It's in My Genes

When I was a little one, I remember my mom sewing and crafting all the time (well, at least when she wasn't antiquing). Each season she would be making something new. A bunny for Easter, a Santa Claus for Christmas, a quilt for our birthday, etc. She also spent a lot of time making clothes for us as well as our dolls. I don't mean simple outfits. I mean ruffles, layers, little flowers, little details everywhere...perfect clothes fit for only a princess.

So, it came as no surprise to hear that my mom is crafting something regularly now. During her non-work time she makes the fairies and mermaid you see here.

I think my two sisters and I were greatly influenced by this because we all craft now:

My oldest sister, Cindy, was the more artistic one when we were younger. Her drawings were amazing.


Which explains why the babies seen here, that she sells on E-bay, are so amazingly detailed yet SO small. How does she do it?

And check out these:



She also makes monkey and human baby reborns that are equally amazing.

My other sister Kim was the more bookish one of us all. Which explains why, when she first learned to quilt, she was quilting king-sized, appliqued quilts that same month (that's right folks, read it and weep...KING-SIZE)! She also taught herself to knit. A feat I never would have accomplished....talk about tenacity and patience.

I guess you could say, it's just in our DNA. The nurturing had a whole lot to do with it as well.

My mom just wrote this about her mom, my beloved and dearly missed, Grandma Thelma:

"I don't have the patience to quilt, it is sad I did not enjoy doing that like mom did. She would love the babies and fairies; she loved dolls. I think that is why we always had so many dolls and doll clothes. I still have a few Tammy clothes she made me; the coat is lined and has fur at the top with little pearl buttons. She wouldn't let me have Barbie and Ken because Barbie had big boobs."

I have very fond memories of Grandma Thelma having a quilting bee with her Mormon friends and everyone hand-quilting a gigantic quilt together.

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With the holidays around the corner, it's a great time to buy your loved ones a doll, monkey or fairy. Check their store out here; their customer rating is 99.9% positive. Talk about customer satisfaction! Plus, I heard that Cindy is doing commission work if you have someone in mind...

Happy Birthing Day, Mom!

Today is the day I was born back in 1978. Thirty-one years ago my mom gave birth to her last child - her fourth child - at the very young age of twenty-two. My mother was single at the time, my father having left her and my siblings when I was about three months old inside her. I can't really get a grasp of what that would have been like. Just getting past the part about her having four kids, after having only one of my own, is hard enough. But to have four in my early twenties as a single mom! I am not worthy, Mom.

Fortunately, my mother was very close to her parents, and they gave her a lot of support. Her mother was one of the most dear persons to me in the world. Which is why I'm so elated that Bronwyn has her Grandma Jo in her life now. The friendship between a grandkid and grandparents is invaluable. I learned so much from my grandma Thelma, especially how to love someone unreservedly.

So, to celebrate the day my mother gave birth to me I woke up next to my baby girl and lovely husband - all smiles despite the fact the little B was up about eight times last night (teething time??).

We then met up with some dear friends, Renata and Ruben for coffee at Centro Espresso. They introduced us to this little hidden gem that serves damn good espresso.



My love and I shared a caramel cappuccino; think a latte with just a slight caramel taste, barely sweet.


We brought a piece of Coconut Layer Cake for them to indulge in. This cake is definitely the best coconut cake I've ever had and was made by my very dear friend, Rachel.....mistress of many things in the kitchen, garden and library.


Later in the day, to beat the 95+ degree weather, we went to the Russian River in Healdsburg. Bronwyn got her first dip in a large body of water and handled it with much grace. It was very cold water, resulting in many quick inhalations but not tears. We were happy to see our water baby at home once again in the water (she hasn't been loving her baths very much at all).



It's weird that my birthday this year made me a bit melancholic. I was excited to turn thirty but somehow thirty-one isn't as exciting, despite my many accomplishments last year (new house, new husband, new baby created, and new business). I'm still so young. Hey, I don't even have my first strand of gray hair to marvel at yet.

Anyhow, this is my brief love letter to my mom, to say having you back in my life is one of the best birthday presents ever. Thank you for birthing me. Thank you to the divine in you, and the universe, for giving me life.


Little B is also one of the best birthday presents ever. As well as her dada, who gave me a wonderful camera to show them both off with!

A Year and a Day

It's amazing how much the satisfaction of a project doesn't always correspond to the time invested in it. I experienced this keenly last year when I finished two projects days apart from each other.

The first - a hand embroidered stocking - I completed just before Christmas and had started over a year ago. Little did I know how long it would take when my husband selected it online to make for him...the first trivial experience that made me wish I had a time machine.

Okay, I admit, it wouldn't have taken a year had I worked on it with more consistency. However, if you consider that the sleigh alone took 12+ hours (not including what is in it), it might give you an idea of how much time it really did take. So many hours I care not to calculate.

I am so glad to be finished with that project and will definitely never hand sew a stocking again. I promise! While I am satisfied with how it turned out, I'm mostly satisfied to be done with it.

The other project was a necklace I made for my mother-in-law for Christmas. It took less than a day to select the beads and to design and assemble it. It turned out so beautiful that I wanted to keep it and show off the beautiful smoky quartz myself.

One doesn't appreciate the stocking more - despite the excessive time involved - or the necklace less. Both projects are beautiful in their own way, the latter simply allowed for many other beauties to be born. So, here's to more necklace projects in the year ahead, for us all!