hello! and a sale.

Hullo there!  Things are calm and slow and just hangin' on around here, kinda like this gross rain and lingering winterish weather.  I've got a small icky cold that won't go away but I'm pushing through it and doing tons of spring cleaning and organizing around our apartment.  Except laundry, because Travis has my valentine hidden in our laundry room (whaaat???) so I'm not allowed in there.  You'll hear no complaints from me.  ;)

So I wanted to give you a little heads up about a sale in my shop in honor of the upcoming lovey-dovey holiday and... my 25th birthday!  So from Valentine's day through my birthday (2/14 - 2/20) you can take 20% off any purchase from my shop with the code "BIRTHDAYLOVE".  Yippee!

bonnie sparkles

This girl, oh my goodness.  We are crazy about her!  She's been ours for five whole months now, and I can't remember what life was like before we brought her home.  She has been a breeze to train and while she still "forgets" some commands and things occasionally, overall, she's so well behaved.  We feel like luck was on our side when we chose this little darling.  I think she's awfully pretty too.  ♥

sounds good

We are so addicted to weekends lately!  Saturdays are the besssst.  This is still kinda new for us, getting to have the weekends off together, since Travis began his new (Monday-Friday) job in October.  We almost never have any real plans on Saturdays other than going wherever the wind takes us.  So just last Saturday, after a french toast breakfast, we checked out a cute local record store that our friend recently recommended to us, and I think it's our new favorite.  It's a little hole-in-the-wall place that's only open on Saturdays.  The owner is a wealth of knowledge of all things in the musical realm, I loved eavesdropping on his conversations with other customers...  he knew everything!  We left with a stack of new music and our turntable has been spinning ever since.  I bought that Lady & the Tramp one as well as a Snow White narrative...  for my Disney collection!

Can't wait for next Saturday...

new in shop: caroline

Here's the newest addition to my shop, Caroline!  More dolls are in the works for this upcoming week as well.  My goal is to make & list 2-3 new dolls every week!  I really wish I could do more but time just won't allow it at this point.  I'm so thankful that this is something I truly love to do!  And I couldn't be more thankful for so many kind folks showing me their love and support.  Best feeling ever!  

Today is for morning workouts, french toast, thrifting, and shopping for records with my hubby.  ♥

introducing: dolls for orphans

Hi friends.  I am so happy to have my shop open again after a little break over the holidays, and I wanted to tell you a little bit about something new that I'm doing this year.  It's sort of been nicknamed Dolls for Orphans, and this idea was inspired by my very creative and visionary friend John, who emailed me months ago with some ideas and suggestions that have taken form and resulted in this little project for which I have big dreams and high hopes.  I am thankful to belong to an amazing church that sends teams of incredible people into countries stricken with poverty to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and who won't mind toting along a few boxes of dolls every so often to distribute to young girls in orphanages and poor villages.  In order to make this happen, I have added two new listings to my shop.

The first, is called Dolls for Orphans - Buy One, Send One.  The idea is pretty much identical to TOMS shoes.  Folks can purchase this listing for $40, which covers the cost of a custom doll that they can choose colors and patterns for, as well as the cost required for me to create a special doll that will be sent to a country like Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, or Burkina-Faso.  I can even make the dolls identical, to represent the buyer's tender hearted sponsorship to put a doll into the hands of a sweet orphan girl.  I hope that this little opportunity to send a token of love to a child in need can be a way for folks here in the states to teach their children about the world as a whole, so they can have a greater understanding of our responsibility to care for the orphans and people who have less than us.

The second new listing is simply called Dolls for Orphans, and instead of being a Buy One, Send One listing like TOMS, it just sends one doll to an orphanage.  This listing can be added to another order of a ready-to-ship doll in my shop, or purchased on it's own to send a bit of love without needing anything in return.  To the very best of my ability, I will try to email every single buyer to tell them specifically where their sponsored doll will be sent.  

This project is very near to my heart, and I hope you will come alongside me in prayer as things get moving.  If you would like to purchase one of these listings to send a doll to an orphan please visit my shop!  Or if you have any questions or suggestions for me I'd love to hear from you - feel free to email me at stephanielynnekuhn@gmail.com.

Thanks so much for reading, and for supporting me!  I truly treasure you!

a new year

One of my favorite things about ringing in a new year is getting to start a brand new reading list!  In 2012 I managed to read 41 books and begin 5 others.  The titles pictured above are my top 3 favorites from this year, and I can't recommend them highly enough!  Are you planning on reading any specific books this year?  Do you have any recommendations for me?  I'd love to check them out!  

In addition to a new reading list, I've begun writing up a fresh list of goals for 2013 as well.  It's still a work in progress, but I am eager to learn new things and grow in every area of my life this year.  I think my word for this new year is grow.  I want to grow closer than ever to the Lord, grow in my marriage, grow my tiny business, grow in skill and knowledge, and grow into healthier habits.  Do you have some goals written down for 2013?  If you blog about them please share a link in the comments!

merry & bright

Just a little photo recap of our Christmas.  This year's trip to Arizona was about a week too short, I was not at all ready to come home, but alas - here we are back in the good ole south.  In all honesty I'm just happy to have the hours traveling by air behind me...  flying isn't my favorite thing ever.  Santa was far too good to us.  Lots of little treasures from the most thoughtful families imaginable.  I miss them.  All five days of our trip were packed with visits.  Grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, siblings, parents, and all my favorite furry four legged friends.  Oh yes, even Bonnie came and she had the best time.  I'm still in disbelief at how amazing she was during our travels.  Lots of happy memories were added to our already huge stockpile of happy memories.  ♥  Thankful.