summer so far.

So far our summer has consisted of:

Lots of Legacy work to prepare for camp (for me) and lots of gardening with GardenWorks (for Josh.)

A visit from my family.

Elise's birthday celebration with a surprise party, homemade pizza and cake, croquet, and contra dancing.

Legacy Camp. This was challenging, but wonderful. I taught a paper crafts class and a film photography class; I also led a small group where I got to connect with a group of four high school girls.

A visit to friends on the East Coast. Josh, Mikey and I stopped in Virginia to see Michael and Kelly, then headed down to North Carolina together to see Niquita and Jordan.

Hanging out in Greenville with family and friends.

We're busy, but enjoying summer. Hope you are too!

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A quick reminder that my etsy shop is going out of business! I am extending my final sale to July 4. Read here to find out why I'm closing down shop and to see what's next for me.  Thanks for all your support! 

final peachy press sale + exciting summer things!

Well, folks, I am closing down my Peachy Press etsy shop in order to focus my time on exciting new endeavors (a new business partnership and an awesome summer internship).  In order to clear out, I am having a final peachy press sale. Here are the details:

>All the profit from this closing sale will support me in my summer internship (read on for more details about this). This is a small fundraising effort, but you will see that the prices of my products are the same (except for some out of season and, therefore, reduced priced items). Shop here!

>My shop will be open and stocked with paper goodies until July 1, 2014. At that time, I will be “closing down” my shop, but really Peachy Press will probably just be sitting idle on Etsy. 

>If you contact me through Etsy or email me, assuming that I have the time, I would be glad to do custom orders! 

>Be on the lookout for my next small, handmade business venture. My dear friend Kelly and I have some exciting things in the works!

This is me with a neighborhood friend at the GardenWorks farm stand last August.

Now, onto my internship with Legacy Ministries. Well, let me back up a bit. Last time I wrote about Legacy, I shared my experiences with GardenWorks, Legacy Stars, and visiting the guys at Salvation Army. It was fun for me to re-read what I wrote in October, because my involvement with Legacy has grown so much and my investment in these people and this place has deepened. I want to tell you even more about what God is doing here in Wichita and, more specifically, what I’ve been up to this past semester, as well as what I will be doing this summer as part of the Art Corps. 

One of our high-schoolers showing off her work at Girl's Group.

In the winter we started a new activity at the Legacy House for high school aged girls. For lack of creativity we called it Girl’s Group; we met weekly to chat, to write and to create projects that gave us the opportunity to reflect on our life experiences and identities. We had four girls from a nearby high school and I was one of the four leaders. Coming straight from work to Girl’s Group I often felt frazzled and flustered, but the environment was always calm, welcoming and restful. Losing myself in a project made me feel at peace and resurfacing to share what I made and to see what others created always inspired and affirmed me. One of the girls in the group said, “this is my most relaxed event of the week.” Our time together was safe and living-giving. We are now on break for the summer, but I hope this part of Legacy continues next school year. 

The tip-top of the Legacy House.

Since October I have also been going to the Salvation Army facility each Sunday night to spend time with the guys living there. Along with a few other volunteers from our church I’ve been visiting Unit 1, which is the older high school aged guys. We usually play games, bake something or make plastic bracelets while catching up on the past week. These guys are facing serious struggles and it breaks my heart to hear their prayer requests. On the other hand, it’s amazing to see their growth over the past year. I’ve seen some guys really come out of their shell. Many guys who are new at the Salvation Army are not excited to talk to us on Sunday nights or try our art projects, but the more we come the more they warm up to us. I’ve seen a guy be transformed from a bitter and somewhat violent boy into a sweet and friendly person when cuddling with the Legacy House’s pet bunny Gizmo. I can’t say it’s all fun and uplifting. Last Sunday I got to the Salvation Army to find out that one of our guys was sent back to jail. I don’t know why he’s back there, but I can only rest in knowing that God is with him. These guys are part of the reason why I am so excited to be a part of Legacy Ministries. Legacy’s vision is to see Christ transform lives through creativity and community. Giving these guys the opportunity to discover their own creative skills can be healing and empowering for all involved.

Some art I made with Elise Cranston and Tyler Merrill for an Art Corps project.

Actually, this is what I hope to do this summer through Legacy Camps. I am working on the Art Corps, which is the team of interns that will prepare for and work at the summer camps for at-risk and underprivileged youth in Wichita. These camps will serve boys from the Salvation Army, kids from the Legacy House neighborhood, and kids from our church community. All the campers will get to take classes geared toward creative expression (art, music, drama, film, baking, etc.) throughout the summer. We will have a big week long camp where kids will come from 9am-4pm everyday; they’ll take classes, participate in small groups and get the chance to listen to various speakers share the Word of God. Then we will have six weeks of Legacy Academy, which will give kids the chance to come to camp twice a week and take two classes on subjects that interest them during those six weeks. At past Legacy Camps, which are normally just a week long, kids have begged to have more than just a week at Legacy Camp, so this is our creative solution that allows the learning and relationships that happen in the camps to go deeper. I am excited to build relationships with our campers and to see what God has in store for the Legacy community this summer. 

Anyways, I just wanted to let you all know how I am spending my summer and remind you that if you’re interested in buying something I’ve made, your purchase will help me buy food and pay the bills this summer as I work with Legacy. If you are curious to know more about Legacy, please leave a comment or email me! I’d love to talk with you about my ministry to the inner city youth of Wichita. Hopefully, amidst the craziness of Leagcy Camps, I will get a chance to update you about the goings-on here in Wichita!

norway in a nutshell.

Hello, hello! It's been rather quiet on this blog lately due to the fact that June was a crazy month! I was bustling around Norway with visitors, then took a quick trip to Germany, hosted more visitors, moved out of our flat in Oslo and am currently on vacation in Greece. I have never done so much traveling and vacationing in one month! When Josh's family + our friends the Kurtz-Shaws were visiting us in June we took the Norway in a nutshell trip from Oslo to Bergen. The trip included many forms of transportation (3 trains, 1 bus and 1 ferry), which gave us many different views of the Norwegian landscape and the fjords. The journey took all day (from early morning to late evening) and it was fun to read, do crosswords, chat and look out the window. Norway is just beautiful!

The halfway point between Oslo and Bergen is a unique place; it's snowy and sparse with some lakes and hills. Apparently part of a Starwars movie was filmed there. The range of scenery we saw in one day was pretty incredible. Several people in our group decided that their favorite part of the journey was the bus ride, which took us up a windy narrow mountain and then back down. We saw several waterfalls and views of the fjord. Oddly enough, I found it really fun to make our dinner on the train. Elise, Celeste and I made a little assembly line where we cut cucumbers and cheese, put dressing on the bread and put the sandwiches together. I like taking note of the little things that make me happy. We were on a trip to see the stunning Norwegian fjords, but I also found joy in making a sandwich. 

We spent about two days in Bergen before heading back to Oslo. We hiked to the top of Fløyen, the mountain right on the edge of Bergen's city center. Of course, on the way back down we got rained on. I guess it wouldn't be an authentic Bergen experience without rain. One of my favorite parts of our Bergen stay was relaxing in a coffee shop with Elise and Josh during a very rainy part of the day. Josh and I don't usually feel pressured to see all the sites or do lots of touristy things. It was fun to do crosswords, play nertz, read and drink good coffee. We got back to Oslo on a regular NSB train, which was also very scenic and a bit quicker than Norway in a nutshell.  Overall, a great trip! Josh and I didn't travel around Norway much, so it was really great to see other parts of the country. 

Middle three photos taken by Gary Cranston. The other two are by me.

wedding favorites no. 1

Today our marriage is seven months old!

I have never really shared any of our wedding photos (except the ones from a project life spread), so seven months of marriage seems like a good time to share.  My good friends from my semester in Costa Rica, Allison and Josh took the photos and did an amazing job.  I love the way the captured the spirit of our day.  We got married on July 21, 2012 at a pine grove outside of Greenville, IL.  Josh's cousins' grandparents (on the other side) live on a small chunk of land which includes the aforementioned pine grove and they so graciously let us use it for our wedding.  We did a "first look" in the pine grove and it was fun.  It was definitely a good way to calm my nerves.  Even though we had seen each other earlier that morning (we helped all our family and friends work on reception food and decoration), it was still SO exciting to meet each other in the pine grove.  The smiles in that second photo are proof.

j & r:

frognerseteren hike.

Josh and I were feeling a bit embarrassed that we'd been in Oslo for three weeks and hadn't gone on a real hike! Yeah, we'd walked around Sognsvann Lake and gone for lots of runs, but never a long hike.  And it's so easy here.  We're 20 minutes from downtown Oslo, but also 20 minutes from good hiking trails. On Friday afternoon we hopped on the Tbane (the metro) and rode about 45 minutes out to Frognerseteren.  We were escalating in elevation a bit so we got some incredible views of Oslo and the fjord.  We hiked for about three hours from Frognerseteren back to Sognsvann Lake.  A great loop, but a bit long for us. Since we've been sick we were pretty exhausted by the time we got home, but the fresh air and the trees were wonderful afternoon companions. 

We came upon a cute pond and stopped to relaxed.

Most of the hike was on narrow gravel roads, but some of the trails took us through the woods and into some muddy, swampy areas. My favorite hiking trails are the ones scattered with rocks and tree roots that you can hop along.  I think even as a kid I loved to hop from rock to rock while hiking.  We look forward to exploring more of the hiking trails here!  We also found out that the trail we hiked along is a common route for skiers in the winter. I'm really interested in learning how to cross country ski.  I think I might get might chance sooner than I want, though.  I'm slightly afraid of winter here.  

What adventures did you go on this weekend?

summer beats/beets

This post is mostly about beets-that awesome purple vegetable that stains everything the perfect purple color- but the pun was so good that I thought I also ought to post something about beats, you know as in music beats.  So here is a really cool song:

 

And now, for the beets.  I LOVE beets. I love their earthy taste and their purpely color. Plus, they are super healthy.  When I studied abroad in Costa Rica I learned about organic farming and more than ever before I began to care about the food I ate.  At that point in my life I was already a vegetarian, but after visiting farms and plantations, I began to care about eating food in season and eating locally grown food.  As a college student sharing food with four other girls, eating local, seasonal food is tough and sometimes expensive.  But as a college graduate living at home for the summer with a vegetable garden in the backyard, this is not as much of a problem.  A couple weeks ago I visited the local farmer's market and picked up many goodies including beets.  I like to boil them and eat them kind of lukewarm on a salad or just by themselves.  Here's my simple, step by step recipe:

Step 1: obtain fresh beets:

  
Step 2: cut beets into chunks:

Step 3: boil beets (covered) for 20-30 minutes until tender or the beets reach the consistency you desire:

 

Step 4: strain beets and run cool water over them several times:

Step 5: after beets have cooled a bit, peel off the skin with your fingers (it's easy!):

 Step 6: cut beets into smaller chunks if you want and enjoy!

Do you like beets?

What is your favorite summer veggie?

currently: late june/early july

 

 

enjoying nature + my new camera

nearly finished teaching for the summer

reading The Cloister Walk

eating summer veggies from the garden

loving bikes rides to and from work

harvesting a few tomatoes here and there

running despite the heat

watching the Olympic trials

looking forward to two weddings: Niquita's and then MINE!

a much needed craft night.

Almost always my Sunday evenings look like this:

 

Reading, writing or studying.  But this past Sunday I was so completely overwhelmed by all the school work that I needed a break.  My roommate, Niqui, and I put down the books for a while to have some much needed craft time.  We spent a few hours scrapbooking our summers, watching Mansfield Park, snacking and talking.  And let me tell you, it was WAY better than doing homework!

   I received one of elisejoy’s summer minibooks for my birthday, but have not actually used it much.  (My birthday is at the end of July, so most of the summer had already happened by the time I started making this scrapbook.) Slowly, but surely I am filling up this book with photos of my summer, thoughts and memories.  I seriously love this minibook.  It is full of cool papers with fun little details and adding my own pictures and words only makes it better. This summer Elise blogged about creating her own summer book as the summer progressed, but since I am late to start this book I am mostly documenting the big things I've done this summer.  Going to Seattle, Josh's visit to Greenville, family vacation in Colorado,  trip to Italy with my soccer team are the major parts of the book, but I add little details when I can.  Hopefully I can finish this before fall is over!

I love the little details: