Russian Winnie-the-Pooh

So strange to see that other countries have made their own versions of Pooh!

Stitches

This is a great book that, if you happen to have an afternoon to kill, you can read right in the bookstore.  A graphic novel written and illustrated by David Small, Stitches is written from the perspective of a boy growing up without the love of his parents--and due to a surgery to his throat--without a voice.  Seeking refuge in his art, the young protagonist eventually runs away at sixteen and is able to find happiness.  Very simply constructed, Stitches offers a window into a boy's small, sad world and captures frame by frame his liberation from it.  

On that subject...

Words of Wisdom+My Favorite Comic Strip

Just trust Him.

Watercolor Monsters

I don't remember where I found these silly little guys, but couldn't resist posting them.  

They are too perfect for me: combining watercolor, simplicity and that dark whimsy I adore.

Jazzberry Jam

Wait on the Lord

I just listened to the latest teaching at Grace Midtown:
Wait on the Lord preached by Chris Moerman.
Grace Midtown truly feels like my home church, even though it is in Atlanta, an hour away from me and I'm only able to attend on the scattered weekends that I visit Cam.
But God has done bigger things and spoken to people in stranger ways.

This sermon about waiting on the Lord never being time wasted was a message that I needed to hear.  My blog has been going well, I have real live readers now, it's summer time and I just want to get MOVING with my business.
 I want to be out of the house, out of college, finally get married to Cam and make my living making things for people!   

But when I look back on the times that I have had to wait, when not moving, not knowing was excruciating...those were the times that he truly shaped me.
When I let go and said,
"Your will, not mine. "  

Waiting brought me to Cam.
Waiting brought me to Brenau.
Waiting brought me to incredible friendships.
Waiting brought me to new knowledge.
Waiting brought me to renewed faith and closer to Him.  

So I will wait, because His plans and His timing are always better than my own.  

Check out the sermon at Grace Midtown Online.  

The Power of Words

My favorite kind: quiet, sincere and beautiful.

I found this video on the blog D Sharp.  Be sure to check out this artist, she works with paper and color in ways that I truly admire.  

What Do You See?

I have a very clear vision and list of words in my head that I think describe my tastes, branding and personal aesthetic.  

What I want to know is:

Do you see what I see?

What words come to mind when you think of
Rachel
or
The Pea and Me?

Some of you know me quite well.

Some of you only know my blog.

Some of you have seen a lot of my work.

Some of you have seen very little.

What are your impressions?

You can easily just list a few words, your heartfelt opinions or how you feel after reading or seeing my content.

Please give me a little comment love, this will be very helpful in identifying whether or not I'm effectively portraying what it is that I want everyone to see and know about me and my business.  

If you don't have a blogger account, I've adjusted my settings so that you can leave an "anonymous" comment.  Please still leave your name!

Hot Air Balloon Race & Festival

We're all busy with jobs, summer classes, camps and trips, and yet the Ace Gang still finds ways to get together.  We have "red dot days" which are days we penned into our calendars at the beginning of the summer holidays on which we are all in town.  Those dots are few and far between.  So to make up for it, those of us who are in town try to plan small treats when we can.  

Thus we discovered the Helen Hot Air Balloon Race and Festival.

Not only were a few Ace Gang Members in town, but Cam and his friend Cameron (go figure) were up for the weekend from Georgia Tech.

Meredith happend to be perusing the newspaper and stumbled across this incredible event.  I highly reccommend stopping by to see the balloons launch in Helen.  They hold a race to the Atlantic from Helen annually and there is no cost for you to camp out, snack and take photos.

We were able to get right up beneath the balloons.  The gas was VERY hot, so I tried to snap shots in between bursts.  We weren't there for the race (they launched Friday morning, I believe) but came Saturday evening around seven when all the pleasure ballooners were taking off.  Stunning.  We sweat like pigs but it was worth it.  Next year we plan on coming in the morning for the start of the race, then go tubing!  Perfect combo.  

The balloons were all stored in long vans, which would pull forward and slowly puddle out the length of the material.  

Then they would take a large fan to fill up the majority of the balloon, and hook it up to the basket.  

Finally they would turn on the flame to fill the remainder.

Then they would climb in the basket and slowly lift off.

In no time they would float away.

The Creeping Phlox

Cam took us to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, which were lovely, if not smaller than I expected.  My favorites were the orchid and edible gardens.

 Something edible, which I photographed for it's bright red stem.  I can't remember the name now.

This is a Ladyslipper, named for it's shoe-like shape.  There were several varieties in the orchid gardens.

This statue was so strange that I had to take a picture of it.  The poor frogs are dangling helplessly from that naked child's pudgy hands!

I rushed up to this statue and said "This is St. Francis of Assisi!" 

I looked down at his label and I was RIGHT.  

Thank you, Art History, I know that St. Frances is often depicted with birds. 

One of my favorite flowers, snapdragons, which you can tug open to reveal a forked tongue in its maw.

Cone Flowers, another one of my favorites.  My Dad often plants these.

Cam gave this plant the award for silliest name, saying that it sounded like it came straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.  

"The Creeping Phlox flooded the furniture with filmy flumadiddle."

My favorite decor, which I swore I could have snatched and taken home if Cam had just walked ahead of me and been very distracting!