10 things i am loving right now

1. The Lone Bellow
Get. on. this. bandwagon. So great.

Solid harmonies make me melt so I was in love in basically two seconds. The Lone Bellow is kind of like a spunkier Civil Wars (and I love me some Civil Wars).

All in unison we sing, at times, been redeemed

We are all of the beauty, that has not been seen
We are full of the color, that’s never been dreamed
Well, nothing we need ever dies

2. Crackers and Cheese

Like the snack. About two weeks ago I found myself craving crackers and cheese and it hasn't stopped since. I can't stop eating this perfect snack. I love it so much that it has graduated from snack status to lunch status in my life. Right now I am partial to whole wheat Ritz with sharp cheddar, but the possibilities are endless. 

3. Denim Shirts

People are referring to this trend as "chambray" but honestly, that just sounds like something Paris Hilton would name her dog, so I'm sticking with "denim." Anyways...I have hit a full on obsession I think. BUT they are perfect. You can dress them up or down. They look good tucked in or left open. They match everything. They come in so many different cuts and styles. You can use them as a cardigan. I sound like...not myself...but whatever. I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it! 

4. Hazelnut Coffee

We've made the switch from regular coffee to hazelnut coffee in the office and it has CHANGED OUR LIVES. It smells like heaven...which is fitting since we're located in a church. NOTHING smells more like a cozy hug than hazelnut coffee. And it tastes pretty great too. But really the scent of this liquid gold would be enough. I am a changed woman.

5. Chunky Yarn and size 17 needles

This is the perfect recipe for knitting something super fast. Unless it's a blanket, and then it will still take you forever. This is hands-down the coziest thing I've ever knitted, and since it's not for me, I am already giving myself pep-talks in preparation for having to let it go. (Based on #4 and #5 I feel like it's pretty clear than I have totally abandoned summer and embraced fall.)

6. Citizens - Citizens

 This album is so so good. I really appreciate good Christian music because it was so rare for so long. And now there's a gold-mine of awesome Christian music, but this album is particularly special. I love the message of grace in "In Tenderness." Ah so good!

 In tenderness he sought me, weary and sick with sin
And on His shoulders brought me, back to His fold again
While angels in His presence sang, until the courts of heaven rang.

He died for me while I was sinning, needy and poor and blind
He whispered to assure me: "I've found thee; thou art Mine"
I never heard a sweeter voice, it made my aching heart rejoice.

Upon His grace I'll daily ponder, and sing anew His praise
With all adoring wonder, His blessings I retrace
It seems as if eternal days, are far too short to sing His praise.

7. Dove dark chocolate squares

The women in my office got me hooked on these. I keep them in my desk drawer for those moments when I really need one (always). I don't have much of sweet tooth, but it turns out these little nuggets of perfection are my weakness. Also, all the wrappers come printed with a little message inside. A few weeks ago I had a particularly naughty bag that I'm pretty sure was trying to hit on me, but this current bag is behaving itself. Today it encouraged me to "do what feels right." Eating another chocolate square is what felt right, so I did. 

8. sending gifts

I will maybe never get over the fact that we can mail things to each other. I get how it works, but I also think a little part of me still believes that it is magic. I really, really love sending little packages to people...especially for no particular reason. I just put together a few "back to school" care packages for some special ladies in my life and it was super fun.

9. navy blue

This is the best color ever. Especially if it's a little dusty and has the tiniest hint of green. Don't worry, I haven't turned my back on gold. Nothing goes better with navy blue than a gold glitter accent. My favorite color changes quite a bit and usually revolves around what sort of project I am working on. The largest project I'm working on right now may or may not be mostly navy blue. (It is.)

10. "40 Days of Dating"

A friend told me about this a week or two ago, but honestly I have no idea how I hadn't heard of this sooner since so many of my design favorites are involved and it is totally up my alley. Basically two designers in New York have decided to date each other for 40 days using a strict set of rules. They are good friends with opposite relationship issues and they were both at a point when they were exhausted of dating. I love experiments (particularly of the social persuasion) and I am fascinated by the way people relate to one another. I'm also a design nerd. So really this is perfect. (Small warning: some of the content could be deemed inappropriate. I don't want anyone to start reading and be offended that I recommended this to them :))

I also sometimes feel like I am reading about myself when I read Jessie's stuff. We are SO SIMILAR in so many ways...and in others not so much. Also, she currently has the bangs I have been talking about getting for a year and half now.

They've involved a bunch of designer friends along the way to create illustrations for the site which is super fun. Also, from time to time they make little videos and they are so quirky and great. This one is my favorite: http://vimeo.com/72207777

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Now that summer is ending, I am excited to start getting some more guest posts on here, so stay tuned! This week the students move back, and next week starts the campus madness. I can't wait!

10 things: lexie martin edition

Lexie is one of my favorite people in the entire world. (I'm allowed to have favorites right?) Lexie is part hippie, part rockstar and always awesome in every way. I have had the privilege of meeting weekly with Lexie for two whole years and I have loved every minute of it. She is a beautiful woman with a beautiful heart...she loves well and often. Lexie is currently working on her degree in Special Education at Kent State. She is also heavily involved with the Navigators and has a weekly radio show called "The Future" where she plays literally any type of music you could ever imagine. She also does one of the best Kristen Wiig impersonations ever. Ever. Just get to know her ok? This 10 things made me laugh as soon as I opened it. Mostly because it is 15 things without any explanation, but they explain Lexie perfectly. 

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just 10 things...

-middle parts
-coconut oil
-"A Praying Life" by Paul. E. Miller
-living in community
-the humans of Kinfolk mag.
-curry
-spoken word
-fairy houses
-wheat pasting!
-the promise of May and all it will bring!
-the kinship we have with brothers and sisters we've never met.
-a tan kavu rope bag
-sewing patches on things
-twenty one pilots
-not just dreaming of tattoos... getting them.

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Connect with Lexie!

Instagram: alexandraisin

10 things: Instagram

Today is a special day in the social media life of Caitlin Elmore. Today I posted photo number 1000 on Instagram. It's been quite the journey to get here...and it wasn't always pretty. I remember the days when I fell for the rugged charm of Kelvin and Nashville, but never again! Yes, I may still post too many pictures of food and babies, but I'd like to believe that one thousand photos in I have reached a new level of Instagraming. It's an art people, and I have practiced long and hard.

Posting photos is only half of it though. Or maybe like 75% of it. (I just really like taking pictures, ok??) You get to follow people too! I love seeing what other people find interesting throughout their days. I follow a lot of designers, photographers, etc. so scrolling through my Instagram feed can provide tons of inspiration. Some people are really, really good at instagram, while other people are just terrible (Anthropologie, I'm lookin' at you.)

So, in celebration of my 1000th photo, here are my ten favorite Instagram accounts (in no order)...Also, I chose not to involve friends in this list. These are accounts that I follow purely because I think their photos are lovely.

1. emersonmerrick

Amy Merrick is a florist living in Brooklyn, but working all over the place. Her arrangements are stellar. Some of her more recent work can be found in the lastest issue of Kinfolk magazine (hydrangeas in an ice cream cone anyone?) Her photos are mostly of flowers, but sometimes of cats, and always lovely.

Oh yeah, she knits too.

There's plenty more where this came from.

2. denisebovee

I initially fell in love with this user's bio: "Training my children to be explorers." I know very little about Denise, except that she runs a blog and she takes sweet pictures of her rockstar daughters. They are not actually rockstars, they are just both younger than me and cooler than me. I feel like I needed to clarify because ever since Hannah Montana, pretty much anyone could really be a rockstar behind the scenes. 

3. etst

Kelle Hampton is a photographer, blogging mommy, and author of the book Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected about her journey through having a child with special needs. Reasons you should follow Kelle: 1. Her children are adorable. 2. She lives in sunny Florida, so on dark Ohio winter (and let's be real, sometimes spring) days you can have a glimpse of sunshine. 3. Her positive outlook on life and ability to find joy in the small things will leave you smiling and appreciative of all the good around you. Also, I would totally recommend reading her book.

4. sarahshermansamuel

Sarah Sherman Samuel is a designer and the creator of Smitten Studio. She also lives in California. So basically, her photos are a mixture of design-y life and California scenes. I love the freshness of her photos. She also shares my affinity for posting food. So there.

I am predictably a sucker for photos involving coffee. And shots of your feet. 

5. hello_oskar

Is this the best Instagram account ever? Maybe. Oskar is a cat who wears a bow-tie a lot of the time. Every single picture is a cat picture. You're welcome.

6. katebingburt

Kate Bingaman-Burt is an illustrator and assistant professor of graphic design at Portland State University. Kate always has a million little awesome projects going and is constantly making and creating. (What Did I Buy Today?) You can find some of her projects laced throughout her Instagram. One of my favorites is "Bus Heads" where she takes pictures of the back of people's heads on the bus. She is funny and quirky and I am continually inspired by her creativity.

Also once she painted her nails with gold glitter. Soul sisters?

7. klodid

Klodjana Dervishi is a photographer in the San Francisco Bay Area. Enough said. Ample white space and soft lighting lend to the simplistic beauty of her photos. Also, cute kids. For sure one of my absolute favorites.

8.  oanabefort

Oana Befort is freelance graphic designer, illustrator and blogger. Her work is delicate and beautiful and I love it and I want to look at it all day.

9. annriflebond

Anna Bond is the mastermind behind Rifle Paper Co.  Rifle is one of the hottest things around these days. You can find their designs all over the place, most recently in Target and Anthropologie. Anna's Instagram is the best way to stay up to date with Rifle's latest and greatest...and to get a peak into what inspires her.

10. leesamantha

Samantha Lee is a blogger and kid's party planner. Her site Eatzy Bitzy focuses on one of her favorite hobbies, Bento making. Warning: cuteness overload.

So there you have it. Instagram. I love it. 

10 things: fiction book-list

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to read. It's not unusual for me to be reading multiple books at once or to keep a book in my purse...you know, just in case. I also love challenges, so this year I decided to challenge myself to read 30 books (that I have never read before) through goodreads book challenge. I really wanted to make it 50, but since I have a few jobs and I try to have a life, I decided to aim in a more realistic range. I have read some wonderful books already this year (and I've come across a few duds.) I've also had some friends share their favorite books with me which has been really fun! I love a solid book recommendation.

When people ask me what my favorite book is, it's really hard to pick. A list is far easier. I have found though that that books that I feel drawn to time and time again are the books with wonderfully developed characters. I love a great story...but I also love a simple tale with a super great character or two.

That being said, here are my 10 favorite fiction books. Or I guess 10 of my most loved fiction books...i tried to cover at least a couple different genres. (Also I didn't include any series.)

1. The Secret Garden - Francis Hodgson Burnett
Mary is an orphan who goes to live with her uncle in his giant castle/house/mansion. There may or may not be a secret garden involved. This is really just a magical story. So magical that I used to act in out in my backyard when I was young. The movie is also pretty decent, but you really must just read the book.

2. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald writes so beautifully that I don't think I would care what he wrote about. I think most of us had to read this in high school, but in case you didn't, I won't ruin the story for you. All you need to know is that there is a man named Gatsby who throws some pretty rad parties. If you're really into symbolism and allegory, then this one is for you...and if you're not, then read it anyway.

3. Holes - Louis Sachar
I would like to meet one person who hates this book (or movie.) First of all, the main character is named Stanley Yelnats. STANLEY YELNATS. That's hilarious. Then, he goes to jail for being falsely accused of stealing a pair of celebrity athletic shoes and then blames it on his "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather." Also hilarious. And the characters and interweaving story-lines are undeniably awesome. I'm just assuming everyone's read this one...

4. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Don't roll your eyes at me. Just give it another chance ok?

And I only say that because I have never met another person who actually liked this book besides my ninth grade English teacher. If you are also a fan then we should totally high-five.

5. The Fault In Our Stars - John Green
Hazel and Augustus are teens who meet in a cancer patient support group. The rest is history. If you hate reading stories that are so wonderful that they change your heart forever, then just skip this one.

6. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
This book follows the childhood of Francie Nolan, a young girl living in a run down apartment in Brooklyn with her hardworking mother and alcoholic father. I fell so in love with Francie and her ability to make something beautiful out of a terrible situation, that I have read this story pretty much every year since I first picked it up. This is a story filled with hope.

7. Silent to the Bone - E. L. Konigsburg
Conner and Branwell are best friends. Branwell loses his ability to speak when his baby sister is injured and falls into a coma. When he is accused of shaking and dropping the baby by the au pair, Vivian, but has no way of telling his side of the story to the police, Conner steps in to try to uncover what really happened to baby Nikki.

8. Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
So basically this guy, Jonah, is writing a book about the day the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. He ends up on a writing assignment on the island of San Lorenzo where he also runs into someone who has information on a father of the atomic bomb...and he also meets this chick and finds out about something that could destroy the entire planet.  That is my terrible description of a book that is too crazy to describe. Basically, I read this because a friend who loved Vonnegut gave it to me as a gift. I read it in one sitting and then recommended it to half of my friends.

9. The Pact - Jodi Picoult
So the cover of this book shows a young couple sitting together from behind with the words "a love story" above their heads. Maybe Jodi Picoult was afraid that no one would buy her book unless they had mistaken it for a Nicolas Sparks novel. Maybe she really likes tricking kind people who are just looking for a good love story. I don't know...but that cover could not be more deceiving. The Pact is about Chris and Emily who have been neighbors their whole lives and now they are teenagers and they are in love. (Ok so it's a little bit of a love story.) Emily dies tragically from a gunshot wound. According to Chris, the two young lovers had a suicide pact, but it mostly looks like Chris killed her and he finds himself on trial for murder. Only Chris knows what really happened that night and Ms. Picoult makes sure we don't find out the whole story until the very end.

10. The Giver - Lois Lowry
I'm always in the mood for a good dystopian tale. Jonah lives in a perfect world where every last detail in is control. When children in his community turn twelve, they are assigned their role in society. Jonah is chosen specially to be trained by the Giver, the only man who knows the truth about the community. This book was eventually part of a three book series, but I actually only ever read the first. I'm sure all three were good, but I really liked the way this first one ended and I never got around to the other two.

and five that didn't make it, but I can't leave out:

11. 13 Reasons Why - Jay Asher
12.  The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
13. The Boxcar Children - Gertrude Chandler Warner
14. The Bell Jar - Sylvie Plath
15. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

What are your favorite books? I'm seriously asking, because I'm going to read them.