About

I'm so glad you are here!  Find out a little more about me below.

Who am I?
My name is Kari, and I live with my husband in a suburb of Kansas City.  I love making super easy crafts and records.  I've always been drawn to vintage stuff, which is why we bought a house a few years ago that was built in the 1950s.  It's got a few cracks in the walls, but that just adds to its charms.  There's just something about an item that someone else has owned that really gets to me.  I envision that it has an incredible story that I get to be a part of. 
 

What does the title of the blog mean?
"This" is the name of my handmade necklace and headband business.  I wanted to think of a word that could mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.  "This is           "  (you fill in the blank).  "This" to me is making the most of this whole shebang and discovering why I'm here.  I want to enjoy these moments and not let them pass me by as I'm waiting for the next one.  When I started this blog, I wanted something that kept that same theme, but also differentiated itself from my handmade wares.  Around this time, I was reading "Romance: A Novel" by Joseph Conrad and Ford Maddox Hueffer (Ford).  The basis of the book is that a boy from England is in search of adventure, of Romance.  (Romance here doesn't necessarily mean couple love, but finding adventure and passion in the world).  So he goes to sail the south seas and finds lots of adventure along the way, as well as love.  I won't spoil the end of the book for you, but the last line is as follows:
"And, looking back, we see Romance—that subtle thing that is mirage—that is life. It is the goodness of the years we have lived through, of the old time when we did this or that, when we dwelt here or there. Looking back, it seems a wonderful enough thing that I who am this, and she who is that, commencing so far away a life that, after such sufferings borne together and apart, ended so tranquilly there in a world so stable—that she and I should have passed through so much, good chance and evil chance, sad hours and joyful, all lived down and swept away into the little heap of dust that is life. This, too, is Romance!"

So that last line kind of stuck.  To me it means that I don't have to be doing extraordinary things to have an extraordinary life.  What I'm doing is enough, because when I look back years from now I'll realize that I have been living the adventure all along.  So I better start keeping track of it now.

Am I always that nerdy?
I guess I was pretty long winded in the answer to the above question, but yes, while I try to hide my nerdy side, it always seems to sneak through.

What is my favorite food?
A nice hot, toasted sandwich.  Most weekends (who am I kidding, all weekends), you can find us at our nearby Planet Sub for lunch.  I can't argue with delicious.

Who are my favorite authors?
Top 4 are: Ernest Hemingway, Somerset Maugham, Joseph Conrad, and Ayn Rand.  I also am an avid collector of first or early editions from these authors.  There is something about an old book from your favorite author.  I love the smell and the feeling that someone else has read this book and was moved by it as well.  It makes me feel like I'm having conversations with each of these authors to get a glimpse of what they thought the meaning of life is. 

Top word that describes me?
Consistent.  I've been described as consistent my whole life and really value it in others.  While I know you can't plan everything, I like to know what to expect from others and from my day.  I like switching it up a bit, but I am the girl who ate the same lunch from elementary school to senior year of college.  I like what I like.  And don't say I can't change.  I used to get cold sandwiches from Planet Sub, but after 5 years of that, I switched it up to hot sandwiches.  So, there's that.

My Biggest Dream?
That my husband and I lived on a sailboat and sailed around the West Indies exploring secluded islands.  Dare to dream big, right?  I never thought I'd have a corporate job and still be in Kansas, but I do love my life.  It's all about redefining your dreams.  Last year my husband and I took a sailing class.  Granted it was on land, and we never went into water, but it's still a step in the right direction, right?  It's important to have dreams, but also just as important to open your eyes to your current life and realize how good things are here.  But who knows?  Maybe one day...