Beautiful Mondays: DIY – Pass a Note

I don’t know how you spent your hours during high school, but me and one of my best friends spent most of our hours passing notes. There always was something of utter importance to say that could not wait till the end of the period. Usually our notes included our weekly crushes, whom we had the perfect code names for. Silly but memorable times.

Now, each living on different continents, we still spend our time passing notes. It now takes a bit longer for our notes to get to each other, but the tradition of writing important news to each other has remained. Our weekly crushes have been replace by stories about our husbands and our dramatic high school issues have been replaced with sharing the reality of our lives.

Sending someone a card or letter was very common years ago. Now with internet and whatsapp, taking the time to send someone a handwritten letter or a postcard seems unnecessary and old-fashioned. But there is a lot of joy in finding a card in your actual mailbox instead of your email. Someone taking the time to write down what is going on in their lives and encouraging is a treat.

Today I want to encourage you to do this yourself. I guess I have a little DIY for you after all. Write someone a letter. Or if you really want to put some effort into it, you can make someone a card like I did!

Don’t forget to send it to them. Go to the post office, by a stamp and mail it. It will definitely surprise someone and put a smile on their face.

Have a beautiful Monday!

❤ Nan

Beautiful Mondays: Stepping into the light

A while back I had mentioned that I had started an internship with a stylist. I had helped out with a couple of things already. This last past week, however, I got a phone call that the internship would no longer be possible, due to changes taking place in her family. I was upset, hurt, disappointed and even a little mad when I heard this. I felt like the hope that had been given to me, suddenly had shattered. My first reaction was to quit completely, not even experiment with styling for myself. But then I realized that quitting wouldn’t help anyone and it would definitely not be a positive reaction for myself.

The lady I was interning with, called back to make sure I was doing alright. She told me I do have all the talents and creativity hidden inside of me and that I should definitely continue with what I am doing. She just didn’t expect her circumstances to change as quick as they did.

I am used to things not working out. Well, I say I am used to it, but each time it happens, I get just as disappointed as the time before. When you hope something will work out well for you and it doesn’t go the way you planned or hope, no matter what it is, feelings of disappointment and hurt will always surface. This weekend, though, I realized that what we do when disappointment and hurt want to take control, is crucial. We can withdraw ourselves and quit, like my first reaction was. Or we can challenge ourselves to look beyond our hurt, step into the light and look for new opportunities. It’s like they say, there is always another door that will open when one is closed.

So, instead of quitting and feeling sorry for myself, I took a step towards the light. How? By focussing on the styling projects I have right now: a love photoshoot and a one-year-old birthday party. Doing that, focussing on that what I do have, really helped. I have felt re-energized and excited to create beauty.

Today I want to encourage you to start stepping into the light if you are feeling disappointed or let down. There is always another opportunity or a different road. Don’t let those feelings get the best of you. Try creating beauty, even if it’s in small ways that barely seem to matter.

I wanted to share a picture of the suitcases I had painted for the wedding that I had helped out with while interning. I love how they turned out!

Have a beautiful Monday!

❤ Nan

Beautiful Mondays: Free Printable

This has been one of those weeks where I have been challenged by motherhood. Our almost two year old son has discovered that he can climb out of his bed. This has resulted in little sleep for him and trying days for me and my husband. When I am sleep deprived, I tend to get emotionally unstable. It then is harder for me to fight my insecurities and my negative thoughts.   I tend to let my insecurities and fears take control.

Constantly, however, I am reminded that my thoughts need to change. Once my thoughts start to change, my actions and attitude will change. Each time the words whatever is true, whatever is right come to mind. I decided I needed to create something with this so I can display it somewhere in my house as a constant reminder.

I am excited to share my first printable with you! I have made two versions. The first one has a pink watercolor background. And the second one is black and white. I realized the latter would probably match most home decors better.

You can download the pink free printable here.

The black and white printable you can download here.

Comment below to tell me what you think and if you used it, show me!

Have a beautiful Monday,

❤ Nan

* The credits for the watercolor background go to Angie Makes. She has some great freebies and her site is worth taking a visit to.

Beautiful Mondays: Made to Shine

Being a mother gives me bitter-sweet feelings. I love having children, watching them develop and learn. I enjoy their innocence and interest in the world around them. Yet often, I am filled with a fear. A fear that I won’t always be able to protect them from the dangers and temptations of this world. A fear that in the process of growing up, I will lose them somehow. When that fear starts creeping up, it can, at times, consume me. I reach a point that all I want to do is move ourselves to an island where it’s just my little family. Where I can protect and care for them. But then the ‘sweet’ part of motherhood kicks in when I see my son not only exploring but mostly enjoying the little things around him. One of his biggest joys right now is being able to play on his dad’s drums. He gets this proud and satifying look on his face, like he has found his right place and purpose.

We took a picture of that a couple of weeks ago. I had to print it out and scrapbook it into something I could place in our home. Looking at this picture, I am reminded that we were made to shine. Each of us has something that lights up a fire in us, that makes us shine on the inside and on the outside. When we find what that is, big or small, and start investing in that, I believe we will become a lot more relaxed. We will be at ease because we have found our right place and our purpose: to be the light and to shine.

I have to be reminded of this daily, which is why I decided to write it down and display it in our home.

On this Monday, be the beautiful you and shine. And do this stretching warm-up to start your week off well and help you shine!

It made me feel more ready for this week!

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”

Have a beautiful Monday!

❤ Nan

Beautiful Mondays: Bravery

In a previous post, I had shown you the chalkboard my husband had made with pallets. You can read that post here if you missed it. I hadn’t written anything on my chalkboard yet because I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to write on it. This was starting to bug my husband.

Today I went for a walk with my two babies and we found some feathers. When I came home, I looked at my chalkboard and suddenly felt inspired. Remembering something I had seen on my Pinterest board “Inspiring”, I finally figured out what to do with my chalkboard! So I grabbed my chalkboard marker, my washi tape and my feathers and this is how it turned out.

It is actually a very easy D.I.Y. On Pinterest they had placed this in a picture frame, which would also make for a very cute home decor piece.

via

Of course, you could do anything with some inspiring words and some feathers.

There is one more thing I want to share with you. I recently heard a song from Casting Crowns called “Thrive”. A part of the chorus really encouraged me. They sing:  We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives.  It’s time for us to more than just survive. We were made to thrive. I was reminded of these words as I was writing ‘live brave’ on my chalkboard. I have been trying to figure out who I am for the past ten years. When I started my internship as a stylist just two weeks ago, a part of me started to feel more alive. I realized that we all are created for something. A desire, a passion and a talent has been placed in our hearts. Once we start listening to that and living that out, we become more and more alive. It takes bravery though, to take those steps. But we are not here to merely survive life, although at times it may feel like that. Like the song says, we were made for so much more! And I am starting to experience the freedom that comes from thriving. None of us are made for the ordinary. We all have a talent and special purpose on this earth and it’s time we start figuring out what that is and start thriving instead of surviving.

So this Monday I want to dare you to start living brave. Begin following the passions and talents you have and you will feel yourself come alive.

Have a beautiful Monday.

❤ Nan

Beautiful Mondays: A few of my favorite things

To be honest, it was hard for me to find something inspiring to write about for this “Beautiful Monday”. My head has been full and I have been stuck in my thoughts and worries.

So I was very thankful that I had made a board on Pinterest with things that inspires me. Looking through my pins, I noticed a certain theme on my inspiring board, creativity. Most of the things I pinned were inspirational quotes, some painted on chalkboards or pallets. Or workplaces that show the creative side of people. Viewing the different pictures made me realize that this is a board that shows a part of who I am! Who I am is something I am trying to discover this year, and blogging is one aid I have in this process.
My “inspiring” board on pinterest shows my creative interests! The workplaces are areas in which I could let my creative mind explore endless possibilities, where I can most likely come to rest as I sit back and admire my work while enjoying a cup of coffee. The quotes inspire me to find myself and be fine with the way I have been created by the ever creative, all time Creator. And the pinned moodboards and colors remind me to dream and be creative and to gather pieces together so I can find myself.

On this beautiful Monday, I just want you to focus on something that you love, something that makes you YOU. Admire who you are and let that side of you come to life!

Here are some of my favorite things from my pinterest board, inspiring. I copied them and made them into a collage to give you a pretty overview.

If you are interested in more inspiration and in seeing these pictures individually, you can follow my board HERE.

Have a beautiful Monday!

❤ Nan

Beautiful Mondays: A Bohemian Adventure

From the moment that new life is born, exploring starts. A baby discovers the world around him. As his vision gradually becomes clearer, he discovers the faces of his parents. He notices his hands and entertains himself for hours (okay, minutes) when he realizes he has fingers he can move around. Little by little, his world starts getting bigger as he examines more and more of his surroundings.

Little children are adventure-seekers. They thrive on discovering new spots and exploring what is in their reach. We can learn a lot from their innocence, patience and curiosity when they take the time to wander, dream and investigate.

This is exactly what Nons photography was able to capture during the styled photoshoot. The curiosity and innocence of children are visible as they are exploring and discovering their surroundings. It really was a bohemian adventure.

Enjoy the results of the photoshoot, photographed by Nons and styled by me, with special thanks to each of our kids for modelling and to my husband for helping us with some of the styling and “heavy lifting”.

We would love to hear your comments on our styled photoshoot, as this was a first for both of us. So please share!

Have a beautiful Monday!

❤ Nan

Beautiful Mondays: Feathers and Arrows

Part of the reason that I started the “Beautiful Mondays” was to find out what things I like, what inspires me and makes me ME. And I found something that I love AND that inspires me at the same time: styling. I have known this for about a year and a half, when I helped style my sister’s wedding, yet I never really pursued it. I kind of waited for it to come to me I guess. But a couple of weeks ago, I heard that a girl nearby had started a styling business. If I am being honest, my first reaction was jealousy. But then I started thinking about it and realized she just pursued what she loves, instead of waiting around for it to happen. I should be doing the same thing! If I am excited about something and want to learn and grow, I need to start pursuing that. So I did.

I have a friend who started her own photography business, Nons. You can see her work if you click here (for my Dutch readers, consider asking her for a photoshoot!). I approached her and asked if she would like to do a styled photoshoot with me. And, lucky for me, she said yes! We will be photographing our own kids (hopefully they will cooperate!) and have a feather/adventure themed photoshoot. Keep following me to see the results!

Prepping for the photoshoot has given me a busy week and a well-needed distraction. Here is a small preview of the props we will be using.

I am really excited! Working on this has given me new energy and has helped me to focus on fun things in life. I have been creating beauty to create even more beauty!

So this Monday I want to inspire you to pursue the things that give you energy, that excite you, the things that make you happy and the things that you are passionate about. Most of the times, it requires us to take a step forward in order to get where we want to.

Here is a little DIY for you: arrows! I came across these on Pinterest and loved them. I will definitely be using these in the photoshoot.

They are very easy to make. All you need is some felt, sticks and a needle and thread. Oh, scissors are also handy to have.

I first cut out little triangles.

I then sewed two together and on the bottom I placed a stick in between the two pieces felt. To make sure the sticks stay inside, I sewed around the stick twice.

Then, just place the arrows in a fun jar. Or create a bow to go with it, like this one (which my hubby made).

I wish you all a beautiful Monday! I am looking forward to sharing the results of the photoshoot with you.

❤️Nan

Beautiful Mondays: A Bolivian love

A big part of my life I spent growing up in Bolivia, a beautiful country. As I grew, so did my love for the Spanish language, the Bolivian people, the Bolivian food, the music and, of course, the country. Exactly a year ago my husband, my baby boy and I were actually in Bolivia for a month! Being there made me miss the mountains, the colors, the people, the language and the food again!

Life there is just so much more relaxed.

Last week, I was looking for a video on YouTube for my baby son to watch, when I stumbled across an artist, Evan Craft. In a glimpse I saw Hillsong next to his name so I turned it on because my baby boy loves the Hillsong music. He loves watching people play guitar and the drums. I went on with my cleaning. I enjoyed the music, mainly because it was all played in an acoustic setting. It took a couple of songs, however, before I realized he was singing all the songs in Spanish! By then, I had found one of my new favorite artists.

I want to share one of my favorite songs from Evan Craft with you. It’s a song that makes me happy, makes me want to dance and forget my worries. It helps me start my day off well! Just this morning my baby boy and I turned it on and danced along! We encourage you to do the same!

Click here to watch the video!

I hope you enjoy it and that it makes your Monday beautiful!

❤️ Nan

Beautiful Mondays: Frappucinos & Coffee

Today’s post is powered by coffee. These last couple of days where the kind of days when things just don’t seem to work out. A cup of coffee tastes especially good in those kinds of moments.

This post was supposed to be about a Chai Frappucino that I was giving a try. I had gotten the idea from a post I received from a fellow blogger, Le Zoe Musings (you can take a look at her blog here http://lezoemusings.com/). She had made a green tea frappucino, which looked great. But, not having any matcha powder, I decided to make my own version of it with “power chai”. It, however, didn’t work out quite the way I wanted to, needs a bit more experimenting, so I decided to save that post and recipe for a different Monday.

So this morning I was left with just my routinely cup of coffee. You could say I’m a coffee addict. If I don’t have my coffee around 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., and 4 p.m., I start going crazy. With my coffee addiction I also have a weakness for coffee mugs. I love finding cute, new mugs at a thrift store. This, however, is a task of its own. A good coffee cup needs to fit my hands perfectly and also be cute. I tend to test a cup out before I buy it (my husband thinks I am totally insane when doing this).  But this rare habit of my is what gets me my perfect cups for every time of day. A must-have for every coffee lover who puts milk in their coffee is: milk foam!

And try adding 1/2 teaspoon of chai to your coffee! It sweetens the taste a little and gives it just that extra taste that we once in a while just need in life.

Have a beautiful Monday and enjoy your cup of coffee!