{October happenings}

Hello friends!

How is your October going so far? 

We've been squeezing in all sorts of fun fall activities at our house. The boys are on fall break this week and I've been soaking up being able to enjoy every minute with them (OK..maybe not EVERY minute because 8 year olds are a but nuts, especially after 8 pm 😜 😂). But seriously I'm not taking this time with them for granted, and honestly getting a bit weepy about the fact that I go back to work in two weeks. It will be bittersweet for sure. 

In art news, I've also been working on new illustrations and patterns! I've found that anymore I can't let a day go by without creating something new.

So here are a few peeks into our past week through my Instagram photos...

Morning walk through the park...so lovely. 

Working on some happy fall signs for an upcoming show! Gold sharpies are one of my new favorite things.

Orchard! They still humor me with a photo, even if tongues need to be stuck out.

Outdoor office = sabbatical life.

This needs no explanation, right?

I've been stocking up on cute new dresses and cardigans in anticipation of going back to work on November 1st. (Easing the sting a little, you know?)

The above is an Old Navy dress and TJ Maxx cardigan, and the cardigan below is from my favorite local boutique, Luxe Lizzies!

We are lucky to live super close to an arboretum that has beautiful nature trails. We definitely need to take advantage of it more! This nature walk has been the highlight of my month with them for sure.

Random happy fall doodles

Another sign I'm working on for that upcoming show. These chalkboards are double-sided so I'm thinking about fun double quote concepts. 

A new happy illustration...I have missed doing daily quotes.

And brush lettering! A fun new thing to practice. I'm using Sakura Koi brush markers here. 

Perfect fall break morning (you can grab the mug here)

Pottery painting! It had been awhile since I took the boys to do this, and I was excited to see how much their dexterity and creativity has grown. 

And new patterns!

I can thank my Pattern Camp group for the creation of these. Jessica (our fearless leader) gives us a weekly challenge, and these were acorns and ghosts. So fun!

Here were my original sketches for the ghost pattern...

With my favorite fall treat in hand of course! I ate WAY too much candy corn + peanuts yesterday. Addictive I tell ya!

So whew...that was a lot of photos but a fun recap I think! Hope your October is going along fabulously as well!

XO,

{new illustrations}

I've been busy working on a fun fall favorites collection, based on all of my favorites things about the season. 

Here are all six I've created so far!

Campfire favorites...

Favorite treat...

 

Comfort foods...

Fall nature walks...

Orchard favorites...

And favorite outfit...

This has been such a fun collection to work on. Did I miss anything? What would yours say?

XO,

{out of sorts}

It's Wednesday morning, but it feels like Monday because my boys were out of school yesterday. 

Parent teacher conference day. One of those things you get used to as a parent but still feel weird about. Like how the heck did someone trust me to go to these things and be in charge of two children? God, I guess. 

But the boys' teacher is SO fabulous this year (they had her last year too) that I'm thinking about putting her on retainer for the rest of their educational careers. She is so lovely. 

But back to that Wednesday that feels like Monday.

I woke up this morning feeling a bit hungover, having just had a dream where I was meeting with a coworker who was accusing me of messing up some kind of computer file (cue the almost-time-to-go back-to-work anxiety). 

And I'll be honest...this election has me all kinds of sad, anxious, disappointed and frustrated. So many feelings about so many things. I'm sure you can relate.

Out of sorts. That's me today. The kind of thing that only the feel of a warm mug and a silky latte on my lips could begin to fix. 

So here I am at my favorite coffee place, sipping this sweet salted caramel loveliness, taking deep breaths, and working on all of these feelings. The warmth is slowly knitting me back together this morning, reminding me of all that is precious and right in my life. 

I was thinking last night about what saddens me the most about the political climate right now, and aside from candidates and platforms and mud-throwing (which is so hard to get past), it is the fact that people are turning against each other to support a person that they really don't know at all. And I'm not talking about Facebook acquaintances. Close friends, brothers, parents, children...people who should be precious to us. 

It is so easy to lose sight of the life right in front of our eyes and be blinded by the constant flashing of who is right, who is wrong, who is better, who is worse. 

Regardless of who wins this election though, the new President can't and won't replace those people right in front of us. The new president won't be there for us at the Thanksgiving table, passing the gravy and reminiscing about crazy family stories. They won't show up when the kids are sick and you need someone to run to the store and grab some Gatorade and saltines. They won't be there with a humble check if you don't have enough money to pay for that unexpected house repair. And they won't be meeting you for a coffee date, listening intently as you share your secrets and dreams. 

I see all of the goodness and memories and love that are being abandoned for the sake of being right. 

I guess what I'm saying is let's not sacrifice the precious for the sake of power. 

Because power will fade and all we will have left are those precious strings that knit us together. And coffee dates. 

Wth much love,

{come learn with me!}

It is so funny how life brings you opportunities that are the furthest from what you see yourself doing. 

Like me TEACHING.

Yep...not something this homebody introvert ever saw herself doing. But here I am, adding a "Classes" page to my website, teaching on Skillshare, and now I'm teaching another local class!

This summer I taught doodling to kiddos at Veach's Toy Station which was so much fun and also helped me get my feet wet in the realm of face to face teaching. 

A local friend who's children took my class, and who also teaches amazing Creativity Camp classes out of her barn (yes...barn!)...invited me to teach a class with her this fall. You all I'm over the moon excited about this, and I hope if you are local you can join us!

We'll be creating a glass mosaic frame, and then I'll be leading students in a doodling exercise to create a piece of art for their frame. 

You can reserve your spot here! Class is limited to 20 participants. 

And if you aren't local, I would love to have you join me over on Skillshare for my doodling class. Here are some fabulous projects from my students...

Aren't they amazing? I just love sharing doodling with you all...it brings so much joy to the world don't you think?

If you have any ideas for other classes you would like to see me teach please leave them in the comments!

XO,

{a reminder}

Let that light shine, my friend!

And if you are still looking for it...don't give up! It is in there I promise!

XO,

{new collection in progress}

Happy Monday friends!

I'm excited to share a new collection in the works. It started yesterday when I was thinking up ideas for something fun to letter. And of course I have FALL on the brain so I went with my favorite things about orchard trips...

And today I decided to add campfire favorites to the collection...

What will be next? Stay tuned!

XO,

{october must list}

October is here! 

Which also means the LAST month of my sabbatical.

Cue a bit of a freak out.

But it has been so lovely and inspiring to be away from work for this long, and I'm ready to get this month started!

October has always been my favorite month, and I've been excited all year to be able to spend this month away from my office and doing more of all of the things I love about this time of year.

I sat down last night and sketched out a "must list" of some of the things I'm looking most forward to doing during the next 31 days...

1. Orchard trips - We are lucky to have three orchards close to our house and I'm not ashamed to say I've already been to one of them almost a handful of times to pick up cider, donuts, pumpkins and various fall must-haves. I mean, when something so lovely is so seasonal, you gotta get all you can out of it, right? There can never be too many pumpkins.

2. Nature walks - I am really enjoying walks around our neighborhood but could definitely up the number this month. Bonus points for a lot of hills!

3. A good book - I have been reading quite a bit lately and want to get in at least one more before I go back to work. 

This morning I started my first Rob Bell book accompanied by a warm mug of coffee and my favorite blanket. My kind of church...

Traveling Mercies might be the next..we'll see! 

4. Closet clean-out - So this morning I pulled all of my sweaters out of my closet with the intention of purging, but only two made it to the outgoing pile. I might have a bit of a sweater problem. Or addiction. Whatever.

But I did arrange them by color and style...so I feel like I can mark this one halfway off of my list!

5. Coffee dates - OK so this one might just be going to get coffee a lot by myself...I do enjoy my own company. Seriously though I would love to meet up with a few friends for coffee or lunch this month. Last night I texted a friend that I haven't seen in ages and we are planning to meet up so I feel good about this one. It is hard for this introvert to reach out! 

6. Lots of drawing - I mean, of course this is on my list!

7. Podcasts - I've gotten into the habit of listening to more podcasts now that I'm home or at the coffee shop during the day. I've talked quite a bit about Creative Pep Talk. It is my absolute favorite. I've listened to a few others sporadically but would like to find another favorite in the spiritual/self-improvement category. Suggestions happily welcomed! 

What is on your October must list? 

XO,

{new print + other goodies}

Happy first day of October friends!

I have a sabbatical update to share with you (this is my last month...say what?!), but first I have a new illustration available as a print and lots of other goodies...

Print on Etsy

 Phone Case

Mug 

Tote

Shop all other goodies in my Society6 shop!

XO,