A little wrap-up of these finals days of the year and a recipe

Ah, these final, busy days of the year.

Christmas doesn't mark the end of celebratory preparations around here because we have a late December baby in this household.

Jacob's 9th (!!) birthday was Monday.  Since his birthday is only three days after Christmas, we always hold it on the exact day it falls. And we try our very best to avoid wrapping birthday presents with Christmas-themed wrapping paper. ;)

This year, the party was at the local bowling alley's arcade.  There was pizza, a Star Wars Kylo Ren cake and much game-playing (and running around.)

This boy has grown up so much in the last year!

Since Jacob's birthday, we have enjoyed quiet, restful days. And it's been especially easy to laze about when we've gotten nothing but rain for nearly a week straight!

These days are my favorite.  We relax, read, watch TV and movies, write, draw.  I love the fact that all pressure is off and we can simply BE in all the post-holiday glowiness. 

No school, no work, nothing pressing but petting kitties and doing whatever it is that we desire!

In addition to all this doing-whatever-we-wishness, eating has also been a frequent activity.

My mom brought over for Christmas dinner an incredible and addictive kale salad that I've made twice in the last week.  It's lasted maybe 24 hours each time.  

Since it's a tradition in the South to eat greens on New Year's Day for good financial luck, this seems like a perfectly reasonable (and let me assure you, *much* tastier) substitute for collards.

The lady who gave my mom this recipe calls this the Convert Kale Salad because it'll convert anyone who tries it to liking kale! It's wholesome and full of delicious flavors.  Thus far, I've doubled the following recipe both times.

I've also eaten this salad for breakfast on two occasions. And I'm one who usually makes plenty of poor food decisions in the morning--such as skipping breakfast altogether or going straight for doughnuts.  

Convert Kale Salad

Serves: 6-8

 Time: 15 minutes prep, overnight marination

5-6 cups kale, washed and chopped

1/2 cup dried currants or coarsely chopped raisins
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1 tablespoon honey
zest and juice of one lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Mix kale, fruit, lemon zest and nuts in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and honey to make a dressing.  Pour dressing over kale.  Using your hands, massage dressing into greens to coat evenly and reduce overall volume of greens by about half. (This step is weird but important--do not skip it!)  Refrigerate overnight or for six hours minimum.  Toss and serve.

Since pine nuts are pricey ($7.99 for 8 oz. at Trader Joe's and that's a good price), I'll be subbing toasted pecans the next time I made this.  So, on like Sunday.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hope you rung in the New Year in the way you like.  We bade 2015 farewell with friends, card games and various libations. 

And now it's back to a few more days of delightful lounging.

Happy New Year, friends!

Ramblings on risk and gratitude

This little boy stayed home from school last Thursday with a fever--that ultimately turned out to be strep throat. :/

However, he was quite happy to camp out on the couch with many pillows, blankets, kitties, books and Netflix while I worked. 

Kitties really make everything better, don't they? Daphne is our little cream puff marshmallow angel!

Since working entails me going to the workshop in our backyard, I could check on him repeatedly throughout the day and take pauses as needed. 

To have this luxury floored me on this particular, warmer-than-usual November day.

It's been a little more than a year since I left my previous job.  That position was at a public library and there were many aspects of it--mainly brilliant co-workers and a mission I very much believed in--that made it excellent. 

 But it was an office job (and wow, have I learned over the years that office jobs don't suit me!) and the pay was pretty paltry considering the responsibilities and expectations. Additionally, the hours were going to change and that would necessitate childcare after school. 

After going through an exhausting divorce and other losses the last few years, I knew I wanted to be available to Jacob while we continued to adjust after big changes.  To be a consistent and loving presence for him feels like my most important work at this time in life.

And with him almost 9, I feel like the years have flown by at an astonishing pace!  I didn't want to miss time together for a job when there are many, many more years ahead to work. 

So, with a mix of bravery and trepidation, I gave my notice to pursue a new path.

Fast forward to a feverish boy and a working parent's dilemma.  Which is no longer my own dilemma because circumstances have allowed me, and are such that I have been able, to strike out on my own for work.   Talk about a moment of exceptional gratitude.

Leaving a steady job felt rather risky. It was a calculated risk, but a risk nonetheless. 

 However, a year on the other side of that decision, I'm deeply glad I didn't choose comfort or predictability or the known. Thanks to the support of family, my loving man, friends, and business associates, along with my own skills and determination, when my son is sick, I am able to be there for him without guilt or outside pressure.

The privilege of this situation is immense.

I feel very often these days that I live a charmed life.  It's most certainly imperfect and filled with struggle at times (though usually of my own making.)  But it's something I've wanted and strived for for so long. 

I've been moved over the years by women, both in real life that I know, and via blogs, that have earnestly sought to live authentic, gratitude-filled lives. That looks different for different people but the commonality has been intention: the making of deliberate choices when they're available; focusing on relationships and life's work; choosing to be grateful more often than not.

Where I am today is a culmination of fortune, happenstance, better (and let's be honest, poorer) choices, privilege, risk-taking, work on myself, and luck, to mention just a few factors.

And for all of this, I am most grateful.  Especially to have this boy who is now fever-free and back to his bouncing-off-the-walls ways.

via

The need to be creative

Whew!

What a hectic couple of weeks!  This is the busiest time of year for my candle business.  And this little cottage industry has been *quite* industrious the last several weeks--for which I'm most grateful and happy (if not bone-tired many nights!)

For me, working with my hands is deeply satisfying and, frankly, vital. Candle-making certainly works well as a vocation for that reason.  Being able to smell all the amazing scents is certainly a perk too! ;) 

But even making candles by hand all day apparently doesn't satisfy the insatiable need to create.  Working on a project--whether it's painting a piece of furniture, crocheting a scarf, dabbling in drawing or stitching fabric--is satisfying at the soul level.  Also, being in the act of creating and making seemingly turns off my brain and its constant thinking.  Creating allows me to be as much 'in the moment' as I think I can possibly be as someone who is perpetually planning and thinking ahead.

However with working, parenting and life in general being so full right now, there's not been much time for fanciful, experimental or new creating. 

I do hope to make some glitter houses in December. That's something I've done in years past using paperboard houses from hobby stores.  I've also used templates--these by Better Homes and Gardens are great and easy to assemble--and cereal boxes to make houses. 

This mini house was made last year with friends and is accented with a cupcake topper tree and deer!

And of late, I've become completely, totally, absolutely obsessed with felt flowers. 

I think it was on Instagram that I ran across The Felt Flower Shop.  

Be still my flower-loving heart!

Felt wildflower corsage from Felt Flower Shop on Etsy

Felt wildflowers on wood letters

Felt wildflower wreath

How charming are these creations?  The colors of felt are incredible, as are the shapes and textures of the petals. Many of the flowers are simply assembled with hot glue.

Having gone through a phase of making coffee filter flowers.  And having an undying flower infatuation, there's something about re-making real, live items in another medium that is massively appealing. 

Fortunately, there is no shortage of tutorials for making all sorts of felt flowers.  Finding tutorials for some of my all-time favorite flowers like dahlias, peonies and cabbage roses was a thrill as I dream about trying a new craft. 

So, sometime after the holidays, in the dead of winter, don't be surprised to find me surrounded by felt petals and strands of hot glue!

What drives your creative passions?  And what are you making--or hoping to make?

Links and sites mentioned in this post are not sponsored.  They are simply things and shops I love and want to share!

Climbing back in the (blogging) saddle

(As a long-time horse lover, this post title pun was completely unavoidable. :P)

It feels right, familiar and oh-so-comfortable to be back in the proverbial saddle. 

Two years of writing, creating and photographing for my previous blog was a period of great personal joy.  

Being amongst other ladies who ooh'd and ahh'd over DIY projects, paint colors, vintage goodies, decor and fabrics was like being in a virtual sorority of creative, kindred spirits. 

Now, after a couple of years away, getting back into the custom of blog reading in the mornings is an incredible pleasure these days.   

Thinking about and planning for future posts has me giddy.  (I'll probably be a bit all over the place, but viva la variety, right?) 

Capturing little moments and being behind the camera again is a place I relish.

So with that said, here's a teensy peek at my new cottage home. Due to my incurable sickness/love affair for all things aqua, this little white bungalow greets the world with a can't-be-missed front door painted in Sherwin Williams Aqueduct. And since Aqueduct is such a perfect color, the mailbox got a coat of it as well!

In looking at this photo, it just occurred to me that aqua might just be an outstanding colorful neutral. 

It works for fall decor as the orange is a natural complement to this shade of blue-green.  Red is a classic pair to aqua so Christmas decorations will be a no-brainer later this year. (Not to mention silver accents and winter greenery.)  And even thinking ahead to far-off spring and summer, accents of white, yellow or pink would all work. 

I just picked this color because it makes me happy in my soul.  But it's conveniently serendipitous there are a multitude of ways to dress it up for all the seasons too.

Sights from this fall day

Though the sun's warmth is reminiscent of a late spring day, the dry, crisp scent in the air portends nature's forthcoming transition to dormancy.  

The leaves are becoming varying shades of gold, brown, pumpkin and crimson. The pops of color--in the tree boughs, scattered in the grass, littering the sidewalks--captivate me today.

What a gorgeous time of year.  

How fortunate I am to witness and feel this seasonal splendor.

all photos taken on my iPhone 5c and edited in Ribbet