I can't believe it is already November. I promised to write more, yet I've written less! It seems life just keeps coming.....I wish it would slow just a little. It's not like the stores are helping us out in slowing the holidays down....seriously do we need Christmas decorations up the day after Halloween? Does Starbucks really need to get out the holiday cups so early????? I know....I do bug my clients in August to start thinking about those family photos for holiday cards..........
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
halloween
I can't believe it is already November. I promised to write more, yet I've written less! It seems life just keeps coming.....I wish it would slow just a little. It's not like the stores are helping us out in slowing the holidays down....seriously do we need Christmas decorations up the day after Halloween? Does Starbucks really need to get out the holiday cups so early????? I know....I do bug my clients in August to start thinking about those family photos for holiday cards..........
is it really almost over?
I can't believe we will be meeting the teachers this week for the new school year. Where did the summer go? It seems like yesterday the kids said goodbye to their teachers as they skipped to the bus one last time. Now, as I watch the kids gear up for fall sports, I long for the lazy days of summer that somehow did not seem to materialize this year!
Even though this summer seemed to fly by quicker than the rest, I am thankful for so many little gems that surfaced. One such gem was the retirement of the silver sparkler boat. Who knew you had to "winterize" the engine????? After finding out the engine was cracked, we decided the best route was to get a new boat. Chalk one up to experience. We certainly won't do that again. While a little painful in the pocket, the boat has sure been fun! The kids loved tubing with their buddies, jumping off the swim platform, and cruising at sunset. As ambivalent as I was about the boat, I enjoyed a not-so-elegant run at water skiing, feeling thankful that I did not break anything in the six times it took to actually rise out of the water. Note to self: Things sure don't lift out of the water like they used to!!!
I found another little gem in the conversations we had over cards and wine. Quiet evenings in the summer spent with friends and family discussing small, but not insignificant dreams, hopes and goals in life-this to me is the ultimate gem to uncover-deep conversations that do not mainifest in the day to day interactions, but when given time, can unfold like a beautiful rose when time seems so endless. I think this is what I will miss most about the summer ending.
For things at shawn, I am working to nurture my creative soul. I am touched by those of you asking for more-more new products, more creative ideas. I am very thankful to Laura Hussey for the beautiful piece she wrote about shawnsthings in this month's Wilton Magazine in "Designing Women". What a privilege it is to be included with such talented women. I look forward to the fall season with childish anticipation, as though I am waiting for Santa at Christmas time. I can't wait to see what presents I will open as my clients trust me to execute their visions. I look forward to the gift of the connections that will be made this year!
xo,
shawn
Even though this summer seemed to fly by quicker than the rest, I am thankful for so many little gems that surfaced. One such gem was the retirement of the silver sparkler boat. Who knew you had to "winterize" the engine????? After finding out the engine was cracked, we decided the best route was to get a new boat. Chalk one up to experience. We certainly won't do that again. While a little painful in the pocket, the boat has sure been fun! The kids loved tubing with their buddies, jumping off the swim platform, and cruising at sunset. As ambivalent as I was about the boat, I enjoyed a not-so-elegant run at water skiing, feeling thankful that I did not break anything in the six times it took to actually rise out of the water. Note to self: Things sure don't lift out of the water like they used to!!!
I found another little gem in the conversations we had over cards and wine. Quiet evenings in the summer spent with friends and family discussing small, but not insignificant dreams, hopes and goals in life-this to me is the ultimate gem to uncover-deep conversations that do not mainifest in the day to day interactions, but when given time, can unfold like a beautiful rose when time seems so endless. I think this is what I will miss most about the summer ending.
For things at shawn, I am working to nurture my creative soul. I am touched by those of you asking for more-more new products, more creative ideas. I am very thankful to Laura Hussey for the beautiful piece she wrote about shawnsthings in this month's Wilton Magazine in "Designing Women". What a privilege it is to be included with such talented women. I look forward to the fall season with childish anticipation, as though I am waiting for Santa at Christmas time. I can't wait to see what presents I will open as my clients trust me to execute their visions. I look forward to the gift of the connections that will be made this year!
xo,
shawn
birthday
The four day birthday weekend started with lunch, bookgroup girls and fresh hand-dipped chocolates from Wilton Treats. Then, I enjoyed dinner Saturday night at my favorite restaurant http://www.theschoolhouseatcannondale.com/ where they had a gorgeous flower arrangement and champagne waiting for me! It finished yesterday with my children waking me up with coffee and breakfast in bed and handmade cards! When I came downstairs there was a beautiful sign that read "Happy Birthday Mom" (handmade by the kids of course). All day I received many phone calls and visits with birthday wishes which, to me are some of the best gifts. I got a new camera lens from hubby....love it! We finished with a homemade chocolate cake that my daughter baked and frosted for me. I really had a special birthday thanks to everyone and their simple, thoughtful gestures. xoxoxoxo
high temp to only reach 14*????
OK, so this is where I begin to complain about the weather-specifically the temperature and what it "feels" like. Friday I think the high is going to be 14* but it will "feel like" ZERO with the wind. I almost wrote "wine" instead of "wind"......must be me thinking about wine to ward of the frigid temps!!! How many more days until spring???? Anyway, this weekend we got ANOTHER four inches of snow with a crispy coating of ice. Yeah, I said ICE! When we asked the kids "Why don't you go out and build a snowman or have a snowballfight?" SOMETHING!!!!!! Anything!!!! (we were going a little stir crazy this weekend) They just looked at us and said "That isn't the GOOD kind of snow!" UGH!!!! They were right, it was awful, so we decided to paint instead. Good thing I stocked up on acrylic paints and canvases. If you've never done this with kids before.....BEWARE! It is highly addicting. We went through a total of 14 canvases (not including the one I did) and many tubes of acrylic paint. The good news I have instant art for the bare walls in my hall!! It is sensational, however, to see three kids get caught up in the moment, not wanting to stop even to eat. This morning my littlest one didn't even want to go to school. He just wanted to paint. Guess it's time to go get more canvases!! It was a good weekend, indeed. xo
Happy New Year!
What a year. As I look back on 2008, I realize, happily, that I spent much of the year connecting with family and friends, enjoying the process of creating for clients and kicked things up a notch with my re-kindled passion-photography. The close of the year however, brought some sad news as my father in law passed away rather suddenly on December 27th. While he has lived a long and fruitful life-6 kids, 15 grand kids, 7 great-grand kids.........married to the same woman for 65 years-the gap that remains is one not easily filled. He is greatly missed. I feel blessed that we already planned a trip to Arizona to visit, but saddened as our chance to visit with him was cut short. Fortunately, we also planned to visit my parents in Utah, and had an opportunity to catch up with them. Time is so precious. As I look to 2009, I am more resolute than ever to maintain the connections with those I care about. I am excited about the chance to feed my soul, taking some much needed time-out with creative classes to keep the creativity flowing. I PROMISE to share some pics as soon as the dust settles around here. xo
weekend update!
Another beautiful weekend here in CT and we were lucky to share much of it with our good friends P&K from CA and their children. They celebrated HALLOWEEN with us Friday night and had a sports-filled weekend. We kicked it off with a nail-biting soccer match for my 6 year old and they WON (though we are NOT keeping score). We then went to a YALE game where we watched the children of a friend play some great defense against Columbia. It was a very festive atmosphere hanging with the parents of these players and now all three of my kids want to go to YALE! We hurried home for a playoff football GAME for my 9 year old. It was another nail-bitter but with some great plays and excellent blocking they won! We capped off the day with dinner at our favorite local restaurant the Schoolhouse at Cannondale. Check out their blog: http://schoolhouserestaurant.wordpress.com/. Chef TIM is cooking up some yummy things-I thought the LOBSTER Risotto was out of this world! While this is a busy month, I am looking forward to all the creativity that will flow with the holidays. I also look forward to family, friends, cooking and relaxing over Thanksgiving! It's going to be a great month. xo shawn
Brrrrrr!
It is cold out there! 32 degrees this am...........while this weekend was beautiful, the cold is beginning to creep in and I'm not so sure I am ready for it! Where DID I put that winter coat???? I was able to get a little shot in the creative arm this weekend thanks in large part to B and her beautiful family who were very patient and relaxed-allowing me to "play" and get some fun shots of their family at the same time. We were at Ambler Farm http://www.amblerfarm.org/ and it is a truly inspirational place to capture family memories. We are lucky to have it in our little town. We also had a little soccer, a little football and some R&R to round out the perfect weekend.
COLOR!
Every year I am surprised by the vibrancy of color in the fall. This weekend we had some time off from SCHOOL and we took a trip up to see the fall colors and visit the lake house. It was breath-taking. I took this SHOT from the shore of our house and all weekend, at sunset, we could not peel our eyes away from the glowing colors. We feel so lucky to be in New England-especially at this time of year. I worked on getting some shots of the kids for our HOLIDAY card! We had a great weekend and are ready to get back into the routine-though 6am came EARLY today. xo shawn
once in awhile...........
Once in awhile someone or something touches you. It resonates with your soul. While doing some research on wine-making, I came across a quote from the late Robert Mondavi. He is credited with paving the way for California wine-making. His quote: "Wine to me is a passion. It's family and friends. It's warmth of heart and generosity of spirit. Wine is art. It's culture. It's the essence of civilization and the art of living". Now that says it all, doesn't it?
xo shawn
xo shawn
Uncertainty
I know for many of us it has been a CRAZY week. Living near NYC I have seen how the erratic behavior in the stock market has affected people. While I think that burying your head in the sand and pretending there are no real ISSUES out there is silly, taking time to remind yourself of all the beautiful things around you is one way to help control the madness. I feel especially lucky to have a warm and loving family, a perfect studio from which to create, Good friends that make me LAUGH, interesting, QUIRKY clients who challenge me to "bring it" every time I work on a project for them, and most of all, the ability to ALTER my state of mind at any given time simply by changing my perception of the situation. It has been a roller coaster of a ride this week, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I THANK those of you who have contacted me to do your holiday cards as it has provided me the ability to focus on beauty, simplicity, family and all the warm feelings that come with the holidays. I look forward to all the other CLIENTS out there who allow me to touch their lives with my simple and artful holiday cards.
xoxo shawn
xoxo shawn
boat update
ok, so yes, the boat does float! This weekend we got it back from the real fixing place aka marina, and my does it fly. Our friends P & K visited from CA with their children and we had an awesome time on the intertube. The boat runs beautifully! The weather was fantastic. Picture perfect in the northeast. I only hope it holds for the bookgroup "meeting"aka wine club! I will show you some boat pics soon-I promise. Meanwhile, we have had a productive few days of work with kiddos back at school. I am amazed at the organizational skills of some people: PR and KL you know who you are! Already the holiday card orders are coming in as well as pre-orders for teacher gift items. It's never too early to start planning for those holidays!! xo shawn
It's here!
The first day of school has finally come. It seems way too early for school to start. Although, after driving around town I have definitely noticed that some of the trees are turning! A few of my friends have taken their children to college. I can't imagine the feeling of dropping off your "little" one who is not so little anymore. As a little "hint" to write, consider a gift of pre-stamped notecards.......might make hearing from them a little easier!! I am looking forward to having more creative time in the studio. With our Annual Fall Trunk Show almost here, I need to get production in gear!!! Gone are those lazy days of summer! But hello to those beautiful fall mornings and evenings, fires in the fireplace, hot cocoa, oranges, blacks, greys, purples, spiders, witches.........Halloween will be here before we know it. I saw in the market just the other day "100 Halloween tips...." Do they know it is still August?????? I know, blink and it will be here and it always pays to prepare! xo
5 days and counting...........
Yes, normally this time of year I'd be singing "it's the most wonderful time of the year....." right along with the staples commercial except somehow, this year, I am sad the summer is nearing the end. Don't get me wrong, I love the fall more than any homegrown New Englander ever did, but this summer has been spectacular. I have spent more time playing monopoly, teaching my kids the game of hearts, swimming, kayaking and reading than I have EVER done since childhood. It truly has been a blissful summer....so I can't help but feel a little sad to see it go. I wonder if anyone else is feeling the same way?? 5 more days to go and I plan to live 'em up with the kiddos!
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