Get to Know Angie Warren

Hello there, friends,

We are both so excited for today's post with Angie Warren! Angie is a constant source of inspiration in both her fervor (she's always into something new!) and her transparency. She has a sweet and honest spirit that comes through in everything she does. Today you get a chance to see some of that sweetness in her words and her beautiful photographs!

xo,
L (+b)

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Angie Warren is a wife + homeschooling mama of three living in North California. She is a writer & artist, often times with her hands deep in more projects than she can keep track of. She is a coffee addict, and considers a good day one that includes both good music and good people. Losing her mother to cancer in the fall of 2013 has changed the way Angie sees life, and it is her goal to document her family properly, with both words and photos. She is currently working on a memoir, but also writes of love and life and loss on both her Facebook page and Instagram account @angiewarren.

What does a typical day look like for you?

My day begins between 6:30-7:00 as the sun urges me awake. With winter coming, I foresee that changing some, and I am okay with that! This year we’ve brought our children home to educate them here, so our mornings really are like night and day compared to how they looked when the kids were in traditional school!

Ideally, I make my way downstairs for some tea and quiet time. My oldest, now 11, is an early bird and often times he joins me. The other two (ages 8 and 4) like their sleep and slowly make their way down a bit later. I can’t tell you how much joy it has brought me to allow the morning to unfold like this. Fighting sleepy children for early wake up times was one of my least favorite parts of the day!

Our school days are very relaxed and quite honestly, really enjoyable. We read a lot. Books are a huge part of our learning! We are hands on, digging into whatever we’re learning with as much ferocity as we possibly can. In fact, today everyone built igloos out of sugar cubes, and as soon as our brown kraft paper arrives (thanks Amazon prime!), we’ll work on telling stories using Native American symbols.

There is a lot of coffee, more messes than I can count, and a whole lot of noise, but I absolutely love our days home.

After lunch the kids have free time and that’s when I sit down to work on whatever project I currently have to tackle. Right now I’m finishing up a new product for The Peaceful Preschool, so I’m cutting, laminating, and photographing the cards to share with our families! It helps to have a cute preschool subject on hand!

My husband arrives home and graciously cooks dinner most days (love him!) and our evenings are filled with family movie time, walks, fishing, or the general chaos of having three young kids.

I’d like to say that in between it all I keep a clean home and have all my ducks in a row -- but that’s just not the case. This phase in life is just simply so busy. I’m blessed to have an amazing husband that cares very little, if at all, about the state of the laundry or our home. Still, I’d like to do better at it. There’s always tomorrow!

What does gratitude mean to you and how do you incorporate it into your everyday life?

Early in the year I began reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. It has quite literally, changed my life. She talks about finding thankfulness in the smallest of things, and it has opened my eyes to all the pieces of my day that I have to be grateful for: the smell of my youngest after a bath, the air of a far off campfire, the glow of an early morning sunrise, the soft gentle breeze through my window -- even the sound of my husband’s boots as they hit the floor. I’ve begun to list my own 1,000 gifts, and it brings me such joy to look back on it and remember each of them.

How do you stay connected to those you love?

My mom passed away three years ago, and it changed the way I see things. It changed me, if we’re being honest. As far as family and friends who are out of town, I try my best to connect with phone calls -- it is so easy nowadays to wish a happy birthday on Facebook, or reply to an Instagram post. Those aren’t real connections, in my opinion! It’s so important to hear their voice, to see a hand-written card come through the mail, to remember how we used to connect before technology (though I love it!) came into our lives as it has.

The other day my four year-old sat on my lap and said to me, “When you hug me mama, that’s how I know you love me.” And my heart swelled. Human connection is so important -- touch, being near one another, connecting on that level. How very right she is!

What’s inspiring you right now?

I am very emotional and I feel things intensely! Ah! My poor husband! For me, smells (fall candles, yum!) and music (Morning Accoustic on Spotify) give me all the feels. Because of this, I am sure to always have a few of my favorite candles on hand and really they’re lit quite often. If the TV isn’t on, my Spotify is on. I love to cook to it, edit photos to it, write with it even. In fact, I’ve recently decided to take up the ukulele so I can make my OWN music. Never too old to try something new, right?

What is on your bedside table?

Lavender essential oil, lip balm, box of Kleenex, phone charger, and whatever book I am reading (currently Teaching from Rest by Sarah Mackenzie, and an assortment of Outlander books!).

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Angie will be taking over the hello there, friend instagram feed on Monday to share more with us and respond to your comments. We hope you take the opportunity to check in and say hello to her!

Thanks so much, Angie, for sharing with us today! We're so grateful for you! xo.