Although 2020 was an incredibly hard year for so many, it still holds some sweet memories for our family. More time together comes in at the very top of the list — this was something that I was yearning for, for so many years and even more so once our sweet boy was born. Those sweet days, weeks and months of being home every day will never, ever be something I take for granted, as it truly was the greatest gift during an immensely hard and unknown time. From being home together each and every day, our family grew and bonded even more as our little boy went from a newly one year old to a walking, talking one and a half year old, to a wild two year old and the even more wild and beautiful boy we’re seeing now that he’s 27 months.
With any new art medium, there is always going to be a learning curve. Other than my recent fling with my Canon AE-1 (35mm film), polaroids and Instax minis, I haven’t spent much time shooting film since high school. I, like so many other students, took photography in high school so I could learn about the dark room and so something creative during school hours (I was terrible at painting and not into sports). Since my high school photography classed wrapped in — err — 2004? I’ve continued to shoot photos almost every single day since, only this time via a digital format. I wouldn’t call myself a photographer, but I’ve dabbled in different camera brands, shot with different lenses and only used my camera in manual for man years. Digital photography feels comfortable to me and film was something that felt oh so out of my comfort zone, which is why I decided to do it!
If you would have told me two years ago, in the thick of postpartum, that I would still be a tired mom when Ace hit two years old I would have said – yikes and also, I knew it was coming. Thinking back, a restful night sleep went away very early on into my pregnancy. Over the months of growing our little boy, my sleep dwindled down to what seemed minutes and then when he was born – any time that I did seem to fall asleep (I had terrible night sweats and postpartum anxiety) our sweet baby woke up to either feed or just hang out (we watched so many Christmas movies and YouTube videos during this time). Looking back, I hardly know how I made it through the days with three, maybe four hours of sleep (aren’t moms incredible?!). With a hungry boy who was not a great sleeper and a mom who also dealt with her own sleep issues, we were surely a match made in heaven (truly, even with the sleeping issues).
As the days and months went on, the amount of hours we all slept a night got *a little* better, but it wasn’t truly until Ace turned a year old that I felt like we were actually able to get a full nights rest. Scott and I took the nights as a team, which looking back, made for two very tired parents, but we did it together and it was the right choice for us. Most nights, Ace would make his way back to our bed after waking up in his crib and instead wanting to be close to us – I can’t blame him, because it’s exactly what I felt like my heart needed as well.
And today, it’s just about the same nearly 26 months in! Ace will occasionally sleep in his crib through the night, but most nights – he ends up back in bed with us and that’s perfectly ok. I share all of this to say that when it comes to motherhood and sleeping babies, you truly have to do what’s right for you. It’s ok that you didn’t read the book or bought the speedy e-course – you did what was right for you and your baby, and that’s what matters most. I may still be tired, but it’s just the season we’re in and that gives me a lot of comfort and I hope hearing does for you too — whether you’re in this season of life, gearing up for this time to come soon or not planning on it happening for awhile. The journey of motherhood deserves a lot of more encouragement and I’m here to do just that!
What started off as a quarantine project has turned into a renewed passion for ceramics and time spent behind the wheel. Like many other high school students, I spent a semester learning the basics (and barely getting by as a classmate helped “fix” my pieces before I turned them in, lol) and haven’t touched a wheel since this past summer when Scott and I took a class at Desert Dragon Pottery. From here, we kind of went all in and bought a wheel and kiln so we could do everything at home. During our busy season we took a break and now we’re back at it with our makeshift pottery studio in our diy greenhouse! I’ve been sharing more of our time behind the wheel on my Instagram stories if you’re interested in seeing this baby in action!
Ok, so I went to hear about how we created this pottery studio at home? Once we had the main pieces, it all came together pretty quickly. After we built our greenhouse last spring and it went through the hot, hot, heat of an Arizona summer, it was looking a little lackluster and was ready for a clean up call this fall/winter. Luckily, many of our plants made it through the intense weather changes and all the inside needed was a good clear out (we took all the plants outside), a sweep and some window washing (we did a few windows and decided we needed to dedicate more time to it knowing harder water had really built up on them.
From here, we rearranged all of our plants so that we had room to fit the wheel, tools and ourselves in comfortably. We have a fairly small wheel (that we set up on wood blocks to reach our stool better) that sits perfectly next to a plant stand that we set a pot of full of tools on and a water bucket (a glass planter!) for adding water to our clay/cleaning. We also already had a hose nearby that we already use for that greenhouse that will let us so really clean up the clay from the wheel and our hands easily. As for a drying rack, we’re using one of the countertops and hopefully one day soon we’ll be moving them all in our kiln — which is currently in need of a tune up!
We’re so excited to continue working on this space to make it more functional for not only our pots, but our plants too! This tiny space has brought us so much joy the past few months and feel even more special to start a new hobby in here. Also, I can’t wait to teach Ace how to use the wheel! He’s been very excited about it and loves touching the clay — I have a feeling we have a future potter on our hands!
January 2, 2021 – The day I’m really stepping back into this blog after what felt like a long pause in 2020. Like so many people last year, the year in whole rocked our world. We started January in the most zen place I’ve ever been, Maui, Hawaii, and then moved into February working away at markets with Citizen Home Decor, spending time with friends and soaking in the cooler moments we have here in Arizona. Then, like everyone already knows, everything changed in the blink of an eye.
Capital One Shopping compensated me for this post.
It’s nearing the end of December and we all know what that means — Christmas is almost here! This will be Ace’s third Christmas and it’s already heading to be the best yet. He’s at such a fun age where he is seeing the magic in Santa, who he lovingly calls “Ho, Ho, Ho,” and is loving the idea of presents as he gets to unwrap a surprise from his Advent calendar each day this month.
And just like that, October and November have zoomed on by and I’m back here after a few months of needing the time I would normally put into this space into other areas of my life. More time with our son, Ace, working on our small business, Citizen Home Decor, and spending time working on my physical and mental health.
I know 2020 has thrown many people for a loop — I’m surely not the first person you’ve heard that from, but man is it true. Now that we’re edging closer to a new year, I’m doing my very best to move forward with a positive mindset and plan of happy actions. We not be fully in the clear yet from all that’s happened this year, but I’m ready to take control and jump back into areas where I love spending time, including here!
The end of September is near and the start of fall is finally here. This month has brought about lots of favorites and small joys, and I thought it would be fun to share them with you. Can I also just say that September was a month of healing and looking to the brighter side. I talked about it a little bit more in my Instagram Stories and in-feed posts, but it feels good to have taken this time to start the shift and aim for a fuller autumn season.
What do you do when you’re stuck at home for days, even weeks on end — build a greenhouse, of course! Well, that’s what we decided to do at least! When Quarantine was starting to settle in and we realized we were going to be stuck at home for awhile, we thought it was time to start a project that we had been talking about for the past several years!
The conversation started casually and lead me to scrolling to Pinterest for some inspiration. I’ve always had this idea of utilizing old windows in my mind, but wasn’t quite sure if we would be able to find any that were just right. A few scrolls through Facebook Marketplace later and we were now 10+ vintage windows richer and ready to start figuring out our plan. If you couldn’t already tell, things escalated very, very quickly. Once we had the windows all picked up, Scott started sketching out a plan on where to place them – they’re were all a bit different, so we knew the style would be a bit mismatched, but really that was what we were going for (eclectic, if you will).
I’ve been holding onto these photos since this spring. right before the whole world took a pause, but considering the golden hues remind me of the warm gold hours we’ve been starting to have (and the harvest moons we’ve had the past few nights), I wanted to share them now.
