Subway Blind

I love how graphic and punchy old subway and tram blinds are. The white lettering on black really pops. But I didn't fancy spending $300 on one. And I didn't want a random list of places I'd never been before.

Sarah at A Beach Cottage has a beautiful tram blind in her living room.

My friend Becky is a graphic artist at Stick People Press - she replicated the style with my list of places. I had it printed on canvas at Proper Design in Vancouver, and stretched and framed by another art shop.

I love how it turned out, and that there is a story and memories behind each name.

TOFW - Friday Night Recap

I could seriously be like the Deadheads who followed the Grateful Dead around the US in the 70s and 80s - except that instead of going to see Jerry Garcia, I would be going to TOFW to see Hilary Weeks and S. Michael Wilcox.

Shopping and fun with the girls aside, the main reason I go is to immerse myself in the Spirit that I know will be there. I come back from TOFW feeling like I could take on anything. I am uplifted, inspired and most of all, I am reminded that I am not alone on this journey. My Heavenly Father and my Saviour want so much for me to succeed, and there are 2500 other women in the room with similar struggles and experiences – knowing that strengthens me.

The theme for this year was “Seek the Good.” John Bytheway opened on Friday night with a really great talk on being careful about what we surround ourselves with. He called it the ‘Parable of the Marinade’ – and he said that we are all marinating in something. Regardless of our original intention, you will eventually become with you surround yourself with.

Brad Wilcox spoke next on knowing the names of Christ. My favourites were: ‘I am’ - He can declare I am, I am real, I exist, I am the way, the truth, the life; ‘The King of Kings’ says a lot about Christ but it also says a great deal about us too; He is the ‘Finisher of Our Faith’ – He is not finished with us yet! When you don’t feel like a Queen, remember that he is not done with you yet. I really loved his talk.

I had seen the Mormon Message about Chris Williams’ story and was so touched. He spoke on dealing with adversity and avoiding the path of self pity. The Saviour can teach us how He would respond and we can find hope in any situation. Confront misery with mercy and kindness, and just let it go. He finished with an a cappella rendition of my absolute favourite hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”

If you haven’t seen Chris Williams' story, watch it here:

Spokane WA

I went away on a road trip to Time Out for Women in Spokane, WA with my friend Karie and our daughters, Emily and Camille. The girls went to Time Out For Girls while we were at our conference. 

It was such a fun trip, with shopping and fun times with our girls ... and a LOT of driving. We made it there just in time for opening prayer!

We stayed at a cute boutique hotel called the Montvale. It had a restaurant called The Scout off the lobby that we ate all our meals at. Convenient, inexpensive and tasty.

This was Em's meal - a grilled cheese sandwich served in a vintage Flintstones lunchbox. So cute!

Being away from home, I took things a little too far. There were cookies in our hotel just outside our room every night! And I ate some. Okay, I ate four. In one day. And a chocolate truffle bar. And it was all good.

More pics and a recap of TOFW to follow.