trouble sleeping

Well, it's 4:30 AM and I'm sitting here in front of the computer screen. This is getting to be a regular occurrence. I wake up often in the middle of the night, especially when I got stuff on my mind. And I'm fairly certain I should not resort to getting on the computer at these times but lately I do. I used to write poems during my bouts of insomnia. Now I surf the web. Ugh.

I'm thinking I'll tell you about my somewhat boring day yesterday. (Cheers all around!) I didn't clean the house, do laundry, go for walks, organize paperwork for taxes or grocery shop. That's all the stuff I wished I'd done. I did go out to breakfast and share a "hungryman" with Eli, watch Mr. Eli's basketball game, sit in front of the wood stove listening to Joanna Newsom, load the beater truck with garbage and recycling for the dump, and then order mexican in and watch billy elliot again. And now that I look at the list of things I DID do, its not a bad bunch of things to do at all, is it?

Checking my favorite blogs tonite (er, this morning) I found this post of Amy Merrick's. She's one of those people I know through this crazy glowy internet screen but wish I could know in person. Her blog, An Apple A Day, is a really good one. She likes old stuff. And, God, the Elmwood posts. That's when I knew she was a kindred.

Anyway, if this post seems like a crazy 4:30 AM post, well, that's cuz it is. Do you guys have trouble sleeping sometimes? Do you get up and write poems?

For the love of TeenAngster

Fi-nal-ly! Ms. Alison aka TeenAngster has got her own personal blog going. There are certain people in computerland I really start to identify with over time. With Alison, I knew our interests overlapped. And then there was this whole great space of Alison's eye and interests that I don't naturally turn to but that I find fascinating. Probably cuz, you know, she's a young lassie and I've been around zee block a few times. She actually succeeds in making me see the whole 80s era in a fresh light. I was there. I did not think that was possible.

Anyway, she is a soul sister in that she has a huge visual appetite. And I do, too. And so she is my people. You should follow her blog.

you should watch this

you know you want to.

*littlle bit disturbing, some making out and leather underwear. bow at the 80s alter.

the black spot books

One of the shops I love and admire most on etsy belongs to my friend margaux and it's called the black spot books. In case you'd never heard of it I wanted to let you know. It's special. You should visit.

sure, i wanna get down

You're welcome.

380 square feet

Loved the story of this family here.

persimmon and pine

I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of some of my internet friends this holiday. One thing I am certainly grateful for right now are the relationships I am developing on the net. Mandy, of Persimmon and Pine, sent me one of her savvywraps and it's beautiful. These make such a nice alternative to throw-away wrapping. Consider how you wrap your gifts this year. There are a billion creative ways of doing it. I know I won't be buying tubes of paper.

My Friend Vivi

I love the way this girl paints. Well, I just love this girl. She was one of my very first friends on Etsy and I'm grateful for her. She's kind and generous and we are so similar aesthetically speaking. Here's another of her paintings. These are for sale in this shop. And she has two other Etsy shops here and here.

ewa i walla

I am seriously dying over the issue of selvedge i just got in the mail. dy-ing. i die. there's ewa i walla and j. morgan puett. don't even get me started on j. morgan puett. that will have to be a full post for next week. but i'm afraid to read this issue because i don't want it to be over.
so i'm doing a pre-read blog post. even though i already have a mega awesome post on howard jones waiting in the wings. i know. this is serious business.

sword and fern

You can now find a selection of enhabiten cross pillows at Sword and Fern in Portland, Oregon. I wish I wasn't on the opposite coast because this looks like my sort of shop. Sword and Fern carries my friend Alice's Forestbound bags as well. And Emily, the shop owner, makes her own line of jewelry. I especially like this necklace.

kindness

I want to tell you about something that happened to me. Here's the back-story: As you may have guessed, I was having a bit of a freak out yesterday. It was really really hard for me to watch myself on video. I was overwhelmed. But new and old internet buddies were so kind to me and that helped a lot. Thank you. Really. Heartfelt thanks.

And then I went to check the mail. And I found a package I wasn't expected from a previous enhabiten customer. Kathleen, who runs this shop, sent me a package of the most beautiful fabric. Just because. You know how when you are feeling emotional small things so easily bring tears to your eyes? Well, I'm still feeling like that today and just looking at the card she sent me is giving me a little lump in my throat.

Sometimes I feel like I've entered this weird twilight space of the internet art and craft world and it feels kind of unreal and I wonder what I'm doing here. Can I say that? I'm a fairly private person. But then I see how many wonderful connections I've made with kindred spirits and it makes sense.

I know I'm getting into the gooey space of "feelings" and "sharing" here. I'm making myself roll my own eyes. Because a lot of the time I'm a kook and a jokester and not looking for a group therapy session. But I'd love to hear any of your ideas about this stuff.

xo you guys. to eternity.
.

nothing says christmas like a chicken

So, I have a friend on Etsy who cracks me up like nobody's bizness. He's funny. Real funny. Here's his shop link: http://www.lambert.etsy.com/ and he makes the delightful chalkware chickens you see here.

Nothing says "happy holidays" like a chicken. Don't even try to argue me THAT point.

Now go buy a chicken.

:)

my son the artist

Ethan, my oldest child, left for art school this autumn. A few weeks before his departure I was pretty weepy. He's a really kind kid and a pleasure to have around. He's also a bit like his Mum. Only better. The fact that he is an artist is such a gift for me. And he's just so good. I'm excited to see what the future holds for him. Here's a little self-portrait he brought home with him over Thanksgiving.

the big lebowski

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah. ha. ha. heh.

Design*Sponge Sneak Peek

Here, my dears and my darlings, is a picture of my kitchen that was included in my freaking! sneak peek on Design*Sponge. I was, seriously, geekily, so excited to be asked to do this. I check Design*Sponge everyday. On Mondays I check it multiple times a day to see the new sneak peeks. Because, the straight out truth is, I am completely voyeuristic when it comes to interesting interiors. When I find images of the insides of someone's home that I like it gives me a high. Like chocolate or dancing or...well, you know. I find so many images of homes I would love to explore. And sometimes, truthfully, I look around my own place and think, "Why isn't my house as cool and interesting?" But mostly it just gives me major motivation to create my own environment better and more satisfying.

On a somewhat tangential point, this can be difficult when you have a family and when said family has different ideas about what makes a good home and when you yourself, being a completely open and unstubborn person, gets stuck on an idea and can't bare (is that the right spelling? probably not) the thought of other family members not seeing the complete rightness and brilliance of your concept. But perhaps I will save that whole can of worms topic for another time.

The point here is, I was on Design*Sponge. And I'm not gonna pretend it didn't make me very happy. And when I am rich and famous (and beautiful and totally buff...because don't all those things go together?) I will remember D*S. And I will be happy.

please insert space here and change of topic because, i swear, i keep trying to make a space here but i save it and, grrr, when i preview it all runs together.

Blogging. I've been thinking about starting it up again (after my small first attempt). I have been thrilled to find blogs I want to return to daily and in a way I feel like I want to be a more active part of that. Part of the reason I'm hesitating is that I'm not at all sure I'll be able to live up to the standards of the creative and inspiring bloggers I have been drawn to. And frankly, it seems like a pretty big commitment. But let's you and I not pretend I haven't been glued to this blue screen since I discovered this land of makers and designers and fascinating creative people. All over the world. It is such a blessing. It's like finding your people.

So here I go. Because connecting with you all has truly been an important part of my life the past year.

xoxo to eternity!

note: Please excuse the look of it until I get a handle on how to blog. It's all a bit confusing to me. But I'll figure it out. I ain't a dumb-a-ling. :)