No Promises

the last nine months have been...busy. i don't like to use the word "busy" because it seems to imply that life is moving faster for me than it is for others, and i just don't believe that's true. but, we have been busy...but a different busy than we/i have been accustomed to. and with new busy there's change, and with change there's adjustment. there's been a lot of adjustment.

i spent the last 3 years of my life at home raising my three kids and mastering the art of stay-at-home-momdom. i loved that period in my life. and i'd like to believe that i was very good at it. as was documented on this blog, i nurtured my creative side and spent my days creating beauty within and around my home and drawing from the other creatives in my life (on-line and off) to drive my passion for life even more.

and then life changed.

and i truly love this new change. this new busy. this new life. and i think i'm quite good at this, too.

but this new life does not leave room for the creative soul.

actually, i take that back. there's always room for creativity, but the creativity i'm using now does not match the creativity that i used to build this blog. are you following me? because that is what has kept me from continuing here in this space. my world nine months ago does not match my world now, and i built this blog on my life of last year.

and now i *might* want to reconcile the two.

after we returned home this afternoon from a family adventure, i urged my kids to sit down and journal their days' experience. and then i realized that journalling is exactly what mama needed to do, too.

so i'm here.

no promises.

definitely no sewing.

no painting or drawings or other creative pieces.

my simple photography and simple words.

simply feather.

Owly Baby

i'm absolutely drooling over this project from owly baby!

antique frame, linen, simple embroidery...that's near perfection for me.

don't you just love it when you find that thing that you didn't even know you were looking for?

apparently, i've been looking for this project. now, i've got to find a really great frame.

bummer...i guess i'll be thrifting today!

A Little Vintage Number

i just introduced this little vintage number to my office this afternoon...



a metal rolling typewriter cart-turned printer stand.

i fell in love with it when i first saw it on craigslist, and fell even more in love with the price...

5 bucks.

and 1 mile from my house.

couple that with it's beautiful, original green color, and we have near perfection!

welcome home, my friend!

that, my friends, is near perfection.

A Christmas Full of Blessings

as i'm cooking here in the kitchen this morning, preparing for the eve's festivities, i can't help but feel a huge sense of joy. this will be our first christmas spent in this house, a place that i can now lovingly and comfortably call home. this is home and i am full of happiness and love in this space. 

we are blessed beyond numbers, not because we have things or the right home or all the right stuff, but because we recognize...we recognize that family makes a home, family and friends and those relationships bring us the most happiness in this life.

 i am blessed today to be a mother, and although that role can be cumbersome and busy and stressful, i get to care for these children.

i am blessed today to be my husband's wife, and although he didn't take out the garbage or gaze into my eyes this morning, he will make up for those minuscule offenses by being by my side and smiling with me as we watch our children anticipate the magic of the season.

i am blessed today to be a sister, and although i must admit that i am no longer strong enough to do damage to my brothers in a living-room wrestling match, i get to put up a weak and squealing fight...just to know that adulthood does not keep them from wanting to touch me.

i am blessed today to be a daughter, to hear my parents' love in their words, to feel their love in their touch, and to see the love and pride in their eyes. 

and i am blessed today to be a friend.  the saying goes, choose your friends wisely, and i must say i have surrounded myself by a remarkable and inspiring handful of beautiful friends. the blessing is not in having friends, but being loved by them.

may this christmas find you all well...well loved, well blessed, and well fed!

merry christmas, my friends!

The Office

step into my office...

keep in mind that when we moved in, it looked like this.  i knew when i moved in that this little corner on the left would be where my desk would sit, with those beautiful built-ins right behind.

 i love this room...maybe the most. i spend a lot of time in here with my from-home office, and i host weekly business meetings out of this room.

you can see where the dining room connects to this room... 

this is the view from the front entryway. this room is what spawned the painting on the ceilings.  notice in the "before" picture that there was red on the ceiling. that took a lot of primer to correct! i edged the square in a nutty yellow color, which is also my hallway color. eventually, i'd like to get some gold-toned curtains on the windows.

this is the view from my desk. i love looking out the window, although i look forward to spring when i can really work on the scenery out there!

this room was the first room finished, and that was weeks ago, if not a month now. this weekend i worked on the hallway and laundry room, which i look forward to showing soon!

if you need me, i'll be in the garage. i have doors to repaint!

The Dining Room

it's time to bite the bullet and share some before and after photos with you!

i've been holding out, but that's just because i don't feel like anything in complete yet.

i'm going to go ahead and reach for a B- here and accept that perfection isn't necessary!



so these pictures are of my dining room.  the dining room and attached office/den/livingroom (how do you know which one is which?) were the first rooms i painted.

when we moved in, they looked like this:

i had more than one issue with these rooms.  mainly, the red. on just half of the walls

(and do you see that red was painted up on the ceiling? yuck.)

and then there was the wallpaper border. i'm sure it looked good with someone else's things, but not mine.

this is the same little nook you saw on the right in the before photo.

i chose a color palette before i painted, and the dining room is a bit darker in color than the office/den/livingroom.  i was shooting for a grey undertone, but ended up with more of a slate blue hue. i've never been a blue girl, but i am loving the feel of this color and scheme. it blends nicely with the kind of yellows i'm drawn to.

i spent almost two weeks re-working these rooms.

first the wallpaper had to come down.

then the walls were painted.

then the trim was painted, and color then edged back on.

then the ceilings were painted,

...and here is where i learned my first major lesson in this house;

alwaysalwaysalways paint ceilings and trim before walls. especially ceilings!

so then i went back again to edge the wall color against the newly painted ceiling.

that was a lot of edging! twice.

but it's done, and i'm at peace in these rooms,

and my eyes like what i see!

and all is right in the world...

until i walk past that sea-foam green den!



Comforted

sometimes the peace and comfort one is looking for...

is right in front of her.