“Mirage” by Doug Aitken.

“Monument” by Will Boone.

“Curves and Zig Zags” by Claudia Comte.

“La Fiesta en el Desierto” by Armando Lerma.

“Visible Distance” by Jennifer Bolande.

“Hollow Earth” by Glenn Kaino.

“The Circle of Land and Sky” by Phillip K. Smith III.

“I Am” by Tavares Strachan.

True wants to be an artist when she grows up, so to celebrate her 11th birthday, we took her to visit the Desert X installations, and called her celebration, “True 11 X.” The Coachella Valley did all the work for us, and all we had to do was show up to the exhibits and enjoy it. Ben and I researched the pieces beforehand to determine what we thought was age appropriate (and ones that she would appreciate) and the list above is what we came up with. Her favorite was “The Land of Circle and Sky” because she loved how the mirrors looked like sticks in the ground and reflected the surroundings. My favorite was “Hollow Earth.” It was such an insane optical illusion and I love the re-purposing of an abandoned shack. Our least favorite was “I Am” because when we got there, during the time it said it would be open, the exhibit was closed. We were so bummed. It would have been cool to get an “I am 11!” picture. While we missed out on that one, we still were able to plenty of them, so True was very happy about that.

I made her 11-x sign with silver poster board that I cut out and taped onto dowels. For each exhibition we visited, she had me take a instax picture of her and her 11-x sign. She has a nice collection of photos to remember her 11th birthday. And of course, we are in Palm Springs after all, so we had to go to the Ace to get some birthday photo booth pictures. Our 11 year old was quite delighted with how she rang in another year of life!

Read here to see her breakfast in bed and here for her birthday dress.

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Since I’ve been challenging myself to not wear blue denim as much, and I’ve been donning more creams, whites, and some reds lately, it felt really weird to wear all blue. The other day I was going to a birthday lunch and put on a denim dress, it didn’t feel like me, so I put on another denim dress, same feeling, so I put on this reddish dress and felt much more comfortable. I’m not giving away all my denim blue just yet, I think it’s just this weird mood I’m in. Our lives have been especially chaotic these past few weeks with finishing up homeschool, working on house projects (and rearranging things), hosting another family in our home, and trying to get Wovenfolk going, so maybe all of that is throwing me off. If you have wondered why it’s been quieter here than norm, it’s because of all of the reasons mentioned above.

If you like the vintage arc-shaped basket, it’s currently available here. It’s definitely one-of-a-kind.

on me: top, vintage (vintage here,, new there). sailor jeans, vintage via fair season vintage (similar here and here). vintage arc-basket, wovenfolk. clogs, lotta from stockholm.

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The WOVENFOLK shop has been updated with some new things! Use code READYFORSUMMER for 20% off until Monday, May 29 at midnight.

We had a family picnic for my mom on Mother’s Day. It beats the crowds and long waits at restaurants. Plus, picnics seem sweeter and more intimate. We really ought to picnic more often. My siblings and I divided up what to bring, so our feast included bahn mi sandwiches, sweet breads, chips, cookies, and drinks (all my mom’s favorite types). There was no shortage of deliciousness for our Mother’s Day celebration. My grandma ended up coming too, so it was definitely special to celebrate the 3 generations of moms in our family. When we got home, Ben and the girls sent me to my room, and told me to watch something and put my headphones on. I happily obliged. Later, they came in showering me with homemade gifts/cards, a pot and plant (read the story behind it here), sushi in bed for dinner, and a hilarious song (see below). I was laughing so hard at the silly song they (Ben) made.

Our days are chaos, there’s a lot of fighting, but there is joy and abounding grace. Each day is a trial and sometimes we fail, and sometimes it’s good. This life, is totally undeserving, and it is all about grace. Motherhood is all about grace. I love this family and mine, and I’m thankful for the grace we need and experience daily, which flows only through Jesus on the cross.

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We went to the Long Beach Flea Market on Sunday, and the only thing on my list was to pick up some plain African mud cloth. I was in and out of the market in 20 minutes because we had plans to spend our afternoon at the aquarium. I used the mud cloth to cover the cushion on the French bed in our school room, and I had plenty left over, so I made pillows too. Previously, there was a white polkadotted sheet covering the cushion and antique grain sack covered pillows (you can see a tiny bit of it here). I really didn’t like the polk-a-dot (it used to be on one of the girls’ beds), I realized a few years ago that I’m not a polk-a-dot type of person, but it was there until I figured out what I wanted. I like this mud cloth fabric so much better.

Looking at the room, I think it’s time to switch out what’s hanging on the walls, and maybe even the rug (possibly with this one, since it’s no longer in the girls’ room). We’ve got a lot of books since I homeschool 4 girls, and have 4 readers, so I’m thinking we might need a bookshelf somewhere. I need to get rid of curriculum we no longer use in our school cabinet, so maybe once I do that, all our books will fit in there and I won’t need a bookshelf. I’m excited to change this room up a little, and the new mud cloth cover and pillows were the perfect start.

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These are just a few pictures from one of our plant hunting adventures a couple weeks ago. Once can never have too many plants!