Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Why Do You Put Up with This?!


You Deserve to Be Comfortable


Hey guys! I know it's mid-week and I usually don't post anything fancy except on the weekends, but I gotta say somethin'.

Please don't suffer. 

You don't have to. No, really, you DON'T. Okay, granted there are gonna be painful or irritating things we all have to face down in life, but please, please, PLEASE don't take crap when you don't have to. This is what I'm talking about:

If your nylons are creeping up your leg - strip them OFF!
If your sick of a song on your iPod - delete it!
If your hangnail is throbbing - go get the clippers!
If your sitting crooked in a meeting - loosen up and reorganize!

I don't know if it's the fact that I'm a woman or my Christian background, but I take waaaaaay to much uncomfort.


PS - It's not a virtue. No one wins. You don't get a prize.

Now get up and go handle that one THING that came to mind as you scrolled through this. :):):)

DO it. Your body deserves your respect. You're mind too.





Saturday, January 25, 2014

Adventure on Powell Butte

Outdoor Therapy

I verge on total burnout just about every Friday. My mind, body, and soul seems to take a regular beating starting Monday and rolling steadily downhill from there. Instead of eating and watching Netflix (both of which I am exceedingly good at!), I planned an exploratory hike up Powell Butte for some eco-therapy. 

I located one of the parking lots on the NE corner of the butte, snapped a selfie to text the bf, and eagerly skipped through the ubiquitous sword fern and up to some lovely...

Forest Boulders with Native Sword Fern
Forest boulders! 

Rocks relax me. If my mind is focused on studying it's curves and dips, I don't have time for anxiety. "Feeling" rocks in my mind has brought me out of multiple tense personal moments. My grandma taught me this technique with a smooth stone she called a "worry stone." I've found using a mental worry stone is much more convenient as it doesn't weigh down my handbag. 

These rocks had ferns + moss. Even better! Large green worry stones. :) My hike was off to a relaxing start.

A Lichen Living on a Stone Atop the Butte

I found the stone + lichen above the conifer line on the windy Butte. So much sun and air. Filled my lungs and gazed out over the valley at three different white mountain peaks.

Meadow On Top of the Butte

In the 1890's, a Swiss family raised dairy cattle across the Butte. The distant mountain peaks and open space reminded them of their old home in the alps. There was no yodeling today....just some grateful yoga in the sunshine. I purposed to leave my tension, worry, fear, and other personal junk caught up inside my psyche on the butte for the wind to blow far away.

Crunchy Gravel Trail

On the north end of the butte, there is a small, old orchard leftover from the dairy-days. Here it was easy to imagine turn-of-the-century Swiss farmers picking fruit from their hardy trees to the sound of lowing cows and dull cow bells. "Roughing" it with out electricity and running water really isn't that far behind us. I took a moment for thankfulness that I got to see the rocky butte.

Ancient Orchard
You can still see where these gnarled fruit trees were pruned long ago.

After taking Orchard Loop around the top of the Butte, I ducked back into the old growth and wound my way around the west side of the hillside back to my truck, starving for my banana and dried apricots. If you'd like to hike Powell Butte, here's a handy map that I used. I plan to re-visit the Butte in September for a fall color vista. Happy hiking to you!


Sunday, January 19, 2014

This Is What Sand Grains Look Like Under the Microscope


Look at what your beautiful feet get to walk on!


When I ran across the exquisite art work of Dr Gary Greenberg, I knew you had to see them. 

Take a peek at these gorgeous images of sand. Dr Greenberg photographs bits of sand under a microscope and patches the shots together to form these breathtaking pictures of what grains of sand really look like.

Check out the rich colors and that heart-shaped grain! 

Nothing boring, bland, run-of-the-mill, simple, ugly, or predictable at all. Think back to your last stroll down the beach...you were literally treading on bits of shells, volcano dust, gem fragments, and tiny multi-colored minerals.

Grains of Global Sand


A few weeks ago, I published a post on shells, rocks, and fossils that I collect in my treasure box. THIS takes "natural treasure" to a whole new, teensy-weensy level.




A collection of Maui sand bits. 


I'm amazed. To find this much diversity in something I thought was bland and plain is a overwhelming.

Suddenly, sand isn't nearly so boring.

When it comes to beauty, seek and ye shall find!



Sunday, January 5, 2014

Ancient Soles - Sandals Get Historical


Bead Fair

Another first! Just ransacked the Hillsboro bead fair to see what other types of beads/stones I can add to sandals and to network with the vendors.

 By FAR, the coolest stand had strands of 18th century beads. Some were bright, vibrant glass beads that were crafted in Venice for trade with Africa. The vendor also had strand after strand of metal beads that just sparkled and shimmered. Some strands were made of recycled bottles. After knocking about Europe for centuries, those strands now resemble beads of seaglass!

Seeing a piece of history at the bead fair was totally unexpected. How cool would some leather sandals laced with old-school trade beads be??? Would you wear sandals with a history? Splash your opinion below!

Brass Beads 

Venetian Beads from the 18th Century for Trade with Africa

Beads from Recycled Bottles. Talk About "Vintage"!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Bead-Boppin' Along

Green vs. Blue


Hola, lovely friends! Happy 2014. I spent my new years on the couch watching recaps of 2013 until around 10:30 when I said "screw it" and hit the memory foam for sleep over watching the ball drop. At 25....I'm acting pretty "old"! Maybe that's 2014's resolution: act younger and stay up later. :)

Anyhow, I thought I'd wish you cheer on this January 1 and give ya the skinny on our sandals.

Originally, I wanted to include lavender and crystal beads scattered naturally across the macrame, but the light purple just PALES in comparison to the blue morpho butterfly wing centerpieces. Time to improvise since my first thought does look right when I put the embellishments together. Back to the bead store for another exchange.

What do you think of this mermaid scale green?

Green - yes or no?
While I love the vibrancy of the green with the wing, I think the color competes too much with the centerpiece. Opted instead for some purple-blue, oil-stained lookin' mix of beads.
                                      
Purple-indigo beads. 

Nice, no? I need to shoot you a quick video so you can watch the beads and the wing shimmer. With even the tiniest change in the lighting, these embellishments are POPPING. Already fantasizing about wearing a pair at a summer evening al fresco dinner. Chic, baby.
                                 
Laying out the beads before hand-stitching them onto the weave

Now that all the embellishments are finalized and looking good, it's time to stitch it up and work all the pieces together. Being the eager girl that I am, just couldn't wait to see where we are at! After getting a delicious jewel-pink manicure, I draped each element across my foot to model the final sandal look for you!

Whatta you think? Would you wear these? Comment below. Be honest now.


First glimpse of the butterfly wedge!