The Time Has Come

It's here. It's time for Silver Bella. So begins the time of year when I can blog about little else. Feel free to take a sabbatical from me while I get it out of my system.

Four nights away from it all. I will miss my family so much. I will miss you all too, but I will have more glitter & wine powered fun than you can imagine. I thought I'd leave you with a peak of my felt ornaments all packaged up and ready to swap.

 

This is an in progress peek of the apron I made this year. I hope all of you have a week filled with friends and creativity. Okay, wine and glitter too. I look forward to catching up with you soon.

Shannan and Jen's Excellent Adventure

 

Friday was my long anticipated day spent with Shannan from Flower Patch Farmgirl. It was one of those rare perfect days that you know you will remember for years to come. How could any day that starts off with an aardvark decorated present be anything other than wonderful I ask you? Inside was the loveliest flower pin that I happily wear on my shopping tote. By the way, all of these pictures are Shannan's as I was so caught up in the excitement I walked out of the house without my camera.

 

Shannan is wonderful. She is warm, sweet, beautiful, sincere, encouraging, brilliant and wicked funny. Finding her was a blessing. Well, maybe not for her considering our entire first meeting happened because I insinuated myself into her life.

After getting to know each other for awhile through our blogs, she made the comment that Emma and I should come visit her farm sometime. She was just being polite but since she lives just 2 1/2 hours north of me I packed up Emma and got in my car and went. Bless her heart. I'm sure she never thought I'd actually do it.

 

This day was her chance to pay me back. We started our Adventure off with Anthropologie where oddly, neither of us bought anything. Next we went to the flea market where we managed to avoid fighting over a single treasure. I think this bodes well for the future of our friendship. 

 

Next we were off to the The Flying Cupcake where amazing cupcakes are only half the fun. You can see my previous post about this sugar wonderland here. It's impossible to walk in to this bakery and not smile. I guarantee you Shannan will want to come back here every time she comes to Indy now. After that we visited the Girly Chic Boutique which happens to be owned by the same talented woman that owns the bakery.

 

 We wrapped up our shopping with a trip to the inspiring and wonderful but very, very expensive store Uber. There was very little there that I didn't want. There was very little there that I could afford.

 

After our busy day Shannan got to meet my unruly gang. Her exact words and more true words have never been spoken. Of course they were as charmed by her as I am. And apparently we didn't scare her off because there is already talk of a weekend visit with her family. I guess she didn't realize I was just being polite.

Aardvark decorated present aside, the real gift of this day was Shannan's friendship. I'm happy to have found you girl! I can't wait to see you again soon. Note to self: next time have picture taken at the beginning of the day.

Good Books

Here are some books that I've recently read & loved and wanted to recommend for your To Read List. You do have a To Read List, right? I'm not the only one? What is it about the smell of a new book? Or the smell of the library? Or the feel of a bookstore? I could never be happy without stacks and stacks of books around. I have a neighbor who loves her Kindle. Loves it. There is just no way I could ever give up the feeling of holding a book in my hands, of turning the pages and touching the words, of holding it up to my face and deeply inhaling it's intoxicating scent. Please share what you've been smelling reading lately.

 

Letting Go

My dear friend Shannan is coming to see me on Friday and it got me thinking about this subject that has been on my mind for awhile. I thought this would be a good time to bring it up. Shannan, feel free to print this out and read it several times before you get here.

Dear Friends,
I've decided to quit trying to be perfect. I'm not and neither is my home. I really gave it my all for awhile but to be honest, it was exhausting. I assume that if you are coming to see me it is because you care about me and want to see me and don't really care that my carpet needs to be cleaned and that I still haven't refinished the kitchen table. I assume you would rather sit with me and visit over a cup of tea in a cozily cluttered room than to sit uncomfortably in a perfectly clean museum. Here are some things I would like you to know:

-When you come to my house it will probably be a little messy. A real family with real messes lives here.
-It will probably be a little dusty. I love to vacuum but dusting? Not so much.
-Don't bring your white gloves.
-If you drop food on the floor I suggest you skip the 5 second rule and let the dog eat it.
-I like piles of things. They make me happy.
-I was going to clean for your visit but I decided my time would be better spent in the studio. As my friend I'm sure you agree since you want me to be happy.
-Never come during that time of day when the sun is streaming through the front windows and you can see every streak in my house. We will both be horrified.

I'm embracing my life. The real one. I'm sure we will both be better off for it. I know I am more comfortable in a house that isn't spotless. Now if only I could stop apologizing for the imperfections.

Pic from Country Living

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Organized

I'm not bragging, but I only have a handful gifts left to buy for Christmas. Okay maybe I am bragging. But you'll forgive me, right? Neither of my girls has asked for a single thing for Christmas. They are pretty easy to please. Emma said she just wants to be surprised and that she would love to get some crafts. These 2 items are at the top of my shopping list. Do you have any other gift suggestions for a little creative soul?

You can find these here and here.

An Introduction

I'd like to introduce you to a new friend of mine. Her name is Teresa and she resides at Meadowbrook Farm. Teresa sent me the sweetest email the other day which is how we met. Boy am I glad she took the time. Her blog is beautiful. Her photography is beautiful. Her attitude is beautiful too. Teresa went through a similar need to shake her life up, only hers took her to the country instead of to the village. She is such an inspiration and I knew you all would like to meet her also. Why don't you swing by her place and say howdy? You'll be glad you did. 

 

The Halloween Post

Better late than never, here I am with my Halloween pictures. I didn't want the holiday to pass without my recording it for posterity.

 

 Although truth be told, I'm glad it's over. For some reason all of the extra clutter from decorations isn't working for me this year. It will all be gone today and it's got me thinking I might really pare down for Christmas this year. 

 

Sweet Hubby always carves the pumpkins. There's a reason I'm not allowed to handle knives around my family during the holidays. I'll give you a small hint that hopefully won't be enough to be used against me in a court of law. Preschool Maddie+washing hands on chair at kitchen sink after making cookies for Santa+Mommy moving steak knife by sink for safety reasons+slipping kitchen chair=wound and permanent scarring on Maddie's shoulder blade. Let's say no more about it.

 

Of course Emma would have to try to eat the pumpkin guts. She won't eat a cooked vegetable to save her life but is a purist and prefers her produce fresh.

 

 The dog suit. Every year with the dog suit. Every year with the looks of pity from other wives. Every year with me having to do the walk of shame around the neighborhood. It's enough to make me miss living in Miami where it was just too hot to step outside in it.

 

This was a very cold Halloween. Em actually had to wear her coat over her costume the whole time we were out and only lasted about 45 minutes. I actually think that's perfect. It provides her with just the right amount of candy and keeps me from eating too much of it.