give-a-thon

Happy Black Friday! The kickoff to Christmas is finally here. Time to haul out the holly, hit the sales, and join the hustle+bustle of the season. But before you dash off to the department stores, consider making it a handmade holiday! There are so many thoughtful gifts to be made+shared by your own two hands. Or, if you're feeling a bit pressed for time or drained of creativity, check out Marta's blog today, for the complete guide to handmade holiday shopping at some of her favorite etsy sellers and indie crafters. And I am so delighted that SimplySwell is a part of her list!

That's why this weekend only, all of my etsy sales will be accompanied by a lovely little set of these Christmas gift tags. Absolutely free and just for you. Just say "GIVEathon" when you checkout, and 8 cheery little tags will be well on their way to your mailbox, come Monday morning. A little handmade help with giving...from me to you!

listing my thankfuls:

1. I am thankful for you. For ever stopping by, for visiting this little piece of my world and my craft. And I wanted to thank everyone who took the time to send such thoughtful, encouraging, sweet, prayerful little notes (& phone calls!) to me after my last post. It was a whopper, and I'm thankful to have been reminded of such wonderful friends near and far. Because of you, my anxiety has subsided and I decided to make apple pie for the big celebration.

2. Thankful for this ever-swelling belly. For the precious little boy growing deep inside. For the beginning of a fabulous new chapter. For the forgiveness of elastic waistbands. I never thought we'd get along so well. For finding cute, comfy maternity cords that look just as cute as ever...and fit sorta like my old pants used to fit.

3. For my Jesus. Completely overwhelmed by grace...and not sure where I'd be without my faith.

4. For my family. Near & far. Trying not to be sad about missing you at Thanksgiving...and not coming home at all for Christmas this year. We are planning a trip to see Jeff's fam for a few days between Christmas & New Year's, which will be completely wonderful.

5. For my job. Sharing pieces of miracles every day; seeing sweet kids & their fams restored to health. It's amazing...really. For the insane view of the Golden Gate Bridge outside my 7th floor window at the hospital. For the waffle bar organized by my co-workers, that makes having to work the holiday a little easier.

6. For my Jeff. He's been nothing short of fabulous lately. So supportive and helpful and sweet. I guess that's nothing new...Except that lately, he's been having frequent and in-depth conversations with my belly. Glad to see my boys bonding so soon...

Photo: Aspiring to Pie by Kim Denise

crossroads

Why is it that every time I come to a big fat unknown, an uncomfortable fork in the road, I always take pictures of my feet? Maybe it's neurotic, maybe it's symbolic. That's what I'm doing today. Taking pictures of my feet, my fun new sparkly shoes, and fretting about the future. Funny, because if I've learned anything in life, it's not to fret. Not worth it. God always works everything out. And oddly, He'll work it out 100% better than you ever originally bargained for. But today, I can't even help it. So sit down girlfriends, grab a cup of hot apple cider with me, and allow me to vent.

This babe is now 20 weeks--that means he's half fully grown! And in another 20 weeks (give or take), he'll be making his debut...ready or not! It's not that I'm wigging out about mamahood itself. I've never felt better, more anticipation, more excitement ever. This pregnancy thing is bliss. But in the mean time, we do still have so so many details to work out...

Let me explain: I can't even decide what kind of pie to make for Thanksgiving dinner. I stink at making decisions; always have, always will. Combine that with a nervous-bird personality who would prefer to have every single detail planned out for at least the next year. Marry that personality to a complete laissez-faire husband, who's favorite free-time activity is "chilling" and you've got the story of my life. But I love Jeff, dearly. Good thing I do enough fretting for the both of us. While Jeff just goes with the flow, undoubtedly, these decisions will continue to consume my thoughts for the next months. It will probably take a notebook full of pro/con charts and an epic blog post for me to even begin to sort things through...

1. I can't decide where to deliver this babe. Confession: I'm ultra anxious about this birth, and it has nothing to do with blood, sweat, or tears. I'm anxious because I so badly want this birth to be as natural as possible...I want to deliver in a place, with people who support that. Please no c-sections, no inductions, please no epidurals, and please no epi--well, you know where I'm going next. Of course, that is, if all is otherwise well and low-risk for the baby. The ICU nurse in me wouldn't think of delivering outside of the hospital. That's a given. But anyway, I feel like the OB medical community and individual birth philosophies are a huge can of worms that I just won't open right here, right now. Suffice it to say that I'm struggling with finding health insurance and a provider that will work for and with us.

2. We're thinking it's time to leave S.F. We've loved it here, but always knew it wasn't our ideal place to raise a family. We're thinking we need a better support system, perhaps some more space, and a more family-friendly environment. But the question is when do we move? Where? Should we sneak this big transition in before baby is born or wait 'til a few months or years after? Plus, the housing market is so buyer-friendly right now, we're thinkin' we might even be able to scrape together a down payment. (Aghm, but of course not here, the 'spendiest place on earth!) But purchasing a place seems so final. The reality is there's no one perfect community that has all of your family, all of your friends, the best church, and the best schools all in one place. I need to get over that. Right now, it's about prayer+priorities...

3. I always wanted to be a stay-at-home mama. My mom stayed home with us, and growing up, I couldn't imagine it any other way. I always thought I'd want to be there for every second of my kids' precious childhoods. Until I found the job of my dreams and realized the luxury of combining 2 incomes. Fancy dates at fancy restaurants have replaced Ramen noodles, and we're quite comfy. But more than that, I seriously love nursing. It's amazingly rewarding. I can't even begin to tell you. Part of me dearly wants to hang on to this nursing career...and even if it's just one or two night shifts per week, I think it might be feasible. But part of me just wants to invest all of my energy into our family and our home and my little crafting enterprise on the side. Advice!?

There you have it...me...completely unraveled. However, there are 3 things I know for certain: First, God already has all of this worked out, and is shaking his head at my inner turmoil right about now. Second, I know we'll eventually get to wherever we're going. I just need to have faith and keep on praying. As they say, this too shall pass. And third, when we get to wherever we're going, I'll be right back here to blog about it. I don't want to miss a second of this crazy experience called life. :)

got me going

Popping in, because it's been awhile! Clickity-clickity, I'm oh so inspired on this cozy, foggy Saturday eve. And I thought you might be too:1. By everything about Elise's Handmade Holidays.

2. Could the colors+whimsy be more captivating in this darling calendar from behappynow's lovely etsy shop? Discovered via kelly p. :) 3. This simple, funky tote by avie designs. Oh, and her adorable Christmas cards too!

4. Lately I'm so in love with Elizabeth Kartchner's blog. She completely rocks my world. I love her bright+chipper scrapbook design schemes. {And in case you aren't in the know--she also writes the Dear Lizzy column for Creating Keepsakes. She's one gorgeous, talented girl.

3 {christmas} cheers

...for a stocked etsy shop! Complete with some charming handmade gifts you might not want to miss. I've made a few little changes around my little store: including a SALE and some happy news: I now ship internationally!

quiet bag

In conjunction with our cradle roll + softie book project, my friend Erin & I just finished creating a set of quiet bags for our church. {Since our church is so small, this is the next best thing to a nursery room to keep those unruly, cutie kids calm during church...} We made 4 different canvas bags, each with a different Bible theme. {I thought the baby Jesus/Christmas story bag was a timely example to share.} They'll hang under the mailboxes in our church entryway, so kids+parents can grab a different bag each Sunday. Each bag includes coloring+activity pages, cardboard books, stickers, crayons, pencils, and hopefully/potentially/eventually some cool quiet Bible stuffed toys or action figures. Wouldn't that be awesome? If you know where to find such toys at reasonable prices, please let me know!

all things artsy

My friend Becca, a crafting queen, just opened her very own etsy shop {All Things Artsy} this week! I'm so excited for her and excited about what she has in store...Her shop is filled with cozy wool crafts, vintage goodness, and some Christmas cheer. Check out her muffin tin advent calendar above. So clever+adorable!

hip! hip! it's a...

B-O-Y. boy. Our sweet little lover boy. And we're completely jazzed. Some{little}one to read stories to + tuck in at night. One little munchkin-man to call our own. Someone to play ball. Someone to wear all of those stinking cute blue+green monkey clothes my friend Kayt keeps sending. Someone to start our little family and grow up into a great big bro and a quality kinda guy.

image: curly girl design

holiday*handmade

1. Must be the department stores jumping the gun, but I'm starting to get a little giddy about the holidays. In fact, I've {finally} got another etsy update coming your way...Just in time for Christmas! My goal is to have the shop fully stocked before Thanksgiving. :)

2. Just joined this lovely-looking Happy Handmade Christmas Swap with the girlies at Domestic Bliss. Am already piecing together some paper crafted goodness. You should share the Christmas cheer and join too! The deadline is soon--Nov. 15th.

3. And for the crafter hunting for a little inspiration today...I'm loving these sweet little mittens with embroidered + felt flare. Wishing I had the time/skill to knit my own mittens, but don't you think you or I could easily add the bits of felt + stitching to a pair of plain jane mittens we already have? I also spied+loved these delicious cupcake ornaments while loitering at my local Anthropologie last weekend. I want to eat them all up.

18 sweet weeks

...and finally a bit of a baby bump to speak of. Don't get me wrong--I'm not complaining. It's been absolutely wonderful squeezing into my same ol' jeans every day. But I'd been beginning to wonder...Are you still in there babe, are you growing?

Now is such a sweet time. No more nausea/fatigue. Not yet to the point of an overbearing belly, or sore back, or swollen ankles. And in the last week or two, I've started to feel tiny flutters deep inside. I know there's definitely a baby cakes flipping and flirting at random times of the day. And almost before I realize it, that little jumping bean is gone. This never stops amazing me...In fact, it just keeps getting more amazing. It's such a mystery, how my body just knows what to do. It knows exactly how to grow another human life. Incredible. God is so good.

And a week from today, we'll be seeing this little babe in action once again at our next ultrasound; plus hopefully nailing down a gender(!!!). Jeff's dying to know and I'm more than a little curious. Jeff+my parents+numerous girlfriends have strong convictions that it's a girl. And that leaves me dreaming of pink headbands and ballet lessons. But I'm trying so hard not to have any preconceived notions. So to counteract those girly daydreams, I'm planning on bringing nothing less than a wild little boy into this world. A little boy who will run around the house and whack things: one who doesn't understand the words "no," "quiet," or "gentle". And I'll love him more than I could ever even imagine.

snail mail love

Photo by northern star via flickr

Late Sunday night, we arrived home from a whirlwind weekend back home in the Midwest...But a hectic work schedule + the computer's brain transplant (Jeff's been busy with an diy upgrade this week) have kept me from bringing my blog life up to speed. :) I've been itching to share my long list of reasons why I must be the luckiest girl ever! When we rolled back into the city after the long weekend, I found a mailbox full of love:

1. A lovely surprise package from my dear friend Chelle. To celebrate her birthday on her blog, she decided to give away adorable gifts to her readers. {In my humble opinion, this was probably the most selfless+thoughtful thing anyone has ever done to celebrate their birthday in the history of the world!} So along came this super cute book of craft ideas. We both agreed that this couldn't have come at a more fitting time!

2. A beautiful handmade card from Jeff's parents...Plus a shopping spree for new maternity clothes!!! {Also could not have come at a better time. My dear old jeans are finally getting a bit snug and my belly will soon be hanging out of every shirt I own. Thankfully I was also able to borrow a stack of cute maternity clothes last weekend from my SIL Katie. So thanks to both of you...Huge help for my helpless wardrobe!}

3. The most precious birth announcement I'd ever seen from this lovely lady. It's hanging on my fridge!

4. A giant package from my friend Becca, full of these gorgeous vintage trims, ribbons, and lacey frills, plus a beautiful old table cloth with hand stitched pastel flowers. Confession: one of my ultimate weaknesses is thrift shopping. I literally hyperventilate and get clammy when I walk into thrift stores and garage sales. Not sure if it's the musty smells, the chaotic disorganization, or the inability to see past the worthless, creepy old items. I love antiques and vintage goodness, and I envy anyone with the ability {and strength!} to sift around and find these things! So to make a long story short, I sent Becca, one of the best thrifters I know, a mission+a few bucks to splurge on me. She knows my tastes to a T, and she certainly did not disappoint. I can't wait to use these little gems in my future craftings!

alisha + jason

We had an awesome excuse to head home to the Midwest to visit friends + fam this weekend...My cousin Alisha got married to her sweet guy, Jason. We're so happy for them and their new life together! The wedding was absolutely gorgeous. The flowers, stunning. The cinnamon colors, fabulous. The bride, radiant. The reception, delicious, beautiful, and super fun! Jeff actually took their official wedding pictures and I am so giddy about sharing them all...but I promised him I'd post only one until after his photoshop labors have come to an end. Congrats Alisha + Jason!