JCasa *handmade

happiness is...

xoxo

an everyday

the girls' orchard field trip was cancelled today, so i took them on a treasure hunt (a.k.a. thrifting + antiquing) as a consolation prize.  we enjoyed lunching on honeycrisp apples and sandwiches with "waves" of nutella, took snapshots of the prismatic countryside out the sunroof, found treasures in the form of a keepsake box and an antique meatball-maker(picture a scissors with scoops at the end of each tip), and mama joined in on the singing of "i gotta feeling" after hearing it on the radio for the bazillionth time.

and then sweet serendipity had us arriving home just in time to be inspired and uplifted by the beautiful stephanie on oprah.  thank you, nie nie.  you - and your family and your story and the ripple you create with the words you say and write and live - are magical.

some days admittedly are better than others, for everyone i imagine.  for us, today was exceptional in its simplicity and pure pleasure of enjoying one another.  having the opportunity to spend my days with my children is a gift i shall breathe in and savor until i must breathe it out in the hopes of being able to take yet another breath.  thank you for this day, and for the reminder of everyday joys. xoxo

happiness is...

a good after-party.  hope you enjoyed your labor day!  xoxo

happiness is...

drag races at dusk ::

start your engines...

on your mark... get set...

go!

a new after-dinner tradition.  part of each heat is an ever-changing obstacle course once the wheels hit the grass.  feel free to knit a row or two between belly laughs.  my side still smarts.  good times for racers + spectators alike.  when we found those cars for $5/each at garage sales the past 2 years, never could i have imagined how much they'd be loved.  heck, if i had a green convertible, i'd be in it every possible moment, as well.  xoxo

happiness is...

the whirlwind.  *sigh*

 

 

both june and december are a tidal wave of birthdays and celebrations and shows and recitals and running from here to there.  moreso than any other month, you would not believe.  (or perhaps you can relate all too well.)  and what i've learned over the past few years is that one can only gear up so much, you know?  then it's just a matter of rolling with it, riding each wave, and savoring every wonderful bit of excitement.

for us, with each sunset, putting our feet up side-by-side on the hassock is icing on life's cake, even if very very late is the first chance we've had to say hello.
it's a happy exhaustion.  xoxo

happiness is... recovering

i am not quite sure how we made it to the other side, but we're here.

 

swings, swimming lessons, three birthday parties, a banana python (and about a dozen other wild creatures, all of which the girlys touched or held - mama did not), a mini-amusement park and even a chance for mama to steal away to a baby shower.  i am thankful for each and every moment - ok, maybe not the meltdowns and a few not so exceptional solo-parenting moments while the hub worked out of town.  but let's be honest, a 98% amazing weekend is pretty stellar.  and we've moved past any less than stellar moments, thanks to many deep breaths and reminders to live and learn, forgiving little ones any mis-steps as they find their way through life.  and forgiving our own mis-steps as well.  xoxo

of course!

i am honored to write a guest post on sewliberated today - the lovely meg invited a few of us to muse on the theme of motherhood.

meg is such a delight and inspiration, not to mention one of the cutest + most glowing pregnant mamas i know.  so go get yourself a cup of something warm, and stop by to read through all of the "motherhood is..." posts this week.  i am sure you will find some common ground in there :: perhaps as a mother, or perhaps as someone who made someone a mother.  xoxo

the games we play

who doesn't love tetris? especially when the playing pieces are furniture and fabric, and what results are a few extra square feet.

my husband has returned home many times to find any given room newly configured, only to roll his eyes and cast me a knowing smile.  over time, however, he has come to accept the concept that our living spaces are for just that - living!  how we interface with our space evolves and we should not feel confined or restricted by how things are set up.  a little shuffle of a room's contents can totally change its feel and allow it to inspire once again.

i was able to manage a bit of tetris this weekend, and surprised even myself by creating more space in my little studio without removing a single thing.  it is a mere 7' x 9' which is not a lot of space for five fully functional pieces of furniture - but somehow it works.  and even better now, providing welcoming floor space for the little ones i love as they drift in throughout our quiet time to sew, play with pins or buttons, swoon over japanese craft books or simply to twirl.  and twirl.

if i were a more pracitical person, this room would make an amazing pantry or a very handy first-floor laundry room.  um, no thanks - this works just fine for everyone.  xoxo

:

edited to add ~ for those of you who commented and emailed about the paint colors, my sewing room is "asparagus" (410D-4) by Behr and that deep gold in the living room is "harvester" (SW6373) by Sherwin Williams.  xoxo

happiness is...

just a few things making me happy this morning ::

funny faces, a brand new word to write (and what a lovely word it is), and wearing a special green wool cardigan which i think was knit by my grandmother.  my mother wore it to high school in the 1950's, and then i resurrected it in the 1980's along with her vintage wool bermuda shorts.  yes, that was me.  fast forward yet another 20 years and it has surfaced once again with its timeless style.  oh raglan shaping, you are so flattering.  i wonder if it will reappear on the next generation in 15 or so years.  let's hope so.  xoxo

what's making you happy today?

:

edited to add :: my mom tells me that my nana (my dad's mother) actually knit this for my mom, not in the 50's but in the 60's.  makes sense since a lot of my knitting needles once belonged to nana.  xoxo

timing

seems like a good time for some long overdue mending, wouldn't you agree?

good stuff, today.  xoxo