So the time has finally arrived for me to share with you why I’ve been so absent on this little blog of late. I have, I think, embarked on what is perhaps my biggest, most involved project to date. Can you guess what it is?
SH and I are expecting! It has been really hard for me to keep this under wraps because I have been so overjoyed and this is something SH and I have hoped for and are so delighted with the turn of events in our lives that this baby is bringing. The Blueberry (as we nicknamed it; those equations of the baby’s size with fruit as it grows have been amusing to say the least) is supposed to make it’s arrival in March and we couldn’t be more excited and feel more blessed. I’m working my way through week 12 at present, and am thankfully starting to ditch some of the more unpleasant first trimester symptoms that dogged me from week 5 (mostly nausea and overwhelming fatigue). I knew it was time to come back to blogging last week when I couldn’t stop noting down post ideas–my brain felt like it had woken up from a nearly 2 month nap! lol. It was a bit tough to just stop blogging like I did; I felt rather guilty (along with all the other things I had to miss out on this summer…
), but I think it was what I needed to get through this first third of the pregnancy: simplify and relax (and try to feel better when I could
).
I still keep pinching myself that this is happening; it seems like every week brings something new and unexpected! My brain seems to be in full baby mode right now (a rather surprising thing for me; heretofore I never thought I was really a “baby person”. lol.), and I’ve been planning out my maternity sewing, collecting classic children’s books at thrift stores (I have a good size stack already!), and scheming over nursery decor (and how we’re going to make everything fit). Lest you think this will totally take over the blog, never worry: while it will find a home in my blogging, there is lots of non-baby content I have planned out. So never fear if babies aren’t quite your thing.
Thank you to everyone who hung in there with me this past month while I disappeared from the blog world and took an impromptu sabbatical. Hopefully it won’t happen again (and I’ll have time to get some guest posters lined up) until the baby is due!
I know I have a few blogging things to catch up on (like the grading series), and in good time I hope to.
P.S. SH is really happy about the baby, lest you think he doesn’t look it in the photos! He’s just not much of a smiling guy, plus he’s exhausted from work lately. But he was sweet enough to indulge in my request to get some announcement photos, despite his tiredness. Such a sweetheart!
| All photos taken by me (and my trusty camera remote). |
September 10, 2012 ·
288 lovely thoughts
posted in baby diary
· tags: baby diary, life
Hello and happy September, friends! I’m still lurking about here, though not blogging like I’d like to. I’ve gotten a slew of very sweet, very concerned emails over the past week, and I want to assure everyone that I’m still alive and kicking! hehe. Thank you so much for checking in on me though; I can’t tell you how lovely that has been to find notes in my inbox from readers–they have brightened my days immeasurably.
Things have been a bit topsy-turvy in the past month, and everything seemed to be telling me it was wise to take a blog sabbatical and let life take it’s odd little course it’s on at the moment. I’ve been prepping some posts for later this month though, and will be back next week with a more thorough explanation of some of the craziness that has happened (and kept me from blogging), as well as new projects, inspiration and homemaking posts, and perhaps a giveaway or two (I’m so excited about these and I think you will be too! Let’s just say that vintage sewing patterns are involved!). My sincerest apologies for just dropping off the face of the (virtual) earth for awhile, but I think you’ll understand why it was necessary after next week’s post. (I know, I’m being so mysterious!)
I hope each one of you are having a lovely September thus far! I’ll be back very soon…
September 5, 2012 ·
48 lovely thoughts
posted in misc
·
Why, hello and happy August, friends! Things have once again been a bit topsy-turvy around here (health related stuff… I’m okay, but it’s just an ongoing issue that is putting a serious cramp in my mojo!), which just leads me to the conclusion once again that this year is not my year for consistent blogging.
I can’t believe the summer is nearly over–though I am a bit glad that in the next few months the weather will cool down and autumn will start to make an appearance. That is my hands-down favorite season, and I have a ton of plans (and ideas!) for the autumn and can’t wait for it to come!
Judging from previous posts on knitting, it seems many of you also enjoy this particular handcraft. I’m a bit of what I call a “seasonal knitter” (and a slow one at that!): during the spring and summer I seem to loose my knitting steam. But come August, my fingers start itching to hold some knitting needles and fuzzy yarn, creating a few things to keep me (or family) warm during the coming fall and winter. So almost on cue, I found myself at the local yarn shop down the street the other day, dreaming of some upcoming projects and browsing all the beautiful fibers. (So many yarns, so little time to make everything I want to!)
A ball of yarn did come home with me–nothing special, but seemed perfect for a knit beret that I needed. I seem to have only knit red and bright pink ones in years past for myself, but not all my coats work well with those colors. (Yes, I am too picky about color coordination!) So I grabbed a ball of this pretty white (Cascades 220 Superwash) and paired it with a lovely cabled beret pattern (available free here; Ravelry page here). I’ve been tinkering away the last few evenings on this project, watching the cables forming and enjoying the rhythmic and calming nature of knitting.
Do you have anything you’re knitting right now? Daydreaming about a new project?
August 6, 2012 ·
56 lovely thoughts
posted in knitting
· tags: knitting
I’ve been thrifting since I was a child. I have very distinct, early memories of waking up on Saturday morning to go with Mom to the local AmVets’s thrift store. Character print tees for 25¢, rifling through racks of poufy old prom dresses, and digging through piles of vintage knick-knacks for things that caught my child’s magpie-like eye (and I could afford with my allowance or convince Mom I needed). Thrifting has been as much an economic necessity as a creative outlet (refashioning, anyone?). I may not be quite the thrifting maven that some are, but I do enjoy a good few hours at my favorite haunts, seeing what new treasures I can find for a few dollars!
This 1960s nightgown is a bit frou-frou, I will admit. But I’ve always wanted one of these obnoxiously pink, floaty garments from the early to mid 60s. They’re so much more fun than pj pants and a tank top for nightwear, don’t you think? (A little bit of Doris Day glamour!) Now all I need is to tease my hair up into a bouffant, find a pair of marabou trimmed mules, and fix myself a mocktail… hehe! Best part yet? The thrift store had originally priced it at $6.99 (more than I’d pay for vintage lingerie–this particular store knows their stuff and tends to be a bit higher for vintage), but had been marked down to $1.75 (more my speed)! It needed a little TLC: a good wash, a few threads snipped here and there, and the old neckline lace removed (it was shattered in spots) and replaced with some vintage lace from my stash. It’s not perfect by any means, but wearable–which is what I intend!
Have you found any interesting thrift finds recently? Things have actually been really picked over here, so I was surprised and utterly delighted I actually found this nightgown! There have been far too many days lately I’ve actually left the thrift stores empty handed… But thrifting tends to be very “feast or famine”–which is probably why I keep stopping by my favorite places just in case!
P.S. Thank you all so, so much for your heartwarming comments on Monday’s post! I cannot begin to tell you what they meant to me and how encouraged I am. Thank you for hanging in there as I get my footing again with blogging, and being so understanding!
July 25, 2012 ·
57 lovely thoughts
posted in thrifting + vintage
· tags: 1960s, thrifting + vintage
Dear Friends,
I have, I think, suffered a bit from major blogging burnout the past months. It’s been brewing for awhile, to be sure, but came to a head this month. I could ramble on about how there are more than a few offline (otherwise known as “real life”! hehe!) things of big importance have been vying for my attention these days and eating my time, but y’all know how that is. Because I’m sure you’ve been in the same spot before: too much to do, and far too little time and energy to accomplish it all in. ‘Nuff said. But the bottom line is this: after my previous post, I didn’t do more than check my email, personal Facebook and occasionally Pinterest for days. The internet and blogland had just become too overwhelming for me. I avoided it. Something had to give, and it was the blog and my feed reader.
I say this with a somewhat heavy heart, since abandoning my blog is never in my plans. I missed this space and all of you for all the days I avoided the internet. I felt guilty and like I was missing an outlet for my creativity and interests; but at the same time I’ve been feeling incredibly stifled by the blog itself. I knew the answer wasn’t to stop blogging altogether though! The blog needs to return a bit to what I originally started it for: sharing my myriad of creative interests and inspirations. I feel that I’ve gotten too focused on just vintagy things and sewing. Which I love and will never abandon, but there is a bit more balance to be had.
Things will be loosening up and evolving a bit around here over the next few months–becoming a bit more organic. I need to find more of a relaxed approach to blogging and make it fit seamlessly (and joyfully!) back into my schedule as it used to. I want a return of more creative joy and fun around here! There will be more about thrifting, my homemaking interests (I’ve missed those…), refashions, little inspirations, and everyday outfits. Sewing and vintage will still play a part, but perhaps yield a bit more to general creativity in ways I haven’t in the recent past.
Hopefully the change will be in ways that will still interest most of you who stop by to read my ramblings! (I’m very thankful for those of you who do continue to check by here!) So I hope you’ll hang in there over the next few months as Elegant Musings goes through a few growing pains and I attempt to find a new footing with blogging. I still want this to be a restful, inspiring place that you enjoy coming to every few days!
Thanks for you so much for reading this little blog… I am so thankful for the amazing, creative and caring community that has sprung up around here–it is a blessing!
July 23, 2012 ·
138 lovely thoughts
posted in life
· tags: rambling
