This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

So thankful to have knocked out a lot from my to-do lists this week. I have 2 major projects to finish up before I feel a little relaxed, but otherwise, I feel so much better. Earlier in the week, I was panicked at how behind I was on specific projects.

Praise God for friends. Seriously. I’m so thankful to have some really good ones. And then don’t even get me started on our parents… Ben and I have the best.

I learned it’s better to do the hard uncomfortable thing because God will grow you through it.

Busted out my sewing machine this week and made something really sweet. Can’t wait to show you guys!

If you were a 6.5 shoe, this pair of cowboy boots is so cool.

Toddler parents… this circus outfit would be so cute for Halloween. A quirky clown costume or something.

My BFF’s adoption day is in less than a week. This is such a big deal and something I’ve been praying and waiting for for a long time. All the praise hands! I will be crying so many happy tears next Friday!

And as you can see above, my husband got younger! What a difference a shave makes! I was the one that requested the beard, and while I love it, after 11 months, I started missing his face. So happy to have it back!

I got 3 posts up this week! What?!! Do you want more chatty life posts or craft stuff?

We did room switch-a-roos during the summer, and while the girls are loving their new space, I’m sharing their old one because I want to have it documented for when we reminisce. These are snaps of their room literally right before I took everything out, so it’s not styled at all, and very much lived-in by two little girls. And now that I’m looking at these photos, I really love their new room so much more. It suits their needs better and the room switched allowed us more space to organize all their stuff.

We kept all their big pieces of furniture (dresser and beds), but changed out a couple smaller pieces. These two girls are my neat freaks, so they like to make their beds in the morning and have everything cleaned up by the time they go to bed. They even have rules for when you enter their room. I’m not completely done decorating their room as there’s one wall that I’m just unsure about, but once it all feels right, we will share it here. I have shared bits of it here and here though.

Everything but the fan on the dresser is vintage, so I don’t have many resource links to share, except that the rattan beds are from Elsie Green.

Our Brave is obsessed with all things 1980s, so for her 11th birthday, she requested an 80’s themed party. Her obsession started with the music, Ben introduced her, and now she’s always playing 80s music. While on our little Palm Springs get away, we set up this intimate celebration for her. Of course, every quintessential 80’s party must have that neon laser backdrop. I used this file and had it blown up to a 36″x48″ colored engineering print. It’s a bit grainy so large, but it did the job. And of course, everyone got their own 1980’s ‘do and I’m proud to introduce you to the Class of 1987…

I researched typical 1980s cake’s and pineapple upside down cake was one of them, but I wasn’t sure if my girls would like that one so much, so we went with a classic homemade chocolate cake with big pops of neon. We spent the rest of the weekend watching 80’s movies, 80’s documentaries, and jammin’ to our 1980’s playlist. We love our totally, radical, 1980’s loving girl!

Her birthday was back in August, so I’m a little late in sharing this, but life has been crazy for us lately. I’m behind in sharing lots of things and I have plenty of other things I want to share, but time these days… I just don’t have much of it.

Dear October,

We’ve been nervously and eagerly anticipating you. We know this month will bring new mercies, more joy, some fighting, abounding grace, lots of forgiveness, and probably a few surprises too. The girls have lots of plans for Halloween and we mostly have all the costumes put together. Some big things are coming up, like my BFF’s official adoption day of her 3 girls that we have all been waiting forever for, a sushi bowl party to celebrate my sisters’ birthdays, and a trip to Texas. I have a pretty long to-do list of things to prep this month, so I better get to it. I spent my free time, on this first day of the month, listening to a couple podcasts, reading articles, and taking a nap (on accident), so yup, none of those things got done. I better get to it cause this month will fly by I’m sure.

Here’s another month to allow God to work in our hearts and put into action that heart shifting and convicting He’s been doing lately. We’re in for the wild, or maybe tame, ride life might bring this month. We’ll see. September was busy getting back into the routine of homeschooling and finishing up some house projects. For awhile there, I didn’t think we’d have an organize house again, but the girls are settled into their new rooms and we are all loving the little switch-a-roo.

We know you don’t bring us vibrant red and orange leaves, and we are content with our evergreens and palm trees. The sun is setting earlier and the days are a bit cooler, so we are definitely feeling the change. Welcome, October, we greet you open arms. Also, we gotta get through you to get to November, and I love November because it’s my birthday month.

Love,
Ruby

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

Excited to welcome fall, but the picture above says we’re holding onto summer for as long as we can.

Glow is reading book books! I think now that she’s discovered she could, it’s starting to ignite a love for reading.

My heart was so thankful to be able to get in a girls’ night out with some of my church sisters. I needed that time with them and the drive alone was good thinking on God time.

Everlane has just released the new cigarette jean. I’m thinking about it, especially with that 11″ rise. I love a good high rise, though my ideal would be 12″ or 13″, but Everlane’s stuff are always so good. Have you seen their new shoes? Love the extra high day heel and the square toe slingback.

Getting back into the Wovenfolk groove and updated the shop today! Wovenfolk is an outpour of my love for treasure hunting for vintage and the desire to give old things new life.

How fun is this image and painting?!

Spoke too soon about heatwaves being over because we are about to go back up to the high 90s this week. Oye! At least it will be nice and warm when the girls go swimming.

Thankful my mom finally had surgery to remove a large cyst and that’s it’s not cancerous! Praise the Lord!

The girls and I have spent some time thrifting this week and I think we have most things for their Halloween costumes. There are a few things here and there we need to make or buy somewhere, but we’re getting there. My goal was to have it all done by October, so that might just happen.

Looking for some mom jeans and have a 26″ waist? Love this pair from Ms. Tips!

Ben’s got a man cold this weekend, so we’re hoping it gets kicked to the curb soon because the house (or maybe it’s just me) is definitely off kilter when he’s not feeling well.

Happy fall, friends!

I’m sure most of the country is already starting to feel the change that fall brings. Leaves changing colors, crisp evening air, the need for sweaters, etc. All things that definitely haven’t happened yet for sunny Southern California. We are the land and people that vacillates between a perpetual summer and spring. We do get some sort of winter cold too. Well, cold to us (cue eye rolls from other parts of the country). Right now though, it’s still summer. The intense heat waves of the summer haven’t made a reappearance, but the days are certainly still warm. I’m not even sure when fall will make its grand entrance (though technically, it happens on September 22nd), but we wait in anticipation for that change of season.

I feel like this is our life right now too. We are on the cusp of the change. For my big girls, who are (slowly) inching towards womanhood, I can see the slow gradual changes in them. They are teetering between being little girls and teens. There are still remnants of the little girl in them, but at the same time, there is a bit more defiance in them too. Glow’s babyhood is on the brink as well. There’s so much baby there, but so much of her own little person coming out. Soul, she’s been my steady gal of late, but even she is blooming in her own way. Then, there’s Ben and me, God’s definitely been doing a whirlwind of things in our hearts. All good things for sure, but it doesn’t come without some growing pains. My heart is settled into the change that is to come, not quite sure when it will makes its arrival, but I know that God’s been prepping me for it. God’s been prepping all of us. And while I’m savoring this particular season for as much as I can, I will usher in the change with open arms because I know my God is the one upholding my arms to do so.

Until then, we will drink the last bits of summer…