Noonday Collection: An Exciting Announcement!

I have some exciting news to share. I've recently joined an incredible company called Noonday Collection. Here's an  excerpt about their mission:

"Noonday Collection uses fashion and design to create economic opportunity for the vulnerable. We offer stylish accessories of uncommon value handcrafted by artisans from around the world who receive a fair, living wage for their work. Many of the artisans come from destitute situations and purchases enable them to provide for life’s basic necessities. Through fun trunk shows and an inspired social selling team of ambassadors, we are enabling women to join our story...What is more? A portion of the profits of sales will help place an orphan in a forever family."

I feel inspired and empowered by these women and artisans around the world that now have an income to provide for their families and hope for that future. I'm grateful to the opportunity to contribute to this movement.

Noonday is not a charity. It is not a a multi-level direct sales company that has financial benefits for recruiting a team.  The more we sell, the more we can buy from artisans from Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, India, Ecaudor, Peru, Guatemala, Vietnam and Refugee Co-Ops in the US.  It's about dignified job creation, advocacy for the oppressed, and telling the stories of the vulnerable. 

Have you heard the phrase, "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime"?  I believe that there is a right and wrong way to help our brothers and sisters in need. When we simply send money, or pay to go on short term mission trips, we create a mentality of reliance on our handouts, and helplessness, and destitution to those we want to support.  So much of developing country poverty is based on education and sustainable income.  When we train and teach skills in that same population, they feel empowered to provide for their families.  Think of the pride that you feel when you earn your paycheck and can pay for the things you need and want.  That's what we want to instill in people like Jalia, and Embemebet, and Sidhama, and Carlos, and Astrida.  That is why I'm an Ambassador.

Do you want to join me? 

Host a Trunk Show and invite your friends to use their purchasing power to change the lives of these incredible artisans.  Listen to their stories and know that you are making a difference.  You can also choose to host a trunk show that is a fundraiser for an adopting family.  Noonday Collection started as an International Adoption fundraiser.  I'd love to tell you more about how you can help your adopting friends and family.

You can also shop online.  I always remember that every piece of hand-crafted jewelry, every scarf, every accessory sold is fair and dignified income for families in need of food, healthcare and education. 

I want to thank you in advance for your support. The mission and vision of Noonday means a lot to me, and I'm really excited to start contributing.  Leave a comment and include your email if you're interested in hosting a show!

Happy Easter to you and yours. 

Two Years Later...

I must apologize for the break in writing. The reason being, the brand new digs! I'm so excited to share the new look of Huckleberry & Lime!  Major thanks to my beautiful and incredibly talented friend, Amanda Tobin, for simplifying and refreshing this little space and making it feel more like home.  

Last week, Dave and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary with a trip to Boca Raton, Florida (feel free to scroll through the wedding post and the 1st Anniversary post).  My sweet Nana has a little condo there, that she let us take over for the week, so we only had to pay for airfare and food. Budget-friendly vacay? Check.  We had 2 sunny days and the surf was too rough to swim, so we spent a lot of time at the community pool and reading on the screened in porch, listening to the rain spray on the palm fronds. By the way, I'm slightly addicted to Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Historical fiction.  Riveting suspense.  Not to mention a kilt-wearing, sword-swinging, Gaelic-speaking Scottish hottie.  Yes, yes, most definitely yes. I digress...

 We celebrated our Anniversary with a shopping trip to Mizner Center, where I discovered Francesca's and immediately set up a tent inside in hopes they would let me live there...kidding. But I did end up spending much too much mula on earrings and dresses, one of which I wore to our fancy schmancy dinner at CHOPS Lobster Bar. Pricey, but it was one of the best meal's we've ever had, and the service was out of this world. It was pretty dark, and I wanted to be completely unplugged during our dinner so I didnt take any photos, but just imagine a two pound radiantly red crustacean, and then imagine me slipping into a melted buttery dream with every blissful bite. And let's not even discuss the banana creme pie... TO. DIE. FOR.  It was a perfect celebration of the past two years, complete with clinking wine glasses and reflection on what we've accomplished in our marriage thus far.

That said, there are miles to go before we sleep. (I mean, it's only been two years, we have at least another hundred to go, right? ) That's one of the things I love about marriage.  The idea that there is so much yet to learn about each other and to experience side by side.  I'm learning that we are not supposed to be in control of everything, and have our lives completely figured out. It's such a comfort to know that God has my life safely in the palm of His hands and my story has already been written. I think that also holds true for building and refining a marriage as time speeds by, goals are accomplished, hearts are broken, and simple joys are celebrated. We aren't supposed to know how it works right away.  This marriage thing is hard work. Almost like when you plant sunflower seeds in the ground and you guess how high they will grow.  We can't predict the potential that comes out of our own growth, but we can muster up enough strength and grace to go through the life sucking droughts and seemingly unceasing storms.  There will be sunny days, and water to drink.  There will. And someday we will be able to cut those sunflowers and put them in vase from Anthropologie and realize how those storms and droughts helped make these flowers so beautiful.

I can't imagine planting this garden with anyone else.

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 The next day, in between downpours, we were able to go over to the Gumbo Limbo Wildlife Center, where we were fortunate enough to watch a turtle scarf down a HUGE salad, that would probably cost $15 at any restaurant, not including a mid afternoon cocktail. We also made friends with the biggest parrot fish I've ever seen, who should probably star in a toothpaste commercial.

On Friday, the sun finally emerged and the rain stopped long enough for me to get to go to Butterfly World, a magical place where butterflies flutter around and land on your hair, or nose, or tooshie, and hang on tight while you walk through the actual Garden of Eden.  Seriously, if you ever have the chance, do your inner child or your actual child a favor and go. I'm certain that there were fairies napping peacefully in that dreamy sanctuary.

Our week in Boca was filled with rest, revival, laughter, lobster, hand holding, and butterflies. I'll take it. 

A Year Later...

Last weekend, David and I celebrated our first anniversary.  I'm finding it difficult to wrap my head around the fact that it has been a whole year already, but what an incredible year it has been! I also realized that I never showed you the highlights of our wedding! Excuse the blogging faux-pas.  My next post will cover all the gorgeous details and the lovey-dovey glow that comes naturally on wedding day.

To celebrate, we decided to take a road trip down to Charlottesville, Virginia to see some of the vineyards on the Monticello Wine Trail.  Allow me to brush off my shoulders before I tell what a FANTASTIC idea this was.  It was absolutely beautiful and we were so blessed to have warm, sunny weather while we were transported back to the days of Tommy Jefferson and my dear, sweet Jimmy Madison.  The rolling hills, the old fences along the winding roads, it's enough to make you collapse on your porch swing and reach for a glass of chilled Viognier...

Speaking of which, our first stop was Veritas Vineyard.  Good heavens.  If you ever have a chance, bless yourself and go there.  We were lucky enough to sit with two incredibly fun couples for our tasting.  We laughed the whole time, and I remembered why I have been missing the south so much.   The accent that I picked up while I studied at JMU returned immediately.  I found my bliss.

The next day we visited Dave Matthew's Vineyard, Blenheim.  We loved this one just as much, because of its homey, earthy feel.  Dave designed the tasting room himself and used all recycled material.  The back deck looked out on vast farm land, complete with an old tractor. 

 The next stop was Jefferson Vineyard.  Although we didn't have time to visit Monticello (the tour is a bit pricey!), we promised to come back again to see it.  Jefferson was more casual than we were anticipating.  Beautiful gardens, but not our favorite vineyard.  

We pulled over on the side of the road a few times to take in the general splendor, and the most adorable red-roofed church I've ever seen.

We ended our trip with a jaw-dropping and drooling dinner at the Boar's Head Inn.  Sipping our wine and chilled cucumber soup (David crunched on a salad that looked like it should have been on display at the Philly Art Museum), we spent some time reflecting on this past year. You can go to all the premarital counseling sessions you want and read all the Christian Marriage books on the best seller's list, but nothing really teaches you about marriage like actually being in it, and roughing out all the ups and downs, awkward hand in awkward hand (Boy Meets World, anyone??).  We have learned the undeniable need for grace, humility, laughter, patience, flexibility and long after-dinner walks through town.  We've discovered that insecurities and fear don't go away after the wedding day...the need to shave my legs every day has, however. It's so important to support each other and come along side one another during those times of self-doubt.  It's not always necessary to provide a solution, just reassurance that we aren't going anywhere and neither is our love.  And with that, I'll leave you with some marital advice from the omniscient Pinterest (Pop over to one of my favorite blogs, Today's Letters, for a great post about their marriage): 

 

 

 

 

I love you, david james. with all of me.