for mothers everywhere

Happy Mother's Day weekend! I have an awesome Mom and I'm so happy to celebrate her this Sunday. She goes above and beyond for me and my two sisters, so it's nice there is a special day where we get to tell her how much she is appreciated! 

And while I could write an entire post about how lucky I am to have such a great mom, I've been thinking about ways we can show love to mothers everywhere this Mother's Day. I came up with three ideas for how we can all support and appreciate mothers from down the street, across town, and around the world on Mother's Day and every day. 

1. Show love to a mom you know. Do you have a friend who recently gave birth? A single mom who works a lot? A stay-at-home mom who could use a night out? This Mother's Day, lend a helping hand to a mom who could use it. Offer to make dinner for a new mom. Offer to babysit for a busy mom. Offer to take a stay-at-home mom out for a girl's night. Do something to make things just a bit easier for the moms in your life. 
2. Show love to a mom in your community. Does your city have resources to support moms who are struggling with employment, finances, or finishing school? Volunteer your time, talents, and resources to help create a loving support network in your community for moms who really need it. There are many organizations that help women find jobs, teen moms graduate from school, and give aid to moms on the brink of homelessness. Find an organization that is dedicated to pouring into the lives of moms in your community and make a difference is a mom's life. 
3. Show love to a mom around the world. We can make choices in our daily lives that make a positive impact on moms across the globe. Where we decide to spend our money can make a big difference in the life of a mom in another country. Being a conscious consumer means understanding where our dollars go when we make a purchase. A simple decision on where to shop can truly help lift women and their families out of poverty. Look into making more Fair Trade purchases and supporting organizations that value worker's rights.

A good place to start is the Heart of Haiti collection sold exclusively at Macy's. 

Macy’s Heart of Haiti upholds the belief that “trade not aid” is a powerful way to create sustainable work and much needed financial opportunities.

The initiative allows opportunities for the artists to work with US designers, helping strengthen international artisan relationships and making their products viable in the US market. The Heart of Haiti campaign pays in excess of fair wage to the talented artisans who create the product, giving them the dignity of work and economic self-determination.

To date the program has employed 780 artisans, which has improved the lives of over 6,200 individuals. The Heart of Haiti initiative provides artists with an opportunity to make a living, feed their families and pay their children’s school fees.

I've been searching for unique and beautiful pieces to decorate our new home with, and I absolutely love this Heart of Haiti frame. The frame is made from recycled steel and handcrafted by an artisan in Haiti. The frame is so gorgeously detailed and looks great on my mantle.  Now I'm searching for just the right picture to display inside this special piece. 

The Heart of Haiti collection features over 40 home decor items including quilts, metalwork, jewelry and paintings. It seriously is taking all of my willpower not to buy every single piece of the collection! Everything is stunning and each handcrafted item would make a great addition to any home. 

Beyond the beauty of the collection itself, the true beauty comes from the people behind it. The Heart of Haiti line allows families to use their skills and talents to support themselves. Every time I look at this frame, I like to think of a mother who is able to nurture and provide for her children through the wages she receives from Heart of Haiti. 

Mother's Day can be a chance for us to not only shower our own mothers with love, but to reach out and and show love to mothers we may not even know personally. Cherish the mother and mother-figures in your life. But let's also cherish mothers from all places and walks of life. Because Mother's Day isn't just for our mother; it's for mothers everywhere. 

Are you doing anything special for Mother's Day? What do you think of my ideas to show love to mothers around the world? And what pieces do you absolutely love from the Heart of Haiti collection? Let me know in the comments!

I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere has provided me with Macy's Heart of Haiti product to review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.  

puppy love

I'm not really a dog person. It's not that I dislike them by any means. I just would rather admire them from afar than actually be near one. I'm scared of big dogs. Like, I'm scared they will attack me and kill me and eat me. Big dog on the street? Best believe I will be avoiding it at all costs. I love little dogs and I think most dogs are way adorable. But I don't necessarily like interacting with them. I don't like when dogs jump on me or when they lick me and I'm not into petting other people's dogs. Given the choice, I'd rather admire from afar then be up close and personal.

So it might come as a surprise that when I created my 30 x 30 list, I included "Adopt a Pet" as a goal I wanted to complete by the time I turned thirty. Despite my reservations about dogs, I still felt like adopting one would not only make my husband happy (he grew up with dogs whereas I've never had a dog), but was also a satisfying way to do a good deed. If I was on the fence about getting a dog in the past, the thought of rescuing a dog from shelter life (or worse) was worth it. But after a failed adoption attempt about six months ago, I was once again feeling apathetic about dog ownership.

I was relaying all of this information to my friend last Saturday at our house when she said, "Why don't we just visit an animal shelter today so you can see what it's like?"

My husband was all for it and although I was reluctant, I eventually agreed. We visited the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA) and took a look around. It broke my heart. There were so many beautiful dogs that for whatever reason had ended up in the shelter. I wondered how many of them had homes before or how many had been abused or abandoned. While I kept my distance from most of the dogs, I saw my husband crouching down and getting his hand licked by a little brown dog, whose breed we couldn't tell by looking at him. He was a sweetheart and very calm compared to all the other yappy dogs around him. I saw the look on my husband's face: I was in trouble. 

They took the dog out of the cage to let us interact with him. At first he was petrified. He was shaking and wouldn't move. My husband just crouched by the dog's side and pet him. Then, all of a sudden, the dog inched closer and snuggled up next to my husband and started to relax. He started sniffing us and exploring. He sat at my feet and, against all my natural instincts, I picked him up. And I held him close. And I walked him around and talked to him. 

And then what happened next was truly unexpected. 

It was time for them to take the dog away. I saw him get carried off and back into his cage. And I started bawling. Like, actual sobbing. I'm sure the people working there thought I was emotionally unstable and it's not like I could argue them.

But I knew it. This was our puppy. And he belonged with us. 

And so three days later we brought home Chewie. We believe he is a chihuahua/beagle mix. He is five 1/2 months old. And we just love him. 

He is a lot of work. He is a big responsibility. We have switched into parent mode faster than I expected. But he is such a good puppy. He loves to snuggle. He has weird quirks and his own little temperament. And we just love him. 

Who knew such a little dog would become such a big part of our family. 

Have you or have you ever considered adopting a dog? If you already have a dog, would you consider adding an adopted dog to your family? What questions do you have about the dog adoption process? And have you become a total fur mom (or dad!) like me?? Let me know in the comments! 

It's Be Happy Link Up Thursday! Head on over to Artsocial to read about more happiness around the blogosphere! 

april obsessions

April marked one year that I have been gracing the internet with my monthly Obsessions posts. It was fun to look back and see what I was obsessed with in April this time last year. (Hint: pretty much the same stuff I'm still obsessed with.) That's the best part about doing these monthly series and just blogging in general: Each post is a snapshot of who I was and what I loved at any given moment.

Now that I'm coming back to the same month I started with a year ago, I played around with the idea of using a different naming convention. But to be honest? I hate having numbers in my blog post titles. I know. It's weird. But it's just bothers me and I do it rarely. So I figured that the date of the actual post will speak for itself, right? Right. So let's get to it, shall we?

1. Berlin. If you couldn't tell from my tweets or instagram pics, I was in Berlin, Germany for a week in April! It was amazing and inspiring and I just had the best time hanging out with my baby sister who just finished up a semester studying abroad over there. I pinky promise I am working on some Berlin-specific blog posts because I feel like I learned so much and experienced so many cool things and I just want to share it all with you! All this to say, Berlin is one awesome city and I'm so glad I made the trip out there.

2. Books I Read on Vacation. One of the best parts about my Berlin vacation? I got to read! Books! For fun! That never happens anymore you guys! I loovvveeee to read but am usually too busy/tired/preoccupied/lazy to read for fun anymore. I was beyond excited to dive into some really great books and none of the four books I brought along disappointed!

• A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans - This book was so encouraging, inspirational, and just plain good for my soul! A must-read for any woman who even remotely identifies as a Christian.
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - Holy crap, this book. HOLY CRAP. I literally stayed up until 4 am reading this book because I physically could not put it down. Read. This. Book. Now. (And yes, the ending is ugggghhhhhh BUT JUST READ IT ANYWAYS OK)
• Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen - Entertaining and easy read. I was skeptical of yet another book-to-movie adaptation starring pale, creepy Twilight dude but the book was very well written and I actually enjoyed it! 
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - I know I am super late to jump on this bandwagon, but I absolutely adore this stunning book. It's just gorgeous. A total feel-good, uplifting, and cathartic read. 

3. Clothing Swap Parties. I went to my very first clothing swap party last weekend and I have to say, I'm totally in love with the idea! It's so simple: a group of women get together at someone's house, bring clothes/shoes/accessories they don't wear anymore, and everyone basically shops from each other's closets! It's the perfect way to clean out your closet and replace it with fabulous items at no cost! I am already dreaming of hosting my very own clothing swap party, maybe at the end of the summer. If you've been looking for a fun and inexpensive way to get the ladies together, a clothing swap party might just be the answer.

4. Things I Retweet. At first I thought this section was going to be a little sparse because I figured I didn't read as many things this month due to being out of the country for a week. Boy, was I wrong! Apparently my vacation didn't slow me down from devouring some awesome content! There's so much good stuff here, so I hope you enjoy some of these great links! 

On Marriage

A Letter to My Daughter, On Marriage by Caris Adel for Jenny Rae Armstrong

Unequally Yoked by Addie Zierman 

Pretty Fly For a White Guy: Why I Married a White Dude by Grace Biskie 

On the Asian-American Experience

New Suburban Dream Born of Asia and Southern California by Jennifer Medina

White and Yellow: Overcoming Racism by Grace Ji-Sun Kim 

On Women and the Church

Hey John Piper, Is My Femininity Showing? by Rachel Pietka

I'm Sick of Hearing About Your Smoking Hot Wife by Mary DeMuth 

Smokin' Hot Wives and Water to the Soul by Zach J. Hoag 

On Things that Shouldn't Have to be Explained

Are Gay Guys Checking You Out in the Locker Room? by Gabriel Arana 

Jesus Loves the Gays, This I Know by Joy Bennett 

On Race and Privilege

To (All) the White Girls Who Didn't Get Into the College of Their Dreams by Kendra James 

 With Friends Like These, Who Needs Glenn Beck? Racism and White Privilege on the Liberal-Left by Tim Wise

On Facebook

Dear Vague Facebook Status Poster by Eli McCann 

On Celebrities

The Twenty Most Hated Celebrities: Why We Hate Them by Maureen O'Connor

On OMG CUTE BABIES!!!

22 Chubbiest Cheeks of All Time by Ashley Perez 

May should be a lot of fun for me. I have our housewarming party in two weeks and a girl's trip to San Francisco over Memorial Day weekend! I also have some great blog posts planned and am definitely going to try to be more consistent in this little corner of the internet.

Was your April as busy as mine? What are you most looking forward to in May? Were you able to put down Gone Girl?? Let me know in the comments!