I'll just keep it to myself, in the sun.

So I've been organizing.

Cleaning, sorting, all those fun things.

I think one of the very most important things about a space that you have to spend a lot of time in is to feel inspired.

My room is absolutely soaking with things that inspire me and help to boost my creativity.

I often call my room my world because I try to make it my escape, a place that I understand and where I feel truly understood.

I have a wall dedicated to be my inspiration wall.

I add to it all year long. With beautiful things and beautiful people.

It makes me smile when I look at it. It helps me feel comfortable.

But! this is my 2010 wall, that year has now passed.

So I am in the process of taking down this wall.

Clean start. Fresh inspiration.

I am very very excited. I have some new organization things going up on my walls (hopefully tomorrow!) and my room and craft area will be the most beaaauuutiifull space ever.

I have some very new pretty ceiling hangings I have brewing in my head. I can not wait to create them once my space has been all cleaned.

Hope you are getting all organized and inspired this new year. Yippie!

xoxo jess

ps. I am SOOO excited we are 3 posts away from my 100th blog post and boy, do I have some surprises for you. ekk, get excited!

A little surprise.

It was my dear friend Lindsey's birthday yesterday!

(Happy birthday girl!)

Back in umm November, her sweet sweet husband emailed me and asked me for a favor.

He told me that Linds is near IMPOSSIBLE to surprise because she always figures everything out.

He said he has been looking for an apron she would really love but just couldn't seem to find the perfect one. (She is a baker and cake decorator for a living so stuff like this means so much!) He said she had really loved the bibs I made for their wedding (here) and wanted to know if I would be willing to take on the task of making her the perfect apron. I gladddddly accepted.

It came out really well. I found the cutest woodsy fabric and used some vintage lace I had.

She WAS surprised. *thank goodness* It was really hard to spend so much time with her over the weekend and keep zipped! I'm glad she liked it so much and I'm so glad to have a hand in the start of her "cute apron collection".

Lots to do today. My head is overfilled with so much inspiration for so many coming things. I spent a good two hours at the fabric store this morning picking out new goodies. Can't wait to share!

xoxo

miss jess

Traveling Bird.

I feel so lucky because my heart is scattered all across America. It's amazing when you realize how far love can stretch, it goes a long way.

But sometimes a lot of your heart clusters in one place and when you physically enter that place you feel a calming because you know,

you are home.

New Jersey has become another cluster, another home.

Not only is that where my boy grew into the man I love today, but I have now set down some of my own roots there. It is a really wonderful thing to feel a connection with people through distance because I think it truly makes or breaks some people.

So New Years Eve (day) I got into my car and drove five hours to see my other family.

Greg was visiting his Aunt in PA so I scooped him up and we traveled the last few hours together. Once we into Clinton we stopped at our favorite truly authentic italian pizza place and got some slices of our favorite tomato basil pizza. Then we headed to see the fweeends!

We had the most amazing new years. Friends, super low key, great food, 4am chats, snuggling, making breakfast, lounging all day, finally showering at 5pm. I say success.

The rest of the weekend was filled with so many good dates and soul sharing with some of our favorite couples and two of my closest friends.

I think I've gotten really good at condensing a weeks worth of solid hangout time into a few days.

I also got a lot of Amy time which is always such a huge treat to me. She is Greg's youth pastors wife, someone I love to soak with and seek wisdom from. Her spirit is so welcoming, I just love her to pieces.

I also got some unexpected Allie time which was also really lovely. She lives with the Dawsons and I see her each time I visit but we never really get to chat, it was really great to finally get to do that.

Before I left I had coffee at Amys house. Her, Allie, and I chatted, Amy read me a beautiful children's book, Ally gave me a great cd, and then Amy packed me up with fruits and veggies for my trip. *Thankful*

"Ah home, yes I am home, home is wherever I'm with you"

-j

And I hope they remember this bond we have together.

During the Holidays I was insanely busy bee.

This had to do greatly in part that many people that I love very much, from many corners of the country, were all in town.

And let me tell you something, I was a very happy girl.

I love that so many of the friendships I have now are so effortless. Months go by, so much happens, and still when I see these people I am immediately warmed and reminded how lucky I am.

One of my favorite little ventures this season was definetly skating at the outdoor rink downtown.

It was so fun and really beautiful, very cold of course but an afternoon filled with laughter, catching up, and good people.

Loved it. Thankful for this beautiful season in the snow!

I hope your holidays was filled with loved ones and fun adventures. I have much more posting to catch up on! ekkk!

xoxo,

j

So everybody put your best suit or dress on.

So I'm a little late I know, but I was off visiting my most darling boy.

I never really make new years resolutions, this year though something really came over me to write some things down.

I'm not really sure if I want to call them resolutions I'm still trying to figure that out.

I think they are just things I really want to try and commit to, things I hope to do, and things I think will help me as a person in general.

Some are just fun and some are more legit but either way I just wanted to share my list.

1. Make one to recipe a week- This year I began to dabble my hand in baking but I really want to be able to make a real good mix of everything. I don't plan on being the most amazing chef ever, just hope to provide more nutritious home made meals. It was hard to want to cook when it was just for myself but with boy visiting every weekend and my lovely weekly potluck, my desire to learn has become very important to me. I got 8 new cookbooks for christmas, lets go!

2. Yoga three times a week- This is super important to me. I've been told I need to do yoga for years. I have a few videos and do it once in awhile but never really committed to it. Then after this last semester I took a modern dance class and yoga was part of every class, just to center ourselves. I always felt so at peace and well stretched. I want to bring that into my life even without my class. I hope to keep it up!

3. Spring Garden- My Nan used to keep a garden in our backyard, but just doesnt have the time anymore. So there is perfectly good soil going to waste. Greg and I really want to keep a garden once we're married someday, so we figured now would be the perfect time to learn. We plan on doing research and starting easy, but we're very excited. Any tips would be so helpful!

4. Compost- Wanting to garden really came from my this years obsession with compost. Sometimes I have random urges to research things and make them apart of my life. Compost was that thing in 2010. But with nothing to do with the compost, I did the research but never actually started. Now that we plan on gardening I can commit to compost. oh yay!

5. Love more intentionally- As I get older I realize the importance of people in your life. I see that the older I get the less and less friends I seem to have. Not because of fights, or "not liking", but for the sole reasoning of life. Life happens. You keep growing and not everyone grows together, but everyone grows. Instead of spreading myself so thin, I want to be more intentional on loving those close and make sure they feel appreciated more regularly.

6. Snail mail, seriously.- A lot of the people I really love aren't exactly the closest to me in living vicinity. I want to remember to show them how much I love them in way more personal ways than facebook, bleh. I hope to commit to sitting down and writing or crafting at least a letter a week. Wish me luck!

7. Learn to french press- This is something I have wanted to do for the last few years, but haven't been able to commit to. I also have a lot of people in my life who are passionate about coffee. And after writing an extensive 12 page research paper about it this semester, I have to admit I am a little bit too. But I REFUSE to be a coffee snob. I will never look down on someone for coffee, if you want to educate people about a passion the silliest way to go about it is to first offend them for something they are currently doing. Thats just a good way to build walls. I want to learn it as an art, I want to be educated!

8. Take a cake decorating class- Long ago when I was in high school I worked at a craft store. The cake decorating classes seemed a must, but also seemed to be a mom thing. Haha! Now I have at least 2 friends who say they would be willing to come with. I think it would be a really fun thing to do together.

9. Don't let the sun down- I don't know why but as of late I have been thinking much about the verse in Ephesians that says not to let the sun go down down on your anger. But I just want to apply it to any extreme emotion. I don't want to go to sleep with anxiety, or being upset, or angry or feeling hurt. Not if its my own doing. I cannot make other people fix things if they don't want to, but I need to do my part to make sure it doesn't happen. I'm sure you know by now I hermit under stress and worry. I'm trying to get rid of that this year. It will definetly be a challenge!

10. Vitamins, Vitamins, Vitamins!- This one is simple. I have a bunch of vitamins I should be taking daily that I neglect. I need to start taking better care of my body. I constantly run on empty to be able to be everywhere and have a really hard time ever saying no. Well, if I'm not healthy I cannot help anyone. I need to get going. gesh!

11. Get Organized- This does not just mean stuff (although it is a huge part)! It means life. Relationships, school, schedules, work, I know this is something you always have to revisit and work on, but I want to take it serious this year. The next few months I will be sorting, shelving, boxing, labeling, saving and planning.

So thats it! Eleven things I hope to do in 2011!! The beginning of the year feels so fresh, I am excited for everything this year will bring. I can't wait to look back at this next year and see how well I did, should be interesting.

Do you have anything you hope to accomplish this year? Hope you feel as refreshed as I do!

xoxo jess