Explore New Adventures

Every year as we ring in the new year together as a family, we choose a word to define the year ahead.  A simple year to set the tone for the days ahead.  It's amazing the power that a simple word can have on your life.  Focusing on the good you want to come can change everything as you move forward.

We adopted this tradition years ago as a way to move away from the traditional resolutions that many make.  Resolutions are typically about things you want to change in your life, and often come with negative emotions and ultimately failures.   That certainly didn't sound like something we wanted to start our year with, and so a new tradition was born.

This year we had a pretty clear idea of what we wanted to embrace in the new year, even if we had a bit of trouble settling on just one word.  We knew we wanted to jump headfirst into any adventures that 2014 might throw our way, and create quite a few of our own as well.  The girls thought we needed to add a bit more, and Explore was added to the mix.  Maybe a bit of longing for the exploring they love to do when the weather isn't quite as frigid as it has been this winter?  Or maybe a gentle nudge to finally hang the embroidery I was working on earlier this year?  Either way it was a perfect addition to our year, and our decor.

This year certainly brought some fun adventures so far in the way of snow fall, surprises, unexpected (but always welcome) houseguests, and the promise of more to come.  Considering we're only three weeks into the new year, we're anxious to see what other adventures come our way...

The designs came straight from Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray.  This book has inspired so many projects around here, and there are still so many designs we haven't even tried yet.  I see them popping up in many other places this year, especially little girl dresses.  The lettering is, of course, from Sublime Stitching.  The Sublime Stitching website is what first got me hooked on embroidery, the fantastic patterns and how-to section sealed the deal for me.  

Christmas 2013

We had quite the jolly holiday, though it did go on a bit longer than I had anticipated.  The holidays, travel, and a great deal of winter weather made it just a bit harder to get motivated and back into this space.  I am so happy to be back though, and have so very much to share.

Christmas was absolutely lovely this year.  So much creating, baking, and family made this a wonderful holiday season for us.  Even if we are still cleaning up bits of glitter and flour in the aftermath...

Icy Weekend

An ice covered weekend (and the resulting lack of electricity) didn't dampen our Christmas spirit one bit.  There was hand sewing to complete, gifts to wrap, games to play, books to read, and beautiful sights to see regardless of what mother nature might have thrown at us.  Today we are thankful to have the electricity back on, for today we will  finish up our holiday preparations and enjoy our favorite Christmas movies together.    

Winter Solstice

Well the first day of winter certainly came in with a bang...and a crackle and snap if you're listening to the trees all around us.  Even before we were in bed last night the world around us began to ice over.  We awoke this morning to everything glistening and the girls marveled in the beauty of icy covering.

 

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While there certainly is much beauty to behold, having gone through a few ice storms in our days, Daddy and I began to prepare for the eventual loss of power that was likely to come.  As the tree branches began to droop lower and lower under the weight of their icy blanket we knew our time was limited and then just as predicted...

It was Kinsley who questioned "why is the tree smoking?" and brought our attention to a troublesome branch at the back of the property.  And within moments the electricity flashed and the lights went dark, seconds later a transformer blew down the street as well.  

We are fortunate to have a heat source that does not rely on electricity and so our afternoon went on much as was planned.  Spending our afternoon sitting by various windows throughout the house working on and wrapping our Christmas presents for one another.  Happy when the lights came on only because it illuminated our tree once again (a very important aspect of Christmas cheer in our home it turns out).  

The power has since flashed on and off a few times since then so it is very likely we will lose power again before this storm is over.  And if that happens we will simply move from our spots near the windows and closer to candle light as darkness approaches.  Enjoying a simple (and thankfully warm) Winter Solstice. 

Mistletoe Kisses

This year has been a year of removing things from the dreaded to-do list.  In an effort to keep the holidays stress free and family focused many things were simply put off for another year.  Precious few things were absolutely necessary this year and anything else that was accomplished has simply been a bonus.  Many more moments were spent snuggling by the fire and watching the lights sparkle on the Christmas tree.  Many more hours of sleep have been had this season, and that, my friends, has been wonderful.  There have been moments of worry over not getting things done, of course, because that is simply how my brain seems to be wired.  Thankfully I've had some little reminders that those things simply aren't what matters and back to the tree we go.  

We did add one new activity to our season this year, a hunt for mistletoe.  We've never had mistletoe up in our decor and for some reason this year it felt like the thing to do.  We certainly had never gone out and gathered it ourselves either.  Daddy assured us that he knew just where to find lots of mistletoe so off we went on the hunt.  It turns out, however, that Daddy might have been just a bit mistaken.  We trekked through lots of woods searching high and low for our desired greenery without much luck.  Thankfully there were lots of other beautiful sights to keep us in good spirits and willing to go just a bit farther.  

With a slight change in location and just as we were about to give up we finally spotted it.  The girls were happy to gather themselves each a basket full of mistletoe to bring home, though we were a bit disappointed that ours didn't have any of the pretty white berries attached. 

I'm not sure that gathering mistletoe will find its way into our annual Christmas activities but for this year we certainly did enjoy it, and the loads of kisses (and even more giggles) that have resulted from having it.  

Last Customs

With the last custom orders delivered yesterday, in person even, I am officially closing my Etsy shop for the remainder of the year.  It's time to focus on family and fun for the holidays.  We have several holiday parties coming up and a lot of fun planned too.

It's always a bit bitter sweet for me.  While I am more than ready for the break and change of pace, I do love creating for everyone.  The realization that so many of my creations will be waiting under Christmas trees to be unwrapped or handed out as Solstice gifts is so fulfilling, and a bit humbling as well.  I feel incredibly blessed to be able to do what I do on a regular basis.

Since these were custom orders and have all arrived at their homes I can safely share them without ruining any surprises for anyone.  I do have a few fun gifts and projects that I'm dying to share but have to wait a bit longer until they make it to their new homes.  

Leaf jumping weather

The weather this week is absolutely amazingly beautiful.  It's hard to believe we're in the week before Christmas, especially considering the snow that has only just melted away. We certainly didn't expect to be able to jump in leaves again like we did just a few weeks ago.  We were out for quite a while today soaking up the sun and enjoying creating memories just like these again...