Text and image by Gabrielle.
Hello, Friends! How has your week been? Now that Valentine’s Day has come and gone, I really start to yearn for Spring in earnest. You too? We’ve had buckets and buckets of rain this winter and the ground is absolutely soaked — puddles everywhere that don’t disappear, even when the rain stops. What I want to do most this weekend, is pull on my wellies and take a long walk through the countryside. How about you? Any weekend plans you’re looking forward to?
While I muddy up my boots, here are a few things I’ve wanted to share with you:
- A new minimalist mentality. Thanks, Katherine.
- This tote turns into a picnic blanket.
- Wow! What a fabulous family photo shoot.
- Instead of buying your next car, 3D print one instead!
- Or, have your head made in 3D chocolate. Thanks, Alexandra.
- If you like recycled, you’ll love bicycled.
- Like the balloon door idea? Here are 13 more great ways to use balloons!
- At your request, here’s a bit about how Ben Blair and I fell in love — it’s an interview from 2010.
- The Light That Shines. It’s 15 minutes long, so you might want to bookmark it for later. But it’s worth it.
I hope you have a marvelous weekend. I’ll meet you back here on Monday. I miss you already.
kisses,
Gabrielle
P.S. — I’ve noticed that about 10-15 comments per week are going straight to the spam folder on my blog. I’ve been checking the folder and restoring the comments, but if I’ve missed yours, please drop me a line. I’d hate to lose any of your words!
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The story of you and Ben Blair is fantastic! :)
I loved all your points…totally with you on the minimalist thinking. We have moved (albeit just to my parents for a few months before the “real” move) and we have pared down like nothing before…not easy with 7 kids, and being in our previous home for 20 years! But…now that I have less, I want even more less. The boxes still seem endless. Thanks for the link, I shall yet “get on it”. And…thank you for the SWEET story of your early romance. Love to you and your family.
We too suffered a house fire a few years ago and there was a moment when I stood in my backyard and believed that it would burn to the ground (it didn’t). Transfixed by the orange glow in the playroom windows I KNEW that I didn’t care about any of it. Rather than feel liberated to live a more minimal life; I found that I no longer needed to feel guilty or materialistic for loving my home and caring about the way it looked. I had faced the possibility of losing it all and now felt free to enjoy it.
“I had faced the possibility of losing it all and now felt free to enjoy it.”
Such an interesting take, Cassandra! I can totally see what you mean.
We are painting our guest room over the weekend to prep it for a little boy. I sure do hate painting, but the pending arrival of our first child is great reason to get over that and just do it!
Painting a nursery is the happiest kind of painting.
Hot Dog! That IS a beautiful family photo shoot! And that house and garden you photographed–can I please spend my weekend there?
The house and garden image at the top, is actually our own backyard here in France. I can hardly believe how beautiful this place is.
I’m so happy you posted “The Light That Shines” video. I saw Jill on The Today Show and really wanted to see the pictures and watch her movie. It was beautiful and she is such an amazing person. Thanks for sharing!
OH GABRIELLE!!! I just read your love story and laughed and laughed! I just happened to post mine and Jason’s little love story yesterday, and I think that we have a lot in common. haha!
PS – As a Vancouverite I know all about rain puddles that don’t go away! ;) Enjoy your weekend!
I need to go read your story, Rosa! This is such a good week for romantic tales.
Gabrielle, your courtship story is so sweet! Gave me butterflies.
SO many, many lovely things you have here to think about. I especially love the story of your courtship AND I love the minimalist approach to life. I had always dreamed of living in a big rambling house in the countryside (someday!) but right now we recently moved to one of the most URBAn locations in the U.S. (my hubby is a preacher man so we moved for his work), and into one of the tiniest spaces we have ever lived. It is amazing how we fit somedays (3 boys, 2 dogs, 2 cats + stuff). But it make me happy and cozy. Its not forever either, but we can live with so much less than I ever thought (though someone please tell me how to get rid of the massive amounts of Legos)! enjoy the lovely walks in the countryside. xxoo
Happy + cozy — sounds like you have a lovely home!
Your love story totally choked me up! So sweet, I love a good love story :)
This is a lovely blog and I wish I had discovered you sooner! I have a lot of catching up to do :)
Where I come from we carve heads out of butter. :)
We’ve had a ton of rain here in Scotland too. The ground is just a perma-mud pie. This weekend my husband is driving me out to the Scottish countryside where he saw some amazing cottages for sale. I’m dying to see them. We’re making our expat experience permanent and we want to live the dream.
Cottage shopping in the Scottish countryside sounds pretty dreamy.
Your love story is SO cute! On my first date with my husband, we were at a movie, and he seemed to want to hold my hand but would chicken out if I moved a fraction of an inch. So I reached over and grabbed his hand, and the rest is history!
Hand-holding is ALWAYS a big deal when it’s with The One. :)
Way to be bold, Megan!
W-O-W. I’m floored with the “The Light That Shines” video… I’m speechless yet incredibly inspired. Jill is such an amazing and beautiful person. The film clip was brillaint. Do you have an update to share with us about Jill?
Oh I wish! No updates that I’ve heard of.
Thanks Gabrielle for linking to my illustrated ziploc bag post. I hope that lots of people have fun trying out a really simple idea.
Also, loved the minimalist post. I am on a mission to declutter my home at the moment before we move to our next home and those tips will come in handy.
I loved the video! What a great group of women sharing a beautiful story of an amazing woman! What a gift that photographer gave us all.
Thanks for these thoughtful links, Gabrielle. I particularly appreciate the Alison Hodgson article because we just went through a massive cleaning out of our “storage” room to turn it into my home office and it was quite a feat. But in the end, we have this functional space that feels like home, and I’m so glad we did it. The photo shoot is my other favorite of this bunch. What a creative idea, and the colors are just lovely.
Congrats on claiming back that storage room and turning it into an office! Such a satisfying project.
The documentary was one of the most touching films I’ve ever seen. What a beautiful woman. Thank you for sharing that.
Agreed. It’s an amazing thing to watch.
We are going through a deep clean at our house right now, that definitely resonated with me. And I love illustrated ziploc bags! What an easy and customizable idea!
Thanks for posting your love story! I’ve been a loyal fan of your blog and always wondered how you two met and fell in love! <3
Beautiful photo! And inspiring link about paring down… one of the things on my list for 2013. Right after ‘sleep.’
mmm…sorry to bother you but am I the only one not able to watch the ‘bicycled’ link? youtube tells me the video is private.
PS : Thanks in advance for your help!