughing has kept me nice and warm.

- I bought some new make up about an hour ago and I'm feeling like I just spent the best $25 of my life.

- My yin yoga practice. Deep, slow stretching feels healing and grounding to my restless mind.

- Planning a little project of love for the people I love. I'm working on it today and all I can tell you is that there will be loads of red gingham, a little boy bow tie, and (hopefully!)  the cutie pie smiling faces of my babes.

- Too much chocolate and salted butter caramel (Please, please try this recipe. It will change your life.).

Are you feeling the doldrums too? What kind of things help you pull through the long winter? I would love to steal read your ideas. XO

diane rehm : new dietary guidelines from the USDA

On my way to teach yoga this morning, I caught part of this interview about the new dietary guidelines put out by the USDA. The guidelines were inconsequential, but the panel was fearless, questioning the purpose of the USDA and pointing out the link between government subsidies and processed foods. The questions that came pouring in were smart and direct; it was enough to make my little hippie heart sing.

You can find the entire interview here.

persistence

This video by Ira Glass on persistence + creative work is incredibly honest, funny, and refreshing. I often think that talent and skill come naturally to most people, and take for granted the amount of time and work goes into a successful, creative life.

"...most everybody I know who does interesting, creative work, they went through a phase of years where they had really good taste and they could tell what they were making wasn't as good as they wanted it to be."

"It takes a while ...you just have to fight your way through that. You will be fierce, you will be a warrior, and you will make things that aren't as good as you know in your heart that you want them to be, and you'll just make one after another."

It's awesome, and kind of reminds me of Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour theory, where he claims that the key to success in any field is a matter of practicing a specific task for 10,000 (!!!) hours. The difference between the good and the great isn't necessarily skill, talent, or opportunity - just persistence and a whole lot of work.

video via nicole's making it lovely.

advent calendars

I love advent calendars. I love finding tiny packages tucked into pockets each day + planning small, festive activities to celebrate the season. For the past few years I have created a different calendar each year, but I think I want to find something a little more permanent - something that signifies the beginning of the Christmas season in our home and something the kids will associate with their childhood Christmas experiences when they are grown.

Here are a few that have been on my mind for the past few weeks:

  

 

the gorgeous tuuni linen calendar via bliss. burlap sack calendar + tiny packages calendar via oh happy day. felt tree calendar via inchmark. i think this one is especially sweet - i can't imagine how long it would take to stitch all of those tiny ornaments!

Nickey-Kehoe

 

Love this warm + comfortable home from Todd Nickey + Amy Kehoe of Nickey-Kehoe. If I remember correctly, this home was featured in Domino a few years back, maybe the home of Mark Ruffalo + Sunrise Coigney ? FYI, I didn't really know her name - totally googled it.

I think this is one of my favorite kids rooms of all time - love the stuff hanging all over.

via desire to inspire

neighborhood party inspiration

I am on the planning committee for our neighborhood Christmas party this year + I've been brainstorming for weeks on possible decorations + fun activities for the kids. Our theme is Polar Express + we are (hopefully!) going to transform a hallway into a train, a foyer into a train station, half of a gymnasium into a cafe, and the other into the North Pole....yeah, I know. I'm going to be a busy lady for the next few weeks!

I love styling for the Little Winter market that took place a few weeks ago - Chelsea always does such an amazing job. I'm thinking of doing a similar look for the vintage train station + cafe. Lots of black + white gingham, touches of red, luminaries made out of kraft paper bags, and lots of fresh pine boughs. Hopefully I can gather a few lanterns + vintage suitcases to help round out the theme.

Here is the poster I designed for the activity:
 

We are also going to hand deliver tiny golden boarding passes to all of the families, and seal them with red wax Santa stamps! I'm really excited about this project + all of the possibilities with our theme. Here's  hoping we can pull it all together in the next three weeks!

thoughts on prettiness

I've been thinking a lot about this post from A Dress a Day, specifically this quote:

"You Don't Have to Be Pretty. You don't owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend/spouse/partner, not to your co-workers, especially not to random men on the street. You don't owe it to your mother, you don't owe it to your children, you don't owe it to civilization in general. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked "female". "

Now, I love pretty. I love patterned tights + twirly dresses, shimmery lipgloss + shiny of all kinds, and I especially love anything with flowers printed all over. Anything. But, do you want to know what really stops me in my tracks? Women who feel comfortable + confident in their own skin. Women who create their own brand of strength, originality, kindness, humor, intelligence, and quirkiness and totally own it. Women who make 'pretty' too small a word for who + what they authentically are, deep down. 


Renata is my muse for ageless beauty + becoming a woman of substance - isn't she stunning?

image via the sartorialist.

hair crisis

I'm have a bit of a hair crisis these days. I've been ever so patiently growing out the sleek, shorty short cut I've had for the past few years into (what I hope!) will be gorgeous, messy, long, perfectly imperfect waves. But, I am reaching a breaking point, my friends. My hair is just below my shoulders and I've been sporting a flippy Jennifer Aniston circa 1996 hair style for the past few months, and I. JUST. CAN'T. TAKE. IT. ANYMORE.

 Promise me the ugly is almost over? Please? Okay, fine...I'll just keep looking for gorgeous photos of gorgeous dream hair + hope they are enough motivation to help me stick it out.

all images spotted on my favorite spots, kelly, mary ruffle, and audrey hepburn complex.

ashley meaders, dream girl

Aren't you so happy there are talented people in the world who create such beautiful things? Browsing Ashely Meaders brilliant portfolio is the perfect way to spend an afternoon- especially if double stuf oreos are involved.


via the equally talented + lovely design mom.  i typically pride myself in eating pretty healthy: no processed foods, little or no meat, local produce...blah, blah, blah. BUT! on our trip i was introduced to double stuf oreos. my life is simultaneously complete + full of hydrogenated oils. sigh.