We had a wonderfully productive weekend…cleaning, purging, & re-organizing. It’s so amazing to me how different I feel when I have clear spaces and an uncluttered life. Oh what joy! If you want to declutter your life, but have no idea where to begin…check out the 30 Day Clutter Bootcamp. This is the perfect “kick start” for your decluttering resolutions

This little space is right off of our kitchen…I like to call it my “mama cave”. I just hung some white twinkly lights and added more fabric for diffusing the sun. I like to keep white Christmas lights up year round! Here is a great compilation of spaces that do the same (including my friend Denise’s bedroom).

I finished my first “wearable” knitting project this weekend! What a thrill. It’s so fun to get it off the needles and realize that all that work ends up in something beautiful. This cowl is so warm and softer than anything I’ve ever felt! For those of you that are knitters, I used Mirasol Ushya in cornflower with a size 17 needle.

On another note, it was my 5 year dreadiversary yesterday! I will be writing about it soon. The rainbow-colored dread on the right is wrapped with the yarn I used for my first knitting endeavor…to remember the journey!

Next up…a scarf for Lucy’s new baby “Ali”.  I have another cowl in the works with the most amazing yarn that seems to be sold out everywhere. The Malabrigo Rasta line…it’s so fantastic! I was able to find the arco iris color at the yarn shop in Bozeman when we were there…and now I wish I would have bought more! I LOVE Piedras as well.

Here is what it will look like Delicious.

Helping Daddy is so much fun! We had a little snow over the weekend…and Lucy enjoys any excuse to get out into it. It’s always fun to get snow on the weekends when Matt is home…we snuggle in by the fire,  make yummy food, and enjoy the change of scenery together.

We had a birthday party for Baby Ali…complete with play dough cake. So sweet to see my girls take care of a “baby”…as I know they are preparing their hearts to welcome the real thing

My mom and dad gave me this bible study for Christmas and I can’t wait to start it. Most Beth Moore studies are done in small groups, but I’ll be doing this one self-paced and using the downloadable online videos. Looking forward to being challenged!

I enjoyed a huge green smoothie yesterday after not having one for MONTHS! I go in and out of craving them when I’m pregnant. This one had banana + peach + pineapple + water + spinach. For those of you new to green smoothies, here is my “how to” video and you can purchase a Vita-Mix from me here.

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And now…as I write, I’m listening to Bon Iver.
Thinking I might go knit something.
Or read a little bit.
Right after I put my babies in the bath and to bed.

Enjoy your evening…xxoo

**Please note: some links in this post are “affiliate” links, which means that if you click and purchase them, I get a little bit of that sale. Thank you for supporting me in this way!

It was wonderful being with family…but it’s also so good to be back home. We’re filling our bodies with healing whole foods and nourishing green juice. We’re drinking lots of water and sleeping soundly. I am in full nesting mode and this weekend we will be having a massive organizing session and house clean out. Can’t wait!

Hope your holidays were wonderful…I’m looking forward to a great 2012!

See some of our holiday photos on Facebook here and here.

We had a delicious lunch and then took a little walk…

…over to The Yarn Shop! It’s so funny getting into a new hobby and realizing that there are stores that have been there all along to support said hobby, but you never paid attention until now! Bella and I had a blast looking through all the yarns and spending some Christmas money and gift certificates that we had.

Is there anything more yummy than hand-dyed purple yarn?!

On our way back, we came upon a young man stuck in the ditch…he has slid off the road on an icy patch and couldn’t get out. My amazing husband used his tow strap to pull him out and send him on his way. We had a great talk with the girls about how we should always help others when we are able.

Upon returning, I started my very first knitting project…a dish rag with happy rainbow yarn! It’s going well so far…learning from mistakes as I go. Just like life

Before bedtime, Uncle Ryan taped tons of glow sticks on giant punching balloons, turned off the lights and let the kids go crazy! I don’t have a photo, but they sure had fun. We’ve had a wonderful time in Bozeman with family…tomorrow is our last day here and then it’s back to Colorado for a day and on the airplane to Iowa the next. Life is always an adventure! Hope your Christmas was joy-filled and wonder-full. xxoo

We started our morning at one of my favorite restaurants in Boulder, Brasserie Ten Ten. I love their simple and delicious French fare…and you cannot beat the ambiance. We talked and talked and laughed harder than I’ve laughed in awhile.

I have dreams of their Eggs Florentine: poached eggs, seared greens, tomato confit, english muffin & hollandaise. Like I said, very simple…but the taste is outstanding. I savored every bite without having to take anyone to the bathroom in the middle of it all.

Next on the list was a leisurely walk down Pearl St. with stops at some of my favorite stores. We spent a lot of time in Peppercorn, a fabulous home/kitchen store. I have a little bit of an obsession with the gorgeous Le Crueset cookware line. I’m thinking of asking for one for Christmas. I spend so much time in the kitchen every day…one of these beauties would make me happy every time I touched it.

I can’t pass up an opportunity to meander through a bookstore without children…and Boulder Bookstore is a mighty fine place to do that. And when I have a voracious reader at my side, it’s even more fun. Natalie and I had fun picking out random titles and laughing at their contents. I ended up picking out a spy novel at her suggestion and it’s great so far!

I love love love a little store on Pearl called Bliss. So many fun things to look at. Lots of stationary, paper, cards, candles, jewelry. A store you can get lost in.

We ended our day with steamy cups of almond milk Bhakti Chai at The Laughing Goat. After sitting down at the very last open table, we continued chatting about marriage (have you read her guest post on that topic yet?), travel, holidays, and more. So good to catch up. Our time was coming to an end…it all went by WAY too fast, but I was so thankful that we had that time to celebrate my 35th birthday together.

Are you wondering what I bought with my birthday cash?! I’ve had my eye on this gorgeous Anthropologie mug forever. I’ve been longing for it ever since my friend Khrista starting posting photos of her beauty with gorgeous lattes. As a side note: her blog is a beautiful place to hang out. Go there!

I love salt. And I REALLY love it when I’m pregnant. While we were at Peppercorn, I spied this mortar & pestle and tons of delicious gourmet salts. I’ve wanted one for awhile, and this was the perfect time. I also picked up this cute little handmade & fair trade salt bowl and spoon at Momentum. I found some yummy plum colored hand warmers there as well.

And lastly, Natalie made me this awesome hand painted sign…”Let us lay in the sun and count every beautiful thing we can see”. Ahhhhh…yes my friend. Let us. Thank you for sharing in my beautiful day!

Snow against weathered wood and aspens…I love it.

Still coming down.

A few days prior…my burly mountain man worked on getting all of our firewood in order.

He had an enthusiastic (and cute) little helper.

I’m sure glad we were prepared…

…there is nothing quite like a crackling, toasty fire inside with the snow falling outside!

Today we spent 13 hours on the open road…en route from Colorado to Minneapolis for my brother’s wedding. We stopped in Des Moines to crash for the night, and let me just say that sleep will be SO WELCOMED!

Let me also just say that SUMMER + LIVING REAL LIFE = LESS BLOGGING.

At the end of the day, I’ve been crashing onto the couch for some quick online catch up time…but haven’t felt motivated to blog at all. This isn’t an apology or a promise for more blogging…just keepin’ it real. I tend to blog a lot more when life isn’t moving so fast and when the sun goes down at 6pm.

I have a backlog of ideas and drafts of blogs that are half written, but haven’t had the time (because wow, blogging takes a lot of time yo!)…or the energy to complete. I tend to be a perfectionist in all things, so if I don’t have time to write a perfectly well-thought out post, then I won’t post at all.

However, I really like what my friend Olya at Life Inspired said about her new goal in blogging:

I am going to embrace the randomness of our daily life and not be afraid to be random here as well. Because in reality, our life consists of a myriad of random moments that happen throughout the day, every day. Trying to tie them together into one post with some deep meaningful title to go along with it is what often overwhelms me, takes too much time and causes me to not document those things after all.

And in that spirit, here are a few of my favorite moments from the last couple of weeks:

I have received several lovely letters in the mail from treasured friends. I SAVORED their every word and soaked it all in…with a delicious hot beverage in hand.

We had friends over for taco night and we enjoyed a beautiful evening on the patio.

After supper, we listened to some live music in downtown Longmont.

Bella spent 3 days at Sun Pony Ranch for horse camp! She had a BLAST and can’t wait to go back next year.

Shortly after that, she got her cast off! She will still wear a splint for playing for 2 more weeks, but she is enjoying the freedom!

I rode my cruiser and met Natalie on the front porch of Caffe Luna early one morning. It was a really fun time of connection and laughter and I cannot wait to do it again.

We spent time in southern Colorado at Monument Lake…what beauty! God’s creation is truly incredible.

We had a slumber party with our cousins in Castle Rock. A sweet time of fellowship by adults and kiddos alike.

We spent time with Ellen and her family in Lyons for the Outdoor Games. Fun!

Matt and I celebrated 11 years of marriage on June 17! He still makes my heart skip a beat with that killer smile and his sweet sense of humor.

We had some hard days after saying goodbye to Bella’s best friends in the neighborhood…they are moving on July 1, before we return from the wedding. She has spent so much time with them over the last couple of months…up to 6-7 hours a day between the park and in the backyards. It will take some time to adjust…luckily, they just moved an hour away and we plan to see them again!

And lastly…I’ve been hanging out these two amazing daughters of mine who teach me daily what it means to truly live life in the moment. To see beauty in the small things and remain in awe of airplanes and birds in flight. They make me smile. They make me crazy. They are the best gift I’ve ever been given.

And now I must get to bed, so I can be rested for the amazing wedding weekend of family, feasting, and fun!

Do you remember my friend Ellen? I told you about her awhile ago. We hung out last week in Denver at her place and had a blast. And then she came over again today and we hung out in Lyons with the kiddos at Meadow Park (the most beautiful park EVER). We will definitely be going back. Like tomorrow. Our kids play together splendidly and we plan to get together a lot more in the coming months!

The crew!

Bella surveys the rapids. This park has awesome little “still water” inlets for the kiddos to splash around in and have fun. Of course, the water is ICE cold (because it’s melting off the mountains), but they didn’t seem to mind.

Ellen and Lucy have a moment.

I fell completely head over heels in love with the little coffee shop in town…The Stone Cup. Super kid friendly and beautiful views.
She was asleep before we even hit the city limits…which means it was a good day!

And lastly…an awesome magnet I saw today. Such a wonderful reminder! Say YES! to your life this weekend…look for the little blessings in all things and be happy!

*Note: The filter on these photos is done with Instagram, which is an iPhone app. For those of you without iPhones, you can still follow my feed here. I post a lot of photos there that I don’t post anywhere else. If you do have an iPhone, download the Instagram app and follow “livelightly”!

I can’t believe it’s only been a year since this photo was taken! Lucy’s legs are so chubby…and my hoops are so new and shiny! We spent Memorial Day weekend in Minneapolis last year with family…and this year we’ll be with family again, but this time in Colorado!

My parents are driving out from Iowa as I type this, so we’re looking forward to seeing them again. Dan, Jess, and Scotty will be here too.  I’m guessing there will be lots of good food and sunshine involved. Bella is ready and rarin’ to go with her new cast too.

I have been dreaming of the veggie pot stickers with spicy peanut sauce since Monica and I had them at the Boulder Farmer’s Market. Oh.my.word. Amazing. Or how about some iced Bhakti Chai from Laughing Goat? Yes please. As a recovering Boulder-hater, I am working on finding my bliss there again. I’ve been less than thrilled about the traffic and gaggles of people in the past…but I am embracing it now. It will be extra nuts because the Boulder Creek Festival is happening. Bring on the crazy!

Lucy’s birthday is on the 29th…so I’m sure we’ll do a little something fun for that. We had a celebration in Iowa with everyone…but she’s too cute not to celebrate again.

There are summer breezes pouring in every window and pretty birdie songs floating through the air. In the distance I can hear Bella playing with her besties and the wind chimes I took from my Grandma’s patio are joining in the song. The RV “guest suite” needs clean sheets and fresh flowers…so I need to sign off and get busy on that.

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend…I have lots of good stuff planned for the blog (and for you!) this summer. Can’t wait!!

God is good. Life is good. Cherish each moment. Much love…

Our trip to Iowa was fast and furious, but we had a wonderful time with family and old friends. For those just checking in, we drove back for my grandma’s estate sale. It was definitely an emotional time for me as I came back to her house for the first time since her death two years ago. So good to have a sense of closure and reminisce with family about our time spent at the house and with grandma and grandpa…but still difficult to process it all in such a short time.

I could probably write 10 blog posts about what has happened in the past week…but I’m a bit too tired for all that. I did want to let you know that Bella broke her wrist while we were at the hotel (playing “surfing” on Daddy)…so we’ve been dealing with doctors and waiting rooms and such this week. She gets her cast on Thursday. It’s her right arm, so that makes it a bit hard for her to do anything, but she’s up for the challenge and is being such a trooper.

Here are a few of the photos I captured during our 22 hours on the road…have a great week!

She is a true artist in all things.

There is nothing sweeter than flowers given by a child.

When your husband is 6’5″, it’s fun to be a bit taller sometimes.

Plaid Chucks for $2? Yes please. Daddy found these while thrifting. I have an amazing husband.

And a pink pair for the littlest one!? I think I’m in love.

What are 3 simple joys that you’ve experienced today?