Merry Christmas!

Our first Christmas with Rosie was wild, but it was merry and fun surrounded by good friends and loving family.  Wishing you all happy holidays and lots of love from our house to yours! 

Santa Claus

I spent most of my week putting together client gifts for work. I love Christmas and the gift giving that comes along with this time of year! Finding the perfect gift and making it beautiful is definitely my favorite part about Christmas, it truly is better to give than receive.

I had full reign over our client gifts and holiday cards at the office, from idea to execution. I would have gone a little more over the top but our timeline was EXTREMELY short and I'm only working part time. For the dudes we did a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon and a pair of the Strauss Double Old Fashioned Glasses from Crate and Barrel. Bulleit is a personal favorite, affordable, delicious, and the bottle is just the perfect design too (love that orange.) The hubby and I have had those old fashioned glasses from Crate and Barrel in our home for a while, a house warming gift from my tasteful sister-in-law a few years back.

For the ladies we did two bottles of Lillet in a red canvas tote (from Oriental Trading) that I sewed up the middle to make a festive bottle carrier.  I love the Lillet bottles too, they look like beautiful little Frenchie treats! It was really fun and I can't wait to start earlier next year and make an even better gift.  Playing Santa = BEST JOB EVER.

Losing it.

I think I finally hit the wall parenting this week. I hate to be such a downer, but I just feel like I'm not doing anything well. Rosie is sick again. She is a crazy nightmare when she's sick and I feel bad for her, but after no sleep for 5 days and listening to her cry no matter what we do I just want to throw myself out the window or run away. I sound like such a mean mom, but please give me a break! We just can't seem to get any kind of breather between illnesses.

I'm lucky to have a supportive husband that understands, but when the baby only wants mommy and he works full time there's not always a lot that can be done to help. My brother came over for a couple hours yesterday just to help entertain her, which was amazing. But after another night of crying and fussing I feel a longer break is necessary for me to find my zen again. Oh, and some sleep. What is it about sleep deprivation that makes your outlook seem so bleak?

Nothing in the universe could possibly have prepared me for being Rosie's mom. She is willful, stubborn, and sort of psychotic. I love her, I do. But today I just wish I could disappear without feeling bad or guilty or wondering if she's suffering. Just one day, and then back to the grindstone I swear.

I'm sure my life wouldn't be as awesome as it is without her, but I'm having a bad mom week.

(photo by: Shana Duncan)

Splish Splash: Blogshop SF

With Edwin's encouragement (and lots of excitement and nudges from my dear friend Natalie) I took the Blogshop class on Photoshop and Video in November, and it was AMAZING.  It literally changed the way I see everything, and made me feel 957% more confident in my aesthetic and design "work" (read: play.)

I love using my new skills, and tested my new "videographer" chops on little Miss Rosie Lee one night during bath time.  I know, I know, A LOT of Rosie on this blog.  But hey, she is the cutest subject ever, no?

Here's the old video making me:

And here's the new and improved videographer me!  Filmed in 20 minutes with Edwin's help, edited in about an hour and a half.  Not bad!

I can't recommend the class more highly than to say it's literally changed my life, I am so inspired!  No lie.  If you have the opportunity, take it!

Babyproofing the House (or how I'm surviving the sale of my gorgeous furniture!)

Rosie is exploring, crawling, standing, holding on to furniture to walk around the house, and the time has officially come and past actually to make our home less dangerous for our little fearless munchkin. I've mostly moved piles of books and breakables to other locations, but we have a few things yet to handle.

First on the list: the midcentury lawyers bookcase in the office/guest room.

Oh it's a sad sad day. You know, glass doors on anything does not a safe baby play area make. So the bookcase is being listed on Craigslist to make room for something that can hold baby toys and stand up to a little toddling baby bear. This is what I'm thinking:

1. Etsy Vintage Globe // 2. Open Sky Golden Porcelain Clouds // 3. The Container Store Rugby Stripe Bins // 4. Sleepy King Bon Bon and Belchick Plush Squirrels. // 5. Amazon.com Babylit books. // 6. Ikea PS 2012 coffee table (used as bookshelf)

I seriously need to get on this already, so I'm listing that bookshelf on Craigslist this week. Mark my words!

Family Portraits: The Jorves

This weekend was my first foray into family portraiture. I have taken a lot of photos of my niece Ally and my daughter Rosie, but this was my freshman attempt at capturing Jenna, Anders and Ally as a family unit. I think I have a long way to go, but practice makes perfect!

Nothing I do can make this photo look less like my brother is sailing with the Captain.  Seriously, what a goofball.

I traded my Nikon D3000 (purchased in August 2010 and well loved) in for the upgraded Nikon D3200 which also takes video. I also invested in my first prime lens (a lens that has a fixed focal length), the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S. I love both my DSLR and my prime lens. Although a 50mm lens was recommended to me, I had accidentally ordered the 35mm and ended up really liking it. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I will continue to learn I hope!

Anyone know of a good crash course in photography for a newbie like me?

Rainbow Christmas

The colorful way our living room is decorated and it being our first year with tiny tots in the house, I've decided a rainbow christmas is all I want to imagine.

Here's what I'm thinking:

 


1. DIY Felt Ball Garland Felt Balls from YUMMI SHOP via Etsy / 2. Crepe Paper Trees in Rainbow Colors Tutorial adapted from The Sweetest Occasion DIY May Day Bouquet / 3. Pom Poms (layered on the silver stockings) Tutorial by D E S I G N L O V E F E S T  / 4. Silver Stockings (already owned from last season, by West Elm) / 5. Hot Pink Bakers Twine from BahanaSplitsBoutique via Etsy

I can't wait to put on Amy Grant Home For Christmas (ok ok, I've been listening to it for months already!), eat, craft and decorate for the holidays over the weekend.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Fearless + Free

I have always wanted to be two things: a mother, and a creative person. Motherhood gave me the confidence and opportunity to be a creative person, and creating is making me a better mother.

I had spent the last 6+ years working at a job that was great, but not thrilling. I was paid well, given lots of generous perks, my boss treated me like family. But I always felt like I wanted to be creating, doing, learning. Although I really liked what I did, it just wasn't inspiring me.

Then, almost 10 months ago, I had my daughter Rosie.

This single event has changed my life more than almost any other (understatement of the year.) I returned to work full time when Rosie was 5 1/2 months old, but it was enormously difficult to keep our family life running smoothly and happily with both my husband and I working full time outside the house. Weekdays were a crazy race to bedtime, weekends were just two busy days filled with chores. I felt like I was missing everything, and worse, I felt like I didn't even know my own child anymore. We would spend the weekend scouring the log sheets that came home with her from daycare, trying to find some clue as to what she wanted next. It broke my heart.

Simultaneously, I had spent a massive amount of time designing invitations for my sisters wedding in September and it felt so invigorating to create! I have always loved to decorate and make things pretty. I have rearranged and styled my living room and bedroom several times since we bought our house in 2009. I didn't know how, but I knew I wanted to do something to use the passion I had for making things beautiful. And I needed to do it soon before I let it die inside me.

I know that sounds dramatic, but I think many people have had a similar feeling. Working a job that doesn't use the passion and skill you possess, having an urge to just stop EVERYTHING and make a change right now. I also wanted to my know my daughter better and felt she needed me. I didn't want my whole life to only include my daughter, but I wanted her to be more in focus. My husband and I decided our family needed someone at home more, so I quit my well paying job and decided to follow my dreams. Hoping someday my daughter would also be inspired and have the confidence to follow her dreams.

When I came across this quote by the Dalai Lama: "The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your action will be." it really affected me. It was scary leaving a great job with good pay to work part time and stay home with my daughter, but I was motivated by my love for her, our family, and for my dreams. That love (and tons of family support) gave me confidence that this was the right action for me.

This blog is dedicated to my new beginning. Being who I am, living what I love, and striving towards who I can be.

(photography: Shana Duncan, drawings added by me)