perfect in every way

Not only are these roses the perfect coral pink color but they are the perfect shape.  The petals are all rounded across the top.  I'm not sure roses get any prettier.  These are Addie's Congrats You are in Kindergarten roses Bella picked out for her.  Perfect huh?

Selam's Children's Village

Selam's Children's Village has a wonderful background story.  In the early 1970's a Swedish family living in Ethiopia adopted six Ethiopian children before eventually moving back to Switzerland.  One of the adopted children, when grown, returned to Ethiopia and was so moved by the effects of the famine, started a small orphanage for children who had lost their family to natural disasters.

In 1986, Selam's Children's Village broke ground for a larger orphanage which now houses and takes care of more than 350 children from the ages of 3 months to 18 years.  Most of these children have graduated or will graduate from (when of the appropriate age to attend)  vocational training or education centers provided at Selam's.  The Village not only houses and cares for the children, but when they are old enough, gives them the skills they will need in life to earn a living and help support their families.  It's such an amazing mission, don't you think?

I've been excited to visit and the sun was shining Saturday morning so we used the opportunity to drive to Selam's Children's Village.  We headed straight to the flower nursery on the compound.  It was much more expansive than I had thought.  The rain clouds rolled in as we picked out gorgeous succulents, tiny flower buds, poppies, and more.   The first indoor greenhouse was home to the potted succulents and other plants.  I'm not a garden person so I can't tell one from another. I wish I could.  All I know is everything was green and beautiful.

We were led by two Ethiopian women through the small dirt paths from one green house to another.  The girls were in awe when they saw the large outdoor area with row and rows of flowers.

we brought his purple flower home by Addie's request

one of the sweet women who led us through the nursery and helped us carry our flowers

Addie and Bella were allowed to choose whatever they wanted to plant at home.  All the sales help support the Children's Village.  We got a large flat of flowers, some already potted, and it cost us less than $10.

The grounds were lush and green with a mysterious quality to them as if something magical could happen any moment.  The girls were like little fairies flitting about. It was raining but it made it all the more exciting to explore.

The other wonderful treat at Selam's is the restaurant that serves lunch every day from 12-1:30 PM.  It's a set 5 course meal that changes daily based on fresh ingredients.  We enjoyed fried zucchini, vegetable barley soup, bread, salad, beef with potatoes and vegetables, and finally, coffee ice cream that was frothy and perfect.  The food was wholesome and tasty.  The dining atmosphere was extremely family friendly.

When asked what their favorite part of the trip to Selam's Children's Village was, the girls quickly shouted "the coffee ice cream!" which is to be expected.  I personally liked darting the rain drops running from one green house to the next and capturing all the beauty on camera.  We will be back to Selam's for plants and lunch again! Especially if we get to meet friendly boys like these ones.  We promised them a ball next time we come so we WILL be back.

for the love of bags

I've been writing A LOT about material stuff lately.  I apologize if you don't really dig this kind of stuff.  I really dig it and I'm a gazillion miles from a proper mall so that's probably where the interest is coming from lately.  I'm going through shopping withdrawal. My husband might point out the withdrawal isn't reflecting in our credit card statements from online shopping.  But it's just not the same!  Am I right?  I almost miss those terrible dressing room lights that make my skin blotchy and my saddle bags enormous!  Almost.


I digress.  For Christmas 2011 my husband hit a total home run with everything he gave me.  My first pair of TOMS, a Kindle Fire, an embossed silver necklace with all three girls' names.  He knows me so well and is a great gift giver.  


Then there was the satchel.

I unwrapped a florescent orange stiff leather bag and he kind of scrunched up his forehead and shrugged his shoulders in anticipation of what my first impressions would be.  I can honestly say, when I opened it, I wasn't too sure.  The satchel's shape and construction was clearly top notch and he knows I LOVE the color orange.  But day glow orange?  Whoa!  (to his defense it didn't look day glow on the website-more burnt orange).

Fast forward 7 months and I have revisited my bright orange satchel.  I am in love with this handbag now.  I wore it for the very first time the other day and it totally rocked in every sense of the word.  What changed you might ask?  A number of things.

At two months postpartum the idea of making a bold day glow fashion statement was completely out of the question.  I'm still trying to hide behind my clothing at that stage so now that I've got my groove back; bring on the orange!  For whatever reason I couldn't see myself carrying a satchel on a regular basis back in December.  Now that we are in Ethiopia, I go to the store without my kids and DO have an occasion to carry a smaller bag than my giant diaper bag/tote.  Carrying a small bag that holds only grown-up lady things is so liberating.  I almost feel like I'm slacking when my bag doesn't hurt my shoulder from heft.

So now that I am in love with my day glow orange satchel, I want to share it with you.  My husband really went the extra mile to find this sort of gift for me and I'm super impressed.  It's a vintage hand sewn satchel from The Original Satchel Store Ltd. in the UK.  Everything about that description makes me swoon.  Vintage! Hand sewn! Original! Love! (marketed to yuppies like me for sure)


There are a ton of fun colors (red, yellow even pink) and basic colors too (tan, black, grey).  I wouldn't have chosen day glow orange for myself but I'm honestly glad my husband did. It's bright and unique and has a huge wow factor.  Which is totally OK now that I'm not looking like this.

Hello awesome day glow orange satchel, I'm so glad you are in my life now!

headbands

On occasion grown-up things can work well for children.  I ordered this white flower headband on sale for Addie and Bella for our holiday photos this year.  Yes, I'm the nut who is already thinking about the holidays and our family photos.  It's a sickness I tell you!  Sometimes buying off season for things will get get you pretty awesome deals though. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 Adelaide is always complaining how her child size headbands are too stiff and hurt when they press behind her ears.  This adult size headband is looser and made with higher quality materials. Instead of hard plastic, the band is a flexible metal wrapped with a pretty satin ribbon.  It's mega over-sized on my little girls but I think it just adds to the charm.

How to get the headband off of her head for safekeeping until photo time, is the real question. 

forgotten surprises

 One of the downfalls to having so many loving grandparents, aunts and uncles is that sometimes a present gets received and set aside for wrapping and giving and instead of the later happening, it just gets forgotten.  

That's what happened to this sweet little tea set Aunt Emily sent Addie for her birthday.  It sat up on a shelf in a sad brown box waiting to get opened, squealed at in surprise and then lovingly played with.  Quite honestly, I think Adelaide enjoyed opening this forgotten surprise today more than she would have if she had received it back in May.  Today was just an ordinary day until she suddenly had a bright beautiful shiny new tea set that was all her own.  "Just like A Bargain for Frances!" she exclaimed.  Immediately we set to work making tea, filling the sugar bowl and creamer and washing the cups and saucers.  We sat and had a lovely spot of tea together.  Probably the best 5 minutes of my day.  Thank you Aunt Em!

If you want to get a bargain for your little Frances you can find this lovely tea set here!

Sandstorm Kenya and other small business obsessions

After a recent trip, Justin brought home an amazing tote bag from Sandstorm Kenya for me.  We've been obsessed with this little company ever since.  Sandstorm Kenya makes all their canvas and leather travel and tote bags just outside of Niarobi, Kenya.  It's truly a local business and they originally got their name producing luxury safari tents! How cool is that?  They're gaining popularity and have certain goods for sale in the UK and US for explorer expat yuppies like us.  Our life's rugged! We have Kevlar tires, yo! My TOMS have holes in them from trekking around Ethiopia.

large black canvas tote purchased at Kenyan retail store

 The tote bag is huge and sturdy and will likely outlast all the motherhood it will see in the next decade! It's beach-bag-style big and I'm always apologizing for bumping into people with it. Arabella could comfortably fit inside-that's how spacious this lovely thing is.  It isn't exactly like the tote I fell in love with online and I didn't hesitate to send a note to the company.  I received a personal email back from the managing director.  He explained that the inventory on their website doesn't always match their inventory in their Kenyan stores because it's still a small company and if I wanted to exchange my tote he'd be happy to help (of course I'm keeping it-I'm trying to decide which bag to buy next time we are in Kenya).  Customer service is not lost folks!  Just one of the reasons to check out Sandstorm Kenya.  That, and their unbelievably cool products.  We have this bag and this one too.  We are officially obsessed!


Speaking of obsessions...

Have you heard of Jacobsen Salt Co.?  If you haven't, go read about this cool Oregon based start-up.  They hand harvest finishing salts from Oregon Coastal waters!  Even cooler, Ben Jacobsen is an old friend of mine's husband.  They have a kick-starter campaign too.  I'm dreaming about homemade salted caramel or even just good crusty bread drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with some Jacobsen salt. Yum!

I've had small businesses and entrepreneurial thoughts on my mind a lot lately.  I know a ton of people who have created their own brand and it's so inspiring.  Just look at this list of inspiration!  Some of them can no longer be called small businesses.  You might even say some have made it big!

Rock Your World: Pacific Northwest Gem and Art Gallery in Lincoln City, Oregon
Manifesto a brand actualization agency in Milwaukee, WI and Portland, OR-brain child Proxy People
Emulsions Photography in Baltimore, Maryland
Slater Foods BBQ sauces, marinades, rubs and more in Vancouver, Washington
Fusion Fitness in Austin, Texas
Socialize in San Francisco, California
Strategy Printing in Baltimore, Maryland
Alicia Mickes Creative freelance creative/art direction in Seattle, Washington
The Striped Whale customized children's clothing in Arlington, Virginia
The Northwesterners radio station in Portland, OR
Immusoft Corporation biotech company in Seattle, Washington
Expat Transitions corporate coaching in Saudi Arabia (at the moment)
Accuvant in Austin, Texas
CanceRevolution cancer coaching in Lima, Peru

Doesn't it make you want to start dreaming bigger?

yellow

I left my anniversary roses displayed long past their peak days.  They were shriveled and beyond pathetic but I left them because just one yellow rose was still picture perfect.  Among all the red and orange variegated roses was one perfectly sunny bloom.  I'm sure it's presence in the bunch was an accident at the florist shop.   It was such a happy accident.  

Salem's

I have not had many opportunities (yet) to get out and see Ethiopia as I would like.  One of the places that I have been introduced to is Salem’s (pronounced Sah-lem, not like the capital of Oregon or where the witch trials were held) in the Bole area of Addis Ababa.  A friend of mine brought me for my first visit and I took home a set of woven napkins and a perfect little bread basket.  I mostly eyed all the beautiful items making a mental check list of what I wanted to commission for my home.  During my second trip to Salem’s I met the co-owner and designer Salem.  She is a wonderfully talented and personable woman.  I ordered a custom tablecloth and large woven basket during this trip.  On my third trip, Salem gracefully accepted my request to photograph her beautiful shop.  The colors and textures from my visits had been swirling around in my head and I knew I needed to capture the beauty on camera.  Salem’s is truly a magnificent oasis for creativity in Addis Ababa. 

Salem’s is a design shop that features artists of all types of media from around Ethiopia.  Everything from traditional beadwork to hand spun cotton.  The shop is situated on a compound with spaces devoted to weaving looms for scarves, rugs, cloths etc., a sewing room for turning the beautiful woven textiles into pillow cases and such, a jewelers area for the bead and metal work, as well as a space for the basket weavers to spend their days turning brightly dyed fronds into works of art. 

I was initially drawn to the show room with the rustic textures and bright colors of the woven cotton scarves and traditionally painted Ethiopian carvings.   The more delicate patterns of the table linens and the intricate silverwork of the jewelry continued to lure me in.  Everything displayed is beautiful and meticulously created by true artisans; but to my surprise, I found an even greater source of allure and beauty in the artistic creation at Salem’s. 

The true beauty is in the large airy room with the seemingly chaotic web of cotton thread;  both hanging from the ceiling and stretched in long horizontal rows composing the rustic handmade weaving looms.  It’s the men sitting at the looms gliding the little boats of thread through the loom creating traditional patterns from spools of colorful thread.  It’s the peaceful monotony of sound and movement when the looms shake the cotton webs that is truly beautiful.  

It’s the solitude of the woman in the sewing room with the bright stacks of fabrics waiting to be trasformed. It’s the jewelers workspace, framed by strings of colorful beads and covered in tools, lined with women hunched over tiny wires and clasps.

 It’s the powerful sense of unity among the women in the basket weaving room.  Their varied shapes all sitting around the edges of the room looks like a painted canvas in motion.  The long tails of the fronds rustling the air as the women’s hands moved in a blur of motion, their low voices a lullaby in Amharic.  All together calm and diligent, the weaver’s work was humbling, orchestrated and spectacularly beautiful. 

The finished products from these creative pocesses are intricate and wonderfully Ethiopian.  Coming to Salem’s to acquire art for your home or for yourself is an experience in textiles, patterns and color.   Coming to Salem’s to experience the artists working in their element is a lesson in the true beauty of Ethiopian art.

To learn more or contact Salem’s in Ethiopia please visit their website for directions and design shop hours.