A Slow Christmas

It's Christmas Eve Eve!

I've spent the majority of the day finishing up some handmade gifts, printing photos, wrapping presents, cuddling up with my sheepskins, knitting some non work related things, contemplating making some cookies (though to be honest I'll probably wait until tomorrow so they're as fresh as possible for Santa...), drinking a glass of wine, catching up on podcasts and just enjoying being home (except for the hour I had to run an errand... but everyone was insane and borderline getting into accidents everywhere so I quickly came back).

Contrary to our cultures usual state around this time of year, there's surprisingly been a lot of slowness and contentment around here this month for me. Which is refreshing in an almost overwhelming way.

This is the first December in a long long time where I am not insane, stressed out, sleep deprived and overwhelmed with my work load and attempting to accomplish way more things than any one person can sanely do.
I decided back in the fall that this month was going to look different for me in that way especially. My soul has craved a change, in a few different areas of my life, but I was having a hard time identifying what it was exactly.
I'm still in the midst of figuring it out somewhat, but I eventually realized that I wasn't going to figure it out if I kept filling my life with so much noise. With so much busyness. With so much.
So I decided to create space.
So I intentionally cut back. 
And I think I've had one of the more peaceful and enjoyable Christmas season than I've had in quite some time as a result.
It only took me all year for the art of slow living to finally, really-truly-all-the-way, sink in.

In keeping with this, I'm going to be doing my very best to stay off my phone and social media on Christmas day and maybe even a little while after too. 
I might have to delete my Instagram app to be able to fully do this (I wish I could just shut off my phone but I like taking photos with it too much) because let's be real, that swipe-tap-scroll impulse is insatiable sometimes...
It's the only social media app I have left on my phone these days, though I can't say that I don't use Safari way too often to still get on twitter and Facebook... so I'm not as disconnected as I seem.

But I won't be gone for long.
I've been writing too voraciously and habitually for that. 
(At last)    

Merry Christmas dear friends. I hope you're able to create yourself some intentional space and peace for yourself and your loved ones this weekend as well.

xo

In Nature

i always think of you when i see magnolias. 
and rosemary. 
and figs. 
and sometimes pine needles. 
i’m happy that there are such beautiful things in nature that are tied to you in my heart and mind.

A Day In Williamsburg

Took a spontaneous cancel-all-your-afternoon-plans trip to Williamsburg earlier this week.

It was the perfect break from all the holiday craziness.

Met a really nice man named Hadley, the owner of Mermaid Books, whose wife (fun fact) used to be a trapeze artist. The sharing of this fact was a result of me placing a copy of Peter Pan on the counter to purchase. 

He was one of those interesting people who seem to be able to talk about any sort of subject or topic you might choose to discuss at any given moment.

I will definitely be visiting his lovely shop again. 

(Not to mention Billie Holiday was playing as I walked in so of course I was instantly in love.)

The weather was wet and rainy but it was that perfect light kind of rain that falls in the misty blueness of a winter evening that you don't really mind so long as you have a hood or an umbrella to, mostly, shield you from it.

It was a day that felt like Christmas.

And I've found that as I've gotten older, those days are fewer and farther between. 

So when I'm able to experience such a day, I hold onto it as tightly as I can.  

Places Pictured

Mermaid Books

The Peanut Shop
The Cheese Shop
Prentis Store
Williamsburg Inn

Though It's Been Said Many Times Many Ways

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

May it be filled with lots of lights, love, and remembrance of why we celebrate this holiday.

It is after all the most wonderful time of the year.

                                                                                ♥

An Update

Photo cred: Meagan Abell

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. 

It has been pretty crazy around here these last few weeks. 

I've knit/crocheted a total of 53 items for the shop since the beginning of the month. At least I think that's right. It's at least that if not more... it's kind of hard to keep track...
(I'm not even talking about the end of Novemeber. When I had an order that included 6 pairs of mittens...)
On top of that I've had quite a lot of photo editing to do (the process of which was not helped when my computer decided it wanted to die for a few days earlier this week).
All of this is on top of trying to maintain my own Christmas shopping, booking weddings for next year, answering daily emails, keeping up with friends and family, church, trying to get some semblance of a good night's sleep on more than one or two nights out of the week and all of the other 984 normal life things that pop up on a daily occurrence (about that oil change...)
It's been a very busy month to say the least.

I actually sent out the last Christmas orders today which was a huge relief to get done. Now I just have a few left for some local peeps/family members and then of course I need to get started on all of the orders that are already due after Christmas.
Not gonna lie, I'm kind of looking forward to things slowing down a bit after the holidays so I can knit something for myself again!
Not to mention get started on new designs and ideas. Which are always running around in my head.
I'm already thinking about how I want to redo some things for next year. I want to have a brand new feel and look with my shop and I've been thinking a lot about it. I've loved where it's gone this season, it's been so much fun, but I have a whole new direction I want to take it in that I think will be more of what I've been working towards and will encompass more of my everyday style and aesthetic.
 I'm already getting pretty excited about it.

So keep an eye out for some more changes in the upcoming year!
And if there's something you like in the shop now you should go snag one sooner rather than later because it might not be there in the next few weeks. ;)

On a sort of related note I really can't believe it's Christmas already. I feel like I really got into the holiday spirit earlier in November, and then all of my busyness swept me up and carried me off in a tangled web of stress and distraction and I forgot/didn't have time to do any of the Christmas-ey things I normally do.
That plus a lot of the traditions I'm used to didn't happen this year, which threw me off. And then of course there's the whole there-was-less-time-between-thanksgiving-and-christmas-this-year-than-there-normally-is thing.
So with about 5 days to go I'm definitely going to make them count.
Because gosh darn it my lack of festiveness certainly isn't from a lack of love for this glorious holiday.
I'm no grinch.
Speaking of which I need to watch that... who wants to come over and have a sleepover/christmas movie marathon with me because I've only watched one and a half and another half....
(those two halves were different movies so obviously they don't make a whole)
I have however been eating lots and lots of Christmas cookies.
So there's that.

Okay I think that's enough of a ramble from me for one night.
Hope you're having a super wonderful Christmas season so far and spending it in all of the right and most important ways (ie: not like I am, on my phone, in the above photo. Granted, that was in Chicago, and I didn't have any other photos to go with this post. But I digress.)

P.s. Sorry for all of the run on sentsances. It's late.

P.p.s. If I haven't told you all enough lately, you're awesome. I couldn't be doing any of this without you and you make my heart happy. Thanks for your constant encouragement and support.
It means the world to me.

A Christmas Happy List

Shot with 35mm film/ Minolta x-700

A CHRISTMAS HAPPY LIST//

this film photo I took of my dad with our christmas tree a few years ago. listening to this song over and over and over. christmas lights everywhere (especially if they're colored ones). listening to she and him's christmas album on a gloomy rainy day. searching for the biggest trees in the windows on monument avenue. santa collections. christmas tree farms (not that i've ever been to one...). bottle brush trees. listening to christmas music since september. christmas movies. fires. christmas lists. mailboxes in macy's for santa letters. christmas being two weeks away.

Bizarre Market

My knits are going to be in the Bizarre Market again this year!

So excited to have the opportunity be a part of it a second year in a row along with many other super talented Richmond artists.

So go check it out if you're in Carytown from November 29th-December 24th!

It's upstairs in Chop Suey Books, which is right across from The Byrd Theatre.

Spread the word and pass along the Facebook event as well if you like.

Can't believe Christmas is practically here!

The Last of The Christmasgrams

Pretty much all that can be summed up about this week is that it was an awesome Christmas! 

Couldn't have asked for a better one. Got way too many gifts, ate way too much food, and had some wonderful and much needed time with family and friends... It was perfect.

Ok, I promise I'm done talking about Christmas now.

No more Christmas talk until next year!

Speaking of which, New Year's Eve is tomorrow.

Can you believe it?

I know I can't.

I'm off to work on some thank you notes...

I probably won't be finishing them until next year though.

;)

P.s. The winner of the giveaway is......

Jessi Francis!

Thanks to everyone who participated, no worries, there will be another one soon. :)

Thursday Thoughts

So we didn't get a white Christmas this year, it's been a little rainy here in fact. But that's okay. It's good staying in weather.
Which is good because I have a lot of staying in to do!
Despite the fact that Christmas, and all the craziness it entails, is over I am still as busy as ever! The idea that I thought things would slow down after the holidays was clearly a misguided one.
Oh well, it's all a good kind of busy. Things are going really great and I have orders to work on, photos to edit and new things for the new year to plan!
And of course some belated presents to make and wrap...
I just hope I can work on regulating my sleep routine again.
But I got all the Christmas Etsy orders done on time, so that's what counts! Right?

Definitely blessed to have all this new work though. 
I literally cannot wait for all of the upcoming photoshoots, collaborations and projects the new year is going to bring! Not to mention a few exciting changes around here.

God is so good. 

♥

Why Can't It Be Christmastime All Year?

Oh Christmas.

You always come and go so quickly.

Even the radio stations shut off your holiday cheer promptly at the stroke of twelve.

It's so sad. 

Good thing I have a playlist on itunes!

Around here we sort of draw out Christmas until December is over. 

We even left our tree up until March one year when I was a kid.
(Though I think that was mostly out of laziness rather than a fondness for the season...)

I had such a wonderful Christmas though. Really couldn't have asked for a better one!

I've already eaten far too much candy and I'm sure it won't last me til the end of the year...

It was so good getting to spend time with family though. 

I think that's something you definitely learn to cherish more as you get older around this time of year.

Because really, what's more important than your family?

Definitely not china teapots and new leather boots.

Though those things are nice too... ;)

 

 ......................

What about you, did you have a good Christmas?