Jitney Annual Soundtrack Release!! Three Lucky Winners Will Receive a Copy!

Last week, we FINALLY sent out our annual Jitney Soundtrack. Wondering what it is? Check it out

here

.

Our theme for designing the CD cover was

Air Mail

. We designed the cover so that it had postage and passport stamp images from all of our travel destinations throughout our two years of marriage (including Barbados, Bahamas, Hawaii, Israel, Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland). 

*Please note that we have blurred / erased some parts of the photo to protect the names and addresses of friends. No worries, we created a super cool, fake address for our CD so you could get the feel of it:

Who wouldn't want to live on 1000 Kisses Avenue with her husband?!?

For the envelopes, we used these from

The Container Store

. Aren't they just marvelous?!

I used Faber Castell PITT Artist Pens to write the addresses (specifically the M, F, S, and 1,5 tips). These are, HANDS DOWN, my most favorite pens to use. And trust me... I have tested out a plethora of pens and markers!! Check the artist pens out

here

.

{If you're looking for a less expensive marker / pen, I also love

Paper Mate's Flair Felt Tip Pen

.}

A HUGE thanks to all of our friends who sent us texts saying you received the CD and love it!!! 

Our favorite was from Matt & Julie (the newlyweds) via Instagram:

"Jamming to our favorite annual CD from such creative, wonderful friends @jitneysjourneys #bestsaturdaysurprise #cruising"

AND... guess what!?

We will be giving out three of the Jitney CDs to our readers!!!! Just post a comment below saying what your Best Saturday Surprise entailed. 

The three winners will be picked at random. :)

Know the Language of Your Destination... If you don't, you may end up on a Male-Only Beach.

 Written in November 2011

we promise we're trying to catch up on our traveling posts!!

Our Israel adventure is finally coming to an end. Today is Thursday. We head out tomorrow night for New York, Atlanta then finally HOME!! The trip has been pretty taxing on me since I haven't had enough guts to leave the hotel to venture around by myself. But today, I am determined to walk around Tel Aviv solo. We've passed by this awesome frozen yogurt place that has wooden swings hanging from the ceilings. I will simply have to jeopardize my safety in order to satisfy my curiosity. 

FOUND IT!! Isn't this place just too cute?! Only one swing was left by the time I arrived and ordered. After claiming it with authority, I gently asked the guy behind the counter to snap a photo while I smiled. ;) The yogurt was pretty delicious... peanut butter frozen yogurt with hard chocolate topping.

After browsing through the stores, I decided to take the scenic beach route back to the hotel. The stencils made for some pretty cool accents. And how about this studly vintage surfboard? 

There is something about bicycles and the people of Tel Aviv. We figure people just get tired of the absolutely horrendous drivers downtown. The smart ones ride bikes. :) The green bikes reminded us of the Regions bank commercials.

How cool is this hotel? Retro. Vibrant. Distracting in a good way. 

Hundreds of sailboats docked in the port against the stunning sunset.

 This is our sweet Hilton. We were merely a downhill slope from the Mediterranean Sea. 

Speaking of... Friday was our last day. JD had the day off since it was one of Israel's Holy Days. Our one goal for the day was to go swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. We walked down from the hotel straight to the beach, only to find a sign that said, "No swimming today. Surf watersports only." 

Denied.

We walked a little further, only to find either the same signs or a jagged rock terrain engulfed by the sea. Denied. Denied. And denied. 

"JD! Look! Over there... there's a bunch of people swimming in that area!" 

So we walk about 1/4 mile and walk into the open doorway (don't all public beaches have doorways...?) only to be greeted by Jewish men in Speedos yelling at us abruptly in Hebrew.

I did what any smart woman would do... I kept walking to the water. Fortunately, JD has a little brighter wits than myself. He turned around and tried to speak with the men softly, explaining we only speak English.

"NO! NO! NO WOMEN HERE!!! NO WOMEN!!" men surrounded him and yelled.

I was out of my mind humiliated and frustrated by this point. But we turned around and left the beach anyways. Apparently, men and women alternate the days they can swim at that beach. They must not swim at the same time though. 

Once again, completely different cultures.

After a few steps, JD and I burst in laughter. What else can you do in a situation like that? Instead of swimming, we settled for simply dipping our toes in the Mediterranean Sea. And you know what... It was freezing! I guess it was okay that it didn't work out like we had planned. Few things ever do and life seems to end up better that way. :) 

Shalom, Tel Aviv!

Endangered Places: Visit Before It's Too Late

While researching some info on the Dead Sea for our last post, I fell upon this article talking about endangered places... what?!

The list includes:

• Maldives
• Mount Kilimanjaro
• Swiss Alps
• Everglades National Park in Florida
• Belize Barrier Reef
• Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra, Indonesia
• Tibet (or rather the Tibetan language and culture)
• Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve in Honduras
• The Dead Sea in Israel
• Venice

Venice was the most shocking! Did you know that it is "a man-made wonder made up of 121 islets that are linked by 435 bridges"?

It looks like we better start making a list of places we want to visit before they are gone!! Some places we may get to knock out when we're on a trip for JD's company (i.e. Swiss Alps) but others we're just going to have to check out in our free time.


How about you?
Do you have a list of places you want to visit?
Have you ever been to any of these places?

Friday Favesies

 
We missed Friday Favesies last week due to a weekend getaway so we've got a lot to cover this week. :)

Maybe you noticed our sweet new live Pinterest sidebar? Find out how to post it on your blog here.

Our favorite iPhone app the past few weeks has been SONGZA!! Don't worry, you can play it straight from your computer too. They have playlists generated for just about anything and every part of the day... "Singing in the Shower" blares through our stereo just about every morning. Do you have a Songza account? Which playlist is your favorite?

This past Sunday, JD's co-worker / friend invited us to his church for a 4th of July party. Chelsea Moon and one of the Franz Brother performed a bluegrass concert of re-arranged hymns. It was nothing less than blissful. JD's favorite part was, of course, partnering with Aaron to prep and display the epic fireworks show. Two boxes of Pyromaniac Fireworks can really do the trick...

Needless to say, we've been jamming to some Chelsea Moon and the Franz Brothers ever since. Check out one of their songs below...

The favorite Pin of the week goes to the creator of these fantastic tea towels with handwritten recipes transferred onto them (Emma). It's the perfect family keepsake and kitchen tool. I instantly began following Emma's blog at Hello Beautiful. 

While I was scanning her blog posts, I came upon this awesome tutorial for making a Maxi Skirt!! Gosh, there is nothing better than seeing a tutorial and thinking, "Yes! I can totally tackle that!" 

Dearest Sewing Machine, 

You will be receiving the glorious gift of no burlap on this project. Forget the fuzzies and let's forge onto making the Maxi skirt with actual cotton material. I know you've been waiting for this day to arrive.

Sincerely,

me.

Lookin' forward to reading about your Friday Favesies!! Link up with Ruthy at Discovery Street here.

The Tel Aviv Art Market

This was definitely a highlight of our trip to Israel!! Artists lined the sidewalks in their booths as people could barely move through the streets. It was JAM PACKED. 

First stop: This was one of our favorite artists. The guy made fantastic leather bracelets that you can snap together and intertwine. He cuts, stains and designs them right at his booth in the market. Of course, we bought three for me. :) 

Perfect. Teal, brown and white are my staple colors. Haha

This artist was another favorite of ours! We bought a nameplate and she wrote "Todd Family" in Hebrew on it for us. We also snagged a few nameplates for our friends and customized them. :) 

She incorporated the bird and gazelle in her artwork, as they are her personal symbols of the human spirt of joy and freedom. 

JD: "Whit. Come on!"

Whit: "But... but... aren't these just so mesmerizing?!?"

For all of those sewing machine lovers, how great is this classic Singer? 

You may recognize this clock from my office in our apartment...

Oh yeah. We bought one of those and brought it home! The clock is made out of pebbles and sand from the Red Sea.

As if I didn't want to crochet bad enough, this lady, Sasha Neska, blew us away with her elaborate jewelry! Absolutely remarkable. 

And we say farewell to the streets of the Art Market. 

So we ask you, readers, from these photos... which piece of art would you take home from Israel??

Camel Crossing & Floating in the Dead Sea

Yield to the camels, people. ;) 

THIS kind of landscape is what we were expecting when we traveled to the Middle East: desert. The sand looks like marble. We couldn't get over how truly AWEsome this view was. In fact, it was here that we decided to use the word "awesome" more sparingly because few things in life actually put us in a state of awe like knowing that God structured all that surrounded us on that trip.

The top photo is a long distance snapshot of what's left of the Dead Sea. From Tel Aviv to En Gedi (location of Dead Sea), it was about a five hour drive but we think we took the long route.

We were actually warned not to drive this route because Palestinians have been known to hide beside the road with bombs (sand dunes and hills make it hard to see ahead) but we accidentally went this way. Praise Jesus that He had His hand over us and no bombs went off during our drive. 

On our drive through the desert, we hit the -100 meter mark. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth in any land mass (417 meters below sea level, to be exact). The quantity of water that evaporates from it is greater than that which flows into it. On our lovely tractor ride down to the Dead Sea from the "spa", signs marked the drastic changes of the shoreline every year. Thus, the signs saying 2000 and 2004. In other words, the Sea is shriveling. Visit it before it disappears. :)

We saw this lonesome clay pot propped up by rocks in the hard mud. Immediately, the verse Jeremiah 2:13 came to mind. This pot is not a cistern, as they are much more complex and actually more like a pit, but this is a great visual of how our lives are broken just like this pot. We attempt to control our own lives by molding them into broken clay pots, when God is there as a natural spring of everflowing Living Water longing to share His abundance with us.

JD heading over to the Dead Sea via boardwalk. The Dead Sea derived its name from the high salinity water which prevents any existence of life forms in the lake. Though the Dead Sea prevents all life forms from living in the water, it does provide healing benefits for people. Healing properties of the water helps arthritis and circulation, strengthens nails and bones, balances skin moisture, slows skin aging and calms the nervous system.

We thought mud would be the base of the Dead Sea because we saw pictures of people floating in the lake with mud covering their bodies. We were mistaken. These jagged, healing salt minerals line the lake. Be sure to wear tennis shoes or thick-soled sandals!

It is impossible to drown in the Dead Sea. We could basically bend our knees as if sitting in a liquid lounge chair. The depth had to be more than five feet here but we wouldn't know because we couldn't even stand up straight. We were human buoys. Absolutely amazing!!

The awesome cabana with salt minerals growing up the posts.

See you again, Dead Sea... I doubt it. :/ The lake dries up at least one yard every year. 

Reversible Moustache Placemats

Now introducing our newest creation... the reversible chevron moustache placemat. Are you in love? Don't rush to our Etsy shop yet. We haven't put them up for sale. Our fabric providers are out of this lovely chevron fabric so I'm waiting anxiously for them to put it back in stock. Be lookin' out for them soon!!

The only finished set has gone to this lovely couple... Matt and Julie. 

Matt is one of JD's closest friends. It's because of him and JD's other best friend, Chris, that we take pride in the name Jitney. Matt and Julie are getting married next weekend and we couldn't be more excited for them!! The first time we met Julie, people asked if her and I were sisters. She's super cool. Matt and Julie inspired our matching bowling shirts (yes, we wear them every time we go bowling now) and these moustache placemats (Matt can grow a mean 'stache). We gave them the set of placemats last weekend at their wedding shower. We're pretty sure they loved them. ;)

What do you think about the placemats?

What other kind of images would you like to see on the placemats... bird, heart, cross?

The Rock Where Jesus Wept: Church of All Nations

Maybe you were a little baffled at the fact we didn't post photos of the place Jesus actually prayed upon while Peter, James and John were snoozin' against the olive trees. After a few steps through the garden, it was hard to miss the quick transition back to reality. Would it surprise you if we told you they built an actual church around the rock where Jesus fell on his face and cried out to his Father, "Not as I will, but as you will!"

The church was pretty epic. Elaborate murals consume the walls and ceiling while flags represent each nation. The Basilica of the Agony is the original name of the church. It was built from 1919-1924 with funding from twelve different countries, thus giving it the nickname, The Church of All Nations.

In the center, the high altar overlooks a large slab of rock, which is said to be the rock on which Jesus prayed in agony the night of his betrayal. 

We were just about to leave when we heard a group of people singing hymns beside the rock. They had just begun a church service. Hearing the angelic voices echoing through the church built around the rock and upon the Rock sent chills down our spine. 

When you're standing at the Garden of Gethsemane, this is the glimpse you get of the Old City in Jerusalem (where the Via Dolorosa is, etc.). The particular part of the Old City Walls is the Golden Gate, a closed gate located above ground level and below the Temple Mount. It is only visible from outside the city. 

According to Jewish tradition, when the Messiah comes, he will enter Jerusalem through this gate. To prevent him from coming, the Muslims sealed the gate during the rule of Suleiman.

As Christians, all we can say is, "Praise God that the Messiah has already come and defeated the grave! Now we wait eagerly for his glorious return." 

Friday Favesies

We're linking up again this week with Ruthy over at Discovery Street for:






We are behind on sending out our Jitney Year 2 CD... even though we planned way in advance to get them out by May 29, my optical drive on my computer crashed. We debated on getting the drive replaced or just giving in and replacing my ole' faithful Mac. Unfortunately, the drive won. :) Apple replaced it and we were back on our way. We designed, printed and put together our CD covers (photos coming soon); and now we're just waiting on our super cool "recycled newspaper" envelopes we ordered from The Container Store. My inspiration for the cover of the envelopes are these beautiful calligraphy creations:

This season, we wrapped our brown couch in a white canvas sofa cover. Thanks to Organize Your Stuff Now, we will now be wrapping the four giant brown pillows in super sweet chevron fabric. I was planning on sewing pillowcases for the couch pillows but this approach may be a bit easier. I wonder if they come untied easily though?

However, my ---hands down--- most absolute favesie of this week is....

Yes. This guy. You see, we celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day for each other simply because one day, eventually, we'll be the mom and dad to some pretty cool kids (whether by birth, adoption or both). I enjoy celebrating the fact that JD Todd is going to be an incredible dad to our kids and vice versa. So I woke up early Sunday morning, cooked him breakfast, set it on our wicker breakfast tray and carried it into the bedroom.

Whit: "So what do you want to do today? It's your day. We're celebrating you."
JD: "Honestly? I want to eat this delicious breakfast and then spend the day rearranging your office so you can hang up the crates we bought on our way back from our anniversary, plus you can really focus on organizing stuff for the Etsy shop."

Seriously? And that's why he wins the Friday Favesies post. :) We spent the entire day taking stuff off the walls, laying it all out and then nailing it all up again. Here are a few shots of the new and improved office in our apartment... We're leaving out a couple of things to post later so be on the lookout!

This wall took quite a few hours to put up, but it was worth it!! 

I finally crafted this pushpin Mason jar. What do you think?

This is the printing and shipping wall -- everything I need to grab when putting together one of our Jitney's Journeys packages. Perfection. :) 

We found the three wooden lock boxes at an antique store on the side of the road coming back from Chattanooga. The guy who sold us the boxes (for $10 as a set) said he was pretty sure the boxes were a piece of junk. However, we are super drawn into the TV show Storage Wars right now, so we thought we may have a unique find here! Even if we don't, they make awesome storage and organization boxes. :)

This "Pop Shop" crate was propped up at Knitting Mills Antique in Chattanooga, just calling our names. JD picked it out. The crate holds my yarn upright and is the perfect size for large Mason jars. 

I have been searching for months to find an old Coca Cola crate that I could store my thread and bobbins in. Cha-ching!! We found this beauty at Knitting Mills Antique in Chattanooga on our anniversary trip.

Old coat hangers from an antique market that I now use as my packing dispensers.

My fabric station -- these lovely old suitcases are PACKED with fabulous fabric!

Slumber in the Garden of Gethsemane

Throughout our tour of Jerusalem, we realized that the atmosphere and landscape of the sites were not even close to what we had imagined... until we arrived in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

It was as if we had traveled back in time. We could actually visualize Jesus telling Peter, James and John to "sit here, while I go over there and pray" (Matthew 26:37). In this peaceful setting, Jesus falls to his face and prays to his Father. "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will" (39). 

Peter and the brothers fall asleep while they are supposed to be keeping watch... not one, not two, but three times. You know Jesus' frustration with the guys had to be pretty heated by that point. However, in all fairness to the disciples, look at these trees!! Who wouldn't want to curl up in the little nooks of the olive tree's massive trunk? 

We seem to bash Peter a lot for his mistakes of sleeping, not having enough faith, etc., but he was a fleshly human being just like the rest of us. How often is it that we beg for a few more minutes of sleep in the mornings, sacrificing the time we could be spending with our Savior? We miss so much life and freedom that Christ desires to offer us because we succumb to temptation, to our flesh. 

One of our new favorite songs is "Slumber" by Needtobreathe (video at bottom of post). The first stanza goes like this:

Days, they force you back under those covers,

lazy mornings; they multiply.

Glory's waiting outside your windows.

Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes.

Don't miss out on the blessings and adventures God has waiting for you because you sleep through life. JD and I are consistently guilty of doing this but we praise Jesus in the fact that He draws us back to Him, back to His mercy and His transforming grace.