beauty that moves

working girl

Change is good.

Recently I was offered a job. It was totally out of the blue, I wasn't actively looking (remember me focusing on a true workday in my home studio as I prepare for the Farmers Market?)... but out of nowhere, there was an offer. And it was an incredible offer. A position that is three miles from home, surrounds me with beautiful people (of the child and adult variety), takes place during Emily's school day... and, is in the exact building she spends her days.

I was offered a job in her school... during her school day... following her school calendar. What more could a mother ask for?

I may have mentioned here that since the beginning of the school year I have held a part time position as Daycare Teacher in the after school program. A new opening within the school surfaced, I was approached, and everything about it fit so beautifully. I absolutely accepted!

I am the new Assistant Teacher in the 3-6 room (Children's House) at our local Montessori school. I'm so amazed by the timing as I have been seriously considering pursuing Montessori Head Teacher Certification, and this will offer the perfect insight and inspiration for me to move forward with that idea.

I am so comfortable in the school and in the classroom as we have been a Montessori family since Emily was in preschool, seven years ago. This school is our community, and now it will be my place of work. And also... I will be bringing yoga into the classroom. So a little bit of that very sacred kind of teaching will be a part of my life again, albeit in a light-hearted childlike way.

Even though the schedule jives perfectly with Emily's, it is going to change an awful lot around here as we relearn our household routine and responsibilities. I couldn't do this without the encouragement and support of my little tribe, they are pretty fantastic. Family, yoga practice, new job... those are my top priorities right now. I will of course be floating around on this blog as much as I can, but I imagine it will be only 2-3 times a week for a bit. Once a new rhythm is established, my writing here will be more frequent than that.

Wish me luck (and send advice!!!) as I enter the ranks of mothers who work outside the home.

getting ready for a new season

It's hard to believe, but thrifting season (for me) officially starts in one month! I'm pretty excited, it is such a family affair around here. And of course, though it starts early and is always cold those first few weeks, it does bring with it the promise of warmer temperatures. And I do feel officially ready for that.

Things are beginning to wind down in my vintage reserves, I am adding new things to Mayberries Vintage almost daily, making space in my studio and getting ready to bring in new goodies. This week has kept me pretty busy in my shop providing some much appreciated pocket money as we head to NYC for the day tomorrow, so thank you!! I really love running this little vintage shop and when I take the time to tend to it regularly, it hums along as quite a nice (tiny, yet so helpful) side business. It also is the perfect way for me to enjoy the thrill of thrifting without hoarding every little gem that I come across. Sending second hand goods out into the world to be used as an earth friendly alternative to brand new? Well, that's just the icing on one very satisfying cake! Did I ever tell you about this fan? Oh, this fan. It is the one that got away... You might recall the photo (or one very similar) as my blog banner for most of the summer, it was a way for me to hold on to it's beautiful turquoise heavy duty self. I remember hesitating  as I listed it (you just can't get fans like this anymore), I talked myself into placing it in the shop with the agreement (yes, an agreement with myself... about a fan) that I would only let the listing stay up for five minutes. If it wasn't snapped up in just five minutes, I would take it down and keep it forever and ever. You can probably guess how this story ends... oh well, I bet it really made someone else's day. ;)

Another truly incredible find, a nursery hamper from the early 20th century. I was so excited when I found it, ran home to list it (over the summer!), and yet... it is still sitting quietly over in the shop. Hmmm... I think the price is fine, maybe it's the photos? You all know by now I have many challenges with my camera, it doesn't capture true lighting and color too easily, if ever. The listing photos for this item were taken before I discovered I could brighten them up and such through editing. The photo above has been adjusted and is how I see the hamper in real life. I should go in and correct the photos on some of those older listings, that would be most helpful I think.

It's time to start dreaming about the amazing finds with a fresh thrifting season soon to be underway. We could still use a few more cast iron pans, and several more pyrex refrigerator dishes (the ones with the flat lids). Maybe this will be the year I find that recipe box filled with the perfect collection of handwritten recipes from long ago. That would be the holy grail of thrifting for me.

What about you? What would make your vintage loving heart just go pitter patter? Please, do share! I am preparing my shopping list you know...

fourth folder, fourth photo

Tags. Awards. Bloggy Mentions. They are so full of kindness and good intentions, yet I rarely find the time to respond or properly acknowledge them when they come my way. I always feel guilty about that, but no matter how I try to approach time, I just can't seem to make it expand and grow in a way that allows me to accomplish all that I'd like... so I tend to just feel quietly grateful for the smile they bring to my day.

Yesterday was a little different. I was tagged by Jamie with the 4-4-4 Meme. "Go into your photo archive, pick the 4th folder in your archive, select the 4th picture in your folder, and write about it. Then tag 4 other people to do the same." I took a quick peek in my fourth folder, at the fourth photo, just to see. Well, when I opened this picture I felt as though I had been hit in the chest with the same darkness I remember feeling the day this was taken.

I don't share everything here, though I do share a lot. We all (hopefully) develop our own personal ethics around blogging, for me it's simple. I won't write anything that I don't want my daughter to read (and I'm pretty open with her). I also try to be sensitive to my husband who is a very private person, and is bound professionally by his own set of ethics and a high level of confidentiality. That's it, those are my two rules... I will carry on at times about politics, and I still hope to find the nerve to someday write more intimately about yoga. Both of those things aren't for everyone... that's fine.

It's hard to know what is okay to share about this photo.

I've always believed in the inherent good of every person, that if a person was cruel or inhumane, something must have gone wrong in their life causing that behavior. Someone said to me once, "No Heather, you're wrong. Some people are just born bad." Wow. That's a lot for this Pollyanna to believe. But this past year I stood witness for the first time in my life to one of the saddest, most debilitating, disrespectful relationships imaginable, something I haven't written too much about here. For the first time I wondered if it could be true, if a person could be born bad, possessing not a bit of joy. This photo is a reminder of that relationship, the time when we were breaking free from it's hold. I'm relieved to say it is behind us now, and it has been replaced by something healthy, mutually respectful and extremely stimulating. I can't even express how much easier it is to breathe and smile these days.

While the photo and that time felt very dark and hopeless, today is much brighter. My family will be distilling the lessons from that period of our lives for a long time to come, and there are many. For that I am truly grateful.

Thank you Jamie, for the opportunity to reflect. Namaste.

the yoga of cooking

 

"When we practice daily tasks like cooking or washing dishes while doing mantra, chanting, or focusing on the breath, then the whole task changes. It becomes yoga. It is taking yoga into our daily lives, having a sense of serving something larger than our small selves."     ~ Narayani Levine

After a few days of parties with excessive amounts of sugary and expansive foods, a little grounding was in order. Better than these roasted veggies (for me) would have been a big plate of brown rice and kale, my go to "restoring balance" meal. But my kitchen was without kale yesterday, but we had many, many potatoes on hand and I was inspired again to play around with another recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance. What I came up with is far enough from the one in the book that I'll go ahead and write it here. I swear I'm not getting paid to promote this book, it really is excellent! Plus, I tend to follow just one or two cookbooks closely for a while, then they'll rest on the shelf for some time while I pull down a few more. Lately, this book has been spending time in the kitchen with me.

Maple-Mustard Glazed Potatoes and Carrots

2 (or so) pounds potatoes (I had russet on hand), peel and cut into one inch pieces

4 carrots, peeled and cut into slices about 1/2 inch

3 shallots (use some onion if you don't have shallots), sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tablespoons tamari or soy sauce

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

3 Tablespoons stone ground or dijon mustard (I used stone ground)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. Place the vegetables in a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. In a separate bowl combine the other ingredients until everything is blended nicely. Pour the glaze over veggies and gently stir until everything is coated. Cover the dish with foil and place in the oven, bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss everything recoating the veggies with glaze. Turn oven down to 350, cook another 25 minutes, uncovered. Remove from oven, toss again, cook for 25 minutes more, uncovered. Pour everything (don't forget any glaze left in the pan!) onto a patter/bowl and serve.

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Certain foods support mental clarity and spiritual practice, they provide balance and awareness. Other foods can drain energy, create mental fog and physical sluggishness. They can also drain your sense of peace. I'm feeling the need for extra grains, miso and root veggies this week... dark, leafy greens as well. I'm pretty sure the strong black coffee does not have a place in my life for the next few days. Anyone care to join me for some yerba mate?

I'd love to write more about the yoga of preparing and serving food, the kitchen as sacred space. The kitchen is a challenge for me to blog about as I have very little natural light in there... and you all know what that means for photos. I think I'm just going to have to let that go and dive in.

In the meantime, try these roasted veggies, I think you'll like them.

i recommend this

This was made for my friend's annual Valentines Party this past weekend. We each had to make and bring a handmade box reminiscent of those we made in elementary school that held our valentines. I forgot to put a slot in the top, and it's not your typical Valentine colors... but when I stood in the craft supply section of the store, I fell in love with the pink, yellow and turquoise paint. I think it was the warm temperatures last week, I have begun to seriously crave Spring. And I knew glitter needed to be included, of course. The yellow wound up being too bright so I mixed it with the blue for a pretty shade of green.

Then I just played and played and played... looking at this finished box I can't help to think it is sooo not (typical) me, and it was not a big prize winner (yes, the prizes were serious). But it is a breath of fresh, frilly, cheerful air which is just what I was hoping for and in need of right now.

If you are in need of some crafting that makes you want to smile, I recommend getting a few fresh supplies (or dig deep for long forgotten ones in your own stash), and let yourself explore... make something unexpected and not typical for you... just be sure it includes plenty of glitter, because that is after all the most therapeutic part of this process!

As a result of this project I have fallen deeply in love with Martha's fine tip glue pen and will be using it (combined with sprinkles of glitter) to write all notes, grocery lists, and mortgage payments from now on. I hope nobody minds!