We are on a plane to Austin RIGHT NOW! We're having a meet up at the Interior Define store there tonight from 6-8 (11701 Domain Blvd STE 180, Austin, TX 78758) and would love to see/meet/chat with anyone and everyone in the area! I hear there's going to be refreshments, so come and say hello and hang out, grab a bite and tell us all the best things to do in Austin for the very short time we'll be in town.
More fun things this week
• Did you hear Instagram just launched a new video platform connected to your Instagram account?! It's called IGTV and it's for vertical videos (yay!) up to an hour in length. It's perfect to create and share longer content--we're brainstorming all the ways we want to use our channel and our minds are spinning. Our ideas are big and we can't wait to get them rolling.
• A few people asked me what I got Chris for Father's Day. I got him this sushi t-shirt (that he immediately put on) and a wellness mat for the kitchen! Have you heard of them? It's an anti-fatigue mat that works to suspend your body weight and reduce stress and fatigue. He spends so many hours in the kitchen and sometimes it puts a strain on his back so I'm hoping this will help.
• We hosted a birthday party for our friend, Preston, the other day and played such a fun and easy game--great for adults--I wanted to pass on. We had everyone bring 4 $1 bills and let them know it was for the game. Besides that, all you need is dice. We used 3 dispersed throughout the circle, since we had 15 people playing, but for a smaller group, you could use 1 or 2. The rules are simple: If you roll a 1, you have to pass a dollar to the person to your left. If you roll a 2, you pass a dollar to the person to your right. If you roll a 6, you throw a dollar into a bowl in the center. One by one, people start running out of cash (once you're out, you're out), and the last person with bills in their hand, gets all the cash in the center too! It's so exciting and fun. The buy in is low, but the winner at our party (not the birthday boy--haha) went home with $60!
• To wear on the 4th (and beyond).
• A great resource On Stopping Family Separation.
• Obsessed with these ear climbers.
• Finally! Photos of Mandy Moore's home with Interior Design by the incredible Sarah Sherman Samuel are the cover story of Architectural Digest!
Hope to see you tonight in Austin and we'll have a weekend sales post for you tomorrow!
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All of this is just a fabrication of outrage of Trump enforcing the immigration policies that have been in place for years. The only difference the democrats are using an old policy as a way of trying to turn public sentiment against him to try and get open borders.
Originally, my husband and I lived in a small, old apartment with beautiful hardwood floors back in WI. However, this made cooking & doing dishes (no dishwasher) so painful. I found the wellness mats, took the plunge and it is one of top items I recommend from any of our purchases. When we moved to WA this past year, we bought an additional one for our bigger kitchen - as someone who works from home, sometimes I'll wander in to the kitchen just to stand on one of the mats for a few minutes. Easily worth it (note - we did try a couple cheaper options before taking the plunge with the Wellness mat price wise, while they helped some they didn't hold up well. Our original mat we have now had for 4 years and still feels like the day we got it).
Don't worry about the haters posting. You linked to Cup of Jo, which, if people knew, is another mom blog that you've referenced before. We all have the gift of choice. If people don't want to go to that link, then don't!
Thank you so much for the link to the Family Separation Issue. This is not an immigration issue as much as a morality issue. The traffic across the border is at a 40 year low. Countries all over the world have immigration laws but none are locking up children in cages and separating families. It doesn't have to be this or open borders It isn't one or the other. Who ever is telling you that has an agenda. This country was always a country of compassion, with a rule of law that protects everyone. Thanks Chris and Julia for bringing this up. The information you linked was helpful and correct.
I’m on a plane to Austin right now for work trip. A few days too late to meet you. Bummer. Hope you had fun in your quick trip.
The dice game you mentioned is also a legitimate game “LCR”, Left Center Right. Google it. They make special dice for the game. Obviously your version is free with any normal dice. We play LCR at big family holidays with 20+ people around a table. Lots of fun. My 8 year old daughter won a few years ago. Teaching gambling young, LOL.
I was going to say that sounds like LCR.... we spent a lot of late nights playing this! The kids now play with their halloween candy. Ha!
I was going to say the same! LCR is a staple at big family gatherings, we play it with 3 singles. It’s always a highlight of the party.
Thank you so much for including the link about family separation! What a horrific thing and I'm glad you've provided people with action steps.
Oh wow, Mandy Moore’s home is SUPER inspiring! I love that she has some stuff from (relatively) normal places like cb2 in there. Thanks for sharing!
I cant continue to be a part of a blog that promotes propaganda and open borders. Shame on you.
Never said anything about open borders.
This is not propaganda, this is a total assault on human beings. Human beings that have every right to experience love, acceptance, and self actualization just like the rest of us. This demands a voice. Thank you Julia for speaking up! I imagine knowing the balance between how much to say and how little to say is hard. Knowing there's another voice for the voiceless is beautiful.
No, Mindy. Shame on you and your heartlessness. Seek some facts and find some empathy. May we never never have to be faced with the choices that these mothers and fathers have had to make. The United States of America can and should do better.
I was disheartened to see you using your blog as a platform for promoting political propaganda in the name of “love”. Unfortunately you seem to not realize that without law and order at the border, there would be no America as we know it. Open borders would be suicide. To bite the hand that feeds you, which is allowing you to live the life you are living as well as being able to practice your religion in peace is both astonishing and disturbing. Looks like understading why everything hinges on upholding our immigration laws is something you grossly misunderstand, and should become educated on. Shame on you.
I believe that families shouldn't be separated. I also believe that legal immigration into our country should be easier. I never said anything about open borders.
Eliza, as I told Mindy above: Shame on you and your heartlessness. I am dismayed by the current "America as we know it." History will judge us all, and action in the name of "love" does matter. Thank you, Julia, for making some noise for those who need it.
That game sounds like a blast! Too bad the birthday boy didn't win ;) Have an amazing time in Austin!
Thank you for speaking out about family separation. This shouldn't be a democrat vs. republican issue - it should be a humanity issue.
THANK YOU for including the resource on these unfathomably horrific family separations. I am a long time reader of your blog and a few others, and I found myself wondering if any of the DIY blogs I follow would be speaking up on this. It is obviously not a normal part of your (wonderful and positive!) content, but I so hoped to see those with a public platform speak out on this. Tearing children from their parents absolutely transcends politics and the need to stick with “standard” content. I am so grateful to you for including this today.
We are so fiercely behind families and have a deep love of immigrants. It's a tragic situation.
Thanks for the link to Mandy Moore's house. It is amazing!! I wish I could drive up from San Antonio and see ya'll in Austin, but with a newborn baby myself I do not think it is in the cards! I hope your trip to Austin is fun!
Thank you for the Family Separation share. This situation is so heartbreaking and we all need to be speaking out about it.
Yes, but it was the bare minimum. One link. One sentence. Not enough.
Yes, we like breaks from the news. We also like to see that people care.
How do you dress up the anti-fatigue mat? Did you cover it with a rug? Leave it exposed? I would love one in our kitchen but I am not a fan of the aesthetic so I've never bit the bullet and bought one.
I told Chris it's absolutely evidence of my love for him. I might try to layer a rug over it but maybe when the weather cools down.
Those anti-fatigue mats are great. I use one in the kitchen and I cover it with a pretty rug which also decreases the trip factor.
I've played that dice game at quilt retreats, but we play for 1/4 yards of fabric.
Hahaha so perfect