{inspiration + creating = joy}

i love to create.

i love to be inspired.

i love to make things.

chalkboard paint is my weakness.

i long to have my own little workshop filled with tools (a girl can dream, right?) 

so i can cut, build, paint, draw, design... the list goes on and on.  

remember that dream of making my own furniture??  

it WILL happen one day.

creating brings me joy, so i'm a little excited about a few projects i'm 

dreaming up for the holidays thanks to these pinterest inspirations!

i REALLY want to do a wall in my bedroom like the one shown below.

fingers crossed i can make that happen in the next few months!

{happy.creating}

aw

{someday cottage}

 as i sit here on this may morning, nickle creek playing, i am day dreaming of a porch, the creak of the screen door as i walk outside.  the cool air caresses my face as the wind gently blows.  i dream of a rocking chair with a steaming cup of coffee.  back and forth.  back and forth.  here there are no cares in the world. the birds' song fills my ears with delight.  they sing to one another.  the crickets, the tree frogs, all that's alive in nature joins in with the cottage song.  as i sit alone with my thoughts, i relish in the peace of the moment. the smell of the earth blows by and i breathe it in full.  breathing in and out, allowing the air to completely fill my lungs, reminding me i'm alive... it's a little slice of heaven.

the sheets are white and crisp in this cottage and the beds are many. life lives here. family and friends are welcome and many come.  they're happily invited to enjoy and experience the wilderness that surrounds.  the lovely creation that captivates. 

love is found in this cottage.  

there's laughter, yet sometimes tears, as life is experienced, discussed, and lived.  there are children playing here. in the tall grass.  the unseen creek.  the girls giggle with laughter and the sound of their joy is intoxicating. the boys explore in search of all the wild animals and the many, many adventures they can find.  

the bright warm sun shines in the windows by day and the stars and moon by night. when day has gone there is a warm fire burning in the fireplace. smoke slowly rises from the chimney.  chatter fills the kitchen as a delicious dinner is prepared with love and care.  games are played, words are exchanged... love is found in this cottage.  

the floor boards are worn from the many feet that have walked across them and they creak as they go.  the character of this cottage is pure joy.  if the walls could talk, oh the stories they could tell of the life that's been shared here.  stories of family, of romance, of babies snuggled, of friendship.  stories that are so full of life they overflow and become part of this cottage.

love is found in this cottage.

this is the cottage i'm dreaming of...

 

 (this beautiful painting is by katie daisy which you can buy here.  she inspires me.)

{happy.day.dreaming}

aw

{life}

{via kadi fit}

{love does :: a new book by bob goff :: whimsy included}

hellooooo lovely pages

 

the UPS lady arrived just before lunch today with a fantabulous surprise delivery.

{love does}

the first mention i heard of the author, bob goff, was while reading "a million miles in a thousand years" by donald miller. now don't get me wrong, the whole of miller's book was fabulous, but there was something that i couldn't get didn't want to get past in the words written about this man, bob goff, and his family.  

the spirit of life, depth of joy, and breadth of love was something that my heart and soul resonated with right away.  i wanted the whimsy.  i wanted the "cup overfloweth" of life that bob lived.  i didn't want to sit on the sidelines anymore waiting for life to happen. i wanted to count to 3 and jump off the dock fully clothed too! (you'll have to read to book to get that one)

i started following bob in the social media world and i've been so encouraged, challenged, and enlightened by his 140 characters.  his love for uganda and to find true justice there... his love does just that there and all around the world. his apparent love for others does. this all shines through in 140 characters and others words who's lives have been touched by bob. i believe 18923.8989% that God uses people in our lives to speak His truth and grow us... and i can't wait to see what words from bob that God uses in my life.  

i strive to be a person that does love and does it well... and i fail and always will, but Jesus makes that type of love possible still.  i dream of that crazy type of (sometimes silly and over the top) loving and want my life to be full of it.  i want to continue living OUT my faith. not just owning it, but doing it.  i want to love like Jesus REALLY loved.  the love to the least deserving that made most people call Him crazy.  i don't want to take "the church" in america at face value if it's not the ridiculous type of love that Jesus called us to.  i want to truly be salt and light to a world that always has, and always will, miss the mark.  our world is so desperately in need of that type of love.  we need it in our families, to our neighbors, and to the grumpy lady in line at the grocery.  yes even she needs that type of love.  i want to be a bright light of jesus' abundant love to a dark world.  even if it means it's unpopular, risky, or even hard.  Jesus didn't say this life would be easy following Him, but He did say He'd be with us every step of the way.  i want to walk in the Spirit and "walk in love."

as i sat today at lunch in the sunshine at our old picnic table behind our office, reading the forward and intro out loud to my sweet mama and soaking in the warm rays of spring in NC, my soul started stirring...

i'm excited to dive in and read these pages by bob.  i'll let you know how this adventure of a read goes... but one thing i'm certain, regardless of any words is that...

{love.does}

 simple. as. that.

{aw}

{blue like jazz :: the movie}

one of my all time favorite books, blue like jazz, 

has been made into a movie and it releases today.  

yes today.

not only is the book a wonderful story, the story of blue like jazz :: the movie and how it came to be is a fabulous one.  a hard one, but a goodie.  the short version is... they set out to make the movie, the recession hit, they "failed" as the money wasn't there.  two young guys from TN who had really been affected by donald miller's book, blue like jazz refused to let the "failing" happen so they set out to "save blue like jazz"...

insert kickstarter and add in all the rest of the people who did not want BLJ to "fail" 

we all gave (a whopping total of $345,992) and the movie happened.  

obvi.  it comes out today.

i say it's a must see.  

"why?" you ask...

my question is "why not?"

it might just change how you look at Jesus...

 see if it's playing in a theater near you this weekend and go see it.

click HERE to find local listings.

{happy.blue.like.jazzing}

aw

{i was made to live, i was made to love, i was made to know you}

these words are speaking so deeply to my soul this morning.  

the words of c.s lewis from mere christianity, put so beautifully to song by brooke fraser, and then they showed up on pinterest this morning on this beautiful piece of design by baylee heart.

my heart not only connect so deeply to these words, but when they come alive through music and beautiful design, my soul connects in a way that words cannot describe.  

the Lord meets me there.  

i have seen His face.  

the face of Love.  

the face of Hope.  

for THAT i am beyond grateful.

{C.S. Lewis Song}

if i find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy,
  i can only conclude that i was not made for here
if the flesh that i fight is at best only light and momentary,
then of course i'll feel nude when to where i'm destined i'm compared

{chorus}
speak to me in the light of the dawn
mercy comes with the morning
  i will sigh and with all creation groan as i wait for hope to come for me

am i lost or just less found? on the straight or on the roundabout of the wrong way?
is this a soul that stirs in me, is it breaking free, wanting to come alive?
cos my comfort would prefer for me to be numb
and avoid the impending birth of who i was born to become

{chorus}

speak to me in the light of the dawn
mercy comes with the morning
  i will sigh and with all creation groan as i wait for hope to come for me

{bridge}
for we, we are not long here
our time is but a breath, so we better breathe it
and i, i was made to live, i was made to love, i was made to know You
Hope is coming for me
Hope, He's coming...

{can you spare $1? :: the elders' african adoption}

meet my beautiful friend wynne elder.

i had the pleasure of meeting wynne in dallas, tx in 2010 at the love affair photography workshop.  wynne is one of the most fun, loving beautiful souls i've met.  she's a photographer, Jesus lover, loves all things camp, and she has a heart for africa and orphans that is SO inspiring!!  i would be lying if i said i wasn't jealous of the fact that she went to africa 3 TIMES last year. i digress...  ;)

when i think of people that leak Jesus to all those around her, wynne is definitely on that list.  joy simply flows from her being.

wynne and her husband have decided to adopt their first child from africa, who they've already named camp elder after their love of camp, and we have a chance to help!  

let's face it...  the reality is that the cost of adoption is very expensive and not everyone is called to it, but why not help out the ones who do feel called and are willing to say "yes"???
 
give1save1 is an organization that's set up simply to help with the cost of adoption.  it's easy.  every week they're sponsoring a family and you give a $1 ... YES JUST ONE (OR 10:) ...to bless their socks off and help with their adoption.  how easy is that?  it's life giving folks!

take look at the elder's story and please take the time to give $1 this week

it's our way to do what james 1:27 calls pure religion

{religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: 

to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, 

and to keep oneself unstained from the world. james 1:27}

{GIVE TODAY BY CLICKING HERE}

{aw}

{Photo 366 :: A Photo a day challenge}

so remember when i said i was LOVIN' me some instagram & the january photo a day challenge?  well imagine my excitement when my radtastic friend erin over at bringing up burns asked me if i wanted to join forces with her to come up with our own monthly photo challenges.  now erin is one of the sweet bloggers that inspires me daily.  her pizazz for living life to the full, loving her husband passionately, and her kiddos with the utmost attention and fun, i can only hope to one day live out that inspiration in my own life.  don't even know how that girl does it all, but i love it!

we were so inspired by the creator of the january photo-a-day challenge based out of austrailia that we wanted to create our own little US version.  we got to brainstorming and realized this was something so fun that we had to share with the rest of the bloggosphere, twitterworld, instagrammers, and pinaholics (yes.  you know you are) out there.

so here it is!  february is our start and we'll be posting one each month for the rest of this year. so jump on board and challenge your photography skills.  you CAN do this!  even if you don't have an iphone for instagram you can still use your photo apps and hashtag us #febphoto366 on twitter!  just think how awesome you'll feel once you get through the whole year.  i know i'm planning on making a blurb coffee table book at the end of this year to have it all to remember.

you can play along just for the month of February or for the rest of 2012! use our list as inspiration just for yourself, or to post each day on instagram, or blog your shots at the end of each week. whatever you choose, we hope our "prompts" inspire you to get creative with your picture taking. we will post a new list of prompts about a week before the next month begins. you can follow us on instagram or twitter to be sure and get a heads up when the new prompts are posted. (@aprilmwalker and @bringingupburns on both!)

a few things we are excited to include every month, and are eager to see your interpretations of: 
Each month will start with a color. February is RED. could it be your wearing red, seeing red, hearing red, tasting red, being red, reading red, watching red, feeling red? we're excited to see! 

•  if you play along all year, we'll work through the alphabet. february we'll take shots of the Letters A and B. could it be Apple, Author, Anticipate, Appalling? Book, Begonia, Boiled, Between? what will you shoot?

•  on the 15th of every month, the prompt will always be "You on 15." can we each interpret this self portrait 11 different ways this year? i'm gonna try! ... and just remember to all those who are a little nervous about this one.. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!  God made you just the way you are and you're perfect!

• we will try to recognize holidays and events each month with abstract prompts. february we've included ones like "Romance and Makes You Blush" for Valentine's Day, "Favorite Movie" on the day of the Oscars, and "Leap!" on the 29th. so fun, right?!

come find us on facebook too!! 

{photo :: 366}

so...that's Photo366! if you decide to play along in the month of february, we'd love it if you'd blog about the challenge and link up below. that way we can come follow you and be sure to see all the pics you'll be posting.  you'll be able to find others who have committed to the challenge and see their interpretations of the prompts too! we'll post a new linky each month, so by linking up - you're only committing to one month at a time. the linky is open until Feb 29th, so whenever you post, be sure and come back and link up as erin and i are most excited about seeing your pictures. above of all, have fun with it!

February 2012 Photo A Day Challenge

{instagramage :: summer 2011 wrap up}

 summer is coming to a close folks and we've got hurricanes and earthquakes to escort it out!  i'm excited because hot is not even the way to describe what this summer has been here in NC... more like sweltering!  i'm ready for fall and for a new season in this life, in more ways than one.  i don't want to wish the time away so today i'm taking the time to look back over the great times i've captured via instagram this summer and cultivating gratitude for all the amazing blessings in my life!

: kayaking and picnicking on beech mountain : many dinners with friends : snugly puppies  :

: beautiful summer skies : crafty craftiness : rediscovering pencils and graph paper :

: coffee mornings in my kitchen : music that sings to my soul and sunsets that do the same :

 

: golden tans and hippie sun dresses : banana chocolate pancakes on saturday mornings :

: coffee : virginia creeper trail with the whole fam : goodies from anthropologie sales : 

: seeing my work in print : fun treats from etsy : nights out in NoDa : clouds and storms :

 : lots o' spray paint : movies in the park : flowers from friends who care :

: Truth, Truth, and more Truth that my heart REALLY needed to hear and believe :

: red, red wine : new chacos : radtastic parental units : and so much more!! :

thanks summer 2011!  you were an interesting, yet blessed one for sure!

dear fall, 

all i have is one challenge for you.  

{BRING IT}

i double dog dare you...

aw

{live.your.life.on.purpose}

really thinking on this today...

via sarah jane

{pinterest}

it's official.  i'm madly in love with pinterest.

i just wish that i was the one who thought of it first!

if you don't know what pinterest is, it's a WONDERFUL system of cataloguing all things beautiful, bright, & lovely... and much, much more.  for years i've been forwarding myself links to images, things i want to make, beautifully decorated homes, anything i find inspiring, and saving them in a folder in my email for "future reference."  i LOVE having them all there, but it is painful going through them all and then one day a few weeks ago i got pulled into the the pool... enter pinterest...

...and there it all is.  that's just a little preview of the things i've "pinned."  

just LOOK at all of that beautiful wonderfullness that i love all right there catalogued for me with the links from where they originated from.  oh lawdy i'm in heaven!  and don't even get me started on being inspired by everyone else's pinterest boards.

it's very obvious to me that i am a visual learner and experiencer.  yeah i made that word up, but whatevs.  i thrive and am totally inspired by beautiful things, beautiful design, and pinterest just lights up my day and puts a spring in my step.

need an invite?  

just let me know and i'll be MORE than happy to pull you into the pinterest pool too!

{happy.pinning}

aw

{allen mask :: do something}

one thing i LOVE doing is bragging on people who are out there doing some pretty rad things.

  this week i'm committing to doing just that here on the blog.

meet allen mask.  who is he you ask?  well let me tell you...

 

not only is allen the fiance of my dear friend and photographer extraordinaire, carly brantmeyer, but he's also a pretty awesome recording artist.  one who was coined the "wall street rapper" last year as an analyst at goldman sachs in NYC and in the last few months has made the transition to sunny California to join Carly in this adventure called life and to join up with the Google forces...  all this before his 23rd birthday!! 

he recently partnered with San Francisco Youth Arts Program CASA at The Rooftop School to compete in the 2011 national Battle For The Bands competition hosted by DoSomething.org, VH1 Save The Music and The Hot Topic Foundation and created this music video.

over 20,000 schools, individuals and organizations created songs, videos and advocacy projects to promote the importance of music education. Allen Mask and CASA were Grand Prize Winners of the competition with Mask's new single "Next Big Thing" and its music video. CASA received a $5,000 grant for their music education program, that was also matched by Google, and Allen had the opportunity to perform at the 2011 Do Something Awards Kick-Off in New York City with Plain White T's.  you can check out that performance by clicking here (allen's performance is at the 37:00 mark)

as you all know i'm a HUGE advocate of music and think public music education is a vital part of our nation.  kudos to allen and his team for taking the time to invest their time and talent into saving the music!

Allen's birthday was yesterday so let's show him some belated birthday lovin' by heading over iTunes and checking out the single "Next Big Thing" by clicking here. 

{happy.listening.and.don't.forget.to.DO.SOMETHING}

aw 

{happiness}

i love love. yep.

i long to fall hard into it.

this video of love makes me giddy with happiness
and  insanely hopeful all at the same time.
this cute couple exudes such a fun, playful, and happy side of love.

i know these long lonely times i've seen will only
make the love that i know i'll find that much sweeter.

mucho thanks to florence & her machine for the song "dog days are over"
it totally makes me want to dance my little heart out... and fall in love.

{enjoy}

{refreshing.to.my.soul::beech.mountain}

::the Lord your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing::

-zephaniah 3:17

{the sunshine through the rain}

::the world has its ways : to quiet us down

the world has its ways : to quiet us down comes the rain

down comes our spirits again : but down comes the strength

to lift us up and then...::

{jack johnson}

i'm not sure if the rain down here in the south is magnifying my mood or just matching it, but i've been in a total funk this last week.  the realities of life sometimes are just a little bit more overwhelming than i expect.  this is one of those bad funks where you don't want to be around anyone, talk to anyone, do anything.  i've been in search of some inspiration to draw me out of this mess and sometimes it just takes a few beautiful pictures...

{thank.you.pinterest}

the mood is lifting.

starting to see the sunshine after the rain...

{aw}