Coffee Date

If we had a coffee date today I’d tell you I’m feeling better. I still can’t put my finger on what it was about before that  made things feel off. I don’t really know when before started and when it ended so I can’t blame a specific event. But I was feeling...off. And now I’m not. I’m feeling different, like my perspective shifted just a hair. I like this new place my heart has settled into, but it’s not familiar yet.

I would tell you that even though things are getting a little scary right now, even though my contract ends soon and I have no idea if it will be extended, I’m excited. I took a good hard look at my life last week and realized even if I lose my  job, I haven’t hit the bottom. That I really have made so much progress in the last two years, even if I’m not where I expected to be.

I’m focusing on all the opportunities in my life right now, instead of being paralyzed by fear of all the things that might go wrong and all the variables in my life that I cannot control.

I’d tell you that I’m loosening my grip on the image I’ve had in my head of who I should be. It’s freeing and scary.

I’d tell you that my vacation is next month and I still haven’t made all of my hotel reservations.

I’d tell you the table is nearly done, but that this is the stage where I’m most likely to fail. Leaving the last details perpetually unfinished.

I haven’t picked up a crochet hook in over a week. Maybe two weeks? But, I’ve finished two books and am reading two more.

I’d ask you how you are feeling and if you’re reading anything special. I wonder if your motivation is high, or low, or somewhere in the middle.

I’d love to hear all of your fun summer plans, how your family is doing, what’s making you happiest these days.

I’m glad we can share a cup of coffee, I always leave feeling happier.

Admit who you are.

I was reading Chatting at the Sky today and there was a wonderful guest post by Jeff Goins about leaving an honest legacy. Check out that post here.

The post got me thinking about how I lead my life today and what sort of legacy I’ll leave behind.

1. Admit who you are.

In the post Jeff challenges readers to accept and admit their true identity. That’s a bit loaded, right? Well I suppose it doesn’t really have to be. There are some truths I know about myself. My goal recently has been to accept the things that are a genuine part of my personality and let go of the things I think should be a natural part of my personality.

For example, I’m focused. When something grabs my attention whether it’s a project I’ve taken on, an idea I’m mulling over, or a book I’m reading that thing stays at the center of my attention, to the exclusion of everything else, until I move on to my next “thing.”

In the past I might have told you this is both good and bad. Today I’m telling you it’s just me. Accepting this trait along with many others makes me feel more comfortable in my skin and then I take more risks, work on cooler projects, etc.

2. Expect resistance.

This feels a little limited to me. I don’t want to just expect resistance. I want to be prepared to deal with it. For example, if I’m going to put thousands of dollars into developing my blog I know people are going to have an opinion about that. And some of their opinions will be less than supportive. I expect that.

But after expectation I’ve got to do something about it. Because no matter how prepared I am when someone says, “That’s ridiculous, you’ll never see that money again.” I am going to react. Maybe I ignore them and tell myself they just don’t get it. Maybe I try to educate them and tell them that it’s my passion, my hobby, and in fact may very well grow to earn all of my money back. Whatever I choose to do I’m going to react to resistance.

So, in addition to expecting resistance I’m preparing for resistance. I educate myself about the risks I’m taking, I surround myself with supportive friends, and I do  make an effort to educate the people who are closest to me because their resistance can be the most hurtful and the most persistent.

I try not to think of myself as aspiring or approaching any of my goals. I just think of myself as being “at the beginning” and then I look at the beginning for my mentors. It’s a perspective that gives me hope. After all, Gussy started her business after losing her job and now it is her full time job.

3. Live.

I realized in high school that burnt out people don’t get much accomplished. I was a night owl during my teen years so I was frequently up until the wee hours of the morning and then up again by 6:00 AM. So I started to take an afternoon nap when I got home from school, and it made a world of difference in my mood and my school work. I try to apply this principal to my entire life.

Sometimes I feel really guilty when I spend an entire weekend with HB just having fun. When I haven’t done my laundry, finished a project, or run any errands. However, those weekends almost always leave me feeling recharged and the following week I’m much better at keeping on top of my to do list. So it’s a balancing act and I’m still working it out. I don’t think I’ll ever master fun vs work because something in my head tells me that having fun is wasting time when I should be accomplishing something. But I know (rationally) that that mindset is a good way to end up sick, depressed, and burnt out.

What kind of legacy do you hope to leave behind? What part of your personality do you accept as being uniquely yours? How do you cope with resistance?

Life Lately

Sleepy Pooch

Flowers Around the Pool

My Favorite Spot

Something for Me!

Sunday Morning Breakfast

Yum!

Beach Day!

What's Awesome About Blogging?

Source: etsy.com via Kasey on Pinterest

"You get to manage your own reputation." - Emily Freedman, Grace for the Good Girl


That's one of the exciting and exhausting things about blogging. Managing your reputation. Can you guess how much I leave out of my blog because of the impact might have on how you think of me?

I am a woman of conviction. I took a personality assessment once that basically said, "If you think something is right you don't need outside praise or acceptance to follow that path." So when it comes to something that is important to me you wouldn't think I'd pause before sharing it on this blog, right?

Well, life is not that cut and dry.

I've hesitated about telling you I'm no longer interested in becoming a librarian. I know in my heart it's a good career that I can excel in. But it doesn't fit. And I tried to make it fit by doing all the research. I knew what schools I'd apply for and what kind of librarian I'd train to be. I talked to alumni from my college who became librarians. I started volunteering in a children's library and somehow (Sheila...) became the lead volunteer.

Everything seemed to be falling into place. I was given great opportunities and I was trying to take full advantage of them, but being a librarian still wasn't right for me. And even though I know lots of others struggle with finding a career I hate to share all this struggle, because I want you to see me as a certain and capable.

But, silly me, I am also imperfect -- human -- and why would I want you to think anything else?

Kasey Makes the Best of a Sick Day

I hate calling out sick. Mostly because I hate being sick. So last night when I went to bed at 8:00 with a killer headache I knew it was bad news. I woke up with that same headache and decided to do the responsible thing...contact my boss, take some meds, and go back to bed.

But here is the thing about sick days. I never actually manage to just rest, drink lots of water, and you know, get better like you are suppose to. I feel guilty about being home, except for that one time in 8th grade when I had the flu so bad that I thought I was dying. Totally didn't feel guilty about those sick days. However every head cold, sinus infection, mild case of MONO since then yep very guilty about the sick days.

I am not one of those people who goes to work even when I'm sick. Here's why...my senior year of college (I think) swine flu was the big thing going around and my professor took some time at the start of class to say (roughly) the following:

"If you are sick DO NOT come to class and spread your germs. I have a pregnant wife at home who has an autoimmune disorder. If I catch your sickness and bring it home it is very dangerous for my family."

Talk about a wake up call! I'll admit, I'm the girl that slept for three hours in order to work up the energy to walk 6 minutes across campus to this same man's class when I had mono. MONO! Not that I was going to spit in his soda or something, but you know it's kind of serious and I wouldn't have wished it on anyone.

Not only is it ok to take some time off when you're sick I decided, but it is the responsible thing to do. And this from the girl who had calculated how much money a person was throwing away (in tuition only) every time they missed class ($107 based on $12,000 tuition). So ladies and gents my sniffly-but-well-medicated-self stayed home today.

However, a few good things about being sick.

1. I can't smell a darn thing, so I painted my nails. (I'm also having a rough time focusing on stuff for  more than about...10 seconds at a time.... so tomorrow I will probably look at my nails and decide that was a bad idea and that the typos in this post are atrocious).
2. I got to wear PJs all day and not feel like a bum. I am sick  thus I am allowed to wear PJs all day.
3. It's rainy and miserable, but I did not have to try to straighten, spray, or otherwise tame my hair. My rationale..."I'm sick. I'm not expected to look good let alone turn on the hair dryer." And bonus, there is no one here to see how awful my hair looks anyway! Score.

What do you do on a sick day?

Last time I was really sick (food poisoning I think) HB drove to my house to check in on me. However, he got pulled over on a back road and got a pretty hefty ticket for not having some important document or another at hand. Woops! Talk about no good deed going unpunished. He's still a sweetie though. I've been getting cute texts and emails all day.

An Experiment

I want things to be neat and tidy. I'm constantly creating a new plan and struggling to stick with it. I crave order, direction, a clear path. Success.

But none of these come easily. None of them are "natural," so I am constantly fighting my nature and "bettering" myself.

I have at least 5 inspiration notebooks. I want to use them all at once, to jot down any note, lyric, phrase, or scribble I find inspiring the moment it strikes. But I force myself to only carry one book and to organize the content because that's the practical thing to do.

But why should I be practical? Why should I try to focus? Why should I force myself to be so structured?

Maybe, just maybe I'll let myself cut loose a little this week. I'll use whichever notebook is closest. I'll be disorganized and impulsive.

Imagine what could happen!

--
PS Remember these chairs?

Well now they're looking more like this...

But more on that project later this week.

--

Today's inspiration: Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Get on That Already!

I’m borrowing this idea from one of my favorite blogs, YoungHouseLove. Sherry decided her playroom/storage room was getting out of hand with all of the items she’d found in thrift stores and at yard sales and kept planning to give them a face lift and keep them to decorate her own home.

Well in the beginning of May I came to the startling (ok not really) realization that I’ve got the same issue. So I’m challenging myself to “Get on That Already!” and finished what I’ve started. Here goes…

Remember yesterday's post? Well let's just say I've been feeling a bit motivated since then to take some of those projects off the "unfinished" list. So I’ve got some sanding, priming, and painting to do.

Admittedly, some of my unfinished projects are BIG so I’ll give you a mix of “progress” and “project completion” posts.

Today I'm all about progress and with kitchen/breakfast table update. Four chairs came with the set and they looked like this...

Yellow with probably the ugliest cushions I have ever seen. No kidding, take a look.

What is that color? That texture...It's got to go. And it did.

Fun fact, the chairs had already been recovered. So someone chose that fabric. On the plus side, at least it's a neutral, right?

I lightly sanded the chairs with fine grit sandpaper, wiped them down with a dry cloth, and managed to get 2 coats of spray paint (waiting 20 minutes between coats) on the chairs before I ran out of light and spray paint.

So currently two chairs look like this:

So I'm off to pick up some more spray paint. More photos soon (I hope)!

**Update, Shane just informed me that there is deglosser in the garage which I was supposed to use before spray painting. Something he shouldn't have needed to inform me because...I went with him to buy it. FAIL. One step forward, two steps back.

Unfinished...

Things I would like to tackle over the next several weeks:

Finish the kitchen table with HB.

The dress form.

List more products in the shop. (PS these are currently living on my desk)

The Singer sewing machine HB picked up.
The library card catalogue that needs to be transformed.

Does this list make anyone else tired?

New Product! My Little Monster Clawed Booties!

Ladies and gents it’s been quiet around the blog. Do you know what that means? Crochet inspiration struck! And as a result I’ve got a brand new product in the shop. Are you excited, because let me tell you I am thrilled! Go ahead and take a look. It is completely acceptable to squeal, awww, or otherwise appreciate the cuteness.

Warning: this may make you wish for a baby to dress up…

Available here.

I’ve had those adorable My Little Monster hats in the shop for over a month now. It’s been so easy to start designing for babies that I just can’t keep  myself from adding more to the shop! I’ve got even more ideas cooking [even a few for the Mama’s out there…] so stay tuned!

Available here.

My Little Monster Clawed Booties are 100% handmade in my little studio. They’re made from the same fine yarn as the My Little Monster Baby Hats in coordinating colors with a coconut button detail to keep these slippers on your little monster’s feet ;)

Is your Little Monster mobile? If she or he is moving and grooving just let me know and I’ll add a little anti-slip grip to the soles for traction.

Available in three sizes: 0 – 3 months (approx. 3.5”), 3 – 6 months (approx. 4”), and 6 – 12 months (approx. 4.5”) and seven colors: citrus green, cherry red, blue berry medley, pumpkin spice orange, grape soda purple, bubblegum pink, and lemon drop yellow.

Giveaway!

Hey folks, want to win your very own Little Monsters - or two - head over to Danielle Burkleo's blog Take Heart and enter to win right now! 

Contest ends soon!

Meet the Maker: Ineta's Dolls

Readers, meet Ineta. She is originally from Lithuania, where she was born, went to school, studied arts and specialized in fashion design. Then,  her life took a sharp turn, and she bravely left the safety of her home, family and friends and ended up living in England! What an adventure! She has been living here with her fiancé for 7 years now, learning a lot of new things and falling in love with Yorkshire, especially with friendly and warm people.

1. Why did you start crafting?
At the moment I am unemployed, but that's the kick I needed to start doing what I love and enjoy. The idea to start crafting came to me and my friend after being made redundant twice in two years. And I enjoy having all that time to myself and making dolls. Not only that, I enjoy painting, drawing, making greeting cards, drawing on a silk and taking photos, but I am still a bit shy to start showing and selling it. I might do it in the future.

2. What does the statement “Happiness is handmade.” mean to you?
I must admit that everything handmade makes me happy and I am addicted to it. I have been surrounded by arts and crafts since my childhood. I admire my dad's creativity and the things he does with wood. I used to watch him working, creating new things when I was a kid and I am still mesmerized and inspired by him till this day.

3. Where can I find your handmade treasures?
At the moment my handmade dolls can be found on Etsy in my shop Ineta Dolls and I am sharing page on Facebook with my friend who is also making cute dolls.

See more of Ineta's Dolls on Etsy

4. What is your favorite handmade object?
It's so hard to choose one favourite handmade object! It must be handmade toys I think, but also I love handmade jewellery, knitting, crocheting, paintings and drawings.

5. Who or what inspires you?

The biggest inspiration for me as I've mentioned before is my dad, then couple of my friends who are making stuff themselves and I think all people who have a spark in their eyes while creating and making something unique.

Thank you for joining us Ineta and for sharing your brilliant dolls with us! If you like this post be sure to stop by Ineta’s shop or Facebook Page and tell her so!

Flea markets!

Today I'm taking a little break from the weekly "Meet the Maker" posts. Don't worry, they'll be back next week.

In the mean time there are a few photos I've been meaning to share with you from a recent trip to the local flea market and antique mall.

Giant Fabric Center Sign over the booth

This was my favorite booth or cube in the antique's mall. HB and I probably spent about an hour and a half total walking around that day. A good 45 minutes of that time was probably spent in this booth.

Vintage Singer Sewing Machine

This beautiful lady drew us in. It was an old singer sewing machine. I know, you've probably seen a million. And no, it wasn't even on one of those beautiful iron bases. It was an industrial model by the look of the base and motor. Very cool.

Did you know HB recently bought a Singer recently? It needs a bit of refinishing, so I've got a project on my hands. :D

Accountant's Register

Awesome Coffee Table (apologies for the butt,  I was afraid to move the statue)

Remington Typewriter

If I remember correctly there was a bit of a twitter frenzy as I got to this part of the booth where I found a vintage typewriter and sent a picture to Aubrey to drool over. I also found...

Dress Form!

A fantastic dress form. I know, a typewriter and a dress form in the same booth it could only be better if it also had a library card catalogue.

You knew that was coming, right?

Did I mention HB and I also got a table, chairs, and a few wooden library card catalogues? Yep, this is a summer of PROJECTS.

Are you as excited as me?

Oh, and one last thing, the most eccentric find of the day goes to...

The Camel Bar Stool!

 Who wouldn't want a wooden camel to sit on at their bar? And look, even it's toes are carved in! There were two of these beauties - definitely made me smile.

We hit the register...

Ok maybe not that register...but we did buy something. I managed to make it out of the antiques mall with only this: 

Just a little silver plated basket. It's sitting prettily on my desk corralling a few balls of yarn for current projects.

Speaking of...something new is due in the shop soon.

Perspective

Sometimes a "bad" weekend puts things into perspective for you. There were a few wrinkles in my plans for the weekend.

Feeling better and watching the birds.

On Saturday morning Calvin was sick again. So there I was worrying about him, another vet bill, and a new antibiotic. Have you ever tried to give medicine to a cat? It's not pretty.

On Saturday night my plans with friends fell through.

On Sunday morning HB's car broke down on our way to a meeting. We pretty much missed the meeting and we have no idea what it will cost to fix the car.

But here's the thing. HB was willing to help me wrangle the cat to give him meds. So are my Mom and Dad which will make the next 12 days much easier. I got a phone call from one friend and a text message from another apologizing about the mix up. HB's friend lent him his truck for the next few days while he gets the car situation straightened out.

So really, I've got a lot to be thankful for. Nothing like a few bad days to put things into perspective.

Happiness in the Morning

Mornings are a funny thing. Part ritual, part habit, and part confusion – at least until the first cup of coffee.

If you spent a morning in my house you’d know that I wake up first [well, among the humans]. That I  normally hit the snooze at least once, sometimes more than once, and never get out of bed until the very last instant [this week the very last instant is 6:00 AM].

If you were at my house you might laugh at me because I  am BLIND without my glasses. I  might not see the vacuum that I left in the hallway. Hobbs sitting in a corner, or any number of stationary obstacles that I crash into. I wander around in a I-need-coffee and a the-world-is-fuzzy daze until I’ve showered, dressed, and put on makeup which I typically do sitting on the counter in my bathroom.

During all of my morning wandering this guy is typically following me around and whining impatiently for his breakfast. Meet Zeus.

Zeus has had diabetes since 2007 and is insulin dependent. He gets two shots every day. [I love my Dad for a lot of reasons, one is giving Zeus the million shots I missed  while in college and anytime I’ve spend the night away from the house since.]

So why does Zeus follow me around? You’d think it would be a nightmare, trying to give a cat a shot. But it’s not. Zeus has NO IDEA shots are scary/ouchy/to-be-avoided-at-all-costs. All he knows is that every morning and every night he gets some quality time with me and a small serving of wet cat food that he doesn’t have to share.

Not too bad, right?

Meet the Maker: Aubrey Plays

Around here my motto is "happiness is handmade" which can mean a lot of things depending on who you ask. I believe that happiness is about living intentionally. It's about making room for growth in your life, it's about following your passion, and it's about choosing to be happy.

There are handmade artisans and crafters out there who have inspired me with their drive, unique products, and love for their craft. So, I thought I'd take some time here on the blog to share the inspiration. Meet the makers...

Today's maker is Aubrey. She runs a handmade business called Aubrey Plays where she sews adorable and cheeky handmade treasures. 


1. Why did you start crafting?
I started crafting from as early as I can remember. My mom is super crafty and both of my grandmothers did different crafts. My favorite was drawing and painting though. I told my kindergarten teacher I was going to be an artist when I grew up (and well, a dolphin trainer). It tickles me now that I sort of did actually end up being what I wanted to be when I grew up! I am a happy girl.


2. What does the statement, "Happiness is handmade," mean to you?
I think when you handcraft something, you are sort of paying homage to the old world. It's a nod at the old fashioned. I also think it's sort of like sharing a little bitty piece of you. Every time you make something you are putting this energy into it (hopefully happy) and then you are passing it along. It's a piece of heart when it's handmade. 

3. Where can I find your handmade treasures?

I have a little shop called aubreyplays. I make functional and cheeky things that give a wink to playing. 

You can find me on Etsy, on my blog, andon Facebook.

4. What is your favorite handmade object?
Wow. That is really a hard one. I really feel like I charish anything that is given to me that is handmade. I know the work and time that is put into it. I have a pottery jar that my Uncles wife made forever ago and it was his favorite. I somehow got to have it when he passed away, so that makes it a very sentimental piece.  I also LOVE the goodies my kids surprise me with. My 4 year old once cut out a couple pieces of felt into heart shapes, stiched them together and sewed buttons on for decorations. I LOVE it because it is something she did by herself without direction just to surprise her mama. 


5. Who or what inspires you?
I am most inspired by my kids and  functional need. As a young wife I had to be very creative with little money. BUT, honestly ANYTHING can become a source of inspiration. A movie, an outfit, a painting. I love photography and color. I get most of my light bulb moments in the shower. Ha! Probably because no one is there to interrupt my thoughts.


[Blogger's note: do more business brainstorming in the shower!] Thank's for sharing Aubrey. I'd love to hear more about your life painting...maybe a follow up post?


PS Aubrey didn't mention my favorite product [for every one bought she donates $8 to the SHINE Project] so I had to share this change purse. <3 it!

Find it here.

Snacks vs Meals

I’m not in the  mood to cook recently. Even at my most creative, most inspired, happiest (most happy?) moments I’m just not feeling the whole “let’s make something yummy for dinner” thing. 30 minutes to prep a meal is still just way to much these days.

But I still love to eat. As a matter of fact since starting to do yoga I am hungry all-the-time. Well hello high school metabolism, where have you been?

So what’s a girl to do when:

you wake up with blood sugar so low that you feel nauseous.

you eat breakfast at 7 and you are ravenous at 10 (again getting cranky due to low blood sugar).

you cave in at 11:30 and eat your entire lunch,

you find you are starving again by 2 (time for a granola bar),

you can’t get into the house fast enough 5:00 because once again you are STARVING (but first you have to let the dogs outside because they're needs come first, mmk?)

oh and when someone else gets home around 7:30 or 8:00 and they are hungry you eat dinner [again].

[true story this is what my days are like]

With all that “I’m so hungry” every 2-3 hours it’s hard to think about spending 30 minutes making a meal when I can just…graze. I’ve become a “grazer.” I mastered the habit in high school and it looks like I’m bringing it back.  These days I’m loving:

- Instant oatmeal

- Granola bars

- Peanut butter & apples

- String cheese & apples

- Guacamole & tortilla chips

- Salsa & tortilla chips

- Chicken salad & crackers

- Sliced cheese & fruit [Colby Jack & grapes anyone?]

- Oranges

Thank goodness my family did the whole Body for Life meal plan thing when I was in high school. Most of those snacks aren’t that bad, right?  Anyone got other easy to prep, healthy snack foods they’d like to share? That little list up there is going to get boring pretty quick. And then I start eating gold fish crackers, chips ahoy cookies, and other stuff that I really shouldn’t eat.

You made what?! StartUp Sterling

I often admire the work of crafters who have mastered a skill that I haven’t. Like sewing, knitting, or in this case jewelry fabrication!

photo via Startup Sterling

I love rings. Love, love, love them. Isn’t this Bella ring from Startup Sterling beautiful? Rings are hands down my favorite jewelry item. And guess what…I hardly wear any. Why?

Well first, finding a ring I love is quite the process. I’ll wear the same ring every day so it needs to be 100% me. It’s not as if it’s an accessory I change with my outfit. If I’ve coughed up the  money for a perfect ring, something I hesitate to do because jewelry always seems like such a luxury, I wear it until I’ve ruined it (I cracked my wooden ring) or there’s such a drastic change in my style that it’s not “me” anymore.

Katherine’s work is stunning. And uhmm she made that setting folks. Not going to lie, I’m impressed. You can find Startup Sterling on Etsy and on Facebook.

**Update** Readers the coupon code Buttonwood10 for 10% off at Starup Sterling! Thanks Katherine ;) 

I’d love to have this specific ring (and my birthday is coming up in November…just kidding!)