beauty that moves

we hope you love this!

Greetings! I just had to stop by and share this. Emily was given a Straight No Chaser cd this morning and we've been loving this song today.

Scrubs fans... crank up the Toto!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Now back to the festivities...

handmade by others saves the day

I had such high hopes for this little guy. I imagined him to be finished, printed, and in the hands of Emily's teachers as we all parted for the holidays. The owl is their school symbol and I thought it would make an enjoyable and meaningful gift. It is nowhere near finished... I think I will finish it over Christmas break and tuck it away for end of the year gifts.

This holiday season has been the first in my adult life that I have worked outside of the home five days a week. Oh my, what a challenge. It has been such a relief to enlist the help of others for gift and goodie making. Instead of my owl print, Emily's teachers were given handmade soap. Made locally by a gal that my family has a rather important connection to so it seemed quite fitting. And her soap is truly amazing.

Tomorrow my girl turns twelve. In previous years I have been able to blog a few words on her special day, but honestly, this year I feel utterly speechless. Twelve seems so huge. At twelve years old I was babysitting, had a phone in my room, and was slow dancing with boys to Stairway to Heaven at school dances (geeez....). She is a very different twelve than I was, she is better. And that is all I've ever hoped for.

As you can imagine, we have a lot of merriment going on around here. I think I'll step away from the blog until next week. I hope your days ahead are filled with the abundant beauty and magic of the season. Many blessings to each of you!

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.

eleven

 

Today we interrupt the holiday festivities - and celebrate instead, the birthday of a very special girl.

Eleven. Imagine that.

Emily - You always ask me to tell you stories about Mema, who you never had the grand adventure of knowing. So here is a tiny little 'story' (advice really) that I don't think I've ever told you before. Mema always told my mother that you know your doing a good job as a mom if you can look at your own children as they grow older and say "You know, I really like them." She wasn't talking about whether you love your children, of course a mother loves her children. But that you actually like them... as people, this was important to her. Well sweetie, I can say that I do, I honestly do. Sometimes I look at you and think how unaware you are of your own brilliance and goodness, I wonder where on earth the time has gone. And I treasure you - my god, do I treasure you. Happy Birthday.

I think I'll be signing off for a bit. I hope your days ahead are filled with peace and festive times with loved ones. And if you are still holding on to the hope of getting it all done, making it perfect and complete - take a breath, let it go, and settle in.