swallowfield

2008, it was good

(these are some of my favorite  or most memorable photos from this year. click here for individual links if you want more info about a specific photo.)

i wanted to take a minute to wish everyone who comes here a happy new year, and to say thank you so much  for reading and commenting. i am extraordinarily grateful for the friendships i've made by way of this blog, and for the daily doses of inspiration and community i've found.  i am not always the best about replying to comments, but i really appreciate them, so thank you.

a lot of my non-blogging family and friends have asked/said to me over the past few years the inevitable 'i just don't know how you have time for that stuff.' i think i've realized that it's important to make time, because this community is such a part of what makes me tick. and i think i will be so grateful to have a record for my kids of who i was and what i was all about at this stage of my life, if and when they are ever interested in such things. i was a big goofball who got a kick out of them and loved them for who they were and occasionally got annoyed with them. i was a person who loved to draw and cut tiny pieces of paper and play around with colors and layers.  i liked sad songs and dumb clips on youtube and reading things that made me think or made me laugh. i was trying new things, even if they made me uncomfortable sometimes. we got a new president who inspired me in ways i'd never felt before. and that was all in 2008. this blog serves as a slice of the things i think and feel and dream about.  i wonder what 2009 has in store?

happy new year, friends!
xo

happy holidays to you

happy holidays!
the past week or so has gone by in big old blur for me, but in the best way - surrounded by friends and family, with yummy food, naps, game playing, sledding and time to curl up and read. we've gone from snowstorm craziness to balmy and 50 degrees today, so there has been some gorgeous fog to look at. hello, global warming.

some highlights:
-celebrating christmas eve with a delicious dinner and some excellent company
-playing several different games of apples to apples
-listening to the national
-playing with our new-to-us, hand-me-down wii - a christmas gift from my brother (even after my -objections,) though i i can't say i'm complaining and am suddenly fairly hooked on wii tennis. i would pretend to scratch my head, but the truth is that i have an pretty addictive personality for things like this. we will need some family limits, i think.
-reading new cookbooks and the best american non-required reading 2o08
-tapas for christmas night dinner
-enjoying a few quiet days on mount desert island




tomorrow i'm driving down to nahcotta to drop of my piece for their inspired: this i believe show, which opens this friday, january 2nd (2009! holy cow.) i will be at the opening reception on friday night and am really excited to see everyone's work.

i like this video a lot.

i hope you're snuggled in and finding time for your own fun little extravagances, whatever they may be.

i'm going to have a popsicle

if you happen to be the slightly disorganized, fly by the seat of your pants type who puts a lot of stuff off until the last minute and counts on everything going according to the magical plan you've casually outlined in your mind,  you might find it somewhat inconvenient when the world delivers a major nor'easter three days before christmas, resulting in the kids having a snow day and the driving being more than a bit scary. i'm just saying. 

on the upside, the kids are at a really fun, appreciative age and have been giving me lots of drive by hugs lately. to them, everything is special!! and magical!! right now and they love it all.  snow day? let's hug mom! hot cocoa after playing outside for three hours? mom is the awesome-est!  you think you heard an elf rustle a bit in the fireplace just now? that is SO magical!!  they're basically killing the pessimist in me, people. 

this is a very short video i took of them three years ago, talking about seeing santa out the window at meg's house on christmas eve night the year before. i have no idea how many times i've watched it over the past few years, but it's got to be around 100 or so. i love it. chase doesn't wear glasses anymore and has totally changed since then, and ellie is about a foot taller now, but it sort of captures them in this perfect way. 

happy holidays - i hope your pessimistic hearts are pleasantly soft and gooey, too. 

all is (mostly) calm, all is bright

hello!  december is getting past me, i think. too many pots on the stove, or something like that. we've been busy decorating, playing in the snow, making paper chains, baking cookies, eating cookies, mailing packages, finishing custom orders, and trying to keep things simple.  i have a pandora station with a sufjan stevens holiday thread going pretty much nonstop right now - it's good if you are a fan of (mostly) holiday tunes. i've had the urge to pull my kids out of school early and do fun things with them, but i've resisted it so far. we'll have two weeks together starting next wednesday.  i watched love actually last weekend for the eleventy-gazillionth time and loved it as much as ever. especially this part. shut up. 

here is this year's edition of my annually pink and sparkle-tastic mantel. i am not a huge fan of pink in my every day life, but once a year for a month or so it sure does make me happy. my sister made me the wreath about four years ago and it is probably one of my most treasured belongings. 

this past week has been a mixed bag of feelings for me: december 14th was the 10th anniversary of when my stepbrother mark was killed. the day is usually a really hard one for me, mostly because the news was so shocking at the time that it sort of felt like the world just stopped.  this year i think i subconsciously decided not to dwell on the day he died and instead think about other things i remember about him that make me happy - and there is plenty of material. five years ago my stepfather made a cd of mark talking and playing music, and the kids and i had a chance to listen to it together and talk about him. it was nice. he is still incredibly missed. (the holidays can bring up a whole bunch of crap for people, can't they? maybe that's why everyone seems to drink more than usual...or wait, maybe that's just my family. who knows?)

i wish you luck with your to-do lists, and the chance to sit and stare out the window a bit with a cup of tea. 

ice storm

thanks so much to everyone who came out for the space gallery shop-a-do last night! i love portland for so many reasons, and i was reminded why last night being among so many talented artists and craftspeople and getting a chance to chat a bit with shoppers. we have such a great arts community here. 

today:

i hope to put up the tree, clean up, do some finishing touches on a custom drawing, make my daily trip to the post office, dream a little, contend with an ice storm, and maybe do a bit of cookie baking after piano lessons. the kids' piano lesson time is my favorite part of the week because their teacher always has a cozy fire and slouchy couches to nestle in to. hello, catnap. 

have a great day. 

 

tis the season (to feel overwhelmed)

we had a great time in boston this past weekend.  i wish i'd had the foresight to take a picture at anthropologie because their displays were gorgeous as usual: miles of paper chains and holiday trees made from wooden shingles. i loved seeing it all. 

thanks so much to everyone who came + visited my table at the bazaar bizarre in boston yesterday. it snowed all day and i heard there were lines outside for 40 minutes to an hour for most of the day. busy, busy, busy!  and johnny spaceman the theremin player was there again!  i had fun, and am still feeling very tired. 

i have one more show to do this year, on wednesday evening at space gallery here in portland. the elves* are busy restocking things to get ready for that. (*every surface of my home is covered in prints and such, plus commissioned work in various stages of completion, plus random things i've glittered. you know, the usual.)

i am working diligently to get my ornaments out for the famous ornament swap this week, too. i was so thrilled with the ornaments i received last year that i decided to do it again even though i feel short on time. after a few different experiments i landed on these wool felt poinsettia-ish ornaments. they are made from beautiful hand-dyed wool from my old rug hooking days, and i like the colors together. 

and you know, every year i like to make a little wreath of some sort. this one is glitterific, or as i like to say, it's all covered in glittah. or maybe it's gliddah. i said it before and i'll say it again: martha stewart's glitter is not overrated. it's really lovely. 

ps: jena at modish asked me and a bunch of other blogger/artist types to make a little gift guide, which is here. that was fun to think about. 

eight is nice

my little guy turned eight this morning. the kitchen is a disaster, post crepe-making (his choice for breakfast) and mini cupcake preparation (for class snack) and present opening (legos, mostly.) i thought i would feel teary and emotional like last year (don't click if you don't enjoy pictures of preemie babies who look like scrawny wee aliens) but i am feeling pretty mellow this morning. it might be all of the busy-busy of my show prep, but  i think it is more that he is a perfectly healthy, funny + smart big guy now. (when he was teeny + first making intelligible sentences, he used to wake up and come downstairs every morning and say "here comes the cutest little guy in the world!"  in a really enthusiastic way. i wish i had it on video. i've reminded him of it over the years and he usually scoffs at me, like "i did NOT, mom!"  but today he came barreling down in his pajamas, gangled into my lap and said it again. "here comes the cutest little guy in the world, mom!" i hugged him and he said "haha, i knew that would get to you. you're not going to CRY or something embarrassing, are you?" maybe a tiny bit - i'm not a machine*.

happy birthday, chase! i love you.

*one of my favorite of meg's many witticisms.

newsy stuff

i wanted to share a couple of upcoming events i've been busy getting ready for, and some holiday shop details:

this sunday, december 7th, i'll be at the bazarre bizarre in boston. check out the vendor line up!

next wednesday, december 10th, i'll be at the space gallery shop-a-do here in portland. lots of my favorite locals will be there selling their wares, and i even heard that a good friend will be selling yummy snacks this year. last year's sale was crazy busy and really put me in the holiday spirit, so i hope to see you if you're around these parts. 

i don't have my stuff in any bricks and mortar stores in portland at the moment, so if you're local and not a serial killer, feel free to contact me if you'd like to see stuff in person - we can make a plan to get together.

i have more of these holiday cards available again. thanks to all who made them sell out the first time around. :)

there is a sale in my etsy shop! from now to 12/20, any three small prints (8.5x11" or less)are just $42.00, a $12. savings. my prints fit in standard size frames and make extra-special gifts! you can send me a note over at etsy to arrange your own set of three. 

i'm in two different group gallery shows in january that i'm excited about sharing more details with you very soon. 

over and out...have a great day, friends!

ps: have you listened to fleet foxes? i can't stop.