Sweet Sweet Life

happy new year!

This lovely print from linocutboy sums up my approach to the New Year perfectly:  studied confidence and optimism, but please do not overwhelm me. (!)

I love Susan's hopes and dreams for the new year--nothing grand, except maybe just living--more fully, and with greater care and attention.  What more worthy goal could we have, really?  I've adopted her list as my own, because I love it so much...

So, happy new year, sweet friends.  May it be filled with all that you hope for, and a little extra, besides.

Cheers!!!

xoxox.

every day is like sunday

Not much to share today.  The whole world sleeps before the year turns, I guess...It's quiet here, too.  The kids are home, Jared is home.  Every day is a weekend, it seems. 

I'm reading the new translation of Les Miserables that Jared gave me for my birthday, and it's amazingly entertaining.  I don't know if it's the translation or not (as I've not read it before), but that Victor Hugo, he's a chatty guy.  I highly recommend it...

It's been cold and quiet.  Everyone's feeling it...

 

Happy New Year's Eve eve, my dears...cuddle up, find a good book, make yourself a cup of tea (or glass of wine) and RELAX.

xoxox. 

felicity hall

Check out these wonderful, super-cool needlepoint kits from Felicity Hall!  You are going to love them... 

See?!:

(This one is two seperate kits, to make a complete alphabet.  Love.)

And I'm sorry, but the green Cuban car is totally, mind-blowingly awesome.  Just fantastic and original and fun and so perfectly stripey.  I would sell...something very important...to have that pillow on my sofa. 

Felicity is a London-based designer (why are all these wonderful needlepoint designs coming from London?  Is it the water?) who has a lovely website with tips and hints for displaying your masterpiece, as well as free projects to try.  Very cool. 

The kits are pricey, but when you think about the heirloom you'll create with them, and the tip-top quality materials provided, it makes perfect sense.  Plus the stitching fun!

Can't go wrong, unless you are like me and would turn this lovely wool and canvas kit into a messy jumble of yuck.  But, again, that's just me...

Go forth and enjoy, sweet friends!

xoxox.
   

can we talk?

Hello, sweet friends!

 

You just never know what's going to be in your inbox, do you?  For instance, I got an email yesterday from a reader (or maybe not a reader...whatever) who was wondering why this blog had been nominated for a Homie award.  Actually, it's a very valid question, although I can't answer it for certain, as I didn't nominate myself, nor did I ask anyone to nominate me (as some blogs have, but I'm not naming names).  But I thought it would be fun to talk it out.  You game?  Oh, good!

So.  The Homies.  They are for blogs who exhibit "the best in home design."  I wouldn't necessarily put myself in that category, not right off the bat.  Not if you are looking for straight-out ideas for "decorating" your home, and nothing else.  But I do hope that Sweet Sweet Life offers more than that.  I do like to cover homes, but homes of a certain sort:  usually (but not always) family homes, always the homes of creative people who love to let their personality shine through in their surroundings, and who appreciate a sort of living beauty, the beauty of the everyday (I don't know how else to describe it).  I find that so inspiring, because that is what I think my family and I aspire to do in our home.  So, it's a learning process, really.

But, the houses aren't what it's really about, for me.  It's about living, and sharing, and inspiring each other.  It's about finding joy, and really good deals, and being excited when you walk in the door at night.  It's about raising sweet people, and appreciating each day, recognizing the tough ones as well as the good.  And that's all about home, right?

Real homes.  Real lives.  Jobs lost, illnesses dealt with, cookies baked, things being made, children taking baths, books being read, hugs given and received.  That's home, to me.

My home is in no way a "model" home, nor am I any kind of arbiter of taste or style.  (I wouldn't want to be--what a horrible burden!)  But, I know what I like, and I know what inspires me to be a better mom, and wife, and daughter, sister, friend.  And I hope that sometimes, the things I share speak to you, too, and give you a little something to bring to your home or heart or life, even if it's just a smile.  That would be totally awesome.

That's what my blog's about--making a home, making a life, making do.  I know, of course, that I won't win the Homies...not even close!...but I'm really excited that someone thought of me when they saw that nominations were open.  That makes me happy beyond words, and I'm really, truly grateful.  Lord knows, neither I nor my blog are smart or sophisticated, and if that's what one is looking for, I would urge you to click on (though, I wish you wouldn't!).  On a good day, I only have about 800 readers, and I know that that is because Sweet Sweet Life isn't everyone's cup of tea.  That's okay.  The people that have stopped by consistently and given me all sorts of wonderful feedback are more valuable to me than thousands of readers.  Really.

This week marks my first year of blogging, and while I'm not always certain I will keep it up, I always do.  Because it teaches me so much, and makes me realize what an incredibly lucky person I am.  And that life is fun, and really, really sweet.  In fact, my dear favorite, Emily Dickinson, said this: "That it will never come again, is what makes life so sweet."  That's it, precisely. 

Thanks for sharing this journey with me.  I hope I can continue to learn from all of you, each and every day...

Merci, merci beaucoup!

xoxox.

garlands of a different sort

These garlands from Parisian artist Anastasia Jamin's shop are original and fun.  I love that they are not the same circles or triangles that we have seen over and over:

 Free-form, colorful, wide-open.  Opens up the mind to all sorts of new possibilities, doesn't it?  Very, very clever, and lovely...

Later on, sweet friends!

xoxox.

make today awesome

Fabulous new pattern from Helen Dardik:  Don't Forget to Make Today Awesome:

Don't miss Helen's wonderful blog here and shop (on vacation at the mo) here.  Enjoy!

xoxox. 

maria madeira :: inspired living

Hello, dears.

I love, love, love to feature artists' homes, and that's one of the reasons I was so delighted when Maria Madeira wrote me to say that I could share some of her home photos on my blog.  She's such an amazing, wonderful artist, and everything she touches seems to be graced with beauty and charm.  She is active in many mediums, but my favorite of all are her dolls:

Aren't they just incredible?  So original, and bursting with colors and patterns.  I love them!  And, not surprisingly, her home is a huge source of inspiration, as well... 

Take a peek!:

Maria inspires me to make my life more beautiful, in every way that I can.  I'm so grateful for that lesson.

Do visit Maria's wonderful shop, stunningly lovely blog, and very, very inspiring flickr set.  You'll be so glad you did.

Cheers!

xoxox. 

kari anne marstein

My sweet internet friend Kari Anne Marstein is a wonderful, wonderful artist, and I love how she incorporates her art seamlessly into her gorgeous home:

This is baby Ellen's room.  Stunning.

There's much, much more to see!  Please see Kari Anne's wonderful home and painting sets on flickr, as well as her sweet blog.

Cheers!

xoxox.

 
 

post-Christmas

Hello, all!  I do so hope you had a lovely Christmas.  We did, and I am very much enjoying the leftover Mexican Wedding Cookies...

These items from the Roddy & Ginger shop are just the sort of thing to freshen up the home for the new year, no?  I will endeavor to be inspired by them as I sweep away the remnants of Christmas in the coming days.

Happy post-Christmas, everyone!  

xoxox. 

circles and light

Well, hello!  As I sign off for the holiday, I'd like to share a few thoughts with you, my sweet friends, about what this time of year means to me... 

All of this lovely holiday season, I've been thinking about circles and light, as in:  beginnings, not endings;  the ever-surprising chance to start anew;  the act of forgiveness, so terribly difficult, yet so simple (just a letting go, really);  and our amazing capacity as humans to hope, always hope, even in the most uncertain times. 

But, mostly just circles and light.

 

Like wreaths and candles.  Christmas ones, Hanukkah ones.  Any old ones--because they all mean the same thing.  A wreath is a circle, a form with no end, a continuous journey--like life, the seasons, love, or even a simple hug for a child, loved-one, friend, or lover. 

And light is a symbol, of course, of good over evil, of truth over lies, of clarity over confusion and darkness.  Why is it, I wonder, that I focus so clearly on these things at Christmas and Hanukkah, and less at other times of the year?  Why not every day, every minute of every day?

  

Is it the season of the year?  Of course, it's winter in half of the world, and so we light the darkness as we celebrate the turning of the year, but half of the world is in summer right now (we Americans always forget this).  So, it's more than cold and darkness.  It's about us, really; it's about how we must hope, and what we must celebrate:  it's about miracles. 

The miracle of Jesus' birth, the miracle of the oil that lasted eight whole days, when it should have lasted only one.  The miracle of a baby, and the miracle of light:  both gifts, both telling us that we are not alone, that we are protected, that we matter.   They remind us that we must always, always remember that goodness, that light, that life itself will triumph over their counterparts. 

And what are "goodness, light and life?"  What would you call those things, taken together?

 
I'd call them love.  Just love.  It's God's love, yes, if you happen to believe in that.  It's also our love, for each other, individually and as a whole race--this is the gift that we can give every day, year-round, to one and all.  Forgiveness and love.  The candle is also the light of forgiveness;  often dimmed, yes, but never extinguished.  The wreath is the love that does not end. 

 

There is no way to end it, sweet friends.  There simply is no end.  At any time, at any moment of any day, love is there.  Waiting for you and me, waiting for us to make the choice that we are given, to share or to die.  I'm not talking about death as in death, I'm talking about death as in what happens to us when we do not give and receive love as we are meant to.  It's our purpose, it's why we are here.  It's why we create art and babies and steaming bowls of home made soup.  It's why we can look another person in the eyes and recognize their strange kinship, stranger or no.

Now, I'm not at all advising that we love those who damage us--not directly, at least.  We can let those people go, release them from our lives, and still forgive them, with love.  And we should--release them, I mean.  But, the sooner we realize that we are all connected and that what we do to one, we do to everyone, including ourselves, the sooner we can heal this scary, beautiful world. 

We're like the wreath and the candle's flame, we really are.  We are together, ever-linked, and lit through love.

  

And that's my Christmas wish:  that you and I and everyone in the world can catch a glimpse, just a glimpse, of the love that we have, here and now, right this second.  Because we can make a bright heaven here on earth...one that never ends.  Really.

So, Merry Christmas to all, and happy holidays where ever you may be.  Thank you so much for reading, this and all the other silly posts, and I wish you, each and every one, a love-filled, light-filled new year.  I'll be back in a few days--I do so hope to see you then!  (And pssst:  Enjoy every little bit.)

Cheers!

xoxox.

***

(All photos on this post are of La Casa De Estudillo, an accurately-restored 1827 adobe hacienda in San Diego, California.  I love it there.)