Wednesday's words of wisdom: Make art of it all

Oh. my. gosh! I love every single thing about this lovely piece by Amy Rice!  

"Tea" G.I.F. A puppy tea party

Did you know that August 26th is national dog day? Well, it is...(although, every day is national dog day if you ask me).  In honor of man's best friend, here are some "paw"sitively adorable pictures I found of some sweet pups in Britain having a tea party for charity.  Happy Friday! :)

Tea for Blue Cross Animal Charity Photos by: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty images Europe

Wednesday's words of wisdom: Great love

Inspired by one of my all time favourite quotes by Mother Teresa: "We can do no great things, only small things with great Love." A lovely polaroid by Parker Fitzgerald.

Dogs have a new trick: helping kids read

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it is too dark to read." ~Groucho Marx

Mostly everyone knows that dogs are good for your health...but did you also know that they can help kids learn how to read?  This story melted my heart and if you're a lover of books and dogs, I'm sure it'll melt yours too!

Happy reading from Maya & me :)

Music Monday: Summer Skin

Back to school. Back to work. I'm a teacher, all I need are minds for molding.  ;) This song by Death Cab is one of my favourites to listen to when saying so long to sweet summer days.  Enjoy!

Live with more books than you read.

Today is National Book Lovers Day. I happen to be a book lover, so I obviously agree with this quote about owning as many books as possible:

"He should live with more books than he reads, with a penumbra of unread pages, of which he knows the general character and content, fluttering round him. This is the purpose of libraries.... It is also the purpose of good bookshops, both new and secondhand, of which there are still some, and would that there were more. A bookshop is not like a railway booking-office which one approaches knowing what one wants. One should enter it vaguely, almost in a dream, and allow what is there freely to attract and influence the eye.

"To walk the rounds of the bookshops, dipping in as curiosity dictates, should be an afternoon's entertainment. Feel no shyness or compunction in taking it. Bookshops exist to provide it; and the booksellers welcome it, knowing how it will end."

--Economist John Maynard Keynes, as quoted in a Canberra Times piece headlined "Bookshops about more than just purchasing."

Unfortunately many children around the world do not have the luxury of being able to live with more books than they can read...some of them may not have any books at all. But an inspirational company called Out of Print  exists to try and change that.  They make adorable shirts like the one below featuring a classic and fashionable book cover (To Kill a Mockingbird happens to be one of my all time favourites).  For each shirt sold, they donate a book to a child through their partnership with Books for Africa.  

$28 shop here 

If you don't have extra cash to buy a cute T, you can still make a difference by "liking" Out of Print on Facebook. For each "like" they receive, they will donate one book to a child as well.  That's a great way to celebrate national book lovers day if you ask me. :)

"Tea" G.I.F. Sea for two

In honor of shark week, here are some tea things inspired by sea things.  Happy Friday! :)

Sea dream, blue green froggie mug

by: claycreaturecomforts for etsy.

JAPAN RELIEF EFFORTS - Blue Sea Grass Tea bowl

by: Artenchantedstudios for etsy.

100% of proceeds of the sale (minus fees & shipping) will go to earthquake relief efforts.

Mini Round Dish with Sea Horse or Conch Shell Design

by: zinniadesignstc for etsy. 

Perfect for holding tea bags

Sea shell textured Tea Bowls (set of 4)

by: TGRpottery for etsy

Gorgeous Sea Green Squid Octopus Teapot 

by: skybirdarts for etsy.

Wednesday's words of wisdom: Devour

I adore this linen tea towel by Studiopatro.  May the rest of your week be devoted to devouring delicious delicacies like the ones above.  :)

Hungry for change?

FEED Foundation Promo from //kneeon on Vimeo.


Head on over to the FEED shop to buy a bag like the one below and help change a child's life.

This is probably my favourite bag of all for two reasons. 1. It was made by deaf Kenyan women and I teach deaf children and 2) Not only does this purchase support women and deaf Kenyan artisans, but the donation provides nutritious school meals to two Kenyan children for an entire year. 
 Happy shopping! :)

Music Monday: Moving Mountains: Waves

Photo by: Ethan Luck

Moving Mountains is an ambient rock band from NY. "Their Triple Crown Records debut, Waves, harkens back to the early 2000's and finds inspiration from bands like Sunny Day Real Estate & Further Seems Forever." I saw Mov Mou preform at a smaller venue in St. Louis earlier this year, and they were amazing live, so I was beyond excited when I found out they will be joining Thrice on their fall tour (along with La Dispute)!  If you haven't yet, you can buy pre-sale tix here.  

Below is a video of them preforming a song from their new album. Happy listening & if you're in the St. Louis area, I'll see you at the show in October!