thankful, i am thankful

today i'm linking up with nish @ the outdoor wife!  

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here's a list of 10 things i'm thankful for today!

1. i am thankful for a day of sunshine, fabric shopping & having a fancy lunch with a sweet friend.

2.  i am thankful that my God is faithful. He is good...it's just His character. He is loving when I am hurting. He is strong when I am not. He rescues me when I am in a pit of despair and pain. He hits me with these verses when I am homesick:

Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father's house. The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord. ((psalm 45:10, 11))

3.  i am thankful for taco nights and macaroni & cheese. hello comfort food.

4. i am thankful for my handmade/blog community. the support system i have is unreal & i am so thankful for each woman that supports me, encourages me, and has my back ;)

5. i am thankful that the package my mom sent 5+ weeks ago ((that we thought was, for sure, lost)) showed up today. furthermore, i'm so thankful for sweet sweet friends & family that send us carepackages full of goodies. fun dip, martha stewart living, splenda, granola, dried fruit, laffy taffy, etc 

6. i am thankful for the beauty that surrounds me.  something is to be said for crystal clear blue waters, palm trees, waves crashing, & intricately detailed, crazy-colored fish! 

7. i am thankful for days off after a really really really long week. 

8. i am thankful that i can live vicariously through facebook photos, blogs & tweets regarding fall weather, texas state fair, and pumpkin spice lattes. 

9. i am thankful for my husband.((duh))...my GOODNESS this man's a stud. 

10. i am thankful for online shopping. haha that sounds silly & materialistic but SERIOUSLY, i have some SWEET things waiting for me when we get back...including this necklace from lisa leonard ((who else?!))

what are you thankful for today? 

love. 

updated blog roll

scroll down on the left to the button that looks like this

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click. 

see the updated list of blogs i read heart! 

enjoy.

love. 

are you ready for this?

((insert jock jams music here!))

These talented handmade shops will each be giving away a goody ((or two)) during the Blogiversary Giveaway Party!! Get excited, people!! 

Mark your calendars: October 13-14th, winners announced on the 15th!

2 days, 24 giveaways. BOOM!

((i'm semi-jealous of all of you that get to enter in these giveaways!))

love. 

Guest Post: Brooke from Pure & Noble

today i have a sweet blog friend guest posting for me!  you can find her blog at pure & noble. every time i read brooke's blog i am amazed at how much we have in common...including working for Fossil! Enjoy this post with lots of lovely things and inspiring images...I'll be back tomorrow :)

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Hello Yellow Songbird readers! I'm so thrilled to be here today doing a guest post for Kim while she's tackling the adventure of island living and teaching. You can usually find me over at Pure and Noble. Stop by sometime and say "hi!"


When Kim asked me to do a guest post, I thought...What in the world will I write about that will do her blog justice? Then I got to thinking of all the lovely things that Kim makes for her Oh, Sweet Joy shop and I knew right away what I wanted to share with you. I love looking at beautiful things. They inspire me. I think that's why I can get sucked into nature (sunsets specifically), blogs, and magazines so easily. There's such a dizzying array of colors, textures and shapes - I love it! Because there are so few inspiring print magazines out there these days, I catalog all the lovely things I find online into my pinterest folder marked, what else... "lovely things." I want to share a few of those images with you here today. I hope you are as inspired by them as I am. Enjoy!

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Lovely right? The color palettes are so soft and pretty with a nice mixture of wood thrown in. I die. These tones kind of remind me of a nice soft sunset in the spring. It’s the little things in life that bring me the most joy sometimes. 

What are you loving right now? Is there a color palette that you favor? What season brings about your favorite colors and textures?

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thanks, brooke!!

love. 

keep calm.

i love all of the fun prints from keep calm shop on etsy. how cute would this one be in our kitchen? 

and this one is going in my sewing room/studio ((in robin's egg blue, of course)) when we find a home in boulder. ((another giveaway i won over at the design girl blog. i'm on a roll!))

happy monday, friends! 

i should say this more often, but...i appreciate you, your readership, your support, your prayers, and your comments. thanks for continuing to come back to this sweet space to visit every day!

love. 

favorite things friday: color!

i'm loving color lately...and lots of it. 

1. macarons! i found some at our cute bakery in the capital island & i can't wait to learn to make these cuties! bakerella has a sweet tutorial/recipe here. 

2. these belt buckles by my girl thursday. i love the "mama always said" ones with cute quotes & vintage wallpaper! ((i think they're on sale until tonight!))

 and these doll faces? too cute. reminds me of those american girl dolls that i got to look like me when i was little. so unique!

read more about her inspiration behind them on her blog...and while you're there, enter her baller giveaway she has going on right now!

3. prints from retro image. they're unique, fun & the use of color has a sweet vintage feel. 

i just won the ferris wheel one on mandy's blog!

4.  slouchy beanies. i ordered two from yes jess knits. she has bright ((and neutrals too)) colors in such unique styles! 

love this chartreuse one.

5. playing grown up's new upcycled vintage frame chalkboard! read about/see her new items & check out the rest of her rad shop here! 

happy friday! 

i'd love for you to link up your favorites list! no matter what day of the week you posted it!

love. 

growing

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"Growth is the only evidence of life." — John Henry Newman

it has come to my attention that i am growing. 

growing taller? negative...i wish. an inch or two would suffice.  

this week, as i walked through the food line in the staff canteen for lunch, i chose vegetable curry & rice over french fries & chicken. what the WHAT! who am i?

i'm growing and becoming a new creation...and i'll be honest. it's kinda freaking me out.
i don't even recognize myself from the girl i was just a few years ago...and let's be serious...i'm different than when i first got here 2 months ago.

i mean, i would NEVER think that i would voluntarily go by myself to another island in a strange country to buy groceries. that seemed crazy when i first stepped foot into this country, and now, it's an almost weekly activity. i would never think that when we get back from date night that i'd say "i'll be right back. i'm going to grab some juice." by myself. in the dark. i never thought i'd be "that girl" who followed her husband overseas into a scary, new place. but i am. and i'm thankful...and humbled.

therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. the old has passed away; 

behold, 

the new has come. 

2 corinthians 5:17 

 as i struggle through getting into the Word daily ((which i fail at way too often)), i can see how as i lay it all down, realizing I can't do this on my own, He is growing me. as I seek His face, ((and even when i don't)) He is making me new. He is refining me and sometimes it sucks. Sometimes i'm over it & i want to go back to my sinful self...it's a lot easier that way. i want to be mad when an old lady gives me an elbow to the rib while getting on the ferry. i want to shoot a dirty look when a dude almost hits me with his motorcycle as he tries to squeeze in between me and the curb.  i want to be mad when ZERO students show up for a class. but He reminds me to love...without limits. my heart is being changed towards the people here...to love them in a way i never knew was possible. the old is gone and the new has come...

i'm semi-terrified and semi-excited to see how He will choose to grow me next...mostly terrified. i mean, come on...curry?


how is the Lord growing you these days?

love.

here we go bluebird

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sara bareilles' new album "kaleidoscope heart" is wonderful. 

((thanks again, nish, for the recommendation!!))

i've been listening to the song bluebird on repeat today. love it. 

a heartwrenching melody & beautiful, inspirational lyrics...what else could you ask for?

"And so here we go bluebird, 
Gather your strength and rise up.
...ready to fly, 
you and I, 
here we go."

love. 

"...achieve the purpose for which i sent it..."

this week has been a hard one. it's really the first week where i've had lots of "ok, i'm ready to go home" moments. where i find myself missing things just for the sake of missing them & making myself homesick. throwing myself pity parties, if you will. 


i keep getting upset that God asked me to put my shop/business on hold to come over here. in my mind & heart, i know He's worthy. in my flesh, i'm rethinking my obedience and keep asking why. silly, no? His word comforts me with, "why spend your money on what is not bread and your labor on what does not satisfy? listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare"


almost two months have gone by and after that two months are officially gone, there are only two more where that came from. such a small sacrifice...yet i'm struggling with it. i'm so unfaithful to my faithful God. He's never let me down, and I'm still struggling to lay it all at His feet. these are days when i think God should be telling me "kim, you're a doofus," yet He proves He loves me and continues to pursue me in my defeat & unfaithfulness and tells me "you are Mine"

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD


"As the heavens are higher than the earth, 
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.


As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, 
and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish, 
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,


so is my word that goes out from my mouth. 
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.


You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."


isaiah 55:8-12


i'm choosing to rest & trust in His word today. will you do the same?

love. 

favorite things friday: feather finds

1. new dud's feather scarf. it's printed on an american apparel scarf with two different colors of feathers. i have a crush on a scarf. see more of their great items here ((including lots of other feather goodies)). 

2. the leather feather necklace from fossil. i think i like it because it looks like a bolo tie, which one of my favorite professors wore on a daily basis. he also had a perfect handle bar mustache to go with it. talk about accessorizing....

3. spool no. 72's peaceful tee in pink. i'm not a pink girl...but you can't deny this shirt's cuteness. 

4. i love everything in erin's shop, sunshine and carousels. i posted about her shop here. she has some SWEET new things coming out for fall, so check back. anywho, i normally don't like feather hair accessories...not sure why. BUT, this is so unique and tastefully done. way to go, erin.

5.  this feather print from groundwork on etsy. wouldn't this would look great in a vintage barnwood frame? the answer is yes. yes it would.

6. and because birds have feathers and i love birds... 
here's a CUTE cute apron made from ikea fabric & made by pamwares!

happy weekend!




have a similar favorites post? link up! i'd love to check it out. 

love.