beauty that moves

collecting ideas

In this notebook I collect ideas. A few months ago I was looking through Writing Down the Bones and it was mentioned within to use single subject, spiral bound notebooks and really lovely, flow-y pens to collect and record  your thoughts. The thinking being that while many of us gravitate toward pretty journals and such to capture our innermost thoughts, there is something so satisfying about filling the lines of a notebook page, the type we are all so familiar with from our school days. It feels natural. And the flow-y pens? Well, they just move quickly. For me (and most people) it is easier to type my thoughts as my writing hand can't hold the pace with my active mind. Still, a computer isn't always available, and it is just good practice to put pen to paper, to unplug the writing process.

So, this is my notebook. Inside it's pages I have been gathering ideas, bits of inspiration, fragments of sentences and occasionally, a complete sentence or paragraph. I hope that when I am an old woman I look at this book as one of my greatest possessions. I hope that out of this journal, my first book will be born. Or perhaps my only book... a bound forever collection of many things that I am deeply passionate about.

Let me tell you friends, this baby is in the early stages. There is no news to announce. No dates to share. At this point there are talks... and talking is good and exciting and full of promise. But it is by no means the final deal. If and when there is something final to announce, you will be the first to know! Don't hold on to your seats though, it is likely many, many months away before there are further details to fill you in on. These things take time. It just occurred to me that this is probably the most anticlimactic post of all time. So sorry about that.

Let me get to the point of it all... let's talk about the title of this post.

I wondered if you could help me fill a few pages of this journal? I have a clear direction in mind (one that has been lovingly supported in those talks I mentioned... although I am choosing to be a little reserved and vague about the direction at the moment, thanks for understanding), but last night a light bulb went off and I realized I was not collecting ideas from the most important archive of information that I have, my readers! It would mean so much to me if you'd stop by the comments today and answer a question or two. This makes me feel super vulnerable and awkward... but I guess if this project indeed comes to be, I need to press on through those edges of my personality. Feel free to be anonymous... just be nice if you do so. ;)

• If you could walk into your local bookstore and pull a book off the shelf, written by me (lady behind the blog Beauty That Moves...), what would you hope to find within it's pages? What particular areas of this blog would you like to see largely expanded upon?
• Why do you read this blog and what do you hope to take away from your visits here?

Yikes! This is scary... but hopefully awesome.

The best part of this? Those talks that I keep mentioning... your comments will be such an important contribution to the dialogue! Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out, I hope to repay you someday with something beautiful that can be held in you hands and enjoyed forever.

ETA :: oh! what timing for folks to have trouble leaving comments. i hope it is fixed soon if you were one of the ones... i'd love to hear from you! off to work now, i'll check back later. ;)

because it's the holidays

I'm usually a Banana Split girl but this new to me flavor has me feeling down right festive. Do you have any special holiday sweets/treats that only come out once a year? When I was a kid we always looked forward to After Eight dinner mints. Remember those? Oh! And those really awful and cheap chocolate covered cherries. Those were so terrible but we were not the type of children to deny sugar, given the rare opportunity to indulge.

Last night we had some excellent pizza. Tonight we'll be home cozied up with the rest of that pint up there, watching A Christmas Story. I'm on day 4 of a 5 day weekend and am really, really enjoying the festive-mellow  flow of things. Festive- mellow is good.

the day after

Yesterday was perfect. We had decided early in the fall to stay home as much as possible this holiday season as it will be our last in this house. It's also been a few years since I've cooked Thanksgiving so it was such a treat to do so. The turkey was the best we've ever had, I followed the suggestion in this month's Fine Cooking and made a rub with sea salt, pepper, fresh sage and orange zest... rubbed it all in under the skin and let it sit overnight. It was incredible and I will definitely repeat it. Gravy was perfect... green bean casserole with homemade cream of mushroom soup... stuffing from real bread... mashed potatoes with a stick of butter and 2 cups of cream (oh yeah...), it goes on and on. My dad came over (mom's keeping warm at her sister's house in Tennessee - she'll be back this weekend), and the whole day was just really mellow. I loved it and will be happy to recall it over the years as our last Thanksgiving here.

So, I never made it here yesterday. I hope your day was all that you needed it to be. I took just a few photos throughout the day, with none of the actual meal! It's turned out to be a good year around here, gratitude feels easy to come by right now but I somehow feel strange basking in that because one year ago we entered the holidays with the loss of my husband's job, which took six months to replace. I know how it feels when it's easier to make a list of all that is scary and uncertain than one that lists abundance and blessings.

I feel deeply for anyone going through difficult times through the holidays. It's extra hard, I know. I'm not even sure why I'm addressing this here, it's just what I'm feeling this morning. The only wisdom I can possibly share from our experience, is the truth that as hopeless as it can seem, you will know peace again. Also, as alone as we can feel during hard times... we are never alone. Let people in.

Wishing you all the most peaceful holiday season possible. We feel very much in the spirit of things around here this year.

There are just a few fabric bundles left in the shop from my destash sale this morning... thank you so much to those that have already stopped by! We are heading to Vermont for the day so if you need to convo me about anything I'll get back to you tomorrow. Take care.

keeping busy... courtside.

This is where you will find me two nights during the week and once on the weekend, until... oh... March, I think. The lighting is great in the gym! Even if it doesn't appear so in these shots, trust me, it's so bright and clear... really helps me to see what I am doing. It almost makes me forget that I really, really need to get new glasses.

Hey... who's that tall, handsome coach over there? I know him! They won't let him play on the teams... instead he is handed a clipboard and instructions to coach them, not join them. And that girl in the front... I think she's wearing my shirt! Hmm...

It's okay though. She's working hard at perfecting her wrist action, running every single suicide the coach asks of her (I think she actually likes those!), scoring a whole bunch of baskets and having loads of fun. Good times ahead for the winter months.

I hope to be back tomorrow. I'm feeling very grateful these days and I seem to be on a bit of a blogging kick too. If I get lost in the tasks of basting and pie dough rolling however, I think you'll understand, and please have yourself a lovely and mellow holiday.

studio destash sale... coming up!

We have realtors coming... it's marked on the calendar. It's happening. This house will soon be listed (and hopefully sold shortly thereafter).

As we move toward clearing out and packing up, it has been made clear that I have way more fabric than a girl needs... or will realistically use in this lifetime. I need to part with a great deal of it, we just won't have the same amount of space in Vermont that we have here. But no worries about that because purging and simplifying our belongings (even further) feels amazing.

So a studio destash is in order. Here's how it'll work:

• I have attempted to loosely categorize colorways... choose from blues... greens... white backgrounds (think vintage sheeting)... pinks... earthy - includes browns, yellows, reds, oranges
• Each bundle weighs a generous 3 lbs. and is packaged in a 2 gallon ziploc .
• I think I will have about 20 or so to list.
• Each will contain a combination of vintage and new. There may even be a little piece of vintage clothing in some... I often take apart partially tattered vintage clothing to sew with.
• These are not bundles of dinky little scraps... there are many large pieces including yards or half yards in each.
• They will be priced to sell at $10 a piece. Awesome.
• All will be ready to go early Friday morning!

A couple of years ago I participated in a scrap swap and Grace sent me the most beautiful collection. It was surprising and wonderful how much inspiration can be found in a random assortment of surprise fabric choices. I hope my studio destash is your studio pick-me-up!