Hello Friends!

Feeling a bit strange these days.

Lots going on and not going on:

Getting ready for the Beehive Bazaar on Thursday.

Sold our home last weekend.

House hunting in our spare moments.

Signed on a house today (cross our fingers it goes through!)

Hired a new hand to do my printing while I get ready for baby.

Computer crashed last week.

Getting to know my new Mac.

But Mac doesn’t like my printers.

Internet still down and funky.

(if I owe you an email, so sorry for the wait!)

31 weeks pregnany and feeling the burn!

Working on special creative projects which are keeping me sane.

Enjoying spring. Spring makes it all OK!

So, if you have been wondering where I have been,

now you know where I am hiding!

Life is full. Full but good.

I’ll be in and out this week.

Thanks for checking in!

Our PC computer has been slowing dying since April 1st. We have hoped it would live long and prosperously, but alas, it gave out this morning completely.

A moment of silence please.

But this new addition has been on the “we need to save for this” list and well, she came a bit early due to the circumstances. But oh, is she beautiful.

I am a really happy girl. Especially because we got it for a dreamy price. Too good to be true. I love Mac stores.

And thank you all for your honest comments and feedback with the last post. It is a challenge to get across what you want to when there are so many sensitive factors and issues. Articulating those issues is a challenge for sure! But I hear a lot of grumpy complaining about the topic of copying, and I wanted to post about how there are enough walls in the world for everyones art. Thanks for the chat:)

Wowzers. I think this is the longest I have ever been away from my blog! And not just my blog. From blog surfing, internet research, twitter, and even emails that don’t need immediate reply. Wow. I feel a little strange being back! Not because I didn’t miss piping in about the fun things we have been up to, but because I have had an increased sense of reality.

A older woman I met with yesterday said something I will never forget. She said: “So-and-So is always out in the neighborhood visiting with neighbors, chatting with people in the yard and walking around outside getting to know people. You see, he doesn’t have a TV.”

Well…I think it is safe to say a replacement for TV has become the COMPUTER! The safe place to connect. And a wonderful place! Diets are just recommended to make sure it isn’t our only place to connect. And now, after 12 days or so, I am in check. And for heaven’s sake, I am not even an addict…just someone who loves pretty things, getting inspiration, checking in with people, and keeping up on my business. But now I am back, and happy to check in with eveyone and say a big: I have missed you! Thanks for checking in while I was away. Great things are happening, and I can’t wait to share!

Yesterday I came across these pictures and just melted. Aren’t they so charming? Who doesn’t love Audrey, and who doesn’t wish they had a pet baby deer?

I was COMPLETELY inspired, and had the spontaneous need to get some sweet Valentine cards in the shop of a much younger Audrey (or whom ever you will) and her dear pet (no pun intended.) So, between packing, shipping, cleaning and errands, I managed to get some new Valentines cards made up. I realize it is a bit late, but I have been rather busy with some other projects I can’t mention just yet.

They will be in the shop tomorrow, with a couple other things I hope. Happy Valentines!!!

Well, that was a long break! I didn’t really intend to stay away that long…it just sorta happened! I noticed however, that most of the blogging world took a good long break over the holidays so I am not feelin’ so bad. Something happens when I am on vacation…I go on VACATION! I have always been blessed to just relax when I need to, and in this case, staying away from the internet was my version of relaxing:)

We had a magical Christmas with my parents! I hope you had a splendid holiday too! 2 weeks of catching up with each other, snugging in pj’s, cooking, eating, playing, site-seeing, and movies.  The perfect relief after a big move!

Well, we are back now, with more to think about than we left with, namely: warped hardwood floors in our previous place from internal water damage that we haven’t closed on completely, frozen pipes in our new place requiring Kenneth and I to be up till midnight with blow dryers to the water pipes and boiling water down the tub (it was -9 degrees last night!), the flu and cold bug keeping my kids hot with fevers and up in the night like newborns, a house full of boxes and life to jump back into! Whew! Welcome home!

But despite the warm welcome home, we are so happy to be home and together! Staying up with hot babies is quite a wack at my pregnant body which needs sleep, but it also lets me snuggle them all night which I know will only last a few more years! There is nothing like being a mom. The hard and the wonderful are often disguised as the same thing!

Well, that was a longer “I’m Back!” than I was intending, but I mostly just care at making sense at this point (3 hours of sleep does wonders for your mental cohesiveness!).

Hope you are all well, and THANK YOU THANK YOU for your sweet congratulations on the pregnancy! You are all so thoughtful!It was so wonderful to read all of your comments!

Have a great week and come back over! I am back to regular blogging! Stay tuned for artsy news coming soon!

xoxo

sarah jane

Happy Birthday my dear!

Four years ago today I became a mother because you came into the world. Into my life. Into my arms. You were so perfect and little, and I was the happiest I had ever been in that moment!

It amazes me how your personality is consistent with what I sensed about you in the womb: curious, stubborn, intelligent, musically gifted and a sure-minded little girl mixed with the compassion and warmth of the most tender of us. Every day is an adventure with you! I have vowed never to take for granted your excessive “I love you’s” or the plenty of kisses you give every day. You make my entire month with your smile and giggles. The Earth makes you laugh and stand in awe…and I in turn see it too. Just yesterday you insisted on taking a nap on the sunlit carpet so you could sunbathe and feel the sunshine on your bare back while the rest of the world was complaining that it was 13 degrees outside. You talk to nature and to animals, and remind us all that life is a gift. Your newest favorite friend is your shadow, and you can often be found kissing it (her)! You sing yourself to sleep. And you love the world and everyone in it. A few weeks ago, you asked me:

“Mom, how long would it take to hug everybody in the whole world?”

Not wanting to meddle with your own profound ideas, I asked you how long you thought it would take.

You put your head in your hands and thought for a while, and then very matter-of-factly, “Thirteen.”

I love you. You are my girl. I hope being four is all you imagine it to be. And I can’t wait to get even closer to my best friend. I had no idea how wonderful it would be to be best friends with a four year old! Life is beautiful with you in it my darling. I love you.

Love you Addie,

Mom

Last year I participated in the Beehive Bazaar. Possibly the coolest place in Utah for picking up retro, handmade, classic, funky, amazing stuff for you and everyone you feel like spoiling this christmas. really. you are in for the biggest decision making moments of your life. Like, “Do I want this amazing necklace or do I get the retro apron instead?” Or “If I get both, do I have enough cash to get this killer print for my boys room?” Be ready for serious dilemmas. And be early. There will be a line no doubt before opening. I didn’t participate this year for which my husband kissed me a million times over for (these kinds of bazaars require many sleepless nights to get ready for) but I warn you…if you go, you won’t be disappointed!

Some of my favorite artists will be there. One of which is the maker of this cat. Will someone please buy her up? Do you remember these? My kids have one each…and they are attached at the hip with these blastoid cats. Susan has ONE MORE in her shop…and if no one grabs her, I am so tempted to adopt another. But I really shouldn’t. 2 is even. 3 in the house would only cause a fight. Been there. no good.

See you at the bazaar. I am going to be there bright and early!

No, I haven’t fallen off the planet…just on vacation with my family for the holiday week. Our first cross-country road trip was a success (well, we didn’t cross the ENTIRE country. Â Just 14 hours of it). Â So I am on a blogging hiatus until I get home next weekend. Â Happy turkey day tomorrow for all U.S. readers! Enjoy the holidays, and wish us an uneventful trip home! Wishing you all the best holiday memories too! We’re off to make some pies!Â

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xoxo

sarah jane

In all the hustle and bustle of cleaning out closets and getting our place ready to sell, I forgot to mention this incredible Handmade Holiday Gift Guide over at Bloesom Kids (my FAVORITE blog by the way). She has included my Calendar…Thank you Irene! But all the other items she has included are so darling! So unique and great for you and the kids. Click here to get connected to list of items and their online locations! Oh, and check out her most recent post today…an OPEN house with the makers of LMNOP magazine. I love peeking into people’s homes! So much life and creativity here! But thank you Irene for the mention!

Holy Cow. I really can’t believe it. But I have to tell you.

I actually WON the marie-antoinette inspired dress from Grosgrain. I am still a bit in shock! With 1,003 entries, the odds were as slim as they come! I never win ANYTHING, so actually, about 6 months ago, I just stopped entering my name in giveaways since it just seemed like such a waste of time. Well, this dress obviously caught my attention, and since I have a daughter who literally says things like “Oh mother, you truly look lovely today”, would sleep in necklaces and lace if I let her and can be found singing to her “true love” when ever she enters a grove of trees, I had to enter. Oh I am glad I did! I can’t wait to show you pictures after it comes in the mail. This woman is AMAZING and I think that she is pretty much a genius when it come to children’s design. Check out her other designs here. Oh…and the best part. She is opening a shop in two weeks! Oh the world is a sweet place.