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5.26.2014

Last Week: in review



Images via Instagram
captured:
* fun moments with my girl captured by Katie Begley on a trip to the Library.
* judge if you must, but this is the only way to keep a 15 minute shopping trip from turning into a potentially hour long shopping trip. There is no shame here.
* Started a new book of short stories this week! (and learned what "allegory for assimilation" means- remember, I'm a college dropout)
* sweet reminders on a hard day.

it's the little things:
- getting to see my baby sister graduate MONDAY!! I'm so proud of her!
- getting to see a friend TUESDAY & chat with her about a potential career in Mary Kay.
-Trying Totally rocking a new easy recipe for lunch WEDNESDAY.
- Getting some alone time with an old acquaintance THURSDAY to talk about life, family, makup and air plants, and watch our new friendship blossom.
- A free spa treatment on FRIDAY, and a new mask.
- Sleeping in on SATURDAY. Thankful for a sweet husband who will let me.
- Spending time with a sweet couple SUNDAY celebrating their upcoming marriage, with beers, swans, infinity pools and baked brie. yum.

you may have missed: 
> May Giveaway: Stationary goodies!
> Currently: A peek into what's been going on with me currently
> Oklahoma Originals by Keep it Local ft. Hoboken Coffee Roasters 

links lately:
+ Miss Ainsley Mae has launched her new clothing website for little girls and it is to DIE for.
+ Making me feel all the feelings: A man in Saudi Arabia installs a fridge outside to put food in for hungry children to spare them the shame of begging. break. my. heart.
+ This foreshadowing of Tristan & Fern 10 years from now lip syncing Iggy Azalea's "fancy"
+ A Spontaneous Jam session between three strangers, which I'm pretty positive would solve all the worlds problems. more of this.


find me elsewhere: 
* talking with some other sweet girls on Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe : Why do you blog?
* Sharing about being an unwed mother in a Christian community on Katie Begley's "Strong Mom" blog series.

pinspiration:


found via pinterest: birthday party planning
Fern's birthday party is just around the corner- and I have to admit, I have been so slack at party planning. Luckily there is pinterest, where I found these SUPER cute FREE printable ice cream cone wraps. UM. adorable. Fern's birthday party has suddenly turned into a watermelon theme. Has anyone seen that crazy watermelon cake floating around the web? I wonder if that's good? hmm...

5.22.2014

Oklahoma Originals : Hoboken Coffee

If you've lived in or near any given city in the state of Oklahoma, it's probably pretty likely that you've heard of our Keep it Local program. If you haven't heard of it, either you've been living under a rock and totally mission out, OR you don't live in the state of Oklahoma- let me explain the program to you!

Image borrowed from Keep It Local blog
Keep it Local is a card program that supports participating local businesses. (and boy, do we LOVE our local businesses) For a mere $10 you can purchase a Keep It Local card. Tristan and I have had one for at least 3 years.. maybe 4? I can't recall. They expire at the end of every calendar year, so they always end up as the perfect stocking stuffer. 

When you present your keep it local card to any of the participating businesses- you receive a discount. Maybe it's 10% off your purchase, 15%, a free cup of coffee, etc. just for supporting local businesses. By choosing to support local businesses, you not only get a great personal service and value, you also help strengthen our local community and economy.

Keep It Local has started doing a video series titled "Oklahoma Originals" which highlights some of our participating local businesses! I really have no personal ties to this program or video series, other than most of them are people I have met, know well, or even consider friends because of supporting their businesses. I'm so lucky to be part of this community, even as a consumer alone. To have so many options for quality product from local businesses. I LOVE IT!

I'd like to start relaying a video per week of these great businesses and the people behind them, so if you do live in OKlahoma, maybe you'll see somewhere new you'd like to visit, or get some history behind an already favorite spot of yours. IF you don't live in OKlahoma, I'd still like to share the hearts behind our community with you and what a blessing these people are to us. 

To start us off, Meet Trey & Mallory of Hoboken Coffee. A true treasure in the heart of Guthrie, Oklahoma.




Visit Keep It Local website to learn more and find out where you can buy your own keep it local card.
+ keep an eye out on Thursdays for more "Oklahoma Originals"

:: Little Brave is not affiliated with the Keep It Local program or "Oklahoma Originals" series. This post is not a sponsored post. There was no exchange for money or gifts for the promotion of this series. All opinions are my own. ::

5.21.2014

Currently:



photo by: Katie Begley Photography
So these are fun little "get to know you" posts. I spotted one a bit ago over at Hello Tillie & decided that I'd adopt the tradition. They're kind of fun to post since [a.] it's a type of list and I'm obsessed with lists- and [b.] it's a totally laid back post that hopefully inspires some conversation in the comments section so we can get to know each other a little better.

So here's what's going on with me currently:

Reading: I JUST (finally) finished a book called "The School of Essential Ingredients", and now I'm debating on starting "Lost Lake", by my very favorite author Sarah Addison Allen- or start a book of short stories titled "St. Lucy's home for girls raised by wolves" by Karen Russell. I can't choose. Has anyone read either of those? Also Eleanor & Park is on the list- I just don't have it in my possession yet.

Feeling: Stuck? A little. but not overwhelmed by it. Just in more of a waiting place, really. Some of you know that my husband, daughter, and I have been living with my mother-in-law for quite some time now. We're FINALLY getting our own space mid-June and I couldn't be more excited! Only a couple of weeks! However, somehow it's caused me to sink into this rut of having so much inspiration, but not being able to picture pursuing any of it until we're in our space. Everything we own except for a few photos, books and clothes have been in storage for almost 2 years. I honestly don't even know what I have anymore. I'm so exciiiiiiited!

Thinking: Recently I started my own business as a Mary Kay independent beauty consultant. Mary Kay has this awesome resource for it's consultants online to do all sorts of training. There's just so much information! I'm trying to take it one lesson at a time and really soak in all of the knowledge. After all.. I am NOT a make-up guru- in any way, although I'd LOVE to be knowledgeable in skin care and how to do my makeup properly and teach other ladies to as well. So I'm really excited. I just want to lay my head on the laptop an absorb it all!

Eating: oh! this is fun. 2 things, and I totally want your opinion on the latter. 1st- I just tried this awesome recipe for homemade crispy chicken bites from Weelicious. It's SO easy. minimal ingredients. minimal prep time. and totally delicious! I made some Wednesday for lunch and then prepped and froze the rest for the rest of the week. genius!

also. my sister-in-law was telling me about this meal planning website called fresh20.  This is what I want your opinion on. Has anyone heard of it or tried it? So, you sign up- and it's only like $18ish dollars for a 3 month plan (or you can do an annual plan for just over $50) Fesh20 sends you downloadable meal plans for 5 meals per week, including all items you can prep ahead of time, your shopping list (including what they estimate for the cost of each item- love). It's a list of 20 ingredients, all of which you'll use throughout the week, and the recipes for each day. It's genius. It also sounds like it includes about 5-6 servings per dish, so you could either make less, or as I plan to do- save leftovers for lunch! The even have vegetarian and gluten free meal plan options. I downloaded the free mini-plan of 3 meals to test out before I totally commit. (you can find it at the bottom of the page on the website) Let me know if you've tried it- or what your thoughts are on it, though! I'm so interested in this!

Watching: Okay. Game of Thrones- obviously. and also- I just watched the season finale of The Mentalist! Which was amazing! Patrick Jane, I love you! Also, we started watching that Resurrection show- but totally lost track. anybody else following it? is it aliens? I don't even think I want to proceed if it's aliens.

Working on: Ideas for the shoppe! It's not anywhere near ready to re-open, but I am just brimming with ideas for it. Also- once we get into our new space I have a bazillion DIYs I want to document and share with you guys. I can't wait I can't wait!

Wanting:

  • everything in the home wares section at Target right now, especially if it's made by Threshold
  • more plants. I'm doing PRETTY good with my succulents- and trust me- the low maintenance is obviously what I need to stick with. I just want more, though! All the succulents! Give me all the succulents! 
  • Ghirardelli dark chocolate with sea salt caramel chocolates. You can get them at Target by the bag. I've eaten like.. no kidding.. 3 bags this month. each within a few days of buying the bag. They're soooo delicious! More more!

also:
 an herb garden, a white picket fence, some cute gardening boots, everything from Miss Ainsley Mae's new shop for Fern & a little playhouse outside (an upcoming 'honey-do' for T)... shall I go on? I won't, but I could.

If anyone else ever does a "currently" post like this- let me know! I'd love to read what's going on with you lately!

5.20.2014

May Stationary Giveaway!

Remember last week, when we asked all the ladies on the sidebar to tell us about their favorite letters? And then we found out about some of yours too? So fun!
To follow up with that, Morgan of Truelife of KMK and i are giving away some great goodies to inspire that letter writing of yours!

We've gone in together and collected some really sweet things on our own, as well as teamed up with  Fina of Handwritten in Love to giveaway some of her oh so sweet handmade cards! Are you excited?!

There will be 2 winners for this giveaway! One lucky winner will win a package of stationary goodness from Morgan, and another lucky winner will win the one from me! Here's the loot!


Set 1 includes:
  •  (3) "You are the Best" + (1) little bird card by Handwritten in Love 
  • "Metallic appeel" set of 6 metallic crayons 
  • "Little Gator" paperclips
  • floral + silver gem washi tapes 
I found all of the extra stationary goodies at my favorite local paper goods shoppe, Chirps and Cheers, in Edmond! 

Set 2 includes:
  • (3) "You are the Best" + (1) little bird card by Handwritten in Love
  • Card Trim
  • Sticker Pads
  • SMASH goody bag
  • note pads
  • gift tags

I love giveaways that have multiple prizes for multiple winners! And I'm so excited to hear about some of your fun letter writing inspiration and ideas. :) Enter via the rafflecopter below, and next week, we'll pick TWO winners! hooray!


a Rafflecopter giveaway



a huge thanks to Morgan for co-hosting this month's giveaway with me! So fun! It's been such a great time getting to know her through email and text. She's such a gem. You really should head over and check out her blog & say hello! you won't regret it!

5.19.2014

Last Week : In review

Just popping in quickly with some highlights from last week in case you missed anything!

images via instagram
captured:
* The roses this spring have got my heart pitter pattering.
* Party animal at my cousins weekend wedding <3 love the flower crown.
* Tristan found this little guy in a swimming pool. We put him in our garden, but he escaped before we found out he's a water turtle. womp womp.
* Fern's last day of MDO party! (until mid-June) bittersweet- I won't be getting anything done, but I sure love spending time with my little lady.

it's the little things:
- Celebrating my grandpas birthday MONDAY.
- meeting new people TUESDAY at the Mary Kay meeting. I'm shy. this is a big step.
- on WEDNESDAY Tristan found a cute little Turtle in a swimming pool!
- End of the year party THURSDAY for Fern's last day of school.
- Friends, family, beers & patio sitting on a warm FRIDAY night. Totally casual, last minute & amazing.
- We saw Godzilla SATURDAY!! It was SO AMAZING!
-SUNDAY brunch at our favorite little hole in the wall family owned diner. Tristan has been going since he was in middle school. I love having a place where everybody knows your order.

you may have missed
> Get the sillies out: out takes from Fern's photo shoot.
> May Meet + Greet

links lately
+ Canned Hammed Photos has launched and is ready to take their vintage camper turned photobooth on the road for events and weddings! So fun!
+ A fantastic breakdown of artificial sweeteners. What's in them, and what they're doing to our bodies.
+17 things people born in the late 80s are currently experiencing. TRUTH. all of them. so much.
+ Box of lies | Jennifer Lawrence vs. Jimmy Fallon.
+ probably the biggest snapping turtle you've ever seen IN YOUR LIFE. caught in a local lake by some local fishermen.

pinspiration 


found via pinterest: permanence 
I've been craving new tattoos since.... oh well.. it's pretty consistent. I have ideas, but I just don't know for sure what I want. I always thought I wanted lots of color, but I've been finding some beautiful black and grey pieces lately that are broadening my interests. Oh gosh. Either way, I hope I look like the lady pictured above when I'm her age. She's so beautiful.

5.16.2014

May Meet & Greet!

Hey readers! Every month I like to do a little "meet & greet" with the lovely ladies (and sometimes gents) who have ad space on the sidebar, so that you can get a little personality behind those fancy ads.
-That's the meet part! The greet part is when you guys comment saying hello and/or responding to the same question these ladies have been asked! It's all about community here guys, and we want to hear all about you too!

This month, I'm teaming up with Morgan of "The Truelife of KMK" to bring you a sweet little stationary giveaway. If you're anything like us, you can NEVER have too many things to decorate your snail mail with, am I right?! To follow along with the theme of letter writing + to hopefully inspire a little snail mail sending this month, I asked these ladies:

Morgan | The Truelife of KMK - "I think the most special letter I have ever gotten was from my mom and dad when I was about to leave for college. Even though it wasn't a literal piece of "snail mail" that was sent to me, it was a sweet reminder that they were praying for me and that they would always be there for me no matter what. They have stayed true to that letter ever since then and I'm so thankful for their love for me and for that sweet card they got me three years ago." (facebook + instagram)

Lorraine | The Pilgrim's Progress - "Since God called me out of England to help plant a church in a dinky town in Canada, I've been so far from all my friends back home. My most memorable piece of mail was actually a wedding invite and order of service from my friend back in England. It meant a lot to me, because I couldn't make the wedding and really appreciated having that little something that represented how she wanted to start a Jesus centered relationship with the man she was going to marry". (instagram + bloglovin)

Beth | Oak + Oats - "Mail is one of my favorite things of all time. I have received so many letters that I cherish! One of my favorite pieces of mail was from a dear friend (already married) who wrote me the sweetest note when I got engaged. It was so encouraging and inspiring and written on this beautiful Cinderella card. It was so classy and lovely" (facebook + instagram)

Ashley | Bright and Gutsy - "The most memorable piece of mail I have received was an invitation to a spring party at the Prime Minister of Canada's house. " (twitter + instagram)


I have to tell on Ashley for a second. Before her answer to the question she wrote me: "I have had trouble answering this question! Haha. I feel like I haven't received that many memorable pieces of mail!"  (I mean.. the Prime Minister is no chopped liver or anything, but somebody write this girl a letter! She's doing some awesome things over at Bright and Gutsy & deserves some quality snail mail!)


Now it's your turn! We all want to know what your most memorable piece of snail mail has been + why?
Doesn't it give you the urge to write somebody a letter without occasion? I hope so! If so, who are you going to write? You can write me if you want. I'm always up for a new pen pal!

 Don't forget to stay tuned for the giveaway that will give your letters that little bit of extra fun!


5.15.2014

get the sillies out : out takes from Fern's 2 year photo shoot

As promised, I've gone through the gallery and put together a little post of some silly photos from the photo shoot with Hibben Photography.

5.12.2014

Last Week: in review

Happy Monday again! Can you believe how quickly this week went by? Here are a few highlights from last week, in case you missed out!

images via instagram
captured:
* Wedding wear
* The roses in front of our house have bloomed!
* These two after the worst week can still make me feel the flutteries. <3 so thankful for them.
* An early Mother's Day! IN LOVE with this beautiful terrarium my husband bought, and that picture. gah.

it's the little things:
- house sitting on MONDAY and getting a little taste of what our own space will be like
-finding out on TUESDAY that we'll be moving into our new home in June instead of the end of July!
- watering the plants with Fern on WEDNESDAY. I love how sincere she is with each plant making sure they each get a good "dink". melt me.
- after a pretty terrible THURSDAY, ending with fro-yo for the fam & an early mother's day gift was spot on what I needed. <3
- Celebrating with other moms on FRIDAY at Collected Thread for Mother's Day.
- sleeping in on SATURDAY
- celebrating our mothers on SUNDAY! We're so thankful both of our families live close and we were able to SEE and celebrate with each side.

you may have missed:
Respecting the culture of others: Native American inspired trends
> Fern's 2 year old photo shoot


links lately:
+Drawing eyebrows on babies will not disappoint you.
+A series of the best cat photos EVER. 100 of them.
+This Mother's Day picnic inspiration with the most beautiful family (inside and out) I've ever had the pleasure of knowing & one of my favorite OKC photographers.


inspiration:

found via pinterest: garden spells
Lately all of my inspiration involves our new home we're preparing to move into. We found out last week that instead of the end of July, we'll be moving at the beginning of June! WE'RE SO EXCITED! And now I'm obsessed with daydreaming about things to fill our new space with. On the list: my very own herb garden! We're renting, so I've been exploring great ways to create gardens for small rented spaces. There's so much out there. eeeeep! fresh basil! yes please!

5.08.2014

Fern's 2 year photo shoot with Hibben Photography

It's been pretty serious over here for the past couple of days, I REALLY appreciate all of the feedback  and questions from my last post. I was talking to Tesia yesterday and we were both SO encouraged by the number of page views, and great response. Usually it's a pretty heated conversation, and we're so proud of NOBODY for being negative on the subject. You guys are so impressive.
but now- let's lighten the mood a little shall we?

Tom and Sam Hibben are a married team of photographers who make up "Hibben Photography" and never cease to rock my world. You might remember their wonderful photography from Fern's newborn photos, Fern's 1st birthday, our engagement shoot & our wedding. So of course, I didn't expect anything less than amazing. We've already seen it time and time again. Still, nothing could've prepared me for the heart melting images I've been getting sneak peeks of since last week. I finally got a look at the whole shabang- and I seriously had to take a moment to recover. I try not to be over-kill with the photos on my blog posts.. but... I make no promises this time around. How can I possibly choose?

Prepare to be in puddles by the end of the post. Enjoy!


5.06.2014

Respecting the Cultures of others : Native American Trends

Politics do not get me excited. More than that, politics usually give me headaches. I don't do confrontation, and when I do, I don't handle it well. I like to be liked by everyone. I believe in keeping your opinions to yourself to avoid conflict. But I also believe in standing up for what's right. I believe in under-dogs and I believe in teaching my daughter to be brave and stand up for your beliefs as well as the beliefs of others. Defending what's right regardless of the things that make us different.
In this case, the latter wins out over the fear of confrontation & politics. 

I've drafted posts about cultural appropriation before, but in the end chose not to post them in hopes that it would all blow over, as most trends do. Recently something happened that made me realize I can't just sit around and wait for it to blow over. I realized that people will be totally ignorant to hurting others if they aren't educated on the situations at hand. 

As most of you know I closed the shoppe down several months ago. This was in part due to needing to study and the rebranding of everything, but also because several items in my shop represented native american culture, which I now feel is inappropriate and could be offensive to people of native american heritage. I'm currently re-vamping the shop & have discontinued the dreamcatchers and tipis. 

I'm well aware that "native trends" are on the rise. The majority of this trend seem to be hitting the music festivals and nurseries. I really have no platform for talking about music festivals, as the last concert I went to was New Found Glory about 4 years ago. Being a shoppe owner who specifically had native inspired wares for nurseries- and also having a daughter and being totally obsessed with anything involving toddler fashion: now... I can relate to that. (hastag momprobs hastag outoftouchwithanythingnotinvolvingchildren.) I can't deny that I find many of the native inspired accessories made for babies and kids to be completely adorable. But upon discovering how much these things personally affect and offend an entire race of people, I just can't justify it. The "cuteness" of it all seems to fade off quite a bit when you understand what these things represent to the culture they originate from.

The first time I encountered "native appropriations", I was actually a little bit on the defensive. I, after all, didn't mean ANY harm by my shoppe items and unfortunately, I was very uneducated on native cultures and cultural appropriation. AND I'M FROM OKLAHOMA. This is the whole purpose of this post. To educate in a respectful way. To put a more personal view on it for you, I've asked one of my oldest and best friends Tesia Zientek, to explain a little about WHY these trends are upsetting to her and her family history.


5.05.2014

Last Week's Summary

Happy Monday, friends! Here's a little roundup of last week in case you missed anything!

photos from instagram
captured: clockwise
* Memories from farm life in New Zealand.
* Browned butter strawberry banana bread. It's a seasonal dish in our home!
* Memories from my last trip to Arkansas to see the bests. <3
* finally picked up this book again. I'm determined to finish it this week!


it's the little things:
-impromptu date night on a MONDAY & finding a new favorite nacho place (everybody needs a go-to when they're craving nachos)
-driving around incredible X FACTOR contestants on TUESDAY (via lyft)
-Spending all of WEDNESDAY playing outside in the dirt with Fern.
-Diving back into a book I had abandoned, on THURSDAY, only to discover the chapter I had picked up on would be my favorite yet.
-Fulfilling a curiosity on FRIDAY that I'm hoping to study more of and share with you eventually.
-Getting pampered during the day with the ladies in my family, followed by a  SATURDAY night out with my best friend.

you may have missed:
>Festival of the Arts: 2014
>Meg's favorite things Giveaway

Watch this:
+Watch this amazing 80 year old woman rock the judges world in a salsa dance on Britain's Got Talent.
+Watch Jimmy Fallon & Emma Stone in a lip sync battle. amaaaaazing.
+This tiny video..
+ Food is Free. A video on growing food instead of lawns.


inspiration:


found via pinterest: toddler space
We're moving soon and that means Fern's getting a big girl bed. How awesome is this montessori style floor bed? My husband could TOTALLY whip this together in no time!

5.02.2014

Meg's favorite things giveaway

One of my favorite bloggers, Meg of Rivers & Roads,  has let me join in and help sponsor this fantastic giveaway with a lovely group of other fine and fancy bloggers. What a giveaway it is, too! <3  



To enter to win an 8x10 print of your choice from Naptime Diaries, simply enter as many times as you'd like via the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway