Monthly Archives: October 2011

happy halloween, lovelies! it was a spooktacular evening last nite taking the kids to a haunted playhouse and corn maze. in our family we have a tradition of getting with the brother’s family to carve our pumpkins, drink hot cocoa + be silly, its quite perfect. this weekend flew by but with productivity nontheless, a bit of work, a bit of play + a bit of creating, i am now looking back thinking that it all passed too fast and i am already looking forward to next weekend. above are our pumpkins for the holiday, lucy’s is a self portrait. she will also be out tonite as pocahontas which she holds in a regal manner.  we will dine on a hallow feast before heading out to trick or treat.

here are a few extra lovelies from the week:
-going on a field trip with 50 kindergarteners
-a sweet chat with lucy’s teacher on the bus
-saying goodbye to our now retired neighbor
-making my dream dining table with dave
-watching dave and lucy play
-honest conversation with friends
-wool socks

beautiful foraged white chanterelles given to us by our thoughtful neighbors, which then inspired a fall harvest dinner on saturday with a delicious roasted squash soup, fall salad + ginger cake.  we are slowly easing into the fall season, all our woolens have been sorted + washed, our rainboots have been set out + the coziness of knitting in the evenings has called my heart. we had a eventful weekend with a field trip to the mall for new jeans and a swimming party for one of miss bean’s classmates. everyone seemed to get a little bit of what they wanted this weekend which is always nice.

here are a few other tokens from the week:
-walking through all the fall colors
-feeling loved + blessed
-inspired to knit my first sweater
-falling in love with ceramics
-friday nite family slumber party
+ midnite snack(!)
-a clean house

fantabulous weekend! which i am thankful for since the past week was a bit hectic + this week is packed with work. therefore packing the weekend with fun is good for the soul.  as a gift to our niece, munchkin, we planned a weekend for her filled with asian culture, she is a big fan of anime and all things japanese. so we went to an asian mall, drank bubble tea, ate siopao, bought random well packaged, cutely designed items, snacks and headed to the movies. we returned home and made our own veggie potstickers, her favorite meal! we feel fortunate to be so close to the brother’s family and feel lucky to have to opportunity to get to know each one of their children individually and uniquely. it also prepares dave + i for the stages ahead of us. it was perfect weekend that ended with a little time for myself at the ceramics studio to get a head start on holiday gifts. (wow, the virgo in me!)

i am also entering the 3rd week of my web cleanse, let me tell you it feels great! i have way less chatter in my head + seem to be way less critical of myself. i guess seeing what every one else was doing with their lives, children and travels was making me feel less inadequate about what i was doing. self comparison is a crazy thing! i can see this is going to be a lot easier than i first thought and coincidentally i was knitting with the t.v. on for noise and i heard a survey that said 1/3 of americans would give up sex or a hot shower for a week than give up their smartphones! what is that saying about the relationships we are having (or not having) via real life? holy! how long could you go without your smartphone? maybe my bbf has it right + i should switch back to a regular old flip phone.

here are a few other highlights for the week:
-seeing/hearing lucy read + write new words
-knitting my first sweater (which has been redone 3x already)
-finding the sweetest vintage coat for miss beans
-trashy t.v. watching with the boy
-WINNING the grand prize at a raffle
(i won EVERYTHING! for the curious:
- new running shoes
- new high tech ultra warm pants
- athletic top
- sports bra
- pullover jacket complete with thumb holes
- totaling about $400 worth of gear!)
-waking up the next morning to giggle
with my sis in law, who took me to said
event, about winning.
-having a family art making day sunday morning

have you ever won anything? tell me the goods, i wanna hear all about it!

this weekend we had a home filled with beautiful chaos, our nieces + nephew came over for the weekend, so our quaint abode was packed. we had a wonderful time with 3 kids under the age of 7 + one 16yro, it gives you some perspective on the stages one goes through in life. we were able to give my sister in law some time away to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday in d.c. as well take her first kid free vacation in what feels like forever…or never! our house was filled with the thumps of feet running down the hallway, laughter , movies and popcorn + late nite chatter. we are a lucky bunch, bickering + all. the weather here as quickly turned to rain which means a change of mindset + pace, i feel like i am still adjusting to kindergarten life and now the grey skies.  today i am just hoping to turn up the music and get this house clean before settling with a book + a cup of tea to give my mind a bit of solitude before the week gets kicking.

i also want to thank all the ladies who responded to my last couple posts. i am so happy to know that some of you are joining me on this 3 month FB/twitter/blog cleanse and thankful to those of you who continued the dialogue with me via email or phone calls, its nice to know that i am not alone + that i am not the only who feels a need for a little soul searching. thank you all, you are all amazing!

here are a few more lovely from the week:
-evening of cocktails, lots of laughter + karaoke with girlfriends
-connecting with my littlest of nieces
-having lucy’s room bursting at the seam with sleeping cousins
-first week at my new pottery class
-seeing my (other) sis in law graduate from massage school
-catching up with old friends
-breaking out the flannel sheets

i would love any book recommendations you may have or let me know what your favorite fall/winter activity is, i could use a few pointers.