How the mind wanders

It started with a hop onto a new favorite blog: S.HOPtalk





And then through her amazing array of Flicker photos (above)! What treasures! While on Flicker I found this by Reya:



I wondered what type of color I could find on Etsy. Which led me to Green Chair Press:



And here at Jessica Sharrah's etsy site:


Finally to CuriouserCuriouser:



Yeah, it's been one of those mornings, where my thoughts travel all over the place. It's been fun though! So much color!

Monday Inspiration

Happy Monday morning! I'm in need of filling up my blog space with beautiful bright photos. These are pieces of inspiration I've been slowly gathering.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Friday morning procrastination! Peanut butter sandwich cookies! They melt in your mouth.

I'm slowly trying to finish a cross stitch sampler this week. I've had it stuffed in a ziplock bag at the back of my closet for years. It's time to finish it. Plus, I have to say that there's something relaxing about cross stitch, just follow the pattern and try not to stab yourself.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Top ten favorites for Thursday:

1. Pandora Radio: listening to Brandi Carlile, TK Tunstall, Cat Power, Feist, Amos Lee, Kate Nash, and Beth Orton

2. Idea Monsters: for introducing me to a new blog look! (thanks heaps, Court, you're a doll for directing me here)

3. Andrews support and kindness: You are the greatest source of peace, comfort, and generosity *smootches*

4. Girlfriend dates with fellow artist ArtKitten: indulging in coffee, wine, movies, sushi, and lots and lots of art talk!

5. Six mugs of Lady Gray tea (do you remember those days in England, Lizzy?)

6. SNOWPANTS: making the outdoors accessible

7. Kosovo Indepenance

8. Gustav Bauman's artwork
9. PerfectBound's guest blogging on Design*Spounge

10. Patience with myself!

The winter season

This is a picture Andrew took while he was teaching English in Grenoble, France, three years ago. I love the soft purple and pinks in the sky. Of course, a great heaping portion of this pictures romance is due to it being taken in France. But, its winter beauty is why I'm posting it this morning. Each season has its own beauty. After pages of mad writing in my journal this morning, I feel like I'm able to say that I'm in a distinct and important season of my life. And with this season comes its own beauty. And after a bit of time, when I'm ready, I'll start moving into the next season. In the mean time, I'll pay homage to the beauty of this season.

Seven Whispers

Part of my morning ritual! Christina Baldwin's The Seven Whispers.

Follow what you love...

"Follow what you love, and it will take you where you need to go."
~Natalie Goldberg

I'm hanging onto this quote right now. I'm feeling the need to have the peace and comfort of her words enfold me, bolster me. There are moments in my life when I feel like I'm actively working to follow what I love. Sometimes I just turn on "auto pilot." Following what you love is a hard thing to do. When you realize that your job isn't taking you where you want to go, or your business is in a slump, or a friendship has taken too much without giving back. All of these things make it hard to work up the energy to refocus on what you love. What I love to do, be, see, surround myself with.

I realize that this is a process, a journey. And I also realize that it will always be a journey. I'm trying to be patient with myself, and patient with the world around me.

I'm off to go make my third cup of Lady Grey tea with honey, and look through a few more blogs before I settle into my list of "things to do today!" Maybe in a later post I'll start writing about the things that I love and start dreaming where I'd like to go! Till then!

New Glarus

Andrew and I celebrated Valentines this past weekend by going down to New Glarus, otherwise known as Wisconsin's "Swisstown." It took about 30 minutes from Madison on a winding county road to make it to this wee little town. It was charming! Little shops boasting Swiss Army knives and hand-carved wooden plates, houses with rough cut beams in the Chalet style, and even a shop owner with a handlebar mustache and a weakness for yodeling (which he had playing in the back ground). We bought some Polish pottery at one of the shops. A beautiful mug with blue and white dots and flowers all over it. It reminded me of Alicia from Posie Gets Cozy. Then we went out to dinner at the Chalet. A la-de-dah affair complete with Späetzle and every kind of creamy sauce you can imagine. Looking at all the rich, delicious goodness on my plate, I couldn't help but think that the Swiss need the fatty foods to weather the cold, hard winters in the Alps.

Here are some photos for you:

Forgotten artwork

While sorting through my portfolio case the other day, I stumbled upon an old illustration I did for drawing class back in England. It was my way of combining a number of illustrations into one, or "cheating" as my other classmates thought. I had forgotten about this artwork. There are three Mucha-like illustrations on one side and a Rilke quote on the other. They were all hand-drawn with India ink on heavy rag paper.

Friday inspiration: Lovely Design

Chocolat

A dear girlfriend of mine shared with me that she spent a luxurious morning watching the movie Chocolat. What bliss! Perfect for Valentines Day. I can't watch that movie without a bar of chocolate. It's torture watching them make the Nipples of Venus and the Hot Chocolate without some sort of chocolate near by. It doesn't even have to be good chocolate. A bag of M&M's will do! Anyways, in honor of Chocolat, I've put together a little chocolate Valentine for you all!

Portfolio

My modern portfolio! I'm actually in the process of designing, organizing and posting my online portfolio, but in the mean time, this will have to do! It's an antique brief case discovered at a church rummage sale. Although a bit scuffed up and unwieldy this brief case holds my print design from the last five years, well, the good stuff anyways. Thought I'd share!

Oh! And another morning inspiration: Pape Stour

Baby Wonderings

My biological clock is not ticking. But it does every once in a while. And it has recently, more than ever before. And it's alarming! I read through my favorite blogs and realize that a number of these talented women are pregnant or having their babies right now. There's a large handful of friends who are pregnant right now as well. I remember being in awe at the number of friends getting married a few years back, or at least getting into serious relationships. I guess this is the natural process of things: they're all having babies now!

Random note: I blame this most recent "baby" wonderings on this site: one girl Do you blame me?

So, last week, struggling with an intense feeling of longing for a little one of my own, to dress, nurse, coo to, nap with, play with, Andrew and I went over to the mall to look through baby clothes. My sisters helped make this a "normal" thing to do. Neither have kids or are pregnant! One of my sisters secretly collects baby clothes (she's been doing this for years, but only recently told us). She picks up little booties and sweaters for the "someday" baby. The other sister has started collecting cute maternity tops at Old Navy when they're on sale. I thought it was hilarious at first, but now think it's a brilliant idea. Andrew and I probably won't be able to start a family until after law school, so I'm pacifying these random and rare urges by buying baby clothes. Of course, after battling the screaming kids and their hassled mothers in the shops I double and triple think the whole idea! Anyways, last week Andrew and I wandered into Gymbore, gasped at the prices for a onesie and then settled for two pairs of sockies that were on sale. One pair for a little boy the other for a little girl. For my "someday" babies!

Morning rituals!

My morning routine is fairly important to me. I work from home, so the little rituals give structure to my day.

My husband and I have tea each morning. He wakes up and puts the water on to boil while I work up the gumption to get out of bed (it takes so much more energy in the winter than any other time of the year). Andrew is usually settled on our "law school" couch (grey and lumpy) with the blinds open when I finish making the tea. Putting enough milk and honey in our steaming mugs of Lady Grey tea or English Breakfast. Then about ten minutes of chatting, watching the birds, and general "waking up." It's a rare morning that I'm actually dressed in anything other than my pj's when I start working. Going to work entails walking five feet from our couch to my desk in the living room. It's a crowded work space, but I can't complain, it's my mess!

I usually get my list of things to do for work organized, then I take a peek at all my favorite blogs!

Here are three new favorites:
Perfect Bound
Paper Pony
Simply Photo

I find so much enjoyment from my little blog-reading ritual!

Duncan Valentine

Here's the beginnings of my Duncan Valentine. I'm trying to create a small digital valentine for my shop. Duncan is the name of our dog. Well, the dog we're going to have in five years when we have a house of our own and Andrew says "Yes, dear, that's an excellent idea!" Right now, the apartment is too small and Andrew's stock reply is "Aren't you allergic?" I might be. But, we don't know if I'm allergic to Scottish Terriers. They're a short haired dog and athletic enough to go for walks with me everyday. My ideal dog!

I've been wanting to write a personal entry for weeks now. I seem to be pretty up to date on showing you what's new in my shop, but little about what's happening behind the scenes. January was packed! Trips, school, Red Otter stuffs, and a huge push toward figuring out what's next for me. Andrew still has two years of Law School left, so I know I'll be here in Madison long enough to get involved in the community. I've moved almost every year since I graduated college, so staying in one location for three years is something new for me.

I'm in one of those strange transitions right now. I can feel it. I'm fidgety. Anxious. I know that there are things about my life that need to change, simply so I can be a healthier individual. Presently I work from home, which is bliss, on most days. But lately, I've begun to see that it might be better to have a solid reason to get out more. I went for my yearly check-up last month and my doctor looked at me and said "You need to get out more!" Me, the hermit!

So, here I am, looking at February, recognizing that I'm in the middle of a transition, but still trying to figure out where it will take me! I'll try and keep you posted!

Love the Questions

"Every one of us who is willing actively to love the question, contributes something vital to the knowledge that will provide the answer."

-Christina Baldwin