Live to Grow

 "As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible. Joy is always possible. Whenever-meaning now. Wherever-meaning here. Grace, thanksgiving, joy…a triplet of stars, a constellation in the black."
-Ann Voskamp, 1000 Gifts

The book 1000 Gifts changed my world and brought my heart back to itself, a couple of years ago. I first read it in the fall and it's become my tradition to pour over its pages once the leaves start to turn.

Starting my morning off by filling my soul with reminders of beauty and creating something lovely, almost always is a guarantee that the day will be a bit brighter and my heart all the more patient. It's like a caffeine high and motivation booster but, 100x better. So, right now I'm revisiting this book, Psalms and a beautiful collection of thoughts and verses on motherhood, to start the day. Whichever line sinks into my soul, I write it out, so I can look at it as the hours slip away.

Lately I've had lots of commissions for script tattoos and logos, which makes my heart kind of sing. I'm learning as I go about organizing a business, investing my heart and time into the following; 1) Things that make my heart happy and  2) Things that work with my current lifestyle as a mom; as well as refining my hand at this craft of modern calligraphy. As long as I can remember, I've loved old forms of calligraphy and penmanship. I'd practice for hours, every style of handwriting possible. It feels good to be putting time into this again.

There are changes coming that I'm excited about. Broadening this blog, adding new branches, ideas, hopes, dreams. Because, why not!?  This is my open space to enjoy and have a creative expression for my soul to ponder, dabble in spontaneous urges and whims, and journal my heart about the seasons. So I'm excited to grow and explore.

Samuel and I are relaunching a new film venture together as well. Talk about a dream. Creating and scheming in the name of art with this guy, my favorite. We work really well together, which to me is a gift.

Change and dreams can be so overwhelming though. And sometimes I feel like they take more than ourselves to make happen and come to life. But the journey is as enriching as it is taxing. Deadlines can get pushed out and stress might slowly become the prominent emotion driving the dream. That's when I start to get bug-eyed and things get moved to the back burner.  But, I really believe that we are alive to enjoy and be enjoyed with and by those we love and have yet to love.  Every hope and goal we have of creating is towards enjoying and loving.

Life is a short journey with endless trails, paths and roads to explore, in love and hope. Where small hope can turn into a world of endless love, living over and over and over again in the eyes of your family and people that you've shared moments with, small or great.  I want my boys to see Samuel and I doing things that we love, and always in a place of dreaming and conspiring for simple or extravagant adventure; whether that's climbing the neighborhood oak tree or scaling a mountain in South America. My heart's motto has been "why not!? why the heck not?!" *insert smirk here* Yay for living.

I'm glad I'm alive to love and to live.

Jess

P.S.
If you have questions about my calligraphy shenanigans just drop me an email. bohobabybump@gmail.com

American Blogger

This week, we had quite the adventure as we welcomed film maker, Chris Wiegand into our home. If you haven't already heard, Chris is filming an incredible documentary-movie called,  "American Blogger." Over the next 2 months, he is traveling coast to coast in his vintage air stream (that he renovated himself) filming and capturing the hearts and lives of bloggers all across the nation. This is going to be an amazing piece of work when he's finished!

When I got an email from Chris' sweet wife, Casey, who is a phenomenal, straight from the heart blogger and friend, asking me to be a part of this journey, I was so excited! Seriously. It was such a great and fantastic experience just for our family to connect with Chris' heart and vision. You guys, I want to be neighbors with the Wiegands. So much kindness, sincerity and beauty comes from this family.  Casey...keep scheming and brainstorming. ;)

Chris arrived Tuesday evening, after driving straight  from Palm Beach, Florida. He filmed our nightly routine as we ate dinner and put the boys to bed. Wait, do we even have a routine? ;) Then after the boys were fast asleep, he and Samuel talked shop about gear, film and the movie  industry. After that, we headed into the city to hang out with my girl friends. Chris wanted to get as much variety of my normal flow of life as he could, seeing he that was leaving the next morning. So, out to girls night it was.

Any of you who follow along my journey here or on instagram, know how dear and vital my friends are to my heart. It worked out so perfectly, that at the last minute, everyone was able to get together and Chris was able to catch it all on film. We all met up near uptown and walked to a roof top restaurant where we laughed and caught up on our lives. Chris followed along, filming and interviewing me at various times, asking me all kinds of questions about blogging, my family, and the important role my friends play in my life. It was great!

The next morning, before he had to head out to his next stop, a few hours away, there were more interviews and more filming.  Then, Samuel and I also got to take Chris to our favorite coffee stop, Not Just Coffee. Then, right before Chris pulled out of our driveway, he invited us to take a look inside the "American Blogger" Air Stream camper. It was SO AMAZING!  It literally looked like a little Ikea apartment. So cool.  Kael was kind of obsessed with it calling it a robot truck. Wait, what am I saying... I was obsessed with it! ha! I think I join in with the voices of everyone who's seen this fabulous little silver darling when I say that I WANT ONE! Ah! 

This was such an awesome and fun experience.  It was fun showing off our Queen City and sharing a peek into our life with Chris. But, more than anything, it was a delight to have our families connect, hear his heart and vision for this movie and to be a part of the adventure of it all.

American Blogger will be available for purchase on iTunes when it is completed. I will post updates here as it get closer to the launching of it as well. Follow Chris' journey this summer on his instagram, ChrisWiegand #americanblogger. You can also keep up to date on what's happening and where he is in his travels on his wife's blog "Casey Leigh."

Thanks for giving us the joy and opportunity of contributing Chris and Casey! Love you guys!

Jess, Sam and the boys

Food Truck Friday

Food Truck Friday is one of my favorite culinary and city loves about Charlotte. Every Friday, there is a buzz of life in the air, as masses of people come out to try delicious plates from half a dozen or so, AMAZING food trucks at South End. The experience is half of the deal. When else would you wait 45 minutes in line just to get a small plate of fish tacos or a black bean burger? But, to me...it's worth it! There are always friends, familiar faces and sweet puppies to be enjoyed.  I LOVE the loud chaos, the buzz of all the people there and the laughs that fill up the space in the background.

This past Food Truck Friday, a group of my best friends and I met up together to share a bit of picnic blanket in the shade. The sweet and savory smells of everything from tacos to crepes tempted our taste buds. We welcomed in the first day of summer with warm sun, the goodness of true friendship and the sounds of our wild children playing and running everywhere. Their sweet laughs reminded me that in every time of happiness or disappointment, present or up-coming, there is always a simple joy to be found and held onto. Hello Summer darling, I'm glad you're here.

-Jess

My beautiful friends, Anna, Jessie, Lauren and Lorean.

Spilled Milk

It is such a treat and joy to be a contributor on this new photography project. 18 moms from around the world, all of us finding together, each week, the beauty and craziness that comes with parenthood. I love looking for my interpretation of each week's theme from simple moments in my home alongside these amazing moms and artists. When you visit the project you can see our first week was "warmth" and this current week is "meal." Looking forward to the many weeks ahead. 

Follow along with us at  Spilled Milk 

Jess

It's My Favorite

"It's My Favorite" 

 1. 

a new mini series of sweet moments 

Holding hands with Kael is my favorite. He will get a burst of energy and run ahead. In his mind's eye, he's chasing a tiger or flying like Buzz Lightyear. But then, he will  stop in his tracks and reach out with a huge grin on his face (his grin slays me)  and asks to hold my hand. It never gets old. All of a sudden, time slows down and I can feel every part of myself soaking up the precious feelings of trust and tenderness. Watching my 2.5 year old toddler turn into a little boy has been the most amazing chapter of life that Samuel and I have experienced, so far. Last night, Samuel walked into the kitchen with tears in his eyes, after tucking in our  little Forest friend and said, "Gosh I love our sons, Jess... Kael, he's just so sweet." More tears well up in his eyes, with a smile that leaves my heart in a puddle. Those are the moments I live for. There are days of whining, frustration and tears, of course. But, I am overwhelmed with tidal waves of love and awe, as I watch this boy of ours lavish sweetness and the most sincere affection on our hearts.

 Kael, you can hold my hand forever.

Jess

37 Weeks

My favorite mini man in: gap jeans I found on sale for $10, gap sandals and an H&M tiger shirt hand-me-down

Sam snapped a couple of quick pictures of my bump bod while we were at the park. Park day clothes : $6 black jersey mini skirt from forever 21, a knit vest my mom got me years ago,  grey shirt/dress from wet seal I found 4 years ago, leather sandals from one of my trips to Israel. 

So, 3-5 weeks left until I hold our new little sunshine. This pregnancy has been pretty easy and it hasn't been until the last few weeks that I've started to feel the "I'm over being pregnant" feeling. For the most part, I like being pregnant. (Minus the throwing up and the aches.)  Chasing around, and enjoying all the new stages of a toddler have made it a bit more taxing on my energy levels, to say the least. I was talking to my midwife about how my workout routine has been next to zilch. Other than a walk in the park here and there, a handful of squats and my vitamin smoothies, workout life has missed me. With Kael, I biked 10 miles several times a week well into my 3rd trimester, did weight training and walked my butt off. Not this go 'round. But, when I break my days down, I conclude that I get an all over body workout pretty much everyday. Cleaning, picking up, playing with and chasing after my little man gives me the calorie burn I need. haha.

This pregnancy has zoomed by, seriously. It's been like a blink. It's just really hit me in the past week or so that we are actually going to have another little personality in the house. Getting so distracted by daily life, I think I've just become used to being pregnant and forgotten what the end of pregnancy means. BABY TIME! :) Sam and I are ready for a newborn to be in the house again. I'm so looking forward to it. Aaaaaaand, at this point, I'm ready to stop waddling. ;)

Here are a handful of differences comparing this pregnancy with Kael's:

* I'm 20 pounds lighter than I was with Forest Kael.

* I'm tanner (thank you mr. pool).

* I'm way less stressed.

* No new stretch marks (The old ones are still there but barely visible, again thank you to mr. sun.).

* A bit more tired (Ok, a lot more tired now. haha).

* No swelling whatsoever this time!

* Way less junk food. (Only 2 milkshakes compared to literally countless with Kael.).

* Naming this little munchkin has been taking quite a bit longer, but I think we've almost narrowed it down.

* I pee way less with this pregnancy, but am drinking more water? Who knows...

* My tummy is carrying this little boy lower and tighter.

* I'm way more sleepy (second time mom syndrome).

I kinda have a feeling that I might go late with this little tug boat, but we'll see. I'm happy either way. I know what it's like to be late so I'm not freaking out. It might be kinda nice to have the extra time to get the last loose ends around the house all organized and just so. But, then again, I'd really like to get this baby in my arms asap and say cheers to the end of a race and to one heck of a party to celebrate! (Lauren, I'm thinking the champagne is a dang perfect idea.) ;)


A little bit of recent happenings, I've been doing serious bulk production of my Charlie & Nell dollies and getting ready to add a ton of stock to my store! More updates on that very soon!

35 Weeks

The reality that my little adventurer #2 is almost here is blowing my mind. 5 more weeks (if I'm not overdue). 5 weeks!? Seasoned moms always say it goes by so much faster after you have had your first. It's definitely been that way with this pregnancy. I have to say, I've experienced so many more bold emotions of love with this little boy earlier on, as he ripens away in my tummy, than I did with Kael. With Forest boy, I didn't know what it was to be a momma. I learned what a mother's love is with him, this time I know. I didn't fully understand what exactly I was looking forward to with Kael. With this new little boy, I'm expecting the known goodness of new love from a place of having experienced it. I can't wait to explore the world together as a family of 4. The whole family of 4 thing of course is unknown and uncharted territory for me. (There's a little bit of an "eek!" in my soul, not gonna pretend to be fully confident in all that yet.)  

I'm carrying this little boy so much differently, in so many ways. (20 lbs lighter than pregnancy #1...maybe it's the no milkshake rule that I've given myself this go round. haha.) I just can't wait to hold him, kiss his face, to look into his wondering little eyes, peaking into his new, wee soul. Gah, my world is about to be blasted with a new wonderful chapter of love. I'm not just about to have another little love, I'm giving Kael his best friend. *tears*  Will I really have two little stinkers running around in my living room next year!?  Hello to my world of boys! Yay! 

The necklace I'm wearing is a Mala, a type of prayer beads from Tiny Devotions! I LOVE them and I love their company! I wear them everyday and plan on wearing them during labor. This one is the Amazonite mala that encourages love, without fear or anxiety. As I wear them, I'm reminded to let the stresses of the day take their priority at the bottom of my heart. 

Mala from Tiny Devotions

Free People skirt
Minnetonka Moccasins 

Moving Day

How many times have you ever moved? Geeez Louise, this is exciting! I have moved a TON in my lifetime. So, I'm no stranger to moving vans or packing tape. We were out at our new place until around 10 last night.  We were whipping out the mops, all purpose cleaner (the safe kind) and a yummy candle or two. Sam and I had so much fun! You know how old houses can smell, like your great-grandpa's sock drawer or old coin collection? Yep, kinda stinky. So, we brightened it up a bit with some cleaning sunshine. Káel LOVED exploring and playing as we started to transform the place. 

We are about to go pick up the van this morning.  After that I will be dropping little boho boy off at at my dear friend Lauren's house. That way, I can help move boxes and tie up some loose ends after all the big stuff has been loaded up. (We have some friends of ours who are coming over to help us.) Lauren has 2 boys, Oliver is 3 and Dashel is 1. They all love playing with each other so much so it's like a play day for sweet boy! Thank you girl so SO much! <3  You can check out Lauren's blog HERE.

I wanted to share some more instagram pics with you guys. The first two are of me and my boys right after we had a play session in a summer rain shower a couple days ago. Oh my goodness! It definitely went into my treasure chest of favorite memories. Káel loved it, squealing and giggling, as we acted all crazy together. We all 3 were totally drenched afterwards, but so happy! 

I've got to go round up Forest boy's diaper bag for the day and then go with Sam to pick up the moving van! BUTTERFLIES! See ya'll on the other side! :) Have a happy, peaceful day! 

Oh, by the way, thank you guys for being so sweet and flooding us with sweet comments yesterday. I had so much fun reading them :) Y'all are the sweetest!

Rain soaked 

Yes, Baby Einstein once again. 

Meet "Puppy" Káel's ultimate love, from Ikea. He sleeps with it ever night now and drags it through the house. He gets just as excited to see this as he does me. ;) 

We stopped for a treat at one of my all time fav restaurants, Pei Wei after taking the first wagon of things over to the new place, oh yum! I love fortune cookies and when I opened this, I decided to keep it and put it in my "sweet memories" box. 

The Forest boy playing in our new living room while we unload some dishes and clean.

Packing, Packing, Packing...Oh, and A Date!

Although it looks all clean and calm in the background, let me assure you, it is NOT! Káel has a new forest of cardboard boxes to explore and crawl over while we pack up our yellow cottage dream land. There is stuff everywhere!  It has been interestingly easy for me to work around little boy's naps though. ;) The stress level is a little high at times. Our tv's are officially off the walls which means Baby Einstein is available only on our computers and the entire upstairs is ready to be loaded in a moving truck. My brain feels so scattered at times. Oh, and our fridge is on day 6 of being totally dead. Our landlord gave us a mini freezer that we have been using. It kinda feels like we are camping.

I feel like my brain is running a million miles an hour! I'm planning an amazing baby shower for a dear friend that will take place the weekend after we move into our new casa.  Then, Forest boy has his first b.day and I haven't even gotten a chance to do any real organizing of my thoughts for that. It will all come together. I have a tendency to put more on my plate than I can eat. I want to do SO many things and a lot of times it ends up biting me in the booty. We are SO excited to be moving into our new little bungalow though! Oh.my.goodness! I keep telling myself, one more week Jess, then you can nest and decorate and go on walks in the pretty neighborhood. My heart gets so excited just thinking about it! Eeeee!

Today I'm babysitting little miss Anthem again which I enjoy so much. While the kids play, I'm going to try and squeeze in a few boxes here and there. Then, tonight my handsome man and I have a long overdue date night. Even though logically it doesn't make sense to let up in our moving venture less than a week before we move, or spend the extra money...it does make sense in the heart department. It's so important for Sam and I to have grown-up time with each other, away from the diapers and bottles,  without thinking about Forest boy's next meal or all the other wonderful details of being a parent. Being our little boy's mom and dad is the best thing ever, but to keep that the best thing ever, we need to keep our hearts full of each other.  Date night is like a treat to that part of us. We even went to Buffalo Exchange yesterday and swapped some of our threads for a new dress for me and some new duds for Sam, to make it extra fun and special.  Well, little missy and my little adventurer are getting into something "amazing," I better go check on them. :)

I took a 5 min break yesterday and spray painted these once brown wooden  frames that go to the cross-stich pictures my great-great grandma made. :) They have always gone in the hallways of my families homes and now, they will go in our new little hallway! Who says you can't whip out the spray paint can in the middle of moving chaos? It gave me a creative boost I greatly needed. ;)

Sam and I knocked Káel's room out yesterday.

Have a fabulous Thursday! I hope you find a heart full of things to love and enjoy today.

Jess

Tunes & Such: The Honey Trees

I hope all you beauties had a fabulous 4th of July! We celebrated with a ton of our friends with bbq, treats and fireworks. It was a blast. I have been wanting to do another installment for my "Tunes and Such" feature for a while and I'm glad I'm finally getting around to it! Here is another amazing group, one of my favorite music groups. 

The Honey Trees take you to dreamy, far away places with their lyrics and their melodies have a haunting goodness about them. Becky Lou Filip and Jacob Wick are an amazing duo that will inspire your heart. They released their first EP "Wake the Earth" in February 2009 and are working on a new recording project. I would totally recommend them for your summer playlist. You can download their music on itunes HERE. Watch, listen and enjoy! 

photography: simon filip