shetoldstories

not there yet:

If you were here I'd make you a steamy hot milk with your very own belgian chocolate on a stick to swirl yourself a cup of comfort.

We would move to the couch where the light fades just so through the curtains. You with your cocoa, me with my coffee, and I'd ask you 'for reals... how are you doing?'

You'd probably laugh and we'd chat for a while about this or about that and eventually the tables would turn and you would ask the same of me.

And I'd wonder if it was safe to remove my shield of armor and allow the stories that sit behind that wall to spill out into the open. I'd worry about giving them a voice, giving them space, about listening to them become more real as I speak them. 

I don't know what that would feel like yet. I know it would feel good to have my chest less tightened up with these tales. 

So we would sit, and maybe ... maybe I would crack open the well, and it would all be out in the open. Maybe.

I haven't teetered over that fine line yet.

I'm trying though.

new jewelry & a video!!

Can you believe how beautiful this piece is by Liz Lamoreux and Kelly Barton? I asked them to pick a word for me. I love my word. I love the colors. I love my badass pigtails chick. This is my absolute new favorite bauble to wear. Thank you ladies, so - so much!!

A little something to keep you warm. To you, love me.

our everyday:

they were supposed to be doing homework...

Snow

Cafe. This is what my everyday looks like.

weekending:

one of my favorite views

Weekending. I do love me some week endings.

The highs: Snow. Playing in the snow. Trying to build a snowman. Faux snow boarding on our sleds. (Every muscle in my body is in pain now, thank you very much!). Cocoa with my best friend. Movies. A birthday party at the ice skating rink. (Totally reminded me of the weekends I spent at the roller skating rink with my friends back in grade school). Shopping for fluffy, soft sleepwear & robes. New candles, vanilla frosting scented.

The lows: Oh. M. G. my house on snow days. It's like a tornado barreled through. Not to mention, my Christmas tree just came down and all that extra light outside gives the dust on my furniture an extra glow. Wipe down, vacuum, spray, light candles, and two hours later, the place was sparkling. (I don't like cleaning much).

More highs: My creative work. I did a lot of photo editing work this weekend (which I so enjoy) for my girl Jen Lee. I love how we work together. It just flows. She totally gets my creative process just as I do hers. I'll write more about my time with Jen (and Liz Kalloch) in another post once Jen introduces her new work <---tomorrow!!

I'm back at my office (in my slippers) on this cold, grey, rainy Monday. I want nothing more that to be at home & under the covers with a book right now. Well, maybe some sun. Some sun would be nice :)

this week, so far:

The 5th & final dinner party of the holiday season.

A simple breakfast shared with my mister.

The very long walks I'm indulging in.

A lunch & coffee date with a dear friend.

The dangers of Self Portraiture

Now they're saying snow. Just a little bit .. but still.

-Until next time.

just 3 wishes:

Take a breath.

Get quiet.

Really quiet.

Then answer this question out loud:

What are three things you wish for yourself right now?

Give those wishes some energy, some room to breathe &  be heard.

You don't have to tell me,

but I would love to know what they are.

weekend views:

I had such a fun weekend!

Friday night with our hot toddy's (for us) & cocoa sticks (for the kid), we decorated our tree.

Saturday, Karen hosted a RAW art gathering at her home for creative NJ bloggers.

I'm not super gifted in the crafty dept, but I did make this cute winter card.

Sunday I stayed home to catch up on laundry. My dad came over with a gallon of wine & we gathered around the table to eat this amazing potato leek soup I cooked up.

And this morning, the earth was completely frosted over.

Today begins Kim's 12 days of Textures. I love the Lilly texture she shared for day 1:

(click to view large)

Views from my weekend. It was most enjoyable :)

Celebrating Texture & a Wallpaper freebie:

For the final Texture Tuesday of the year, I used Kim's newest freebie: Look Up. I love the warm tones & soft vignette corners. This week's theme is celebrate, and I am making a conscious effort to invite joy & celebration into my everyday.

Thank you Kim, for giving me the encouragement - prompts - and tips to explore my love of working with texture.

Kim will be hosting a fantastic event called the 12 days of Texture on her blog. Starting Dec. 12th, she will be offering 1 new texture freebie everyday for 12 days - how fabulous is that? But that's Kim and her kind heart.

To celebrate this final week of texture, I have sized this photo into a desktop wallpaper for you. Just choose the size you want, then right click & save the picture.

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

1600 x 1200

a piece of me:

Years ago when we vacationed in Montenegro, I lost a favorite silver ring in the sea. I decided then that every time I visited a new ocean, I would leave a trinket of mine at the bottom.

Now there will always be a piece of me in California.

grounded in the familiar:

If you say beach, I imagine my beloved Atlantic - dark, cold, and so unforgiving. Her waves have both beaten me and enveloped me in calm embraces.  If you say sunrise, I see orange emerging from beyond her horizons. 

I am a creature of habit, grounded in and comforted by the familiar. I live only a mere 15 minutes away from the hospital I was born in. And despite my contentedness in this grounding, I yearn to walk on faraway avenues in distant cities, to see with my own eyes what I've only seen in pictures and books.

And so I'm off to California where the sun slips behind the ocean once the day is over (a sight I have yet to see). I don't know what the other side will look like, I only know that I'm open to taking it all in. Peace out.