Opinions Wanted!

Bula Vinaka!
I'm happy to say that in our short 7 months of living here in Fiji, I've met some of the most fantastic wives/moms/spouses/ladies/girlfriends, and from all parts of the world.
In fact, our kids' school hosts children from over 40 different nations.
That's some serious diversity!

Now that we're (mostly) settled here,  and we have a great group of friends to gather, I'm putting together a book study!

At the moment, I'm trying to choose between two of Jen Hatmaker's books.

I've just read "7", which is honestly one of the best books I've ever read.
It was very timely for me, and from what I hear, it's been very timely for most of my friends.
I haven't touched Interrupted yet, but it's just been released again and I've heard it's also a great read.

For those of you who are avid readers (or Bible-study-goers), which of these two books would you suggest that our little group should dive into as our first read?

Let me know what you think - opinions wanted!

And yes, I supposed I'll have to post a few pics of us chatting over our book as we're poolside or beachside...hee hee...life in the islands is rough!

Blessings & Cheers!

Those Crafty Fijian Mamas

Hello my dear craft-loving friends.

This week marks a lovely milestone for women across Fiji, as we celebrate the first National Women’s Expo, here in Suva.

You see, for the first time ever, Suva is hosting a massive Fiji-wide handicraft (all things handmade) fair to celebrate the beautiful talents of the local women of these islands.

Fiji is such a beautiful country, but it still has a long way to go in appreciating its women. 

There are not a lot of opportunities for women living in more rural parts of the country, so an opportunity to showcase and sell their handmade wares is rare and wonderful!

The expat community only heard about this fun event last night.  

Thanks to Facebook, the word got out quickly and we were all there to shop and support these mamas today. 

Here is what they had to offer!

 Color, color, color... I can never get enough of fun colors!

Notice the shy-smiles?

I come from a land that's currently selfie-obsessed, while these ladies were very hesitant to have their picture taken at all.  Sweet humility.

Is this the cutest thing ever?  

I had to remind myself that we will be here for three years, so there was no need to buy every single thing that I instantly loved! 

I did come home with a SaluSalu, which has been on my list since we arrived.

It's meaning is similar to the Hawaiian Lei, but instead of fresh flowers, these are carefully hand-made from coconut trees!
(No, I won't be sporting it daily to the local markets, it's going to be used for home decor!)

I also bought these fun beaded necklaces that are made from recycled materials.

On a green note, Fijian crafts are made almost entirely of natural or recycled goods.  

We don't have access to a Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's or Walmart (go ahead and gasp), so you use whatever you can get your hands on.

It's true creativity!

I’m thrilled that an event such as this is happening here in Fiji.  

With recent emerging concepts such as Noonday Collection and World Vision Micro, our eyes are being opened to ways that we can truly touch the world with our spending choices.

We can be responsible consumers.

Instead of shopping at your local mall, how about spending your cash in a way that directly puts food on someone else’s table? 

That’s buying with a purpose, so I’m all in!

To read more about how your purchase choices can greatly affect wonderful women across the globe, read Jen Hatmaker’s recent blog post, “Women Hold Up Half the Sky”.

As always, thanks so much for tuning into my little glimpse of life. 

Blessings!

Celebrating Easter. In Fiji!

Yes, it looks like a lot of my blog titles will be something like “___________ in Fiji!”.

At least for a little while.

I’m hoping to get back on the blog regularly now that I've figured out the basics of living here – like what to eat for example! 

I did want to post some fun pics of our first Easter here.  Our household goods just arrived a few weeks ago, so I had to scramble to find all of our Easter décor.  

This was such a big move for us, so I’m trying to make the house seem more like our “home” every day. (instead of taking my typical 6 months to get pictures hung on the walls...)

We've had this Easter tree forever, but this past fall I found these glass ornaments on clearance at Pier One for...66 cents a piece!  I bought a slew of them!

A sweet friend gave us a few craft sets for these egg carton flower bouquets.  My nine year old sweet pea made them all by herself.

Well, a very crafty French friend saw these bouquets and went on and on about how beautiful the colors came out when I dyed the cartons.  I had to break it to her that I did not dye the egg cartons myself.  

This was a boxed set.  Pre-dyed. From Target.  

I had to tell the truth before she asked me to share my technique!

My most favorite décor will always be the treasures that we picked up while living in Germany. 

Whether it's Germany, Texas, Colorado, or Fiji, we always hang our German eggs from the trees!

Germany has the most decadent Easter decor.  Sweet and simple.

If you can’t make it across the pond anytime soon, check out the clearance section at your local World Market.  They had oodles of German Easter décor this year.  (I have a really bad habit of ordering from World Market these days…definitely a weakness).

My favorite pic of the weekend is from our Easter party that we had last week.  Not only had most of the kids never dyed eggs, but they had definitely never heard of Cascarones (confetti eggs)!  

We had a massive fight with these and the kids absolutely loved it.

(thanks to Nana & PopPop for sending them over!)

And just in case you've spent some extra time on our beloved Pinterest, plotting out next years' Easter events, let me save you a little time...

If you saw the pin with the awesome little yarn egg that's made using a balloon, here's how ours turned out...

Ha!  Thankfully my sweet girl wasn't too devastated with the outcome.

She still dug the treat out of the mess and ate it anyway.

That's all for now.  

I have plenty to share about our adventures in Fiji, so stay tuned!

Blessings!

Ni Sa Bula! Yep, we're in Fiji!

Hey Friends.  We made it!

After almost a year of planning, plotting and downright (impatiently) waiting, we’re now in Fiji.

Because our last home was Colorado, we’ve had quite the adjustment to the heat and humidity here.

But I’m definitely not complaining!  I’m no fan of cold weather and at this moment, most of the US is getting hammered with cruddy weather right now.  

If you're chilly right now, I feel for ya!

Living on “island time” is a nice adjustment to the crazy schedule-filled lives that most Americans live. (trust me – you’re probably living a crazy schedule-filled life, whether you know it or not!).  

But I do know that there’s a good possibility that island time will get a bit boring for this formerly busy girl!  That’s why my to-do spiral is chock-full of craft projects. (no, that’s not a typo.  I’m old-school and my trusty 50 cent spiral is my rock!)

I want to do this table for the pool patio…

And these lanterns for the backyard…

And maybe this cute skirt?  The ladies here do not wear shorts, so I need some cute skirts like, ASAP!

Getting away from the busy life hopefully means that my creativity will soar once again.

We’ll see!

In the meantime, here’s a few pics of our island time so far….

See you soon!  Poolside?