Wednesday, January 22, 2014

here and now
















hello.
 i am back from a somewhat forced break... broke charger to laptop.... ordered wrong charger.... sent back.... ordered the right charger.... and now here we are.

we have been working hard as a family to find a nice new rhythm in these short winter days. perfecting our flow... switching things up... trying some new ideas... i like how it's going.

i have had a busy week and don't feel fully present in this space right here and now so i am going to leave you with a quick list referencing my photos above...

1. layla stitching by the fire. i am excited to start teaching her more about sewing.

2. experimenting with beading on leather string.

3. i'm not the only one who is over the moon excited about the rebound of flannel, right?!?

4. ponies and piggies... what's not to love?

5. my new mantra.... "let it go"... (and a new love for all the beautiful washi tape)

6. progress on "kelsea's" hair... more on that soon

7. my bedroom windowsill and the end of the paperwhites

8. fairy houses in my flower bed... built by my kiddos with help from their auntie amber and little cousin jude. i love them so much... the auntie and the cousin.... and the fairy houses (and the uncle too!)

life has been so full... in such a wonderful way... i see great things in store for this year.
tomorrow, matt and me head off to the city for a much needed weekend away.
see you next week... fully present and centered.... a fresh new jenny
 (this is all wishful thinking... i will probably be tired and foggy... but i will have fun none the less!)

Saturday, January 11, 2014

my corner








i'm feeling a bit under the weather this weekend, and the literal weather outside is also out of sorts. we have a tropical front moving in off of the pacific and it's bringing hard winds and a lot of rain. i plan on spending most of my day either in my corner wrapped in that down comforter or snuggled in my bed with a down comforter... a cup of herbal tea close... and a hot water bottle.... oh yes. then i will alternate between reading, sewing, knitting, and constantly snuggling my babes.... and quite possibly some board games in bed... doesn't that sound lovely? it sounds very lovely to me because i don't feel up for much else at the moment.

the blue yarn above is for layla's dolls hair, we plan to make some progress this weekend and hopefully end up with a full head of hair for kelsie at the end of it.

the picture is very special to me. our friend heikki from finland drew it during one of his visits. he is an artist and so our children prompt him to draw picture after picture while he is here...  and they have most of them in their rooms tucked away here or there for safe keeping. but update: i discovered the artist responsible for this favorite of mine is actually my dear friend erin riley! love you erin. this one i kept for myself... it was drawn on torn, crumpled paper, that had already been drawn on by a little one... and it is a portrait of our family from when i was pregnant with ollie (notice the little +1 pointing to my belly?). another thing i love about this photo is that all of the kids are drawn wearing their halloween costumes, which i think they were wearing the day she drew it. they loved those halloween costumes and i believe that was the year they were wearing them constantly. so special. heikki has no idea that i framed this picture or that it is so special to me. i suppose i should tell him. 

anyway, i have some tea and snuggling to get too... i wish you a wonderful weekend that is full of whatever you want it to be full of.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

the start of the year



to learn about stamp carving... check out making an impression.... link in my sidebar carousel 






i'm so glad i didn't make my wreath very "christmasy" this year... now i feel i can leave it up



rice and beans, with an egg, chopped wilted spinich, and hot sauce.... yum



eislee decided to make her own banner... i swear i didn't help her at all... i wasn't even sure what she was making until she showed me her finished product... i love the buttons taped on the bottom


the green candle holder is the only "christmas" decoration i could not bring myself to put away. i just love it's presence on the table. my mom gave me that this year, and apparently, she had it through my childhood.... but i don't remember it at all. i love it and am very glad to have it carry on here. 


all of these photos are actually from the first week of january when all the kids were home. it was a great week. we had such a wonderful christmas. we had an entire week surrounding christmas gathering with lots and lots of family, and then we spent christmas day at home... just us. it was perfect.

and now... here we are at the start of a new year... and i just love a fresh start.