Nice day for a...

I have always been fond of Wednesdays. I know most people don't like them... but for some reason, I do! I have written about my like for Wednesdays here and here but the current reason why I love Wednesdays is because I get to hang out with Jessie, Liam, and Eli. The day normally goes like this: they go to story time at the library, I sleep in, they come over to my house around 10:30, the boys play with marbles and cars while Jessie and I chat, then we do something for lunch, whether that is my house, her house, or out.

This week we packed some sandwiches for the boys and went to Le Monde, a French bakery, in North Kansas City. The baked goods are just ok (when I can see your croissants look visibly burnt, it's not good) but they have this amazing chicken curry soup that I was craving (and am again craving now as I'm thinking about it) and I really wanted Jessie to try it. So we picked up some soup and headed to the park down the road. The weather was beautiful and we had the park all to ourselves so we had a great time. Good food, nice weather, quality company, and cute boys (being the little ones, not guys in their 20s...) I got to practice using my camera a bit, too!

I just love Wednesdays...

Simplicity.

Lately I've had some people comment on my blog that I don't know... and I love it. I love that more people are reading than the small group of maybe 15 friends and relatives that I thought. Part of me thinks, "Man, my blog isn't THAT great. Why do they want to read my blog?" I started reading over the last few posts to see why, and am still a bit baffled but for sure am honored that people read this... so thanks. Your audience inspires me to write more.

Anyway, while reading back over my last few posts I read "note to self: write about simplicity" and was reminded that I need/want to do that. (I always just thought "note to self" was a funny phrase, who knew that it actually can function as a reminder...) So anyway... I love simplicity (sometimes to a fault... but I love it.) I love the cleanliness of it. I love the lack of drama. I love how it gets straight to the point. I can't think of a single facet of life where more complicated is better. Ok, well, maybe baking... because you can bake cookies from a mix or you can bake homemade cookies which truly is more complicated, but ultimately better. So, I guess sometimes the simple way isn't the best way... so we'll just say that I love it when things are simple that can be simple.

Anyway, for the sake of simplicity, and honoring this wonderful concept that I love, I thought I'd show pictures rather than express in words. I prefer the picture above (courtesy of Design*Sponge) over the picture below...

(Yikes. Are there cats climbing on the walls next to the virgin Mary?)

I prefer this dress... (The train's a bit long, but whatever...)

... Over this dress. (Holy. Cow.)

I prefer this painting... (You can buy this on Etsy for $3)

... Over this painting. (Or you could buy this hideous thing on Etsy for $35)

I prefer these sunglasses... (So classic.)

... Over these sunglasses. (Apparently these are Lady Ga Ga's...)

So anyway... you get the picture. That's me. I love to keep things simple. So I hope you are having a wonderfully simple day...

Sandals.

The weather is starting to trick me into believing that spring is here. Because I live in Missouri, I'm not getting my hopes up because I know that it could blizzard tomorrow. But the weather has been nice for about a week now. The second it hit above 40 degrees outside I busted out my sandal collection and haven't looked back.

Speaking of sandals... I love them. Particularly flips flops, but pretty much any kind of sandal makes me happy. I love the freeness your toes feel when wearing them. I love the funny shaped tans you get on your feet. I love having to paint your toe nails because they finally get they're time to shine after a long winter. I love that they're casual, but I wear them for all occasions anyway. I just love them. And I love that the weather is looking up so I can actually wear them.

I got some sandals for Christmas that I haven't been able to wear until this week. They are my current favorites. They are called Ssekos and they are from a non-profit "enterprise" Sseko Designs that supports the education of some girls from Uganda. I love the actual sandals but I also love what they represent. You should get some if you love sandals as much as I do...

Happy Sandals Weather!

Google Revisited... again.

So you know how I have a passion (well, maybe not passion, but I really like) Google logos? I found one today that I love maybe more than any that I've seen... 1. Because it looks cool. 2. Because my brother Cory designed it!

I guess Google has a scholarship contest where you can submit your design and if you win you get $15,000 toward school. You had to design around the theme of finishing the sentence, "If I could do anything I would..." Cory chose, "If I could do anything I would live in black and white." He used some of my other brother Joel's photography and came up with this design. Pretty great.

What can I say... I have some talented brothers. (If you want to read about Cory's design or see more of his work, go here. If you want to see more of Joel's photography, go here, or read his blog, go here.)

Fondue Party.

Last night I had the pleasure of hanging out with some great ladies and eating some great food. My friend Corrie's sister was in town from Portland so we got some friends together so she could meet everyone. We ate chocolate fondue and boy did we have a spread to dip in it: pears, strawberries, bananas, brownies, pound cake, rice krispie treats, and cheesecake. It was delicious and we had a great time!

Part of me felt a bit guilty for eating junk food but part of me thought that it's cool how we can gather together and enjoy good food. At church we have been talking about food and how we all struggle with it. Last week our pastor ended the series with a sermon about how food isn't bad (the over-consumption of food is bad), and that Jesus used it to gather people together. I like that about food... So while, yes, I will admit that last night I might have given in to my gluttonous tendencies a bit... I had a great time fellowshipping (yep, it's a word) with some friends. And I'm thankful for that... I'm just pretty blessed.

(The ladies, before Dana showed up.)

(Delicious!)

(Dana enjoying my (cracked) cheesecake!)

(I tried to document this dinner party like Annie's Eats documents hers. Maybe someday I'll be as good as she is at throwing and capturing parties.)

Aprons.

I have quite a few aprons. I have received most of them as gifts (like the two depicted below given to me by my aunt Kay and friend Jessica respectively (modeled by my friend Emily.)) And while all of my aprons are special... none of them are totally me.

So I decided to make my own apron. A simple apron. (Have I mentioned that I love simple things? Note to self: blog about your love for simplicity.) A simple pattern and a relatively simple fabric. While it should have taken me less than an hour to pull this thing off, it took me about... 3. But considering the last time I've sewn was in 8th grade home ec, that's not THAT bad, right?

The apron for sure isn't perfect, but I'm pretty excited about it. I used it tonight while baking a cheesecake and it worked just wonderfully. So if you see specs of nasty in the pictures, you'll just know that it was doing its job while I was baking away. (P.S. Thanks to Jessie who lent me her sewing machine, kitchen, and expertise so that I could pull off this project.)

Google Revisited.

I like this one. Apparently it's Antonio Vivaldi's birthday... Happy birthday, Antonio!