FREE PEOPLE FESTIVAL DAY

Photo by Kate Kelly

This day goes down in the books as one of the best days ever.  Not just because of all the fun stuff going on, but both James and I just felt really good, and just enjoyed the whole day together.  I actually only took about 4 photos the whole day b/c we were just in the moment, which is great.  Most of these other people took.  My favorite is the one above by our new friend Kate Kelly.  Speaking of new friends, we met so many people and fell in love with them all.  Every person we chatted with was so sweet.  We felt like we walked away with a handful of new friends more than anything. 

They decorated the place so lovely.  I'm sad I didn't get more photos of the set up before the rain started coming down b/c they did such a great job with the decor.  The coffee/thrift shop it was set up at, Friend and Neighbors was really cute.  I can't wait to go back sometime so I can actually browse the shop and sit and enjoy some coffee by their teepee. 

They set up the bands in this shed b/c of the 100% chance rain, which actually did happen.  Everyone crammed in their for the 4 bands that played, and sadly I didn't get to see any of them play b/c of that.  The sound was so muffled on the outside from everyone being in there that you couldn't really enjoy the music even from the outside... but it didn't really matter b/c we were just enjoying getting to know people the whole time anyway.  I squeezed myself into the back of it for Jamestown Revival so I could hear the music, but couldn't see a thing, and was sadly standing next to a group of people who talked the whole way through them playing.  But I got to chat with the guys before they went on, and was surprised to know that they remembered who we were after only meeting them once at their show in San Antonio about a year & 1/2 ago.  That was pretty cool in my book b/c I'm sure they meet alot of people on the road.  They are such nice guys.

Photo by Kate Kelly

Our favorite part of the night was getting to chat with the girls from La Colombe, Kathryn & Kate.  They are the sweetest people ever and made us feel right at home (even though they are from Philly and were in our backyard)... we pretty much chatted the day away with them.  We haven't announced it yet, but there is some very exciting things in the works with these guys and us, and we can't wait to share.  The whole day was so serendipitous and felt like the stars had been aligning for a very long time to make it happen. 

photo by Julie of Orchid Grey

Afterwards we met up with our friends Katie and Justin for some grub.  We were going to eat at the restaurant with the bright teal wall... We went in, order waters, took a look at the menu, and decided it was not the place for us!  We felt so bad, but we had to skip out and go somewhere else.  We ended up going to a great little mexican place for tacos and were so glad we did.  I just love these guys.  We chatted so much it felt like we were only together for like 10 minutes before we had to leave them!  Good good people.  You should check out their etsy shops, Star Native & Starchaser Woodworks.

It was a day Ill never forget for so many reasons.  We are so thankful for the universe aligning for us to be there.

PIECES OF HOME

A few little snippets from the past week or so.  These pieces of home posts are probably my favorite series that I do here on the blog.  I'm a bit sad Ive gotten so behind on them.  I may just have to go back into my archives of photos and post some even if they are older.  Time and life have been a juggle the past two months, that is for sure! 

I am feeling so absolutely blessed in life right now.  Big dreams are happening, for both James and I, and it really feels like we are in it together.  It's a beautifully flourishing time for our creative paths, and things are starting to happen, to fall into place, some of our wildest dreams are coming true, and things are shifting.  Alot of it feels scary and intimidating, but at the same time exhilarating.  As I feel myself shaking in my knees with nerves, I also feel my spirit growing each day.  One thing I'm learning this year, and the universe is kind of forcing me into learning, is confidence.  Confidence in myself.  I'm such a homebody, and spend most of my time either alone or with James, literally 90% of my time.  I'm having to step out of my comfort zone in big ways.

On Friday we get to attend the Free People Festival in Austin and meet some people we have been working with online for a while!  We are so thrilled.  It's also one example of my fears.  Being in crowds and meeting new people.  As an introvert, these simple things can be a bit overwhelming, and I can dwell on it for days before it even happens.  I envy those who don't even think twice about these kinds of things.  In my head it seems so silly to feel this way, but I accept the fact that I do, and I am going to push through and open myself up no matter how I feel.  Once I get past the nerves I know how fun its going to be, surrounded by beautiful creative people, meeting online connections, getting to see one of my favorite bands play, and maybe even meeting some of my sweet readers that visit my little blog, who knows!

I know its a good thing for the universe to stretch me.  Stretching may feel uncomfortable, but I know it means growth, and growth is always a good thing in my book.  I hope each step I take out into the world leaves me a little more confident in my skin than the day before. 

(btw, that big beautiful dreamcatcher up there, is from Of the Wolves... is it not insanely gorgeous?)

TWO WORDS... FREE PEOPLE.

My nanna told me this morning that she really misses my blog posts since I have blogged so little this month... So nanna, I'm back!  Ha ha.  Yesterday was a day for the books.  My home was photographed for the Free People blog & for a spread in the spring issue of the Bohemian Collective magazine.  Ive been anticipating this day for about two months now.  Which gave me plenty of time to allow my nerves to go bazurk (sp???)... Luckily Julia was a total sweetheart and easy to warm up to, so of course I got myself all nervous for nothing, which is usually the case...

I'm pretty sure though through my nerves I talked her ear off the whole time she was here about my cat and a million other things.  Speaking of my cat, Bella totally stole the show and got her picture taken in just about every room of the house.  She was camera ready, unlike her mama! 

I can't wait to see the photos and start working on the magazine spread.  This is the most exciting thing to date, as far as my business goes... I'm truly honored that they saw something special in what I'm doing enough to feature me.  Truly.  I don't really have the right words for it yet. 

And man my house is clean and feels so good right now!  I wish it would stay this nice everyday!!!

SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO RE-EVALUATE

Oh my sweet little neglected blog... I just thought I'd have more time to pop over here during the making of my magazine, but as you can see that has not been the case.  This week has got me thinking alot about deadlines... and expectations... and plans changing...

Last week I had some big exciting plans get cancelled last minute due to the weather, an absolutely uncontrollable force of nature.  I should say postponed, not cancelled, b/c it will still be happening.  But you know how you can get your hopes up when you are so ready for something and then it doesn't happen?  Well that was me, and a barrel of emotions, the day before an unexpected moontime.  Another out of the blue, I didn't know this was going to happen today, thing... Sometimes nature has its own plans.  And you have to learn to shift along with it.  Of course it was easy for me to meet the circumstances with opposition at first, but as the day went on I realize it was probably for the best, and in ways I don't even know about yet.

Most importantly these little hicupps made me realize just how stressed I was about timelines and deadlines, which in reality are all self imposed.  I have a certain date I wanted to release my magazine on, and the closer it gets, the more I feel myself tense up and have freak outs that I won't be able to do it all.  Making a magazine has alot of details involved, like millions of them.  And you are also waiting on several dozen other peoples timelines for crafting, writing, sending, responding, etc.  As much as I enjoy it, it can also be quickly overwhelming when dealing with all the details yourself. 

So, the hicupps made me realize I need to relax about my deadline.  I'm not a major company who has 50 people working for me to get this baby out on a certain deadline.  So I shouldn't treat myself like I am. Any artist knows you have to go with the flow of your work if you want it to come from your heart.  And this magazine is my artform right now.  It is my baby, my creation, the outpouring of my heart.  So, I need to step back, let things fall into place, be patient, de-stress so I can create in a loving way, and know that the day that it gets released will be the perfect day. 

Allowing myself to take a step back has also brought a whole slur of new thoughts on how I distribute it into my head too.  I may be changing things up quite a bit, and it is going to take a little time to build the groundwork for it.  But in the end, I think it will be so worth it. 

So, I may have been a little quiet over here, but I have alot going on in my head and in my creative work.  I have no doubt the wait will be worth it.