Violaceous

Sewing, sewing

Machine sewing...hand sewing...It seems like that's all I do at this time of year!!

It's sort of funny, I really never saw myself sewing for a living. It's a different direction for me, but I kinda like it!

A Treat

Mmmmm

 

This chocolate chip cheesecake pie is to die for! It will be the hit of any potluck and is super rich and yummy. I promise. I made 2 last night...one for work and one for us.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 ready made chocolate pie crust (I usually use Oreo ones)
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 8 oz. container of whipped topping (Cool Whip or similar), thawed
• 1 cup (6 oz.) of mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Beat cream cheese until smooth
2. Gradually beat in sugar
3. Blend in sour cream and vanilla
4. Fold in whipped topping, don't stir - blend well
5. Stir in chocolate chips
6. Spoon into crust
7. Garnish (I used extra chocolate chips, and these little striped chocolate garnishes that I bought at World Market
8. Chill until set (about 4 hours)

Easy! Actually it's sort of hard having to wait for it to chill so you can eat it...

Changes are in the air...

When your eye starts twitching because of stress, it's generally not a very good thing. I've been realizing a few things about my life lately and one is that I am entirely. too. busy. for my own good. I stretch myself too thin and it's starting to affect people around me, not to mention never having time for myself.

I put my 2 weeks notice in at work on Friday. I'm going to work on my Etsy shops full time and I'm both really excited and a little scared. This is something that I've always wanted to be able to do. Wish me luck, please! I think it will be a change for the better but changes in general make me very nervous. 

Oh, and this picture has nothing to do with anything, except that my little pink tree cheers me up when I look at it. :)

Tiny Obsession

A very, very small obsession:

 

DMC Color Variations Embroidery Floss is so fun to work with. I love the subtle color change. So pretty! I've never been quite this crazy over a thread before.

Glamorous

Last night, Lucy and I just had one of those nights (Dustin was at work). Let's just say it was a McDonald's dinner and happy meal night.

 

Lucy indulged in chicken nuggets with honey, which she proceeded to use as a medium to stick napkins to the table.

 

Meanwhile, I looked at photos of beautifully decorated houses in Romantic Homes magazine. It felt slightly ironic. Ever have evenings like that?

In November

"In November, the earth is growing quiet. It is making its bed, a winter bed for flowers and small creatures. The bed is white and silent, and much life can hide beneath its blankets."

From one of my new favorite books to read to Lucy, In November.

 

Farewell to Fall, Welcome to Winter. Around here, anyway. Do you still have autumn weather where you live?

Little Photo Shoots...

 

Oh, little princess in patchwork and stripes - how I love you. You make life 1,000 times worth living, and living well. Love your 2 front teeth, too.

Little Things

Thank you, I truly treasure every comment left here, but when it's about something so personal to me I treasure them all the more. You guys are the best.

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Today, when I came home from work, there were 4 packages stuffed between the door and the screen door. A very nice end to an otherwise cruddy week. Opening packages received in the mail is one of my very favorite things to do.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

I feel like I should have some sort of grand ending to my 30 Days of Happiness posts. In which I say how much they changed my life, that sort of thing. They did help me quite a bit, I was having to look at all the things that were making me happy from day to day and focusing on the positive is always a good thing! But truth be told, I struggled a little too. I have so much in my life to be thankful for, but there are just those days where I just wanted to curl up and pout.

This process has definitely been good for me, but I still miss my little baby. I worry that Lucy may end up being an only child, and I always wanted a big family. I want to have another baby, but am terrified of losing another one. Sometimes it's hard trying to find happiness when these things are constantly going through my head. I am so thankful for Lucy. So thankful. But, I have a tiny baby shaped hole in my heart. I am a strong person, and I will always get back up, but I'm limping. I didn't know losing an 8 week baby could take someone down so hard, and I will never take pregnancy or children for granted again.

Sometimes when I go a while in between posts it's because I feel like my chirp is broken. I feel like there's a lot of pressure in the blogging community to be chirpy, sparkly, inspiring and happy. I can't be that way unless I really feel like it! I want to do another "30 Days of Happiness" later. After the holidays, when things are more settled.

For now, I'm going to do something different. Starting tomorrow I'm going to post a photo a day - whatever I feel like posting that day. Happy, sad, pretty, ugly, messy, whatever. I might say something and I might not. I don't want to feel the pressure right now of trying to chirp, chirp, chirp through the holiday season but I want to keep blogging. I think that will be the best thing for me, and hopefully will be interesting for you as well. So here's to... Um. 51 Days of Honesty, or something like that.

Coincidence?

My new (thrifted) vintage necklace I bought today perfectly matches the yarn I'm using for the mittens I'm making!

It's sort of an odd color, too. So pretty though!