Full Bellies Tired Hearts

Our bellies are full of beans and rice


(Lentils and rice breakfast)


(Rice pudding birthday treat)


(Lentil and rice soup with leftover veggies)


(And more beans)

And our hearts are ready for a some time away. We've spent the day packing for a little trip to the country. And when we've needed a break, we've enjoyed the bit of sunshine and warmish air that's found it's way to our neck of the woods. Moving this chair from the back to the front of the house to follow the sun and opening the windows to enjoy the first hints of spring air.









Enjoy your weekend and your Easter!

Arian : )

A Little Video

I wanted to show you guys this video that Daniel and I were a part of creating. Disclaimer: I know way less than I probably should about this issue. Politics make my stomach hurt and this conflict is a very complicated, heart-breaking one. So I am not posting this to make a political statement. Rather I just wanted to show it to you because I was involved on a creative level. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings or make you angry so if you have comments about the issue, please leave them on the youtube page, not my blog. Thanks!




 

Arian

Beans And Rice Week

This week everyone who attends Crossroads Church is voluntarily eating the diet of sustenance that so much of the world has to live on every day. We're then pooling the money we all save by not eating out and buying our regular groceries to give to do some amazing things in Cincinnati and the world. With somewhere around 15,000 people attending Crossroads weekly, we can make a biiiiig change.


Like picking up the tab on all the Compassion International kids who were assigned sponsors who dropped the ball. Those kids just go hungry. We figured out that, with the money we save eating beans and rice for just one week, our family will be able to feed one Compassion kid for more than 6 months. Geeeez.

So check out #beansandriceweek on Instagram and twitter to see the love and watch the magic happen and consider rallying a group of friends to do your own beans and rice fast. It'll be fun! Happy beans and rice week!


Arian : )

Jude O'clock

We started a tradition a while back. 2:00 is Jude o'clock. I stop what I am doing and play what Jude wants to play. Some days it works just like that. Some days admittedly are too busy. Some days it's moved up to 10:00 or 11:45. Some days I decide what we'll play because the thought of setting up and tearing down another blanket fort sounds like too much work and I just wanna share a brownie at the coffee shop instead.
But it's always good.




Our go-to faves---blanket forts, Legos, trains, cartoons, and building blocks.
















































I confess, sometimes it's really hard for me to stop and play. I wanna get stuff done. But something tells me Jude o'clock is probably one of the best uses of my time. : )
Arian

A Wealth of Artists

Cincinnati is beautifully grungy. Every area of the city is at a different level of creation, deterioration, and restoration. Old buildings once grand, then abandoned, and forgotten, then found, loved, and restored. I think that's what draws artists to this city. We find beauty and inspiration in that whole process. (Like I said here)


Today I got to check out one of those beautifully run down spaces---an abandoned church building that's now home to a few local artists, artists who laugh in the face of peeling lead paint and near freezing indoor temperatures for the sake of their art : )


Artists like my photographer friend Daniel Smyth


He invited me to be a part of a portrait series he is working on, taking pictures of artists through panes of glass they painted/collaged/drew on.


The man, the legend : )


It was a fun little project! And I may have developed a crush on wood grain contact paper


I couldn't throw the scraps away and my brain has started churning out some more contact paper art ideas. This might be the start of a beautiful relationship : )


Arian : )

These Melancholy Days

These grey, cold, post-Christmas, pre-spring days are good for a few things---


coffee shops


lattes


deep conversations


and sketches of often melancholy characters.





We're also day dreaming...day dreaming about what big love stories to tell next.


And day dreaming about travels. Where will spring take us? Where will summer take us? What adventures are next in store?


My introverted heart doesn't mind this melancholy season at all. I feel at home here. Quite at home : )

Arian : )

Adventure Day

Daniel doesn't travel for work TOO often. But when he does, it's to some pretty awesome places. City views. Mountain views. Dolphins jumping out of clear tropic ocean views. He works hard on these trips, but still...there are dolphins. Like today he's working hard on a fun creative project in a cabin on top of a mountain somewhere. Not. Too. Shabby.




I won't lie. Sometimes I struggle with that " love does not envy" thing. I mean, who wrote that anyways? : ) But this time I decided to change the story a little bit. Instead of the "daddy leave home to go on fun adventures while we try to survive without him" story, I decided that we should go on fun adventures too! Why just survive when you can thrive!




So yesterday we packed a suitcase and set out on some impromptu adventures of our own!




And we invited family to come along.




There were slides and inflatable jump houses involved.
















Sweat. Sugar. And laughing.




And we ate more than our fair share of junk food. Daniel is not a fan of White Castles (crazy, right?!) so we took advantage of our opportunity. You're welcome sons. : )




Then we checked into a local hotel.




And got our swim on!




Looking good, Eli, looking good.




It was pretty much awesome.




Then we ordered pizza and watched cartoons in the cozy hotel beds.




And enjoyed the view of our own city. Pretty, isn't she.




We woke up bright and early to get Hudson to school. I pulled into the driveway at home, stopped, then pulled right back out. I wasn't ready for the adventure to be over. So we headed out for some breakfast. And we drew pictures of some of our favorite memories of our adventure day.
This is the giant inflatable Batman jump house and Jude riding down the slide. Nailed it.




I don't like when Daniel leaves. But from now on, when he does, we'll be sure to have fun stories of our own to share with him when he gets back.
The day inspired me. Whenever I find myself in a story I'm not too fond of, I'm going to do my best to change it.
Arian : )