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xo

I’m moving

Hi friends,

I am moving my blog to www.kisacollections.com

Please subscribe over there! Maybe I’ll make you a baked potato if you do…

Morel mushrooms and mother’s day…

This was our dinner the other night…

It was ammmmazzzzing…

Since we have been grown…usually my own mother is happily hunting morel mushrooms in the woods instead of with us…which is awesome! She gets this crazy passionate fire in her eyes when she talks about mushroom season and deserves more than anyone some alone time in the woods…

This year everything is early…lilacs, the everything including mushrooms so she had gone the weekend before. Her and her partner in mushrooming crime:) found a haul rain or shine!

We were so blessed to have this gourmet meal shared…a fresh morel mushroom, fresh farm raised eggs, and fresh asparagus omelet…

Note the purple hue of fresh asparagus, so tender, never stringy and from what is left of the little green house, the asparagus and rhubarb patches…

The leaf is a Nettle. They bring us back to Turkey…my cute father-in-law would go pick this prickly green without gloves…ouch! Bring them back for my mother-in-law to saute with onions and lots of olive oil. Side of fresh yogurt… delicious!

Unfortunately no picks yet but my dear hubby has been making fresh yogurt for us. It is amazing how moving across the world brought out the chef in him…I did the same in Turkey…

I don’t have a picture of the final omlette either but you just have to take my word for it that it was one of the best things I have ever eaten;)

On this mother’s day I feel so blessed with two daughter’s of my own. To have the most amazing role model mother as well as dear sweet aunties and mother-in-law!

Thank you everyone for your help!

xo

Lakes instead of seas…railroad tracks…

This gallery contains 18 photos.

My little family and I left the Aegean Sea months ago… I miss it! The smell, the color shift depending on the mood of sky…from blues to greens to grays and back again… that salty smell… That vibrancy in that … Continue reading →

Inspiration

With beautiful natural eggs colors like these you don’t need to dye eggs for Easter.

Been making connections and finding inspiration in others stories as I let my feelers out into the world.

Some fun things:

A family friend, Beth Mathews especially if you are interested in graphic design but she shares many fabulous things, a big sweetheart…

From Beth I found this textile designer, sewer extrodinar and mother of six, Anna Marie Gorgeous color and patterns.

Locally, I had cut out an inspiring article about a darling colorful baby shoe designer, Chelsea of Chelsea-baby. She started out of her parent’s basement too and is blossoming right now! I was lucky enough to meet her down my street! Chance or fate:)

I had a meeting this week with a store. Although it wasn’t the right fit for the product I have now it made me prepare. I met a nice shop women with lots of high-end retail experience who gave me a lot of feedback and I don’t think will mind if I contact her with future questions. Learned about a cool high end site, twist with delicious jewelry! Thanks Amanda!

Nava Zahavi, who takes Byzantine, this Turkish flair of jewelry to another level!

Dolores Petunia, have been admiring her work for a long time! Colors, colors and quality funky pieces!

My friend Molly, a talented artist who is about to launch an Etsy store…patiently await but here is her blog for now,there there. You should be excited for her watercolors! Thanks for her critics and advice as well!

Mimi…hey girl thanks for the good eye and feedback!

To my mom and hubby for support and watching the bigs(our daughter) so much!

Budding…

The weather has been amazing here…and nature knows what to do…pops of vibrant new growth green contrast from the hearty brown that survived the winter.

As my baby belly grows big I feel constant flutters of life and an occasional bum or elbow stick out for it all to be so real.

Baby dear #1 is excited for “my baby”…her baby sister to join us…she thinks she is at least…

My hubby is settling in but misses his country. Not so much his country but the lifestyle he knew. Everyone knows him, he has tons of respect and a good reputation built up there. A go getter who can no longer do it all by himself. Language and delicious Turkish food. (I miss the food too and feel fortunate to be able to relate to all those feelings as I lived in his country for 5 years:)

I have been writing lately. Feels good. Defining what I’m doing. reminiscing. exploring. The beginning of a bio for my new Kisa Kollections website, perhaps?

Since I can remember I have loved the hunt and the gather with my hands… my eyes… the experiences with all the senses involved…that treasure hunt for beautiful and interesting things.

Lilac flowers pop in May in Minnesota. When I was young during this time this was MY hunt.

I would creep in around neighbors yards, having previous years mentally mapped out where the most fragrant lilacs bloomed.

Down by the edge of the road grew the whitest ones, the lightest lavender hue.

If I stood on my tippy toes at the edge of the neighboorhood I could pull down the branch and clip the coveted “double” one, double dose of pretty petals.

The smaller variety with the deepest lavender hue popped from the corner of the yard, over the compost heap.

I would bundle these beauties all together and present them, usually to my mother, to adorn the dining room table and allow us all to gasp at their fragrance and beauty.

My own back yard has grown, although solidly rooted in Minnesota but branches have embraced experiences around the world, most personally profound were 5 year stints in each southern California and my now second home of Turkey.

While my hunt has progressed from lilacs to other lovely treasures to adorn the body and elicit gasps of “where did you find that?”. My heart remains the same.

I hope you will enjoy the collections I have put forth for you. You too appreciate the hunt, the travel and the stories interwoven in the pieces; from their evolution of materials, ancient techniques and histories, to story of how they got on your lovely self.

wear, share and make new stories…

How are you all?

How is spring effecting you?

Just a little reminder…I heart comments!

xo

Silk cocoons and lust…

Once upon a time…

when my husband was just my cute Turkish fling…

Pre-babies and stresses and worries(or different types of stresses and worries, much more egocentric)…

Pre-big love…just an evolving love…a lust…

We would take long drives through the twisty mountain roads behind our little college town of Eskişehir, Turkey…

We would save tortises from becoming road kill and stop for Turkish tea breaks in shacks set up by villagers for the sole purpose to make a few extra kuruş (pennies)…

We would use our “arkadaş”, friend in Turkish, which was our nickname for our little pocket dictionaries we carried everywhere for translation assistance as we fell in lust…then big-love through eyes and kind gestures…actions, not the words…those came later…

On one of our drives we happened into a friend’s village…

A village filled with crumbling stone buildings, lush gardens, huge Turkish hospitality and one big salmon pink cement building filled to the brim with silk moth pods…these cocoons…millions of them…

The villagers would “grow” the moths, or their caterpillars which twirl into cocoons in their fields(nature is so amazing!). The villagers would then harvest them, branches and all, as to not disrupt the fine continuous strands that silk is revered for. They proceed to bring them to this pink pop of a building for processing.

The cocoons then go into a big oven room (scarily reminded me of a concentration camp or something) and the worms perish as their fine silk thread cocoons are salvaged and woven into one luxurious type of fabric, fiber or thread…

The thermometer gauge…ekkk…

So very interesting I must say. There is often such a disconnect from how things are made. I love learning the whole process of a craft. Can you imagine just how many of those pods it takes to make a lovely silk necklace from me:)

I really enjoyed seeing this those years ago when I was falling in love:)

Grateful to say I still love silk and my husband even more!

P.S. It’s official my darlings! I have a name for my little evolving jewelry collection, Kisa Kollections.
There is alot of silk and alot of love in this venture as well:)

Do you stop to smell the flowers?

“Action is magic. When you start taking consistent action, you will see results!” -Marie Fowleo-

“A goal with out a plan is just a wish.” -Antoine de Saint-Expery-

Now…imagine a man with a violin playing in the subway…read on…

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist.

Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the top musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written,with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story.

Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people.

The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty?

Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Here’s the video

What have YOU noticed today?

Have you stopped to smell the flowers?

To play with your child instead of hurrying along?

To kiss your husband and appreciate how he washed the dishes or whatever?

To call an old friend?

To interact with a stranger?

To prepare food with your own hands and sit down and taste it?

To say thank you to someone…eliniz sağlik(health to your hands)

To notice how beautiful the ice has crystallized on the window (this is one of my favorite things in the morning…through one window when the sunlight illuminates it so beautifully!

Can you share with me something you noticed or appreciated today? Did you perceive beauty in the unusual?

The above necklaces are some more examples of OYA, the Turkish needle lace. The red is crocheted while the white and purple are woven using only a needle and thread…that will make slow down…

xo

Busyness planning…

Well my darlings, many of you know of my craftiness and wanderlust and my hope to bundle it into a sweet business package or two:)

My biggest excuse or complaint is not that I can’t do it but my lack of time, or is it my own focus? This new path has not been paved for me before…Fresh asphalt found and laid by me…so…

I have enlisted help;

A: My most important job still is mother. And mothering is no joke. I have the utmost respect for single-mothers, all mothers truly! If you do it well that involves constant attention, teaching, monitoring, healthy food preparations and clean ups, laughter, patience and so much love but I am trying to balance it all a bit more. Chasing balance…(megs)

B: Between my own dear mother, my hubby and his enrollment in English courses that offer childcare it is such a gift! Dearest aunties and uncles close by are so sweet to help when they can!

C: Finding a schedule…I have to work in the mornings! This growing baby belly makes me sooooo sleepy other times of the day! Or evenings if a nap was fit in:)

D: I enrolled in a small business class at women venture to kind of figure out if this is a feasible, viable idea for me and my small growing family. Trying make a real go of it. Help with pricing and where to sells…so hard…the making and collecting is the fun part …not so much a fan of the rest of it:)

I have scratched the name Mavisu Designs and am leaning towards Tied to Travel?, Traveled and Tied? something…anyone help me brainstorm here…silken wanderlust?…

Here is my “elevator pitch” for the class…the 30 seconds you may have to tell someone what you do:

-Tied and traveled designs are my jewelry lines that evolved from two of my most life changing experiences, the loss of my father and living abroad(ultimately making a second home) in the country of Turkey.

-Tied: stems from repurposing my father’s stunning silk ties into modern, wearable art. Custom orders are very welcome to help you keep a bit of your loved one close.

-Traveled: While living in Turkey I was constantly inspired by bold colors and textures. These collections use hand-dyed Turkish silks, semi-precious stones, gold plated brass and hand-woven needle lace flowers with their own story to tell.

So…

This is a design I did for my sister using on of our Dad’s pasley ties(he could pull of anything and look handsome, even look manly in pink!), vintage buttons, rough cut dyed agates, baroque pearls and a little lace…

You like? I am kind of a tease as many of you said you liked my Turkish imports…but I promise I am getting my act together and things will be up for sale soon!

Thanks for reading…

Thanks for looking…

Thanks for the support…and patience…

xo

Where have you been?

Hello darlings, Any of you out there who still may stumble upon this blog…

Where have I been? Well…

I suppose I was/am nesting…

Nurturing that hilarious two year old with the exploding vocabulary while growing another little one in my belly. Motherhood is a busy little existence.

We walk in the snow, pushing strollers or pulling sleds depending on that great truth of Minnesota winters; the weather. Relishing in this year’s mildness. Feed the squirrels and the birds. Dig in snow and dirt. Walk across frozen lakes. Pet puppies and drink hot chocolate.

Lots of cooking going on in my momma’s kitchen(She is sharing her house again with us); The inspiration that is her own elegant presence and wealth of knowledge she is mixed with piles of cookbooks and cooking magazines and yes folks…all in the English language:)

We needed recovery time from the craziness of the holiday season, although enjoyed extended family time while we waited for our own small family to be reunited, my mysterious Turkish husband that wooed me in his land almost 5 years ago…

I have a consistent yoga practice now and feel pretty rockstar about my chaturanga dandasana done on my knees with a big round belly.

As of a week ago we feel more complete because baba(daddy) has joined us in Minnesota after 3 long months of separation. For days baby girl had to ask him, “no going?” for fear he may leave. Now they just laugh together. The kind of child’s giggle he evokes from her makes you smile no matter your mood! So nice to be together…I steal kisses all day long…

As we are a united front again it is nice to feel like we can settle in a bit here. It is no longer a place to come on vacation and fit into the cracks of everyone’s everyday life. Attempting to make Minnesota the home base(for now…yes I did just write that). Get a routine. Get a plan. Take some action together. Support each other.

How are you?