Happy 2016, sweet friends! I’m going to whisper a date in your ear and you tell me if it sounds as if it is from the future, full of science fiction promise and terror: JANUARY 7, 2016.
It’s straight out of Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov, is it not???
Time just marches on, no matter how many times I ask it to stop. The kids are five now, and for the first time, I am mourning their growing older. I was never the kind of mom who wished they would go back to being babies — my abilities as a parent did not hold any particular promise from ages 1-4 (in fact I’m still waiting for that age when my talents DO hold promise) and I did not LOVE the infant/baby/toddler stages at all; in fact, I found them very challenging. But seeing their faces go from baby and chubby to angular and kid-like has recently started getting harder. It’s just weird, how fast human beings age at the start of their life. In five years, they went from four pounds and not able to do anything by themselves to forty pounds and basically in charge of EVERYTHING (as far as they are concerned).
But this is really fodder for the family blog so I will hush up now.
How has your New Year started out? We are gloomy here, with a recent rainstorm having moved through and a chill in the air. It’s been unseasonably warm, for the most part — 50s and 60s! Crazy! — but has recently started getting colder, which makes us all cranky because we have to stay in the house more. I haven’t been to a good sale in FOREVER — I can’t remember the last time I bought something great and old, and the booth is getting empty and echo-y. I have a few big pieces of furniture in there, but just got word yesterday that one of the dressers sold — opening up a huge hole that I have no way to fill! I am fully into the doldrums of winter booth-ing. It’s a tough road from January to April or so, but I’ll make it somehow. (I have actually fantasized about putting a fake wall in the back of my booth to cut it in half for the winter months so it doesn’t look so empty!) Justin has a business trip to Amarillo next week and I ALMOST said the kids and I would go with him just so I could try thrift shopping in a different town…but then I looked at a map and Amarillo, as it turns out, is rather out in the middle of nothing and I don’t think would offer three days worth of thrift store shopping so I decided not to. I would love to do that, though — just get out of town and try some fresh shopping.
As should be clear to you by now, I have nothing of worth to share with you, but I am trying not to let so much time go by in between posts…so I am now going to attempt to entertain you with some photos from around the house.
Two of my absolutely favorite things in the world: these tiny, three-inch dolls given to me by my friend Carrie. Their little feet are metal. Their eyes and noses are just dots — how do they manage to look so expressive? And don’t even get me started on that AWESOME striped dress.
My little pink girl has found her place among the pink pottery and she couldn’t look happier about it.
Shara gave me this ADORABLE spunky gal after I went on and on about her when she posted it on Instagram. I SWEAR I WAS NOT HINTING TO BE GIVEN HER but nor am I sorry I was. I think she’s Annie Oakley — she’s holding a little pistol in her tough little hand!
Here is my tiny print (purchased from a fellow vendor — I can’t remember who, now! — at Daisies and Olives), my tiny dollhouse bench, found at a yard sale (it’s a fancy brand that I can’t remember the name of now, but I sold a few other pieces on eBay and would have sold this one too but it has a bit of a bum leg), and my tiny little bride and groom. I suppose they are, like, a 25- or 50-year anniversary pair? I just liked the way all of the gold tones looked together.
Good vs. Evil on a bookshelf.
Hello, my beloved matte white pottery.
This particular shelf’s theme is Asia and dust.
Show me a bird. I will buy it. Every time. These are housed under the neat cloche-and-industrial-base pair I bought from Paula’s booth, Emma’s Back Porch.
The only other thing going on right now is some print design for Valentine’s day…
(BTW: I saw the movie. Very nostalgic. I teared up a few times when the strains of the old themes came through.)
Jane Austen, all pretty and pink.
That pie makes me HUNGRY. I am trying to drop some lbs and even cartoon pies look good to me.
Oh! And! Have some bonus links! These sites have been open in tabs in Chrome for months now, waiting for me to do a link love post, but I’ll just add them here since they’re perfect for the new year. This one has some great, doable suggestions for making life more simple. As an overly-anxious person, this one really spoke to me. And this link, supposedly, will take you to the only 12 exercises you’ll ever need. Hyperbole aside, they are exercises that can easily be done inside, at any time, without equipment, so they might be worth pinning. I realized recently that I am officially of the age (past it, really) when I need to consider eating healthy and exercising not to lose weight but to, you know, LIVE LONGER.
Are you all well? Happy and healthy? I hope so. If not, I hope brighter days are on their way. Let’s talk soon!
by Lara Jo
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