love this :: taos here i come

This weekend, I'm headed to Taos, New Mexico for a week to teach yoga at Jen Louden's incredible yearly writing retreat. This year she's teaching two sessions, and I'm so delighted to be part of the second one that begins on Sunday. And spending a week in Taos writing is a true dream come true for me. As in I've had this dream since I was 19 and reading Long Quiet Highway. And the dream intensified over the years as I heard about Jen's retreat...and now here I am. 

And honey, when you're about to embark on a dream come true kind of trip, you've got to think about what you're going to wear as you step into that dream. Here's a little glimpse at a few of the things I'm gathering. The intention is to be comfortable + survive the heat + be able to go from writing to teaching to maybe even running into town easily. 

This linen tank from Eileen Fisher (on sale right now at Nordstrom) is super flattering with the seams down the front and will be equally awesome for plane wearing with a cardigan + jeans and for yoga class with my favorite yoga pants + Texture mini skirt. And I'm wearing it with this Wacoal racerback bra.

These linen pants from Old Navy have been my summer staple this year. I have them in white and this khaki linen color (that looks more like natural linen than this photo indicates). They are like yoga pants meets kind of dressy pants. And throwing in the dryer for about 4 minutes gets the wrinkles out (and they're a blend so they haven't shrunk at all and stretch a bit as you wear them all day). {hat tip to my friend Darrah for putting them on Instagram}

The Lucy Tranquility Tunic is my new favorite top. Love how it fits and that you can wear it either front or back as I prefer the scoop neck in the front that they show in the back online. Again, can easily go from day wear to yoga to dinner. 

The Shiva top from Athleta is super soft and comfortable. Plus it is flattering and has thumb holes, which just makes me happy. There are several styles on sale right now including this stripey linen which looks awesome on.

These Chaco sandals immediately made my heel pain/plantar faciitis feel better. So comfortable. I've also been wearing these Chaco flip flops for several years and they've become a go-to all the time in the house shoe to help with the heel pain.

People often ask me where to buy a yoga mat. The truth is, I've always loved the Gaiam mats at Target. The few I have are a couple of years old, but I love this one from their current collection.

I'm also taking: This hat (but you probably already guessed that), a favorite long black dress from j.jill that is really comfy, three pairs of yoga pants, three tanks, a sweater or two, and a few other things I've somehow convinced myself I can't live without. 

Check out other everyday outfit posts here.

Quick note: Some links are affiliates, which means I receive a small commission when you purchase from that online store.

glimpses {2}

oh mango popsicles, i adore you

i couldn't stop myself
(these colors are making there way into the 1993 Collection)

i made an alchemy deck with mindy this month
(it was awesome. more about it soon.)

i took this photo to remind me that:
somewhere between the push and pull, between the gentle sweetness
and the fierce growth, there are pieces of summer.

viv always spots the love (in PDX)

there was so much crazy joy in this moment at WDS

jedi or jawa?

date night. remembering why we moved here 10 years ago.

*****

Over on Instagram, you can find me sharing "the true stories" with glimpses of my world. I still think it is the best social media community out there. And it somehow feels like this really safe space where I can process the real and the beauty and the hard stuff with a circle of kindreds.

If you're on Instagram, come over and say hi. I'd love to connect with you there.

pinned it. did it. {with doña}

Note from Liz: Doña is back with another post inspired by Pinterest. Love this honest insight she's given into her experience and the suggestions for what to do when tackling a sewing tutorial found on Pinterest.

*****

Have you ever used Pinterest as a search engine? Like Google, but with pictures for every hit?

It is one of my favorite ways to use it. When I decided recently that I wanted to make my own maxi skirt, I skipped Google and went straight to Pinterest. With their new search tools, it is even easier to hone in on what you are looking for. You can even search in your own pin boards if you use the “just my pins” filter. 

Searching with the words “maxi skirt” mostly returned fashion boards with styling suggestions and skirts for sale, but “maxi skirt pattern” hit the jackpot. There are many many free patterns, but most of the ones I looked at were poorly written and confusing. Here’s one good one. Eventually I found this pin and followed links to this post and this pattern for sale on Etsy.

I downloaded and printed out the pattern, bought some stripey bamboo jersey fabric, and got to work. 

But all did not go as planned. 

This was supposed to be an easy project! There are only four seams, what could go wrong? Well, a lot, it turns out. 

It all turned out well in the end, but I learned some lessons. So that you may have an easier sewing experience with this project (or any other), I’ll share them with you here:

1. Check your measurements carefully. Like two or three times. Because most of this pattern is based on your waist measurement, be very sure that you measured it correctly! Ahem.
2. Read through the directions to make sure you understand them before you begin. I’m a pretty experienced sewist, so I may have skipped this step. As a result, I missed an important detail which made all of my pattern pieces twice as wide as they needed to be. Whoops.
3. It is generally not a good idea to cut out fabric late at night after having a beer with dinner. Luckily, I figured out all of my errors before actually cutting anything out so no fabric was wasted. This could easily have been a disaster.
4. Also not recommended is cutting out a large piece of fabric on the floor with three frisky cats in the house. 
5. Unpicking mis-sewn seams is not the end of the world. But if you need to do it, and you are sewing black fabric with black thread, make sure you have good lighting.
6. Sometimes it is easier to cut off a seam than unpick it. Only use this shortcut if you have a little extra fabric to spare (my waistband is 1/2” shorter than originally intended).
7. Taking the time to line up the stripes for the skirt’s side seams is worth the few extra minutes. It really makes your work look professional.
8. Using a sewing machine needle intended for stretch fabric really does make a difference. I forgot to change out my needle until just before the last seam. That last seam is beautiful. The rest are a little messy. 

If you follow all the directions correctly, this is a really straightforward and rewarding project. It is also pretty fast. Even with all of my mistakes, it only took me a couple of hours. It would not be unreasonable to finish this in an hour. 

I love my new skirt and I will be making another one soon. Maybe not after a beer, though. 

Doña Bumgarner is a writer, artist, mama and a craft project-collector from way back. She loves Pinterest and uses it to help solve a household dilemma at least once a week (see her “pinned and done” board here). She lives in Santa Cruz with her partner, their little one and his almost grown one, and a collection of cats and chickens. If you are needing extra support to ease into summer with the kids at home, find her Welcome To Summer resources and printables pack here. 

hello beautiful soul

For several years now, I've been using the phrase "hello beautiful soul" to begin my newsletters. I use it because when I start writing my notes, I want you to imagine that you're hearing my voice saying those words to you.

I really want you to feel seen when those notes arrive in your inbox.

And when I was brainstorming the phrase I wanted to put on stickers to put on the envelopes I send with orders from my shop, this phrase combined with "you are loved" seemed just right.

When the stickers arrived the quality was so over-the-top awesome that I've started handing them to people as I go about my day. A cashier who was kind, a new friend I made while sitting on stairs in Portland, Oregon, my mail carrier. Because everybody needs a little reminder that they are beautiful and loved and they are seen. YES!

I've even put one on my laptop and my favorite water bottle because I just can't stop myself.

After getting a few requests, I put them in the shop so you can give them to people in your corner too.

They come in sets of 5, 10, and 25 right here.

i am whole

artwork by Lori Portka 

This postcard from Lori Portka hangs on my studio pinboard. It is from the "I Am" prayer flag set that we brainstormed one day last fall. That flag set makes me so happy.

These words watch over me as I hammer words into metal, dream up new offerings, practice yoga, dance to fun., chat over skype, paint, glue things, and sometimes rest in child's pose until the only thing I hear is my heartbeat.

These are three of the most important words that guide me every single day.

Sometimes I whisper them to myself in those moments when I'm not sure anyone else will get it.

Maybe you need these words today too.

xoxo,
Liz 

free earrings this weekend!

Because these earrings make me so happy, I'm giving a pair away for free when you place an order of $25 or more in my shop this weekend! 

oh this hat

Last week while in Portland for WDS, I was lucky enough to go on a Be Your Own Beloved photowalk with Vivienne McMaster and a group of lovely women.

I wore this hat because oh my gosh it was hot in Portland and I wanted to keep the sun off of my face.

And I wore it because when I put it on, I can't help but think, "This. Is. Fabulous."

Vivienne creates such safe space when she invites us into the world of being your own beloved. On this walk, she invited us to look for the love and gave us a few different prompts to play with. 

If you've been here for awhile, you know I'm pretty comfortable with self-portraits. I even wrote a book about them (though at the time, the publisher and I wanted to avoid the word "self-portraits" in the title because people weren't really comfortable with the idea yet...little did we know selfies were on the horizon). But even though I'm comfortable with turning the camera toward myself, I always need to return to the prompt of looking at myself with love. Viv's photowalk invited me to do that and my heart really needed it.

Playing with self-portraits and this big hat was a little bit of an adventure. It was almost like having another person in the photo with me because it takes up so much space. I snapped away and tried to really concentrate on playing with the light in the ways Viv had explained.

I LOVED the way the light took up all the space behind me in the photo above almost like I'm standing in front of a white background when in reality I was in the middle of courtyard with statues and people around me. Looking at it again today, I feel luminous. LUMINOUS. And determined. And perhaps a little mischievous. This is the gift of self-portraits and playing and finding the love. My eyes are sparkling and it isn't just those glitter glasses. I was feeling the joy of connecting with like-minded souls and the confidence that comes from saying, "Yep, I'm wearing a huge hat and glitter glasses and even in this heat that is melting me a bit, I choose fabulous."

I choose. 

I choose.

This confidence doesn't surface every day in quite this way. But when it does, snapping a photo becomes evidence that it does happen so I can return to the photo and go back into the memory so I can remember I will feel that way again.

And then I found this photo.

It was an accident. Meaning, I thought my eyes were in the photo. I didn't realize the hat was hiding them.

I stood apart from our group for a moment staring at my phone and this photo and these thoughts tumbled through my head, "Look at this woman with her soft lips and the slight curve of her smile. What is she thinking? There's an allure around her that seems to come from inside her that pulls me in. I want to know her. Really really know her."

This feels like the next step in my own self-portrait, inner excavation journey: Getting to know that alluring, sexy woman in that photo.

This is gonna be good...

Yes.

(and because i know i'll get emails: the hat is from old navy and my head is not small and the l/xl fits awesome and the hathead wasn't too bad, the glasses are dolce and gabbana [mine are from lenscrafters and here's another option if you want to buy online though it looks like they don't have the burgandy but other colors], and the necklace was a collaboration between kelly barton and me. we have a few left hiding in my studio, just contact me if you're interested.)

still time to join One Move

Hello beautiful soul,

This is the part where I tell you that One Move has come together as one of my favorite ecourses ever. We are diving into so much goodness with this content, and an incredible circle of women is forming. Today we have our first Spreecast, which is going to be set up like a true workshop with Kelly and me as we explore what living the life we imagine for ourselves really means. (And if you can't make the call, it will be recorded so you can experience it when you have time.)

If you've felt the pull to come along, now is the time.

We close registration Wednesday evening. 

Read more right here.

Love and light,

Liz