a brave post about post-partum depression

(kimmie + me, college, 1997ish, when i wore overalls almost everyday)

i didn't really mean to take a blog break, but i've found myself in the center of an internet/blog/email break these past 9 days or so and it's feeling really good so i'm going with it. i'll be back later this week!

today i wanted to share another guest post from one of my closest and dearest friends, kimmie. kimmie and i have a funny history. we've known one another since we were 12, have always had a ton of mutual friends, but we didn't actually like one another or become friends until college. once we gave one another a chance, it was love at first giggle. and i'm talking A LOT of giggles. i am my most silliest self when i'm with her yet we also relate and connect over the things that matter the most in life. she's taught me so much about motherhood and she was a HUGE support to me during those first many critical (and hard) weeks following True's birth.

this is a post that i think is really important to share and i'm so thankful for kimmie's bravery in sharing it. as i continue to navigate new mamahood (hard to believe true is almost five months), i'm still struck by her words and the newness of this experience - how it can feel so raw. although my struggle during those first few early weeks was different than hers, the sharing of my story and connecting to other mamas was also key to my healing. thank you, kimmie, for sharing your story. i know it's going to reach many of you.....it certainly reached me in profound ways.

I prepared meticulously for the birth of my first child. I knew exactly how I wanted the birth to go. I got lucky. Things went just as planned. I had the birth I had dreamed of. My baby girl and I were both healthy and breastfeeding got off to a great start. I was on a birth high for days. Within a week, however, the exhaustion set in. I realized that I felt completely lost and overwhelmed in this new all-encompassing role.

How many of us have found ourselves in this situation? We wait until we are older to have children. We are well established in our careers. We know who we are. Then, in a moment, our world is turned on its head. In the middle of all this joy I found myself feeling a sense of loss.

Then there is the guilt. How could I be sad about having a baby? Wasn’t caring for her the most important thing I would ever do in my life?

Innocent remarks from family members were perceived as critiques of my mothering. My own mother reminded me that she had three children under the age of four (“Wow, I must really stink at this if I am so overwhelmed with just one.”) Throughout my post-partum depression I constantly struggled with wondering whether or not I was really “attached” enough to my daughter. My mother-in-law would stare at her and say, “Did you ever think you could love someone so much?” (“Do I love her enough?”)

Crying was a daily routine. Every night I just had to spill out everything that I thought was going terrible. Finally, I decided that this wasn’t going to work itself out on its own and I got myself into counseling. What a blessing it was to find my therapist.

What helps a mother the most in these situations? For me, breastfeeding, therapy, my wonderful husband, and a group of mothers was the key. I cannot over emphasize the importance of sitting down and talking with other mothers who have children near the age of your baby.

For millennia, women have shared the experience and knowledge necessary in becoming a mother with each other. Young girls have witnessed their own mothers, aunts, and friends, birth, feed, and raise children. We don’t do that here. And we suffer the loss of that community.

We need to hear that others are experiencing the same sort of things we are experiencing. We need to know that we are not alone in our fears. We need to hear others’ solutions. And we need to tell our stories.
My daughter is now four years old and I have a 15 month old boy. Both children are healthy, happy, and completely adorable. “Did I ever think I could love someone so much?” No, I never thought this sort of love was possible.

As my first child began to emerge from my body, I reached down and touched her head for the very first time. I breathed out a sound of pure joy. What a miracle it is that our bodies are designed to create another person. Kelly Rae shared a quote with me before my first was born,

“Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”—Elizabeth Stone

I know she now knows this to be true.

Weekly Sponsor Spotlights: Liz Lamoreux, Tamar Schechner + Katherine Quinn

Big thanks to my sponsors...I'm really enjoying these weekly sponsor spotlights where their creative talents and businesses are featured. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor (includes your ad on the sidebar + ongoing spotlights), please send me an email for further information!

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When we tell our stories, we shine a light on the beauty of what is real. We heal. We dance inside joy. We find our way to laughter. We fill in the cracks that life creates in our hearts. We sit inside love and truth. We find ourselves standing tall and we give ourselves the much needed permission to rest. I believe we must sift through all that has been to find our way to all that is to come. Come and find a piece of your story in The Little Room, designs by Liz Lamoreux.

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Checkout the new specialty Textile collection line from Nest Pretty Things, the line is made with fabric covered buttons using vintage and modern cotton fabrics from the Tamar's vast textile collection. The necklaces and soon to come earrings and bracelets are light weight and very comfortable to wear and will make a fun, funky and colorful addition to any wardrobe. This new line is also available for children in the Nest Pretty Things Kids shop with teeny tiny buttons and lovely sweet calico flower cotton fabrics.

The collection consists of the "Modern Necklaces" made with fabrics from the 60's, 70's and new contemporary designs, The "Vintage Necklaces" made with fabric from the 30's-70's , "The Liberty Necklaces" made with Liberty Of London fabrics, and the "Little Flower" collection with three little flower buttons for a sweet summery look. Nest Pretty Things Also has a new Facebook Fan Page, make sure you sign up for news, sales, tutorials and updates!

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My name is Katherine Quinn and I am the New Zealand artist behind Sleep And Her Sisters. I sell my original works to 8 galleries around New Zealand and have three online shops where I also sell originals, prints and other goodies. I live with my two children, 17 year old Hannah, 5 year old Ben and our 10 year old cat... Holly. I work from my kitchen table at our home in the sunny Hawke's Bay where I love to create with paint, chalk pastels, graphite, paper and a little bit of jewellery… I also love to collect things. My favourite colour at the moment is a soft, pale, antique sort of blue.

I am a firm believer that our stories are not for us alone that they are for us to give courage, support and wisdom to each other. You can read about my creative journey and see my latest works on my blog.

breaking out of a creative rut - by ali edwards

hey guys,
oprah was amazing. really truly amazing. it was a once in a lifetime experience, and our time in chicago (the whole three days) was insanely fulfilling and so much fun. i have so much to tell you!

as i work on pulling my words and experience together, and as i work on settling back into home life (i missed True + John sooooo much AND we've got a friend arriving in town today for a visit), i wanted to post a couple of guest posts this week that i never had a chance to post during my maternity leave.

today, we've got my pal ali edwards sharing her thoughts on breaking out of a creative rut. recently, as i try and navigate my way back to my studio and painting, i've been thinking about this topic a lot. we all have creative ebb and flow and her words on how to break through are smart and insightful.

i met ali a few years ago (i had a major blog/career crush on her before we met) and i always really love being around her. in so many ways, she's not just a good friend, but she's been a creative mentor for me for years. i look up to her, respect the professional choices she's made, and i love how she's fearlessly lived her dream while also being mom to two pretty awesome kids. often, when i have something to celebrate, i'll email ali and she's right there with me, cheering me on. she gives the best no nonsense, practical advice in a way that makes the most complicated of situations all of the sudden feel clean, clear, and easy - not just when it comes to creative biz stuff, but life stuff, baby stuff, mom stuff. on top of all of that, she's funny, smart, inspiring (hello, inner athlete! and one word project!) and i love the way she dresses (crush!).

enjoy her post (it's a good one!).............

(photo of ali taken by tracey clark)

Ruts. Down periods. Being stuck. Dry spell. That time where nothing feels right. You start and stop and just can't find that happy, magical place where it all seems to come together.

I have so been there. I am there. And I know I will be there again.

The good thing is, I’m not afraid. It is a natural part of the process. Anyone who participates in a creative endeavor experiences times when they are less prolific. Less inspired. Where they just feel blah about something that normally fills them with excitement and passion.

I try to look at ruts and creative dry spells as simply a part of the cycle of artistry - a chance for the place where my creativity comes from to take a break. To rest. To be filled up again. For a bunch of new stories to be experienced.

Here are some of my favorite ways to get back in the groove again:

1. DO NOTHING. Yep. Ignore that thing that you normally love all together. If you have a scrapbook room, shut the door and give yourself permission to take a day, a week, a month off. No guilt. No pressure. No worries that you will never feel "it" again. You will. It will come back.

2. BE SURPRISED. One of my favorite ways to get re-energized is to allow myself to be surprised, delighted, and inspired by someone or something. Taking some time to surf around on the web can be a great source of delightful surprises. One of the coolest things is that people like to link to other people. People online like to share information, share the things that fire them up, the things that kick start their creativity. You can go from one thing to the next to the next and end up in a totally crazy wonderful place you never knew existed. You may even learn something. You may even be absolutely surprised at where you end up. And you may not even be able to wait another minute until you can go create something.

3. GO HERE: Keri Smith's 100 Things.

4. DO THE OPPOSITE. If you are normally a very linear scrapbooker/artist, force yourself to do something very organic and messy and free. If you really let yourself go and give yourself to the process and you end up hating your creation, throw it away or paint over it or cover it and start again. By simply going through the exercise of forcing yourself to do something totally opposite from what you would normally do you may be able to wake up your creative impulses enough to get back into the groove. I liked this quote from Cameron Moll: "Inspiration weaves its way into every facet of life. We'd be sorely remiss if we sought to be illuminated only by the medium or genre with which we work."

5. GO. Get in your car, on your bike, or use your own two feet (one of the best methods) and go somewhere NEW to you. It may be a new restaurant, a new store, or it may be simply walking down a new street in your neighborhood - the key is to get out from under your normal vision and see and experience something new. I love doing this by myself (it is one of the reasons I have come to love travel), but it can also be done with a friend, your partner, or even with your child(ren). Kids are amazing at seeing what exists right in front their noses, whereas we as adults tend to have lost that ability. Getting out of your normal environment and seeing something different is a great way to kick start your creativity.

6. TAKE A DEEP BREATH. One of the simplest and most effective ways (and one of the things I do often) to break up those negative rut vibes is to walk to your front door, open it, take a step onto your porch, stand up tall, and take a deep breath. Sounds cheesy but it is something that has worked for me - it clears my head, helps me focus, and allows me just enough of a break that I can go back into the studio and feel ready to work again. This is especially effective if you are working under a tight deadline.

7. COLLECT SOME EYE CANDY. Another way I like to work my way out of a rut is to pick up some new magazines. Usually they are unrelated to scrapbooking - most of the time I will pick them up because the design looks interesting or something catches my eye. Larger bookstores tend to feature a wealth of interesting and different magazines that you won't find at the grocery store. Check out a magazine for art or photography or cooking or parenting (maybe use #4 from above and grab something like dirt biking if you normally gravitate to knitting) or design. Magazines tend to be so visually stimulating that it is hard not to see something that makes your heart beat a bit faster.

8. GOOGLE. Try this result page. As you will see, a TON has been written on this topic. Most get down to the same thing: give yourself a break - it will come back.

9. CLEAN. This is one of those things that has worked for me in the past. It's almost a guarantee if I commit to cleaning my space, or even cleaning up around the house, that I will be bombarded with ideas. I am either inspired by things I discover in my workspace (gems often hide in the piles) or through the act of refocusing my energy elsewhere the ideas begin to flow. This works especially well if you commit to whatever cleaning task you detest the most.

10. WRITE. Sometimes when I feel really blocked I will use my time to just focus on writing. This often ends up being stream-of-consciousness writing where there is very little structure. It's writing with the intent of clearing my head and getting all the crazy thoughts, stories, and feelings down on paper or in my computer. Sometimes a great story will emerge from these sessions, but most of the time the value comes through the process rather than the result.=

11. GET BACK TO BASICS. Think words + photos + cardstock. Create something using just those three basic elements without judgment. You're not trying to win an award, you're trying to get back in the groove. I find that going back to those core elements lights a fire inside me and helps me get back in the creative mindset.

The bottom line: take heart, it will come back.

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Ali Edwards’s passion resides in that very special place where the stories and images of life intersect. Visit her at aliedwards.com.

Weekly Sponsor Spotlight: Kate Johnson, True Essence Coaching, Lisa Ferrante + Flora Bowley

Big thanks to my sponsors...I'm really enjoying these weekly sponsor spotlights where their creative talents and businesses are featured. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor (includes your ad on the sidebar + ongoing spotlights), please send me an email for further information!

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My name is Kate Johnson, and I began Heartwork to encourage the creativity inherent in all of us. I started by wondering, what are the obstacles we create that keep us from feeling able to fully express ourselves? How do we gently and compassionately set aside self-doubts and feelings of insufficiency to just get to it?

To celebrate the coming (eventually) of spring, I've decided to take a bit of my own advice and just begin: a new etsy site will be up sometime in the next week or so- look for me Heartwork by icantwhistle. I also blog at icantwhistle.blogspot.com, and intuitiveleadership.blogspot.com. I’d love it if you’d stop by.

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Would you like to enrich your life? Express who you really are in your daily activities? Do you feel out of balance? Would you like to experience more joy, more energy and live more healthfully? True Essence Coaching provides life coaching, wellness counseling, postpartum doula services and other complimentary therapies to women and mothers. She helps women carve out time for themselves, remember how to nurture themselves in busy times, and schedule in some fun and creativity in the process. Eithne Egan is a single mom who has a special place in her heart (and her practice) for other single parents, and for anyone raising a child with special needs. Discounts and sliding scales available, plus combination sessions for flexibility. Connect onFacebook or Twitter too and sign up for my newsletter here.

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My name is Lisa Ferrante and I am a self taught mixed media artist. All my pieces are about love, maternal love, romantic love, self love and self empowerment. They are me exposed; each purges a powerful emotion, a profound realization, another step in my evolution as a woman. A customer recently wrote: “Lisa, your package brought me, my sister and my daughter to tears. Your generosity of spirit and kindness on top of the sheer beauty of the pieces filled us to overflowing with gratitude, love for art, artists and life! We all felt so aware that what we were celebrating was the supportive relationships between women and the amazing effects we can have on our worlds”.

Kelly Rae readers receive a free gift with purchase just write in “message to seller” Kelly Rae sent me! Browse my shop at chloeandsofiasmom.etsy.com for beautiful and inspirational prints and reproductions pieces for you and every woman you love. Or check out my blog at LisaFerrante.com

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Flora's fresh approach to art making comes from a space of freedom, non-judgment and experimentation. Her vibrant paintings are rich with color, soul and imagination and her love for life and spontaneous nature are clearly visible in her work. Flora generously shares her philosophies about loosening up, letting go of expectations, having fun and allowing art to unfold naturally, in her popular "Bloom True!" workshops. To see a list of Flora's upcoming workshops, please visit her website here. There are still a few spots open in her Australian workshops next month!

When not traveling around the world. Flora's home base is Portland, Oregon, where she is inspired by magical forests, abundant gardens, a vibrant community of fellow artists, and her love affair with the present moment. Her work can be found in numerous galleries and homes across the US and internationally, and also on a variety of unique products made in collaboration with Papaya! Find out more about Flora on her website and read about her current travels in Bali on her blog.

another oprah OMG!

(during a retreat exercise in 2009 i was asked to write down the person i most admired and why. i chose oprah and above is my list of reasons why. more on this below - the story of how this list made its way back to me is SO COOL!)

i know you guys must be so tired of me going on and on about oprah. but i cannot help myself. we leave on saturday, the show tapes on monday, and i'm still so giddy. many of you thought i was going to be on oprah given my level of excitement and you wondered how on earth i could be so crazed with glee just to get tickets to be in the audience.

i'm not usually the kind of girl to get crazy like this, but she is my person. you know how we all have that person? the one we look up to the most? the one we admire the most? the one we hope to emulate in our lives? she is that person for me. that's why all the crazy.

the other reason i'm so crazy happy about this is because these tickets were gifted to me at a time in my life when kindness means everything. quite frankly, since having a baby and needing so much TLC, i've never depended on it more in my life and i've learned the great lesson that kindness has its most profound impact when our hearts feel weary and tired, when we're a little hope deprived, when all we want is to be is deeply nurtured, cared for, and seen. these tickets, in some way, represent the journey i've been on these last four+ months - the one i've talked about often here in the space, the one about receiving, about generosity, about feeling it all acutely, about needing and accepting all the help that's being offered while letting go of the old habit of suffering alone and holding it all together. i really am so grateful, not just for the opportunity to attend an oprah show, but for all the meaningful ways in which the opportunity unfolded. life is such a gift.

(close up of list)

so, about that oprah list photo above. back in 2009 i was at a retreat where we were asked to list the qualities of the person we most admired. i chose oprah and above is my handwritten list. i had totally and completely forgotten about this exercise and i'm not even sure whatever happened to the list! but, as fate would have it, one of the retreat participants (hello, kate!) happened to have a photograph of the list i wrote and she just emailed it to me yesterday! she thought i would get a kick out of it. crazy, right? LOVE!!!!!!!!!!

okay. i will stop now. i have no idea what's gotten into me. it's sort of silly and fun. i will see you guys back here next week where i'll spill everything about the experience. xxoo!

mr chill.

we marvel at him. we wonder how it could be that he's ours. that he's just so adorable. so chill. so....happy.

yesterday we took him for a somewhat routine doctor's visit where we couldn't believe how tolerant he was of all the procedures and handling including vaccinations, new oral medication, having his ear wax scrapped out and then flushed out (apparently he produces a ton of ear wax!), and a long line at the pharmacy. he breezed through the entire three hour ordeal even though he missed his morning nap. chill, chill, chill - just as the above photos suggests (hilarious).

(4.5 months, about 16lbs, and the sweetest little heart on the planet.)

i'm learning what mama pride feels like. i just feel so proud, so in love, so honored that he's ours. i'm starting to take his cue and chill out a bit more, too. it's getting easier as his temperament and personality bloom and i can feel my confidence growing with each new day with him. i feel extremely fortunate that i've been able to spend every single day with him, all day long, these last 4.5 months. this has been huge in my healing and recovery and our bonding. but man, it's time for some help and i'm ready to let go a bit and have our awesome part-time nanny step in. one of my friends really pushed me to take this next step - to assemble our team and i'm so glad i did. it's time.

i made a simple and huge canvas for his room....photos of nursery coming soon!

taking a look back on my mondo beyondo dreams

hey friends,
as i get ready to venture off to chicago later this week for the oprah taping, i've been thinking about my mondo beyondo dreams - you know, the big guns, the dreams that you're almost afraid to say outloud because they're that precious, that outrageous, that meaningful. for me, i put these dreams out into the world as way to practice courage and to honor the truth that our wildest dreams really can come true if we give them a voice and if we give them energy to possibly manifest into real. you just never know. i am astonished by how many dreams from this 2009 mondo beyondo dream list came true last year!

speaking of that dream list, wouldn't you know that oprah was mentioned twice in that list as follows:

* have one very heartfelt and meaningful conversation with oprah winfrey

* write more articles for more magazines (oprah!)

funny, huh? here i am, a year and a half later, not technically writing articles for the oprah mag (although that would seriously still be a mondo beyondo dream!) but i did write a piece about oprah and how kindness is taking me all the way to her show. i loved writing the story (posted on the kind over matter blog) of how i was gifted tickets to her show. i hope you'll pop over and read it.

and in the spirit of mondo beyondo, i'd like to add the following crazy but meaningful dreams to my previous mondo beyondo list:
* write a home decor book
* merge my love of home decor into my creative biz
* meet tara whitney and have her photograph our family
* go to europe for our 10 yr wedding anniversary later this year
* travel to faraway places with friends. just because.
* open up a retail space that would also house amazing and bright studio space
* continue to keep my heart open, follow my true north, and love bravely
* continue to sink into all the gifts of surrender that loving True and motherhood are bringing into my life

i hope you guys are out there dreaming big....i really truly do.

monday inspiration

as i try and focus on some pressing deadlines and other home projects over here (including trying to figure out WHAT TO WEAR TO OPRAH!!!!), i wanted to share another post with some recent inspiration. enjoy following the links....the wandering is such fun, no?

what i'm loving lately:

* the quick selection + magic wand tools on photoshop. i had no idea! and now that i do have an idea, the possibilities feel endless. above is a screenshot of what my desktop looks like - lots of projects going on at the moment.

* a really amazing blog about the real truth of motherhood.

* the most dreamy thing ever to have in the backyard.

* remember that amazing painting stephanie gifted to me? it was a plaster painting and she and judy wise are teaching a plaster painting class later this year ONLINE! OMG, sign me up!!!!

* really enjoyed this blogger's experience with the ebook. she sounds like she really is about to take flight.

* if i had a little girl, i'd be all over this idea.

* tara whitney is rocking my world. these two very brave posts made my heart sing.

* recently asked "what's the most important or inspiring question you've ever asked yourself?" on my facebook walls and loved the responses. a day later, i picked up the latest oprah mag and it was ALL about the important questions we ask ourselves!! perfect sync. have you guys been watching the OWN network? really loving the behind the scenes oprah show.

Sponsor Spotlight: Kaye-Lee Pantony, Beth Quinn Designs, Susannah Conway + Amelia Critchlow

Big thanks to my sponsors...I'm really enjoying these weekly sponsor spotlights where their creative talents and businesses are featured. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor (includes your ad on the sidebar + ongoing spotlights), please send me an email for further information!

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Hi! I ‘m Kaye-Lee Pantony an artist by nature and a psychotherapist by trade. Here again to tell you about my ecourses. Sublime is currently under way. However, I am offering The Man Code again, only this time it is a photo journalism ecourse. Would you like to improve your relationships with the boys and men in your life? Do you want to fall in love with them all over again? Then this is the course for you! The goal in this e course is to have fun learning how men see the world around them and how to use this information to improve our communication with them.

Through photography and journaling we will learn to appreciate and laugh about the differences between us. I guarantee that you will learn something you didn't know before about boys and men! To Register you can contact me at kpantony(at)cogeco(dot)ca or by visiting my blog. The Man Code will start on February 14, 2011 and run for 4 weeks. The cost will be $39 (reduced from $99) until the start date.

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Jewelry artist Beth Quinn is "a mom of two wonderful little boys, married to my best friend, and an artist who loves to create anything from paper, fabric, wood, paint and metal." Influenced by her late father's metal working and her grandmother's creativity, her jewelry is "full of her love for the old , worn and shiny ... she loves to combine texture to create jewelry that can be loved and cherished for years to come." Please head over to Beth's website where you can find her shop and her blog! Her new spring line is now available and includes a new line of children's jewelry.

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The Unravelling e-course is an 8-week online class designed to help you heal the way you see your self and your world, using photography and journalling to access hidden thoughts & dreams and encourage personal realisations, all in the safe space of a like-minded community. Photographer & writer Susannah Conway is your guide through this process, sharing her insights and wisdom gleaned from a four-year voyage through grief and healing. You don’t need any previous photography experience to do this course - all you need is a camera (iPhones are perfect for unravelling!), a journal & pen and an open heart.

Registration for the Spring Unravelling: Ways of Seeing My Self class opens TODAY February 12th at 8am PST / 11am EST / 4pm GMT - you can check out what past participants have said about their Unravelling journeys over here (there are videos too :) Give yourself permission to take a couple of hours out of your week to devote solely to YOU; this isn’t self-indulgence, this is nurturing, nourishing soul time!

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Experimental art e-course: Take 6 weeks to delve into the process of creating art in its many forms. Together we will paint, collage, take photos, sculpt with paper and much more! Take your first steps into creating art or get re-inspired with what you already do. Discover your passion, share ideas, and benefit from individual feedback on your creations from me (Amelia Critchlow); I’m a practicing artist and trained tutor working in the UK. The world is your oyster, so lets start creating the ideas you have. The course has many pdf and web resources, links to a wide range of artists, art books (with a give-away), a private online group space, and I share tips and strategies from years of making and teaching art.

As a special offer - exclusive to Kelly Rae readers – I’m offering 10% discount on places for the Spring 2011 course, until 1st March 2011. To take this offer up, see here. Visit my art website here and blog here, and read what others have said about the course here.

slowly but surely, i'm finding my way

i posted this video showing a painting in progress (start to finish) a long, long time ago but it's been mistakenly set to private on youtube all of this time. i had no idea! i just changed the status from private to public and thought i'd share it here again.

my truth over here is that i've barely, and i mean barely, had any time to paint. with zero childcare and total physical + mental exhaustion, i'm just not getting to my studio table. in my old life, i could unearth my reserves and charge through, but in this new life exhaustion trumps everything, surrender is front and center, and there are no reserves.

it's so strange to live in a world where the inspiration is there yet the energy is not. we are currently working on finding the right part-time nanny (this has been such a HARD, but totally necessary step for me). once we have some help, and once i get a moment or two of sustained recovery/rest, i can't wait to get back to the table. i've never been in this situation before - one where i'm soooo inspired yet i literally can't find the time to act on that inspiration. it's driving me bonkers.

i'm finding my way.....slowly but surely. i'll get there. i just know it.

update: i wrote this post several days ago and since writing it, i'm happy to announce that we have found an awesome nanny. i had the same intuitive, instant connection with her that i had when i met my studio assistant, dani. i love it when that happens. feeling really thankful that more studio time, more self recovery time, and maybe even a date night or two are on the way soon. life is good.

wednesday inspiration

john has been a packer fan his whole life. and now true gets to get in on the fun:)

things that are tickling my fancy lately:

* this blog that shows how people dress in portland. SO TRUE and so good. love this blog. love the style ideas.

* current photography blog crush.

* will someone PLEASE whip up a dress just like this for me? love, love.

* digging this necklace made from felt and vintage bits.

* completely and absolutely fell in love with the lyrics and melody of this song.

* the most amazing and inventive book art i've every seen.

* as i try and find my rhythm, this post from ali was super inspiring and so intriguing.

* the new mixed media website. if you're interested, i have a podcast/interview up on the site with rice. poor rice, i was so chatty on this particular day that she barely got a word in edgewise, but in my defense, she asked really great questions that i really wanted to answer! we had a fun conversation about all sorts of stuff including how i'm adjusting to motherhood, my thoughts/advice on how to help your creative style emerge, the idea that there is room for all of us and our ideas/dreams, the dangers of comparison, making decisions that are aligned with our hearts vs money, how i choose blog topics, and more. take a listen here.

* speaking of rice and podcasts, be sure to check out her other interviews with artists, including this one about motherhood + creativity (super inspiring)!

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PS: i'm so happy to announce that you can now order checks with my artwork printed on them! how fun is that? a little birdie told me that if you google "bradford exchange checks coupon code" you'll find some pretty amazing discount codes. just sayin ;)

oprah, you are my hero.

this is the play by play of my response to the best email i've ever received (i had just walked in the door, hence the puff daddy jacket):

no way, could it be true!!!??????

seriously? SERIOUSLY???

OMG! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

shake your booty, shake your booty!!!

this is really happening!!!!!!!!

i'm freakin! oh yeah! i'm freakin!!!!

thank you, world!!!!!!

everyone in my life knows how much i heart oprah. she is the first person i name when asked who i admire the most, the person who has mentored me without ever knowing me. she speaks my language. i get her. i'm inspired by her. and like so many others, i am in awe of the life she has crafted for herself and by how she inspires us all to live our best lives.

it's true, i am a total oprah geek. i have watched her show since 1987 when i was 12 years old. my bff gina and i spent years getting off the school bus and bee-lining it straight to my house for the 4pm oprah shows. i was only 12 years old but i was already learning so much from oprah. about compassion. about serving. about following our dreams. about tolerance. about humanity.

since then i've grown up with her, watched every season, subscribed to her magazine, followed her tweets, and i was in front of my tv on 1/11/11 at 12noon when her OWN network launched. i am proud of her, i'm inspired by her, and i cannot believe (CANNOT BELIEVE) that i was able to get two tickets to one of her shows!!!!!! i'm certain that was the best, most surprising email i've ever received. what a gift...

it's a total dream come true. it's always been on my mondo beyondo list. always. always. always.

thank you universe. thank you energy. thank you manifestation of wild dreams. thank you, thank you! totally geeking out........the show tapes in just a couple of weeks! i can't wait to share the experience with you guys and i can't wait to finally get to chicago, a city i've always wanted to visit!!!!!!

can you tell i'm crazy excited with all of my exclamation points?!!!!!!!!!!! oh yes, and i taking my bff gina with me. it's going to be awesome.

okay, i think i can breathe now.

our living room: the photo tour

house tour continues, room by room! today, it's our living room. again, all photos were taken by the amazing andrea jenkins (aka, hulaseventy). i should mention that these photos were taken just prior to the birth of baby true, so the coffee table has already been moved to allow for more open space. and there's usually a jungle gym (this one, to be exact - he LOVES it!) in the middle of the floor. as he gets older and more mobile, we'll have to make some decor changes, but i firmly believe that you can still have safe design + creativity in a home with a baby. i seriously can't wait to have his drawings all over this house.

our living room is bright, happy, full of light. it's hard to believe it turned out this way when it started off so, so sad. there's no television (it's downstairs in the family room) but rather this room is really where we spend time with the baby on the floor, where we take short naps on the couch with the sun filtering through the windows, where we have fires, where we watch various people + kids walk down the street, and where our doggie bella sleeps on the rug all day long. i love not having a television on the main level of our house.

it's a fairly smallish room and sort of longish, too, making it a bit tricky when it came to layout. i love how the fireplace turned out. it's sort of grand in scale to match the high ceilings. my mom told me about the affordable chairs at pier one and that's where i scooped up the chair on the right. i love it for it's pattern and squatness. the blue ottoman was a yardsale find. it needed some serious cleaning and repair but i just love it now.

the rug is a flowered yellow rug from pottery barn - here's a photo of it in our old house that shows it more clearly. really love, love this rug. although you can only see one in this photo, there are two identical ceiling light fixtures. really love these from schoolhouse electric.

our collection of mirrors are displayed with a pink wooden frame and piece of art thrown in for good measure. i bought the art from artist rachel ann austin a couple of years ago at a seattle art fair. i believe she lives in portland (i should invite her over for tea!).

the leather chair is one of the first pieces of furniture john and i ever bought as a couple years and years ago when we first moved to portland. the quilt was one that his grandmother made. and the pillow was found at an antique/junk mall. we are collectors of stained glass windows and we've got two that sit in the windows on either side of the fireplace.

here's a view looking into the dining room which then leads into the kitchen. we still love our green leather couch from pottery barn that we bought a couple of years ago. they don't sell it in this color anymore so i'm so glad we got it when we did.

there isn't enough space in this room for built-ins, or bookshelves (we have these in other rooms throughout the house), so there's not a lot of surface area for photo frames, mementos, and stuff. i like how this room is clean cut in that way. i found this sweet little table at a local antique/junk shop. the lampshade is vintage but the lamp base is ikea. and there's another stained glass window peeking through.

here's the coffee table though it's no longer in this room. it's an old wicker trunk that is now in another room. the candle is my all time favorite candle called volcano from antho (BEST scent ever and completely worth the $25). books are coffee table surf books (john collects them). and i love how my mom put leaves from our front yard bush inside the vase. leaves! plain + simple = love it.

pillows are all anthro. and the quilt is another of john's grandmas. this quilt is my fave. i love how its patchwork goes so well with the birdie painting's patchwork (mati rose is the artist). the painting on the left is a collaborative painting i made with some dear friends. piled up vintage suitcases/sewing box make a corner table. behind the couch you can see a glimpse into our entry way and our entry way light which is one of my favorite features in this whole house.

there you have it! big thanks again to andrea for taking all of the photos for this post. i have fond memories of my mom and i unpacking this room, moving the couch in various positions and settling on this arrangement for its good chi. i really really do believe in feng shui furniture arrangement - here's a good article that explains the basics, but it's all about arranging spaces that allow for good energy flow.

other photo tours of our home:
kitchen
dining room
the complete remodel

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