summer love

This Jason Mraz cover by Maisy and Lennon

I'm obsessed! 

These awesome wooden bowls from here

This camera strap from here

This greeting card from here

a rule to live by

image from here

I have been thinking about this a lot lately and it is a rule I live by so I am going to share it with you today. Instead of judging someone... think about the motive behind their behavior and where they may have come from as to why they are the way they are. There is always a motive behind behavior and if we take the chance to even have that question in our mind as we go through our daily routines we can be better people. A lot people simply judge or say mean things about someone who is different. Always remember to think about where people come from or how they may have grown up so we can try to eliminate negative judgmental feelings towards others.

Ava's Purple Paislee

Today I have a special Etsy artist to share with you. The lovely Linzy from Ava's Purple Paislee will be sharing all about her adorable shop!

Hi there! My name is Linzy Herron and I own a shop called Ava’s Purple Paislee where I sell unique baby and children’s hair accessories and photo props.  I got married to my high school sweetheart, Chris, the month after I graduated high school and we are happily married eight years later! We now have three children: Ava, who is five and twins Paislee and Graedy, who just turned one.

 

How did you get started with your business?

I started making headbands for my two girls Ava and Paislee (hence the name of my shop), when the twins were born last summer. I loved being able to create fun things that matched their outfits. I soon realized that all of my spare time was being spent on this new obsession and learning how to create fun and new things. I was finding that the quality and uniqueness that came from creating my own things just couldn’t be found in stores. As you will see in my shop, I love using bright colors in my headbands!

 

 

 

How did you decide to join Etsy?

First of all, I LOVE Etsy! I decided to join Etsy because I felt it was an easy way to get my products out there and I knew that the clientele on Etsy would appreciate the creative and artistic feel to my products. Plus, I realized that my pile of headbands for my girls was becoming way too big for just two little heads. 

 

 

 

Stop on by Linzy's shop to get 15% off with the following code!

Discount code for 15% off: SUMMER

Check her out!

Etsy shop:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/AvasPurplePaislee

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/AvasPurplePaislee

 

 

 

 

hello Ames... nice to meet you again

Well, I'm finally home and mostly settled back in. Even though I came home last Thursday, I really haven't been home. I am missing the beautiful mountains of Colorado and the fun outdoor life full of opportunity. I guess I'll have to settle for Ada Hayden or the bike trail here in Ames Iowa. It has been a hectic last few days. As soon as I got home on Thursday night Abby and I had already made plans to see some friends. Then Friday we went to the beach with the same friends. Clearly I was putting off unpacking and laundry and all those things you have to do when you're living on your own. Saturday and Sunday were just as crazy because I attended a wedding and a family reunion. Can you imagine how tired I was after all of this?? Buuut that is not all... yesterday I had to go to work. I literally almost fell asleep standing up. Thankfully I only had to work two and a half hours because we were not at all busy. Needless to say I took a very long nap yesterday afternoon. Now here I am today feeling refreshed and ready to get back to my routine. I have three weeks until my next adventure. I will be road tripping to California! Which means for the next three weeks all I get to do is work, work, work!!

5 things about me

1. I love to spin around so fast until I fall over laughing

2. I really enjoy writing

3. I LOVE my bike

4. I bake often

5. I've been told I look like a mermaid

Just thought I would share 5 random things about myself :)

incredibly passionate & heart-breakingly disappointing

Today, while I was enjoying my downtown Denver experience something very disappointing happened that I would like to share with all of you. This is a subject that I am very passionate about so I feel the need to share. As we were making our way down 16th Street Mall, we were stopped by a nice man working for a program that reaches out to help children in different countries. (not going to say which company) He was asking us to adopt a child and pay 85 cents a day to help them out. I think these programs are great and I strongly encourage people to donate to them. BUT... here is when everything went wrong. We told him that we, as college students, could not afford to support a child that we already had too many bills. We also told him that we do donate a lot of our time because we volunteer at a children's hospital. So... as we politely declined and ended our conversation we walked on to enjoy our shopping. About a block later we were encountered by another employee of the same company. I simply told her that we had already talked to another representative. (implying that we had already heard what she was going to tell us) This is where it gets incredibly disappointing... she replied with a very snotty "well, why didn't you sign up?" I was so appalled by her reaction and the only thing I could think of to say was that I am a college student. As soon as that came out of my mouth she once again snottily replied "so....". My reply to that was that I am a poor college student. (because I am) As I was replying I was also walking away. She had the nerve to look at me and say (snottily) "did you just say YOU'RE poor?" Yes, as a matter of fact I did.

I am 100% all for donating to charity and volunteering. However, as a student, scraping to get by on my Buffalo Wild Wing income I would rather donate my time. In my personal opinion volunteering your time is much more personal than donating a dollar or however much. (although that is great too) I want to be hands on and right in the action of making a difference. I felt that it was very rude for someone who is trying to get people to donate to treat a total stranger in that manner.

As I said, this topic is a very sensitive one for me. I am very passionate about making a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. I am going into education, specifically ESL, so that I can make a difference. I want to work with troubled youth and volunteer as much as possible. When the girl acted the way she did towards me, it was heart breaking.

Happy July!

I know, I know... sooo many picture posts. Here are some more lovely pictures of my Colorado adventure. We spent the day driving and hiking up Mt. Evans. It was such a gorgeous experience! We got to experience the beautiful wild life along with some very cold snow and wind. (although not much)

lovely "junior" picture of my little cuz

yep... this is what we do when we get together!