Haus Of Joy

Exhausted and only have a second. But wanted to tell you all to check out the Haus of Joy tab up at the top for some fun news.

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Weekly Five

1) The drama of the past few weeks has not only ceased but look as though it is all resolved. The money is back in our account, the insurance check came int he mail, the new debit cards arrived, and the brick guy is on his way to fix my house as I type.

2) I started working on my office/studio space this week for real. I am so in love and can't wait to finish!!

3) I won a $100.00 Coach gift card from Coach themselves this week. Hoping it shows up in the mail before I head to Gatlinburg Tennessee and the Coach outlet!!

4)Abi has now completed bother her first and second day of school. First day she cried hysterically when I left. Today she threw a fit when I came to pick her up at half day because "She wanted to stay and rest like the other kids." We may be looking into full day. Thought it was a bit sad to see her take this first step, there is a large part of me that can't help feeling that it all felt so RIGHT!  Abi and I are both so very ready for this stage. She is ready to stretch her wings a bit and I am ready for the freedom and routine that comes from having her in school.

5) I am a bit in shock at how busy and popular my shop has become this season. I actually have people seeking me out to be part of shows ect and it looks like we will sell out of custom spots before the October 15th deadline. I am humbled and encouraged by this. :)

Creative Gift Giving Part I

 

I love to give gifts. In fact, gift giving is my most prominent love language. Thankfuly, l I have a husband who is also very generous so he completely understands. However, when you have 19 family members, not to mention various friends, co-workerss, etc.  in your life, the Holidays can get pricey. Not to mention birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, and any and all other circumstance which call for a gift.  We are beyond lucky to have so many people in our life that we love, but it can get pricey.

Raising two kids on one touch-and-go, commission-heavy income means there isn’t always a lot of wiggle room in the budget. But we never let that stop us from giving fun, creative gifts when the situation calls for it. In fact, if I believe what I am told by various friends and family, I am pretty good at gift giving (with a few minor exceptions not sure what this means). So as requested by a friend, I am sharing some of my gift giving/buying tips.

Giving the perfect gift isn’t about money. In fact, some of the best gifts cost very little. It’s about knowing the person you are buying for. All the money in the world won’t help if you have no idea what your niece is into these days.

• Be observant: Keep your eyes and ears open. If you are looking for a gift for a loved one who live close, this is much easier. Think back to the last time you went out shopping together, or even just the last time you were at her house. What caught her eye while you were out? Have they recently redecorated a room in their home? Does she have a new hobby? Have they started listening to a new band or reading discovered a new author. It really isn’t that hard if you just pay attention.

 

• Online activity: Even if you don’t live close to loved ones, the internet makes spying, that is observing, pretty easy.


• Facebook: What pages have they liked recently? What are they talking about? What brands do they follow?


• Twitter: Again what brands do they follow? Have they mentioned any products? Who do they follow?


• Pinterest: Many people use this as a virtual wish list. If you are on pinterest and follow your friend, it should be pretty easy to find something to spark a gift idea.

 

• Trends: Even in the off chance that the person you are buying for isn’t someone you see very often and someone who has no online presence, or  you are not connected through social networking, all is not lost. It’s pretty easy to pick up on the hottest trends simply by picking up a magazine or searching pinterest. You may not know your 13 year old nephew very well, but chances are the sales guys at BestBuy can tell you what’s trending in music, video games and gadgets. If you have a locally owned business in town that caters to the demographic of your difficult-to-shop-for giftee, even better. Even if that nephew has never before heard of the item you purchase  there is a high likelihood he will appreciate a trending item. (Example:  for my high school graduation my sister bought me an Italian charm bracelet and some charms. I had never heard of this style of charm bracelet before but they were very popular in the large city where my sister lives. I got to college and had one of the hottest accessories on campus. I wouldn’t even had known about it if my sister hadn’t gone out on a limb and purchased something because it was “trendy”.)

 

Mother Theresa said, ““It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”

So put some love into your gift giving with some  effort and some time and some research.  Be observant, pay attention to the recipient’s online presence, and learn the latest trends.

 

Stay tuned for part two of our gift giving series!

Weekly Five

1. It has been quite a week. The insurance adjuster came out. He approved the higher estimate. (YAY) and supposedly a check was mailed out Thursday. Friday we received a called that some one had stolen both our debit card number and pin number. If it's not one thing it's another.


2. I finally realized just how much stress all this has been causing me when I broke down while out with friends. Good news is I have amazing friends who love me and have been walking through this with us with so much grace.

 


3. The Goose Beary Shop is growing and changing and stretching. As is this Blog. Lots of growing pains as I work through where I want to go and branding myself. So much to think about.

 


4. I took the last of the wall paper off of the guest room walls and it is all ready for primer and paint. I am so excited we moving forward on this. :)

 


5. I really haven't been feeling like myself lately. So much stress and so much is going on and changing. I am trying to take time to slow down, unplug, process, and have a bit more grace with myself.

Waldorf Doll Pattern

 

For Those of you who didn't know. I am a doll maker. I actually create all kinds of things, but dolls in various shapes and forms are my primary outlet. I sell my dolls at The Goose Beary Shop. After much thought I decided to go ahead and offer my doll patterns here on the blog. I have them for down load over here. I am currently not charging as I would love for my blog to be a place of encouragement and inspiration. However, if you feel so led you can donate by clicking the paypal button over side bar. I hope you all enjoy!! :)

 

Not Quite

 



I have a horrible habit of wishing my life away. I am not a patients person and I am almost always looking on to the next stage or season. Both figuratively and literally. (The only exception to this was high school ending. I was very much NOT ready to graduate). Maybe it's human nature, maybe it's just certain personalities, but for whatever reason I am constantly looking forward to what's next.

Then this summer hit. And while at this moment I am craving fall like crazy, I also am realizing just how quickly summer slipped by. And I'm realizing that from here on out they will only slip by faster. I have known my husband for seven years now. Seven years. Crazy. My oldest starts pre-school next week. When did that happen?

I don't want to look back and regret that fact that I did not fully engage in the a given season. Of life or nature.

So today when out with friends I skipped over the hot coffee and got a frozen one. I ordered lemon pound cake instead of pumpkin bread. I bought the milkshake cupcakes instead of the maple bacon that just scream fall to me. (By the way if you you are local and haven't been over to The Drowsy Poet lately you need to check it out. It's under new management and amazing!)

And the next few weeks...

• I'm going to brew more iced tea before I break out the hot tea.


• I'm going to warm the last of my summer Scentsy bricks before breaking out the cinnamon and apple ones.


• We are going to hit up the pool at least one more time.


• We are going to drink a few more slushies.


• Maybe, just maybe we will dash up to Williamsburg one more time and take the kids to Bush Gardens.


• Tonight we will eat dinner at 8:30 when Josh gets home just one more time, before moving into the school year schedule.


• And I am going to give myself grace when the day passes and not enough gets done, because it's summer and summer is all about lazy days.

What are you doing to embrace the last bit of Summer?

Because fall will come in it's own time. But it's not time yet... not quite yet....

 

Weekly Five

1) The past few days have been made up primarily with dealing with the giant hole in our home. Not the most fun thing to deal with. Silver lining we have gotten a lot done around the house.

 



2) We moved a lot of furniture around which means our basement now looks very different and I have a futon sitting in the middle of my living room. Hopefully this will motivate me to get the study done faster.

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3) I moved my blog from a google hosted site to my own site. With Jason's help. I am hoping to have this space feel more like "home" soon.



4) I am ready for fall. I'm ready for cooler weather and apples and hot tea. While I know it's a ways off I can feel us moving in that direction. My shop is picking up which is always an indicator of fall coming. I finished my pieces for the October issue of the Clutch already and I am starting to think about the December issue. and I am starting to see green acorns. A promise that though fall is not here yet, it is indeed coming!

5) I painted my nails this weekend. I haven't painted them since last winter. I like them painted.

 


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We are moving...

Or at least the blog is. I have moved over to www.redirecteddreams.com! Hope you join us! :)

We Moved!

Well not really, but the blog did. After much conversation between hubby and I and a massive amounts of email with my brother-in-law (who is an amazing graphics design/web design/go to person) I decided to move from blogger to my own domain name. A rather scary step for me but an exciting one none the less. It still needs a lot of work. (There's where the brother-in-law comes in.) But I am so glad to finally have my own place rather than "renting."

Does It Get Easier?

Since miscarrying our baby back in February a friend has had a still born baby, another friend miscarried and a former member of our Sunday school class miscarried.  The other day the friend who miscarried was asking me if it got any easier. With out thinking I wrote a her a reply that I hoped would help. It wasn't until later that I realized I was writing exactly what I wish some one had said to me 6 months ago. What I still wish more people would come out and say. And so, as hard as it is I am putting this out there, for those of you who may be wondering "Does it get better."

It does get a bit easier. But not as soon as every one else thinks it has and not as soon as you wish it would. There are still moments when it's hard for me. Have grace with yourself. It's ok to be sad. You lost a child. Maybe not one you have held, but one you loved none the less. It's ok to say no to things. It's ok to excuse yourself from situations. I've ducked out of gatherings a number of times because it's just too hard. But it does, oh so slowly, get easier.

Photo Credit http://www.sincerelylizblog.com

Does It Get Easier?

Since miscarrying our baby back in February a friend has had a still born baby, another friend miscarried and a former member of our Sunday school class miscarried.  The other day the friend who miscarried was asking me if it got any easier. With out thinking I wrote a her a reply that I hoped would help. It wasn't until later that I realized I was writing exactly what I wish some one had said to me 6 months ago. What I still wish more people would come out and say. And so, as hard as it is I am putting this out there, for those of you who may be wondering "Does it get better."

It does get a bit easier. But not as soon as every one else thinks it has and not as soon as you wish it would. There are still moments when it's hard for me. Have grace with yourself. It's ok to be sad. You lost a child. Maybe not one you have held, but one you loved none the less. It's ok to say no to things. It's ok to excuse yourself from situations. I've ducked out of gatherings a number of times because it's just too hard. But it does, oh so slowly, get easier.

Photo Credit http://www.sincerelylizblog.com

Mary Kay Party

It had been years since I had been to a Mary Kay party so when my mother-in-law called and asked if I wanted to come over for Mary Kay make overs I jumped at the chance. In fact I had SO much fun that I ended up booking a party of my own! The nice thing about Mary Kay is that it's nice and low key. I sent out some text messages and got a few replies. All in all it was me, three friends, and a friend's daughter whom she brought to help her learn early the importance of taking care of your skin.

I love entertaining so even though I had just gotten back from our anniversary trip I had to do a couple special things.

First thing I did was make short bread cookies.

 I love these simple cookies. We make them quite a bit in our house since they only take three ingreedients for the cookies. So simple in fact I thought I would share the recipe.

Favorite Shortbread:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar 

1/2 cup butter

 

 

Make sure butter is room temp and combine butter sugar and flour.

For square cookies kneed into ball and flatten into a one inch thick rectangle on a cookie sheet. Then cut into squares. We prefer pretty shapes so I roll out the dough and cut with tiny cookie cutters. 

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until you think they are done. No eggs or anything so no need to worry about under cooking. We decorated these cookies with simple powdered sugar icing and sanding sugar. 

 

I also used some fold over elastic to make simple head bands. They are a knock off of the Anthropologie head bands. They are so simple to do but people love them. I made enough for every one to be able to take one home. (Side note. I love Anthropologie but I cannot believe how much they want to charge for these things.)

 

Dayna did such a great job with us! We were a crazy bunch and kept her out crazy late but she did so great. She answered all our questions and made the whole evening a bunch of fun.

I ended up getting Satin Hands collection in peach. I normally don't like peach flavoring or scent but this is nice and light. With all the hand work I do with my dolls my hands get pretty beat up. I love Satin Hands because it keeps my hands soft and smooth and less like to get cut up with the thread.

All in all it was a great night with great friends.

Mary Kay Party

 It had been years since I had been to a Mary Kay party so when my mother-in-law called and asked if I wanted to come over for Mary Kay make overs I jumped at the chance. In fact I had SO much fun that I ended up booking a party of my own! The nice thing about Mary Kay is that it's nice and low key. I sent out some text messages and got a few replies. All in all it was me, three friends, and a friend's daughter whom she brought to help her learn early the importance of taking care of your skin.

I love entertaining so even though I had just gotten back from our anniversary trip I had to do a couple special things.

First thing I did was make short bread cookies.

 I love these simple cookies. We make them quite a bit in our house since they only take three ingreedients for the cookies. So simple in fact I thought I would share the recipe.

Favorite Shortbread:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar 

1/2 cup butter

 

 

Make sure butter is room temp and combine butter sugar and flour.

For square cookies kneed into ball and flatten into a one inch thick rectangle on a cookie sheet. Then cut into squares. We prefer pretty shapes so I roll out the dough and cut with tiny cookie cutters. 

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until you think they are done. No eggs or anything so no need to worry about under cooking. We decorated these cookies with simple powdered sugar icing and sanding sugar. 

 

I also used some fold over elastic to make simple head bands. They are a knock off of the Anthropologie head bands. They are so simple to do but people love them. I made enough for every one to be able to take one home. (Side note. I love Anthropologie but I cannot believe how much they want to charge for these things.)

 

Dayna did such a great job with us! We were a crazy bunch and kept her out crazy late but she did so great. She answered all our questions and made the whole evening a bunch of fun.

I ended up getting Satin Hands collection in peach. I normally don't like peach flavoring or scent but this is nice and light. With all the hand work I do with my dolls my hands get pretty beat up. I love Satin Hands because it keeps my hands soft and smooth and less like to get cut up with the thread.

All in all it was a great night with great friends.

Weekly Five

1) I shared last week that Josh needed 2.5 cars by Tuesday evening to meet his second bump, and that we needed to hit that to make next month work and pay down some debt. It's a very long story, but at God has provided for us in such a huge way. He is good and His mercies renew each morning. 

2) We took the wallpaper down in the guest room and are on our way to making it an office space. I'm so excited.

3) Business is picking up quite a bit for my shop and I am starting to think if I do things right and pick the Scentsy we may be able to put off me going back to work a bit longer, and still afford health insurance. I have a show every month from now till October so I'm hoping that will help as well.

 

4) I'm already Christmas shopping. Is that crazy? Probably have at least 5 people done with.

 

 

5) Saturday I had the day off thanks to my in laws. I spend the morning working on some dollies and sewing for myself. I made a coffee cozy just for me! I spent the afternoon in Charlostville with my two best friends. We hit up White House/Black Market and Anthropologie. I LOVE Anthropologie. For the most part I just browsed but I got a few Christmas gifts from the clearance section and this planner to keep track of writing deadlines. 

Join this weeks link up for a surprise give away! 

Weekly Five

1) I shared last week that Josh needed 2.5 cars by Tuesday evening to meet his second bump, and that we needed to hit that to make next month work and pay down some debt. It's a very long story, but at God has provided for us in such a huge way. He is good and His mercies renew each morning. 

2) We took the wallpaper down in the guest room and are on our way to making it an office space. I'm so excited.

3) Business is picking up quite a bit for my shop and I am starting to think if I do things right and pick the Scentsy we may be able to put off me going back to work a bit longer, and still afford health insurance. I have a show every month from now till October so I'm hoping that will help as well.

 

4) I'm already Christmas shopping. Is that crazy? Probably have at least 5 people done with.

 

 

5) Saturday I had the day off thanks to my in laws. I spend the morning working on some dollies and sewing for myself. I made a coffee cozy just for me! I spent the afternoon in Charlostville with my two best friends. We hit up White House/Black Market and Anthropologie. I LOVE Anthropologie. For the most part I just browsed but I got a few Christmas gifts from the clearance section and this planner to keep track of writing deadlines. 

Join this weeks link up for a surprise give away!