We're still here

Me and Aaron are always trying to figure out the best ways to spend our time...well not our time really, but our energy. It feels like you're only allotted a certain amount of creative energy each day, and the trick is figuring out when and how that energy works best for you. Example...if we want to do a new painting and we want to organize the studio as well, Aaron will insist that we do the painting first because we'll be able to put our purest, cleanest, brightest energy into it. And then way later, after a long and challenging creative day we can organize the studio without the pressure of the new painting looming over us. Because when you're an artist, your next painting is the most important painting in your life. So every other task on that given day should come second. It seems simple, and you'd think after 20 years of being a working artist you'd have it all figured out...but nope. You're constantly re-writing and reinforcing your "rules".

Which leads me to this...this blog post that I'm writing after a million months of not blogging. This blog is something I really want to do...something that both me and Aaron really want to do. But we get lost in the countless other daily tasks and the blog gets tossed on the remainder pile. And I really wish that it didn't. Because it should be a priority. It's one more extension of our creative selves that we feel is pretty vital. 

So we're really trying to get a handle on the good things lately. Like taking time to go into the city, or go to an eatery we've been dying to go to, or just to walk up to the beach after we ship out that day's stack of packages. The beach is like a couple blocks away, and regardless of the current cold temps, it's the perfect place to hit the reset button and focus on a huge expanse of sky and sea and sand, rather than the screen of a handheld device.

We're not on the ocean, we're on the bayshore. So on calm days there's barely a ripple on the surface of the water and it's as close to silent as a beach can be.

Giant hunks of stuff like this are always washing up on the shore, and you wonder when and how this massive block of wood and metal broke off of whatever it was attached to. (note: when I was typing the previous sentence I said "hey Aar, if I'm talking about stuff washing up on the beach, what word can I use in place of "stuff"? And the bookworm instantly answered "detritus". To which I answered "well, I guess I'm sticking with "stuff."' haha!)

Ok...so we're constantly referencing whatever show we're currently obsessed with. Our fave show right now is Taboo on FX. Sooooo good! It's got Tom Hardy being his usual odd self...stalking around with fierce purpose, brooding, and half the time he's grunting instead of talking. Anyway, the show takes place in the early 1800s when the East India Trading Company pretty much ruled the world. So when we saw this giant slab we of course were like "hey, this thing could've broke off some East India Trading barge like 200 years ago."

Yeah, we're dorks...I never said we weren't. 

We always walk down to this giant storm drainage pipe because...well because it's there. No other reason really. haha! 

ps. giant platform boots aren't meant for rock climbing.

I love the contrast of the bright orange rusted rocks against the wintery blue monochrome beachscape.
Also, it's kinda hard to see in these pics, but directly across the bay is NYC. At night you can see it more distinctly...to the left is Staten Island, in the middle is Manahattan, and on the right you can clearly see the colorful blinking lights of Coney Island.
Our drive to NY takes a little under an hour.

When the tide is high these rocks are almost completely submerged.

I know our beach isn't the most exciting place in the world, but I don't know what we'd do without it. There have been so many heavy times, stressful times, and also perfectly pleasant times, when just a little walk up on the beach was exactly what we needed that day. 

Anyway, to get back to what I was saying about creative energy at the beginning of this post...I'm really gonna try to make this blog one of our priorities. Also we're gonna share lots more food and recipes. We actually just started a second Instagram account that will be dedicated to cooking, eating, health & exercise, etc... This will also give us an excuse to get out more and visit all the vegan food spots we've stalking.

Hopefully we'll have so much more personal interaction with you guys in the coming months. That was sort've our only New Year's resolution...just to get out there more, be more present, and don't let weeks slip by unnoticed. We're going to try to put the good things at the top of the list each day. 

xo Jenny & Aaron 

Another Birthday and life lately

It was my birthday yesterday! I turned 25 again. ;) Unfortunately, it was a majorly gloomy and rainy day here on the Jersey Shore. When we woke up in the morning and looked over at the window, we seriously thought that dawn did not yet break…it was that dark. And as luck would have it…it remained that dark ALL DAY LONG. And rainy, and windy, and cold. We had to turn the heat on for the first time this year. Gross weather really gets me down. As much as I want to travel to Portland and Washington state, I know I'd have to keep the visit short. Grey rainy days are not for me.

Though I'm glad that the weather yesterday didn't ruin any plans. Being that we have a lot of work to finish, we had already decided to schedule any birthday fun for the weekend. So, on Saturday the weather is predicted to be sunny with temps in the high 60's! Me, Aaron, my littlest broth Walt, and his girl Val are going to take a pleasant Autumn drive and celebrate for real. I can't wait!

Aaron the "non baker" has been baking AGAIN! Little by little I think his fear of baking is wearing off. Now I think he's beginning to like it as much as he enjoys cooking dinner. And he's pretty good at it. He baked me the most deeelish carrot cake muffins! They turned out perfect! They're loaded with carrots, pineapple, golden raisins, and walnuts…and they're perfectly spiced, and super moist. My morning looked like this. Coffee in my fave mug, and a muffin. 

Complete with a candle so I could start the day with a wish. 

How cute is this little air plant Jack o' lantern? Would you believe we found it at A&P while grocery shopping? Air plants are said to be easy to care for. They get their namesake because they aren't planted in soil. That little Jack o' lantern is hollow…the base of the plant is just floating there in the air. To care for it you only have to mist it, or soak it a bit, and then let it dry well. And it doesn't require direct sunlight.

 I guess we'll see how well he does! 

The past week was filled with lots and lots of Halloween art work! While I was working away, and deep in the holiday spirit, I took a glance over at our Charlotte die cut  and knew that I had the perfect Halloween accessory for her. I think that she will be wearing this sequined mask all year round now! It fits her perfectly! 

We brought back our classic Halloween cupcakes plaques! I love this painting! We have many friends who keep this one hanging on their wall all year round.

And we had lots of orders for our Haunted House Cake plaques! Here they are in progress! They are now off into the world and we are so excited to see pics of them hanging in their new homes!

We added a few creepy cute vignettes around the house. We love this one! Our fave vintage cardboard skeleton and pumpkin look made for each other, and they look perfect perched up there against our chalkboard wall in the kitchen. 

Ohh and this is so funny…I had told the story on Facebook, and instagram, but just in case you missed it…

I had hung this Jack o' Lantern candy pail up on this peg rack temporarily. After dinner I was sitting at the kitchen table, and as usual, Lt. Dan was on my lap getting a back rub. Well, Lt. Dan glanced up and caught a glimpse of this guy…and guess what?…he let out a tiny little growl. Dan was so nervous. Who was this new orange guy with the big red grin?? He wouldn't calm down until I took the pail down to show it to him up close…and even then Dan kinda shrunk. ha! 

Ohhh and we were SO excited to finally see our spread in Art Journaling Magazine! 10 full color pages! It was such a fun interview with the fabulous Ricë Freeman-Zachery. We are totally honored to be featured! And it's a great issue! Pages and pages of so much eye candy! It's on shelves now, or you can order from Stampington. We that love our Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Art Journal page was used on the title page. 

And speaking of that…We've been seeing lots of blog traffic on that particular tutorial being that it is that time of year again. So if you'd like to create your own version of this journal page here is a link to that tutorial! Complete with full step by step directions and a fun little video. 

Ohhh and we are so excited that so many of you have love for vintage bunnies too! Lots of these sweet fellas are headed out into the world this week! Thank you guys! 

It has been a really busy week, so our apologies on the lack of posts, but we have some awesome stuff coming up next week that we think we will totally make up for that! Including an AWESOME giveaway! So artsy/crafty peeps stay tuned! It's GOOD!! 

Thanks so so much for popping in friends! And thank you SO SO much for the super sweet birthday wishes on FB, Instagram, and emails! 

Love you guys!!

xo Jenny…and Aaron says hi!

Life Lately...

It's hard to believe that this week is almost over…it totally flew by. We have so many projects going at once, that our heads are kinda spinning. We're simultaneously working on orders, doing some custom designs, finishing up house "stuff", and getting ready for Art Is You in Connecticut…which is in a month! We're so excited for that! We love everything about Art Is You. 

Earlier today we finished the above cake. It is for a very special super exciting and fun event. I'm going to have to be a little vague here just in case the recipients wants to keep the detail of the event under wraps until the unveiling. But we promise to share more pics and details very soon. We feel like this is the ultimate CAKE. It's design just says "Celebration". It could easily be a wedding cake, or a super duper sweet 16 cake, or a Quinceañera cake. Think of the three tiers and those piped buttercream roses as the starting point…beyond that the customization possibilities are endless.  

It's BIG, just in case you can't tell from the above pic. I hope to snap a better pic tomorrow. Today it was gloomy and grey here, so the photo above isn't very crisp...but you get the idea.

The group of cakes we're working on have lots of piping. Very much in the style of vintage Wilton cake decorating books. We will be shipping these special pieces off tomorrow, but I promise to take more pics! And we plan on adding a few of them to our regular shop offerings! 

Working on so many different projects all at once is totally putting us in the mindspace we'll need to be in for the upcoming holiday season. Do you remember our Starlet ornaments? Well they were so incredibly popular last year that we could barely keep up with the orders. So many of you had asked if they'd be back this year…and the answer is Yes!…they'll be in stock, along with a handful of new designs! Lots more ornaments…definitely some macarons, more cupcakes, kitty cats, doughnuts, etc.

I'm not sure if I shared this pic a while back. These are vintage Stanley Home cookie cutters. It must have been another very gloomy day when I snapped this pic. When I shared this pic on Instagram it started the best conversation.  All of us were trying to solve the mystery of the guy in the bottom left-hand corner. Is he a Dutch boy? And what's with the cowboy-at-high-noon stance?

Some were saying that he must be "Mr. Stanley". And some figured that he's a gingerbread man. And a few people said that they owned this set, but in place of the "Dutch-gingerbread-Stanley-showdown-cowboy" their sets included an Astronaut. Which is equally strange!

So, if you look at this pic that I shared the other day of an aqua set that I just found…you can see the Astronaut. And if this pic were part of a grade school IQ quiz that asked "which cookie cutter doesn't belong?"…the answer would be: the Astronaut! 

All of the others are holiday themed! That bunny is my fave…and jeeez, I love the Valentine…and the Jack-o-Lantern! I also own a birthday cake cutter in this same color. Do any of you own these? I know there is also a red set. I love these!

Ok, gotta go back to work. We are really cramming to get a bunch done tonight so that we can ship a big batch of boxes tomorrow. Wish us luck! 

Thanks for popping in!

xo Jenny…and Aaron says hi!

Life Lately...

It seems like so long since we last blogged. I think it's been about 9 days, but it seems longer. With the change in weather (and mental state) we've been getting out of the house and studio a bit more. And I gotta say...it feels really good. Our weekend spent upstate at my parent's cabin was just what the doctor ordered. Muddy midnight quad rides through the woods seems like as far as you can get from painting pink cupcakes! Not that there's anything unpleasant about painting cupcakes...but everyone needs a break.

 After getting back from the cabin trip, just a few days later we went to the Ocean Grove Flea Market...another great time! And this weekend we went for the trifecta and hit the Country Living Fair up in Rhinebeck, NY. I can't recommend the CL Fair highly enough. I took lots of pics, but because we've been working on getting lots of orders out the door, I still have to go through and edit the photos! But we plan on blogging our day at the CL Fair later this week! It was such an AMAZING show!  

We've been working round the clock on orders, but we pepper in an hour here and there to work on new designs. The latest that we are so excited about are our Victorian era inspired Cat wooden diecuts. We referenced a bunch of antique clip art as well as photos of adorable kitties. We gave them complimenting ribbons in pink and aqua, complete with tiny jingle bells. We once had a tabby of our own, so we started with our fave. We got a great response almost as soon as we shared them on Instagram and Facebook. So that's very exciting! We've already got a handful of kitty diecuts that we'll be sending to new homes across the country later this week! 

And being that last Friday was National Doughnut Day we made sure to paint a classic pink frosted doughnut with sprinkles just in time.

Here's Aaron with his prize...and it looks as if he doesn't want to give it up. He's generally a veggie and fruit guy when it comes to snacks...but he's a sucker for doughnuts. Remember the Amish Doughnuts from our trip upstate? Well these are about that same size! ha! 

We had a sale going for Doughnut Day, but we are keeping it going another few days. So if you'd like a Doughnut, or Kitty, or anything else in the shop...right now you can take 25% off using code: DOUGHNUTS 

Here it is hanging along side our Vanilla Extract bottle diecut. 

And this may be my very favorite of all of our diecuts. We did it a few weeks back but it's still brand new to me. I guess because I had been wanting to do it for so so long. I think I've had Bunny Baby diecut sketches for years! Bunny Baby is one of our most prized collectibles (and family member/muse). I think our collections are my absolute favorite subject to paint.   

Isn't it so BIG?! So fun! 

And I couldn't be happier with the response! You guys "get it"! We shipped a bunch of Bunny Babies this past week and have another batch going out this week.

I love this photo that our friend Elena posted on Instagram of her bunny baby laying in a pool of pink tulle, surrounded by bunny friends and a pink heel. The second she shared this pic I knew Bunny Baby was in a more than worthy new home! ha!

And as we were packing orders this morning, we stopped and considered how much we love Instagram. We did these above paintings in square format and cropped them in the style of perfectly zoomed in Instagram pics. 

Through Instagram, not only can we connect with new collectors of our work...we've also made so many new friends. It's great to find other artists and makers who are creating and hustling in the same way we are. And there is just so much eye candy on Instagram. What a simple and great way to document daily life. We love scrolling back and seeing months of our life...the meals we have cooked, the things we have painted, fun with the pups...and yes, it stings my heart a bit when I scroll to a pic of little Jack. He has his own #hashtag....#littlejackthechihuahua. Gosh I love him so much! 

Here's a super fun display of our Instagram inspired plaques in our friend Lisa's kitchen. I love the phone, the lighting, the BAKE...

And I just had to share this! Such a fun surprise. I was tagged on Instagram, and the tag led me to a sweet friend's feed... (@bingobuttercup) she did this adorable illustration of me!  So unexpected. And her kind words made me smile. 

I love good mail days...but what I love even more are GREAT mail days. I just couldn't believe my good fortune on the most recent great mail day. I opened a package which was wrapped like a gift, and inside was a total surprise! It was sent to me from one of the cutest gal's I know, Lizzy, aka The Connoisseur of Cute. We met through the aforementioned awesome Instagram. Yep...this is the Betsey Johnson, Ice Cream cone wristlet that was a Friday Favorite of mine a while back. I have seriously had this on my wish list! If you love it and would like one of your own you can find them in Lizzy's shop! It's perfect!

Ok, that's the rundown of Jenny & Aaron's life for now. Like I said...I'll be back to recap the Country Living Fair very soon. We've got all the windows open today and the fan is blowing, helping to dry some paint. I love warm temps, but dislike super cold and super hot. I know we only get so much of this mild weather, so I'm fully appreciating every bit of it. I hope you guys are comfortable in your respective climates.

xo, Jenny...and Aaron

Life Lately...

Life lately has consisted of lots and lots of painting...Any and every which way we can but loose. ( My gosh I've been dying to use that line ; ) ) 

Sure, we're doing lots of artful painting, with palettes and detail brushes...but mostly we are Painting. We're painting boards for diecuts and sign orders. We're painting our walls, doors, and trim...and it's coming along so nicely! And we're painting a bunch of other home projects...little signs, shelves, shadow boxes, and other decor objects. Whenever we step back and take a look at the stuff we've been working on in our home, we'll come to the realization that paint is by far, our weapon of choice. It is our crutch...it is our go-to medium. When it comes to art/home/decor/creativity...paint is the one thing we simply cannot live without.

 So yeah...aside from our work we've got a ton of projects all up in the air. I get so anxious when everything is in progress all at once. I'm just wanting to get it all done...but like I've talked about in past posts, we really have to balance it all. We can never take a big chunk of time and focus on just one thing. Instead, we paint maybe one corner of the kitchen while the orders that we're working on are drying. It's all about chipping away at the personal stuff while doing the work stuff. 

We took a trip to Michael's the other day and picked up some cute stuff, including these adorable little polaroid style candy colored chipboard frames. And I LOVE when newly purchased craft supplies magically harmonize with my already owned craft supplies. Just look at how the chipboard frames fit perfectly over the prints we ordered from Persnickety Prints, which I blogged about here.

I've mentioned my sweet friend Kimberlee Edgar before, in reference to how she truly truly gets me. She is of that rare breed of certain "Online friends" who truly understand me. I think we've all got those special online friends. These are friends that we've probably never met in person...and maybe never will. And not by choice really...it's just that we're all too busy doing other things...maybe the opportunity to meet will never arise. And that's OK. Because we find other ways to stay connected. Usually what draws us to one another are our collections...our passions for rare and unique things...all of these things that we "need"...the things that we simply cannot live without...the things that make our hearts beat faster. 

Most likely, these will be things that our family and friends may find a little odd...or maybe even consider them to be a waste of time or money. But our online friends get us completely...and we get them. Well Kimberlee is a jewel among my dear online friends. She's a gal who truly knows. And her heart just so happens to be made of gold. So...just the other day a very unexpected package arrived. It was brimming with the most perfect vintage treasures. Everything in the box was very Jenny! Vintage Birthday candles, party cups, and a tablecloth...a pack of bunny cake toppers that absolutely melt my heart...and a bunch more. This package was enough to make me dizzy. And it came at a perfect time. On that day, at that exact time, I was revisiting all of my favorite things. I'm getting the house back to being a home, and I have been pulling my fave decorations. It's been close to two years since I have been able to plan out my living space like this. I'm setting up vignettes, sketching room layouts, and I'm actually planning right down to the itty bitty details. You know that you're decorating for real once the tiny stuff comes into play. And Kimberlee infused my day with a very healthy dose of the tiny stuff! I am so inspired! 

 I definitely count myself lucky. And in my day to day existence I try to always acknowledge just how grateful I am...and I try to behave accordingly. I appreciate whole heartedly the great people that I am connected with. And here's a prime example as to why I should thank my lucky stars on a regular basis...Another amazing out-of-the-blue package arrived this past week! This one is from my sweet friend Marian. And Marian is and online friend who I've actually met in real life. Me and Aaron were lucky enough to spend time with Marian at the Sweethearts on the Homefront event that we taught at in Atlanta this past October. Once again...this is an example of a package arriving at exactly the right time. And of course Marian planned it this way. She's fully aware of how much Aaron and I have been despising this cold, dreary, everlasting, New Jersey winter. Well, this particular day had been especially gray...I think if you had to name a Benjamin Moore paint after the color of the sky on this specific day it would be "Sorrow", ha! but seriously...what a gross day it was. So...when me and Aar opened Marian's package and found a plethora of sunshiny florals...we both looked at each other and said "wow, she sent us a box full of Springtime!"

It was so thoughtful, kind...and very necessary on that gross day. Included was the sweetest vintage apron with little pink bunnies, also a big pink mercury glass heart ornament, and ornaments for our Christmas tree! Just so so kind! I can't even describe how lucky we feel to have met and connected with such generous and caring people. Although we have met only briefly, or not at all, we truly count them as real deal friends. I mean, I think a fitting definition for "friend" could certainly be: "a person with whom you share very specific passions & tastes...and one whose existence makes your day, and your life exponentially better and brighter."

And all of these friendships are made possible through blogging, art, crafts, and collecting! Wow.

Now like I said, decor-wise we are revisiting our roots. Our kitchen will once again feature sweet vintage bakery vignettes. The jars of sprinkles, tiny ballerinas, vintage recipe cards, aprons, and all that good stuff will finally be back on display. The new kitchen will be all about taking these treasures and making them part of our day to day.

 I ordered some happy things from Bake it Pretty. I just love how they package orders! See those pink sprinkles?...they are tiny pink bunny heads! 

Maybe 7 years ago or more we painted this little Birthday Party vignette on the back of this cute, chippy paint, vintage metal stool. We still love it today, and this will go in the kitchen as well.

And these insanely cute plastic clown toppers needed a bubble bath. Some look like they may have partied with a bit too much chocolate frosting.

Here you can see a tiny peek of the new wall color in the kitchen. I love how calm, soothing, warm, and inviting this color is. It will serve as a great vintagey neutral backdrop to our candy colored collections.

I'm a sucker for wire shopping baskets like this. You'd find them in the old five & dime stores. I remember going shopping with my grandma at Woolworth's, and then we'd take a break and sit at the lunch counter...both of us ordering grilled cheeses! This basket totally conjures up some of those memories for me. This one is actually new and I found it at Home Goods months ago. When I bought it it had an awful neon red handle with black smudges that must've been the maker's attempt at antiquing. The neon red had to go...so I painted it a pale aqua and gave it a little antiquing wash of my own.

I just had to share this! A gal on Instagram tagged me in this photo. She had been reading an issue of NY Metro Parents magazine and came across this article about scrapbooking your family vacation...And the article features our book! Namely, our Down the Shore art journal spread...which is maybe the most fun journaling spread in the whole book...just so many cool techniques go into this one spread. And yes...it's a great magazine article. The writer did a fantastic job!

You know what?...it happens to be National Pancake Day! Yep! It's a thing! Look it up. We've been making and shipping lots of Jumbo Pancake Diecuts! We're so happy that you guys like them so much! We just think they are super fun! And they can fit so many different types of decor! Who doesn't like pancakes?!  

And yes...little Jack is overseeing things as usual! 

If you have had your eye on Pancakes, or any other die cut in our collection, but for some reason you haven't been able to seal the deal...well maybe 20% off will be the extra nudge you needed! 

This sale is good on Diecuts and anything else in the shop. Just use code: INSTALOVE

And last but not least...Here is our Birthday boy! Our little old man Carlos turned 13 on March 1st!  Hard to believe he's been with us for that long! Geez! he's been around for so much stuff! I remember him as a tiny little thing in the back room of our store! One time we were in the store helping a customer while Carlos waited in the back room. Well, after the customer left we went into the back and found that little Carlos had thrown around Aaron's wallet. All of his money was in Carlos' water bowl, there were business cards and credit cards thrown everywhere, and also an entire roll of paper towel was unrolled, strewn all over the back room, and totally shredded. It was hilarious actually. We couldn't figure out how ONE little chihuahua could do all that in such a short amount of time. It was totally like less than 10 minutes! We had him for under a month at that point, and I can remember us thinking 'oh boy...this pup is gonna be trouble.' ha!

Luckily that was really one of the only times he did something like that. He's generally a good guy. Maybe he's a little barky in his old age...but I guess that's not too big a deal. He's our best bud! We'll be having a little joint Birthday party and cake for both boys at the end of the month. Yep, Jack is also a March baby! 

Ok, that's all for now. I'll be back soon with some artful projects and more!

xo, Jenny...and Aaron says hi! 

Life Lately...

I'm really looking forward to getting some better weather. This weekend is predicted to be in the 50's, which may as well be the 80's relatively speaking. Today was gloomy and grey but we made a point of getting a whole lotta stuff done. Including shipping a ton of boxes. It felt great to come home from the post office and the only thing left on the work table was a stack of invoices marked "shipped". I shared the above photo on Instagram today. The house gets turned upside down when we are packing up orders. This here is a little stack that's just about to get wrapped in pink paper. Notice Jack, our shipping department manager. He seems to be taking a cuddle break while simultaneously keeping a watchful eye on our progress. Oh, and that's our new chair...Jack likes to wedge himself between the new chair and the wall. I'll make sure to blog room pics once we finish it all. At present it is crazy. Our new couch arrived and we've got it all set up behind our current couch...like it's the understudy...or the next batter up at bat. And there is also an elliptical crowded back there too. We're all class over here. 

We always try to throw a little edible treat in each box we ship out. That way we can brighten up more than one of your senses. These new gold foil wrapped white chocolate truffles might become a pretty regular inclusion...if me and Aaron can keep our hands off them! 

We love getting orders for our Cookies sign...totally a fave of ours.

When not working on orders we are either cooking or baking. This is one of our favorite muffin recipes...Double Berry Whole Wheat Good Morning Muffins. And they're not just for morning...when you're eating one close to bedtime...to make it legit, all you have to do is take a bite and say "oh, good morning." 

The kitchen is slowly but surely coming together. We hung our Stainless Shelves on the black wall and love them! 

Out of any new kitchen purchases, our classic spice jars are getting the most daily use. We go for non frilly types of things when it comes to kitchen implements. We really like the simplicity of these jars. We pretty much can tell all of our spices by sight, but you never want to mix up garam masala and pumpkin pie spice...which are super similar looking...so we've got tiny labels on the bottoms of some of the jars.

And I shared this little cabinet in this post. I wallpapered the back with some favorite vintage geometric paper. Again, I want the majority of our kitchen stuff to be neutral in color...that way, our fun and bright vintage collectibles will stand out even more. To soften up the shelves a bit, I'm trying to decide on either this vintage ball trim or a scallop along the edge thats made from vintage recipe book pages. 

And we finally decided on a paint color for the kitchen. This photo truly does not represent it well. It's more of a darker tan than it appears here...a latte color. I rolled the first coat last night and hope to finish it all tomorrow. There is still tons to do, but it is really looking good. I loved coming downstairs this morning and seeing color on the wall.

Tomorrow is a busy day. Lots of different things happening, including a conference call with our publisher. It feels really good to have all of these different projects going all at once. I fear being underwhelmed way more than I'd fear being overwhelmed. Gimme more...throw another task on the pile...in some weird way it actually calms my nerves.

ok...thats it for now! Thanks for reading!

xo, Jenny