In Episode 17 of the FinalVibe podcast, Jan “Gma Jan” Kempker shares a story about her dad and the fried egg sandwiches that he would make for homeless people who came to their home. He had no idea that this story would be passed along to his great-grandson or that his legacy of kindness and compassion would be shared with the purpose of positively impacting others and encouraging them to live out their legacy as well.
And as Andrew went on to say, “That’s legacy at it’s finest…Too often we overhype the big stuff in life. We’re sitting here, celebrating your dad for the kindness in his heart to feed a homeless person an egg sandwich.” This story is simple and it’s actionable. We can create a legacy for ourselves based on the way that we serve and care for other people when all the cameras are turned off and we think no one is looking.
I’ve thought about this everyday since. How does this play out in my life and what will my fried egg sandwich story be?
As someone who’s #1 love language is gift giving (any one else?), Christmas is like the ultimate treat. I love spoiling my people with gifts and experiences that I think they will absolutely love. I’m also the type of person who keeps a running list all year long in case I see the perfect gift or someone mentions something specific that they’d like to have. I’m normally pretty prepared, but I also love to check out gift guides online and see what other people are digging to get ideas for family members or to add to my wish list.
This year, more than ever, we’ve seen the importance of buying from small and local businesses. At the beginning of Coronavirus, Kevin and I made a point to grab takeout from our local favorites and in seeing some local businesses struggle through this tough year, I’m realizing just how incredibly important it is to support them (especially the ones we love). For this reason, I’m committed to both shopping local and asking for gifts from local and small businesses as well going into the holidays, so I thought I’d share some of the things on my wishlist as well as other local and small businesses that would be fun to consider shopping at this holiday season.
It’s perfect for me that Christmas is right before the new year, because I love to ask for planners and workshops that are in a yearly format for the following year. For this year, I’m asking specifically for the Powersheets Goal Setting Planner (this is my fourth year asking for this!), the One Little Word eCourse for 2021, and the Growth Book which is a faith journal/workbook that spans a year. The 1 Canoe 2 journals aren’t necessarily in a yearly format, but I always think it’s awesome to start things like that in the beginning of the year if I can. In addition to these, I’m asking for a few accessories I wouldn’t buy myself – an apple watch band and a camera bag. Lastly, the gifts that keep on giving: two subscriptions. I have been reading Magnolia journal since it’s inception and I’m obsessed with Let’s Make Art’s art journaling box.
To get more than just my small business faves, I asked my Instagram followers for their input, too! Here’s what they suggested:
Amazing Missouri-Based Businesses
Etch.Life – This is a cute store based in Liberty, MO that retails faith-based gifts, clothing, home decor, and care packages.
Plume – A quaint little shop in south Columbia, MO that is home to over 90 local artisans and vintage connoisseurs, including cupcakes.
Kelly Fields – A Columbia, MO boutique that flaunts all the latest clothing trends, accessories, and gifts.
Two Pink Elephants – A boutique in O’Fallon, MO that is super reasonable and has lots of cute accessories.
The Candy Factory – The name says it all – you just have to go there. Located in downtown Columbia, MO.
RF Home – Located in Kirkwood, MO, this shop has all the amazing home things, clothing, DIY Classes, and they do renovations.
CycleX – A bike shop in Columbia, MO that I will most likely be shopping at for Kev this holiday season.
Treats Unleashed – This pet store is based out of St. Louis, MO and has a shop in Columbia. Our pups will definitely be enjoying treats from Treats Unleashed on Christmas morning.
1 Canoe 2 – Based in Fulton, MO this paper goods and stationary shop has hands down the cutest and best designed items.
Stitch 22 – A former coworker of mine makes the most amazing warm weather accessories and gifts (the scrunchies are my fave).
Ansgar Leather Co. – Amazing leather goods made in St. Louis, MO. (Always swooning over the journal covers.)
Helmi’s Gardens – If you have a plant lover in your life (or are one yourself…let’s be honest), this is your stop.
May Wynn – All the stunning artisan made hand crafted home goods. I could fill my house with things from this store.
Let’s Make Art – All the art goodies paired with subscriptions options and tutorials.
Other Small Businesses I Love
Soul Mantras – I buy a little token with my one little word from this shop every year. She has some beautiful pieces and is located in WA.
Get to Work Book – I’ve been following Elise (who is out of CA) for the longest time. I’m a huge fan of her minimalistic planner and rad motivation.
Illustrated Faith – An online shop filled with anything you could ever need for bible journaling, including workshops and printables.
Cloth and Paper – All the ring and disc bound planner goodies you could ever need to build your own or add to your current planner setup.
North Fork Chai Co. – A friend gifted me chai for my birthday, and let me tell you, you need this in your life.
Epiphanie – Lots of lovely camera goodies and accessories.
Magnolia – Chip and Joanna’s brand of all things lovely.
Cultivate What Matters – This is the shop where the Powersheets goal setting planner I use is from! Highly recommend.
Ali Edwards Shop – Ali is based out of OR and is a memory keeper and creator with the best products and classes. She teaches the One Little Word class that I’ve been enjoying since 2013.
Victoria Emerson – This shop has amazing bracelets that give you the stacked look without all the work. I’m specifically eyeing the Apple Watch bands this year.
Growth Roots Co – Creator of the Growth Book, this faith-based company designs and sells a journal that focuses on growth over the course of a year.
Blenders – A sunglasses company that has some pretty rad and polarized sunnies for very reasonable prices.
Where are you shopping this year? Are there any small businesses that I missed?
Rhythms have been on my mind a lot over the last year, especially moving from my intention of rest to my intention of open. I’ve thought a lot about my own rhythms – what mine are and why I have them – as well as how those compare to the things that are naturally occurring around me. It seems that this is made evident to me the most in the fall, as the leaves begin to change colors and lose their leaves. It sometimes seems hard to be aware of the changing of leaves budding in the spring, to being full and lush in the summer, to changing colors and falling in autumn, to the bare trees of the winter – and again and again each year without fail.
Rhythms are a regular reminder of times to speed up and slow down, work and rest, and inhale and exhale. I love rhythms over routines because they’re softer. They’re less like rules and more like encouragements. Rhythms are a way of saying that something is important without saying it’s a non-negotiable. It’s a way to show up for the projects, emergencies, and most urgent while still getting the day to day tasks done. Part of my daily rhythm right now is to make sure that I track my food and exercise daily but if something or someone needs me, that’s where I’m going to show up first. I will give up my exercise streak on my Apple Watch so that I could hold my best friend’s new baby and enjoy some extra sleep on a weekend away. Rhythms mean that I hit the exercise and calorie goal most days but that I’ll always get to prioritize my people over anything else.
I was excited to see that the Magnolia Journal’s fall theme was rhythms. After reading so many good things, I decided I wanted to memorialize their piece called An Essay on Rhythms:
Nature dances to a rhythm: In the way the sun rises and sets. In the birds’ song at sunrise and in the crickets’ chirp at sunset. In the way each season moves us along throughout the year…the annual cadence of a rainy April, giving way to a hot July, giving way to a crisp October, giving way to a cold January, and the thousands of little orchestras that follow the tempo of that grand symphony. The flowers move to the rhythm of the seasons: sprouting and budding and blooming and dying.
Humanity dances to a rhythm: in the holidays we celebrate the order in which they come. Costumes and candy give way to turkey and football, which give way to carols and gifts wrapped under the tree. We find rhythm in our daily commute, in the voice of the DJ’s morning report, in the stoplights and exits, in the pleasantries exchanged with the coffee shop barista. Rhythm comes with bodies that must be fed three times a day (give or take), with daily prayer and weekly meetings and monthly girls’ nights and yearly Super Bowl games. We create bedtime rhythms: We bathe our kids, brush their teeth, read them a story, tuck them in, and sing a song.
There is peace in rhythm. There is security and predictability. Not a stagnant sort of predictability, just enough to make us feel like everything is going to be okay, just enough to give us something to look forward to. Because while there’s a lot of rhythm, there’s also a lot of chaos. There are unexpected bills to pay, relationships to maintain, natural disasters, an ongoing to do list that will never be completely finished, flat tires, bad moods, burnt dinners.
But then there’s the sun, rising again. And then there’s our lungs, exhaling again. And then there’s Thanksgiving, right around the corner. We’ll take our afternoon coffee break. We’ll say a prayer. We’ll look up and see ducks flying south for the winter. We’ll cross the next thing off our to do list. We’ll get a new winter coat. We’ll plan a summer trip. We’ll go for an evening walk.
And we’ll tap our feet. We’ll sway back and forth. We’ll clap our hands. We’ll lean into the rhythms of our lives because they give us a sense of place in our story, clueing us in to where we’ve been and where we might expect to go next, offering us familiarity in the midst of a chaotic world – like our lungs filling with air and then emptying themselves and filling up again, like the ocean tides and the morning cups of tea and the annual harvest festivals: We embrace the rhythm of the season, and we find peace in the way it moves us.
An Eassy on Rhythm // The Magnolia Journal, Fall 2020
Helmi’s Gardens is one of my favorite places in Columbia, and we took a little stop by this weekend for a little eye candy. The nursery is chock-full of outdoor plants, trees, succulents, indoor plants, pots and all kinds of plant related goodies. I’m huge on shopping local when we can, and it’s also a great place for all the photo ops.
This is the Chinese Elm Bonsai tree that we brought home (along with his two friends who are hanging out underneath). The tree is 8 years old, so please send us all the good vibes that we can continue to keep it alive.
Just inching closer to the big 3-0. This feels like the first birthday in a while that I’ve actually been excited about. I’m not sure why that is, but I’m glad I’m happy where I’m at. I’ve seen a couple of my favorite bloggers share their birthday wishlist, so I thought I’d do the same. Even though i’m not expecting these items, I think it will be fun collage to look back on in the future. I’ve almost been blogging for 11 years at this point, and looking back on some of the things I’ve shared has given lots of insight into what life was like at the time. Here are a few things that are catching my eye.
ONE. I don’t have a particular brand in mind, but I’d love a phone belt to tuck my phone into when I’m out walking or running. The arm bands just aren’t it, and these have raving reviews.
TWO. So I may have already bought us this (whoops) but huge fan of massage guns lately and couldn’t not include it.
FOUR. This is my favorite camera bag of all time. I love that it’s inconspicuous, and looks like a purse so I could take my camera anywhere. Carrying a camera bag and a purse, or just camera bag as a purse can be a little clunky. This fits just the camera body and a lens which will be perfect for what I typically need.
FIVE. I’m currently swooning over Air Force 1s. These and these.
SIX. I’m a fan of anything green, and pothos are my current favorite because of how easy they are.
SEVEN. Apparently these aren’t as easy to care for, but Monsteras make a statement. Would love to have one of these taking up residence in our home.
EIGHT. Floor length mirror? Yes please. We’re currently using a $3 mirror that was sold when one of us was moving into a college dorm. I love the clean lines of this one and that it can be leaning or mounted to the wall.
NINE. I am loving these watch bands (and bracelets) from Victoria Emerson. I’m not normally a bracelet gal but I love the stacked look and how these are all technically one piece.
