Introducing...East West Design Co!

I haven't posted much in awhile because I've really just been going to work & whenever I'm home, working on a new project...an etsy shop!

For awhile, Rachel & I have talked about "our etsy shop" that we'll have one day.  It was always one day when I move back to Georgia, or one day when we live in the same town.  A few weeks ago, Grayson came home from work & I was showing him something I'd made that day & he asked why I don't have an etsy shop now.  

Well...good question.  The more I thought about it, the more I felt like God was saying "why not?"  I really wanted to wait until we were in a house where I'd have more room to work than I do in our little apartment.  Or until Rachel & I live somewhere without an entire country between us so it'd be easier to work together.  But those limitations are no hindrance for God.  I was the one who thought I needed to wait, not Him.  I thought about it for awhile, & I couldn't shake the question of "why not?"  I didn't have a good reason not to.  So I started talking to Rachel about it & she felt the same way.

So...in the next few weeks, our shop will be open!  We have everything made, just going through the hassle of figuring out the best way to do prints & shipping, & then photographing & listing all of our stuff!

We're doing prints, cards, & maybe a few other goodies here & there.  Here's your sneak peek :)

And a few that Rachel has been working on...

I'll definitely let you know once the shop is officially up & running, but for more previews, follow along on Instagram.

Life Lately, In Photos

I haven't had much of interest to say here lately, but here's a little glimpse of the past week.

Last Friday night was a perfect date night...our favorite sushi place & then Divergent!  I wasn't expecting much from the movie, & when you have a book to compare to they almost always disappoint.  I was pleasantly surprised though & we both thought it was really good!

Our little box of herbs we planted a month or so ago are really growing now & we're finally getting to use some!  Last night we had this orzo & added grape tomatoes & some of our dill...definitely a new favorite!  Tonight we're having my favorite tacos for dinner, topped with our own cilantro. 

 

While we're on the subject of food, I made these cinnamon rolls a week or so ago, but substituted Cookie Butter for Nutella (because unlike everyone else on earth, I can't stand Nutella) & they were delicious & really easy.

To continue my recent flower craze, I bought some sunflowers last week & spent probably an hour photographing them...

This past week was Seeley's 3rd birthday.  She didn't enjoy the celebration nearly as much as I wanted her to.  Imagine that.  A cat not wanting to wear a party hat...

I always have to have some kind of project going on...here's yesterday's.  I was pretty happy with how it turned out, & it was really cheap to make!

One of the best perks this week: a tube of my favorite lipstick.  I got the beso for Christmas & love it, but I needed a more everyday color, so I got the dolce & love it.  I'll probably never buy another kind of lipstick again.  This stuff stays on all day, isn't sticky, & it doesn't hurt that it smells like icing!

Last night we went to one of our favorite parks around here to take some pictures.  Every time we go, there's the most perfect sunset.

 And we saw baby geese!

That's about it...ready for Easter weekend!  A little odd this year because we have no plans for Easter other than church.  But we'll find a way to celebrate!

Show Them Jesus

 

I love the verses for this week's She Shares Truth.  We don't have to be eloquent speakers, because God is.  We don't have to know all the answers, because God does.  At church, we're always talking about "the genius of Jesus."  God's plan of our redemption is genius because it's so powerful, yet so simple.  It is so deep, yet still made for even children to understand.  

One time when my cousin Ada Klair was little, she'd gotten in trouble & was in time out.  The whole time she was there, she kept pouting, saying "somebody better say they're sorry!"  She understood that something bad had been done, & someone had to pay. Much to her dismay, she was the one who had been bad & she was the one who had to pay.  

We're human.  We sin.  Someone has to pay.  But in our case, Jesus stepped in.  The punishment that we deserved, He took.  He did much more than sit in time out for us.  He took the punishment for every sin that every one of His children had committed & would ever commit.  

Paul reminds the Corinthian church of this.  We don't have to be skilled orators to present the Gospel to others.  We have to just show them Jesus.

Magic

I think rain is kind of magical.  It's nature's white noise.  The perfect rain scenario is a storm at night, with temperatures just perfect to sleep with the windows open.  It's extra magical if you have clean sheets on your bed & have shaved your legs that day.  There's just not much better than that.

Yesterday afternoon just as I was about to do laundry, I realized it was raining outside.  I suddenly had the urge to get out my oil paints that I haven't used in years...as evidenced by the fact that I had to use pliers to open them...

I sat out on my balcony with a great playlist & the rain & just painted.  Using oil paints always makes me think of my favorite art teacher in high school.  With a noisy classroom, every time she said something about linseed oil, I heard "Lindsey."   

I dream of the day I can have a house with a craft room (which I will call my "atelier" like in this book I love) like one of these...but for now I'll enjoy our apartment balcony & rainy afternoons.