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

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 :)

Holiday Cards

So now that I'm all married, and the wedding and the honeymoon are behind me, I'm getting some feeling back in my long-unused parts. Like the part of me that makes art. Yeah, that's slightly major. I can't believe I've neglected it for so long! It's still being slow to recover - like I have pins and needles in my creative regions - but slowly I am regaining the use of my brain as a whole. No longer is all the blood just going to the wedding planning area!! Hooray!!

So I know I'm a bit late in getting these out there, but I've done a small line of holiday cards, which are for sale in my etsy shop. I'm a little obsessed with birds, if you didn't know. And in the name of shameless self-promotion, here they are!



ttfn!

Twenty-nine days!!

I have been a very very naughty blogger lately.

Can I just say, I have heard a lot of lamentation about the end-of-summer, but personally, I am in love with this crisp autumn air we've been experiencing lately. And I'm SO happy that we chose to get married in the fall, because it really is my favorite time of year. The colors of the trees, the cold-but-not-too-cold air, the snuggly sweaters, the apple cider, the holidays (halloween! thanksgiving!!) - what's not to love?

We're officially less than one month from the wedding. I know I should have lots to say, but I'm sort of at a loss. APW's posting about f*ck-it moments is really resonating with me today. There are a bunch of little details to take care of, and sure some are vital details (um, hello wedding rings!), but I feel good. I feel like we've got this. And now I'm just really really looking forward to it. And to after!

Speaking of APW resonating with me, Meg quoted this wise and wonderful lady today, and it describes my mood to a T:

"You get to a point where there's not much you can do but put on your fancy party dress, a pair of fabulous shoes and grab a bottle of cheap champagne to swig with your girls on the way to meet your groom." - Cyd

Tonight I am going down to my parents place. I'm going to spend some quality time with my sister aka best friend in the whole world. On Saturday I'm traveling with one of my oldest and dearest friends and her wonderful husband to the wedding reception of another old and dear friend who got married last weekend in Canada. On Sunday my Mattie will be joining me at my parents place, and on Monday we're off to get our marriage license! After which we'll be going to Honey's for lunch with my sis and another great friend to celebrate. Yay and Yum!!

Look for a post tomorrow, all about yellow shoes!!

La Vie En Rose

Such a pretty picture, from One Love Photography. It just fills me with peaceful joy :) This is what I hope Matt and I will look like in 20 years. Happy and gorgeous! And they're not even the couple getting married! Go check out the rest of this cozy, yummy-looking wedding.

Oh! And I got an exciting email today! You may remember awhile back I posted about Julene's INCREDIBLE paper-cut work. Well she's got some laser-cut pieces freshly up in her etsy shop! For a fraction of the price of one of her original, hand-made numbers, you can have this gorgeousness all for yourself.



It's raining cats and dogs outside my window... but I'm feeling mellow and content. It's nice. We're heading down to my parent's house tonight, and tomorrow I'm taking Matt to see our venue (he's such a brave, trusting soul for taking my word and the pictures as proof of its awesomeness) - the one and only time I've ever seen it was on a rainy day, and now it looks like tomorrow will be more of the same. Hopefully this means mother nature is getting it all out of her system so that October 10 will be dry and sunny. Then on Sunday, my beautiful sister is throwing me a bridal shower!! I feel so lucky :)

Enjoy the weekend, and I'll be back on Monday!

Forty-Five!!

Meg over at A Practical wedding wrote a wonderful post today, and it's just pumped a little more excitement and happiness into me :) Go read it. It's a little wedding graduate wisdom, delivered in an elegant and completely gut-hitting way. Seriously, read it.



So we had a flood in our basement two nights ago. Matt was washing dishes and I was drying them and putting them away. Matt turned off the water, and weirdly, I kept hearing it. We realized it was coming from the basement, and ran down... my poor Matt has his office down there, and there was a small pond under his desk, soaking the bottom of his computer tower, his battery back-up, and a bunch of his papers he had piled on the floor, in true Matt-fashion. He also had his amp down there, and it was actually filled with water. He was not a happy camper. So we were up until almost 2am cleaning up the mess and calling/texting the landlords. Finally crashed. Matt's new blackberry slept next to us, and woke us up every half hour with new emails. Then the alarm went off at 5:30 so that Matt could make it to his shoot in time. At that point I had had such a restless night of sleep, I couldn't stand being in bed anymore, so I got up as well. Then it was a day of dealing with landlords, sewer guys, maintenance people, and my fellow tenants (I had to beg them not to flush their toilets or use any water, cause every time they did, nasty sewage filled my basement and I had to take it outside, one bucket at a time). Super fun!! But by 5:00 it was all fixed, all handled, and I seriously felt awesome. Sometimes it takes a huge pain in the ass situation like that one to make you appreciate the so-called "little" things. Like having clean, indoor, running water. Like having toilets that flush. Definitely a mood booster :)

And now it's almost noon, and I've only been awake for two and a half hours, and I haven't gotten anything done, other than catching up on my blog reading, researching little coastal towns in Oregon (just because there is a part of me that fantasizes about escaping the dirt and noise and millions of people per square mile that is New York). But that's okay. I'm giving myself a pass for this morning. I'm just feeling good and lucky and blessed. And I also know that everything will be well. So I'm going to enjoy myself!

Speaking of which, the wedding is 45 days away!! Zoinks!! This week, I've found that all the bazillions of decor ideas that have been simmering for months, but still hadn't formed a cohesive plan, have suddenly started to fall into place. In my head at least, hah! But yeah, I'm not really sweating it... we'll be getting our marriage license in the next few weeks, and the rings, and after that, everything else is just icing, so to speak. And decorations or no, we have the most amazing family and friends in the world, and we'll have a beautiful location, good food, good music, good booze, and it will be fantastic. And you know what? Even if all that somehow fell through, it will still be fantastic, because WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!!



And sunflowers will be in season. Single bloom per maid?? I think so!!