A little late to start a new year of blogging here at Wishing True… But better late than never. And what better post to start with than some pictures of new things created from old things.
I love the idea taking something that may be considered junk and reinventing it. Things made from reclaimed materials are very in right now (and ironically, often very expensive). A small dent in filling our carbon footprints – but a noble endeavor nonetheless.
Here are some new/old things from Eco1stArt.com:
At the start of each new year I think about what I want to do differently this time around. Not necessarily in the way of actual resolution making though. Just a few, “what the hell am I doing with my life?” soliloquies. Only in my head of course – I mean, I don’t hang out on balconies assuming the presence of a sympathetic yet invisible audience. So I say, that is…on my blog.
But back to my initial train of thought.
The great thing about having kids is that they are happy to answer that “who am I?” question for you with their, “me, me, me, me” vocal warm up. Once they start their opening number about wanting it now – SOB! – him doing that again – SHRIEK! – her not doing it AGAIN – SMACK!…I cut them off after the second chorus of CONSTANT WHINING and think, “right, okay – so purpose in life covered.”
For now.
But eventually that purpose gets downsized, and the five extra hands you could currently use are exchanged for two frequently aimless ones. Not useless – just not as much in demand. And the excellent excuse that children once provided for a lack of personal ambition loses it’s relevance. And what then?
Don’t get me wrong – this isn’t some stay at home mom angst I’m addressing here. I was a working mom until two years ago and it was the same story then. I had a job that helped pay the bills – but personal identity was always a hazy spot on the horizon of “maybe someday.” That’s all well and good when you’re in school, in your twenties, and even in your thirties, but at some point you have to say, “wait a minute – I think I’m actually a grown up now…so that means I should probably know what I want to be when I grow up…” And then we get very busy with a project or a committee and cover our ears to la la la la ourselves into a state of sorrytoobusycan’tthinkaboutthatrightnow.
Unless of course you’ve actually figured it all out and have a crystal clear image of who you are, who you want to be, and exactly how you’re going to get there. If so, then please go away and write a book about it or something. I can’t even look at you right now. But hey! Let’s do lunch soon and maybe you can give me some free coaching, okay?
No… I’m nowhere near even beginning to figure this out. But I do plan to carve out some time in my schedule to start thinking about it. Between avoiding reality and drifting aimlessly, I’m fairly booked up. But I think I see an opening sometime in…oh, May of 2020. Just kidding of course. That’s far too ambitious.
Wait! Hobbies! That’s right – I can have fulfilling hobbies. Writing a blog, yoga, gardening, baking, suduko, binge eating, TELEVISION WATCHING… The options are endless. But here’s the problem with that: these options are just hobbies. Hobbies are filler – fun activities that can be dropped when real life dictates. They aren’t a true statement of self. They’re just current interests that require a higher level of goals and achievement to have any serious role in personal identity.
And THAT is really what I think I’m getting at. I won’t always be defined by motherhood and I doubt I’ll ever be defined by a career – but I CAN’T be defined by a hobby either. It needs to be something enduring.
Deciding what that something will be may come easily to some. But not to me. I have a long, rich history of forgoing personal ambition for general daily survival. And I attribute this to the fact that I’ve always been a bit of a late bloomer.
Sadly this didn’t apply to not being the tallest girl in the class and getting my first bra a year before everyone else. It’s just that I was never quite ready for the next big leap into the future that everyone else my age was making. I wasn’t ready for high school. How do you go from PG-13 movie watching sleepovers at the end of August to weekend keg parties in early September? I never did understand that. And I wasn’t ready for college either – leaping again into a real unknown without all those familiar faces to provide even a little bit of security. Then I wasn’t ready to graduate college…to move to a new city…to…well, ANYTHING. And it continues on, even now that I really am grownup.
I was never a misfit or an outcast for this pathological aversion to anything new, but I never quite felt like I was in step with the rest of the world. Time moved more slowly for me and ultimately, I could never truly keep up.
But then we all seem to have our own memories of feeling like we’re on the outside looking in to the way things should be. That’s why again and again people write stories about underdogs. We love them – can’t get enough. Hell – I once even had a BLOG devoted to underdogs. Those stories are OUR story. The one we whisper to each other in shame and then laugh loudly about when we’ve had too much to drink. We take solace in each other’s company and discover that suddenly EVERYONE’S an underdog. We’ve all been eating the same Breakfast Club bagels and had no idea. Not even after SEEING The Breakfast Club. DUH!
But I don’t know that I’m buying it completely – there have got to be some golden children out there… Or at least some deluded enough to believe in their own mythology. And I’m sorry – but they don’t really get it – this feeling of missing beats and falling behind. They’re the ones setting the pace.
Here is where I blast Pink’s Raise Your Glass and say DAMMIT – I DO fit in. I DO have a perfectly fine pace. And I WILL figure out who I’m going to be when I grow up!
I don’t think I’ll dye my hair pink and pierce my nose…but “rock star” was never on my bucket list anyway.
I’ll happily settle for knowing that others out there get it (even if “it” rambles on to the point of incoherence at times). That they’re feeling the same way and pursuing the same dream. That they are looking for what “me” means to them. Not the parent me, the office me, the high school alumni committee me, the PTA volunteer me, the neighbor who feeds your cats while you’re out of town me… The “me” involving no external responsibilities. The totally selfish, I know who am I am and where I want to go and how I want to get there me. The “it’s NOT a hobby!” me. The who I want to be when I grow up me.
I may not find her this year. But I’m committed to making a start. And I think I’m going to do it here.
It’s true – I don’t have the time or money to take a writing class. I don’t even know if I have the talent to justify the time or expense. But I do have an idea or two…and both started here. I’m going to pursue that, and I’d love it if there were maybe one or two or two hundred of you who were around to make me follow up on that commitment. I’m happy to do the same for you.
While I’ll fervently dedicate my whole life to my children – my family – I’m also adding myself to the priority list. 2011 is going to be the year of “me.” And in case you didn’t notice, I added those quotation marks to denote a broader sense of the word. One that absolutely includes any other underdogs who would like to join me.
So in honor of the new year and all of its possibility – the dream of underdogs everywhere to finally catch their stride and know where they fit in – the straight up fact that I need to get off my ass and do something with these ideas already…I’d be honored if you and you and you and oh, especially you, would all join me in a toast to 2011. And raise your glass. For “me.”
It wasn’t easy – but I did it. I actually got all three of my children to look semi-normal in a picture in front of our Christmas tree. AND I put it on a card and mailed it.
Remember that review I did for Shutterfly? Here is the finished product:
I did have one other picture that I would have preferred to use, but the composition didn’t work with any of the border layouts I liked. By making this one black and white though, it came together quite nicely.
I do wish that Oliver had a better looking haircut (those bangs!). But it was the first time since he was a year old that he didn’t thrash and scream. So I was going to like whatever they did to him – even if it was a mohawk or “business in the front, party in the back.”
The inside cover picture of Eleanor isn’t a face shot since she just LOVES that dress and you can’t really see it on the front of the card. She would have had some words for me about the “snowflakes” not showing, and I just don’t’ have the energy for it…
As for George – he’s easy. He’s a bad, bad, bad little boy – but he’s very photogenic.
Finally – it would have been nice if the boys were wearing something a little less, um, “Memorial Day picnic” for the picture. But they don’t have anything in long sleeves with a collar. I figured that ubiquitous white polos would be fine.
So that’s it – my first ever holiday card of all three children. And it’s actually pretty good. Best Christmas present ever.
I’ll be taking the next week off to catch up on my blog reading (I think I’m a month behind…)
So Happy Holidays! And I’ll see you in the New Year!
I don’t think it’s possible for me to not post about my Christmas tree. It’s the highlight of my holiday season and a photo shoot inevitably takes place the morning after it’s trimmed (I always decorate at night – much better for testing the lights).
This year was a little bit different as we had two tree trimming parties. One for the kids’ tree and one for mine. Theirs was a raucous party of willy nilly ornament placement and candy cane stealing. Mine was a more sedate OCD party for one.
It was clear to me that this would be the year for two trees. There was just a little too much talk about holiday decorating as the Christmas DVD watching began to rev up after Thanksgiving. Every day I was getting requests for tinsel and popcorn to string – neither of which work with my my own decorating aesthetic. So I saw the writing on the wall – hieroglyphics of children molesting my pretty little tree with their indiscriminate strewing of festive bling – and I bought a Target tree to suffer their enthusiastic pawing.
Here is their tree:
And here is mine:
I know – the security panel behind it is an eyesore – but it’s the best corner for the tree. I just pretend it’s not there.
Don’t worry – I know that some of you (Christy) prefer the colorful kids’ tree to my more conservative one. My feelings aren’t hurt. I’m very open minded when it comes to personal holiday style. To each his own and all.
Which is exactly why we have two trees in our house and I love them equally. Or more accurately – I love how much my kids love their tree as much as I love mine.
Other holiday highlights include going to visit Santa. After waiting in line for an hour fighting with the boys over the fake snow they insisted on flinging at each other, we walked away with one of the worst pictures ever taken of my children. Oh well – at least they were polite to Santa and didn’t cry or pee on him or anything.
I’ve also reveled in the rare treat of watching my daughter dance around the house in a lovely party dress that isn’t pink OR sparkly. The stars aligned and she picked out a Christmas dress that not only didn’t make me cringe, but that I actually would have picked out for her on my own. Isn’t this adorable? And it’s NAVY of all things:
And of course, nostalgia has reigned as we’ve watched all of the movies from my childhood through the eyes of this new generation. With the exception of Oliver’s eyes during the viewing of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The abominable snowman scared the bejeezus out of him and he wouldn’t come back into the room until it was over. But I did get a good laugh out of Eleanor’s periodic alerts that “It’s not scary Oliver! It’s CUTE!“
So this has been quite the merry and messy holiday season. Joy is abundant. Hope prevails. Magic is a given. Hope your December has been as festive (and pink and purple) as ours. Look for our holiday greeting on Saturday and in the meantime, much love to you and yours!
The look of joy on children’s faces when they see what Santa brought them?
No.
The general feeling of hope and good will experienced in even the most mundane daily activities?
Nope.
Um, JESUS?
Sorry, no.
The best part of Christmas is THE TREE of course. There is nothing in the world like a lit up Christmas tree. And I decorate mine every year as if this is the best one yet.
I’m not kidding. I love Christmas trees. Well – my Christmas trees, that is.
While I don’t do a lot of theme decorating for holidays, I put a lot of effort into the tree. Tons of lights, bow tied ornaments and as much breakable glass as possible. The more fragile the better.
And yes – I have three children. And yes – they have their own tree. I may allow cookies for breakfast every now and again. But I have some SERIOUS rules about touching my Christmas tree.
This year I left off the gold bows I usually include because for the past couple of years I’ve thought they looked odd. Deciding that it’s the kind of tree my husband has been bringing home (previously, we always had Douglas firs – no idea what this variety is called), I didn’t take them out of the box. While It looks much better now, I have a lot more space and few ornaments to fill it. Maybe it’s time to invest in some more?
These lovelies from Artful Home would be perfect:
And with that, I’ll wish you all a Happy Holidays. See you in the new year!
As a self professed lover of all things pretty, I would be a terrible liar to claim disdain for the ubiquitous beach side styles of Lilly Pulitzer. I’ll admit it – PRETTY!! Watch me rub those precious prints against my cheek and giggle with delight. But don’t you dare tell anyone!
Seriously though – it is kind of a preppy soccer mom fashion choice that often makes one think, “mutton dressed as lamb.” At least in my neck of the U.S. woods. But you can’t deny the colorful loveliness of Lilly.
So I must confess my admiration. And if I don’t think I can pull off the punchy print dresses, another option would be to dress up my bed (okay – this is fantasy land right? – since Chris would never go for it).
And Garnet Hill’s bed and bath collection for Lilly Pulitzer has some lovely options:
With Christmas just a few days away, I thought I’d also mention that anyone doing last minute shopping for me might want to consider these pretties:
For more print images and info on what’s new with Lilly, check out their Colorful Blog. It’s adorable and now added to my reader. Don’t be surprised to see more Lilly love here in the future. Hey – if I’m going to come out of the closet on this one, I’m doing it in technicolor.
I saw this in House Beautiful (a full page dedicated to it no less) and well…there really aren’t any words…
Couldn’t find anything about it online other than gushing fan reviews on Amazon. I’m not questioning taste or expertise (I’ve only seen the three pictures in HB), but I do find the cover rather, um…again – I’m at a loss.
The book title isn’t great either. I think a more accurate one would be “Fun With Decorating on a Multi-Billion Dollar Budget.”
Is that mean? Or just painfully uniformed about this obscure facet to a mega star’s many talents? Either way – I’m still speechless.
Hi! It’s me, Eleanor.
I’m back and I’m SO excited because it’s Chriiiist-mmmaaaaas! Do you like to sing? I like to sing “Christmas” like this: CHRIIIIIST-MMMMAAAAS! I love Christmas.
Christmas is when you put ornaments on a tree and bake cookies and Santa comes and puts lots of presents under the tree. We have our own Christmas tree this year because Mommy said we’re not allowed to touch hers. We can only touch the ornaments with one finger. I like to tap, tap, tap on them – but not too hard. You have to be gentle. My boys can’t tap Mommy’s ornaments because they are not gentle. Not even with one finger.
Our tree is very colorful and we have red and blue and yellow and pink and green lights. It is very sparkly. There is a gold star on top and I love the star even though I wanted the stylish pink feathery one we saw at Target. I really want my own girl tree, but Mom said we could only have two. But I love my tree anyway because it has all of my favorite colors on it. It is very stylish to be colorful.
HEY! Did you know that Christmas is on Saturday? It’s not just for girls this year, but another Saturday a few days ago, I went to a birthday party for just girls. It was a Strawberry Shortcake party and we did a “strawberry walk” and I won my own chapstick. It has flowers on it. George did not go to the party because it was only for GIRLS. We ate pink food and got our nails painted any color we wanted.
Mine are pink because it’s my favorite color. I want a Strawberry Shortcake party for my birthday.
My friend Lucy was Strawberry Shortcake for Halloween and she had a hat with a strawberry on it. I was Wonder Woman!
She is a rescuer. George was a Transformer and he says Transformers are very strong. George always says that he has “strong pipes” and then makes a muscle. George’s pipes are very strong, but my legs are very fast. I’m a good rescuer.
Halloween was a long time ago. It was warm outside for the Halloween party. Then it was Thanksgiving and now it is CHRIIIIST-MMMMMAAAAAS!
Sigh. I don’t know if Santa will bring me any presents this year. I fight A LOT. With George. And Oliver. My boys make me very mad sometimes. And then I stamp my feet and say HUMPF! And Mommy says that Santa is watching and doesn’t like my attitude. But when I tell her I don’t think he’s going to bring me presents she says of course he will because he knows I try to be a very good girl. Sometimes I don’t try so hard.
Santa wants us to wear hats outside because it’s cold. But I think I’m not into hats right now. My mom and I have fights about my hat. Once I said that I don’t care about Christmas. Then Mom said that she’d let Santa know. So I said “don’t” since I was just kidding. I LOVE Christmas.
HEY! Do you want to see my new Christmas dress? It has snowflakes on it. And it’s very good for twirling. Do you want to see my famous jette? That’s my ballerina hop. I put on my silver shoes with flowers on them to wear with my dress and practice my ballerina moves. I wanted to wear my sparkly gem sandals – but Mom couldn’t find them.
My silver flower shoes are getting small and I have a bluster on my heel. It hurts sometimes because it is an open wound. That’s why I need a princess bandaid.
When I wear my Christmas dress, I have to wear my princess crown. It is very silver and sparkly and I also have a magic wand. I can do tricks with it. What animal would you like to be? I’m a magic fairy!
I like to magic things, but sometimes my wand doesn’t work. I can’t fix everything. Like my cough. I have to take cough medicine at night because I am very, very sick when I sleep. I cough and cough and cough and my throat hurts. Sometimes my voice hurts because I have a frog in my mouth and it bit me. When my mouth hurts I don’t like to brush my teeth. The toothpaste is too spicy. But I really like the pink medicine. Pink is my favorite.
So, I guess I’m growing some freckles. Mommy says she can count five on my nose. I can’t count her freckles because there are too many. Oliver is growing freckles too. But not George. He wants Mommy to count his freckles but he doesn’t have any so she has to pretend and looks at me with squinty eyes to tell me not to say that George doesn’t have any freckles. Even though he doesn’t. Sometimes I tell him anyway. Santa doesn’t like that either.
But I really really really really really really really really want a Barbie with her own brush and purse. And that’s a lot of reallys. Santa told me that he’d bring me one last time we went to see him at the mall. The line to see him was very long. But we were very good. Until the end when we knocked over the rope and I hit my head and cried.
I asked my Mom what she wanted from Santa and she said that Santa doesn’t bring presents to grownups. So I said that grownups must be really bad. They have to buy each other presents instead.
I want to give my Mom and Dad presents, but – sigh – I don’t know how to get them. We really need to give them something special to put under the tree. But I don’t know what it would be.
WAIT – I know. We can make the PERFECT CRAFT! That would be nice. I think that would make my Mommy very happy. And that makes me happy because I really really really really really really really love my Mommy.
HEY! I think that Santa is going to bring me presents after all!
Okay – I’m going to hide under the couch now. BYE!
OH! And Merry CHRIIIIIIST-MMMAAAAS!
My husband has a thing for belt buckles and has put together something of a collection over the years. A few are really very nice and others are really pretty awful – but he loves all of them.
It’s been a long time since I’ve paid much attention to belts (possibly the three years of pregnancy?), but if I was going to invest in something right now it would definitely be one of these gems from 2 Monkees:
Throw a pretty textile into the mix and you’ve already got my attention. I think these are unique, fun and would look great with jeans and cowboy boots.
For the lady who’s not much into jewelry but does like to personalize her look with accessories, this could be a nice gift option.
Months ago, I put the Gadabout link in my “check it out” list and I’m only just, well, checking it out.
In one of those “finally – someone who gets me” moments, I found myself pouring over every lovely illustration on the site (didn’t let myself click on the blog tab for fear of losing all sense of time).
I have often talked about my love of treasured things reflected in art form, and the Gadabout stationery line wholly embodies this predilection. Each illustration is a little gem of rich detail conveyed through simple elegance. I wouldn’t even know which one to choose… But here are a few of my favorites:
Okay – so that was more than a few. But seriously – how can you possibly just pick one!? Add this to the wish list…as well as the list of reasons that I should have worked harder on my penmanship back in grade school…
