paris

it is true what hadley hemingway said in the book, the paris wife, about hemingway's first of many wives...Though I often looked for one, I finally had to admit that there could be no cure for Paris. if you go with the people you love and have an open mind about the european lifestyle, paris will linger with you.  it's an indescribable feeling.
click the link below for a small portion of the 500 photos...

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Bat2bZs2ctHgw

on sunday i hosted a small baby girl shower at my house. it was fairly simple and considering my whole family was terribly sick the whole week prior, it was even more simple than i had imagined. turns out simple makes it more fun for everyone. thinking about 2 birthday parties to plan in the next month 3 weeks for my kids could be overwhelming, especially after coming across some of these crazy party blogs out there. like it or not, i am not concerned....all kids care about is having fun anyway, right!

selling two homes in one month is counted by most a blessing (including myself). the summer farm where my husband and i exchanged vows 5 years ago and my childhood home of 16 years will be sorely missed. they are two parts of my life that i will never forget and will always grieve at their loss, so it is better i let them go now rather than later, i suppose.
blue heron farm is, as my mother-in-law describes it, "heaven." there is no description for it unless you have had the privilege of visiting. for the sake of my children and for the wonderful memories of our vineyard wedding, i am sorry to see it passed on.
i see this as a new beginning for the whole family as "our" home is taking in a new sweet family(really my parents home but my siblings and i have memories there too). this move is a very unexpected surprise to everyone but from my perspective moving to a smaller home will be less maintenance and with all of our traveling, less worry too. selfishly, i will not be upset about my old bedroom or any room for that matter, it's the garden. my two year old loves to take walks in that grand yard. but, back to the new beginning...for my parents their new home will for once be their own. not shared with 4 children and not by millions of strangers who have frequented a great party in their home.
the stresses of packing and organizing are taking place already and hopefully soon they will settle in their fresh spot. as my family prepares to get rid of clutter, my own home seems to be getting some pretty accessories. luckily, i am not a pack rat so i am not accepting much. what i have accumulated so far is mostly sentimental and all of the pieces are fitting beautifully in their new home.  i look forward to updating pics of my fresh additions soon...

                                                             BLUE HERON FARM

                                                CHILDHOOD HOME LIVING ROOM

                                                                   AND THE DEN

not a bad place to be: home

for me, decorating is a never-ending project. being one of four siblings i can always pass along my college desk or my yard sale make-do side table. having the privilege to hand down or trade with my family adds excitement to the process especially since i am at home quite a bit. i never want decorating to feel like a job. one day if i am in the right place i would love to start my own decorating business BUT i want to be prepared. to do the job i desire it takes a lot of time and organization-both precious things i do not have at this point. for now, i will continue to decorate in the privacy of my own home. i wanted to share a few photos of places that i presently feel confident with. that doesn't mean i will never want to change anything...i might move furniture around tomorrow! my decorating advice is this: choose things you absolutely love (not just think you need to have because society tells you that) and everything will fall into place. OR don't listen to me because like my wise friend once said, "i love your decorating style, laura. it's so unique. nothing matches."

sewing sister

i don't feel creative. i haven't blogged in 4 months, haven't painted in a year, and frankly have been to busy with a 2 month old and a 2 year old :

to even think about the possibility of being creative. Lord willing i will eventually tap into that creativity but for now i am completely content being mommy. however, some of us are still carrying on with our talents like my sister anne (i blogged about her sock animals previously). she was given a sewing machine for Christmas and will spontaneously get an idea to sew something, run home sew it, and deliver something like this (below) and an hour (MAX!) later...



mollie's strawberry dress



yes, she made it. and she made this adorable piece of nursery art:

she also made this sweetie pie dress (her first of many i believe) and the precious gold shirt...perfect for 9 holes with daddy:

 

it makes me feel better to blog about someone being creative since i'm obviously not the one getting the juices lately. just happens to be my sister, best friend, and occasional babysitter. hopefully one day these sisters will share creative styles like we do:-)