I recently caught Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland on TV. I never liked the movie as a little girl- the Disney version, I mean. But this one is very pleasing to the eyes. The imagination that went in to it astounds me. The costumes and makeup- the best part, in my opinion. See- how could you not be intrigued? 

{I borrowed all these pictures from here}

I found a few things while browsing the world wide web... And was inspired a little :)

This Alice inspired vintage dress is darling! {source}

This gorgeous ring would definitely NOT fit in my jewelry box! {source}

This tutorial is perfect for those Alice curls :) {source}

This vintage print is so pretty {source}

Fashion inspired by the Mad Hatter {source}

And of course the Mad Hatter makes everyone want to drink tea our of pretty cups {source}

A vintage dress fit for a Queen {source}

This ornament would fit perfectly right on top of my head {source}

So, are you inspired now? What movie inspires your fashion and decor?

memories.

i woke up today longing for the nations. i just spent hours looking through pictures from the places i've been and the memories made me laugh and cry and i hurt in my heart for the oppressed and weary people of our world. aren't these people beautiful? we are called to show them the love of Jesus and bring Joy in to their hearts.

Both this, and the picture below were from my time in Bangladesh. My favorite country to date.

These two are from when I was in Thailand. Above- a Karen (origin: Burma) woman showing off her hand-woven blankets. Below- school kids chasing bubbles :)

Oscar loved my sunglasses. He was a sweet, sweet boy. Both of these are from my time spent in Venezuela at an orphanage. I would go back in a heartbeat if I could.

I always love seeing the stands and markets in other countries. A kind of simplicity about it that I like. From my time in Honduras- at another orphanage.

 

In Peru- this day was not on our "schedule". We just made a trip in to the slums and played with some kids. My favorite day of the whole trip. Below you can see the stairs on a church just stop mid-air. This indicates how high the water gets in the rainy season. Many lose homes and loved ones at that time of year from all the water.

{I'm missing pictures from Taiwan, China, and Mexico. But I have been pondering memories from those trips as well}

What tugs at your heart-strings?

a good deal.

You know how sometimes you just find that really good deal that you MUST share with anyone who's willing to listen?? That's happening to me right now. I found this sweet little thing thrifting yesterday... it was $0.49 ...                                                            

It holds rings. In case you didn't already figure that out. And if you know me at all, you know I heart rings. Like, more than I have fingers for. Before, I stored them in other sweet little things, like this:

                               ... Oh. You want a better look at all the cool rings I have? Ok!

     


   

       tuh duh!
     i love them :)










As you can see, I'm all about the statement pieces. Like that huge red one- it's definitely been referred to as the "finger shield". What can I say?

                                      Currently I'm loving this one {it was my gramma's}:

 

 

~please excuse the naked nails~

                                                  







                                                                              

But my most favorite ring? This one ---->

It's a promise. A covenant. A symbol of my husbands 

love for me. I will always cherish this ring the most.

Oh, and I almost forgot... That sweet little thing I scored thrifting? Fits all my rings perfectly :)

 Go put on some jewelry and have a happy Friday!

it's thursday.

Already. And I had every intention to write about my crazy, birthday-filled, weekend. And it's already Thursday... Better late than never, I spose.

April is a busy birthday month for me. Three of my favorite people in my life have birthdays right after one another. 

My dad's birthday, April 14th, was last Saturday. We {Matt and I} are in the process of residing our house and Saturday was mostly that. Ok, so maybe I'M not residing... Just cheering from the side lines. But I think you get what I mean. So, for the evening we had my siblings and Dad over. We just grilled hamburgers and had chips and fruit and homemade cookies :) It was simple, and good. I really love my dad. We share so many views on life and the world. This past year has been a battle for him {and the whole family, for that matter}, and I'm rooting for him. Sometimes, as much as we don't like it, that's all we can do. He's 51 years young and will always be worth celebrating in my eyes. I love you dad!

Dad and I on his birthday.

Sunday, April 15th- or as most people would say, "Tax Day", is my hermosa prima's birthday. That means beautiful cousin, btw. And she really is beautiful. And I love her. We could probably facetime for hours... ok, we DO facetime for hours. Ha! But we always have a great time together and always get a good laugh in. She has been a rock in my life since I moved to Denver in 2009. I hate that we don't still live so close, but am SO thankful for the friendship that was formed over the year and a half that we did. She is amazing and creative (she's the one that blogs and etsys with her sister) and this world is better because of her. I love you, la prima! {and in case you're wondering, her real name is Stormie}

 

I was so blessed to have her stand up for me :)

 And then, as we come to a birthday weekend conclusion, I will say... Monday was my wonderful husbands birthday. I love him with all my heart. And I celebrate him every day, so in some ways, this day was no different. Again, he was busy working on the house, and I had work. But there were extra hugs and kisses and some time just sitting together at the end of the day. Sometimes that's just the best way to celebrate someone. He is SO worth celebrating, and if it weren't up to him {since it's his birthday, he gets a say... i guess} I would throw a huge party! I like my man... and I want to show him off! But Matthew would prefer not to be the center of attention... something I don't understand at all... and I can't be mad about that. I love you, Matt, my love and best friend, forever.

Summer of 2011. Playing yard games with my fam :)

Happy thursday! Take today to show the ones you love they're worth celebrating!

A painter's {heart}

Wednesday evening I went to an amazing art reception for a friend of mine. She is great, beautiful, and really has an amazing heart and gifted hand for art. This is what she majored in, and anyone who sees anything she's done wouldn't be able to argue that it's what the Lord had in store for her when He knit her together :)

Terra will graduate in May, and has a few things she's looking in to as far as her "future" goes. But this is what I know for sure- she will do outstanding things for the Kingdom of God. She has a huge heart for the lost, and those trapped in the sex trade that is becoming an epidemic all over our world. This is what drives her hand for most of her art, and that is why- I think- they are so intriguing. It's so cool to see how the Lord speaks in her and through her, and how the Lord uses her art to tug at your own heart. 

Terra and I have been doing a Beth Moore Bible study {along with a few other ladies} on the Fruit of the Spirit. It may not have been her first inspiration for some of her paintings, but it was cool for me to see hem appear on the side of quite a few pieces :) 

Seriously- SO talented. 

This one is called "Resilience". Loved that.

 

And my personal favorite? This one:

 Isn't it beautiful? I LOVE the colors soo much... It probably should live in my house.

So, needless to say, I saw some pretty amazing art on Wednesday. If you would like more information about Terra's art, or would like to purchase any of the paintings you see above you can get in touch with her on facebook or email her at teburley@hotmail.com.

Happy art-making, my friends!

More weekend, please.

It's my last day of Easter break. A 5-day weekend was much needed, enjoyed, and of course, went by too quickly. And as usual, I didn't get near the amount accomplished as planned. Oh well... There are more breaks for such things :) At least I started my last day off correctly...

This weekend I enjoyed time spend with family.

Also time with the hubby. It seemed like it had been a while since we both were home and had semi-clear schedules. Always nice to have time to catch up with each other. I went thrifting yesterday with my brother's girlfriend, Kayla. She's as sweet as ever and we share a lot of similar loves for thrifting, crafting and creating. She's got a darling Etsy shop- you should check it out! Anyway, I stumbled upon a few things that helped complete MY Etsy shop's Summer Collection! (still working on everything, but it'll be up soon!) See exciting-fun-pretties below:

On another note, my sweet cousin over at MayDae wrote yesterday encouraging all to take place in Toms Shoes annual 'Day without shoes'. I work a job that doesn't allow such behavior, but today I won't have to worry about that! So I hope you're all taking part! It's TODAY, April 10th and it WILL raise awareness about how many people don't have the privilege to wear shoes. It's a pretty easy thing to help raise awareness about, wouldn't you say?

Hope you all had a lovely Easter! Here's to a sunny Tuesday!

a little tlc

Matthew (the hubby) was gone all of last week in Colorado for some school stuff. I had to stay behind for work, with no more days off for the year, and decided I would surprise him with a little re-do. You see, Matt and his dad spent a lot of time adding on a 3-seasons porch to the back of our house when Matt purchased it (long before I came along). The porch is amazing! It's mostly windows- which I LOVE. And just has a great "come-out-on-the-porch-and-drink-iced-beverages" kinda feel to it. So, the porch was my re-do. It was already painted a happy pale yellow and ready to be decorated. However, for as long as I've known Matt, it's never really been used for much besides storage. And a storage unit it for sure became right before our wedding, when I started moving all my stuff here. This is what it looked like:

See? Not a very "come-out-on-the-porch-and-drink-iced-beverages" feel. It just needed a little tlc. And some Murphy's Oil Soap and hot water. Lots of hot water. And sweeping and mopping times a million. (which my momma is real good at.. she came and helped) And here is the finished product:

Isn't she a beaut? The greatest thing? We already had everything needed to make it look gooood. A few bucks for some pretty flowers and herbs, and that was that. I love it! And so did Matt :) Here are some close-ups!

I've got a 5-day weekend... it's very possible I'm going to find another re-do for myself. And I'm so excited about that! Happy Easter, lovelies!