What Fern Wore : Plaza Festival

Once a year our favorite little neighborhood in town shuts down their streets and invites small business owners and artists to set up tents and sell their sweet creations to the public. There are food trucks, and music, and a kids corner. It's devine. We didn't get to spend much time there this year, and sadly because we're on a bit of a budget until my new job starts- we opted for eating before we left home, and  I wasn't able to snag a pair of the new lovewell leggings in my favorite design from their new fall line (oh- but I will.)

here are a few photos from our day <3

love|well tee by lovewell handmade || red gingham bloomers by missainsleymae || cat ears from Target || braided sandals from Old Navy || sweet little monster friend handmade by our sweet friend Tommie.

Fall is here!

I have... so much on my mind that I want to spill my guts to you guys about, but I haven't even thought through it all, so it would just come out as a huge barf of words. (gross) So... rather than do that, I'm just going to say Hi! It's fall! It feels like fall! I was hibernating for the summer, and now I'm back. (there was a little more to it than that, but we'll leave it at hibernation.) Anyhow. We're getting internet at our home next week- and I just got our fall photos in from Hibben Photography today, the stars have aligned and I think... I THINK... that means.. We're back! at least to semi-regular posts. 

HAPPY FALL!

Zoo weekend

Tristan and I have been talking about how excited we were to take Fern to the zoo this year for MONTHS. We took her last year, but she was so little. Could barely walk- wasn't really into the animals. VERY short attention span. This winter she learned all the animals and what they say. Her favorite is the elephant. Every time she walks by the vacuum cleaner, she grabs the hose and makes an elephant noise. Lucky us, our zoo just put in a new elephant observatory. (and it's pretty darn nice!) I've been meaning to find time to go, but it's been pushed back in the back of my mind.

Last week, Fern and I went to the lake with my family for a few days of spring break. Tristan couldn't come because he had work. :( We really missed him. BUT! Turns out, the little sneak worked overtime (deep into the dark hours) while we were gone so that he could take off early on Friday and surprise us with a zoo trip! What a guy. I tell ya.

We had such a great time. We have a great zoo. We didn't get to do everything we wanted, but we stayed for JUST enough time. 2 hours with an (almost) two year old is way enough. way way. enough. I'm excited to go back, though- We missed stingray bay and the children's zoo. Here's a few photos we did get to take <3

 
We had such a great time. I can't wait to go back for phase 2! :)

The restoring powers of Sunday

I love Sundays. I love Sundays because I always get time with my two favorite people in the WORLD. Plus the weather is AMAZING right now, and we can play and laugh outside, and breathe fresh air, and be silly, and smell like dirt and sweat, and fun. aaah. Sunday is my drink of cool water, it's what energizes me for the week to come. Because being a stay at home mom is hard, and honsetly, by the time the weekend comes I'm just barely hanging on. 

I read this post on "asking the right questions" by Momastery. This particular paragraph felt like she was speaking through my soul. 

"When Craig returned each day at 6:00 he’d walk through the door, smile, and say– “So! How was your day?”This question was like a spotlight pointed directly at the  chasm between his experience of a “DAY” and my experience of a “DAY.”  How was my day?The question would linger in the air for a moment while I stared at Craig and the baby shoved her hand in my mouth like they do –  while the oldest screamed MOMMY I NEED HELP POOING from the bathroom and the middle one cried in the corner because I NEVER EVER EVER let her drink the dishwasher detergent. NOT EVER EVEN ONCE, MOMMY!!! And I’d look down at my spaghetti stained pajama top, unwashed hair, and gorgeous baby on my hip – and my eyes would wander around the room, pausing to notice the toys peppering the floor and the kids’ stunning new art on the fridge . . .
And I’d want to say:
How was my day? Today has been a lifetime. It was the best of times and the worst of times. There were moments when my heart was so full I thought I might explode, and there were other moments when my senses were under such intense assault that I was CERTAIN I’d explode. I was both lonely and absolutely desperate to be alone. I was saturated- just BOMBARDED with touch and then the second I put down this baby I yearned to smell her sweet skin again. I was simultaneously bored out of my skull and completely overwhelmed with so much to do. Today was too much and not enough. It was loud and silent. It was brutal and beautiful. I was at my very best today and then, just a moment later, at my very worst. At 3:30 today I decided that we should adopt four more children, and then at 3:35 I decided that we should give up the kids we already have for adoption. Husband – when your day is completely and totally dependent upon the moods and needs and schedules of tiny, messy, beautiful rug rats your day is ALL OF THE THINGS and NONE OF THE THINGS, sometimes within the same three minute period. But I’m not complaining. This is not a complaint, so don’t try to FIX IT. I wouldn’t have my day Any.Other.Way. I’m just saying- it’s a hell of a hard thing to explain- an entire day with lots of babies"

Right?!?!  spot on. and I only have one. One that I am SO eternally grateful for... a whole lot of the time.

Here's to making it to Sunday.

Reminiscing over the past five years

 2009

So, I guess when you get married- you're technically suppose to stop "celebrating" your dating anniversary, but I do just want to acknowledge it. Because it's a big deal. Tristan and I just celebrated our fifth anniversary of the day he asked me to be his girlfriend yesterday. We didn't really DO anything to celebrate, but it's a sweet day to just talk to each other and reminisce about the last five years. My favorite part of dating anniversaries is asking Tristan to tell me the story of him asking me. Every year. I'll keep doing it forever and ever, because I want him to have it down PAT to tell to Fern when she's older. I like the parts he puts in about how we'd been hanging out for a long time before and were basically dating already, but he was still so nervous to ask me. I also like the part he puts in about asking me "officially" over text, and me turning him down, and telling him he needed to ask me in person. atta girl. pat my own back. ;) Reminiscing is so much fun. I was just listening to John Tesh the other day (who I get MOST of my life advice from) and he was just talking about how great reminiscing about the good times with your significant other helps you get over the hard times so much faster, and helps grow and strengthen your relationship. It's so true. Five years of great memories is such a wonderful thing to go back and remember together. Laughing at silly things that happened. It's like going back and re-living that great time together. I'm so excited for next year, and 10 years.. AND WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES!  anniversaries are so great.

2013

Life Lately \ Weekly Wishes || 1.

Hi friends, just a little update on Life Lately: Tristan has just started back to film school for the semester, and I'm enrolled in real estate classes online. My car has been listed as "for sale" for months now, and we finally have the sweetest lady interested in buying it. More on that if it's actually sold. It was announced recently that Tristan's dad is being inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. So awesome! I've been getting back into painting recently and have made a few things for the shoppe. Fern has been sick the past couple of days, due to teething. It's the worst teething we've gone through in a long while. I just hate it. Apart from that, she's growing so quickly. She woke up from her nap the other day and I swear she seemed older than before nap time.

Here's a little preview of life lately:

Also, I've just stumbled upon the Weekly Wishes linkup, and I just immediately knew it was right down my alley. I mean... I wrote this post even before I found it, and it just goes so well with the theme. What a great idea, and a great way to stay motivated and focused on getting things done! I'm all about it. Consider this a new Monday ritual. Ya'll should join in too! It'll be fun!

My goals for the week:

|| Finish my current chapter & rock the test
|| Have a coffee date with the girls of "the circle" -done
|| make 2 custom orders from the new "birth announcement" line in the shoppe done
|| take product photos -done
|| make time for a night out with an old friend -done
|| finish the book I've been reading for months. -done

Dear mom friends,

I dedicate this beautiful video to you. You are so loved and appreciated.

Post by Sun Gazing.

Life Lately: busy schedules and more change.

Hi friends! I feel a little bit guilty, as all of my posts as of lately have been about giveaways and sponsors and events and lists and pretty things. Although those are all TERRIFIC, and obviously, I wouldn't post them if I didn't love them, I've just been pretty preoccupied and haven't been able to be very present, on a personal level, for you. Our family is going through a lot of changes at the moment. Not only have we gotten married, and moved out of our room mates' house;  I've also recently put my car up for sale, and put in my notice at Cuppies. It's such a bittersweet thing. I've loved loved LOVED working at Cuppies & Joe for the past (nearly) 3 years. The owners of this beautiful cupcake and coffee shop are like family. They're such wonderful examples of the type of business person I want to be, as well as the type of mother, daughter, encourager, and hostess I want to be. These people, along with all of my co-workers have just adopted me as family since the day I started, and continue to do that with every new employee they hire. They've taken such good care of me and blessed our family with so many things; from flat tire fixes to celebrations, they've been there for it all. I'm so sad to not be part of the Cuppies employees, but I'm so happy that I'll always be part of the Cuppies family.

That's the bitter part, now for the sweet part.

Tristan and I have been talking about what I'd like to pursue as a career, and although making coffee is absolutely something I love (and will continue to consume on a daily basis), I have other dreams that will allow me to better provide for my family. After the holiday season, I'll be working towards getting my real estate license. This is something I've always been very interested it, I just never knew where to start. Somehow the stars have aligned and everything is falling into place. God has placed some great women in my life who are taking me under their wings, and letting me learn under them. Which is exactly what I needed.  This career choice will not only provide for my family better financially, but also on a personal level. This will allow me to make my own schedules, and I'll still be able to stay with Fern during the day, and be with my family at night. It's been a very hard year since I went back to work. My schedule is almost exactly opposite of T's.

If you could just say a little prayer for our family, or send happy thoughts, good vibes, Buddha belly rubs, or pennies in wishing wells.. whatever it is that you find helpful... We'd really appreciate it. I'm excited, but so nervous about getting into something I don't know much about. Starting something new after being in a very comfortable position for the last 3 years.

My friend Tillie said something to me the other day that struck me as quite funny. She said "For someone who dislikes change, you handle it so lovely." It actually hadn't occured to me until she said that how much change we've actually gone through this past year. Just our living situation alone. We've had 4 different addresses in the past 12 months. I don't know how much more I can handle, but I have a feeling we're not quite near the end yet. :)
What's that old country song? "The only thing that stays the same is that everything changes".. ("everything chay-ay-ay-nges")

Here's to a more consistent (at least) lifestyle.

joined together, forever.

Here are some sweet photos from our wedding. I'm basically re-posting these photos from our wedding photographer's blog because I haven't received our CD with all of our photos on it, and I'm much too impatient to wait for it to come. I've already waited THIS long to share them. I find that very impressive.

Our wedding was perfect. It was at my grandparents house in the country, where I grew up. It was a romantic evening wedding. Just a tad of chill in the air. The sun sat as we said our vows and afterwards we went into the pasture and celebrated with all of our loved ones with campfire, dancing, and libations to warm us. We wanted our entire wedding to have a very community feel. We set the tables up in a large circle(ish) shape so we could all enjoy one another and the dance floor was in the center. For dinner, I asked everyone to bring a dish of any sort. We had such a fantastic turnout. It couldn't have gone better. I'm so thankful The Hibben's were there to capture it all. 

I didn't snag all of the photos from the photographers blog, but I snagged many of them. So if you'd like to go see a few more you can head here. 

New Seasons.

With this new season, the beautiful weather, early morning breakfast dates in our sweaters, and actually feeling like it's 'ok' to order my coffee hot; come some new changes in lifestyle as well. October is quickly approaching, and with it our wedding. My last name will change, our living situation will change, and Fern of course, who never stops changing.

If you know me at all, you know I don't handle change very well. If things MUST change, I prefer that they do slowly, giving me time to mentally and emotionally prepare. Sometimes, I think, even though I've been given enough time to embrace all of this change, it's a lot all at once. So it still freaks me out. I'm trying my very best to take deep breaths, take one day at a time, and remember to not think of it as change in a "final" way, but to think of it as a "change of season", and welcome it as openly as we have with this long await cooler season of Autumn.

If anyone has any tips or tricks on welcoming change, please feel free to share it with me. I welcome your wisdom!

Koru

I never really knew what I wanted to do, or fully who I was, until I became a mother. Now that I have, my life has changed increasingly. When we had our baby girl we decided to name her Fern. A long treasured name of mine dating back to Charlottes Webb obsessions. More than that, I wanted her name to be something relevant to me. A name that meant something. If you look up the name Fern in any baby book, it's going to tell you that the meaning of Fern is "a green leafy plant" or something of the like. well, obviously. But in Maori culture (native New Zealand, which is where I lived for 18 months and grew the most beautiful bonds) it means so much more. Koru in maori means loop. Koru refers to the spiral shape of a new unfurling silver fern frond. It symbolizes new life, growth, strength, and peace. How completely appropriate. The koru symbol is found on jewelry made of jade and bone throughout new zealand. I was gifted one, by a friend, when I lived there.

Since becoming a mother so many things have come to light for me. I've started knowing myself better, and discovering my calling so much more clearly. Part of that calling and passion I never knew I had, or if I did it was misdirected, has submerged through a new business I've recently launched. Just a small little thing on etsy. May I introduce to you, my shop for babies and children, Moons & Junes, which is now back from vacation mode, with nothing new to show for my absence but my willingness to create again. 

Life Lately

One of my favorite things to do is cruise through my phone and look at all the photos I've taken recently. Half of them I don't even remember taking, and half you've probably seen if you follow me on Instagram. Regardless, they're such treasures to go back and look over, bringing back tiny little memories of a day recently past. I'm constantly reminded of how insanely blessed my life is.

About the photos:

1. Elemental Coffee Roasters | Fern is so generous when it comes to blowing kisses.

2. Frontline Church | Downtown

3. Melissa Green | Thankful for sweet room mates who love my daughter well.  

4. Our Neighborhood | Morning walks to brunch

5. Backdoor BBQ | The sweetest man in town showing off OKC's newest BBQ place

6. Selfies | This girl can't help but cheese it up when she sees herself, and I can't help but laugh! 

Every good and perfect gift is from above.

I have been a stress monster lately. This is no secret. I get frustrated easily, grumpy, annoyed at silly things. On top of that I've been neglecting my personal time with God, which always seems to contribute to the previously mentioned attitude. I haven't been "in the mood" to pray, or read. Somehow He has a way of getting through to you, even if you are neglecting Him. That's how I know he loves more than I can comprehend. He and my fiance are the only two that give me more grace than I deserve, and I know T's grace comes from the Lord. 

I was actually just going through photos on my camera this morning and I ran across this one. I remember being in one of my bad moods when I took it. Fern was just captivated by those leaves hanging down and I wanted to get a shot of T lifting her up to touch them. I was annoyed because I didn't get the shot I had imagined in my head, and as one year olds do, she lost interest fairly quickly and T's arms were getting tired. I guess because I was so focused on the shot lost, I didn't even see this sweet genuine photo I did get. This morning as I found this photo I couldn't help but think of this verse. "Every good and perfect gift is from above" James 1:17 Sometimes I can't fathom how completely blessed I am because of how pig headed I can be. Such a grump sometimes, and a total control freak. Still, I have this beautiful family who loves me through it. I'm afraid I've been missing the beautiful moments that God organically provides while trying to stage happy days myself. My depth is so shallow sometimes. Forgive me for being the worst version of myself, Lord. 

This photo will forever be a sweet reminder to me. 

Starting the morning off right

I mentioned that we moved a few weeks ago, right? Ever since we moved this little plum has been waking up in the BEST moods in the morning. (not to say that she wasn't before, we just weren't in the room when she woke up) T & I share a room with her, which is quite a tight space, but every morning we wake up to giggling, and sometimes a sweet high pitched little "hiiiiiiii!" from the other side of the room. Seriously. How did we get so lucky? She starts the day off just right.

Also since living here, T's car has totally gone kaput. So we are always sharing a car, which means he has it during the day. Before we lived on the north side of town, which is a pretty inconvenient walk to anything, plus a ton of traffic. Not really somewhere you want to stroll your baby to lunch or errands. Now we are smack in the middle of things. Our neighborhood is so lovely to walk in, with a park very near and trees all down the streets so the shade hides that horrific Oklahoma summer sun. We've been walking to Cuppies nearly every day just to spend time with our sweet friends who work there. I adore this part of town. We're also very near church! hooray! One of the things on my 30 before 30 list is to be more involved in the community there. Hopefully soon we can check that one off!

v a c a t i o n pt.2

Our vacation gets more amazing every day. We spotted an alligator in our backyard right after my last post, who we affectionately named "Orchid". I believe the boys agreed on an estimated length of 10 ft. including the tail. Absolutely one of the most amazing creatures I've ever seen. 

Yesterday we explored a little of Downtown Charleston. The charm is too much on my heart. I could stay in this town for days just wandering down alleyways. The cobblestone streets, the spanish moss hanging from the trees, the sweet little local shoppes, the charming historic buildings... It's just perfect.

While exploring downtown Charleston, we stumbled upon a little treasure called Savannah Bee Co. It's the sweetest little shop filing to the brim with their very own honey, gifts from the hive, bee education, and more. If you're ever in Charleston, (or Savannah) you must stop in.