[free]day

[free]day friday.

found this on my street.

and i love it.

her name is jill.

and she is a child's chair.

she would be fine the way

she is, but i think

she needs a brighter,

more vibrant life.

stay tuned to find out

how she turns out.

enjoy your lovely fridays dear friends.

do you have any fun plans for the weekend?

my saturday is going to

consist of garage sale-ing

with my beautiful cousin-in-law.

i can't wait to show you my finds.

          .jessnicole.

lost & found

yes. yes. yes.

i love thursdays.

today's lost&found

is featuring the

simple & sweet 

jane

here is her lost photo

and here she is, found

she is perfect for a romantic, 

a child, a bedroom, a bathroom,

a hallway or even a study.

you can view more photos of her

and purchase her in my etsy shop.

i hope you all enjoy my favorite day 

of the week, lovely friends.

                  .jessnicole.

pleasing to my eye[s]

here are a few of my favorite finds on etsy. 

i'd like to buy all of them.

some beautiful doily coasters

via little bird vintage

a book necklace

via anticovalore

a classy & stylish lunchpail 

via little bird vintage

some cute cards

via oliveheart

an adorably creative & unique wreath

via sadiie

mini books made from recycled paper & fabric

via anticovalore

and, my favorite, a book ring

via anticovalore

i mean, seriously?! a book ring! 

and that wreath?! how fun to 

see that as you enter into your home.

i would love to use children's

books to create the leafs...

i just love being inspired. 

have a fabulous wednesday, friends.

can't wait to show you my newest 

piece tomorrow.

                       .jessnicole.

poor man's gard[en]

as we are on vacation this week

we are not able to do much in our garden.

but, my husband jonathan did get a chance

last week to begin the front yard phase

of our poor man's gard[en]. 

this phase, i have to warn you, 

is going to take a while & is

going to require a lot of work.

so please be patient. 

and don't judge a book by it's cover.

the inside of our house does not, 

i repeat, does not reflect the exterior.

i will soon provide photos of the interior

of our little home to prove it.

so, with that in mind, here are two photos

of the front of our house at the beginning of 

phase 3 of the poor man's gard[en]

don't judge.

i know. i know. sad. but two of those

juniper bushes are already out.

the remaining four are leaving asap

and we are fixing the sprinklers.

we will eventually get to planting

beautiful flowers, planting ivy to grow

up the rod iron posts and

paint. oh dear, please let us paint.

unfortunately, this is not the home we

own (we are renting it from my parents),

but they are obviously willing to 

let us do minimal work to improve 

the home. so we are limited with what we

can do but we will redeem this home.

on another fun note, we are finally

finishing up the kitchen this coming week 

or so (with the help of my father in law).

the last phase of our kitchen improvement

is the floor.

here is a photo to show you what we

are so excitedly getting rid of

yes. i know. but we are replacing it

with this italian tile

to see what we have already accomplished

on the interior of the kitchen

 & to see the current floor, go here.

to see what we have accomplished in our backyard

go here.

redemption and improving forgotten things

is my absolute favorite.

so, i am super excited to continue

these improvements and show you 

the this home's potential. 

i hope you all enjoy your lovely tuesdays.

i am going to hopefully enjoy the beach.

maybe some thrift store shopping as well.

and thank you so much dear friends

for all of your support these last few

months. it means so much to know

i am believed in & loved.

                       .jessnicole.

garden hands

hello friends. 

i hope you enjoyed your lovely weekend.

jonathan and i did. 

[and we still are. we are with his family in 

newport coast all week. bliss.]

garden hands 

is going to be a monthly feature

used to introduce not-for-profits, organizations,

individuals, and businesses who use their 

expertise, product, and vision to change lives 
through the arts.


i have always been in love with creativity & art
and have increasingly grown in love with 
the disenfranchised over the last few years, 
specifically orphans & the homeless. 


this is one reason why i love los angeles.
i get both of my loves. in one day if i want. 
within a few blocks.  

and i was re-inspired (and reminded) 
this past saturday night

when watching 'the soloist'.

if you haven't seen it, 'the soloist' is 
a true story about nathaniel ayers, 
a man who 
has a nervous breakdown while at juliard. 
he eventually ends up living on 
the streets of los angeles.
steve lopez, a writer for the los angeles times,
is intrigued by nathaniel's story and talent, 
and writes a column about his 
friendship and experience with nathaniel.

one of my favorite lines written by steve lopez summarizes

my heart and dynamics i have learned in loving the poor.

"I now know, after several months of trying to 
coax him toward a safer and more productive life, 
that Nathaniel won't be saved any time soon." 


i, too, have discovered the most important quality with 
helping the homeless, is simply befriending them.


here is a photo of nathaniel ayers

inspired by my recent movie viewing,
today's garden hands features


the lamp community 

(the not-for-profit 
nathaniel ayers is a part of in los angeles)
 values customer choice
over anything else.
they assist individuals with a severe mental 
illness off the streets and into a home. 
this new approach to helping the homeless is called 'housing first' 
and focuses on housing being the absolute first requirement
in ending homelessness. 
once an individual can obtain permanent housing,
mental, emotional & spiritual health can 
then follow. 
without a permanent location to sleep & eat
it often becomes too overwhelming to face
addiction problems or psychological issues.


in my experience chronic homelessness 
(longer or repeated episodes of homelessness; a cycle of homelessness)
 is chronic because of the lack of sufficient permanent housing.
when someone can feel safe in their own home, 
their guards can gradually come down
and they are able to face the more daunting task 
of mental, emotional & physical wholeness.
(please know that i am not saying all homeless are chronic or have severe issues. 
however, in most cases i have experienced 
with a chronically homeless individual it is due to at least 
one severe mental/physical/emotional issue.)


though the ideal is to assist every homeless individual into 
permanent housing, not all individuals want to
return to 'society'. and, living in your own apartment
can often feel unfamiliar &/or overwhelming
 to someone who has lived on the street for a longer period of time.
this is why the lamp community values customer choice over anything else.
someone cannot be forced into a situation without their desire.
which is what makes solving 
homelessness that much more complex.


but for individuals who desire to transition off the streets,
lamp community, has integrated art into their method.
they built an art studio where homeless men and women
can create art. and, through the creating 
and selling of their art, 
can make a living. 
check out lamp community 
& all the amazingness they are doing, here.


to understand and at least get a glimpse of the issues
of homelessness 
see 'the soloist' and

read the full article by steve lopez 
that inspired the movie,
click here. 


or, even better, begin to establish friendship with someone
who is living on the streets. 
buy someone lunch instead of handing 
them a single dollar bill.
it is amazing the stories you will hear. 
and even more sobering
when you realize they experience 
emotion and beauty in similar
ways as you.
(of course do it with someone if you feel uncomfortable)


my wonderful friends, 
i hope you enjoy your lovely monday.
be inspired. love. create. and live beautifully today.


                              .jessnicole.

[free]day

the last two weeks have felt

so productive. 

i am on top of my game.

i've been wanting to upcycle merchandise 

(smaller items for decor & use around the house)

 in addition to my furniture pieces...

so today's [free]day finds

are going to allow me to do just that.

a great frame & fun boxed shelf. 

jonathan and i are heading out today to enjoy 

some coffee & solitude in wonderful los angeles.

enjoy your friday, dear friends. 

                           .jessnicole. 

lost & found

today's lost&found feature is 

earl

he enjoys dressing up, even if it is a bit feminine. 

i think i had the hardest time with this piece - hence the

more masculine name with the modern & feminine upcycle. 

oh, and the fact that i kept changing paint colors. 

i do not know why earl was so difficult for me. 

but, i really like how he looks now!!

so here is his lost photo

and here are his found photos

 and more...
        

        

       

       

he is available to purchase in my etsy shop.

enjoy your thursday. 

it is overcast this morning where we live. 

and i am so grateful. 

now i won't die from heat exhaustion when i work outside.

                      .jessnicole.

poor man's gard[en]

this heat has to go.

it is killing some of our plants.

and is making it really hard to get any gardening done.

unless i want to get up at 6 am. 

yeah, right. 

but if i am going to get up early to garden

i need some inspiration...

via anthro

i love this idea

via oldcrowfarm

and this fun box to plant more of our herbs

via sadieolive

or maybe i should just resort to 

these until the heat passes...

via monkeysalwayslook

i can always get up early and sing to the 

wonderful(& hot) sun.

 while i garden.

via monkeysalwayslook

please don't take my sunshine away...

just the heat.

i am going to try & get up early to garden.

we shall see.

we really want to start working 

on the front of the house & have ideas

of how we are going to build my craft/tool shed.

more to come. 

please keep cool & hydrated.

                       .jessnicole.