a big ol' thank you!

remember the bracelets and soccer balls that we were collecting for our trip?

they were a BIG OL' hit!

it was a bit mass hysteria the moment we brought out the bracelets. the kids we so incredibly excited. they lined up to have us help each tie their bracelet on. some wore them all day while others took them off before we played to keep them safe. in the midst of it all ... i tried to at least snap a few pictures!

and of course - we were schooled in soccer:

again a huge thank you to all the wonderful friends/family that helped ... including wade's brother david, sister-in-law waverly & their 6 awesome kids (the children loved the flower buttons!), mama bear, bloggers bonnie and charlotte, long lost bible study pal sabrina, bestie whitney (there will be so many more warm feet thanks to that massive box o' socks!), my high school bible study girls and the wonderful group of ladies that came over to help during girls' night!

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it's the weekend, hooray! which means more time to wander the world wide web, right? well wander on over and sign up for this fantastic giveaway (a $78 value). you can enter up to 4x - how 'bout them odds.

you can thank me later ... ;)

remember that time we went to ethiopia!?!

i've been so excited to share all about our trip here on the blog. i journaled! over  21 pages to be exact. i'm thinking that's a bit of overkill for the blog. maybe?

in the meantime, an abbreviated version:

we left nashville on may 23rd and flew through new york to cairo! wade planned it so that we had half a day in cairo, and we made the most of it - pyramids √, cruise on the nile river √, tahrir square √. the pyramids were amazing - straight out of a history book, y'all! but the best moment by far was the cruise on the nile. pretty sure we interrupted a hindi family reunion. we were 2 awkwardly tall americans among a room of 200 teeny tiny indians. there was belly dancing and other tricks + a hilarious cover of cher "do you believe in life after love" (yes - i have the video to prove it!).

at 2.30 am (yes 2.30 in the morning) we finally flew to ethiopia! our first couple of days were a wash adjusting to the food and the timezone. thankfully we would return to addis at the end of our trip and actually tour the city. on saturday, after a slight miscommunication w/ our driver, we were finally off to hawassa!

not in a private car - but rather a mini bus! poor wade was pretty sick. (again i have video to prove it! but i wouldn't dare - would i?). 6 very hot hours in the back of a bus later - we both sick! and our late check-in left us with a twin-sized bed & no hot water. suh-weet! without going into gruesome details, i was very thankful this trip wasn't our honeymoon as wade had once planned. i was convinced we had malaria! :-/ we didn't. and we eventually upgraded to a better room.

hawassa! hawassa stole my heart. we stayed at the lewi resort in hawassa for 7 days straight. that was a treat: 1) we were finally able to settle into a routine.  2) the staff treated us incredibly. on the last evening, they planned a special dinner for us down near the lake. they even played don williams each time we sat down to lunch/dinner. crazy ironic since the label i work for actually released his music at one point! 3) monkeys!!!

by monday morning, we were keeping down food (yay cipro!) and we were able to finally meet the kids. the hawassa children's project is home to 74 amazing children (an additional 15 or so over the age of 14 living off campus) & a brilliant, dedicated staff. we were blessed to spend the entire day monday (coincidentally also a political holiday in ethiopia) and each afternoon between school and studies with the children. we colored. we played soccer. we took a loooooong hike. we did hair. we played games. we made bracelets. we laughed a whole lot. we loved a whole lot.

{gosh i miss those sweet faces!}

during the mornings and evenings, we relaxed at the lewi. we fed the monkeys one morning. we shooed another type away during our meals! we tanned (rather burned) by the pool. we ate like king and queen - pizza, pasta and pancakes. (yes - i cheated and ate gluten.) we took 2 boat rides - 1 to see the fish market and another to see hippos! i was incredibly scared having heard that hippos are the most dangerous animal in africa. but our captain assured me ... "ethiopian hippos and ethiopian people - no problem! we keep peace!".

on 2 mornings, we attempted to work in the preschool. 21 little voices (screaming in Amharic of course) and 42 little hands. Lord, help us. oh and the great pee incident - for that one you'll have to direct message me! needless to say, we were a bit overwhelmed. 

instead of traveling further south to arba minch, we decided to spend 1 final day with the children. it was sad saying goodbye but we were thankful for the amazing care & love we had seen through the program. we're so excited to continue to support it - and hopefully return someday. (making that extra trip to arba minch too.)

once back in addis, we were able to spend our final day in ethiopia with an old friend! anteneh and wade met 10 years ago while wade was in ethiopia for a summer semester. it was so fun to see the boys interacting just like (i imagine) old times. and anteneh was an amazing host! he helped us navigate the bus & taxi system and took us to see lions - a promise i made for my nephew dayton who wasn't satisfied w/ hippos and monkeys. ;-) he also took us to the merkato. with his help i purchased a beautiful shawl. another funny random story: while waiting on anteneh and wade to figure out where the linens were in the merkato, i felt a slight tug on my hair. i turned to find a man running his fingers through my hair. it gave us a good laugh. oh and anteneh took us to eat hotdogs! yes - our last meal in ethiopia was pizza and hotdogs. shame shame.

how do i wrap up this post!?! i mean i have so many more amazing stories that i could share.

a lot of people have asked us "why ethiopia". why not a trip to some beach in florida? or a cabin rental in the smokey mountains? or heck a big screen tv purchase! well ... we couldn't think of anything more awesome to do on our vacation than play all day with a group of amazing kids while exploring a new culture. so ethiopia it was! and i'm so thankful for every single memory.

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speaking of AWESOME & AMAZING. don't forget about this gorgeous noonday giveaway! go. enter. win!

hello hello!

hello hello!

when it comes to jet lag, they say "one hour equals one day". playing by the rules, we should feel wholly ourselves again TOMORROW!?!

i've been coming in to the office early to edit my pics. and i am super duper close to posting an overview of our trip. so super duper close that i promise it TOMORROW.

in the meantime, a little fun to hold you over:

african-themed appetizers, anyone?

last night's girls' night was a total success. we ate a lot, we chatted a whole lot and we made even more bracelets. i think wade and i are up to about 50 bracelets now (and i still have several friends that are sending more/making more over the weekend)! add a very long plane ride - and we'll have plenty to share with the kiddos! yay.

thank you so much for coming & making, girls!!!

of course, in the moment i didn't get my camera out! so i have zero pictures of the festivities and the lovely ladies that came to celebrate with me. :( wah wah. this is definitely something i need to work on. and a perfect excuse to have a round 2 girls' night.

i did however snap a few instagram pictures of the FOOD:

african appetizers!?! i was presented w/ quite a challenge coming up w/ an african-themed menu. and of course, i'm one of the crazy few that like to try something brand spankin' new every time i have company. lucky (this time) everything turned out super yummy!

so here's what i collected --- a yummy (and not too time consuming) spread:

1 // peppermeat kabobs (this was my favorite!)

ingredients:
- 2.5 lbs beef chuck roast
- 1 tsp meat tenderizer (not seasoned)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp seasoned salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1-2 jalapenos, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp peanut butter (yes - peanut butter!)
- 2 sweet onions, cut into 1" pieces
- 2 bell peppers, cut into 1" pieces (i used an orange and a green for color!)
- 6" wooden skewers

1) rinse and cut your meat into 1" pieces. place in a freezer strength ziplock bag. add tenderizer, both salts and black pepper. zip the bag. then, roll the contents to mix well. marinate in the fridge for an hour or more.
2) add jalapeno pepper to the meat again rolling once zipped to mix well. place back in the fridge to marinate for an add'l 20 minutes.
3) add the olive oil and the peanut butter to the zipped back and again roll to mix. the peanut butter should evenly coat each piece.

4) alternate onion, peppers and meat on each skewer or for the carnivores in your life, make a few all meat skewers. place on a cookie sheet.
5) broil in the oven for 8-10 minutes. then serve!

2 // plantain chips w/ avocado banana dip

ingredients:
- a bag or 2 of salted plantain chips (i bought mine @ trader joes! or you can always make your own.)
- 2  very ripe bananas
- 2 avocados, pit and peel removed
- lemon juice

1) place the banana and avocado in a bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher.
2) lemon juice to taste.

3 // strawberry lemonade (okay this isn't african - BUT it's my ultimate favorite party punch!)

ingredients: (for a group of 10 girls - i doubled this!)
- 1 pack of fresh strawberries
- 2 bottles club soda (approx 30 oz each)
- 1 can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
- an orange, lime and/or frozen raspberries for garnish
- a bag of ice

1) wash and cut the stems from the strawberries. then in your food processor or blender, puree the strawberries. add them to your serving bowl or pitcher. (i have this ginormous anchor hawking heritage hill storage jar which is my favorite. and i server w/ a ladle.)
2) mix in the club soda and thawed lemonade concentrate.
3) add ice and your garnish. frozen raspberries are super pretty and float along the top w/ the ice. i also cut an orange and a lime into thin slices and drop them into the mix sideways. pretty pretty!

4 // krakelinge cookies w/ strawberry jam

ingredients:
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar + a bit xtra for sprinkling
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 3 cups of flour*
- 1 tsp baking powder

- chopped almonds (optional)
- fresh strawberry jam

*my fav gfree mix: 2c sweet rice, 2/3c potato starch, 1/3c tapioca flour + 3/4 tsp xanthan gum

1) w/ mixer, cream butter + sugar. add the 1 egg and mix well.
2) sift your flour(s) + baking powder (and xanthan gum). little by little add to the butter mix.
3) on parchment paper, roll aprox 6" long and 1/2 thick logs with the dough. loop them to make a figure-8 shape.
4) brush w/ egg yolk and sprinkle generously w/ sugar & almonds (optional).
5) bake at 400ºF for 8-10 minutes. transfer to baking rack to cool. serve w/ jam.

we also had butternut squash and chickpea cakes via cook eat live vegetarian. they were so yummy especially w/ the tomato chili salsa and the cucumber, cilantro and lemon raita. definitely a blog i will be cooking from again in the near future!

{source: cook eat live vegetarian}

okay - now i'm super hungry!!! :)

african-themed food labels

tonight i'm throwing a little get together w/ a group of girls to celebrate our big trip next week. we're going to eat yummy african appetizers (don't worry - i'll share soon!), watch either ghost in the darkness or nowhere in africa AND we'll make bracelets for the kids.

my mom warned me to not get to OCD in my party planning - but who is she kidding!?! in another life - i'd like to be an event planner. :)

as a little preview - here are some quick african-themed food labels i designed:

(oh instagram photo!)

supplies:

this printable

this font (bebas via font squirrel)

someone w/ adobe illustrator

6" kabob skewers

something to sturdy your skewers (ie. gumdrops, cork or clay)

instructions:

1 // modify ... in illustrator, open the file and modify the labels to fit your menu! choose your colors. red, black, yellow and green are often associated w/ africa. but i went neon & PINK instead of red! girls' night and all!

2 // print ... i used hp premium photo paper in gloss for that extra finished look.

3 // cut ... you can either use the guides to cut out 2.5"x3" squares or carefully cut a border around the edges.

4 // tape or glue ... to the back of your skewer.

5 // add your something sturdy so that they stand (or press them directly into your item).

easy peasy! :)

a little update: i was having trouble getting these to stay up w/ just corks. a little super glue and a nickel did the trick. is that illegal?!?

packing for ethiopia!

l: this adorable over-the-shoulder bag from mossimo @ target

r: pretty printed wrap skirts from one of my fav shops in nashville - pangaea

it's almost go time, people! we leave for ethiopia a week from tomorrow. and while wade is traveling this week, i've begun to get ready!

i tend to be a bit of an over-packer. and that's a wee bit of a problem when we're not only packing for ourselves but also soccer balls & craft supplies for the awassa children's project. and since i had a bit of a tough time finding a good packing list for a trip to ethiopia - i decided to share! (world travelers - i'd appreciate your suggestions/additions!)

the important stuff:
passport, yellow card, traveler’s checks and cash
plus photocopies of the following (1 for our money belt, 1 for our luggage & 1 for our parents):
- traveler’s check #s + refund info
- travel insurance policy
- passport #s
- emergency contact info
- bank/cc details
- camera + lens serial #s

a small medical pack: 
tylenol, hydro-cortisone cream, anti-histamine, malaria meds, imodium, dramamine, bandaids, hand sanitizer/wet-wipes, cipro, chap-stick

toiletries:
soap, shampoo/conditioner, toothpaste/toothbrush, razor, mosquito repellent w/ DEET (to be warn at all times), 50 SPF sunscreen (also to be warn at all times), light makeup and lotion

clothes (warm days/cool nights):
lightweight skirts or pants (i plan to wear a lot of wrap skirts!), modest short sleeve shirts (no cleavage!), a pair of underwear for each day, a few light sweaters (easy to pack and useful during cold nights), light waterproof jacket, comfy shoes (i'm thinking a simple pair of toms! easy to slip on and light to pack), head scarf, flip flops, a few pairs of socks, a swimsuit and a hat

xtras:
money belt, travel lock (for inside the hotel), camera + xtra digital cards, small flashlight/headlamp (power outages are rather common!), sunglasses, converter, phone charger, book, playing card, binoculars & ziplock bags (for xtra storage & separating your toiletries. spills - yuck!)

 

{we picked up a spibelt during our marathon training which will

work perfectly as a money belt under either of our shirts. smart thinking!}

we're still gathering up lots and lots of supplies for the kiddos: crayons/markers, construction paper, paper plates and more. and i'm excited to throw an african themed party this thursday with some of my girlfriends to make more bracelets! i'll post pictures. now to find some african themed appetizers!

mon-DIY: woven frienship bracelet

last night we had our year end celebration w/ the high school girls' bible study. it's hard to believe that i've been with some of these girls for 3 years now! and it will be even crazier next year when they graduate!!!

when we were planning how we wanted to celebrate the end of another school year - i mentioned that i'd love to have them help me make bracelets for the kids in ethiopia. they were so excited to help out! i love these girls. so we made an evening of it - complete with dairy queen!

{warning: give 7 high school girls embroidery thread and it will end up looking like the bottom right! that makes my ocd self itch. ha.)

of all of the friendship bracelet patterns i've stumbled on while preparing for our trip - this one is by far the easiest to teach and bonus: the quickest to finish! 

here's what you'll need:

* embroidery thread

* a small piece of cardboard

* something circular for your pattern (roll of masking tape)

* scissors, a ruler and a pen

trace a circle onto the cardboard and then cut it out.

mark the center of your circle. then with your ruler, draw a line cutting the circle in half. draw another line through the center making 1/4s. and finally draw a line through the center cutting each 1/4 in 1/2 making 1/8s.

3 // cut about a half inch in from the edge on each line.

finish your loom, by making a hole in the center.

now here's the toughest part - pick out your colors!!! :) you'll need 7 24" long strings. and it's probably easiest to learn with 7 different colors. tie them together with a knot approximately 2" from 1 end.

pull your knot through the center hole.

on the side opposite your knot, arrange the 7 strings by tucking 1 into each of the slits in your cardboard loom. there will be 1 empty slit. turn your loom so that the open slit is toward yourself.

count 3 strings to the left of the open slit. for me, this is the bright green string (above). take that string out of it's slit and move it to the open slit. that's it! now you just repeat.

rotate your loom so that the open slit is toward you, count 3 strings to the left, take that string out of it's slit and move it to the open slit ... and repeat, and repeat, and repeat!

a little test ... which string would we move next if the open slit was facing us (above)? ... that's right - BLUE. got it?

when you've weaved and weaved and weaved until the bracelet is your desired length, carefully remove each string from it's slit and tie them together w/ another knot. easy peasy!

3 random things ...

i've been MIA this week. a couple of excuses ... but of course:

1 // race day is this saturday! woot woot. we went and picked up our race numbers and goodie packs over lunch today. (um yes - that does say "tom rosenberry". i almost walked out of there as him instead of myself. boy would that have been confusing!) there's still time to donate if you'd like to help us out. remember this post? it tells all about barefoot ministries, the ministry we're raising money for. thanks to those that have given, we've already raised enough to send about 3-4 inner-city students to camp this summer. sweet! click here for all the details.

2 // i don't talk about my big girl job very often. for those of you that know me through the blogosphere alone, i work at a record label in nashville doing creative. my boss and i coordinate all things visual for our artists - photo shoots, video shoots, album packages, marketing materials and social media. basically there's ALWAYS too much on the plate - which means it NEVER gets boring. 

this week we released an album for lee brice that we've been very excited about. it just feels like it's finally his time. lee's paid his dues having written for super legit acts like garth brooks, tim mcgraw, kenny chesney and had the song of the year the past 2 years in country music ("love like crazy" and "crazy girl" performed by the eli young band). finally he topped the country charts w/ with his current single "a woman like you". i don't usually self promote but if you like good ol boy music & a drive in the truck ... or heck just talented writing ... check out his new album, hard 2 love. my mom loves him and based on how he looked at her at a recent cmt taping - he loves her back! ;)

(click above)

3 // now a little ethiopia update! we've been finalizing details for our trip and picking up last minute supplies. we were so excited to hear back from stella with the awassa children's project w/ more detail about our time w/ the project. we'll arrive on saturday and play with the kids over the weekend. then on monday when the kids go back to school, i'll work in the preschool and wade will help w/ the garden. after school, we'll tutor. we'll have 9 days with the kids!!! now i need to find easy craft ideas and coloring/activity pages to bring along with us! if you have any suggestions or resources - let me know!

speaking of crafting, i haven't been doing much lately. instead i've been making friendship bracelets galore. i'm like my 12 year old self on SPEED. maybe i'll share a tutorial or 2 on all the different types of bracelets i've conquered - i mean they're back, right? and i'm still planning to have a crafternoon of bracelet making now that we're not going to be running as often! we're so thankful for the friends that have sent us soccer balls + bracelets! we'd love to get even more - even if that means we have no room to pack our own clothes! :) email me for details.

hopefully i'll be back w/ something new soon! :)
until then - hope you are well!

taking a day off ...

... to catch up on things around the office + house. in the meantime, check out these amazing pictures of ethiopia photographed by photographer carly arnwine. amazing! 1 month and 4 days! 

click the photos to see the entire album.

bracelets & soccer balls - the update!

wade and i are 2 weeks out from the marathon (yikes!).
then we're 2 weeks out from my little brothers wedding.
and then we'll be 2 weeks out from ethiopia.

exciting!

and making it even more exciting ... we've started to get soccer balls + bracelets in the mail for our trip. we've had an awesome response. i love putting this blog into action.

soccer balls from mama bear. and a little arm party for a very good cause!

(don't worry - i just put them on for the picture!)

i love getting snail mail - especially when it includes an envelope full of gifts for the kids of the awassa children's project! these amazing bracelets are from one of my sponsors this month - bonny bee designs on etsy:

the summer after bonnie's junior year in college, she volunteered in tanzania for 5 weeks. while she was there, she taught women at the community center how to make bracelets so that they could sell them. one of her new friends made her a bracelet and she put it on that day (over 4 years ago). worn and a bit smelly, she reluctantly took it off for the first time earlier this month. and then she read our post about our trip. she emailed and volunteered to make bracelets for the kiddos ... some w/ the very same cord she had bought in tanzania.

we're so very grateful for her sweet bracelets and the time it took her to make them! please check out her etsy store and support her w/ us! and of course - message me if you'd like to get involved too!!! there's still time!

speaking of bracelets - have you heard of band for good?

my friend faith brought me one of these bracelets over the weekend. and i love it! i love the bright colors - but even more i love that it is fashion w/ purpose.

each year, off the mat - a program bridging yoga and activism - sponsors an international service project called the global seva challenge. these off the mat global wristbands support local artisans in thailand and otm’s 2012 seva challenge focusing on rehabilitating women and children involved in sex trafficking in India and worldwide. check out the offthematintotheworld.org and globalwristbandproject.com for more information and to purchase your own!

bracelets & soccer balls

so there you have it! we'll be spending 2 weeks in ethiopia! we'll fly from new york city to cairo on the 23rd & 24th. after an 11 hour layover (and dinner on the nile!), we'll finally arrive in addis ababa early on the 25th. but our final destination will be awassa - a lake city approx 270 miles and a 5-6 hr car ride south of addis. 

i know what you're thinking. ethiopia isn't exactly topping travelchannel.com's top 10 vacation spots. :) my first time in africa was for our honeymoon, and we spent 2 glorious weeks in morocco (read all about our trip here and here). while we do plan to spend a couple of days at the sabana beach resort of lake langano, and we'll hopefully find time to take an overnight trip to arba minch & the nechisar national park and possibly spend time w/ the people of the omo tribe, this trip won't be honeymoon part deux. the majority of our trip will be spent w/ the awassa children's project.

 {source: awassa children's project}

the awassa children's project was founded 10 years ago as a school and orphanage to help children and families orphaned or affected by HIV/AIDS. they provide housing, food, healthcare and education to around 100 orphans. they also provide vocation training to over 100 adult students in computers as well as wood, electrical and metal work. and cooler still, they have a program called one love theatre that educates thousands of people throughout ethiopia each year about HIV/AIDS.

we're not sure what exactly we'll be doing in awassa yet - but we're pretty thrilled. we'll have up to 9 days w/ the kiddos. :) 9 DAYS of soccer!  9 DAYS of singing songs! 9 DAYS of hugs and high fives! 9 DAYS!!!

{source: kyle lamere - ishootrockstars.com}

despite being so excited that i just couldn't hide it any longer - there's a reason behind announcing our trip 2 months early. are you ready for it? 

we're not fundraising for our trip. while airplane tickets and hotel stays and car rentals and - heck - vaccinations can get a bit expensive, we've luckily saved enough to cover everything. but we want your help! we want to collect a few things to share w/ the kiddos at the awassa children's project.

here's what we need:

1 // for you non-crafters ... SOCCER BALLS! wade mentioned in his post that they spent a good majority of his trip playing soccer w/ tightly rolled plastic bags. we'd love to take quite a few deflated soccer balls w/ us to leave with the children.

2 // for you crafters ... BRACELETS! i love craft hope - that combines the love for crafts w/ the desire to change the world. consider this my very own craft hope, i'm looking for blog readers and friends to help me make homemade bracelets to share w/ the kids and other kids we meet while in ethiopia. it's amazing that something so little can mean so much to a child. :) make a bracelet or make 20. have your little ones get involved. or have a girls night. to get those creative juices flowing ... i rounded up a few of my favorite bracelet DIYs:

{clockwise from upper left: honestlywtf, honestlywtf, v & co, flax & twine}

okay so there you have it! DEADLINE: MAY 11TH. we have a little under 2 months to collect everything. :) email me to sign up and to get all the details or with additional ideas!

our BIG news!

i don't write on a case of the mundays a lot. in fact, this is my first post. i'm a rookie so be gentle, please.

some of you might wonder why blair and i went to the vanderbilt travel clinic and spent almost $1,000 on vaccinations over the weekend. where to begin?

in college i spent three months in ethiopia. mostly, i hung out with kids in our neighborhood in addis ababa or the more rural villages where we traveled and played soccer. the trip was intended to be a mission trip, but i have to say that my mission and greatest joy was playing soccer with children (many who were orphans or otherwise living in extremely difficult situations). sometimes we played with tightly-rolled plastic bags for lack of an actual soccer ball. we got bloodied and bruised a lot, and on that trip i certainly had my fair share of sickness and sleepless nights. but my mind always goes back to the fun times with the kids.

when i suggested ethiopia as a honeymoon destination it was quickly vetoed, and not just by blair. friends, coworkers, and family thought it was a bad idea. so finally, a full ten years later i will return to ethiopia. i've wanted to return to see these grown up faces. maybe track them down. or maybe i'll make new friends all together. and i'm excited that i can share this adventure with blair. i get to share two more african countries that will be new to her (we have an extended layover in Cairo). together we'll see dusty, crowded cities and bucolic village life. and yes, we'll see hippopotamuses and monkeys.

people get excited about new passport stamps; in fact, i have an elaborate passport stamp and visa from my last trip to ethiopia. no matter where i travel now, morocco or mexico, the image of my friends in ethiopia is stamped on my mind forever.

- wade (the better half of a case of the mundays)