Wren's Nest

It's Time

I've noticed in the last couple of days various posts on blogs I read about dreams...about friends...about things I think about a lot. It's funny because since I wrote my post about troubles, I've come to realize how many supportive and lovely people there are out there - I just had to give them the chance. 

I have been spending a lot of time considering friendship. I have not always been the greatest friend in the world. I am not a terribly trusting person and so I have guarded my heart maybe too much over the years.

So, sometimes it gets lonely and sometimes you have so much to say and no one to say it to (I have my sweet husband, but sometimes you just need a girlfriend to listen to you) I have dreams...lots of dreams - and I've been very afraid to say them out loud or share them (aside from my very patient husband). I thought people would think they were silly or that maybe I wasn't really good enough to make them happen. Then, a funny thing happened...yesterday I trusted a friend and told her one of my dreams...and you know what - she didn't laugh, she didn't say it was silly, she liked it and was excited about it and that made me feel like maybe I could really make it happen. So, little by little, it's time to start trusting, it's time to start sharing and letting people in...and in the end...friends can help you make your dreams come true!!

Unrelated items

Like I promised...back to our regularly scheduled happy programming. It's good to get things out, though sometimes and you have all been so kind and lovely - I feel much better for having shared!!

A couple of things that are making me VERY happy today...my new denim skirt from Gap. I had a really hard time finding a jean skirt I liked and I'm pretty short, so length matters. I got this online ('cause they don't always have skirts for short people at the store). LOVE it!! You're probably getting sick of seeing my boots, but they are one of my favorite things, so I wear them a lot! A cute outfit can go a long way in making you feel good!!

 

 

Another happy thing - completely unrelated has to do with my love of cookbooks. I LOVE them...I am a little obsessed with them. I have lots of them - I like trying recipes out of them - the problem with that is that I rarely make the same dish twice. We have some old standbys (mostly soups and stews and crock pot type stuff) that I make quite a bit, but overall, much to my husband's frustration, we can have a meal he really likes and he'll ask for it a while later and I can't remember where I found the recipe! These particular cookbooks I read like novels. Tessa Kiros has the most amazing background being Finnish and Greek and living in Italy. Her cookbooks chronicle her travels in different countries and the food she found there. Great stories and great recipes topped off with AMAZING photos - amazing!!  I just got her latest book called Venezia Food and Dreams. Her others are Falling Cloudberries, Apples for Jam (which has my favorite cover of a book ever) and Piri Piri Starfish (which is about Portugal, where my mother's family is from and which I think I ordered from Amazon UK). If you get a chance to check these books out - you won't be sorry!

Abundance

I don't really have the right words to tell all of you that commented on my last post how blessed and overwhelmed (in a good way) I feel about all of you! I'm humbled by your generosity of time, words, thoughts and spirit. Each comment was a gift to me and I treasure them all. I had such mixed feelings about posting that last entry, but I am glad I did - I think it's helped me to realize that I'm certainly not alone both in that I have so many of you thinking of me and my family and in that so many people are feeling the same and have their own stories to share and sometimes we're just too afraid to put the hard things out there.

Things are status quo here, but that's ok...this is just a time that we need to get through and we will. Knowing that all of you are out there gives me strength and hope. I know someday things will be better and I look forward to that day, but for now, I'll take each day as it comes and find a little grace note in each and every one.

Thanks again from the bottom of my heart - you have no idea how much you've helped! Tomorrow...back to our regularly scheduled program of pretty stuff!! xoxo

It's been a while...there's a reason. I love blogging about pretty things, things that are good and happy. Well, things are not so pretty around here right now.

Do you ever feel like you have been hit by a giant truck and you have no idea how it all happened? That's where I am.  There have been things that have happened over the last few months that are not good. Each taken on its own ...not great, but manageable. All together - overwhelming. This isn't something I share lightly and it's not something I share in my everyday life - the fact that things are difficult is my own secret. I put on a happy face and pretend my life is fine out in the world. It's what I learned growing up - that unless it all appeared perfect, no one will like you, that no one wants to hear it, that you pretend and keep your mouth shut.

I just needed to say something here - this is weighing on my heart very heavily. I can't go into it all...maybe at some point when I have some answers and may have something to share that could be valuable to other people. (on that note - my marriage is fine and no one has a catastrophic illness or anything like that).

I'm trying to have faith, but I'll admit to sometimes questioning why...why us, why now, why, just why. I'm tired and I feel out of control - it's hard. So, I guess the reason I'm saying any of this - and I debated whether to post or not and this post may not even stay up, I don't know yet - is that if you could keep my family in your prayers, I would really appreciate it.

Happy Stuff

Hope everyone had a great weekend! We did and I'll have some pictures of Bear Valley in the Fall to share soon, in the meantime - it's a stormy, sleepy day here and I'm pretty unmotivated, so here are some of my favorites from last week - the necklaces  I've been meaning to share, but just got around to taking the pics!

Skirt by Jeanne, boots by Anthro, knee socks by Target - loved wearing this outfit!

Linen flower necklace by Kim (I LOVE this).

Fabric flower on antique chain by Jeanne - I obviously really enjoyed Jeanne's fall collection!

Scary Cute!

Here's where I went today...amazing as always!! I love getting to visit Wendy Addision's Theater of Dreams. She had her Halloween open house today - my camera battery was dead when I arrived, so these are from my phone...I'll share the wonderful treats I got there next week...

 

 

Pincushion Chronicles

I've been working on a very fun assignment for the last couple of weeks...in case you didn't know - I make pincushions. Now that sounds silly to people who don't sew, but I do, I make them and I like making them (though I had stopped for a while). It was the first "real" thing I made to sell...I started selling that at The Quilter's Inn in Danville ('cause I worked there for a bit, so I got to sell them there), then at a couple of boutiques in the Bay Area. I taught other people how to make them, had patterns, even been part of a book. The most fun thing, though is  when someone asks you to make things for them...that means they really like what you make (which is always nice).

So, I was REALLY flattered when my friend the very talented Bari J (of handbag and fabric design fame) asked if I would make some pincushions for her new fabric line called Art Journal (which will be shown at Quilt Market in a few days). So fun - such cute fabric and with birds and nests...right up my alley. I had a great time making all of these for her and she's going to use them in the booth where her fabric will be featured!! How cool is that?? So here's a little peek at what I gave her this morning (thank goodness she liked them)!!

I made her some pears (because I wanted to show off the cute nests and birds in the fabric).

And some big eggs (she has a big nest for these, but I even like them in that bowl)

And some medium size eggs...

And some little eggs (now those I had nests for).

Allons y!

Many of you guessed from my "savings" statement in my last post and many of you know from reading Jeanne's blog...I'm lucky enough to be going to France next summer!! I'm so excited and feel so blessed to be able to make this trip!! I'm going with my friend Jeanne (who I met at Farm Chicks last June) and we're joining the French General's Chateau Getaway group in a little town near Toulouse. Like Jeanne, I had shown the trip info to my husband last year, but the timing didn't work out and now I'm glad to be going with someone I know. Things work out the way they're supposed to! Here's where I get to stay this time around!

The funny thing is, I stayed in France as a teenager during a couple of summers in a little town right near Toulouse, so I get to return to the same area where I first fell in love with France. Back then my interests were learning the language and meeting cute French boys - this time it's flea markets, textiles, making things and enjoying great food and great company. (I had great food then since I stayed with a family who owned a bistro, but I really didn't appreciate it). The little town I stayed in was called Montastruc la Conseillère - it was a sweet little place where, oh, maybe 2 people spoke English...I guess immersion learning was the idea. If I can find any of my old pictures, I'll share them, but here's a few I found online (which spare you my '80's hair and clothes).

 

 
So, ten months to wait... I know it will go by fast...right?

Honest Scrap

Sweet Tracey at French Larkspur was kind enough to give me this award - thank you Tracey!! I don't usually do these, but here goes...

So here are the rules...

1. Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.

2. Share "10 honest things" about myself.

3. Present this award to 7 other people whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.

4. Tell those 7 people they've been awarded the HONEST SCRAP AWARD.

(I'm not going to do the last two - there are so many blogs I love and so many people I find inspiring and encouraging, so if you like, please participate).

OK - ten HONEST things about me...I guess that means they have to be true...I may risk losing friends, but here goes!

1. When I was 8 I wanted to be a nun (maybe this explains my obsession with religious articles) - I'm really glad I didn't follow through with that.

2. When I first met my husband - I couldn't stand him. I worked for him and thought he was not very nice. I couldn't have been more wrong! He's the sweetest guy ever and is so wonderful and generous, I can't believe my luck!

3. I hate fennel - hate, hate, hate - I can eat NOTHING with fennel in it or near it or having anything to do with it.

4. My guilty pleasure is watching BRAVO reality TV shows - I Tivo them and watch them while I fold laundry or stuff pincushions (or, ok, since we're being honest, when I'm doing nothing, except watching)

5. I am a complete klutz - yet I did ballet for years (maybe the toe shoes helped)

6. I loved being pregnant...all 3 times - seriously

7. Sometimes I'm still in my jammies when I drop my kids off at school. When I do that, I live in fear that I'll have car trouble that day.

8. I am TERRIBLE with money. I have a really hard time saving...and boy, do I need to save right now (I'll post about why later), but it is REALLY hard!

9. I love school - if I could go to school for my whole life, I'd be really happy. I'm sure that makes me sound like a big geek, but I just really love to learn. My oldest son is in high school and he has the coolest classes and teachers - I wonder if he'd mind if I tagged along? (Yeah, THAT would go over well...)

10. I love Fall and Winter - they are my favorite times of year and I'm so glad they're almost here! I am not a warm weather girl in the least - yet, I live in California and have my whole life.

OK - that was really hard and I'm sure not interesting to anyone reading it in the least!! Take a try at it if you like...

Hatitude

I'm not a huge hat wearer - I would like to be, but I don't usually NEED one here in Cali and I tend to be fairly self-conscious, so mostly I just don't wear hats. I love them, I even own a few, but in the past it just hasn't happened - I think all that will change this year. I am feeling more confident in wearing what I like, not just what fits in around me. This is a big deal for me, so I'm pretty excited about making some changes!

My girl, on the other hand...a hat girl all the way! From the first cloche hat I put on her as a baby to now - she's a hat wearing, clothes loving, funky girl through and through. She wears what she likes and has always liked having a little touch of uniqueness in her outfits.

So, one day Jeanne blogged about a cute hat place - it's Brenda's etsy shop called BKM Hatitude and she has the cutest hats ever!! So, I got one and loved it so much I got another one for Meg. Here they are (Meg was feeling a bit shy, but she likes her hat at a jaunty angle). Now if it would only get cold enough to wear them!