We don’t have it figured out but I know this for sure—our love grows. We work hard to break down walls, connect, have fun, BE A FAMILY. It’s messy imperfect and amazing.
Our love is stronger and bigger and more beautiful when it’s nurtured with honesty and grace. The ‘love grows necklace‘ is on SALE right now {along with most of my site!} Don’t miss it! It’s my favorite right now—little handcrafted hearts with BIG meaning.
We’ve worked really REALLY hard for this love. And just in case it looks easy or you feel like everyone around you has it figured out—it’s not easy and none of us have it figured out.
We’re learning a healthy relationship needs two whole people who show up and engage honestly.
I can’t make him happy.
I can’t make him whole.
I can’t make him feel loved.
He is responsible for himself.
And he can’t make me happy, whole or feel loved. I’m responsible for me.
God is the giver of these big, beautiful gifts we look for in a partner.
Happiness, wholeness, love—those are gifts God gives. They come wrapped in packages of brokenness, heartbreak, pain and uncertainty.
I know it makes no sense. It’s upsidedown and messy and I don’t have it figured out.
But I can tell you this—somehow as we lean into our brokenness we find wholeness. As we lean into our pain we find healing. As we lean into the mess we find a new, deeper beauty.
This is love. And we’re working really, really hard to love each other well.
Through it all, I know there is no other place I’d rather be than together. That’s the inspiration behind my “Better Together” necklace. Isn’t it adorable?? I’m giving it away as a gift with every order right now at my shop, but only for TWO. more. days!!
Ten things making me happy lately—
1. Warm days with time spent outdoors. Yesterday we ate In-n-Out outside and it was simple and so fun.
2. Watching Arrested Development as a family. It’s a show filled with the quirkiest characters and we laugh so hard.
3. Slow mornings! I can sip my coffee and slow down.
4. Organizing and purging. I’m going drawer by drawer and room by room through our house and cleaning things up. Oh my gosh, it feels so good!
5. Neck scarves (or bandanas). I love them. I used to wear them in college all the time.
6. Letting go of guilt. One of the things I’m working on in therapy is worrying less about my boys. I’m trying to let go a little and let them grow up. I’m reminding myself they are not only fine—they’re powerful people. They need my love and support but they don’t need me to worry.
7. Garlic and olive oil. I’m cooking more and basically EVERYTHING tastes better with more garlic and more olive oil. Ha!
8. The Joy Diet book by Martha Beck. It’s about 10 things to make your life more joyful. She’s one of my favorite authors. ♥️
9. Sunless tanner. Have you tried it? I’m using some and it’s making my legs look less glowing white and more slightly tan.
10. My sterling cuff (from my shop) on my wrist with my boys’ names. I gotta keep my boys close all the time. Love.
What’s making you HAPPY today?
Life is so so hard.
And life is so so good.
There is darkness and light.
For so long I wanted to create warm, sunny days and avoid the dark heavy clouds. But I can’t. We can’t. We need to feel it all.
I’ve been trying to focus on gratitude lately—not as a means to avoid feeling pain, but as a means to avoid bitterness. There’s so much to be grateful for. So much beauty in the midst of the everyday crazy stuff of life. Dark clouds and warm sunshine work together to create vibrant, blooming, breathtaking flowers.
This bracelet holds my heart. I wear my Thin Sterling Cuff every day as a reminder to be grateful for all the love I have in my life!
Like how grateful I am for my family and the love we have for each other. That’s what makes personalized jewelry so sweet, it lets me carry the names of the ones in my heart. I’m grateful for these little everyday reminders of what really matters.
What’re you grateful for?
Look at how beautiful my Full of Love necklace is! If you’re looking for a heart necklace, this beauty is so full of meaning.
I am prone to judge myself harshly—I wasn’t productive enough, honest enough, kind enough, thin enough {I could go on and on about my not-enoughs!}
I’m learning with practice, therapy, time, and patience to be more gentle with myself. All is well. Everything is okay. I am loved. I am worthy.
Full of love—that’s what the necklace is called {and what it symbolizes}. Pouring out love for family and friends. Taking time for quiet and reflection—time to nurture our own heart and believe we are worthy of time, energy, fun, play, silliness, happiness, goodness. We don’t have to earn our worthiness—we are already loved and worthy.
This heart necklace is so unique! The hand molded pendant shows the artist’s fingerprint, making each one a one-of-a-kind treasure. It’s the perfect little piece to wear around your neck every day. Your heart is so full of love!
One of the biggest things David has taught me is to be present in this moment. He lives in the NOW. He doesn’t worry about the future or the past. He truly lives in the moment.
It’s a gift to watch and learn from him. So many times, I’m overwhelmed with worry and I look around and find I have everything I need in this moment. Right now, everything is fine. It’s all okay. I’m trying to stay in the moment today.
Also soaking up his silly smiles and hugs!
It’s hard, it’s heavy, life is a lot but I promise you, there is beauty in this moment.
I designed this piece for David and everyone in the CdLS community. It’s a meaningful mother and child necklace that really captures the beauty of David’s life. I love it so much!
I love taking pictures–I’m an amateur with a lot to learn and that’s okay. Maybe that’s what makes it fun. I love to experiment and try new things. I use a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and I’m not sure if that camera can take a bad picture. Because my husband and I have a business creating handmade jewelry and accessories, I take a lot of pictures of my jewelry {and other things too!}. I want to create that magical shot that captures the heartfelt meaning behind every handmade design.
Today I tried partially covering my lens in 3 ways to see what kind of results I would get. I used a hair band to attach the object to my lens. I tried an olive branch, tissue paper and twinkle lights. The images are straight from my camera and unedited.
Check this out!
To start I cut a twig of olive branch leaves and attached it to my 50mm fixed lens with a hair band. This is high tech, folks!
It created some natural streaks in the foreground. I think it adds interest to the image–especially with the olive branch next to the jewelry box.
This is the sunburst necklace. Do you know that feeling; when you’re walking through a dark time and you’re wondering if hope or joy are even possible? Your heart is grieving. and then you feel it–just a hint of light. The smallest ray of hope and you hold onto it as tightly as you can. The sunburst necklace captures that glimmer of hope.
The sunburst necklace has powerful meaning–you can see why I want the photography to tell that story! Find the sunburst necklace here.
The second filter I used what tissue paper, torn in the. center and the attached to my 50mm fixed lens with a hair band. {I still haven’t put away all our Christmas wrapping paper–so it was right there, available for me! Sometimes it pays to procrastinate!}
Oh my gosh aren’t these results magical? The tissue paper creates soft, blurry edges and with the center of the lens unblocked we get a clear image of one of my favorite necklaces–the Open Circle necklace.
A circle complete and whole. Each of us is part of the whole—together we are stronger and better. Every person is unique and precious. Every soul matters. This is the meaning behind the Open Circle necklace. Find the Open Circle necklace here.
I pulled the tissue back a bit more and got this shot of the Sunburst Necklace. It created softer bits of blurriness–so pretty.
I really went on a limb here and tied some twinkle bubble lights around my 50mm fixed lens. I was laughing as I did it–and also super curious to see what kind of results I would get. Check out this pic of my Artisan Pearl earrings. The lights created some bokeh around the edges of the photo. This image isn’t edited! So magical and fun.
These earrings are forged by hand to create an extra long, gold-filled stem and finished with a freshwater pearl. The result is clean and absolutely stunning. The pearl represents grace and beauty. Perfect with jeans and white tee or your favorite black dress. Find the artisan pearl earrings here.
Louis allowed me to photograph him with twinkle bubble lights tied to my camera lens in exchange for some dog treats. He’s such a cutie. He’ll pretty much do anything for a treat–even give me a head tilt!
I decided to try these same techniques with my iPhone.
The first image above left is with a small olive branch partially blocking the lens. I could have taped it to my iPhone case but I just held it with my other hand. I think it’s fun–like I’m looking through leaves to take the pic.
The second image I used some tissue paper with the center torn out. The blur isn’t quite as soft but it does create some foreground noise that’s kind of fun.
The last image is using bubble twinkle lights. This one was a lot trickier and I didn’t love the results. It’s just some round orbs in the foreground without that magical bokeh.
Which one is your favorite? Have you tried playing with real life filters? Hmm, I wonder what other things I could use for filters?
They are here! I have been so excited to share my new stacking rings with you. I can’t believe how CUTE they are!
There are eight new designs and each one has their own meaning. As you pick the stacking ring designs that reflect your heart, you’re telling your story.
It’s our BIGGER than Black Friday sale! Don’t miss it. Click here to shop!
The new stacking ring designs include tiny hearts, happy dots, twists and turns, and more!
Stack four or five rings together to tell your unique story! Each stackable ring is handmade and holds deep meaning.
I love to mix and match metals–don’t you? It adds interest and depth. What is your favorite metal for stacking rings–sterling, gold or rose gold?
I love to stack the forward arrows ring, tiny hearts ring and tiny sparkles ring with my classic stacking name rings. Isn’t is sweet?
You are brave. You are full of love and light. You make the world a better place. Tell your story with stackable rings!
This is your beautiful, imperfect, amazing, one of a kind story! These are the stacking rings that tell your story!
I love mixing metals–gold, rose gold and sterling silver, don’t you? Let your jewelry be as unique as you are!
Hold my hand sweetheart and we’ll walk together. This is our family. This is our love. This is our story.
Here are some of my favorites–forward arrows, tiny sparkles, tiny sparkles, tiny hearts and forward arrows! Aren’t these stacking rings beautiful?
Your story is matters! Tell your one-of-a-kind story with my new stackable rings. Find them here!
What is wholeness?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I’ve spent time reading about it, journaling about it and praying about it.
I want to be whole–but often I feel so broken and inadequate. I’m imperfect, but also amazing. I’m strong and capable but also prone to discouragement when I’m worn out. Wholeness is a contradiction. The more I accept my inability to be whole, the more I find it.
To fully experience life I have to open myself to every part it—the beautiful parts and the ugly parts.
Wholeness isn’t perfection. I’ve made my to-do lists and faithfully checked off item after item. By the time I reach the end of the list I have to start over again. The list is never-ending, but my energy is limited. I’ve tried to be perfect and failed miserably time and time again.
Wholeness isn’t life without conflict. I’ve tried to control things in my environment, my home, my family to make us all ‘happy’. It’s impossible. Each of us with our own personalities and preferences can’t be simultaneously pleased and content each moment. Relationship requires give and take. It requires flexibility and freeing ourselves to feel what we feel.
Wholeness is waking up on a Saturday morning to pancakes and syrupy fingers.
Wholeness is taking the dogs for a walk and letting the laundry wait.
Wholeness is clearing our calendar last minute to stay home and rest.
Wholeness is a date night that ends with a fight. But we climb into bed and drift off to sleep side by side anyway.
Sometimes wholeness is laughing and sometimes it’s crying.
Sometimes it’s singing together in the car.
Sometimes it’s raised voices and strong opinions.
Sometimes it’s kind words.
Sometimes it’s forgiveness. Maybe all the time it’s forgiveness.
Wholeness is taking care of myself physically, emotionally and spiritually, so I can love you better. And knowing you need to do the same.
Wholeness is believing you’re strong where I’m weak. And I’m strong where you’re weak.
Wholeness is you and me smoothing out each other’s rough edges.
Wholeness is a little necklace around my neck reminding me together we are better. Together we are stronger. Together we will walk this winding road hand in hand.
Steve and I were in New York for meetings a couple weeks ago. We were walking through a charming neighborhood and we stumbled on St. Luke’s thrift store–which to me is like the happiest thing ever. They had some great things–lots of collectibles and some good clothing. It was a curated store–so a bit more expensive but a lot less hunting through junk. I found this vintage kimono and the leather bag.
We are introducing the adorable furry footprint tag and necklace today. Check it out!
Louis and Beasley love their new tags! Oh these pups are such heart melters. I can’t believe how much joy they add to our family. We are so grateful.
Outfit details: Vintage kimono, leather bag, Thrifted. Skinny jeans, Target {similar here}. Cream camisole, Amazon. Sandals, Miz Mooz. Dog tag/Necklace, My Shop.