Warby Parker.

I'm thrilled to announce that after Amy nervously saying, "Kati, someone just rang the doorbell", I found this little box of joy on my doorstep. Hello, home try-on kit from Warby Parker.

Warby Parker is like TOMS for your eyes. They pride themselves on offering affordable, stylish, vintage-inspired eyewear at affordable prices. And according to their webpage, about 1 billion people worldwide lack access to glasses, a statistic that has a major impact on education and vocation success. Since they believe everyone has the right to see, with every pair of glasses you buy, they send one to someone who needs them. So someone else gets the gift of sight and you get to look incredibly stylish for the rest of time. Or for six months if your eyes, like mine, continue at a slow jaunt down into the pit of blindness despite the absurd amount of carrots you consumed in your childhood as a preventative measure that only resulted in your nose turning orange.

But still. At a price point of $95, even I can afford to keep up with the atrophy of my eyeballs.

And to eliminate the anxiety associated with ordering something as important and appearance-altering as glasses on the internet, the good folks at Warby Parker will let you select up to five frames that they will send you, free of charge, allowing you to make an informed decision in the privacy of your own home. And they include a pre-paid return shipping label. Upon reading this, I said, "sign me up." So here we are.

Ainsworth in Striped Chestnut

Clyde in Striped Chestnut

Preston in Whiskey Tortoise

Sloan in Rum Cherry

Sloan in Striped Chestnut

I now have five days to make a decision. What do you think?

That time I went to way too much trouble in order to not take advantage of modern conveniences.

About three months ago, I decided I wanted recipe cards.

I was laughed at by Pinterest mavens and iPhone loyalists for my antiquated preferences. Why would I ever want to write out an ingredient list and instructions by hand on a flammable scrap of paper I could easily lose and spend hours/days/weeks/eons searching for instead of calling up the desired recipe using a handy-dandy search bar? A question to which my reply will always be, "in the case of a worldwide power outage during which I have accidentally dropped my laptop off an overpass and my cell phone battery has been pilfered by bandits, it will be nice to know that somewhere in the gigantic jumble of papers in the cabinet above the stove lies an elegantly-designed note card which will allow me to make some top-notch banana bread".

To that end, I've spent the last three months stopping in to every paper store I've stumbled across, scouring each one for the perfect set of recipe cards. My first thought was to buy some pre-made cards, but I quickly foresaw what would happen on the day I used the last one. I anticipated three possible outcomes. Behind door number one, I was successfully able to locate more of the same design, purchased them, and carried on blissfully until the last card in that pack had been used. In scenario number two, being unable to find more identical cards, I picked a different design, bought an absurd number, and copied my existing library onto the new cards to preserve unity with any new recipes I may eventually add to my arsenal. And, most tragically, option number three also began with me unable to find more of the original card and ended with me deciding never to add any new cards because option two seemed ridiculous and combing through a conglomerate of non-matching cards wasn't worth having the ability to create more than eight dishes for the rest of my life.

This was when I had the idea to buy a spoon stamp, offering me the ability to make an infinite number of recipe cards to my exact specifications. So really the last three months have been a ludicrously unsuccessful search for a spoon stamp. Shortly after my return from New York, after another disappointing tour through all the craft supply shops in town, the following realization whacked me in the face:

"You have a computer, amateur design abilities, and a printer. Also, cardstock is on sale this week at Michael's."

I immediately rushed home to create these:

 I find myself overwhelmingly pleased with them. And appreciate the wisdom inherent in affording myself the opportunity to circumvent all three of the aforementioned options, barring lack of a printer, cardstock, and the PDF I will share with you now.

Click here to have the option to continue living in the days of the pioneers in style.

Hope you enjoy as much as I do.

A hilarious video with an important message.

Last night a friend of mine mentioned this video to me and posted it on my Facebook wall when she got home. My life is better because she did.

As someone interested in having a career in international development, I see in this video a really tragic theme I've seen repeated over and over again as I've taken classes and done research on global aide projects. Obviously smoothie makers are a totally irrelevant item to needy people living in rural Africa. And while this parody may present the limit case, it's not nearly as far from the truth as you wish it was. I saw this in action even as recently as my trip to New York. I spent a day sorting donated items to be shipped out to shelters and food banks around the city and was unfortunately unsurprised by the presence of really obscure, unnecessary items and the absence of other really important ones. My least favorite phrase tossed around in reference to aide programs is this:

"At least we/I/you/she/he did something."

I cringe even typing it. If we're going to invest money in improving the quality of life experienced by people across the globe, why not make that money produce the best outcomes possible? Why not dignify the downtrodden by taking the time to ask them what they perceive their needs to be and then seeking to meet them in the same way we would meet the needs of a dearly loved family member? In my head, this is just common sense. But you'd be surprised by the number of organizations that design programs based on their own preconceptions of the target community and don't take the time to evaluate the efficacy of their programs.

More Than Good Intentions is a book that's really helped me organize my thoughts on this subject and acquire a vocabulary with which to express them. I highly recommend for absolutely everyone. It's easy to read and addresses the important subject of how we go about offering the best to those who have very little. At the end, the authors summarize the areas in which they've seen the most success in order to help readers learn how to give their time and money where it counts. Definitely check it out from the library or pick it up from a bookstore. Or come over and borrow it from me. Cause I want you to read this book.

Pizza party.

Today, after a long hiatus, I had the divine pleasure of having lunch with my mother and sister. My whirlwind two weeks, Mom's work schedule, and the Vocal Music Workshop Amy was participating in had effectively stymied Turner-girl quality time, but on this blessed Thursday, the stars aligned and we were able to partake of some delicious pizza from Gus' Original together. We enjoyed sparkling conversation, the Spanaka and the Garlic Tomato, and soda in glass bottles. The rest of the family has been raving about Gus' for a good while and now I understand why. Phenomenal crust, creative recipes, and plenty of outdoor seating? I'm sold.

We rounded out the meal with a trip to the Pump House, our new favorite frozen yogurt source, and made a quick trip to Fruitbasket Flowerland to take advantage of a sale on Adirondack chairs.

A pretty excellent way to spend a Thursday.

Time to assume my role as the keeper of the tacos. Adios.

NYC.

After an incredible week away, I have returned to the land shaped like a hand. My time in New York was exciting, challenging, refreshing, and exactly what I needed. A high intensity week was peppered with great food, fellowship that filled my heart to overflowing daily, and plenty of rounds of 500, my favorite card game and a church trip staple during my years in the youth group. I had a blast hanging out with high schoolers and reigniting my passion for service and working with the poor. It was awesome to learn about how New York is working to meet the needs of its people and to come alongside them to offer what we could for a week. Our trip was equal parts service and education; we spent loads of time taking walks through various parts of the city to learn how the residents do life and listened to awesome speakers talk about how they integrate faith and work.

We stayed at the New York School of Urban Ministry, an awesome organization that offers service trips of various lengths, summer internships for college students, and cheap housing for groups like us who want to spend a week learning about and working in the city. We spent a couple days working with them, but most of our time was spent on activities we had organized ourselves. I loved the projects we did with them, so I definitely recommend checking them out is you're planning a trip to New York and want to have an atypical vacation.

We took all of our students to the World Trade Center memorial and St. Paul's Chapel which was an incredibly moving experience for everybody. Our kids were between the ages of 3 and 5 when 9/11 happened, so many of the details were new for them. Having been only 10 myself, I certainly remembered how it had affected life in America differently than they did and being on-site, especially in St. Paul's, was powerful. The design of the North and South pools evokes a really powerful imagery and really poetically and appropriately commemorates the tragic events of that day. I'm way glad we took time to go.

This was my first trip as a leader with the church I grew up in and I absolutely loved it. I learned so much about myself and what I'm capable of. It was as if something in my mind woke up and I begin to see more clearly as I thought about my future and what it would look like to live a life committed to integrating my faith into my career. I filled up page after page of my journal with thoughts and ideas and bits of the vision I have for my life after grad school. This trip to New York was perfectly timed. Like a divine appointment.

Because one observes a city completely differently when seeking to document it vs. seeking to absorb the way life is done there, we decided against bringing cameras on the trip. However, as a leader, I was to judiciously document important moments with my phone. The result was 18 instagrams for your perusal. Enjoy.