A December Hiatus

 

If you're a frequent reader of this blog you may have noticed a wee hiatus that I've taken for the last month and a half.  In one of my last posts I mentioned the ways in which the pandemic has seeped into the crevices of our lives, and the emotional marathon that this whole past year has been.  To be totally truthful I hadn't intended to take a break on here— much less a month+ long hiatus, but here we are.  The holiday season often holds some challenges for me: I have

Thankfulness and Squash Egg Pie

 

So far this year has been a pretty intense year for the books.  From the virus to wildfires out west, to a major election in the US and more, we've spanned what seems like a decade's worth of major events in the course of nine months.  I don't know what's behind door #10, but I can reflect on what I've been thankful for in this wild new world we're all living in.  

I'm thankful for my wonderful husband and his unwavering strength through this troubling time, the laughs we share scrolling through memes on the couch at 1am, and that even though it's been hard to find "fun" things to do during quarantine, that that has been our only real challenge.  I'm thankful for our health and our assuredness in each other to continue taking every precaution we can in this pandemic to keep each other and ourselves safe.  I'm thankful for having an online business that requires very little in person contact save for making trips to the postal service drop off window (and I'm very thankful for our postal service!!!), and I'm very thankful that no one I know personally has had a severe case of the virus, that I know of.  I'm also very thankful for our friends and family who we've been able to keep in touch with despite the distance.  And finally, I've been so thankful for the little things — the pie pumpkins on the windowsill, the quiet stroll through the woods.  And the time to reflect.  

I already worked a great deal from home before the pandemic hit, so the shift into isolation didn't hit all at once for me.  But over the months, and through the marathon and many seasons that this pandemic has been, it's slowly seeped into all the cracks and grooves around me.  The desire so badly to be with other people again, but the overarching duty that sits in my heart that knows it's best for everyone if I just sit tight and hold on.  So I've channelled the energy in other ways — working and coming up with new directions for my little creative hive here, and doing little things like decorating the porch and making a quiche.  

We're headed into some pretty dreary days here in the Midwest — being that it's a region that I've lived in all my life, I am well acquainted with the reality of a Chicago winter.  As much as I'd love to pretend the cold days aren't coming, I know they are.  And I know that these things I'm thankful for I'll need to cling that much closer to to get through the next few months.  But I also know that before long, it will be spring again, and we'll get to see the leafy buds poking out of the dirt, and hear the birds chirping their happy songs.  I long for the first blooms and that first 50 degree day, as we head through some of the last 50 degree days of fall. 

So thank you for reading.

Stay healthy, and stay safe.

Hiking in the North Woods

 

Hiking in the north woods of Wisconsin and Upper Peninsula Michigan as the leaves are changing colors is truly an enchanting experience.  It seemed everywhere I turned, there was colorful foliage just waiting to be captured. I look forward to printing some of these shots extra big to hang up somewhere just to do them justice. 

Thinking in Pictures

I'm not entirely sure when it originated, or if it's the way other people experience life, but I tend to view the world through a lens.  I process concepts visually, and am constantly going through life through a visual filter.  I see visual patterns in the world, and am always layering some mood into my current experience.

Our Wedding Story: Flowers, Styling and Planning

   

All professional photos by Kristen Marie Parker

As we near our one year anniversary, it seems fitting that I get around to the final blog about the details from our wedding.  Looking at the world now, the world could not look more different.  Almost none of this would have been possible in the current world situation, and it makes me all the more thankful that we were able to bring all of this together a year ago and make all of these wonderful memories with family and friends that we'll hold dear forever.

Some of My Favorite Art in Our Home

One of my favorite things about decorating a home is that it truly is a weaving of new and old to tell the story of a person.  What they enjoy, their history, and things that influence them.  Whenever I'm choosing art to put up on our walls, it's always a mixture of things I've been saving for the right moment, things I'm seeking out new, and things from our life's adventures.   I love being able to look around and be reminded of several different memories from life at a single glance. 

So I've rounded up a handful of my favorites from around our home to share their stories!

Celebrating Litha

This weekend is the summer solstice, otherwise known as Litha.

June 21st has the longest amount of daylight in a day for the year, and marks the beginning of the descent into winter, aka the height of summer, or midsummer.

Reaching Out Instead of Retreating In

Today I'd like to share with you possibly the most important thing that I've learned during this strange time in our world's history.

My June Capsule

Hello friends!

After all the fun I had with my May capsule last month, I've decided to keep going with the idea and do another capsule for June.  😊


I'm learning some things as I go about my daily fashion habits, so this routine is really helping me a lot!

Why I Love the Stylebook App

Hello friends!

Today I'm here to tell you all about one of my favorite mobile apps, Stylebook.

It's available on iPad and other mobile platforms, and I've been using it for years now.

Self Care Buys in My Cart

With all the craziness going on in the world, self care is even more paramount these days.  If you're like me, you might have gone into this pandemic trying to power through, find ways to be productive, and have been setting goals to try to continue things as close to normal as could be from home.  And there's a lot to be said for getting dressed every day and trying to keep that sense of normalcy.  But it's also ok to let yourself rest a little more to deal with the stress. 

Lovely Little Office Refresh

Today is the day, guys!!

I'm very excited to share with you all the pictures from my redesigned sunporch office!

Overcoming Discouragement

Today I want to talk about failure and discouragement.

Being an artist can come with it's challenges, some of them being creative burnout and self-confidence.

Healthy May

I have to admit, looking at the long term of my health and diet history, I don't think my habits could really be classified as "healthy".

My only exercise for most of my life was what we were forced to do in gym class in school, and I firmly practiced including sugars as a pretty hefty portion of my personal food triangle.

And for most of my life I would argue that this was 'working' for me.   I was fine, no major issues!

Spring Hair, Don't Care + My Haircare Story

Hey there, friends!

Just wanted to post a quick fun little update on my hair refresh for spring, and how I've updated my haircare routine in the first few months of 2020 ♥

I recently went to the salon and got some fun rose gold balayage highlights to ring in spring! 😊

Pausing for a Personal Update During a Time of Crisis

Two weeks ago, if you told me that my state would be under a shelter in place order right now, I wouldn't have even known what that meant.

Two weeks ago, I was getting a hair cut, putting pink in my hair, and going about life as per the usual, dreaming up creative ideas of shoots out in the woods, and what travel plans we had upcoming this year.

The Women's Wellness Retreat

    

In today's stress-filled world, everyone needs a chance to step back and relax.  Some people go on a vacation, a stay-cation, or go on a long weekend somewhere nearby with friends, family, or on their own.  In books and a little bit in person, I've heard whisperings of another kind of life-break:  the retreat.  A chance to step back and recharge or heal from the stresses of life and reassess and relax.  I know I used to get so stressed out, the only thing that

The Wedding Story: Our Ceremony

Photographs by KMP © 2019

There is so much to plan in a wedding.  You have to make decisions on everything from the invitations to the flowers to the logistics of how it all gets set up, what food you'll serve, how to give directions on how to get places, and how you'll get places... the list is seemingly never ending, and everything feels so big, and so important.

Yet, when it came to putting together our ceremony, everything felt like it came into place in a very intuitive way.   It was like, everything came from the heart, and we knew in our hearts that the decisions we made were the right ones, because they came so intuitively from our hearts.

Our Wedding: Fashion + Beauty

All of the gorgeous photos in this post are brought to you
by Kristen Marie Parker, our incredibly talented wedding photographer 

Full Disclosure— This is a long one, folks.

Far be it from me to write a short post when it comes to the fashion choices for the wedding, it was a detailed and well thought out approach when it came to choosing the attire for this event.

2020 New Year's Resolutions

I find these end of year reflections to be so useful to me.  Instinctively, I like to be able to sum up and reflect on pockets of time, look back at what happened, how I handled things, and try to learn from life's events.  So often I worry that I may make a bunch of resolutions and then end up with zero follow through.  So making a point to look back and recognize what worked and didn't work is important to me.