etsy shop update

I was up before the sun getting my etsy shop updated with a number of things that I had been working on the past couple of weeks.

I am really excited about the shantung flowers for winter. They have a wonderful texture and are so pretty with a slight sheen to make them a bit dressier than the linen flowers. I have done them on pins, headbands, and bobby pins for your hair. I wear the silver flower pins on my coat, my scarves, and my purse~

The silver grey is my favorite color and I wear the flower pins and hair clips all of the time!

I also love the little bookmarks and their sweet little charms. The velvet ribbon is so soft and lovely~

Head on over and see what else is there!

Have a fantastic Sunday~

xx

my inspired weekend

Good morning mes amies~

I wanted to share with you a couple of photos from this past weekend - my wonderful two days spent with my dear friend miss Kasey. I was fortunate enough to attend her incredible "Inspired Evening" and let me tell you, if you have the opportunity to attend if she has another, I highly recommend it~

~oh how I love self-timer photos.

We were joined by Jill, whom I was able to spend a day with this past summer, and Martha, whom I met this trip. They were so much fun and the four of us had a wonderful time hanging out and getting ready for this fabulous event. We did a bit of shopping - visiting Kasey's favorite flea market first thing Saturday morning.

~both of these were taken at the fabulous booth done by this amazing woman

The evening itself was magical~ Everything sparkled - Kasey's beautiful home, the gorgeous guests, the wine glasses. If you want to see all of the photos from the evening, visit Kasey at Lola B's where she has posted the entire evening!

Have a lovely day and, depending on where you are, stay warm!

xx

'tis the season to eat

~found

For me, the holiday season is definitely about food and family - not particularly in that order. I absolutely adore that my husband closes down the office for the week between Christmas and New Years so that everyone can spend quality time with their loved ones. Definitely my favorite week of the year!~

Food, however, begins early in the month. I love spending time in our fabulous kitchen with it's huge island baking all sorts of cookies. I love deciding each year which ones we will make - and I know the boys love choosing their favorites~

I also love finding new things that we have never tried and experimenting a bit. Thankfully this is the season when wonderful recipes are readily available~

With apples abundantly in stock at most markets and grocery stores, I definitely want to try these~

~cannelle et vanille

How incredibly delicious does this look???

~smitten kitchen

The boys will absolutely adore these~

~joy the baker

As well as these!

~sweet paul

And who wouldn't want to make hot cocoa like this???

~cannelle et vanille

So, please expect me to put on a *few* extra pounds this season, as I really am in the mood to bake and you know how much I love eating~

Bon appetite!

xx

wreath making

Last week, before I left for the fabulously inspired evening event, my girlfriends and I celebrated the season with our annual wreath making morning.

As always, it was wonderful - good food, coffee with bailey's, and in the end, more festivity was created to celebrate the holidays.

I made four wreaths this year - two green bases that I will decorate this week and put on our front doors, one rose hip wreath thanks to the suggestion of my dear friend, and one holly wreath for the entry to the farm. The berries were plentiful this year and it looks beautiful hanging on the entry fence next to our Chestnut farm sign.

~this is our gracious friend who hosts the event in her studio ever year

I have a busy week ahead, with boys' activities, holiday celebrations, my last classe francaise this week, and this fabulous sale on Friday. I do hope if you are in the area that you can make it, as it would be lovely to share a glass of wine or some cider with you!

Bonne semaine mes amies~

xx

leaving, on a jet plane

Well my friends, I am heading out first thing tomorrow morning. First thing. As in, still dark, no one else in my house is awake early. I am driving myself to the airport.

Did I hear you gasp?

No? Seriously? Maybe you didn't hear me. I am driving myself to the airport.

Driving myself.

Moi.

Driving moi.

Okay, really, I need a gasp here. Because you see, I haven't done that before. Because usually my husband drives me, or our favorite driver drives me. But never do I drive me. Because when you drive yourself, who is there to give you a big send off? Where will the big hug goodbye come from?

Did you just shake your head at me? (and can you see the irony of posting the photo of a woman who flew across oceans, herself, at the top of this post...?)

Okay, look, I have been doing a lot of growing as of late. I am, at 39, finally starting to refer to myself as a woman, rather than a girl. (I do feel a bit more like a girl than a woman though, truth be told...) I am really starting to feel like I am finding a sense of purpose. My dreams are becoming more and more solid. I finally feel like I am no longer just tossing about on the waves in the middle of the sea, but instead rowing towards a specific destination. And I feel good. And strong. And capable. And able to drive myself to the airport!

So, you are probably dying to know where I am going, right? Not really? Well, I am going to tell you anyway. I am heading to the midwest - land of snow and cold wind and home of this fabulous event~

Hosted by this divine, inspiring girlie~

And spending the weekend with both of these fabulous lovelies, whom I am sure will get me into all sorts of trouble...

And home again on Sunday before anyone even has time to miss me.

Bon weekend mes amies!

xx

women helping women

~found

So I watched Oprah last night. I don't always. I don't usually. But yesterday, when I saw it was about the world-wide plight of women in developing nations, there was no way I was going to miss it. Thank goodness for Tivo.

~found

I love photography. This shouldn't surprise many of you. It is the one thing, aside from my family that I am passionate about. Passionate.

~found

The thing is, while I shoot a lot of pretty things, a lot of lovely things, a lot of esthetically pleasing things, they don't drive me. I dream of more. A lot more. Scary more.

~found

You see, the thing that drives me, the thing that makes me want to be daring, to do things that scare me is the idea of shooting people. Foreign people. Different people. But mostly women people. With my backpack and some seriously comfortable shoes, probably more dust and less showers that I am accustomed, and Ruby at my side. (I just realized I don't believe I have introduced you to Ruby since she came to live with me on my birthday...)

~found

Another thing that won't surprise many of you is that I too am a woman. I love women. I am proud of women. I truly deep down in my heart believe that women should support each other.

Now please don't misunderstand. While I love women, I love my husband. In a different way. Get it? Are we on the same page here? Boy, I really hope so...

~found

So, back to women, and to Oprah~

~found

I want to do something. Something big. And sometimes big starts small. So right now, small for me is using money I have made, as a woman, from my Etsy shop to provide microloans through Kiva. That seems to be my thing right now. Finding women around the world who want to stand up and do something for themselves and their families and simply need a little help. That is something I can do, for now. Until something bigger comes along.

~found

And you MUST watch this - The Girl Effect - it is two and a half minutes of your life that, I believe, is worth every second. (and it makes me cry every time I watch it)

And finally, I found this incredible fantastically inspiring photographer of people. I honestly could spend hours on his web site looking at the people he has met in the most extraordinary places around this magnificent plant of ours. And he lives in France. And you know how I feel about France... Toulouse to be exact. What is it about Toulouse these days...??

bises~