Joshua Tree Dreamin'

Now that my kitchen project is almost done, my brain is buzzing with excitement for my next project, which is to re-do my '72 Winnebago Brave!  Back in 2016, just before taking her down the west coast on my Wildbride Retreat tour, I did a super quick reno on it, putting in new flooring, painting most of the walls white and yellow (I had planned on doing wallpaper on the other ones but didn't get it in time before I had to leave), painting the cabinets white, and ripping off the naugahyde on the dash.  I installed the copper pipe curtain rods and made the little white curtains with faux leather hang tabs, and did another copper pipe along the back window to hold books and things in place while we were driving.  It was a fast project, but it really changed how it looked, even though I never actually got around to finishing all the things I wanted to do.  

Fast forward two years and I would love to finally complete this project! 

• I think I'm going to rip out the floors I put in because there are some uneven spots in the subfloor that need to be fixed, and I want to put in a lighter wood. 
• I'm thinking of taking out the upper cabinets above the kitchen sink and stove (that account for quite a bit of storage, so I'm a little hesitant but I know it will open up the space significantly and make it feel way bigger, which is a big deal when it's a 20 ft RV. 
• I'd also love to actually reupholster the bench seats.  So far I've just been "slip-covering" them with blankets and fabric. Having a kid now, I'd like to get some kind of faux caramel leather that's easy to clean and wipe down.
• I'd like to finish the dash and maybe pull up the 70's carpet that's under the driver's and passenger seat up front and replace it with something different.
• I removed one section of the accordion pull down bed in the rear and turned into storage space, so I want to make that work a little better for storage, especially if we remove the upper cabinets in the kitchen.
• And I might replace the table for something more pretty.  

I'm hoping to get out of dodge here in the dead of winter because I do not do well in the grey, wet winters here in the PNW.  Dan's parents live in Joshua Tree, CA and I adore it there, So my goal is to get this ol' girl up and running (well, figuratively speaking, her engine runs fine... for now, fingers crossed!  She is old!) and head down there for an extended period of time.  By then I think Jack will be old enough that he'd have fun playing around on the rocks in Joshua Tree National Park, and of course his grandparents would love to spend time with him too.  And I get some much needed Vitamin D!  So many wins!

And speaking of National Parks, Parks Project sent me this cute Joshua Tree tee and bandana and hat (and a delicious pine scented candle too)!  I couldn't resist putting the bandana on Jack and Dusty.  Having spent lots of time enjoying the beauty of so many of our national parks on multiple RV trips, I'm a big fan of any company that is actively working to protect our national parks and protected natural landscapes here in the US.

Remixology | Three Outfits with One Jumpsuit Pt. 3

Of the three outfits I made with this jumpsuit, I think this one is my favorite! It feels like the perfect, summery farmer's market outfit.  I just need a basket full of fresh, local produce! I've really been loving wearing neck scarves lately.  Something about it works so well in a casual outfit, elevating the style just a bit, adding some interest, but not in a fancy way, you know?  And bonus: they're super easy (and cheap) to find at thrift stores!

Oh!  And my 10 year blogging giveaway for a $100 gift card to The Jungalow is still going on!  Click the button below to go enter!

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Boho Eclectic Living Room

Guys.  First thing: HOLY COW as of today I've been blogging for TEN YEARS.  Ten.  A damn decade.  What?  I haven't done anything for a decade straight.  If you want to go back to the early days and have a good laugh, feel free.  It's pretty hilarious to see how different blogging was a decade ago!  

Second thing: to celebrate I'm doing some giveaways with brands that I thing are rad and the first one is a $100 gift certificate to The Jungalow! I'm constantly inspired by Justina Blakeney's lush aesthetic, so I wanted to give one lucky reader the chance to grab something gorgeous from her shop! Click the button below to go enter!

My space probably hasn't reached the level of Jungalow status yet, but I'm getting there! I recently re-did my living room layout and it feels SO good.  I feel like there's some unspoken rule about not doing diagonal layouts in rooms, but rules are meant to be broken, and for our space, this is actually the most practical layout, so much so that I can't believe I haven't arranged our furniture like this before in the 5 years we've lived here!  This space finally feels complete and I'm so in love with everything!  Everything except the rug (from Wayfair) and the couch (Ikea) is thrifted or craigslisted!

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Remixology | Three Outfits with One Jumpsuit Pt. 2

I wanted to get a little more out of the box with this one.  When I saw this blouse with a tie at the neck and frilly 3/4 length sleeves, plus a fun floral print, I was down to try the combo out in an outfit!  I'm kind of obsessed with statement sleeves right now.  Anyone else?  I'm on the hunt for a short sleeve top with nice, big, architectural sleeves... 

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Moroccan Inspired Blessingway

What is a "Blessingway," you might be asking? A blessingway is kind of like a baby shower for the new mama.  In our culture there's a lot of importance and pomp and circumstance given to a new baby.  Which is fair enough, a new human is exciting and should be celebrated!  But in all the hullaballoo about the baby, the fact that this other new creature is also being birthed-- the mother-- is forgotten and ignored.  We just expect women to shift into this new, completely life-altering role, as if it was like changing a pair of underwear.  

But it's not.  It IS life altering.  It IS important and deserving of creating a sacred celebration for.  Mothers deserve honoring, just as much as a new baby.  And that's what a blessingway is-- a celebration and honoring of the woman making the huge transformation from regular human to mother human.  I was given a blessingway by my best friends when I was 36 weeks pregnant and it was so lovely, so I wanted to do the same for them, now that they are both in their final month of pregnancy!

I'll pop the sources for everything I can link to down at the bottom of this post if you're wanting to throw a similarly styled party!  A lot of the stuff is either DIY or craigslist/thrifted, so some things I won't be able to link, but hopefully you can find something similar!

So what does one do at a blessingway?  Want to throw one for your pregnant mama friend? Here are some ideas for blessingway activities!  I'm not into the hokey activities that often accompany a baby shower, and thankfully blessingway activities are much more beautiful and simple.  Obviously you can come up with your own way to celebrate the new mother, but if you're looking for somewhere to start, here are some great things to incorporate:

Labor Bracelets
Get a long piece of string/twine.  Long enough to go around everyone's wrists in a circle.  Have everyone stand in a circle, and then pass the string around to everyone, wrapping the string around each wrist once or twice.  With everyone connected, have each person give the mother an affirmation or blessing, then cut the string between each person and have them tie it into a bracelet.  The bracelet stays on until the new mama goes into labor and then you cut it off!

Mother affirmation bead necklace
You can either have each person bring a bead to the blessingway, or have some beads ready if you don't want to make people procure a single bead.  Each person adds a bead to the new mama's empty necklace string/cord and as she adds it, gives an affirmation for labor or motherhood.  The mama can wear this or bring it to her labor so she can remember the affirmations as she's laboring.

Foot soak
Get a little tub big enough for the mama to put her feet in, put hot water in and some epsom salt and/or essential oils (make sure they are safe for a pregnant woman).  You can also get some oil and rub her feet after she's done soaking

Belly Henna
I had this done at my blessingway and it was so fun!  If you're decent at henna, you can get some henna and do a henna belly mandala design yourself, or find a local henna artist and have her do a gorgeous belly henna!

Flower crowns
This one is just for fun, but I love flower crowns.  At my blessingway they just got a bunch of flowers and the stuff to make flower crowns and we all made one.  For the blessingway I just threw I decided to just make two custom flower crowns for the two new mamas so they felt special and like mother goddesses. I've got a faux flower crown tutorial you can use, it works the exact same for real flowers.

Labor affirmation prayer flags
This is something I tried to do at my own baby shower actually, but it just didn't quite pan out. You can create some square blank prayer flags using just fabric, rope, and hem tape (you can use my bunting tutorial, this is exactly how I made the flags for the blessingway I just threw-- it's no sew!).  I just created white, blank flags, and we all went around writing labor affirmations on them, so they can hang the flags in their labor/birthing space and look at it while laboring. Labor affirmation examples are: Your body was made for this, Your body knows how to do this, Breathe, I am choosing love not fear, each wave has a purpose, open open open, my body opens easily and naturally, my breath surrounds my baby and opens the way out, I trust my intuition.

Oh, and make tasty snacks because everyone loves tasty food.  And hopefully your pregnant buddy has enough room in her torso still to eat lots of tasty things.

Macrame Table Runner : World Market | Colorful plates + cups : Michaels | White plates : Crate + Barrel | Poufs : D+K Renewal | Wooden Flatware : Amazon | Gold Sequin Backdrop (similar) : Drop it Modern | Table : DIY | Peacock Chair (similar) : Facebook Marketplace | Dip Dye Ombre Napkins  (similar, similar) : DIY | Rugs : Craigslist
 

Outfits: 
Kristina's Dress: Free People
Amy's Top: Free People
My dress : Thrifted | my shoes : c/o Modcloth | My hat (similar) : Forever 21

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