Integrity

This shall surely be a ramble of thoughts that have crossed my mind lately, so bear with my license as a blogger to sometimes write less than coherently.

Integrity. This is what is on my mind of late. What does it look like? Do I have it? Does it really exist much anymore? It seems like a big word that can be evident in so many small ways. Although I won't get into the details of why this word is weighing on my mind, let's just say that there seems to be a lack thereof these days.

What does it look like? It is a combination of honesty, selflessness, respect for others and a willingness to  separate yourself from something even if it isn't the most popular thing to do. Well, that is my definition and may be a bit off from Mr. Webster himself. 

Do I possess it? That is the question. Not as much as I would hope. I would love to be an Austen character like Elizabeth who always finds herself doing the right thing even when hard. Wrestling with her own desires in the pursuit of doing what is noble above all else. In a society that is so "me" centered and obsessed with loving oneself, that truly and sometimes thought old fashioned virtue called integrity gets kind of lost in all the narc ism. 

Jane, your wisdom was for the ages and thank goodness for that. No one tells it like an Elizabeth Bennett - full of poignancy and fire that cuts you to the quick.

So, for all those who feel like their tank of integrity is running a little low, pick up some moral morsels from our friend Jane and remember that although sometimes forgotten, integrity never goes out of style...

Sweet Mother of Mine

Oh, for all the fanfare and shameless Hallmark exploitation of Mother's Day, there is nothing wrong with celebrating the one person who makes the world go round who is no other than your mother. 

Someone I know recently commented that he had not called his mother in years on this day as he thought it was so silly and predictable. What I say to that is, "shame on you." If we all appreciated each other everyday as we should, then there truly would be no need for Hallmark to remind us to remember these special ladies. However, the expectation to remember on a special day is a good reason to make much of those we love. Mothers do so much which goes unnoticed. The nights worrying about that conversation with you where you were upset and unhappy, the prayers that went out on your behalf when you had that important interview, the thoughtful check ups just to see how you are. Then there are the home cooked meals, the stories about how cute you were as a baby and the words of encouragement and unconditional love. Who thinks you are beautiful like none other? Of course mom does. Even if you know she may be a little biased, you can't help but smile a little broader and hold your chin a little higher because there is that one person always in your corner.

So, here is to you moms - our number one fans who have kept us in one piece all these years and nursed our hearts and stomaches with all the love in the world.

We love you~

Welcome to A Little Piece of Heaven Called Bryn Mawr

Yesterday was the annual Bryn Mawr Minneapolis Neighborhood Garage Sale. This kind of event is something I anticipate all year long and is always a highlight of the year.

Bryn Mawr is neatly tucked away off Penn Ave and highway 394 - minutes from downtown. A neighborhood that is one of many of Minneapolis's hidden jewels & you kinda have to be a local to know about it. The beauty of this area is that is has preserved its original architectural charm and relatively the geographical landscape as it was when this was a new and booming community. If you are an independent retailer, you will survive here. The locals love to support another of their  assets, unique shops and eateries along the main strip that are not part of a national chain. We started our marathon of garage -saling by starting the day with delicious local java brew at Cuppa Java which is a featured photo in this blog.

If you are not a tag sale - O'phite, then come for a beautiful walk through a hilly, nature filled piece of utopia in the middle of the city. One observation is that this is an eco-centric neighborhood. It is the exception rather than the rule to find a home without a rain garden and their landscape full of plants that contribute to a greener earth. Many of the homes are of the Arts and Crafts Bungalow persuasion, but there are gorgeous rest orated Victorians mixed in as well. Bryn Mawr dwellers have preserved architecture and community to make you feel like you belong to something that matters. Spend a day at the annual garage sale and you will walk away knowing a little bit more about the people that live here and how proud they are to be there. After purchasing several vintage items at a home that I had garage saled the previous year, I told the woman running it I came back as I had been so happy with my purchases the previous year. She was so happy to hear it and she gave me some fun history of the items I was purchasing besides.

At the end of a morning filled with fun, you must stop at the Bryn Mawr community church where freshly grilled brats and dogs await. Stand in line for  cute little cub scouts to serve you as your money goes towards a great cause.

Respite for the Weary

Perhaps you as I are a little weary of all the bad news these days. If the economic crisis wasn't enough to have you wallowing in worry, it is now the media bombardment of swine flu outbreaks. Although you can't live in a cave and avoid reality, you can try to escape now and then and find respite in something frivolous and light. So, how about it? Shall we peruse something to take our minds of the world and lighten the load with a little Etsy eye candy? 

Look at the Baby!

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Forever new, forever exciting, babies bring joy into our lives with their cooing rosebud lips, small and perfect little hands and feet and that shock of downy soft black hair!

To celebrate spring and life as all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, this is a little vintage baby tribute of items found on etsy.com by vintage sellers. No matter how far we have come with new fangled do dads and fancier and more technical gadgets, there is something sweet and wholesome about looking at how babies were brought into the world without all that stuff and did just fine.

Be All That You Can Be

The army slogan "be all that you can be" isn't only for the military. It is really an American mantra that is drilled into our progressive, workaholic minded culture.  There doesn't seem to be a balance between work and life and instead the lines become muddled in gray. Being a married woman with no children, the impact of this truth hasn't really hit me as hard as it could. I know that work is healthy, keeps you grounded and gives you purpose. However, when visiting our neighbhors recently to see their new bundle of joy, this truth hit home. Here was a family with their first child and the mom was going to stay at home and raise the child. I was immediately defensive and jealous. Much to my own dismay, I launched into a speech of how impossible it is for two parents to have this option, when the "option" was right in front of me. They were choosing to have this balance that I so yearned for, but everything around me told me it couldn't be, it wasn't right and so on. When did our culture stop valuing mothers for mother's sake? When did daycare take the place of what only a mother can do? I can't say, but I am sorry to see it is a different world than the older generation experienced. 

My mother raised six children on one blue collar salary. She tells me that it is possible and I smile and say in my head 'not true.' In an effort to be progressive and career minded, values have gone out the door. There are strangers raising the next generation and still with all the money, power and equality, people are more unhappy than ever. What will it take to "be all that we can be" for real? Take back your life even if in small increments and don't sell out the one life you have for the approval of those who don't have to live your life at all. This sounds so preachy, but is so true. The lack, the lack and the lack. Simplicity is so much more than just having less. It is taking less on to have more.

Consumer Rights Make You Want to Drink

Sundays always find me introspective, a bit pessimistic, and blogging. Curious to find if artists greatest work was accomplished on such a day when the weekend is over, the money has been spent, the late night partying optimism has been laid to rest and a keen awareness that Monday is right around the corner. 

Not that there has to be a storm cloud behind every sunbeam, but somehow when the winter is long and below zero is the temp for the 1st of March, it is hard to feel alive and light hearted. Today for the first time in a couple of weeks, I added some new items to my Etsy store. It is always like putting yourself out there into the cyber world to be viewed unabashedly by the consumer's critical eye. Feels kind of naked and vulnerable. My favorite are the convos with detailed questions that I quickly and thoroughly answer, but then never hear a bloody thing after that... not even a thank you. It is part of the consumer right - to inquire without obligation. With one my new posts today, I blatantly laid it out there that the item was flawed, but take it or leave it. I kind of felt like I had to defend myself with this disclaimer after all the critical remarks you get.

So, with that, there are Sundays contemplations and maybe time for a beer to end this with a bang.