My baby, Katherine, just turned four years old yesterday. It's so amazing how time flies. Last fall at a friend's birthday party, Katherine fell in love with horses. The party was held at a local equestrian center, Patriot Farms , so all the guests got to ride horses. I worried she'd be scared, but instead we witnessed her biggest, longest lasting smile. Katherine just lit up. After that she made sure to ask for cowgirl boots and a real horse from every Santa she encountered that Christmas season. Thankfully, Santa knew we weren't ready for the responsibility and delivered gigantic stuffed horses to the girls instead (they've slept with the girls every night since their arrival). She loves her stuffed horse, but she still dreams of a real horse. With her passion for horses, I knew I wanted to return to Patriot Farms for Katherine's birthday. So last night Katherine and Rebecca enjoyed their very own horse riding lesson. This was such a wonderful birthday experi...

I haven't participated in a Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop for awhile (mainly because I've been crazy busy with my decluttering ), but when I learned of this week's theme, your inspiration, it was hard not to want to join in. The better question for me is "what doesn't inspire me?," because I am inspired by so much. I love flipping through magazines and craft books, looking through blogs, collecting quotes, creating with friends, etc.. But when I truly think about it, what inspires me most is my two girls. There is nothing more energizing and inspiring than the "joie de vivre" of a 3 year old (she's just days from turning 4) and a 6-1/2 year old. I love watching them grow and play and learn, watching their different personalities develop. I love watching them light up when they find something they love. But what I am inspired by most is the way they make me want to live my life. Because of them I am inspired to live my best and happiest lif...

So I'm still decluttering like crazy, which makes for a pretty boring blog but a very happy me. The "organize and declutter" bug seems to be contagious because my girls are even getting in on the action. Yesterday I bought a few cute containers for their room not sure if we'd use them, but when I took them in the girls' room to check colors and size I could tell I wasn't getting them back. They snatched up those new containers and quickly (and quietly) began organizing their piles of trinkets. So things might be quiet on the blog, but just know that my family and I are happily organizing and decluttering our home. A "Vacate"tion of sorts--our clutter is vacating!

This year I have come to a lot of realizations, one of which is the importance of living for the moment. Too often I'm either caught up in dreams for the future or memories of the past. Both are good things to do, but in moderation. As I've mentioned before, I need to focus more of my energy on enjoying what I have right now. Like my wonderful husband, my beautiful daughters, great family and friends, good health, etc.. I am blessed in so many ways and I am grateful. But as much as I'd like to say I'm always focused in the present, it's not always true. When life gets going and I end up functioning on autopilot I'm either two steps behind or worried about the future. Old habits, old ways of thinking, are just not as easy to shake as I would like. For instance, my tendency to procrastinate often sneaks up on me and has me feeling behind. Ironically, it's often because it feels as if what needs to be done is so far in the future. This just happened to me with...

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” ~George Bernard Shaw I love to create! That's a well-established fact. Creating makes me happy. It makes makes me feel alive. Yet lately I have not been creating.......at least not in the traditional crafty sense. Instead I have been creating space. I can't begin to tell you how happy this makes me. This has created room for more clarity and calm. It gives me a greater sense of control over my stuff, my thoughts, my life. I love seeing these new open spaces throughout my home. Granted they're still the minority in our home, but they are still present. These open spaces help me stop and breathe. They help remind me to enjoy the beauty that surrounds me in my life. And they give me the room to dream and feel hopeful. I had no idea what a little decluttering could do.

"One half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it." ~Sidney Howard "One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks." ~Jack Penn This photo may look like a mess, but it really makes me happy. I am surrounded by excess whether it be too much stuff in my home or too many thoughts in my head. So I have been working on decluttering and simplifying. I am working on organizing stuff I haven't touched in years. I'm emptying boxes. I'm making stacks for a garage sale. I'm writing lists and making schedules. I'm making dates with myself to declutter, to exercise (just finished the 9 week C25K program), to just be (trying meditation), etc.. I am gaining control and it feels great!

So today's the day..... Create With Me , the brand new Stampington publication, is now available! The girls and I got an advance copy a couple weeks ago and we love it! Rebecca keeps saying "I've never been in a magazine before" to which I reply "Me neither!" And I wish you could have seen the smile on Katherine's face when she saw her name and her artwork in the magazine.  Honestly, I'd love it even if we weren't in it (but it's just that much more fun to be included). It's a really inspiring collection of artwork and articles. If you're lucky enough to get your hands on a copy you'll find us towards the end of the magazine on page 124 (saving the best for last).  My family and I have a date night at the bookstore tonight just to see it on the shelves. And I might just have one to giveaway! Come by next week and see!

Yesterday we had the pleasure of celebrating my nephew Connor's second birthday at SuperFranks (the absolute perfect place for both kids and parents--wish we had one). Since Connor already has a ton of toys, in part thanks to us and a ton of hand me downs, we went handmade with his gift. I spruced up a couple shirts from Target with appliqués and threw in a cute matching pair of shorts. My sister-in-law Rachel is a big SF Giants fan, so it only seemed fitting to add a baseball appliqué to Connor's orange t-shirt. And Rachel is also a huge Dave Matthews Band fan (just like me!) so I had fun making a DMB shirt. I know it sounds more like I made shirts for Rachel, but I still love how the shirts turned out. In fact, I had so much fun that I whipped up some party shirts for the girls (a heart-shaped balloon for Katherine and a cupcake for Rebecca). I definitely see more appliqués in my future. Too cute and so much fun!

Today's Inspiration Workshop theme is Spending the Day Playing Recently we spent the day "playing" with our waffle iron. This past Father's Day my husband decided to take us on a culinary adventure (I'm so lucky that my guy loves the kitchen). He was inspired to try some recipes from Rachel Ray's waffle week , a reminder that waffles aren't just for breakfast and our waffle iron isn't just for waffles. So we started the day with biscuits and gravy (I must admit we doctored her gravy recipe). We had ham and cheese wa-ninis for lunch (using the waffle iron as a panini press--my idea after reading different ideas). For dinner we had Wa-zones (waffle calzones). And for dessert we had brownies . What a fun and yummy day! Now the brownies still need work (they ended up over done), but everything else was a big hit. If anything, it has inspired us to try making other stuff using the waffle iron. A very useful idea with the hot summer weather (no need to t...

This past weekend, in the middle of finishing father's day gifts (including these fun neck coolers ), I managed to sneak some girlie sewing projects in. I shortened a few pillow case dresses I made a couple weeks back and, with some ruffles, I transformed a couple pairs of worn out jeans. I've still got a few more projects in the works this week, like going through a pile of library books on sewing, making a few birthday gifts and trying this adorable tunic/dress tutorial . Can I just tell you how nice it is to have a good sewing machine and cute little girls! Fun, fun, fun!

Lucky in Love by Kenna Elizabeth Life has been a bit of a roller coaster this week, which I'm not quite ready to get into here. So it seemed fitting to look at roller coaster images when it came to this week's Inspiration Workshop theme--Green. I searched and searched, but never found an image that I liked. Although I did run into the odd concept of "green" pedal-powered roller coasters--both interesting and frightening (take a look here and here ). So I changed gears with the green theme and decided to share a favorite photo of mine, Lucky in Love , by my friend Kenna . This photo has made it onto my blog before, but it seemed too perfect not to share it again today.  From time to time I may run into troubles that stress me out, but at least I always have the love of my husband and my daughters, and my family and friends. I am truly lucky in love.

Photo from Teahouse Studio website Yesterday I had the chance to visit the new Teahouse Studio in Berkeley. They were holding open studios this past weekend, so my family and I took advantage of a free Sunday and made a day of it. It was great seeing the studio in person. It's very open and full of light, perfect for creating. The studio is the creative dream and collaboration of Stefanie Reneé , Mati Rose McDonough , and Tiffany Moore (aka Crafty Fanny ). They just barely opened the studio in February, yet their line up of workshops is simply inspiring. How lucky am I to live fairly close to this special studio! The inspiration didn't stop at just seeing the studio. I also was lucky enough to meet both Tiffany Moore and Mati Rose McDonough. It was wonderful to meet them and have the chance to talk with them. They were both really friendly and easy to talk to. It's sometimes easy to forget that there are real people behind the art, the blogs, the websites, etc.. Th...

After the fun I had last week while participating in the Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop , I knew I wanted to do it again. So this week's inspiration prompt was "kitchens." This immediately inspired me to want to try a few sewing projects, like personalizing some kitchen towels and making some coasters. But life got away from me (as usual) and I didn't find the time. I did manage to make one happy little coaster which I then used as inspiration for this happy little etsy treasury (I still need to figure out Pinterest ). Enjoy!

I have a bit of a one track mind sometimes and right now I'm on the sewing track. So I thought I'd share some of my projects. The mannequin pictured above was the first project I made with my new sewing machine. She came out of the Tone Finnanger book I mentioned last month , Sew Sunny Homestyle . She is the perfect tree topper for my year round, white Christmas tree (that I'm filling with angels and flowers and hearts....oh my). And then yesterday, my mom, my girls, and I went to an art show in town. On top of seeing beautiful art and my talented nature photographer friend Kenna , we also learned about a brand new quilt shop, Fabric Garden , only open 1 month. The shop was filled with gorgeous quilts, beautiful fabric, and tons of inspiration. As a thank you for coming in to the shop, we were given a strip of fabric with instructions to make these cute tissue holders. So quick and simple to make. And then I tried my hand at some pillow case dresses for the girls. I've...

Print from Lillebarn, too Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. ~Ambrose Redmoon This past Thursday, I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed. I know...crazy, huh? It has been something I've needed to do for years, but I was avoiding it. I was scared. I was scared of the anesthesia, the recovery, the pain...... But it needed to be done and now it is! I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am. How proud I am. I faced my fears and I did it! I feel so strong and courageous! You'd think I had just done something exciting like bungee jump off a building (now there's a fear I don't plan on conquering). Nonetheless, it feels so good to know that I faced my fears. I am making things happen, getting things done that need to be done, and it feels great!

With the arrival of my newest "baby," my new sewing machine, has come a renewed interest in all things sewing. I've been pouring over sewing books and magazines. In fact I've requested just about every sewing book I could find from the library. Who knows when I'll have the time to go through all these books.....but that's not the point. I've also visited dozens of websites and blogs which brings me to  Gussy Sews . I've had this adorable blog on google reader for what seems like forever. But I had lost track of it, which is bound to happen when you subscribe to a million blogs (okay, this might be an exaggeration, but only slight). Well, revisiting Gussy Sews has inspired me. So today I am joining in her very first  Inspiration Workshop  to share some inspiration. In a weekly newsletter, Gussy will provide an inspiration prompt to share on Thursdays and this week's prompt is all things handmade. Now this made my head spin at first because I love...

Can you believe it? It's June. It's kind of crazy to think we're through another month. Time sure does fly when you're having fun. Time has been flying so much that I find myself participating in Margie 's wonderful One Little Word blog hop, yet still behind with my OLW album . This month's theme of documentation has always been easy and difficult for me all at the same time. I have definitely written list after list of goals, objectives, thoughts, etc.. many of which are inspired by my word, Clear. But it's hard for me to organize my written lists, just as it is difficult to organize my thoughts. I guess I still need to work on my mental clarity. I'm doing my best to get through my lists, even if it is a slow process. One of my goals had been to catch up with Ali Edward's class. I might not have caught up with the album, but I did make some progress with the exercises. I wasn't satisfied with the action I took in March, so I made sure to take ...

As I mentioned in my last post , I have a new toy--a new sewing machine! I got it last weekend and I've done something with it everyday since then, including some beginner classes yesterday. If you've looked around my site before you might have stumbled across past sewing projects, including tons of bears , and you might be asking "beginner classes?" But truly I am a beginner. I may have been sewing for years, but I don't really know how. I never took home-ec class. I took drafting and was a band nerd, leaving no time in the schedule for something useful like home-ec. My mom sewed a little, but I really only saw her mending stuff and that didn't grab my interest (mending just wasn't my thing). My grandma was a great seamstress. She sewed amazing things, including clothes for my mom's Barbie doll, but we didn't live close enough to see her in action. I've dabbled and faked it, but now that I have a new, nice machine, I wanted to learn more...

Today I want to take the time to join in with A Heartfelt Thank You To Art ( a wonderful idea put by Stephey at Marked by the Muse ) Thank you for giving me gifts              love inspiration       community connection to other artistic souls a reminder to take time for myself excitement for trying new things the ability to express myself a way to share my heart a happy heart passion beauty life I am also "sew" grateful today because I got a new sewing machine this weekend which means more fun and adventure!

Does anyone remember reading, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day ? It used to be a favorite of mine. Yesterday, Rebecca was reading it at school while I seemed to be living it. It was just one of those days. I woke up to a dreary, rainy day, not your typical California spring day. I had stayed up too late the night before enjoying the quiet of a sleeping house, so I was now exhausted. My mind was also distracted because we were awaiting medical test results for a loved one. Ultimately, the day turned out fine. Good news came back from the doctor. But for the majority of the day, it was terrible, horrible, no good, and very bad. This seemed to be even more exaggerated when I got to work. With my sour mood came sour patients. Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't taking my mood out on my patients (nobody got an eye poked out, remember I am an eye doctor). It just seemed like my bad day was bringing in the crankier and more demanding patients. My negative mo...