feeling grateful... for spring sunshine, and garden dirt on my hands. for a good job doing good work, with really good people. for kale. and coconut chips. (though usually not together). for this. and her. and her. for good books. for new projects (more details soon, I promise). what are you feeling grateful for? Continue reading

feeling grateful... for last week's conversation with a wise friend. for fresh greens from the garden. for time with my grandfather, who turns 90 later this month. for our neighborhood grocery store. for seeds bursting from the soil. it's a miracle every single time. for my mother, and every thing she did & sacrificed to raise me well and with love. { so grateful } what are you feeling grateful for today? Continue reading

feeling grateful... for the stories my mister tells our wee girl. for golden autumn sunlight. for cool nights, and summer giving way to autumn. for meals shared with dear friends. for new routines. for all of the extra snuggles my we girl gives when she's under the weather. that this weekend's sickness is passing {for her, anyway}. for sweet, sweet friends. what are you feeling grateful for today? Continue reading

I finished this wreath last night, and now it's happily hanging on our front door. Whenever I post pictures of a craft project, I'm often asked how I do it all. Every time I'm asked this, I have to laugh, because it often takes a monumental effort to finish anything around here {just ask my mister}. In the spirit of this post, I thought I'd share a little of how this wreath came to be. There were: 5 days of working on this 15 minutes at a time - between snacks and coloring and playdates and cleaning up + 2... Continue reading

feeling grateful... for the rain & puddle jumping. for my mama. for fresh farm eggs. for afternoon walks in the sunshine. for my mister. for our amazing vet who was so compassionate and supportive as we said goodbye to our sweet cat Harvey {it has been an emotional weekend}. for unexpected flowers from the sweetest of friends. what are you feeling grateful for today? Continue reading

I grew up spending weekends at the river. I remember us packing up every Friday night: piling into our van, and heading to Deltaville to stay until Sunday afternoon. My brother and I each had our own seat and a sleeping bag, and I would no doubt fall asleep on the way. Often, I would wake up briefly as our van bounced across the old bridge into West Point, and I'd know that we were almost there. We spent the weekends swimming, crabbing, fishing, exploring the creek in the dinghy, and taking rides on the boat. Far away from the... Continue reading

feeling grateful... for a {somewhat} clean house. for fresh, local, healthy food to fill our bellies & nourish our bodies. for a week of morning walks. for flowers that continue to smile at me, despite my neglect. for happy days with my girl. for my husband's words. for my cozy bed {that I'm about to collapse into}. what are you feeling grateful for today? Continue reading

feeling grateful... for weekends away by the water. for endless hours of floating with my girl. for sunrises and sunsets over the water. for sparklers and sunset swims. for my girl's love of puzzles, which reminds me so much of puzzling with my own mom. for the support & love of our families. for evening walks. for summer rainshowers. for our happy flowers leaning over the back fence. what are you feeling grateful for today? Continue reading

feeling grateful... for a { somewhat } normal summer week, with no illnesses or trips to the hospital. for watermelon and playdates on hot afternoons. for pig tails. for my husband: his wisdom, his humor, and his steady supportive presence. for a good night's sleep { finally }. for Thea's first home-grown watermelon. for our first garden sunflowers & for all of the happy flowers that have survived this summer's unbearable heat. what are you feeling grateful for today? Continue reading

feeling grateful... to be physically feeling a bit better as I finish weaning off of my SSRI medication { more to share about this soon - it has been a very long few months }. for my mister taking such good care of me and our girl while I have been { mostly } resting in bed for the past week. to have had a lovely weekend getaway with my loves. that the thermometer only read 90 degrees today instead of 100+ that my sweet girl was okay after her big fall on July 4th - and that she has... Continue reading

feeling grateful... for homemade bubble goodness. that our family and home are safe after a wild storm passed through yesterday afternoon. for dear friends moving into the our neighborhood. for good neighbors. for sweet teachers who take such good care of my girl when she's away from me. for a beautiful cool summer day and time outside with my girl (and a heart friend) to enjoy it. to live so close to my mama. to wake up next to my mister each morning. what are you feeling grateful for today? Continue reading

For father's day, Thea and I wanted to make something really special for her dad. After she spent a couple of afternoons creating pictures of things she likes to do with her dad, I had the idea to make a little book out of her drawings. The mister sure loves books, and he loves things made by his little miss, so we figured it would be the perfect gift. I cut sheets of watercolor paper into rectangles and then folded them in half. Thea went crazy drawing her pictures: fishing with daddy, roasting marshmallows with daddy, making music with daddy,... Continue reading

feeling grateful... for my wee girl's sense of style (pictured above is her father's day ensemble). for a few quiet moments to sit and reflect. for a morning's hard work, resulting in a { m o s t l y } clean house. for my family's health: my mother is home from the hospital and recovering, and my grandfather is home, and has regained some of his strength too. for my handsome, funny, hard-working mister. for swimming pools on hot afternoons. for the love and support of dear friends and family, who took such good care of me and my... Continue reading

The past few weeks have been so full, I've barely had a quiet moment to just sit and breathe. Here are a few {verbal} snapshots of what's been keeping me occupied : I was in a minor car accident that ended up causing a good bit of neck pain. I have begun the process of { s l o w l y } weaning off of my medication for anxiety and depression. This has brought a number of side effects ranging from annoying to concerning. My 89-year-old grandfather had a week-long hospital stay {he is home now, and doing so... Continue reading

the artwork above was created by my dear friend Suzanne. her work is breathtaking. you can see more of it on her blog or in her etsy shop. Today is my wee girl's last day of preschool. As we prepare to settle into our summer rhythm, I've been reflecting on the thoughts I shared here. I've found comfort and wisdom in the the words of a few other mamas. I thought I'd share a few links to what I've been reading: chuck your to-do list by Meg at Sew Liberated. how to miss a childhood by Rachel at Hands Free... Continue reading

feeling grateful... for the nourishing rain. for quiet time sewing with my girl - it was our first project sewn together on the sewing machine. for fancy tea on the front porch with dear mama friends. for the most amazing chiropractor ever, who extended her day to provide care after I was in a minor car accident. for the one tiny corner of my kitchen where I have finished deep cleaning. for excellent thrift score finds. for people who take the time to post tutorials on blogs and you tube. for a night out with my mister, and for restaurants... Continue reading

One of my favorite things to do - especially at the end of the day - is to busy my hands with an embroidery project. There is something magical about the slow(er) pace of hand sewing: feeling the fabric and thread in my hands, the work of the needle, and seeing the project slowly come to life. Since I'm often with a project in hand - Thea has been asking me to teach her to sew. We have fiddled a bit with stitching before, but she seemed to become frustrated that her projects didn't look very much like mine. With... Continue reading

feeling grateful... for music that speaks the song in my heart. for my sweet little girl. for a mother's day surrounded by loved ones. for a silly afternoon of wigs and dressup. for sharing a love of making with my mother-in-law. that, through loving my own wee one, I can the depth of my mother's love and sacrifice continues to reveal itself. for long overdue visits with dear friends. for old friends moving into the neigborhood. for the sweet scent of flowers filling the air. what are you feeling grateful for today? ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ just a... Continue reading

I have mentioned before how I continue to be amazed by the incredible people with whom I am lucky to share a hometown. There is so much inspiration, innovation, creativity, and kindness - so much goodness - right here in Richmond, Virginia. Two of these amazing souls are Patience Salgado (who was recently featured in O magazine for her kindness work) and Suzanne Vinson. I could go on and on about each of them, but if you take a moment to visit their own sites, their words, images, and creativity - their spirits - will speak for themselves. Today, I... Continue reading

In this early spring {did we really even have a winter?}, I've been even more amazed than usual by nature's simple miracles: seeds rising from the soil - flower buds bursting open - baby birds emerging from tiny beautiful blue eggs enjoying ripe berries straight from the tree - the sweet smell of honeysuckle filling the air. There is wonder all around us, in every moment, if only we can slow down to observe. And this year, it all feels full of so much promise. But in the midst of all of this growth and awe, I'm feeling even more... Continue reading