ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

ahhh, it feels good to be back. it's been a long time since i've dumped my insta-photos on you!  so here we go: my mug swap arrived :) it is so cute, and honestly, this is exactly the kind of reminder i need in the morning. the baby has been waking up at 5:30. it's still dark out. and she doesn't go back to sleep after her bottle :( i need to see it as an opportunity to be thankful, spend time with the Lord, and rejoice...  instead of stumble and groan and wish for more sleep. i'm making a bunch of these cute headbands this weekend.  hoping to have them for sale next week.  aren't they cute? and super-fallish.  i've never been one to pay too much attention to the trends,  or the pantone fashion colors [because honestly i don't have the money. or desire.]  but i do see some tangerine tango and bright chartreuse in these ;) for each grandchild, my husband's family has an ice-cream party tradition at their 6-month b

i never thought i'd be a mom of girls, to be honest with you...  for some reason, i just pictured myself having all boys.  longing and wishing for that girl? absolutely .  but just never actually having one.  well i was wrong. obviously. and i'm so glad... i'm sure boys would be wonderful,  but that would mean i wouldn't have these two beauties: melissa always sends me the photos just a few hours after she takes them.  honestly, i just looked through them and stared. and then cried.  and then just could not believe these were my babies.  sometimes it's hard, during the daily grind and busy-ness of life to really see what we've been given.  photos like this, that are so gorgeous you can't look away, really put it all into perspective.  this is where i want to be. always. i don't love jumping into the shoots, but i do it anyway. because melissa always convinces me to, and because i know i'll beat myself up in ten years if

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."  Colossians 2:8 when i read this a few weeks ago it hit me hard. i think it's so easy to go about our days, dealing with the big and little trials of life, relying on human tradition and the basic principles of this world to guide our reactions and dictate our steps. we're human after all, so it makes sense that we'd lean that way. what hit me was how naturally i do this, and how i don't even realize that's what i'm doing, because it's not always obvious. the nature of deception is that you don't necessarily realize you're being deceived . the enemy works in the gray areas. he knows he can't get us if his lies are completely 100% false. instead, he'll use something just slightly off from the Truth so that we'll believe it. he'll keep getting us f

every week i put three select prints on sale for half off! how fun is that?  this weeks prints are on sale from August 27 thru September 2 : Fruit of the Spirit: other colors available [see all listing photos here ] Seek First: other colors available [see all listing photos here  and here ] Trust in the Lord : other colors available [see all listing photos here ]

i told you  in my last post  how i really and truly  never thought i would leave  my church. i'm a loyal person, i like familiarity, and i do love routine.  God knows those things so intimately about me, and i believe it's part of the reason why He called me away from it . all of those traits can be good things, but they can also the very things keeping us from the best that God might have waiting for us. the other reason? my pride.  yes, my pride. but let me explain... at our old church, i sang in the choir and the praise team and was given regular opportunities to sing solos. in a church of that size, i guess you could say that people recognized me when i walked by, or in grocery stores, or stopped at a stoplight in my car [true story]. as i served for those seven years, though, i wasn't looking for fame or glory or recognition. and pride really wasn't something i struggled with very often [thank the Lord]. to be honest, i don't love attention, and

i never planned to leave my church. i simply planned to take about 9 months off for a last-few-months-of-pregnancy/transition-to-two-children "maternity leave". november 2011, thanksgiving weekend, i sang my last solo with the choir, and headed home filled and content, to a cozy fire and lunch in the oven. i hadn't even kicked off my black peep-toe heels when my husband suggested that maybe we take this opportunity- my little hiatus- to visit a few different churches. you can imagine my silent tantrum. he could tell i was having an internal panic attack but i didn't want to let on. i hummed and hawed and said maybe that was a good idea. for my husband, it was simply a matter of: we've been at this church since we were 13 years old and have never even set foot elsewhere. shouldn't we explore that? shouldn't we know why we're actually going here? we love the church, we love the people, and we definitely love the preaching. there's nothing wrong

i'll come right out with it since i know you're all dying to know which three of you won the $40 shop credit! just so you know i'm telling the truth, that's the screenshot from rafflecopter  right after it chose the three winners at random... lydia april jessica i have just emailed you. can't wait to hear back from you :) if you didn't win, i thought this little announcement might be a fun consolation prize. what do you think about my new idea: every week i want to put three prints on sale for half price . buy one, buy all three, whatever! they're only $6 each! after the week is over, they go back up to regular price, and three more get discounted.  i think that sounds fun :) this week's discounted prints are: fear no evil whatever is true i hope you dance so go shop! these three are $6 for this week only. yay! this applies to all color combinations, by the way. there are lots to choose fr

i've written about it before , and so have many other bloggers, but i sort of feel like it should be re-addressed every so often just to reassure people: i don't do it all. notevenclose . a darling blog-friend commented the other day on instagram how i'm her hero. i laughed out loud when i read it, and some of you who know me in real life are laughing right now too. because i know myself and i am no one to aspire to, as far as having it all together or being a supermom or being some amazing example of productivity or wonderfulness. i think i should do a "day in the life" post soon, just so you can see how crazy life is over here. not organized, not really planned out, not glamorous by any means. because here's what i don't ever want. i don't ever want anyone to read this blog or read my tweets or look at my photos on instagram or look through my shop and feel less-than or intimidated or envious or not good enough in some particular area .

so, how do you like the new design? i'm the most indecisive and SLOWEST designer ever, but i think i'm pretty happy with how it turned out :) huge thanks to danielle  for helping me with those cute social media buttons on the side [the round green ones over there]. i set them up and they weren't showing on the page. she worked her magic and voila! there they are! [if you need blog or business design check her out . she's a guru, and the sweetest person on the face of the earth.] i posted about the new design, the new name, and my new intentions  yesterday ... so today, i want to celebrate!   in honor of the blog re-launch, and my return to regular writing, i'm hosting a little giveaway!  mostly, i just want to get the word out to all of our friends that THE URL HAS CHANGED, and this is a much more fun way of getting that done :) so, what will you win, you ask? THREE OF YOU ARE GOING TO WIN A $40 CREDIT TO THE SHOP !! YAY!  i am fully aware that maybe o

so i haven't blogged in awhile. and i have some reasons why. i've been busy with real life. you know, trying to keep the laundry pile to a minimum, trying to keep food in the pantry and get dinner on the table at a decent hour. trying to keep a teething baby happy who [if her big sister isn't around to entertain her] only wants to be held, and only while i'm standing . makes it hard to type that way. lately when i've had a free moment i've been designing or drawing or doodling. or just sitting in peace and quiet. the baby hasn't been sleeping through the night. she's been teething and really hating life, which means i'm awake throughout the night and can barely function in the morning. sort of a vicious cycle of sleep deprivation and just surviving the day. there's been a lot going on though. a lot that i've wanted to write about but haven't had the time or energy. but also? there's a lot of been scared to write about, if i'