Flower Child

I'm having fun with flower crowns and I'm getting the hang of it.  They come together quite organically and the finished product is always so beautiful.

" The earth laughs in flowers." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

S P R I N G fever

Yes I think I have a fever.  On these beautiful days when the sun is shining I can feel the healing of spring upon us.  The first site of buds on the trees and bushes is so sweet.  Our gardens are so bare and dark and mushy we are ready to welcome life and color.

I am inspired to try my hand at flower crowns.  I love to wear flowers in my hair and I have found so many incredible images of impeccable floral crowns that honestly create a sense of excitement and joy. From natural and woodsy to avant garde and extraordinary.

" Let us dance in the sun wearing wild flowers in our hair."

Find me on pinterest if you like.

waiting...

We are anxiously waiting for our littles arrival.  I thought he may have come on Sunday but here we are  on Thursday and he is still all cozy inside.  I am practicing patience and calmness but honestly some moments I am downright cranky.  My body is doing lots of work I can feel it all in and out and around my belly. So many movements and positions are near impossible for me now.  I am so challenged by the limitations on me physically. It is such a time of personal strength and vulnerability all hand in hand.    Such a rich, raw moment in time. I try to remind myself of this often as I try to joyfully embrace each and every moment. Our perfect little fella will be in our arms so very soon.

my favorite work of art

My children are in fact my favorite things I have created... by far. Though they have their own strong personalities and often times in a day I am challenged by them and their intense independence, or lack there of, they still remain my most prized art I have yet to create.  And here I am only about 6 weeks left till I welcome #3. Another sweet boy will be among us.

We are preparing for a lovely home birth. Which will have allowed me experience with many ways of birthing. Baby #1 was born in the hospital, I was induced, had my water broke and still had a drug free labor that I can say was as pleasant as can be. Baby #2 was born at the birth center, I showed up 5cm dilated and he was born 1.5 hours later, rather quick, of course intense, but so beautiful. And now baby #3 will be born at home, in the same room where he was made he will be introduced to this world, surrounded by loved ones eagerly anticipating seeing his sweet face for the very first time.

I love childbirth! There is something so magical about witnessing your body conquer this great task of nature and how it in fact knows exactly what to do to get the job done. You just need to truly trust in the power of your body and let it do its work. Believe in yourself and empower your body with positive thoughts of opening and letting go in surrender to its divinity. Witness the magic happen then be in blissful awe and true joy as you hold your brand new tiny human creation.  Stunning!

bayou boho jewels

Brass, gold, copper, lapis and turquoise oh my! Stay warm with some lovely new jewels.  Find new pieces in my SHOP with more to come real soon.

the process of creation

Hello trimester 3. The process of creation is such an incredible journey. Three months to go. I am grateful to say that things are going very smoothly (except for those couple of months in the beginning that ran me ragged). Seeing and feeling the obvious growth of human life inside of me is such an amazement and a joy. True magic.  I love witnessing my sweet hubby as he is fascinated by his child growing inside of my belly and my two littles are so intrigued and excited to welcome their baby brother. We are blissful with love and happiness to meet this little fella.

an Edenic life

I could not resist the urge to share the beauty of this handmade oasis.  So amazing the things we can nearly single-handedly accomplish when we are inspired and filled with passion.

What a lovely bohemian botanical home in L.A. where this artist/musician made the best of limited space she shares with her mother. With her use of scrap materials she collected from friends and secondhand sources she has created an amazing space that is surrounded by the beauty of plants. "An almost Edenic domestic life".

Find more great pics HERE
Find the full interview HERE ...it is an inspirational must read!!

oh what a summer...

Over the last couple of months I have been here and there, down south, out west but mostly under a rock. I have been hibernating in this time called the 1st trimester. Some of you may be familiar with that particular time in a woman's life. That time when you are blessed with the magic of creating a life inside. That time when, if you are so lucky, you feel like you have the flu for nearly 8 weeks straight. You feel like you may never be your healthy, vibrant, motivated self again. That time when your energy is so low and you are so wholly and completely filled with nausea that you can barely function. Well, thats what I was doing with my time under a rock.

You see I planned this lengthy, adventure packed trip for my family and I to hit the west coast and make memories for the month of July. Just before (like less then a week) departing on said adventure I found out I was pregnant.  Which is blessed news of course. We are thrilled to be welcoming another love-made human critter into our hearts.  BUT with said news that meant I spent our 'adventure' filled month struggling and dragging myself along. I was often times a couch ornament. A little disappointing for my previous expectations but I have to say that I honestly have so much gratitude for the trip because it allowed my kiddos a summer full of west coast, redwood forest, jewel toned river MEMORIES.

Now at 14 weeks (today) I finally feel like I am coming back alive. Slowly becoming my good ole' self again + one healthy, perfect naval orange sized baby growing within. So after my absence and inactivity I am feeling inspired to jump back into this here journal of mine and share some of our summer's adventure.

The plan was to fly into San Francisco, pick up our rental car and head east making a few stops along the way over about a weeks time before heading northwest...but a little accident at the SF international airport happened only hours before our plane was headed to land at said airport. So after deliberation of our options we chose to fly into San Diego. This would get us the closest to our original plan the soonest but added about 12 hours more driving time to the agenda. Honestly, it was a sweet surprise to be able to see dear friends in So Cal that we would not have other wise crossed paths with on our journey.  While driving north to SF we made our way through LA as quickly as possible. We made no stops before or just after that city until we were far clear of the deadlock traffic that LA is known for.  We made it through... with only one bag full of barf to dispose of at the first safe place to stop way passed any threat of dreaded traffic.  We were determined.

As sunset approached we stopped in the quaint little town of Morro Bay for the night. The next day before continuing on the road again we took a nice walk along the beach where we collected 17 sand dollars and made some small sea creature friends.

At the beginning of the trip sweet lil Sage had such trouble leaving places and often times even arriving.  Of course we stopped along the PCH many times to see the sights and every time he struggled with leaving and would throw a fit with lots of crying.  We would tell him we had lots more adventure ahead and would mention our next destination and he would yell how much he did not want to go to said place.  Then we arrived and would later leave again where he would throw his crying fit because he didn't want to go only to be told of our next adventure and he was sure to let us know he did not want to go there. Over and over again...
Here's him struggling with having to leave his new found friend (pictured above) behind.

We made it through the heart break and we continued our journey north.  Since we were all adjusting, barely 2 days in I was feeling so drained already unfortunately I did not take out my camera as much as I would have liked. Also because the phone is such a convenient camera these days with the satisfaction of instagram I often opted for that route. So... I will include many of those great insta pics of our adventure soon. Plus more of our magical sea creature, ancient forest filled journey to be continued...

the Super Moon

Here is an incredible picture taken by a friend of mine. In his words "his attempt at the super moon" I will say it is a pretty flawless attempt.  I am left fascinated in its beauty.  Find more of Tristan's photography here.

invoking

Her photography is breathtaking. Emotion provoking. Spirit invoking.  I like what she has done with paint on her original photos. I especially like the horse. A click around her online presence and I am left inspired yet again.

Alexandra Valenti  website // shop

"honor the spiritual fire"

Summertime...it's time for family and fun in the sun. It is when the days are longer than the nights and overall there is more LIGHT. As you celebrate and honor the light of the sun, honor Your Light within!

Here are some words from Mystic Mama...

She shares many great ideas of special things you can do to celebrate in honor... click here

Summer Solstice is Friday June 21

... Happy Solstice ...

Note // I have recently fallen in love with the insight and wisdom I am finding upon the pages of Mystic Mama, I hope you find inspiration their too.

California Dreaming

Northern California here we come!!!! The tickets are purchased and we are headed to Cali for a family road trip. We will visit family and friends that are pretty much family. I am so heavenly excited to be taking this long awaited adventure with my hubby and our littles. I have dreamed of this trip. I love that part of the country. Majestic forests of gigantic old growth trees. Crystal clear flowing rivers for cleansing the spirit. Winding roads for daydreaming. Progressive minds and alternative lifestyles. We are going even beyond where I have been before, we will be heading north along the coast to Portland, OR. Maybe even hitting up a festival I have dreamed of attending for many years. 

Dreams do come true folks though it often takes courage to follow them through.  I say this from personal experience. I have dealt with many feelings of doubt and fear, feelings that are not completely invisible even yet but I am/will overcome those feelings of self suppression. I am pushing aside the barriers of my daily  trivial self and I am taking the plunge into the dream.  If I can do it You can do it...

Here's to making our dreams our reality!

our tiny urban farm

We have not a farm but we have dreams of one. A small one. We live in a quaint little neighborhood  only a minutes bike ride from downtown in our overgrowing green yard where we are creating a nice comfy space for ourselves and our children. For the squirrels, cardinals, blue-jays, finches and sparrows, as well as a neighbors cat or two. 

As we welcomed Spring I watched two tiny little birdies work together to build their nest in a handmade birdhouse just outside our back door.  I saw them flying through the air with one tiny branch or leaf clinched in their beak making many trips to and fro.  I was happy to be watching them work like a sweet family nesting for the birth of a new baby.

Just a couple of weeks ago we welcomed our bee hive that we were keeping on a piece of land on the bayou, it's a pleasant sight to watch these creatures do there work. They are rather calm and not at all aggressive. They are busy bees on a mission to collect pollen and make honey. Honey that we enjoy very much.  Just the other morning as I was sipping my coffee out back I watched one travel the Lily's petal to the center as though it was entering a cave, I love to witness that.

This past weekend we brought home our new friend Pedro, a pygmy goat.  He is a sweet little fella, he and Sage are good friends already.  It is so endearing and funny to watch those two play as they do.  It fills me with giggles as I watch my little goldy locks of a boy walk his new tiny hoofed friend down our street. A delightful sight I tell ya.

As of Sunday we even have a rocket ship for imaginary play that Sage inspired by his recent playtime fascinations.  Made completely from salvaged materials and Super Sage loves it.

It's the small things for us and that is sacred to me.

taking time for family + nature

We just spent a perfect weekend visiting the Greats while welcoming Spring. Spring time has to be the most beautiful out there. It's so special that our littles get to make memories with their great-grandparents we seriously need to make a point to visit more often. My hubby's grandparents live about 2 hours away on 20 acres of pine forest where azaleas, camellias and moss surround you with so much beauty. The orchard was filled with the scent of orange blossoms and I love all the shades of green. New green, fresh green, spring green. Combined with the rusty brown-red of the fallen pine needles, the gray green of the moss and the burst of color from the wild flower patches, I am always left inspired.

You can find more pictures of the beautiful land these very special Greats call home here.

ROCKin'

< source >

How to hollow out and drill holes into rocks. Yes Please!!!  I just happened upon this how-to following a pinterest picture to its source.  I am excited to give this a try.

I have yet to try for myself. I have copied and pasted these helpful pointers from the blog 

Live In Art

Drilling holes in rocks...

Materials Needed:
High speed rotary tool a large drill press or a dremel tool works well.
Pointed masonry drill bit or a hollow, diamond-tipped coring bit. For drilling holes in smaller stones used in jewelry, a 2.5mm diameter bit is a good size.
Plastic container to hold water so you can drill your stone under water. Drilling underwater cools off the bit and which will speed up your drilling and keep your stone from over heating.
Adjustable wrench to hold your rock in place while drilling.
Goggles
Small sedimentary rocks (sandstone, limestone, etc when scouring the beach for rocks, these tend to be well rounded)


1. Put on your goggles.
2. Using your wrench, firmly hold a rock inside your container, just beneath the water. Hold them steady.
3. Turn on the rotary tool and hold it perpendicular to the rock. Press firmly but gently. Do NOT rotate the hand holding the rock or else the rock will crack. The water will become cloudy, but that's fine. Continue to push firmly until the bit pokes through the other side.

Hollow out rocks...

Materials Needed:
High speed rotary tool  a large drill press or a dremel tool
A small (2mm diameter) and large (10mm) hollow,diamond-tipped coring bit.
Plastic container to hold water so you can drill your stone under water. Drilling underwater cools off the bit and which will speed up your drilling and keep your stone from over heating.
Adjustable wrench to hold your rock in place while drilling.
Goggles
Small sedimentary rocks (sandstone, limestone, etc when scouring the beach for rocks, these tend to be well rounded)

bring me to water

A flowing mountain stream in February. What a pleasure it was to awaken to the brisk morning air kissing my barely open eyes. Only to begin the day with a warm fire on the river's bank. All was quiet, near ghostly. The sound of the crystal clear water rushing over the rocks, as if man had placed each one of them there particularly. Cold like ice to the touch. Refreshing in so many ways.
Ahh....
Thank you.
Mother nature's water ways are so special to me and these are some of the oldest in the world. I am thankful we have finally met. Of course the blue ridge in the horizon adds a beautiful backdrop to its story.