BailiwickStudio

This Little Word of Mine

I'm one of those people who likes to choose a word for the year - a word to inspire, uplift, and live by. After much deliberation, and coming up with ideas and then searching through the thesarus for better versions of them (I take this very seriously!), I decided on the word "harmony". I know this year will be a busy one with juggling three etsy shops and a mother-in-law who has come to live with us. I want to give everything it's due attention, especially my mother-in-law who is in a wheelchair and needs to be waited on and cared for in nearly every way. I certainly don't want to feel frustrated with things bogging down, so I decided that being reminded to have harmony in my days will be just the ticket to stay calm and carry on, even if things get crazy around here.

Lots of people chose a word for the year - click on over to The Lettered Cottage to see hundreds of them!

January

Here it is mid January and I'm finally stepping in to wish everyone a very happy new year! I'm not sure what has happened to me and blogging the last few months, except that I must admit to going through a dull time and having nothing to write about. Maybe I need new clothes, or perhaps a new haircolor, or even a trip to Paris! That would certainly get anyone out of the doldrums. The best thing about a new year coming around is having a new page to write on and a corner to turn - both of which are full of fresh possibilities. I'm going to take those possibilities and run with them!

I'm not one to write down resolutions because they're rarely kept past the month of January, but if by the end of the year I can look back and see

that I've kept a good balance of being productively busy and quietly still

that I've eaten a healthier diet

that my summer garden was beautifully satisfying

that there was more faith and music and gladness in my life than the year before,

that's good enough for me. Those are the general, impression type of resolutions, not said out loud but always there in spirit. The one thing I will say out loud and in writing - no more dullness! And that means I'll be around more this year.

It's Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my bloggy friends! I hope everyone's new year will be filled with peace, faith, and joy. xo

December Rose

The weather here has been very, very, cold, which makes my white iceberg roses blush. I'm pleased they're still blooming, but I'm sure they'll soon disappear as Autumn wanes and Winter truly steps in. Then it will be time to cut them back completely, and wait for Spring.

The seasons of life!

I'm joining Beverly for Pink Saturday today.

Christmas Mantle

Christmas cheer is appearing at our house, slowly but surely. For the first time ever, we are decorating without a tree this year. I suddenly had no desire to put it up and take it down, especially since our kids won't be here and Christmas Weekend will be spent elsewhere. There are other ways to decorate and there's plenty to do it with - after all, I have five giant Christmas boxes full of trimmings! I decided not to buy anything new this year, but use what I have (I made that pledge after I bought a silvery garland covered with tiny jingle bells at Crate & Barrel).

This year we're using silver, white and red - snowy pinecones, red berries, vintage silver candlesticks with red candles, and white poinsettias. I hung a few of my mercury glass ornaments from the edge, and our stockings too.

Yesterday the bricks around the fireplace were red. I've always wanted to paint them white, and after finishing the mantle I decided it would look so much better if I did it right then and there. So I did, and I like it so much better now!

I bought this concrete angel casting at the Rose Bowl Flea Market a few months ago, and couldn't decide where to hang it. It seems to look just right in this spot! I got the peacock panels there as well, about three years ago, and they've been hidden in a closet ever since. A quick coat of white spray paint, and they found a place too.

There are a few Mantle Linky parties going on in blogland this week... wow, there are some beautiful ideas out there!

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
From My Front Porch to Yours
Southern Hospitality

Miscellany

Happy December to you! Hasn't this year passed quickly? I've been busy lately with managing three etsy stores and most recently, doing some rearranging in our family room. It's never as simple as pushing a sofa from one spot to another - with me it means creating a new office area and moving the computer with all its attendant wiring, and needing to shorten the length of my desk, and cutting down a console table to make it into a coffee table, and recovering the sofa (which I haven't yet done), and designing a super cool bulletin board that Will had to make. I'll show it off as soon as I finish the last touches. We also enjoyed a visit with our daughter the week before Thanksgiving. We hadn't seen her for a year and a half because Guam is so very far away, so it was wonderful! 

This is Alanna. On the left she's about a year old and very interested in driving a classic Jaguar that Will once had. On the right she's 27, and just as interested in driving Will's newest old car - a '56 Thunderbird. Some things never change!

I hope to be posting more often. Life has evened out a bit, and my main concern now is getting my handmade gifts finished in time for Christmas!

Grateful

I'm popping in to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I can hardly believe that day is already here, and the end of the year is right around the corner. Time is passing so much quicker than it used to!

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday. It's a day to thank the Lord for our food, our families, and our freedom. A day to remember all the blessings large and small that we've received during the year.

And to me, it signifies the start of the Winter season,

when the leaves fall off the trees in earnest
when it's really time to put the garden to bed
when our California air is brisk enough to wear mittens
when it's time to pull out the holly and fir scented candles
and when I start thinking about all the handmade gifts I wish I had started sooner!

But it all begins with a grateful and thankful heart.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkins and iPods

I have been such an absent blogger lately! But I do have a good reason - there's something that's been keeping me incredibly busy lately. More on that in my next post.

In the meantime, Autumn has arrived. We don't get the glorious color of east coast leaves (my trees only turn from green to yellow), but we do get pumpkins! The shapes, sizes, and colors are so wonderful, and I absolutely love all the pumpkin patches that spring up everywhere. It seems that every year there are more varieties of pumpkins, and they just keep getting better and better. And then of course there is pumpkin pie, pumpkin scones, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin soup...

aaand... it's my birthday today!

My daughter gave me this...

Now, I am not technically inclined. I've never used a Kindle or a Blackberry - I still prefer real books, real pen & paper, and a calendar on the wall. My cell phone is so simple it doesn't know how to text message, but neither do I so we're a good pair. But I have to admit I'm very intrigued by this little iPod. The thought of having ALL my favorite music in there that I can listen to any where and any time is very cool!

I can't wait to start loading it up!

I wonder if this will be the start of a new me?

October

I am so happy that the calendar page has turned, and October is here. September wasn't a very nice month for my family and I due to accidents and injuries, and I'm glad it's behind us. October has always been my favorite month - the leaves put on their fall colors, the air begins to feel a bit crisp, pumpkins and pansies and mums make their appearances, and it's my birthday month too.

This year I bought pinkish-magenta mums to plant in pots and window boxes. Once I get them settled in, it's on to pansies! The pansies I planted last Autumn bloomed for a year - they suddenly withered and died about a week ago, living up exactly to their classification of "annuals". So, with the Autumn flowers planted, one or two Cinderella pumpkins (my favorite) scattered about, and an Autumn wreath on the door, I'll really feel that Fall is in the air. Believe me, I'm ready for it!

I'm joining Little Red House today for Mosaic Monday and How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday.

Winning White

A while ago I won a lovely giveaway from Marianne at Songbird, who was celebrating the color white. It arrived, and I even remembered to take photos!

Marianne is a master when it comes to using white (I adore her summer mantle project), and she sent some lovely things...

I love hearts, and these are gorgeous! The fabric heart is handmade, and the wreath is such a lovely shade of weathered grey. She also made a lovely card and embroidered notebook cover...

And as an added treat ~ dutch candy (and cookies, too)!

If you haven't visited Marianne's blog, I highly recommend it for decorating inspiration! (And I think she's opening an etsy shop, too.) Thanks so much for my lovely gifts, Marianne!

Be sure to visit Faded Charm for more white today!