Around Here Lately

Hello friends!

How was your weekend? I thought it would be fun to pop in and share a little random update since I haven't done that in for.ever. 

We had a really busy and productive weekend at our house. Turns out planning to have people over two weekends in a row turns Dan and I into little worker bees! 

This coming Saturday is the boys' 9th birthday party (I KNOW...9?!) and the next weekend I have a new friend coming from out of town to help me with a super exciting art-related adventure, which I'll be sharing more about soon! (ACK!) 

Sooo...we did a lot of cleaning, painting, purging, and a bit of decorating over the weekend to get the house ready.

I spent a bit of time in my little artsy corner of the house, hanging this fun wire shelf and printing some orders. And caught the light streaming in at just the right time...

And I cleaned out my boys' dresser, which turned into more than a few tears, and this photo of their first and latest pairs of shorts...

GOODNESS. They are getting SO big you guys!

And after about two months of being married to my new iPad, I pulled out my sketchbook, pencil and pens to work on a new piece!

I thought it would feel weird after not using them for so long, but it was like reuniting with old friends.

I'm really in love with how this piece turned out.

I even grabbed the star motifs from it to make a pattern...

I've been drawn to shades of pink and orange like crazy lately which is SO not like me...but maybe it is SO like the current me? 

I heard a quote the other day that said something like "you aren't required to be the same person you were 5 years ago or even 5 minutes ago." Isn't that great? Permission to always be changing. 

I am embracing that as I'm noticing lots of things about myself evolving over the past year, and allowing myself to change however much I darn want. 

Consider this your permission to do the same!

Hope you have a fabulous week!

XO, 

{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,

{movie night memories + essentials}

This is a sponsored post by Pop Secret but all opinions are 100% mine.

Head over to the Pop Secret Facebook page for a $1 off coupon!

For about four years now, we've had movie night with the boys every Friday night. It is one of our favorite traditions and kicks off the weekend in such a fun way. For the first few years we took them to the movie rental store and they each took turns picking out what we would watch. These days it has turned into a Redbox or Netflix movie, but still just as fun. And bonus points if the boys agree on the same movie!

In addition to the movie, here are the essential ingredients for our movie nights:

1. comfy pj's
2. movie theater style boxes of candy
3. popcorn

It doesn't feel like a proper movie night if we aren't wearing our fleece pajamas, curled up on the couch with a box of hot tamales or Mike & Ikes and a big bowl of salty, buttery popcorn. 

This week we amped movie night up a few notches and built a fort for the boys! They were so excited when I surprised them with that fun addition.

I pulled out their faux firepit, some battery operated candles and their softest blankets and pillows. You could say they were happy campers. <<< See what I did there?

And of course we had candy and yummy Pop Secret popcorn to enjoy.

And it wouldn't be movie night without some silliness from my Benny... {If you can't tell by the above photos...Landon was tired with a capital T!}

I already can't wait for this Friday. Although now I think the boys will be expecting a fancy fort every week!

Do you have family movie nights? What are your essentials?

If you want some fun fort ideas and a coupon, head over to the Pop Secret Facebook page!

XO,

{making your own magic}

Did you know I can open and shut car windows with my mind?

OK...so I really can't, but I had the boys believing I was magic today, and that in itself made me feel like supermom.

We were driving home from my office, and Landon rolled his window down. It took Ben by surprise, and Landon tried to convince him that it was magic. I decided to take that and roll with it, so I told them I could open and shut the windows with a simple command.

For the rest of our 15 minute commute, they yelled out requests.

"Mom's window down!"

"Mom's window up!"

"Landon's window down!"

"Landon's window up!"

Man I had fun with it. I would roll one down halfway, then slowly roll it back up in short spurts. They were laughing and freaking out and oohing and aahing.

It was fabulous and so magical even though all it involved was a sneaky press or pull of a lever.

We were making our own magic.

Isn't that what life is all about?

Finding magic in something so ordinary and boring and sometimes frustrating as a drive home from work. There is magic everywhere if we look for it.

And if there is none to be found, we can create it. Kind of like a super power, if you will.

Where could your life use a bit more magic?

XO,

{Christmas 2014}

Whew!

Christmas 2014 has come and gone, and it was so full of good things for our family. It was a bit crazy too, but anything good comes with a bit of crazy, right?

We exchanged gifts and hugs, enjoyed slow mornings, made cookies, watched tons of Christmas shows, snuggled up in new pj's, built lots of Lego sets, tripped over Nerf darts, consumed all sorts of yummy food and sweets, played silly games, and did a lot of reminiscing.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the past week...

For some reason I was even more sentimental this year...seeing the boys with my parents especially got me. We're so lucky to be so close to them. And watching the boys completely enveloped in the magic of the holiday was so special. Feeling very blessed and happy.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas friends!

XO,