5 favorites: surprise discoveries in May

--1--

stitch fix

When my Mom visited in April she mentioned I might like this personal shopping service.  I signed up then and there, have already received my first shipment and can hardly wait for the second.  I did not take the time to take pretty pictures of the shipment or the pretty clothes inside.  For other bloggers' great photos click here, here or here.

I told my kind-but-quizzical husband "It's like Netflix for clothes!"  Well, it is.  Sort of.  

And while I'm a bargain basement shopper (read: "Good Will") for most of my clothes I like the idea of supplementing my wardrobe a piece or two at a time with quality, curated items.  

[While I don't receive any compensation for this blog review the post does include a referral link that gives me credit if you sign up and schedule your own style fix!]

--2--

body pump

Add this to the long list of things about my life that surprise me.  I'm not only taking a group exercise class (yay for the YMCA!) but it involves lifting stuff, a lot of times in a row.  

And I love it.  I'm trying to go twice a week on my lunch break from work.  It's a long lunch break and I hope my employers will continue to be gracious.

Read what my friend (and inspiration) Katie had to say about her own surprise relationship with Body Pump.

--3--

yoga

I'm participating in group exercise.

With the word "holy" in the title of the class.

On a yoga mat.  

In Austin, Texas.

Wonders never cease.

And I'm so grateful for the generous hospitality our instructor Sara provides.  I am a total beginner and haven't stretched this much since high school cheerleading days.  I never realized how good it would feel to incorporate breathing and balance with strength.  My body is soaking it up after too many years of neglect.  

I also underestimated the power of physical movement to provide physical rest and quiet.  The final moments of each class are reserved for us to do nothing but lay still, breathe, pray, rest.  Healthy for mind, body and soul.

--4--

Groovebook

A couple of months ago I joined 21st century and purchased an iPhone.  Around the same time I stumbled on this photo app and wish I'd had a smart phone and GrooveBook app for the 22 1/2 years I've been a parent.  

In short:  you can download the app for free and then get your phone photos made into a photo album each month for $2.99. (That includes shipping!) Really, it's that easy.  

If you're interested in trying it out, feel free to use my coupon code to get your first GrooveBook free: MURPHY1287

The photos are not the best quality I've ever printed (the photo paper is a bit thin) but what with the price, the simplicity of uploading from my phone it's a worthy trade off for me. Did I mention the photos are perforated so you can take it out of the booklet and use however you'd like?  Also, you can choose to have the book sent to someone else or order more copies (at the same price) for friends and family.

Really, it's a no brainer.

--5--
West Austin Studio Tour

I've never been able to attend one of the annual East Austin Studio Tours and barely noticed that the part of Austin west of I-35 had their own event (this is the 3rd year) UNTIL, well it's a kind of long story. But it involves a power outage in my neighborhood last Friday night in which everyone stood around in the street outside my neighbor's house, sharing beers and gossip.  And that's where I met Scotty Stevenson whose backyard meets our backyard at a chain link fence.  And that's when I found out Scotty is an artist and that he was #39 on the West Austin Studio tour.  When I walked over Sunday afternoon I found 2 other locations in the tour on my very same street:  Chris Chappell and Yost Custom Wood.

Y'all.  This is one talented city block.  

You live in Austin?  There's still time to check out what artists in your neighborhood are hosting open houses during the West Austin Studio Tour.

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A good find week for us all, dear ones.

For more Five Favorites, visit Moxie Wife!!

What I'm Into Lately, August 2013

pumpkin chip cookies on the first day of school

.....

From the book pile

to see the book pile from 2011, click here / from 2012, click here

24  Going on Faith: writing as a spiritual quest, edited and with an introduction by William Zinsser (Marlowe & Company, NY; 1999) 183 pages plus and extended bibliography) 

Coincidentally, I began reading this book during my autumn visit to my parent's home.  My mom let me borrow it but I never got around to actually reading it until August.  I didn't even make the connection between On Writing Well from July's book list and Zinsser as the editor of this compilation until I picked the book up again on vacation. 

While I found several of the contributing authors a bit "mushy" in their written spirituality, overall this was an encouraging book for those of us wishing to write from the perspective of our faith.  

25  Writing Places: the life journey of a writer and teacher, by William Zinsser (Harper Perennial, 2010) 208 pages 

What can I say?  William Zinsser is the sort of author I want to read broadly.  This book turned out to be more memoir than instructional, but still enjoyable.

26  September, by Rosamunde Pilcher (St. Martin's Press; 1991) 613 pages 

Pure vacation reading and well worth it. (another book I borrowed from my mom -- thanks, Mom!)

27 Here and Now: living in the Spirit, by Henri Nouwen (Crossroad Publishing Company, 2006) 232 pages 

I've found it to be a good practice to return to Nouwen on a regular basis.  His insights into knowing the heart of Christ in our everyday lives are equally humble and profound.  I picked up this title as recommended companion reading for the spiritual practice of gratitude. 

This is a title I want to own; in the meantime, I'm really glad our library had a copy for me to borrow.

28 A Good Place to Live: America's last migration, by Terry Pindell (Owlet, 1997) 432 pages 

I loved this book.  Ever since reading Sidewalks in the Kingdom in July I've been checking out books the author cited.  I think our move to a city from a village not only as a family but also ministry leaders has piqued my interest in urban planning and design.  

In my dream life, I'd get to drive around the country like Terry Pindell spending a few weeks in each of America's favorite small cities, learning the culture, enjoying the natural beauties and amenities, interviewing the key figures and joining in the traditions and festivities.

Also, it was fun to read about Ithaca, New York in the book.  Ithaca is 45 minutes from our hometown and our favorite vacation spot in New York.   

This book is a bit dated (1997) and I'm hoping to discover an updated version.

In August, I enjoyed browsing through the following books:

• Streets for People: A Primer for Americans by Bernard Rudofsky

• The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William Whyte

• The Great Good Place: Cafes', Coffeeshops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community by Ray Oldenburg

right click to save image as my gift to you this month

.....

Movies & TV 

The Way, Way Back : I honestly can not remember the last time at cried in a movie theater.  Maybe it was something about the time of day or time of the month or time in my life, but I -- quite literally -- bawled my eyes out during The Way, Way Back.  Well written, well directed, well acted, well done.  Just enough grace mixed into the dysfunction to give us hope that family love can surpass family strife.  

Trouble the Water : We watched this a few years ago, but my daughter needed to watch it for a school project.  It was good to watch again -- to remember the stories of Katrina.  If you haven't seen this documentary yet, put it in your queue.  It's a story worth remembering.

.....

Music

The One That Got Away - The Civil Wars: If the motto is true that artists should channel life's drama into their art, then the reported feud between Joy Williams and John Paul White bred some sort of dark beauty.  Still, I wish they'd be able to reconcile AND make good music at the same time.

Paradise Valley - John Mayer: He lost me there for a little while, but since his last album I've been listening to Mayer's music again.  I like the new songs -- it's good music for listening at the office -- but I'm pretty sure Born and Raised will still be my favorite.

.....

Art I'm Loving (Follow me on Pinterest here.)

My friend Andy Palmer made this wardrobe.  His eye for beautiful raw material mixed with his whimsical sense of design makes him one of my favorites. 

The Arts and Craftsman on Facebook, on Pinterest, on the web

.....

In the kitchen

Just a simple recipe from the menu planning site we use, emeals:

Pan-Seared Tilapia with a mushroom and leek saute

• Salt and pepper fillets and cook in olive oil for about 8 minutes (turning once)
• Heat olive oil in a pan, saute leeks for about 8 minutes
• Add sliced mushrooms and four garlic cloves (minced)
• Saute until everything is tender
• Add a handful of fresh basil (about 1/2 cup, cut) to the mushroom and leeks, heat through

This is a paleo dish but we add rice.  Also, the original recipe calls for halibut, but tilapia is easier on our budget. Either way it's delicious and simple.

.....

Random thing making me happy

This piece of coral Brian and I purchased at an estate sale in our neighborhood last weekend.  We went on Saturday morning and everything was already marked at 50% off.  I wrote about my love for thrift shopping here:  Oh, Lord you have searched me and known my love for thrift stores

.....

On the Blog (Get This Sacramental Life delivered by email.) 

Top 5 posts in August

5.  Call me Roz, little libraries, good links, chandelier trees and more!

4.  What I'd Like My Son to Say to Me On His 22nd Birthday

3.  What I Did on Summer Vacation: a video diary

2.  Back to school, letting go, and the new Tom Hanks movie trailer that stars my son's girlfriend!

--- August's top post ---

1.  Upon Two Years in Austin

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So, what about you? What's in your book pile? 

What art, film, song has captured your imagination? 

What are you pinning or cooking or planning? 

Share in the comments, won't you?

For more “What I’m Into” posts, head over to Leigh’s blog

5 Stories of Re-purposed Public Space

All week I've been looking for glimpses of our future hope that all things will be made new.  Until the new heaven and new earth, we walk around re-imagining, re-making, restoring, refreshing, renewing, reconciling, reclaiming and redeeming.

Sharing today 5 of my favorite examples of innovative and creative re-use of public space.

-- 1 --

Abandoned Wal-Mart transformed into a functioning library

before: 124,500 square feet of warehouse space [source]

after: McAllen Public Library, TX [source]

"McAllen is near the southernmost tip of Texas, on the Mexico border. "In a city like McAllen, with cartel violence across the river (less than 10 miles away from the library), I think it's amazing that the city is devoting resources to a) not only saving a large and conspicuous piece of property from decline and vandalism, but b) diverting those resources into youth and the public trust," Ramirez writes." [Los Angeles Times]

-- 2 -- 

New Yorkers can float over busy streets in an innovative park.

before: 1.45 mile long inoperative elevated rail in NYC's meat packing district [source]

after: NYC High Line [source]

"Almost a decade after the Giuliani administration tried to tear the High Line down, it has been turned into one of the most innovative and inviting public spaces in New York City and perhaps the entire country. The black steel columns that once supported abandoned train tracks now hold up an elevated park—part promenade, part town square, part botanical garden." [National Geographic]

Learn more about New York's High Line, view beautiful gallery of images at The High Line.org 

-- 3 -- 

A dynamic arts and cultural campus that's bringing new life to the city's former Bethlehem Steel plant

before: Bethlehem Steelstacks -- in 1995, after a nearly 120-year history of steel production on the site, the plant closed its doors. [source]

after: SteelStacks Park, Bethlehem, PA [source]

"SteelStacks Park is a ten-acre campus dedicated to arts, culture, family events, community celebrations, education and fun. The campus is in the shadow of the blast furnaces of the former Bethlehem Steel plant." [SteelStacks.org]

-- 4 --
Community Thrives Along With a Garage-Top Garden

before: aerial view of  30,000 square feet atop Mercer parking garage in Seattle [source]

after:  Designed and built in seven months on a $150,000 budget, the community-run roof garden was created by designer Nicole Kistler, landscape architect Eric Higbee, the community of Queen Anne/Uptown and the P-Patch Program of Seattle. [source]

-- 5 --
I Wish This Was A [you fill in the blank]

[source]

"As an experiment, Candy [Chang] created fill-in-the-blank stickers that say “I wish this was ____.” She placed boxes of free stickers in businesses around the city and posted grids of blank stickers and a permanent marker on vacant storefronts, so anyone walking by could fill one out. The stickers are vinyl and they can be easily removed without damaging property. Responses ranged from the functional to the poetic: I wish this was… a butcher shop, a community garden, a bike rack, an affordable farmer’s market, a taco stand, a place to sit and talk, Brad Pitt’s house, full of nymphomaniacs with PhDs, a source of tasty healthy food I could afford, my art gallery, your dream, Heaven. It’s a fun, low-barrier tool to provide civic input onsite, and the responses reflect the hopes, dreams, and colorful imaginations of different neighborhoods." [Candy Chang.com]

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Also, each week during Eastertide I'm collecting your photos of practicing resurrection, taking up something new to celebrate our risen Christ who makes all things new.  Share your photo with a caption in 36 words or less at the facebook page for This Sacramental Life.  (See our first week here.)

  Read here for details on how to enter a giveaway for the Just Paint print and theMake print from PJeanArtMachine!

Buy More Art: bragging on a few creators and cultivators in my family tree!

Introducing Buy More Art, a subtly-titled weekly collection of art and art events I'm recommending to the world. A close runner up name for the new series:  Love your Artist Neighbor, Buy More Art! (borrowing language from Lauren Winner's advice for art patrons in this book)

After writing 101 Monday Mixtape posts, I'm throwing a farewell party and welcoming in the new guy. You'll notice the mixtape lives on in spirit.  We're just hanging up the jersey on the metaphor.

In case you're wondering, a couple of things I consider when I'm putting together my collection:

• Is this an emerging artist who could use a shout-out?
• Is this an emerging artist I've met, friend of a friend, reminds me of someone I know?
• Do I enjoy the painting/print/tunes/exhibit/piece/pages so much I want to own it for myself?
• Does this artist have a risk-taking story I'm cheering?
• Does this work feature the banjo? Move it straight to the top of the list.

{This post is meant to be shared; help a starving artist and pass it on! If you'd like to receive This Sacramental Life in your inbox, enter your email address here.}

This first week back to the regular series of Buy More Art I'm shamelessly plugging the amazing creators and cultivators in my family.  Truth is, there are many more -- musicians, carpenters, architects, best-party-throwers-in-the-world and closet-artists of all sorts, bakers-extraordinaire -- but not wanting to scare you away with my superpower of bragging-on-family I selected only those with a web presence.  Easier to share with the world that way.

Never one to miss a chance for self-promotion, here's a list linking you to all the other times I've bragged on my creative family here at This Sacramental Life.

Where's Ulysses, review of Wilderness by one proud mama
Couponing for Community
Dismantling the Family Enterprise
My Favorite Creators and Cultivators in 2008 
Photos, Family and Fairy Gardens
Monday Mixtape: [the-inspired-by-my-kids edition]
Monday Mixtape: [the family edition]
Confession

Enjoy!

-- 1 --

Grant and Deb Photographers (Virginia Beach, VA)

Unless you live in central or eastern Virginia you probably won't hire this dynamic photo duo (husband and wife team Grant and Deb) but I promise you'll love browsing their website anyway.  They're so good we drove from New York to Virginia -- not once but twice -- for our boys' senior photo shoots.  

Wedding photography is their superpower.  That's not just me saying so; so says every bride's standby resource The Knot. 

Way to go cousins!

only a few of our favorites from Grant and Deb Photographers

Grant and Deb on Facebook

Grant and Deb on Twitter

-- 2 --

studio:christensen (Philadelphia, PA)

Ten years ago on New Year's Eve our family room burst into flames.  Only the grace of God and the efficient response of our small town volunteer fire station kept us from losing our entire house.  During the sub-zero temperatures the rest of that winter and into the spring Brian and I tried to figure out how to make the best of the damage, to rebuild a new and better kitchen and family room.  

Thankfully we didn't have to figure it out alone.

Three talented cousins -- Jason the carpenter, John the architect and Jt the designer -- sat around our singed dining room scratching out ideas on graph paper.  We felt pretty lucky then but really had no idea how much.

Following those dining room table sessions Jt has pursued experience in fine arts, graphic design, and  photography culminating into his degree and professional career in interior design and architecture.  In 2009 he launched studio:christensen- a multifaceted design firm specializing in hospitality and residential design.  Now he's making his mark in center city Philadelphia.

studio:christensen is not only gallery and workspace, but offers home furnishings by brands
 such as Kartell, Moroso, Vitra, Paul Evans, Knoll, Herman Miller, Gio Ponti and Eames

studio:christensen on Facebook

-- 3 --

Glennon Interiors (Phoenixville, PA)

I may be a bit premature with this shout-out as my delightful cousin Megan only just this week launched the Facebook page for her Interior design business.  Still, make yourself a steaming cuppa and spend a happy half hour drooling over browsing her photos.  (while you're there make sure you click that good ol' LIKE button!)

Next, if you live in the Philadelphia/Valley Forge area of Pennsylvania hire that girl quick.  I have a feeling she's going to be busy.

a collage of some of my favorite Glennon Interiors work;
 the office makeover at the top center is my sister's house

Glennon Interiors on Facebook

-- 4 --

Cha-Ching on a Shoestring (world wide web!)

OK, so it's a bit of a stretch to include my sister's work in a post titled Buy More Art.  Let's say that she excels in the art of living on less and if we follow her advice we'll find more money to Buy More Art.  See how beautifully that fits?!?

Truth is my Kaley has a passion for saving money and helping others do the same.  She's taken that passion and made culture as a super-thrifty creator and cultivator.  And I'm really proud of her work.

To prove I'm not too biased, check out Cha-Ching's press....

                   

Anderson Cooper segment:

You'll also love the regular contributions to the site from my very own mama -- aka, the Dollar Store Diva.  

                                                                  Source: chachingonashoestring.com via Tamara on Pinterest

Cha-Ching on a Shoestring on Facebook

Cha-Ching on a Shoestring on Twitter

Cha-Ching on a Shoestring on Pinterest

-- add your art --

Now it's your turn!  What art are you making, selling, buying?  Tell us about it in the  comments below.  If you've written your own post, share the link.

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"The God who impoverished himself is also the God of abundance, and somehow, perhaps at times nonsensically, Christians are called to live out of an ethic not of scarcity but of abundance—an abundance that extends both to the homeless neighbor and to the artist neighbor. . . "  -- Lauren Winner, from her chapter THE ART PATRON: Someone Who Can't Draw a Straight Line Tries to Defend her Art-Buying Habit  in For the Beauty of the Church