a sketch for tuesday {#3}

this week’s sketch isn’t perfect.

...at all.

but that’s ok. that’s why it’s a sketch! just getting that pen to paper is what is important.

sometimes i put that pen to paper and don’t like what comes out.

but i need to remember, a sketch is just an idea… it’s just a moment of focus… it’s just a little glimpse at the large scene… it’s a work in progress.

if i don’t put that pen to paper because i’m worried about how bad it’s going to look, then i haven’t even spent that moment to focus, i haven’t had a chance to practice, and my idea is still in my head where no one can see it. i’ve wasted that moment instead by thinking of my imperfection.

i think the idea of a sketch is applicable in many areas of life. sometimes you just have to DO something to do it.

you have to hang that picture on the wall even if it’s not “the perfect” place for it…

you have to go for a “run” even if you can barely walk fast. you won’t get better at running without walking first…

you have to write that letter to that person you haven’t talked to in forever, even if you don’t know what to say…

you have to get down on your knees and pray… even if you don’t know how to pray.

dear friends, give yourself a little grace to do something  today, even if you know it’s not going to be perfect.

just do it.

Hot Chocolate

On a cold day there is nothing better than Husbuddy making me a hot chocolate!

Enjoy the little moments today, my friends!
xoxo!

snow day

we were so excited to see snow on the ground this morning!

Sammie was the most excited:

everything is right in the world when there is snow on the ground in january.

finding reasons to be thankful.

hmmm. ii’s interesting that a little more than two weeks ago i say that CONTENTMENT is going to be word of choice for the year. Then yesterday I go on and on dreaming about having a house (and seriously, in the dreaming, not being content with what I have now!)

eeeeeek.

convicted.

thanks for holding me accountable, friends.

in an effort to find contentment in this situation, i want to list all the things in my home now that i’m thankful for:

• a roof over my head, that usually doesn’t leak…
• a very comfortable bed, in a room that faces east so that on Saturday mornings i get to have my tea in the sunshine, in bed!
• a desk on which i get to play with art supplies.
• a clean, white kitchen in which i get to make yummy dishes with Husbuddy
• lots of little dog toys to trip over, because really, it means i have a very playful dog!
• enough furniture and artwork that i get to play at being an interior designer by constantly changing the layout and rearranging :)
• a community where i can just walk around the corner to a bunch of friends. seriously-it’s like living in a grown up college dorm! marriage housing at a seminary is awesome!
• Husbuddy. He is my home here. :)

remembering to be thankful helps me to be content.  funny how that works together. ;) i AM content with where i am now, because this is where God has placed me and i am so blessed.

Phil. 4:19 “…and my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

1 Tim. 6:6-7 “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing in the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.”

ok, thanks for not rolling your eyes too much over my silliness.

xoxo-kimberly renee

some day I’ll have a house…

some day i’ll have a house.

via etsy

and i’ll have a pretty front door:

via pinterest

and i’ll have a cute little mudroom like this:

via jones design co

and i’ll have pretty little antique chairs (instead of my target ones) to reupholster with pretty cheetah fabric:

via kimberly's phone

and a sun-filled-sunrooom where i can drink my morning tea:

via kimberly's phone

and a kitchen with lots of windows:

via pinterest

and i may even paint the floors:

via pinterest

and i will totally have an office/studio/craft room:

via pinterest

i may even have a nursery:

via pinterest

and i WILL have a tufted chair to curl up in – in my someday home:

via pinterest

sigh.

one can dream, right? i’m dreaming on pinterest. come join the fun!

(click on any of the pictures to take you to the link!)

xo-kimberly renee

thoughts and randomness.

• Tuesday was date night. We made these awesome Chicken Panini’s by the Pionieer Woman. (the link connects you to the recipe!) i tried taking a picture, but her picture is just so much more appetizing.

• Sammie is learning to sit on his pillow while we eat. I abhor begging of any kind!  It’s a tough thing to teach an “old”  (almost 3) dog a new trick, but he’s a good boy!

• My sister got Husbuddy Farkle for Christmas. We’ve been playing it a lot lately when we just need to laugh together. (scream FARKLE on the top of your lungs everytime you get one and it’ll just throw you into a fit of giggles… or maybe just me?)

• Friends and family are posting pictures of the crazy snow storm you’re having over in the Pacific Northwest. I’m totally jealous of all your snow! enjoy it for me will you? and while you’re out there enjoying it, maybe make some of this snow ice-cream from Lemonade Making Mama? then tell me how it is? we used to make snow ice cream growing up and this post just made me smile. :)

• i bought this handmade cardi on etsy before Christmas. adore it. i would wear it every day if i could get away with pink stripes every day.

• So sick of my wardrobe lately. It takes me way too long to get ready in the morning because i just stare at my closet dumbly. i mean,  Husbuddy has to come and check on me to see if i’m still alive. Wish I could dress like Kendi... but I doubt I have the guts to wear pink pants    resources or brain power to think about that right now.

• These two make redoing your own kitchen so easy… pretty soon, with everyone DIY-ing, architects, like me, won’t have a job. I’m totally in LOVE with Young House Love’s new kitchen and new grouted tile backsplash -which they did themselves. omg. They rock my face off.(did i just say that?) and seriously, it makes me worried about job security! ;)

• i’m loving this podcast about our “calling” verses our “career”! In the Podcast the lady Bianca is interviewing is talking about her calling, how it is NOT easy, it is not some corporate job that she can just leave at work when 5 roles around, she says, “There is nothing convenient about taking up our cross and following Christ”. Inspiring AND convicting. Am I really living for a calling on my life? or am i trying to make a career?

• While you’re at it, check out how much God LOVES YOU. buz-light-year style. {comeon- didn’t ya get that? – to infinity and beyond!}

• speaking of LOVE - i adore finding little hearts all over the place. heart rocks? heart clouds? i love it when a little heart reveals itself to me and makes me smile. Like this sweet heart from an awesome coffee shop in Seattle:

thanks for putting up with all the random nonsense that goes on inside my head. :)

you’re the best.

a sketch for tuesday {#2}

what is it I love about Paper Whites?

they’re so pretty!  they’re so fresh looking. they’re so clean and simple. and they grow in anything! and you see the roots while they grow!

they’re so cool!

…but why do they smell so bad?

I mean really? they are sooooo pretty and I love growing them in cute little bowls on my kitchen counter  but  it’s kind of a deal breaker with how bad they smell…

so, just so you know… these aren’t MY Paper Whites. {and, nope, that’s not my kitchen window either}

so for my tuesday sketch, I took a picture with my phone… so I just had to smell it just for a sec.

the picture above is just with the pencil. {my favorite marks all pencil}

the picture below has a little bit of water added.

I love how the water adds more contrast :)

oh pretty,smelly paper whites… you make me smile.

a new painting

my new pretty little painting includes a baby:

a cute little girl with red hair:

an adorable couple:

one of my favorite verses:

lots of texture and love:

all combined to make a pretty little portrait of some of my favorite people:

hope you like the painting, friends!

xo-

feelings are flickering.

 

“Some people ask who they are and expect their feelings to tell them. But feelings are flickering flames that fade after every stimulus. Some people ask who they are and expect their achievements to tell them. But the things we accomplish always leave a core of character unrevealed. Some people ask who they are and expect visions of their ideal self to tell them. But our visions can only tell us what we want to be, not what we are.”

-Lewis Smedes

just something to think about…

a sketch for tuesday {#1}

so, one of my goals for the year is to paint and draw more.

{yes, I realize that I just posted about my MAIN goal: contentment. so I’m keeping that in mind while I work out some of my other goals :)}

I miss drawing. I don’t do it nearly enough!

when I was little I played the flute. I LOVED to play the flute. but to be able to play in front of people without embarrassing myself, (which happened plenty of times, let me tell you) I had to practice.

a lot.

I was supposed to practice every day.

I was lucky if it happened 4 or 5 times a week… but I definitely noticed a difference when I practiced. 

and if I noticed, you can bet my teachers noticed. and so did my mother. HA!

well, the other day,  I realized that I haven’t been “practicing” my drawing at all recently. so, as part of this goal, I’m going to sketch every week. and post it here. on tuesdays.

even when the sketch isn’t perfect.

a sketch is just that. A SKETCH.

it’s not supposed to be perfect! it’s just supposed to be practice! so I’m giving myself permission to post an imperfect sketch here. every tuesday.

practice makes perfect, people!

xoxo-kimberly renee

p.s.thanks for not judging too harshly… I’m practicing. ;)

p.s.s. here’s to 50 more sketches this year! {because yes, being the always-running-late-silly-girl that I am… I missed last tuesday…doh!}