JCasa BLOG

hi.

hello friends.  i hope you are having a wonderful new year.  the girls remarked this afternoon how January has already whizzed by.  oh my, i thought, how quickly life is whizzing by.  i feel as though i've been absent from this space.  but i am here, really.  perhaps it is a lack of posting all matter of home + making goodness.  rest assured, there is plenty of that going on.  life is good.

i am here quite literally every single day sharing pieces of my 365 project as "quiet posts" (without comments), and i do hope you continue to stop by.  one of my goals is for a personal reflection of each day.  i did not want to embark on a year-long push, rather i wanted a look inward.  this is a chance for me to look deeper into who i am through my love of music and words.  and it is also an opportunity for me to grow as an artist.  i know it isn't all going to be perfect.  and i suppose that's the whole point of this exercise.  i am trying new things and experimenting with new mediums.  it gives me a creative goal each day that has me listening to music more than ever, appreciating the craft of writing lyrics, and being excited about art.

if you have been following along, my sincere hope is that you may stop and think about what the words (or perhaps the song) on any given day means to you.  take a moment to feel.  and if you start to hum along, well that's just dandy, too.  xoxo

 

and another thing.

since you've asked.  (and thanks, by the way.  i'm flattered.)

if you like any of my i bet you think this song is about you pieces so much that you'd like a print to hang on the wall in your kitchen or in your cubicle or over the crib or beside the bathroom mirror... well, just email me and we'll talk.

summer groove

making + reading + writing + swimming + play dateing + farmers' market shopping + day camping + ice cream eating + berry picking + treasure hunting + gardening + sunscreen lathering + butterfly releasing + sun tea sipping + lakeside shawl knitting + hilly hiking + new friend making + cocktail mixing + fresh air breathing + and + and + and...

summer is full of so much wonderfulness.

and while i may not be here as frequently this month, i would like to once again say thank you to all of you who visit here each week, and for your kind comments and emails.  we read every one, and truly enjoy this connection with you.

hope you are enjoying your summer as well, where ever you may be.  xoxo

:

just so you know, i love to hear from you.  i do.  comment moderaton is turned on now due to an abundance of spam comments lately.  seems summertime may be off-season for regular blogging, but it is apparently high season for spam.  that said, your kind hellos and comments will always be welcome here.  xoxo

bits + pieces

::  we thoroughly enjoyed these insanely delicious panini and oreo truffles while friends came over for a visit with their dreamboat of a new baby this weekend!  he looked perfect in his pointy elf cap when he came home from the hospital, and now i think he may need a pebble when autumn rolls around.

::  i am honored and delighted to again be posting on habit this month.  truth be told, i was giddy when they asked me back.  molly and emily have developed such a lovely + reflective space, and i find such comfort among this community of women.

::  our kitchen/first floor renovation is moving in the right direction.  the designer really seems to "get" me and my vision, and i am looking forward to seeing her drawings soon soon soon.

::  i got voted off project run & play last week and am totally cool with how it went down.  it was a wonderful experience and i appreciated the diversity among our individual styles.  and i am still enjoying following along each week, (although i do not miss the deadlines or competition pressure).  i accepted the invitiation to participate because i wanted to collaborate with and celebrate my girls.  we created pieces that we love, and i remained true to my style to the end.  amen to that.

::  i am completely hooked on words with friends and draw something.  oh.  my.  gosh.
[want to play?  find me at 321jcasa.]

xoxo

 

notes to self : BE

be kind.
be courageous.
be fair.
be compassionate.
be honest.
be responsible.
be loyal.
be respectful.
be all that you can be.
be yourself.

-

*what do you want to be?  xoxo

digging out

adjusting the arrangement my work + creative spaces this morning.  i have a love/hate thing with the layout of our home, which is magnified daily by planning for our pending renovations.  i don't really have a desinated space anymore, as my work has oozed out of my studio and into adjacent rooms.  what was initially thought of as a great idea - moving the compuer into a common area - turned out to be a major time suck (as in i am easily sucked into hours upon hours online without anything to show for it).  i have realized that i really do need and want (and deserve!) a space for work, separate from all else.  and also that i need to be more mindful about my limited work time, turn the rassafrassa computer off, and get down to doing what i love again.

so how am i going to make that happen...

whether we make adjustments for my workspace in our home, or i seek a studio outside the home is the big question.  there are pros and cons to both.  $$$ being foremost on my mind.  all i know is that the above shown chaotic studio overflow isn't working.  and all the while i am also aspiring to complete my next book proposal, format and market new designs for the Pattern SHOP and create new pieces for my Handmade SHOP.  what i do know is that it's time i stopped making excuses and deal with the matter of getting back my mojo.  a little rearrangement of things is in order, even if it will all be torn up in a manner of months.  i am hopeful this will give me the creative jumpstart i so desperately need.  xoxo

resolve

i love beginnings.  LOVE.  each new day is fresh and new and full of promise.  there is opportunity that anything can happen.  anything.  isn't that such a great word?

i especially love the beginning of a new year, what with a clean new calendar awaiting special dates and notes and doodles.  the possibilities are endless.  i spent more than a bit of time thinking about the new year over the past few weeks, and decided against making a lengthy list of lofty resolutions that are sooner forgotten than achieved.  i couldn't tell you any of my past resolutions if my life depended on it.  other than "lose weight" or "get in shape".  and how much more vague can a person get?  but rather than beat myself up about what wasn't, i choose to concentrate on what can be.

this year i set some goals.
i threw down a few challenges.
i also granted myself a few wishes.

and i was very specific with each and every one of them.

then i put them on the wall in my studio, directly above my worktable at eye level.  so they will stare me in the face each and every day.  that makes me smile.  yes it does.

there are now 12 goals up there (i've since added one more), and there they shall remain this entire year as a reminder of what is important to me and how i want to LIVE.  i love that i finally put pen to paper, commiting my energies to make each one a reality.  and i look forward to sharing bits + pieces here as things progress.

it's exciting.  it's hopeful.  it's positive.  it's a fresh and new and shiny beginning.

what is important to you right now?  do you make new year's resolutions?  are they personal- or business-related?  have you ever felt in the past like you were setting yourself up for failure?  did you do something different this year?  let's continue this conversation in the comments.  xoxo

what i found

yesterday afternoon - on Halloween, how appropriate - a giant spider jumped out of my handbag and scampered across the kitchen floor.  after i caught up with it and gave it a good slap, i figured it was probably time to clean out my purse.  here's what i found:

[ note the lack of spider carcass.  you are welcome. ]

what i found was that i felt an urgency to arrange everything all scientific-looking.  i suppose that's what happens when you're home alone, sometimes.  you arrange your bits on a white table because the white table makes you happy.  and then you stand on a chair to get a nice overhead shot.  and while you're taking the shot, you lean up against the window frame. and because you are wearing handknit wool socks, you almost slip off the chair.  but you don't slip.  and you do get the photo you were after.  as you climb down, your heart slows down to a reasonable pace.  and for a split second, you ask yourself, "why am i risking my life to arrange my bits on a white table to photograph them just so?"

oh yeah, "because it brings me joy."  simple as that.

later, everything (except the spider) went into another bag, and i had enough room to tuck in a copy of Mollie Makes.  that makes me happy, too.

so...  what is in your bag?  what brings you joy?  xoxo

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I truly appreciate your comments.  Thank you for sharing + spending time in this space.

choices

about a week ago, i was able to squeeze in one more hug + kiss before they were off on their next adventure.  and then there i was, standing in the driveway.  alone on my birthday (oh, the irony!) as they headed off to first grade.  and just as my mother predicted, i cried.  i had held it together for so long - that feeling of wanting life to linger as is just a little bit longer - but i knew that would have been about me.

and it's not all about me.  i get that now.

after waiting so very long for children, i now realize that these two amazing individuals came into our lives when and how they did for a reason.  and all these years later, after holding them so close and being their primary guide, i know their wings are strong enough to support them on their solo journeys to school.  i ached as i let them go, but i'm pretty sure my heart grew a few sizes that day.

it was my choice to stay home to raise our girls, opting in 2004 to resign my teaching position of over a decade.  and i am a better person because of it.  but listen, i will not sugarcoat things - it was HARD.  staying home with your kids can be messy and stressful and challenging and really lonely at times.  but after the haze lifted, i came to realize that those tiny imperfections made all the beauty in our days shine so much more brilliantly than i could have imagined.  talk about an "a-ha" moment.

there is no cookie cutter right choice for everyone.  i think it's more about determining what's right for one's family, being content with the decision, and embracing it fully.  life is too short to wish you were somewhere other than where you are.  for me, staying home was the right choice, and i have absolutely no regrets.  each path i've navigated over these past 43 (ahem) years has somehow prepared me for what lies ahead.  i look forward to witnessing the brilliance along our journeys.

and first grade?  they are going to rock it.  xoxo 

still am

cape cod.  *sigh*  i was SO ready to up + move there.  still am, to be honest.  someday, perhaps.  until then, we have pictures, memories, and an impressive rock collection to help us remember a most wonderful week spent with the dearest of friends.  xoxo

tap tap...

i've been giving the blog a bit of a lift lately... 

...you know, updating the look, consolidating this + that so my readers enjoy themselves, shiny new navigation, adding buttons linking to popular projects, making it easy for you to find something to make, updating my FAQs and press pages.  all that good stuff.

if you're a JCasa *handmade reader, how about you click on over and check things out.  and while you're at it, say hi.  it'd make my day.   xoxo