A RIVER BREAK

James and I have been working hard lately. We always work pretty hard on our dreams, but this past few weeks have been in overdrive as we work to fill an extraordinary amount of orders. I will be honest and say that our journey with our creative endeavors has not been easy. I don’t think it is for anyone who sets out to be their own boss, especially in the creative fields. You take on so many more roles than just artist. At the beginning of the year we were starting to think we may need to put our efforts somewhere else, that maybe it just wasn’t ever going to be fruitful enough to be our sole income. This is something we have been working towards for a very long time, and it always feels just out of reach. But instead of giving up, we decided to march ahead full force and give it all we’ve got. And you guys seem to be responding! We can finally feel a shift happening. Maybe it’s the whole where the energy flows thing. We are still teetering on the edge of feeling very excited and ‘is this sustainable’… But all worries aside, we are embracing the process, trying to keep our head above water and not let our sanity go, and still try to have a life, b/c what the hell is the point if not for that?

Sometimes just taking an hour outing to our favorite little coffee shop and to take a walk by the river can be the difference of our sanity staying or going. And it gives me a great excuse to get my camera out and take pics of our little monkey. It’s hard to get her photo when we are out in nature like this though b/c she does not want to stop for me. I have to get creative with capturing her in the moment.

I have such a deep love for Cypress trees that grow along the river. How big they get and their beautiful knotty roots. I’m just in love with them.

I’m so happy we decided to bring some kids tees to Skyline Fever so Ava can wear them. The little Gatherer is my favorite. If there are any specific designs you would like to see on littles shirts, just let us know.

HOME // THE NOOK

This space in my home is simply my favorite spot. Mainly b/c it’s the only place that has really beautiful light streaming in through the windows. I call this spot the Nook. It’s technically suppose to be the dining room, but we don’t eat at the table + don’t even have a dining table set up. This space is more of a sitting/ reading nook + where I photograph most of my jewelry. This space has shifted around alot over the years, but it’s main use has never really changed all that much. That beautiful antique desk above was my mothers, and it’s one of my favorite pieces of furniture in my home. She added those peachy glass handles to it and I remember loving the way the light hit them when she had it in her sunroom.

This space also has my favorite rug from Ecarpetgallery in it. We have 8 of their rugs in our home. Yes, EIGHT. I have found over and over again through the years the most beautiful boho rugs on their site. They always have the most amazing sales which is when I grab them. They just launched their US site and are having a new site sale at 70% off sale right now! They have been the most durable rugs and super easy to clean up with just Thieves and a rag. We even have one in our kitchen.

I got this beautiful pothos ivy on mother’s day last year. It was about 3 feet long when we got it and it THRIVED on my porch all season long. It quadrupled in length in like 6 months. It was insane. I brought it in over the winter and it began to turn yellow and drop leaves like crazy after about 2 months in. Now that the weather is shifting I have been keeping it outside and just bringing it in when it gets really cold. I’m hoping this spring it will start perking back up. I’ve never had a plant this big and I’m so scared I’m going to kill it. I need to clip it and start new babies b/c it just drags on the floor no matter where I hang it, but I’m having a hard time making myself cut it! ha ha.

I love this part of the nook so much with that arched window. One of the things that sold me on this house when we first looked at it. I have my crystals hanging in this window and they shoot rainbows all over the house in the morning. It’s magical. And this butterfly blanket from Calhoun & Co is just about one of my favorite things. If I had wall space I would buy another one just to hang on the wall b/c it’s so beautiful. I really wish I did have space for that. Maybe one day… But the most special thing in this space is that bookshelf. My daddy made it many many moons ago. It used to hang in our kitchen long ways on the wall and my mom put all her dishes on it. The later they had it on the floor longways in her sunroom with all her books on it.

Do you have a space in your home that just feels cozy to you? Your favorite spot? What is it and what is it’s purpose to you? How does it make you feel?

If there is anything you want to know about in this space, just ask. There are too many pretties to list individually. xo

SKYLINE FEVER X BAREFOOTFIVE

If you have been following along over on social, than you probably have seen that we are doing some fun collaborations with Skyline Fever & other babes who inspire us. Today we are releasing our newest collab with Brooke Hampton of @barefootfive. We have followed each other online for several years and are both from Texas! We are inspired by her wild & passionate heart for living life unapologetically.

rise & rise again

We have created two different shirts, a cropped racerback tank that is super cute + flirty for spring/summer, and a slouchy tee that is so soft + perfect for every body type. We have also created a really fun bundle customized by some of Brooke’s favorite things. She loves my prayer flags + has several of them floating around her beautiful home, so we made a special one with the word RISE just for these bundles. We also made a bookmark, b/c Brooke is an avid reader. Just visit her IG @barefootfivehome for a hot minute and you will see. Her favorite crystal is Citrine, so I created some handmade citrine keychains you can adorn your keys or bags with. And last but not least is an essential oil roller with her favorite oil, Northern Lights Black Spruce. You will smell of the yummiest trees all day long!

These bundles are limited in stock with your choice of a tank or tee to go with it all!

We have also created a really awesome retro inspired print for your wall in some of the yummiest colors! These are made from post consumer recycled paper + soy ink.

I will share more about this soon, but in January we partnered with One Tree Planted, a non profit organization dedicated to reforestation. For every tee or print sold, we will have a tree planted for you. Just a little way we can give back to mama earth to balance out what we use to make our creations. We also use eco-friendly compostable packaging whenever possible.

grab your shirt, print or bundle here

HERE WE GO AGAIN

I am sitting here in a quiet house, a rare occasion these days, with nothing but the sound of the wind outside + my diffuser whirring next to me. I’m consumed with the swirling scent of peppermint + lemon. Try it, it’s so refreshing. I waited until James + Ava went to his mom’s house for a few hours before starting today’s post. I didn’t want it to be tangled with interruptions every 30 seconds (legit real life with a 3 yo). After revamping this blog all day long yesterday, I had dreams all night of this space. It feels exciting to get back to it. Even now, feeling my fingers glide across the keyboard. This is what I missed. I’m so over typing out captions with one finger on a phone. Call me old school, but I really prefer a keyboard and an actual desktop computer. I hate how you can’t even appreciate how beautiful a blog is on a phone b/c of the way it’s layed out. It’s just not the same.

So here I am, coming back into this space. I have tried over the past few years to pick back up where I left off, but it never stuck. I even tried starting a whole new blog after Ava was born, Mama Bird Little Wing. I didn’t want this space to turn into a mommy blog, was my thought. But then I began to feel pigeon holed over there and realized I definitely couldn’t keep up with two blogs just for fun, so I quit that too. Everything has it’s time and place though, I believe. So, here we go again…

I have a pattern though, with Mercury Retrogrades. It always comes out of left field and rolls in with a fierce fire of excitement. I revisit old things. That is the natural thing to do during this time. But it always happens unexpectedly and unintentionally. So, I understand I have this pattern of returning to old projects, getting all fired up, sticking with them for a little while, and then one day I don’t, and it’s over. Always during a retrograde. I was born during a retrograde and have always felt pretty connected with these spaces of time. This time, I want to recognize this pattern, and be intentional with how I handle it. And in this space, I want to give myself permission to write about whatever the fuck I want to, whenever I want to. That feels freeing. Like the good ol’ beginning days.

What I miss the most about blogging was the community that was formed through it. I have friendships today from over a decade ago that were formed b/c of my little blog. They were connections that ran deep enough to stand the test of time even after all the blogs died. I think that says something.

So, here’s to trying this thing again, without expectations or limitations, on my own terms, as it should be. If you are reading this, leave a comment and let me know how long you have been reading my blog. Anyone remember the old blogspot? I think I started blogging in 2009…

Sending you all visions of sunshine on this cold, wet + windy day. xo