shaking off the dust of hibernation

so how do i explain my ridiculously long absence? all i can say is that for the past few weeks, the idea of writing here has felt too much like a chore. so i didn't do it. maybe that's lazy, but i'm of the mind that this blog is meant to be fun - and if it doesn't feel fun, i don't do it. so that's the deal.

anyway, i've been gobbling up a handful of blogs lately (see here, here, here, here, and here). i've been trying to simplify, to spend time on things that make me feel good, that make me a calmer, happier, more full individual. so i've been neglecting a lot of my traditional internet haunts, in the name of cutting down on the time suck that is the world wide web.

apparently when one neglects one's blog, one becomes terrifically verbose when one begins writing again.

sorry.

okay, so the reason i was moved to write today, is that my hubby went out into our (beautiful! blossoming!! flower-filled!!) garden this morning, and came back in carrying a basket overflowing with the most amazing smelling pink and yellow roses. i immediately had him take pictures so that i could show them off. this was inspired, in large part, by a blog called habit, that i've been super into. little snippets of people's lives, that, unlike this blog, don't take hours to read, but leave you feeling touched, inspired, and still. at least, that's how it leaves me :)

okay, onward and upward with the day. enough putzing around on here.

xo

Brave

This week's illustration friday topic is extra special - because I chose it!!!!! It was a suggested topic of mine from way back, and I have to admit it was pretty darn cool to open my weekly IF email from Penelope Dullaghan, and see my name there (and when you go to the IF website, in the top left-hand corner where the current topic is posted, my name and a link to my site are there too!!).

So here it is - Rosa Parks as the embodiment of Brave.

kitchens, farms, babies and barns

there is a huge part of me that wants to live in a little farmhouse in the country... something we can polish and paint and fill with things we love. and have some babies and some kittens, maybe a dog or two... a barn that we can use as a studio... a potters wheel... a front porch with a view. the tv's and computers to be used only when absolutely necessary. yes yes yes.

i've been feeding this part of me by obsessing over some of the following this week:

* a woman living a farm/child/kitten/love-filled life on MommyCoddle
* thinking about how i want to raise my family with Slow family living
* the inspiring Penelope Dullaghan (illustrator, artist, yogi, mama - could you sum up my life goals more succinctly??), whose work i just happen to luuuurve
* the ever-increasingly satisfying Young House Love - which i've been following for a while, but am perhaps now at the point in my life where their adventures are more fascinating than ever :)

so yes, i am feeling domestic - but restless... longing for the chance to make my domesticity the way that i really want it? maybe. if that makes any sense.

anyway, these yummy, sunny kitchens would be perfect places to feed bowls of cereal to little people, make long lazy phone calls to my sister, my mother, my cousins... experiments in pastry... i really really want to go to there.




via scandinavian retreat

maybe i'm just tired of this dark apartment with the constant gas leaks and flood-prone basement. maybe i'm just over the city a little bit. or maybe i just need to get away for a while...

snow day

oh it's a lovely snowy snow day!! no work, all play :)

the view from my studio window...



from the kitchen window (don't pay any attention to the bars... ah brooklyn living!)...



and from the back door! three snowy musketeers...



so fun :)

Illustration Friday

Yes, I am still a creative being! My life no longer revolves around weddings!! Oh the liberation :)

This week's illustration friday topic is "muddy." This may be a cliched interpretation, but I don't care. So there. Muddy boots are the best.



Oh springtime. I am so looking forward to your showers and green growing things. Even the mud is preferable to the barren chill of winter at this point. And a blizzard is supposed to be on it's way tonight! Oy! At least it's cause for a little excitement! I'm so over the January-February blahs.....

Love Thy Neighbor (even if it's a crappy day)

It's a rainy rainy GLOOMY day here in Brooklyn, and I woke up with a major case of the blahs. Sometimes when you're grumpy, the best thing is to focus on something other than yourself. Case in point: my husband showed me this link to his good friend, Walter Smith's website. Walt is a great photographer here in NYC, and he's come up with a really cool idea - he's offering up some original Walter Smith prints (both for sale and as a raffle prize, depending on how much you can give) - with 100% of the proceeds going to the OXFAM Haiti Earthquake Response Fund. So head over to his site, check out his beautiful work, and maybe snag some for yourself. It's for a very worthy cause.

It's an awesome idea, and hopefully more artists will follow suit!

p.s. please share the link!

I am so mad

That I didn't find this site BEFORE my wedding. These dresses are totally awesome! And completely affordable!! And they rent them too. Damn it!!

I mean, my dress was okay. It was definitely affordable :) But it was way too boobalicious, and I had to keep hiking up the front of it all night - those bad boys just didn't have enough support. It's the one thing I would change if I could go back. Le sigh. Maybe I can help someone else avoid making the same mistake. Your dress is important!! Not $2,000 worth of important, but you do want to make sure you're as happy with it as you can possibly afford to be. I felt too overwhelmed and was too afraid of being a high maintenance bride to make enough of a stink over choosing my dress. Lesson learned.



Yes. This is me singing with my sister and my cuz. We had a lot of live music that day :) But the point I'm trying to illustrate with this pic is actually the complete lack of mammary support. I had a bra on, I swear! Like it made a difference. Ugh.

And so. What makes a dress perfect:
1. It fits you. Perfectly. (read: enough booby support! and make sure you're not going to be tripping over it while you're dancing!).
2. It's flattering (Hello saggy migillcutty.)
3. It fits your budget. (aka doesn't make you want to cry every time you remember the price tag. Also, you don't have to sell your soul to get it.)
4. It's comfortable enough to let you focus fully on what is happening around you.
5. It makes you feel like the most specialist girl in the room (not because that's what it's all about, but because you'll be getting a lot of attention, and it's kind of nice to feel like you're dressed for it :)). Don't underestimate the value of feeling pretty.

So stalk your dress!! It's out there! Whether you're having a formal wedding for 400 people or eloping in Kuala Lumpur, trust me, It Will Be Worth It.

That being said, as long as you manage to look this happy the first time you dance with your husband (or wife), then nothing else really matters that much. Yeah, I'm pretty lucky.



Seriously though. Don't be afraid to insist on getting yourself a dress that makes you feel super special. Really. It will be one less thing to worry about that day - you'll know you look awesome, and you won't have to be constantly worrying that your naughties are showing :) Which obviously equals having way more fun :)

p.s. sorry about the extreme hiatus. for whatever reason, I just haven't been feeling it lately. I'll try to be better... much love to you all!!

p.p.s. Also, I want to point out that the reason Matt and I aren't gazing into one another's eyes in this shot is that we were LITERALLY surrounded on all sides by our guests, who were all singing our first dance song TO us (Dream a Little Dream). So we alternated between looking at each other and looking at all the other people we love! Absolutely one of the most incredible experiences of my life.