quiet moments...





im trying to hold onto quiet moments as they happen. they seem so rare, but i wonder if it is just that i can't seem to quiet my own mind these days? it wanders restlessly from place to place, and i can't seem to settle on any one thing. i keep pulling out my work, only to leave it sitting where it is. i keep reminding myself to walk quietly and purposefully through each day... but it doesn't seem to be working. i feel instead as if i am pushing against everything, only making it more difficult. i certainly forget this reminder when it comes to my children. i know everything needs more time to settle but it's not an easy path.


oh, sofa...


oh, sofa... how much do i love you? why must you be $2,000? why must you tempt me like you do?

someday.... maybe?

be a hero for babies...


today is "be a hero for babies" day at the march of dimes. farmers insurance will match all donations dollar for dollar today, so think what a difference even a small contribution will make. find out more at the march of dimes website, or simply click the link above to make a donation! let's help to make sure all babies get a healthy start in life.

to find out more about why this is important to me go here.

xoxo

meet carmela...




here is another little happy thing that happened this weekend in lexington. last time i went, i surprised my family by bringing back our little kitten, bell. before leaving this time, my son told me he hoped i would bring back another. well, i had no intention of doing that but (!) after getting bell, we had kind of wished we had brought home one of her siblings... so she would have someone to play with (and scratch, other than my husband) and so the kids wouldn't fight over holding her. while at my grandmother's i discovered that some of the kittens were still available and in need of a home. the woman who had them is doing a wonderful thing... catching the feral cats in the neighborhood and getting them fixed. she took in bell's mother and her kittens to find homes for them, and have the mother fixed and released. another cat (actually bell's grandmother) just had another set of kittens who had been attacked by raccoons and needed a home inside. so she took them in... leaving her with many kittens! so we decided to bring home another little sweetie... carmela! we are already in love of course, and the kids are of course arguing over who gets to hold the new kitty. oh, well. they also call her carmellow... which is fitting since she is extremely mellow. so now we have bell, and "mel". and i'm done. no more kitties. i did bring home another though for my mother-in-law:) they are so hard to resist.

beginnings...


i went to a really lovely wedding this weekend in kentucky. my sister's very good friend, andrea, who she has known since they were fourteen was the beautiful bride. i have been to many weddings but this one was a favorite. it was full of joy and love from all around... especially from the bride and groom themselves. they were both so happy and relaxed and focused on what what important... the life they were beginning together.



it was a wonderfully fun atmosphere, and i enjoyed taking part in it! hopefully the bride wasn't too annoyed by my incessant picture taking. didn't my sister katy make a lovely maid of honor?


i'm glad to be living so much closer to lexington now. this was part of the reason we moved down here, to be closer to family and friends. we stayed with my grandmother, who is an extremely fun and energetic (almost) 85 year old! love my granny!

and love being back in the crazy environment of the south! my sister and i laughed the whole way back home at all the funny moments we shared. it's definitely a whole other world down here.


xo

inspiration wednesday...

1. no harm..., 2. Untitled, 3. corner, 4. portraits, 5. Vintage bird collection, 6. Lanterns, 7. so this is summer, 8. photo by our #1..., 9. more essential packing..., 10. vintage strawberry pincushion, 11. Untitled, 12. Trio, 13. Calocybe gambosa (St George's Mushroom) 9430, 14. Untitled, 15. frillyBLUR, 16. air, 17. When you scan the radio, I hope this song will guide you., 18. tiger lilies gathered on the drive home, 19. Turbo on the grass, 20. Paris 2002, 21. 16, 22. 11, 23. Chair Fetish II, 24. DSC03321

not feeling much inspired these days... maybe it's the heat of summer but i am feeling so lazy and unmotivated lately. really, i think i'd like to just get in a canoe and spend the rest of the day floating down a river....

as long as there were no screaming children in the boat with me:)

much deserved...


i'm so excited for my well-deserved, extremely talented and hard working friend, sam, of mummysam. she has announced an upcoming fabric line she created for robert kaufman! what a wonderful achievement, and i know there is other exciting news on the way too. sam's a great inspiration to me... and a reminder to get back to work;)

saturday shopping list...


for today's saturday shopping list you can see my treasury on etsy! first in a while! enjoy your day... i hope it's beautiful! i'm off to help my sister move.

craigslist obsession...



i have become addicted to craigslist. there, my secret is out! okay, my husband wouldn't call it much of a secret but it's definitely an addiction. i have had to force myself to stop looking on craigslist for awhile because i cannot stop finding things i want (and convince myself i need). i never really did this in ny. it seemed much more of a hassle... too much to sort through, too expensive, too hard to get home, etc. since we did throw out much of our things when we moved, and also moved into a much bigger space it is partly a necessity... but i also think it's a way to focus on something other than the stress of moving and starting our lives completely over. it can be a bit overwhelming when everything you do is completely new. i'm so anxious to get the house looking like a home, but i feel like i have just hit the disaster phase.... where you have all the "unappealing" boxes to open and figure out a place for, the piles of clothes to be put away... etc. my mom has a friend who would move into a new house and have it entirely unpacked, painted wallpapered, you name it... all in the first week! i wish i had that kind of energy or motivation. i get easily bored and distracted.... things like craigslist always seem to be calling me!

(i did get some good deals... the crate and barrel couch was only $200, and sid's antique mahogany bed was $25 dollars!)

in other news... our little kitty, bell, is growing fast! and turning into a holy terror! yikes. she looks so sweet, but we are all sporting claw marks these days. kittens are adorable, but i'm kind of looking forward to her growing out of this phase.


we also had another lost tooth! it was hanging by a thread for about a month because he refuses to wiggle them, but yesterday he let us (read: aunt katy, because it kind of creeps me out) pull it. i love the missing top teeth... so cute! ack, it seems like yesterday that those teeth came in for the first time:( i'm not in such a hurry for them to grow out of the kitten stage.

inspiration wednesday...

1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. baby birds in a nest, 4. vintage purple ribbons, 5. Untitled, 6. Happy!, 7. print and pattern, 8. Untitled, 9. going out on delivery, 10. The Board Room, 11. Miniature Rhino, 12. 6/30/09, 13. colorful fiber, 14. Miles in the morning, 15. peeking, 16. Untitled, 17. stilllifewithturtle, 18. braids, 19. my helper, 20. i want to show you everything i've ever made, 21. cherry blossoms, 22. lemon sherbert, 23. Capture All The Wonder Here, 24. ****

i love all the light, beautiful pastel colors of this week... and the old fashioned... or perhaps just timeless, look of these photos. i'm anxious to try and capture this feeling in my home:)