Four Birds Flew and Mommy Reads Book Club

Hi loves! Today I get to talk about a few things that I adore: my girlfriend Amanda Martin and her company FourBirdsFlew, and reading!

From the time that I was a little girl up until the day he passed away, my dad read to me each and every night. Of course we started with Boxcar Kids and Goosebumpbs, but later on we demolished the Tolkien Trilogy, The Source, Jurassic Park. He is who I credit for my love of reading and it’s something I hope to impart on to Chloe. We read each night now before bed – some of the same books that I read with my dad. It’s a sweet ending to the evening, a perfect way to drift off to sleep, and a constant reminder that his spirit and love is still present. So my hope is to start sharing hopefully one book a week with you guys that we love, to share with your littles (if you’ve got some). I’ve got such a great collection and would love to share some of mine (and Chloe’s) favorites with you all!

This week’s recommendation isn’t one book so much as an author. Sandra Boynton makes the greatest kids board books – which are perfect for toddlers and little ones thanks to their relative indestructible-ness. Her books are cute and always involve a myriad of animals (including Little Pookie the pig, which is a fav); her claim to fame is “serious silliness for all ages”. Her books are not only funny, they’re also educational, discussing colors, A to Z’s, big and small comparisons with dogs, etc. They also make great gifts – there’s a Sandra Boynton “Greatest Hits” collection with four of her most-loved books that I would suggest if you’ve never had the pleasure of reading her works (and it’s only $14 for all four!).  Love love love her stuff! If you’re ever read any of her works, let me know what you think!

Now, onto the good stuff – Amanda and FourBirdsFlew! We are all blessed in our lives with spirits who are special to us, friends who not only ground and remind us of who we are but that genuinely love and support us in all that we do. Amanda is one of those special spirits, to me. We have known each other since high school but it wasn’t until longer down the road that we became so close. She is my ‘spirit animal’, a true gypsy at heart who loves yoga, traveling, and her two boys and her husband more than anything else on this planet. She is genuine, kind, compassionate. She is what I wish I could model myself to be more like. She is also INSANELY talented and recently opened up her own Etsy shop, FourBirdsFlew, ‘using textiles to make a change’. This is why Amanda is just so amazing – 10% of every purchase is donated back to Imagine Scholar, a non-profit that empowers the youth of South Africa. She makes everything from dainty gold pineapple-printed napkins to rustic, earthy blankets with rich Aztec prints. She has awesome plaid re-usable totes for shopping (hello earth-friendly) and aprons with sweet little pockets. Her floor pillow covers are luxuriously, decadently soft, and make for the perfect cuddle accessory while Chloe and I read (the pillow featured in today’s post is one of hers). I was so excited to get her pillow – and to shoot it because who wouldn’t want to take photos of something that fab – and I encourage all of you to check out her awesome shop. She is on the constant hunt for new, cool fabrics and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next! I’m all about supporting our local artists, and Amanda is as local as they come.img_9617img_9583 img_9660 img_9598 img_9576 img_9585 img_9604 img_9625 img_9640 img_9607 img_9627    img_9605  img_9601 img_9634  img_9632 img_9651