Get to Know Shanna Mallon

Hello there, friends,

It's always an honor when someone says they like what we're doing here at hello there, friend. But it is truly amazing when someone reaches out to say hello and thank you. This May, Shanna Mallon did just that. We received her email and quickly realized she's embodying so much of what we hold dear. From there, it's been good to get to know her better, read her blog, and follow her on social media. She's a deep thinker, curious and creative, and I'm always blessed by what she shares. We are truly excited to share a bit more about her with you today! 

xo,

L (+b)

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Shanna Mallon is a freelance writer who loves Jesus. She’s been blogging about food and everything else at Food Loves Writing since 2008, and finds everyday beauty arresting enough to still keep at the practice. Based in Nashville, Shanna works from home alongside her husband, Tim, and their toddler, Rocco.  

What does a typical day look like for you?

As self-employed parents of a 16-month-old, a lot of our day revolves around our toddler’s schedule. It starts when we all wake up at 7 a.m., and one of us gets Rocco and takes him to the kitchen for fruit breakfast while the other makes the bed and opens the blinds to launch the new day. Typically, we take turns showering and getting ready, one of us in the bathroom and one of us with Rocco. From there, we’re reading our Bibles and then juggling time on our computers with time chasing him around the house, working while he naps, making him or us food, cleaning up messes, letting the other go into the office with the door closed to focus, etc. Some days, Tim goes to meetings outside the house, and that’s when Rocco and I keep up the routine solo. It’s also when I typically get less done.

If all goes well, I’m done with my main projects for the day by 3 or 4 p.m., at which point I start dinner while Rocco plays nearby or naps, depending on how the day is going. We don’t eat until 6 o’clock, but I’ve discovered that I save myself a lot (!) of stress when dinner and at least some cleanup is taken care of before the bedtime rush. After dinner, Rocco gets a bath, a story and a song. At 7 p.m., he’s down for the night and is truly out until morning.

Weeknights, I meet with some women who are all reading through the Bible together one night, and Tim meets up with some guys who talk and pray another night. At least one other evening is usually spent socializing in some capacity, either with people at our house or one or both of us out, and that gives us two more nights to be at home, spending time together or finishing up work that still needs to be done.

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

My friend Sarah Kate Branine wrote a post recently, "The Needed Intersection," in which she talked about the value of gratitude, not just for the beautiful, sweet parts of life, but also for the hard, painful bits. It’s been on my mind ever since, reminding me a lot of Ann Voskamp’s idea in One Thousand Gifts. When I start to see everything -- from disappointment in a relationship to the way the light hits the table during dinner prep -- as a gift being given to me, at exactly that moment, with purpose, it changes everything. For me, practicing gratitude has been one of the most joy-producing, life-changing disciplines of my life.

How do you stay connected to those you love?

I love connection, so maybe it’s no surprise to say that, in different seasons of life, I have tried almost everything to stay connected to loved ones -- texts, emails, “let’s hang out” invitations, cards, FaceTime, visits, social media. Sometimes it’s worked, and sometimes it hasn’t. That’s why I’d say one of the most liberating, sobering parts of becoming an adult has been, instead making connection the goal, making love the goal. I have found that I can always seek the other person’s best good, whether or not we’re in the same place or in busy seasons or whatever. So while I still do a lot of those same things to seek connection, my goal is different. I ask the Lord to keep my heart open and soft to the ones I love, whether or not I am talking to them all the time, and in turn I think I am in a better position to truly love, whether or not I get the fulfilling connection I desire. I am seeing that this kind of love, the kind that seeks the best good of the ones I love, without demanding response, gives more freedom and more joy, regardless of results.

What’s inspiring you right now?

I am a big fan of The Rabbit Room and have found many favorite writers through essays published there. I love Lanier Ivester, Rebecca K. Reynolds and Sarah Clarkson, for example. I also just discovered Susan Branch, who started hand-painting cookbooks the year I was born, turning a painful divorce into the start of a new life. Her recent set of dreamy, illustrated memoirs, especially Martha's Vineyard: Isle of Dreams, are unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

What is on your bedside table?

I am almost embarrassed by the mounting stack of books and files by my bed, so maybe instead of listing all of them, I’ll just share what I’m reading right now! I’m currently reading Beyond Loneliness: the Gift of God's Friendship by Trevor Hudson with the Renovare Book Club and, on my own, Elizabeth Goudge’s biography The Joy of the Snow. Elizabeth Goudge is one of my newest favorite writers -- I admire her descriptive language and sweet themes. This biography is answering some of the questions that are always natural when you find work you love -- wanting to know more about the one who made it.

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Shanna 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, Shanna, for sharing with us today! We're so grateful for you! xo.

Get to Know Dawn Suzette Smith

hello there, friends, 

today i am thrilled to introduce you to dawn suzette smith. many of you might know her by her instagram handle as @mudtometeors_dawnsuzette. i can't remember when i first came across dawn's work, but i know as soon as i saw her images of sunrises and all things nature from her home in nova scotia, i became an immediate follower. i have always had a fascination with the outdoors and in particular getting children outside. i had no idea she had given a ted talk until just the other day when i went to her website! inspired by richard louv and others, dawn is passionate about spending time outside. dawn is a true creative, always curious about the world around her. i know you'll enjoy this interview!
xo, 

b (+L)

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NOTE: My bio photo is a funny outtake from when my friend, Tamara, was trying to get a good author photo for me to submit to my publisher. We were in the backyard when Leo came to visit us and well, had to take care of some business. He is the first cat I have ever lived with full-time and he brings so much to joy to our family. I am grateful that he chose to come live with us.  (Photo credit: Tamara - http://ofartandotherthings.com)

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Dawn Suzette Smith is a writer, photographer, naturalist, and homeschooling mama who is a California transplant setting down roots in Nova Scotia. She is often distracted by the sunrise and breakfast has been known to be a bit delayed are particularly beautiful mornings. She leads nature walks to help families connect with nature through inquiry-based nature study and blogs about nature study at www.mudpuddlestometeors.com. She shares daily nature observations and explorations with her kids on her Instagram @mudtometeors_dawnsuzette. The book she co-authored, Whatever the Weather is available at booksellers everywhere. She recently gave a TEDx Talk called “Creating a Nature Habit."

What does a typical day look like for you?

Well, my typical day starts when my alarm goes off at 4 a.m. and I get up, make coffee, walk out on the deck to gaze at the stars, start a fire, then sit down at the computer to write and work. While it is not always easy, I cherish those early morning hours in the quiet house to be productive on my personal projects.

Once the rest of the house comes alive we make breakfast and read a bit, then I take my son to school and my daughter and I work on her homeschool lessons and projects. We try to fit a walk in most days. Sometimes in the morning and other times after school when my son can come with us. The afternoon is filled with time outdoors, projects, play, and the occasional meet up with friends.

Come dinnertime we all sit down to eat together as a family when my husband gets home from work and during that time we continue to catch up on the events of the day. We spend time after dinner reading, playing games, and sometimes watch a movie or documentary. Media shutdown is at 7:30 in the evening and we all start getting ready for bed at 8:30. We have made it a point to keep our family life slow and not fill our schedules to bursting. While we have classes occasionally thrown into the mix, or sports in the summer, we like time to sit and talk, take a walk, enjoy a book together, or simply all do our own thing in the presence of each other. We have a very small house so there is really no other way to be.

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

Gratitude is a reminder. It is a reminder that whatever is going on in life the world keeps turning and as I may be experiencing pain, someone else may be finding joy, and round and around it goes and the joy will eventually find me again if it keep my eye out for it. If I embrace the pain and keep looking for the good, stopping to take notice when I see it, then the cycle will continue, as it should because everything is growth and life is both grueling and joyful at times.

I keep a bullet journal and I try to write at least one gratitude in my journal at the end of the day. I occasionally share gratitudes on Instagram, which is a big step for me since I am an introvert by nature, but I have had many people tell me they are inspired by the sharing of gratitudes there so I keep stretching myself in that respect.

How do you stay connected to those you love?

As I said above, we are not an overscheduled family so we have a lot of downtime together. We sit and talk a lot, take walks, read aloud, play games, watch movies and documentaries (which leads to lots of great discussions) and work on projects together. We also make it a point to Skype with my mom and dad once a week (they live in Colorado) and see my husband’s parents (who live 6 hours away) at least once a month. I did not have a relationship with my grandparents so building a bond between my kids and their grandparents is very important to me.

 What’s inspiring you right now?

A few things come to mind but at this moment fall is very inspiring because fall in Nova Scotia is over-the-top beautiful and just draws me outside. I get sucked in by all of the little details and colors that are highlighted by the golden light. And, it may sound strange but I am fascinated with the decay of fall. As colors grow vibrant, then fade, they hold a different kind of beauty and in so many ways, with all of the foliage and flowers returning to the earth, it is hopeful. It is a sign that the earth is renewable and abundance will come again after a rest. This is all quite in line with what inspires me most of the time, which is the natural world.  

What is on your bedside table?

At my beside you would find a collection of shells and other nature items that have been unloaded from my pockets (the kids are not the only ones who fill their pockets). There is also an old lamp, along with pen and paper. I often have ideas pop into my head when I am drifting off to sleep and found myself jumping out of bed to jot them down, until I finally got myself organized enough to put pen and paper right next to the bed where I could scribble some thoughts before letting go for the night. When it is time to turn in I also set the alarm on my iphone and place it on the table next to me. I have tried many different alarm sounds, mostly in an attempt to wake me and not my husband so early, but the latest, crickets, was a major failure. I slept right through those sweet little chirps.


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please join us monday, when dawn will take over our instagram feed with her lovely images and words of curiosity and noticing. thank you so much, dawn for sharing here with our hello, there friend community! we are so grateful for you. xo.

Get to Know Emily Gaines Demsky

hello there, friends,

today's interview is with emily gaines demsky. emily's blog was one of the first blogs i ever read, way back when, alongside soulemama and habit, which she was a co-founder of. i cannot tell you how pivotal it was for me to read the words of other women as they journeyed through their days. knowing i was not alone was crucial in the early days of my mothering. emily continues to inspire me with her art, her encouragement, her creative process, and her gratitude practice. her words about gratitude and what she's finding inspiring lately will move you, i just know it.

xo,

b (+L)

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Emily Gaines Demsky is a painter, a mother, and a light seeker. She makes bold bright paintings of flowers and horizons, photographs her creative process and the natural world, and writes about her belief in possibility; and then she goes home to drive carpool, make brownies, and walk the dog.

Emily’s greatest wish is to ignite conversation and challenge perspectives around light and darkness, positivity and negativity, hope and doubt, through her paintings, her photography, and her writing.

You can learn more about Emily on her website or find her on Instagram @shiningegg, where she shares bits of her life and creative process, and where she maintains a daily gratitude practice and encourages others to do the same.  

What does a typical day look like for you?

There is no typical day in my life. I wish there were, and I’m working to find more rhythm and routine because I thrive on rhythm and routine.  

My kids are teenagers, and they’re pretty independent, but I am up with them in the mornings, getting ready for school. We are all in the kitchen together making and eating breakfast, making lunches, and getting out the door. I drive my kids to school most days, except when my husband does, and that’s where the predictable part of my day ends.

My work is fluid; I might be painting or writing or photographing my paintings or purchasing supplies or meeting with clients or the gallerist or the printer. There are so many different elements to my work and I am constantly searching for a better way to manage my weeks and my days.

I have had to learn to be both flexible and rigid about my time. Flexible, in the sense that I have to be willing to pivot from work to family and back again as necessary, and rigid in the sense that I have to protect my work time because nobody is going to do that for me. This means that I have to say no to lots of things that sound delightful or intriguing so that I don’t let my studio time slip away.

The second predictable part of my day comes after I pick my kids up from school in the late afternoon. We are usually home between 5 and 6 p.m., and I’m making dinner and they’re unwinding and having a snack and doing their work. We’re talking about the day or the news or whatever is on our minds -- orbiting around each other in the kitchen and the living and dining room, each doing our own thing and in concert with each other, too. Once my husband comes home from work, we all sit down together for dinner as a family with place mats and napkins, a well-set table, something (hopefully) yummy and nourishing to eat, and a chance to check in and reconnect with each other.  

In the evenings after dinner, we are most often all around our big dining room table, each of us doing our own work. Last school year we watched Friends together as a family, which was a nice treat in the evening and we’re looking for a new series to watch together this year. Now that my son is seventeen, he’s often the last one awake -- I’m not sure I’ll ever be used to that.

I aspire to go to bed by 10:30 and maybe saying it here will help me stick to it!

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

It would be hard for me to overstate the significance of gratitude in my daily life. Gratitude has become my companion, and the lens through which I see the world.  

Last September, I was coming off of a challenging summer and we were heading full tilt toward my daughter’s bat mitzvah. I was feeling really down and I was determined that I was not going to approach this milestone, this occasion for rejoicing, in a state of frustration or sadness. I had heard, read, and known about the power of practicing gratitude, and I’ve tried it myself on and off over the years. I generally consider myself to be a grateful person, and I didn’t really think a concrete daily practice would make much difference but I was committed to doing whatever it took to change my perspective.

I emailed three friends and told them that each day I would be sending them a list of three things I felt grateful for, that I needed their awareness and accountability to commit to the practice, and I invited them to join me. All three friends said yes enthusiastically and for the months of September and October we emailed each other daily with gratitude lists that were almost always longer than three items -- there was so very much to be thankful for, even on the hard days. Eventually those emails faded, but I had been so changed by the practice that I couldn’t and wouldn’t give it up. I moved my daily gratitude lists to Instagram and I paired those lists (which are more abbreviated now that they’re out there for the whole world to see) with photographs of the light. I’ve been doing it that way ever since.

The combination of the practice of naming my blessings alongside a photograph of some form of light or another has made the practice really tangible for me. Recognizing the things I have to be thankful for is a literal exercise in looking for light, in finding bright spots, in a busy or hectic or hard or wonderful or uneventful day. In the same way, the exercise of finding light to photograph requires me to be thoughtful about the rising and setting of the sun, the shadows on my bedroom wall, the flickering of a candle, a beautiful chandelier, and the places in my life that are bright even on a cloudy or a rainy day.

My gratitude practice has influenced my life and the way I see the world in subtle and not so subtle ways. The little things that used to cause me to grumble and complain now act as a trigger for me to look harder for the goodness. We all have bright spots -- we all have darkness and we all have light, and I choose to look for and to focus on the light.  

How do you stay connected to those you love?

This is such a thoughtful question and I wish I had an equally thoughtful answer.  

I heard Gretchen Rubin and her sister Elizabeth discussing their family’s practice on the Happier Podcast, and I’d like to adopt it! They all -- Gretchen, Elizabeth, and their parents -- send regular email updates (which they self-identify as boring) with information about the bits of daily life -- dentist appointments, soccer games, and so on -- to each other so that they are aware of what’s happening in the others’ worlds. They may have said, or I may have decided, that the practice keeps them all current with each other so that they can pick up easily when they talk or email, and it helps them to feel engaged with each other from afar. I love this, and I’ve been meaning to start the practice for myself with my family and my husband’s family. Even if nobody else picks up on it, it will be a nice way to invite connection.  

What’s inspiring you right now?

Lately I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the people and the things that inspire me, and I’ve been keeping a list. I often find myself scrolling aimlessly through Facebook, or the news, or another email or another or another, that don’t fill my well, and I like having a list of inspiration to come back to.  

A few of the things inspiring me right now:

Autumn’s changing light

Heather Day’s largescale bold abstract paintings

Lari Washburn’s marks on paper and on ceramics

Ben Parks’s film photography

Julia Miller’s new shop

Annie Koelle’s line drawings of the human body

Heather Chontos’s bold paintings and textiles

I could go on and on and on!

What is on your bedside table?

I recently wrote a blog post about how the pile of books on my bedside table is overwhelming and unmanageable, and this question reminds me again to edit, to focus, to curate that pile so that it feeds my spirit instead of making clutter. Some highlights from the pile of books on my bedside table right now:

A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman, which I’ve recently finished but haven’t yet put away

Improv Wisdom by Patricia Ryan Madson, which was recommended to me by Molly of Remedial Eating and which I’m reading now

A Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, which I keep nearby at all times

A Year with Rumi by Coleman Barks

And a little book with photographs of Dale Chilhuly’s glass baskets

And next to the pile of books there is:

A candle that smells like the beach, sitting atop a ceramic coaster with a baby footprint from when my son was tiny

Two beach rocks -- one large one in the shape of a heart, another smaller one that looks like an opal

One seashell collected on the beach in North Carolina years ago

Three brass seashells that I picked up at an antique shop on Cape Cod this summer

Burt’s Bees lip balm in a felted bowl gifted to me years ago by a blog friend

A notebook for morning pages, and a pencil

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Emily 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, Emily, for sharing with us today! We're so grateful for you! xo.

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.