celebrating female heroines

How awesome is this? After noticing a trend towards Disney princess dress-up photo shoots, Texas photographer Jamie Moore had her daughter Emma choose real female heroines for a dress-up photo shoot, picking women who made history in all areas of life, from Amelia Earhart, to Helen Keller, to Coco Chanel.

Here’s what she had to say:

“I noticed quite a pattern of so many young girls dressing up as beautiful Disney Princesses, no matter where I looked 95% of the “ideas” were the “How to’s” of  how to dress your little girl like a Disney Princess. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Disney Princesses, from their beautiful dresses, perfect hair, gorgeous voices and  most with ideal love stories in the mix you can’t help but become entranced with the characters. But it got me thinking, they’re just characters, a writers tale of a princess (most before 1998)…an unrealistic fantasy for most girls (Yay Kate Middleton!).

“It started me thinking about all the REAL women for my daughter to know about and look up too, REAL women who without ever meeting Emma have changed her life for the better.”

Such a neat way to celebrate real heroes. And the pictures are adorable too. You can read more about it and see more photos here.

What female heroine would you choose? I keep thinking it would also be fun to choose a woman in your family as the subject for the photo shoot, like a grandmother or an aunt.

seventh anniversary

The first year there was apartment 408, forbes and cambridge, long waits at the metro, lettuce wraps on the living room floor, homesickness for college, Shoppers for cheap groceries, trips to Charlottesville and NYC, a new group called devos and desserts, awkward company Christmas parties, and learning DC.

The second year there were new friends, an ACC championship game, wedding road trips, love for eastern market, last minute weeknight restaurant dates, and volunteering at NCC nursery. There was a new obsession with thai food and movies on Tuesdays or Wednesdays or Thursdays.

The third year there was apartment 379, small group leading, Muir Woods in flip flops and plants that smelled like chai tea. There were promotions, late nights at work, dreams and journeys about microfinance, a sprint triathlon and a broken camera. There was another State of the Union, a realization we’d stay for awhile, a real mattress, and Crystal City 5Ks. There were late nights with friends and spades and oreos. There was Harris Teeter and eating out.

The fourth year there was a commitment to celebrate creativity in our home, Ardie, snowmageddon, driving through Times Square, a desire for Del Ray. There were sleepless nights and serving in Nairobi, chasing wildabeest on an African safari, and a little girl named Irene. There was a hot air balloon ride, showers for friends, Thanksgiving in New York, vacations with family, and a commitment to be grateful. There were tears about work, dreams for the future, and a desire for flexibility.

The fifth year there was a scavenger hunt with friends, kite festivals, and Dean and Deluca. There was our fifth Cherry Blossom Festival, a new little place in Del Ray, oxford, a backyard, and a commitment to simplicity. There were bike trips, picnics, day trips to NYC, conversations in Central Park. There were secrets and sickness in LA, preparations for new life, an ultrasound tech’s note that read “girl,” turquoise, orange, patterns, and homemade birds. There was April 9, and 10th, and 11th…. There was more waiting, and then there was April 18th. There was Emerson Kate and a family of three.

The sixth year there were sleepless nights, learning new ways to communicate, adjusting and falling in love. There was refreshing at Keswick, a journey to California,  and the fifth Tennessee Ten vacation. There was working from home, a lot of Starbucks, Buzz in the mornings, Trader Joe’s, a table for two plus a high chair, visits from family, a roller, a sitter, and a crawler. There was the Patch and a desire to write, and there was faithful Cambridge. There was biking in Paris, cafe cremes, language barriers, clutching our pockets in Barcelona, and a Spanish wedding celebration. There was fasting and praying and a call to the future, two-months full time, a goodbye to a chapter, and the start of another.

The seventh year there was mama and daddy, walking and talking and running and jumping, swings, strawberry patches, pumpkin patches, and Oronoco Bay park. There was less eating out and more exploring in the kitchen. There was Johns Hopkins, a commitment to learning, and intentional conversations about family and future. There was Charlottesville, California twice, lost luggage, trips to Chesapeake, and a greater love for Del Ray. There was Billy the Bulldog, library story time, goldfish, and snack cups. There was production and small group and coaching and leading. There was the pocket park hills, and a tunnel, and a slide, and and a seesaw.

Happy Anniversary, my love. May our years together continue to be full of adventure and love.

keeping house plants alive

I have yet to keep a house plant alive. That’s not an exaggeration. Every plant I ever owned died a slow and wilted death, due admittedly to my own neglect. My solution: write-off house plants all together. Instead, I stuck to placing fresh flowers in the house, which are expected to die so I’d be off the hook in trying to keep them alive.

Last week, I decided to turn a new page in the horticulture chapter of my life and take on the challenge of house plants once again. I’ve noticed that many homes and apartments I admire have touches of greenery added here and there. So we made a trip over to our local nursery and bought some ferns, a kalanchoe plant, terra cotta pots and a few herbs. We’re a week in and I’m happy to report that they’re all still alive! I’m actually attempting to pay attention to them, and I’m feeling brave.

There’s something emboldening about taking up a project or a challenge that you’ve written off, even when it’s something small like house plants. It causes us to think with a different perspective and challenges us with new creative outlets.

Is there something you’ve written off that you’d like to try your hand at again? (And, do you have any tips for keeping house plants alive??)

brilliant new product for parents

This new product is a brilliant idea for parents – onesies that prevent the mess of diaper blowouts! The poopsies brand just launched this week with cute basic patterned onesies that have a waterproof lining to prevent blowouts from ruining clothes. If they are as effective as they sound, I think poopsies may join Sophie and aden + anais muslin swaddles as a must-give shower gift. And their branding is super cute too.

Check it out here.

(Just a warning – if you’re not familiar with the scene of a blowout, you might want to skip some of the “see it to believe it” pictures!)

What do you think moms and dads? Would you invest in one (or many) of these?

Photos from the poopsies website. You can enter to win a poopsies on their site here.

cheers to another semester

Photo (and tutorial) from Piece of Cake/Peace of Mind

With one more semester in the bag, I’m officially halfway through my masters program at Johns Hopkins! I’ve spent the last few weeks researching, reading, writing, rewriting, and editing…along with planning a 2nd birthday party, filling out a lot of paperwork regarding lost luggage from this trip, filing taxes, taking various meetings, and other real life moments. I’m ready to fall back into a normal pace after the end-of-semester marathon.

As I settle back in, here is a random assortment of things I’ve come across over the past couple weeks…articles, recipes, and other inspiring gems.

The Secret Faith of Washington (from Newsweek)

How our kids will read books growing up: An Interactive Kids Novel by Tank & Bear

The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the ocean

Raw kale and brussels sprouts salad with tahini-maple dressing (yum!)

What it’s like to file your taxes when you’re young and single

How the I.R.S. Hurts Mothers (from the New York Times)

Really cute Rifle Paper Co iPhone cases

DIY idea: Use polka dot paper to dress up a floral gift presentation (pictured above)

real life

I posted this picture just before I dropped a head of perfectly roasted garlic into a sink of soapy water and watched as it fell into the drain. At that point, I did what any rational person would do – I cried.  We were expected at a friend’s house for Easter dinner and the incident set us back 45 minutes.

So my instagram feed showed a pretty picture of the ingredients for broccolini and charred lemon flatbread, while in real life I stood at the sink crying over ruined garlic.

Obviously, Instagram isn’t a running reel of our life. It may look like it is – as if life moves from cute cafe, to peaceful morning walk, to cooking corn tacos with zucchini-radish slaw in some dream world.

But it’s not really like that, is it? Instead social media sites like Instagram showcase small bits of life, curated with the most charming moments. The result is a museum-like presentation of life. Yet, in between those photos are tears, stresses, and really boring things like sitting at the auto-shop waiting for the mechanic to tell you that the car repairs will be $500.

I’m grateful for the small, beautiful moments that get us from one stress to the next, and I believe in celebrating those moments. And let’s be honest – Instagram feeds that show nothing but the stresses of life all the time would be a little depressing!

However, there is a place for acknowledging that real life does happen. Our social media-consuming selves are starving for it. I’ve noticed a renewed focused from some popular online personalities to be a bit more transparent and a little less life-is-perfect-and-colorful-all-the-time (here and here, for example). It helps to know that others have the same human struggles and stresses we do.

A couple of weeks ago, some friends and I were discussing this topic and thinking about what we could do to shatter the myth of an Instagram-curated life. Among the photos of picnics, lattes, and travels, we’re trying to also capture those moments when life didn’t turn out the way we intended. We’re doing it on Instagram and tagging them #reallife.  It’s a fun and small step, but one that makes us more aware of the stories we’re telling the world about ourselves. We’d love it if you would join us!

PS This issue keeps drawing in more discussion. One of my favorite authors just wrote about this very topic here.

a cafe creates community by storytelling…on plates

A London cafe is creating community by featuring diners’ stories on plates used to serve customers. This article says “Users are asked to describe these fun café reminiscences and stories and then pick a font.” Customers of the cafe design their stories online and then the restaurant fires the designs onto plates.

It’s kind of like paint-your-own-pottery meets storytelling meets cafe. Seems like a fun way to create community among customers. I think the end result is pretty cute, too.

See some of the designs here.