IT’S FINALLY FRIDAY!!!!!!!

Hopefully the sun is out where you are and even if you are walking to grab a sandwich on you lunch break you get to enjoy it for a bit.

Now that the holidays are dead and gone and the smell of holiday spices is making you sick lets look to the future to fun in the sun! Ok, for some of you this isn’t an option but let’s be optimistic about the next few months to come.

 Us at From Change to Change have been working hard over the holidays finding out best matches for website construction and partnering up with some very talented people. We are so excited to get the website going and the new chapter that this brings!

A way for you to be productive may not be as much hard work as you think!  Try to welcome in the rainy months to come by making a list of small fun things to do inside or around the city in which you now reside. A good friend of mine, Whitney Martin, and I realized we need to enjoy life more so we decided to make a list of small things to do together that make us smile.

Just a little hint to get your list started:

Whitney Wind Whistler Martin and Shiloh Stardust Schneider’s List of Little Big Things that Make US HAPPY!

+Paint filled balloon fight in front yard. Must wear all white.

+Drink a Mexican Coke on one foot in the middle of the dog park.

+Try hop scotch again.

+Make borax crystals.

So, there you go just a hint of some of the little things that make us remember the good things in life!

GET YOUR LIST STARTED! :)

Today is a very special day to me and my partner in crime Brandon. It is the day of Brandon Clayton’s birth!!! I want to take the time to thank Brandon for the amazing friend he has been to a lot of us and especially me :). 

How do you describe someone like Brandon? … I would say generous.

He is generous with his time. He will sit down with you and drop everything he is doing to listen and be there for you. I am sure everyone who knows him can recall a time when they have been going though something and Brandon is there to listen and not JUDGE (very important).

He is also generous with his things. Last year for Christmas Brandon’s church did a “gift” offering where the people in his church listed what their needs were. In return, if you had the item listed you could donate to that person in greater need of it.

Many people know how much Brandon LOVES bicycles and going on bike rides in the sunny San Diego weather and raising havoc riding the dark streets during Critical Mass. What not many people know is that last Christmas Brandon gave away his Love, his bike, to a refugee man in his church to ride to work everyday. He even converted it from a fixie to a gear bike for the guy.  :) (Like I said very generous).

Now it is a whole year later with no bicycle rides and I have had the time to save up  I want to honor Brandon’s generous heart and loving acts. I found a fun company that allows the customer to build their own bike called Republic Bike. They have a 3D bike shop and you choose what colors you want, they send you pieces of the bike partly assembled, and you have fun putting the rest of your personal bike together. http://www.republicbike.com/default.asp

So, Brandon you have a brand new bicycle and Love to call your own just waiting to be created and sent to you!

Happy Birthday Brandon the love of my life and my best friend! 

See you riding the streets of San Diego! 

xoxo

S

Merry Christmas!

We at FCTC are wishing you the happiest of holidays this season. As Shi and I travel to see friends and family we hope you all are able to do the same. Take time to tell those who mean the most to you that you love them. Enjoy a night at home playing games together or watching that Christmas movie you’ve seen a hundred times before and remember what matters most. 

We’ll be back in a couple weeks to ring in the new year!

-b & s

❅✮☆❄✳ Christmas songs started playing before the turkey even hit our plates this Thanksgiving and every store from CVS to Target have been decking their halls the last month! Sure you think in your head “I still have time” , but now it’s sinking in… Christmas shopping season is HERE!

Before you freak out on what to buy and wondering if the stores have enough of this or that consider shopping with From Change to Change and giving a one of a kind gift for the philanthropist in your family. For guilt free, feel good, fast, and easy shopping get a From Change to Change necklace and call your shopping done! 

How to order from us:

1. contact us through calling, texting, e-mailing (personal if you have them) or Fromchangetochange@gmail.com , Facebook message us on From Change to Change page or Brandon Clayton or Shiloh Stardust Schneider… Pretty much any way possible we will answer :)

2. Choose from the photo what:

A) chain  B) charm C) continent 

3. Also, don’t forget to tell us where to ship the necklaces aka your address.

4.  We will reply and let you know how to pay :) and your necklace will shortly follow.

➤ ➣ Our website is still in the process of being put together but we are still putting aside a percentage of the cost of the necklaces for our partnerships with charities and non-profits.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM S+B !

 FROM CHANGE TO CHANGE

Thanks

Well it is almost that time. The day when everyone is allowed to wear sweatpants to the dinner table, consume above and beyond what you would on any given day, nap, watch football, gather with the ones you love, and then eat again. 

For some of you that might just be a normal day, but for the rest of us that marks the coming of Thanksgiving. S & B are leaving the sunny west coast and heading off to the frigid tundra of Wisconsin, while Phillip is spending this Thanksgiving in Kolkata, India photographing a wedding.

So besides the obvious great food followed by turkey induced coma’s, what are all you world changers thankful for? What does it mean to really be thankful. As we embark on this journey of change we must realize how blessed we are in our day to day lives. I for one am thankful for hot, running, clean water. For a roof over my head, food everyday, the ability to walk (or drive) the streets I live on without fear. For doctors, medicines, and 24 hour pharmacy’s. For freedom of speech, religion, and the freedom to dream big and achieve those dreams. Last but certainly not least I am so incredibly thankful for the ones I love, and the ones who love me back. There are so many more things I am thankful for, and I am sure you guys have your own lists that are too many to even write out.

This holiday as you gather with the ones you love, remember how good you have it, be thankful for that, and then use that knowledge and abundance to motivate yourself to be the world changer you really are!

love,

b & s

TGIF & stuff.

that’s a good way to start your first blog post for FCTC, right?

it doesn’t matter all that much because it’s behind us & we have to move on.

my name is phillip harder & i’ve been asked to do some blogging on this little tumblr. it’s a great honor & privilege to have such responsibility. i’m going to try my best not to have this privilege revoked by posting only american flags & machine guns. wait, maybe that will be my new personal blog. i mean, who wouldn’t want to wake up every morning & take a look at some gritty american flags burned at the edges, laced with bullet holes & wrapped around a shiny, yet scuffed to show how often it’s been used, machine gun. then on fridays, to offset the theme, it would be glamour shots of poodles & goldfish. yeah, that’s going to be good. i’ll get back to you all on that a little later. it will be a hit.

honestly, i am not entirely sure what to write about. brandon asked me to get going on a blog post & said write about something interesting. i could talk about how i’ve been trying to find the best stainless steel feather earring for a little pre-thanksgiving gift to myself or i could write about something that actually matters like R. Kelly’s upcoming book, Soula Coaster. maybe i can go into how i never watched TGIF growing up because my parent’s thought that television sets crippled creativity (little did they know that i would end up playing little kid baking games on my iPhone for hours a day when i grew up).

i’ve been fairly lethargic for the past couple of days because it’s getting colder out here in des moines. actually, we had a 4 inch snow fall on wednesday & that pretty much left me on the couch for the better portion of the day. the thing about changing seasons is that the transition takes time; it’s not seamless. there seems to be a period of time in between those seasons that trip you up & you have to collect yourself. this is the time i put away all the jean shorts & tank tops, i have to buy yet another ice scraper & put the special type of winshield washer fluid in my car. but it’s all worth it. or at least that seems to be the case. seasons are important [& if you haven’t figured it out by now, i am not just talking about winter, spring, summer & fall.]; they remind us that we aren’t going to stay the same & that we are always shifting towards something & the hope is that the something is better than the last something. for me, i don’t know what it is, but i am hopeful nonetheless. i am hopeful that my wanderlust will lead me somewhere unexpected or familiar, that i will get myself tangled up in some kind of crazy story, that i’ll be able to find some people to love & be loved with. even though winter is coming & i still don’t own a winter coat doesn’t fill me with fear, but longing. i am longing for something exciting on the horizon despite my blindness to what that might be. seasons kill off the old & the unnecessary in order to bring life to the new & necessary. it happens whether we like it or not.

on this unique day, 11 | 11 | 11, i am not writing a real friday favourite update, but rather just a little quip on seasons & changes. a little something to get you thinking as we head into the final bend of 2011. embrace these moments. enjoy your friends. go on walks. talk to someone you don’t know. buy someone a over-priced starbucks seasonal drink. go see a movie in the afternoon by yourself & laugh out loud. throw a dance party & spin some Olivia Newton John records on the turntable. bake a loaf bread or have people over for a macaroni & cheese buffet.

i am so very excited to be apart of FCTC & feel all sorts of love for being able to write to you all today. keep your dreams bigger than your mind can take & let that heart beat hard to the spinning madness all around. within it all, take a break & watch the sunrise or set. it’s worth the tired, bleary eyes.

Happy Birthday to my Love

Well World Changers today is a very special day for me, because I get to devote today’s Friday favorites to my favorite, my partner in FCTC, the one who encourages me always, and my soon to be forever with me wife! Shiloh turns the big 26 today, which in her mind is practically 30, which of course means she is already a 40 year old woman. If you are not following me you just need to meet this wonderful lady and you would understand perfectly.

Shiloh is such a creative and talented person; it is no surprise to anyone who knows her that she is doing something like FCTC. Not only does she have such abilities to create and inspire people she also has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know. She wants to see change in the world, and will not settle for the comfortable like when she knows there are others who are suffering, who are un-educated, who are lonely, depressed, or just hurting in some way.

These are just a few of the things that have drawn me to fall so in love with this wonderful lady, and I can only hope anyone who reads this gets to one day sit down and have coffee with Shi, hear her heart for others, watch her create something from nothing, or just see the pure joy and excitement when she spots a cute puppy, fish, bird, beluga whale, penguin, kangaroo… did I mention she is an animal lover =)

Fall Friday!

I think I am officially allowed now, by Brandon, to post stuff about Halloween!!!!

The Fall is a great time of year its all about welcoming change, a change in weather, a change in colors, and a change in attitude. Also, lets not forget the change in clothes I love any excuse to wear a costume! ;) This Friday Update I am dedicating to my favorite top ten activities/things to do when October at long last arrives.

So with no further adieu here they are:

1. Start baking anything I can think up with pumpkin as the main ingredient. Anybody have some great recipes they would like to share?

2. Finding menus with Fall specials like Atwater Village bakery by my house has different pastries to count down to Halloween like witch finger cookies and chocolate mice!

3.  Since I live in California, Brandon and I get excited to once again enjoy a hot cup of coffee and I know he secretly gets excited for a pumpkin spiced latte at Starbucks.

4.  Halloween in magazines, at the 99 cent store, and Target.

5. Watching Halloween themed movies to get ready! (Everybody must watch Hocus Pocus.)

6. Seeing the little Halloween costumes kids wear when they come Trick or Treating at our house.

7. Running around a corn maze with friends!

8. Going to a real pumpkin patch to select the grandest most circle-like pumpkin.

9. Having a pumpkin carving get together to bake pumpkin seeds and sip on warm apple cider.

10.  Dressing up in COSTUMES!

(note: please let me know at fromchangetochange@gmail.com any great activities and things YOU like to do during Fall and especially Halloween. We will feature them on the Facebook page throughout the next two weeks.)  

Want One?

Hey all you dreamers, gypsies, explorers and world changers! We have had a few people interested in purchasing some necklaces lately, and although the official website is not quite finished, we wanted to give you guys an opportunity to get one now. If you are one of those people who are wanting to make some change and purchase a necklace you can e-mail us at fromchangetochange@gmail.com and tell us what type of chain you want, which charm you would like on it, and a continent you want your coins to come from if you have a preference. You should also include an address where we can ship it, and give us one sentence that describes what change is to you!

S and I are so excited to get these necklaces out to all of you and start creating even more change in this place we call home.

Because the website isn’t fully done, we will be setting aside 20% of each necklace we sell now, to donate to one of our causes once we are completely functional, so your purchases will still be making a difference one necklace at a time!

b&s

ps. here is a little preview of the website, and a way for you to choose the options you want for your 100% custom necklace…