More Favorite Things!

To all of you faithful followers, however few you might be, I hope you have not missed my weekly posts and are at least enjoying some other good reading. The weekly commitment is just a bit much for me right now, so monthly posts are going to become the norm!

This summer is jam-packed with speaking, reading, writing, attending, learning, and likely a lot of swimming with my kids :) Even though my schedule feels a bit overwhelming right now, I know it will be a great summer, filled with life-giving, beautiful moments and lessons. Lots of work for sure, but I am confident bunches of wonderful goodness will come from all of it.

For something a bit lighter, I thought I'd jump on and share with you some of the things I am enjoying right now. Coloring, accessories, books, oils, decor... I have so much fun stuff to show you! I hope you enjoy it all as much as I do :) Affiliate links are included.

I found this company last night... how cute are their watch bands! It's hard to pick just one. I'm thinking something colorful and floral, or teal blue. Teal blue matches everything, right? 

I'm in the middle of a lot of books right now (who am I joking, all the time), but in preparation for speaking at a couple Classical Conversations Practicums in June, I am finishing up this book about the way we ought to teach. It is SO good! Hitting the nail on the head. 

While doing spelling with he boys lately, I've been coloring these lovely little pages, just to be doing something a bit mindless but beautiful. It's been fun :) Though, here are a couple other books I like too...

I recently started working out again at StrengthFarm in SE Portland, where I was before we sold our old house. It's about a 20min drive now, but it gives me time to pray, listen to books, or just enjoy some peace & quiet. I love lifting weights, and with an in-house Physical Therapist, it was an easy choice. I couldn't make the drive from our rental in NW, but our new place is much closer and I am SO thankful to be back! 

As many of you know, I have totally jumped onto the Oily train and have been running a business with my sister. I recently bought this water bottle and am LOVING it. I bring it everywhere and add in some Lemon, Peppermint, or Grapefruit oil for a little zing and wellness :)

This month, you get a FREE 15ml Tangerine when you buy your kit, so if you've been pondering that decision, don't wait! 

Last month, I won this sign because my little sister tagged me in an Instagram Giveaway - I think it might be the best thing I've even won! So pretty, right? The woman who runs her shop is fairly local, so check out her Etsy Shop and her Instagram and be inspired (and buy a sign). 

This is me a few weeks ago, after a Physical Therapy session for my knee, enjoying a couple hours without kids (thanks to my AMAZING friend Mary). I've been trying really hard to eat better lunches, and it is easier to do with avocados in the house. How are they so delicious? No one else likes them, so at least I don't have to worry about avocado thieves around here!

I may have linked to these before, but I just adore them. They are perfect if you pick up one of those coloring books. Nice color, super-fine tip, and they fill in with even color so easily! Great for other uses too, though watch out for bleeding through thinner pages. 

We just finished reading this book with the Richardson kiddos this morning, and we also read The Magic Finger earlier today too (super quick, super entertaining). I just love almost everything by Roald Dahl. He just seemed to have such a great sense of what was funny and entertaining for children without diminishing the value in beautiful language. I am slowly collecting his books each visit to Goodwill or Value Village or when they are discounted on Amazon.

Lastly, we are really enjoying the pool. Though, my oldest seems to think we should just swim every day for hours on end. Their fair skin and hay fever require them to take breaks, thankfully for me! I am enjoying the additional exercise, but this mama has things to do too... I can't lounge all day. Not until August anyway ;)

I'm sure there are many more things I could share, but the list is too long and our attention spans, I'm sure, are too short. I hope you look around your life, find the beautiful things you can revel in, and enjoy your summer with your family. Don't despise the small, don't cling so tightly to your agenda that you hate the interruptions, and don't forget to love the people in your life EVERY day! 

If you want to stay a little more "in the loop" as far as my life goes, come follow me on Instagram @jojococamo

Happy Almost Summer!

My Favorite Things!

After so many posts about spiritual issues and the like, I thought it was time for a lighter topic :)

As a semi-organized, artistic homeschooler, I have problems with wanting too many cute, colorful, helpful household items. Journals, cards, pens, clips, drawers, baskets - you name it, I'd love to have it. I pick up stuff from pretty much anywhere - Amazon, The Container Store, Papyrus, Target (I mean, who doesn't?), Office Max, Etsy, and Barnes & Noble. So here are some items I have recently purchased and simply adore! Some are organizational items, others are things people in our family enjoy, and of course, some are books that I have fallen in love with. Many of these are affiliate links, so you can help endorse my purchasing habit. Thanks!

First off, I use these cool Sharpie Brush-tip Markers a lot more than I thought I would. Many people use them for special hand-lettering projects, but they can be used for pretty much anything you would use a regular Sharpie for. They are great to use when you ship a package to add a beautiful little message or doodle on the outside. I actually used them a bit on our boxes when we moved too, just to add something cute to all the piles of boxes and junk we hauled around.

Next up, we've gone through a few iPad cases since the boys are using it so much for their Khan Academy many days of each week. After failing to find a case I liked in stores, I found this one on Amazon and totally love it. It's durable, comes in awesome colors, super lightweight, and it's also a great deal!

Speaking of cases, I also bought these iPhone 6 cases off Amazon. Again, great price, durable, and there are several colors for whatever mood you are in that day :) They have lots of other great color options too!

I love to write real letters. I don't do it as often as I'd like, but I bought a bunch of stationary back in the spring with the intention of writing letters each and every week. I probably write once a month, so my purchase is justified, right? Anyway, Amazon is actually a great place to find cute stationary if you don't feel like leaving your house. Here's one pack I bought and love.

When we moved, we lost a lot of space in our kitchen. What was once in the junk drawer doesn't even have a drawer anymore. Things like pens, scissors, rubber bands, and chip clips were all being stored in the laundry room and it was driving me crazy. I went to The Container Store with a plan to buy something that could sit on our counter, that looks lovely, and would store all my helpful junk. I lucked out and found this adorable Bisley drawer locker on sale, in turquoise! It's been perfect. 

I never feel like I have all the books I need. I could probably list 20 books I've added to my wish list this month (while I struggle to get through several others I've been reading for over a month). Here are a few of my recent recommendations: 

Extra Yarn - I posted about this on my Instagram account. Love it!

I've already raved a bit about Madeleine L'engle, but I borrowed her book A Circle of Quiet from the library, then immediately purchased a copy for myself. As a writer, her perspective and "me too" is such an encouragement. 

I recently went to a Noonday Collection party at a friend's house and she had this amazing book! I went home an promptly purchased it, knowing it would benefit our homeschooling tremendously. Well, I'm sure it will serve many educational purposes, but it has definitely satisfied the part of me that loves to learn and loves to look at beautiful things. And this is $15 less than you'd find in most bookstores! It's big, hardcover, lovely, and filled with rich history and information on each location inside. 

I know I've talked to several friends and family members in person about this book, The Accidental Creative. Once I finished it, my husband breezed through it in just two days. It was a big eye-opener for why we both often feel frustrated with work and life. The way creative work is done and the way we are expected to produce creative work are vastly different. Before you dismiss yourself as "uncreative", consider that a creative person is anyone who thinks for a living, and practicing good habits of how to schedule thinking time, production time, and enrichment time make a huge difference in what creative solutions or endeavors come out of you. I recommend it to pretty much anyone! Especially if you create anything or manage projects for a living, you really need to read this book.

I have so many more things I could share, but I'll just tell you about one last thing. I had used regular old plastic pencil boxes for storing all our pencils and crayons the last several years. They were fine, but I saw something on pinterest that gave me another idea. I found these tins at Target for only $1 and bought some... mostly black, but a few other colors too. I use them all around the house for storing pencils, pens, scissors, and crayons... pretty much anything longer than it is wide :) They have been a great solution! Plus, they look much cuter than my dingy pencil boxes. Add a strip of Washi tape around the top rim (another addiction to talk about another day) to make them more original. 

Well, I hope this post has been fun! Now you know what I spend my time doing on my computer... pretty much looking at stuff on Amazon. Ah well. 

I have been trying to think more about would so I can write up a beautiful, well-thought-out blog about not using excuses, but I am terrible at living that way. It has been SO hard to wrap my mind around it. So, this post is kind of a distraction from that, but I hope you've benefited from it anyway. Fingers crossed and prayers said that my brain can function well enough for more schooling next week and that I can make some progress on that last post about would. It might not be all I am hoping it will be, but I trust that God works in all things, big and small, awesome and decent. And really, God working through my blog and my writing is the goal, not some vague idea of what qualifies as "worthwhile". If I applied that concept to the rest of my life, I'd have far fewer emotional breakdowns! Haha! 

Have a fabulous week, and tell me if you love any of the great items in this post.