Debut Guest Post: Stroller Strides Ann Arbor

It's a great moment when you discover that your interests and someone else's mission align, and even better when you can help contribute to that mission.

Stroller Strides has been apart of my life with my daughter for about six months now, and I can hardly remember life before it.  And I say "a part of my life" because Stroller Strides isn't just about working out (though I am in the best shape I've been in since finding out I was pregnant), it's about creating a sense of community.  And part of that commitment to community and motherhood involves sharing our lives, experiences, ideas, and creativity with each other.   

I am so excited to share with you all my first guest post on the Stroller Strides Ann Arbor blog this month.  Every month we show up for class, and craft and play dates, all focused on one theme.  For May, this theme was the farm and I enjoyed coming up with an easy-for-the-parents and fun-for-the-kids activity to fit this theme.  I hope you enjoy! 

my CLE to-do list

In order to avoid the thumb twiddling and head-wall banging that often accompany boredom, I've been trying to compile a list of sorts with places to visit, events to attend, and things to do while we're in Cleveland for the summer.  And lucky for me, a friend of the ladies we are subletting from graciously made me a quick list of "stuff to do" before they departed.

Here's what's on my list so far:

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Parade the Circle event, by the Cleveland Museum of Art at University Circle

The Cleveland Flea

R/S Boutique

Stitch Cleveland

Indian's Game at The Jake (that's what Clevelanders call it, right?)

Greater Cleveland Aquarium

Murray Hill Bolt and Spool

On the Rise

Native Cleveland

Beachland Ballroom

*find a babysitter

Great Lakes Science Center

The Children's Museum of Cleveland

Cain Park for a Kid's Matinee

*neighborhood shop

Take Ella to classes at The Little Gym (sadly, we don't have one in Ann Arbor)

West Side Market (always worth another visit)

Great Lakes Brewing Company

As with any new place, I can only discover so much online and from my reading so to all of you Clevelanders out there, let me know what "must-do's" I'm missing.  I'd love more suggestions, especially on places to eat.

this weekend: to CLE we go

This weekend, we (or my husband) officially relocated to Cleveland for the summer.  We loaded up the entire family, including the dog, Ted's summer uniforms (suits), and some basic necessities, and drove the 3 hours to our summer sublet in Cleveland on Friday afternoon.  We arrived only to find the current tenants scurrying around, trying to finish packing up their things and clean up as much as they could.  Despite this initial frenzy, I must hand it to my husband for finding us a great home for the summer, in a quiet neighborhood with friendly neighbors.

We spent the remainder of our weekend running errands and driving around.  Actually, I think we spent most of our weekend in the car.  Enough time, at least, to be clearly noticeable to us.  And it was at that moment that I REALLY began to miss Ann Arbor.  I mean, I was sad leaving our house on Friday, trying to remind myself that this move, for now, is only temporary.  And the idea of leaving this community that I've grown so fond of has been difficult to wrap my head around - it's the most established I've felt since graduating from college.  But to really BE in a new city, where things are unfamiliar and you're not sure where the best place is to go grocery shopping, or get a coffee, or the nearest playground is . . . well, that feeling is so incredibly isolating.

Ella and I returned to Ann Arbor Sunday evening to wrap up a few loose ends and pack up the remainder of our things.  We'll head back to Cleveland next week.  But for now, I must remind myself how it is I got to this place here, in Ann Arbor.  How did we create comfort for ourselves in this place when it was new and unfamiliar?  How did we become part of the community?  How did  we make friends and find the places where we felt a real sense of belonging?  

I've been able to do this before and I will be able to do it again.  

But a girl can still be a little sad too.  

color my world {yellow}

I love doing these posts once a month!  It's like a treasure hunt for me - being inspired first, by an image or product, and then trying to find other amazing items to fill out the board.  This month, I was drawn to the color yellow.  I was hooked when I spotted this bench in the Crate & Barrel catalog months ago and have been keeping my eyes open since for all things yellow.

Here are a few of my favorite {yellow} things:

1_American Nail Plate Mini Wall Sconce, Lighting Universe  I found this outdoor wall sconce about a month ago when I started thinking about easy and affordable ways to give our porch a little facelift.  Our house is grey and I thought the pop of yellow would be a good complement. I love this simple fixture and it comes in nine other colors!

2_Salt Water Sandal by Hoy Shoes, Zappos  I've been obsessing over these sandals since Ella started walking.  They are classics and will never go out of style.  But I'm sure that, by the end of this summer, they will be so worn out I'll probably have to get my next daughter a pair of her own.

3_Nate Berkus Topanga Beach Towel, Target  I think we only have one beach towel in our house, so I wouldn't mind adding a few of these to our non-existent collection.  

4_Sewing Basket with Handles, Connected Fair Trade  I'm thinking this would be perfect for the farmer's market, or anywhere really.

5_Landscape Collection Hang Pot, Wallter  I've been collecting images of great hanging planters with the intention of purchasing one to fill a corner of our master bedroom, and I love the modern simplicity of this one.  Maybe the yellow one would look great on our porch with the Mini Wall Sconce.

6_Bright Shapes Melamine Serveware, West Elm  The graphic patterns and prints this season, and in the recent past are, in my opinion, fantastic and the pattern on this serving plate doesn't disappoint.  

7_Smile A3 Yellow by Seventy Tree, Etsy  I love this print and, if I had a foyer painted all in white, this would most certainly be hanging on the wall as a cheery reminder.

8_Yellow Watering Can, Crate and Barrel  Now this gets me excited about gardening and might actually motivate me to keep my plants alive.

9_Sonny Yellow Bench, Crate and Barrel  The bench that started it all!  This would definitely grace my all white non-existent foyer too.

ella's quilt

While my mother was here last week, I unearthed the quilt I started for Ella over a year ago to show her my progress (or lack thereof).  Bringing it out was all the motivation I needed to begin working on it again.  When Ella woke from her nap on the day I pulled the quilt out, my mother gladly walked with her to the playground so that I could keep sewing.  I now have about two-thirds of the front of the quilt pieced together.  I plan to do a partially pieced back, perhaps with some custom embroidery, and want to do a very graphic binding (maybe a grey and white stripe fabric).

I had originally intended this quilt to be a gift for Ella on her first birthday, but now, with her second quickly approaching (and our impending relocation), maybe a more fitting opportunity will be to gift this quilt to her when she transitions into a big girl bed.  I love the idea of celebrating milestones and transitions in her life with gifts that are lovingly made just for the occasion. 

this weekend: striving for balance

As the weather continues to warm and we move more and more of our life outside, my ability to set aside time for blogging has become exceedingly difficult.  I find myself hoping for a rainy day just so I can sit in my workroom and not feel guilty that  I am wasting the warmth and beauty of a beautiful spring day, especially after such a long, frigid winter.  I suppose this is what I used to feel when I worked full-time and didn't have the option to ignore work and head outside (unless of course I was lucky enough to have scheduled a site visit that day).

And I look ahead to the weeks and months to come . . . my shoulders droop and I begin to slouch into my chair, realizing all of the things I need/will need to do that, up until now, I have conveniently neglected to add to my to-do list.  The biggest task, of which, will be moving and settling our little family in Cleveland for my husband's summer job that begins in exactly two weeks.

I love blogging (and all of the opportunities it has opened up for me) and it's been so good for my spirit.  But trying to find a good balance between blogging, freelance design projects, raising our daughter, being a wife, maintaining a home, and enjoying all of my other hobbies is an ongoing challenge.  With all of these things to do, it doesn't take much to throw me off kilter these days.

Striving for balance is difficult, in and of itself, but just as my daughter changes and grows day to day, so too does our life as family, and it can completely throw whatever schedule or routine or semblance of achieved balance into a complete spiral.  New challenges and opportunities pop up and what would life be for if not for embracing these events and finding the best (and most fun) ways to navigate into and through them.

So, it's time to reevaluate and perhaps, set a more realistic goal for this blog for the summertime so that 1) I don't become discouraged and stop writing altogether, and 2) so that I can take full advantage of this summer with my family in a new place.  Daily posts are probably not going to happen, but I'm going to strive to document this little summer adventure as best I can and will continue posting on some of the design work I've already begun and projects currently in progress.  I hope you'll stick with me for what I am sure will be a great summer!