as of late::

these pictures are in reverse order, but here's a taste of what i've been up to in the hot, hot month of july::

(ok, computer's being dumb and underlining everything below like it's a link. i don't know how to fix that, so just ignore it.)

sam chung workshop at school - he's an amazing ceramic artist. it was so interesting, and one of the best things was his personality. he was so funny, telling stories about his travels, and he is so unassuming and down to earth. loved it!

(his site)

me and some 8th/9th grade girls from my church doing 'the creep' (don't know what i'm talking about? check it out) at the pool! haha each month, my friend jenna and i do an outing with these girls. each one of them is special to me and i enjoy the time we spend with them so much. their parents may think we're investing a lot in their lives, but i know they are definitely investing in mine. <3

we all went to ikea before the pool. raise your glass! haha (i love ikea! tons of stuff there is on my wish list).

p.s. why is the text normal now??? i don't understand... moving on...

here are 2 of my ceramic bowls i've made. :) they have been bisque fired, with the cherry blossom design painted on with a glaze that will fire to be tan with speckles. my original idea was to do this same design, with the same tan glaze, on all my dinnerware pieces (all 20 of them!!! =O that includes extras, though), with the background glaze being teal. well, i was only able to do that on my plates. i ran out of the teal glaze, and so did the supplier. so, all my rectangular dinner plates will be teal, square salad plates will be a dark green, the bowls (^^^) will be a dark brown, and my mugs will be a dark golden yellow. i hope they all turn out well and flow together. i will be finishing the glazing and firing process next month. :)

hi, my name is leah, and i will go to extreme measures to get a free chick-fil-a meal. proud to be a cow. (that's me on the left :) )

july 4th - charlotte knights baseball game! oh my lands - what a long night. game was delayed an hour and a half due to rain. =/ the game ended about 11:45, fireworks show ended about 12:15. got home around 1am. i just wanted to skip the game and get to the fireworks! haha bad, i know.

this awesome car was parked outside the baseball stadium! haha i loved it.

& what would summer be without pool days? ;) my friend jenna and i.

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so, this saturday i'm leaving for a week to kure beach, nc with my family. favorite spot in the world. i'll try to update from there. i'm hoping to get some crafty/artsy-ness done while there, including:

1) starting/working on the embroidery on a dress i'm making

2) sew the dress (bodice is done pretty much)

3) paint a few small ink & watercolor pieces

4) think up ideas for a sewing project for my niece

i hope i'm that productive! i'll see y'all later :)

thanks for reading!

-leah-

rolling thunder & 'where am i wearing'

i love summer thunderstorms. so ironically peaceful, especially if you're laying in bed listening to them (wish i had been - they're over now).

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i promised a book review earlier, but it won't be long, because long reviews are boring. and to be quite honest, no one wants to read 5 paragraphs about this book i read when you have about a kajillion other blogs to read. yeah, i get you. i understand. ;)

but! it was really good, and i highly recommend it to everyone. it is called:

"Where am I Wearing: A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People that Make Our Clothes" by Kelsey Timmerman.

essentially, it was about this young 20-something guy traveling the world in search of the factories that made some of his favorite articles of clothing. he was like a private investigator, but moreso for his own knowledge, examining the conditions the garment workers had to work in, how they lived, their income, how factories and clothing companies were set up and run, etc. i really enjoyed kelsey's writing style. going into this work of non-fiction, i was expecting a lot of big words, tons of facts and statistics, and dry writing. i found none of that in his book (you did use some big words, kelsey, i'll give you that! haha). it was very easy to read and follow, and his style was as if he was just one of your friends sitting with you over a cup of coffee, telling you about his travels. he made friends with a lot of the garment workers, spending a lot of time with them in their homes and villages, over meals, and doing fun activities (i.e. bowling, amusement parks, etc.). these personal experiences of his made the facts and the "meat" of his book personable. he isn't a huge aid organization, writing a huge summary on their work. just one guy, traveling alone, making friends, and learning about the reality of life halfway around the world.

one thing that really stuck with me after reading this was his perspective on child workers. before reading this book, i would say i was one of those people who immediately dismissed the notion of a child worker in another country making my clothes. how awful that would be! people should never shop at those stores that approve of this! however...after hearing kelsey out, i no longer take that stance. think about it - if we banned buying clothes from the companies/stores/countries that use children/teens to make them, we're not really helping them. the company loses $, the children may lose their jobs, and then no one's benefiting. as is the case with a lot of the children/teens kelsey met, these children may very well be the sole providers for their family. their parents may not be able to work, are probably living in a faraway village, they probably have a handful of siblings to take care of also, etc. kelsey brings up the better issue of learning to take a step back from these situations, and think about the true well-being of that child and family, within the context of their country. (not every country can or ever will be like the u.s., with the endless blessings and opportunities we have.) maybe companies can pull out the children from the factories and initiate an education program where they can attend school. maybe they can increase the pay and decrease the long hours these children/teens/adults work. the list of maybes can go on...

long story short, great book. great writing. big issues everyone should think about. (i said it'd be a short review, but i guess not - sorry! haha). big thanks to everyone who read all of that :)

here's the author's website: http://whereamiwearing.com/

what do you think about all of that? i'd love to hear your opinions on child workers, garment factories, etc. if you have them! leave me a comment or 2 :)

wordless Wednesday

First of all, if you haven't entered my giveaway, go enter!

It ends tomorrow at midnight (EST), so act fast!

(It's for Wall Graphics from LargeFormatPosters.com)

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On to the pictures...

This past weekend I was in the Asheville area celebrating my kindred spirit's graduation. I'm so proud of her! It was a lot of fun catching up & hanging out with all my friends. And that area is gorgeous around spring/summer. :)

Brittany & I after her graduation. Yayyyy Brit Brit :)

Sarah, me, Brittany, Jenna, & Sarah - reunited again.

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Check back tomorrow - I'll be posting pictures of some new jewelry I've made!