Basket always in hand, but now basket on feet too. These basket shoes from Miista are pretty dreamy and make this basket loving gal dance. I’m so happy to have been introduced to this brand. They’re designed in London, but handcrafted in Spain. They have other shoes that look like baskets and I wouldn’t mind sporting those on my feet either.

My weekday uniform seems to be a white top and jeans. Not that novel of a uniform. And weekends are for dresses, though I’m sure that will change when the unbearable heat decides to make an appearance for the summer. I was never much a denim pants girl, but I’m finding as I get older, I’m loving them more and more. I have quite a collection of vintage denim pants that span a few eras. I don’t just stick to one particular denim style, but love my denim in all sorts of fits and cuts. Some days I’m in the mood for a wide leg, sometimes a bell, and other times a good mom jean. This blouse was a vintage  embroidered blouse I found recently. It was supposed to make its way to Wovenfolk, but clearly, never did. #thedangersofhavingashop

what i’m wearing: top, vintage (similar here). wide leg jeans, vintage (similar here). basket shoes, miista. basket bag, wovenfolk.

This week’s, learned, links, and thankfulness…

One of my girls got a tooth extraction done this week, in preparation for braces, and that was not fun (for her and me). Thankful it seems to be healing up, but hopefully we don’t have to do that again for any of the other girls.

Found some vintage earrings very similar to the chandelier styles here.

Had an Everlane gift card that I had been hoarding, so I ordered their block sandal. I got the blue snake skin, and while it’s not a color I normally wear, that’s why I chose it. I’m happy to report they’re quite comfy and even cuter in person!

My face has been a bit dry of late, so I’m adding this oil to my skin care regime. Anyone have a good face oil to recommend?

Some of my closest friends had a baby this week and I’m so honored I was there to witness it. I’ve been there for the births of their previous two, and the seeing a child be born is so beautiful.

Pair this nude colored t-shirt with this denim skirt for a simple, but chic look. Would look so cute for summer!

Still loving doing those Island Girl Workouts on Youtube. If I don’t get to do my workout first thing in the morning with Ben, I’ll do one of the hula ones in the afternoon.

“Do You Fear a Day of Rest?” is a good article that I needed to read.

Excited about the long weekend next weekend, but I have a busy work week up ahead. I have to cut about 15,000 feet of rope for my next macrame workshop. Wish me luck! Rather, pray for me. 😐

Enjoy the weekend, friends!

Wovenfolk not only carries baskets, but vintage clothing too. The addition of clothing was bound to happen as I love collecting vintage clothes. The shop gets updated weekly and these are just a few peeks of what is currently available. There is plenty more on the site and in a range of sizes too. The most recent upload are the cotton and linen tan blouses, and there will be more basket bags coming later this week. I love vintage clothes, but with a modern feel, and if I wouldn’t wear it myself, I wouldn’t put it in my shop. Sometimes, it’s so hard to let certain things go because I want to keep them for myself. Seriously, the struggle is real.

Mother’s Day was simple and sweet. Ben gave me what he called “the Mother’s Day special” and deep cleaned the whole house and backyard for me, he even dusted all my plants. It took him a few days, but it was a pretty perfect gift.He was totally speaking my love language. I might be requesting this yearly. My usual requests were to eat yummy food I didn’t cook and some time to get in bed and do nothing, but watch something and relax. Of course, I got the tradition of breakfast in bed with homemade cards from the girls. My breakfast is my protein shake and gone are the days that I request waffles because I really love my chocolate shake with chia seeds and peanut butter. The rest of the morning was spent gathered with our church family, then afterwards, together with my siblings and cousins, we threw a little celebration for our moms and grandma.

We got home in the early evening and it was just enough time to give me a few hours in bed to catch up on shows and relax. Ben picked up a spicy tuna roll for my dinner and I was one happy mama camped out in bed doing nothing in a clean house. My quiet time did get interrupted for another delivery of homemade gifts, fresh picked flowers, and a little song and dance number they put together, but I happily welcomed their little show. The whole day was so chill and totally what I was hoping for. We even managed to escape the day without any of the girls fighting, though we did have a salad spill in the car. I was hoping the peace would carry over to Monday, but alas, it was that Mother’s Day magic, and all was back to normal first thing Monday morning.

Motherhood has taught me how much more needy I am for God, grace, and forgiveness that is only found through Jesus. I’m a messy heart mom raising messy heart kids, and I’m praying that these girls see Christ through the mess of life because life does get messy. So while I treasure a clean home, my heart is far from it, and I’m learning daily to cling to Christ and surrender my messy heart to Him because only Christ can satisfy.

Proverbs 17:27
“The intelligent person restrains his words, and one who keeps a cool head is a man of understanding.”

Ben and I are learning how careful we have to be with our words with our tweens. We have to do a lot of heart checking ourselves. We are finding that the girls are taking things literally and tend to hold to it tightly. Words and tone have always been important, but there’s an extra attention to words (and how they’re said) that is happening these days. Often, we’re having to rewind, clarify, and ask questions to make sure what they are interpreting things accurately (and not stewing on it). We’re having to help them logically think through words, its intentions, and our hearts. At first I thought it was just my girls, but then I was talking to friends with tweens too and they’re having similar issues. Whew! Made me feel normal and less alone. Even still, Ben and I ought to take exceptional care to discipling our girls (and ourselves) as they give and listen to words.

I praise God for giving me a wonderful, selfless mom, who continues to point me to Christ, and I have a pretty fantastic mother-in-love too. God has given me such beautiful examples of motherhood through both these women. Also, I have many friends whose love for Christ is clearly displayed in how they love their families, even as they wrestle with the tough parts of being a mother (and we know there are a lot of tough parts). There’s no way I could do motherhood without this village of women in my life and all of it are gifts from God.

Happy Mother’s Day!

p.s. the photo above is my mom at 20 when she was pregnant with me.