Just for smiles.

I drew this while I was nannying in the A.M., I told greg it was him when he was grumpy. Hehe.

A few hours later I received this in an email and I laughed out loud.

Sometimes we're just silly.

I wont lie that last night was really hard. I am just overwhelmed. I am overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I have. I mean I was aware I was somewhat of a pack-rat, but it just seems ridiculous. My Nan tells me its okay, because when I have my own place it won't seem like a lot. But now its just like, really? And you know that feeling when you open a box that you're about to just throw away, and you see that "thing" and you sit beside the box and read the letter, or hold the pin, or play with the toy. A memory strikes in your head and your heart hurts and you safely put the "thing" into the save pile. I probably did this about a million times last night. And it feels weird that I can box my life up. Like everything fits into these small places. A box for teaching, a box for memories, a box for crafts, it just all can be put away. I guess I just feel defeated. Just knowing if someone said you have to leave it all tomorrow, I could. I could pack one bag and be okay. But I'm not going anywhere. I have the choice to keep as I please, I can get rid of clothes, and trophies, and shoes, but photographs and buttons and pictures my kids drew, why cant I just scale down?

That's my rant for today, thank you for dealing. haha

Hopefully, I'll have a more productive time today.

xo j

There's a corner of your heart, for me.

So. I live at home.

You may laugh, but I'm not paying bills. So it works for now.

But in my small room, I am trying to fit a small business, a studio space and somewhere to sleep. More times than not my studio or store win out, and I am left on the couch.

Not being at the preschool this year, I also have acquired a fully stocked classroom.

Something has to change.

Its already a beautiful color, 2 walls mustard yellow, 2 walls an orange/red. So that can stay.

But I cannot breathe in there, I have enough stuff and enough ideas to complete an entire apartment, but I'm not there yet.

So I have to work with what I've got.

I just put up shelving in the basement and am moving the store portion down there.

I think I can balance just sleep and studio in the space.

Otherwise I think I'm boarding being a hoarder which I am not okay with.

I want it to be an escape from life. I want to step in to be completely over taken by inspiration and serenity. I want to be able to create there, open enough to layout my projects and be able to be working on multiple projects. I just want it to feel like magic. Where my heart and imagination collide.

Here is what I've pulled for inspiration...

Oh beautiful things!

Hopefully I can pull it off. I'm literally tearing things apart. I'll show you what I come up with once its all put together. But its really been the perfect rainy days project for me.

Time for tea,

j

It felt just like falling in love, again.

Happy Monday!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I did.

Do you ever just realize growth, or change. Like you wake up one day and you can literally feel a shift in the world?

This weekend this happened to me.

I went up to Houghton to see my boy. The weekend was just bliss. I felt that my smile was permanently plastered across my face.

There was some point when I looked up at him, and I saw him, I saw growth.

We are just about to hit the one year mark in our relationship. And I'm not going to lie, its been a really rough year. Beautiful, but rough. Such a learning experience has been going on. Not just about each other, but who we are as well. And I've come to some conclusions.

It has taken me literally a year to stop pushing. To let my guard down and trust. I looked at him this weekend and knew it was okay.

It was okay to let him in. It was okay to not know all the answers. It was okay to love him. It was okay that hard things would still happen.

It was okay that sometimes he would let me down.

I think I realized all this because I know I'll be okay. My happiness is built on so much more. And for the first time in life I think I can confidently say.. I am loved.

Loved by a King. Loved by a family. A community. A sisterhood. A boy.

I felt warm and I felt safe. Just to know life will suck, but I will be okay.

I'm moving forward, I'm gaining some ground. Sometimes it just hits me in the face.

We went on lovely walks to end the weekend so I could collect some Fall treasures.

Here we go, today is new! Be inspired by the changing of the leaves. Maybe it is your time to fall from the branch and trust you will fall on solid ground.

xo, bird.

sleepy bird.

Yay, Wednesday!

Halfway through this week, thank goodness.

I have been doing 12 hour days again, 6:30am nannying, school, 3-6:30pm nannying.

I'm so drained I feel like I haven't even caught up from sleep from this weekend. So last night I wanted to just come home and do something mindless to relax.

So I made this hat:)

I've been wanting a little scandinavian inspired hat. I think I've fallen in love with the culture from hearing about it all the time from boyfriend and company. I love my Finnish family:)

I'm working on another one right now with different weight yard so I can compare effects of the outcome. I'll let you know:)

How are you feeling this week? Anyone have adventures planned for the weekend?

more soon, xo,

jess

Oh dear soul.

I know I had my shout our yesterday to all my friends who helped with hearts and crafts but I really needed to make an extra special thank you to my dear friend, Joy.

I literally do not know what I would have done without her over the last few weeks. (most likely, I would have lost my mind) She was totally standing next to me through everything and even pretty much dragged me along at some points.

When I tried to drop out of the show because of stress and too full a plate. She gave me hard love.

When I needed company to sit and distract me, we had dinner and tea.

When I was freaking the night before, she hot glued about a million things for me (and has a battle wound to prove it!)

When had sat in the same spot all day long, she took me out in the grass under the full moon and did yoga with me.

When my nerves kicked in the morning of, she showed up with breakfast for all, and coffee, and hugs.

Joy, I just stinking love you.

I had no idea how to repay her so of course, I crafted.First I made her a doll, one that looks just like her:) I was realllllllly happy with the way it turned out, I almost couldn't give her up.

Then while I was at school, I wanted to be inspired, so I started writing out a list of all the reasons I love Joy.. and then it just came to me...

Here are some sneaks..

Gesh! My friends are so inspiring.

I hope you are feeling blessed and inspired today too:)

xoj