all the parts

there's a part of me that still feels as if i'm floating away on that sparkling lake, even though my feet are thoroughly planted back home, back in the usual swing of things.

there's a part of me that wishes i could see all of those beautiful squammers more often.  

& then there's the part of me that knows that it somehow it wouldn't be as special.

 

there's a part of me that needs more time to find the words to explain it all.  

& there's that part of me that knows that they just might not come to the surface.

*

sometimes there's a part of me that likes to stay quiet, to simply sit with the all of beauty and be comforted by my blue, blurry memories.

& then there's the part of me that wants to get it all out, to share in this space so i don't forget.  & so that you might make your way to the lake someday too.

& right now, that's the part that is whispering loudly in my ear, so loudly in fact, that i may just give in.  

so for now, you have these pictures.  simple snapshots that captured quiet moments.  

the hush of the in between...

words are to come.  all in due time.  

*

it was seriously the best squam ever.  really & truly.  

all of me is incredibly thankful that i got to be a part of it. 

xo *s

rain rain go away

rainy day tea
(c) sarah ahearn bellemare

it's been a rainy rainy start to september here in new england!  i don't know about you, but i'd rather have crisp, sunshiny days with blue skies, that's for sure!  

i've been working on getting prepped for squam.  i can't believe it's in a week!  i'll be teaching 3 classes this fall, and i can't tell you how excited i am to teach, meet new folks and reconnect with friends.  squam is really the highlight of my year!   

i'm looking forward to seeing many of you there!  

more soon xo *s

ps:  i'm loving the fancy new blogger interface, much more user friendly.  yay!

and...

we're back.

it took about 16 hours of driving with a lot of traffic, but we all made it home in one piece from the sea. ada did amazingly well in the car. rarely a peep out of her. really. she's a keeper. ; )

squam-by-the-sea was, just like you may have already heard, a m a z i n g...

really was.

you'll see what i mean when i show you my pictures. (tomorrow)

so. much. goodness.

we have been very busy since getting back home, and today, instead of writing out my "oh so very long list of stuff i want to remember to share with you that i have in my head but have yet to find the time to actually sit down and write it all out in a nice way" blog post, you'll have this one, a visual "bits and bobbles/miss (or is it mish or misc?) mash of what i have been up to in the past couple of weeks" post. phew. that was a mouthful.

mostly 'cause it's been a long, but good, day. so there. truth be told.

here it goes.... ( i think you'll like it this way better anyway)

fun at jen's studio.

see more shots here

everything was all yellow,

then it was pink and gray.

and this is what i see on the way back from yoga.

om.

captured with my iphone.

lovely sights like this made it easier to come home from the sea.

*

and lastly, for now, just dreaming about

this space and teaching a workshop there.

or some space like it.

maybe, just maybe.

this winter.

what do you think?

some peeks as promised!

i'm rushing out the door (literally!) to squam by the sea... but i had to share these peeks into the book with you! i went through the entire book (laser copies) with my editor yesterday, page by page, and it was so fun to see it all on paper! she then gave me the go-ahead to share some bits of the pages with you! yay!

see you after we return from the sea... i think it's just what i need after these busy past few months! xo *s

{8 things}

okay, so i seem to avoid blogging when i have too much to say. does that make sense?! probably not, but it's what i did last week. i returned from squam with SO much to say that i just felt overwhelmed and didn't say anything at all. silly me.

i'll get there this week, i promise, but let's just say for today that it was a fantastic time. having ada in tow with my mom made it really great, only a wee bit tricky here and there. grammy sally and ada b made lots of new friends as they strollered around while i was teaching, and i believe that ada was the second most photographed thing after the lake. so we coined a new term: babyrazzi. * to any of the people who were taking pictures~ i'd love it if you would like to share a picture or two that you captured of ada at squam! thanks! : )

{8 t h i n g s}

i did instead of blogging

last week:

monday:

brought ada to her 4-month check-up. (shots. yuck.) then, i did a lot of squam laundry. everything smelled like wood smoke from our fireplace. we had a smokey fire the first night which turned into a big old smoke fest with alarms and all. we ended up having to open the doors instead of getting warm. thank goodness for space heaters. well, i should really say space heater, because when they gave us another we blew a fuse. adventures.

tuesday:

vacuumed my house. this was WAY overdue. ada slept durning the whole thing. it's true you can vacuum around a sleeping baby. what a fun fact! and yes, it took most of my day.

wednesday:

gave ada a bath in her tub. yes, she's had a bath before, but this day marked the first bath where she didn't scream through the entire thing. no arching out or giving me the evil eye either. oh, and neither of us were in tears this time by the end of it all. we even had fun! she smiled and chatted and played... although not evident from this shot, it's true. hooray!

thursday:

my sister came from colorado to met ada for the first time. we've been having lots of fun with auntie heather! my sister is going through some big and brave life changes and we are so proud of her! she recently quit her job, is moving back east, and just today, started an MBA program in boston. exciting things are afoot. yay for my sister!

friday:

heather, jesse and i went to see one of our most favorite guys... it was so fun to see him in person! i love him even more. our bets that he would be wearing jeans, cowboy boots and an untucked white button down shirt were spot on. i'll upload a pic when i can to prove it.

also,

* ada and i went for lots of long stroller walks each day

*i dropped my camera and broke it. yup. (hence, no pictures from squam to share yet, but i'm working on getting them off of the memory card... )

*on those walks i came up with about 62 blog posts in my head that i never had the time to sit down and write.

as i promised my squam students, i will be a better blogger. so with that, i'll see you tomorrow!

xo *s

ps: i wrote this on monday afternoon, got ready to post, and then was sidetracked... so here it is on tuesday am! ah! more soon...

thankful

hello hello!

where did last week go? not sure. my apologies for not returning until today! i've been hard at work painting/creating/planning/brainstorming... i also finally have my chalkboard back, (hooray!) so it's filling up with ideas for the future~ lots plans and projects in the works. i'm also pulling together a big etsy upload AND a little giveaway... so stay tuned for that early next week.

today, i'm wrapping up some commissions and tying up some lose ends, then i can relax for the next couple of days. i'm really looking forward to a great meal tomorrow with our families. (yup, all together, my parents and my husband's family) it will also be the first thanksgiving in a very l o n g time when we won't be traveling AND since we'll all be together, we won't have to eat two thanksgiving dinners! : )

on friday we'll take the day for a few adventures to kick of the holiday season... no mall shopping, instead we'll go up into the hills for something called moonlight magic. it all takes place in a little village nearby, they light up the sidewalks and riverside with festive luminaries, while all of shops and galleries stay open late. a nice way to enter into the hectic holiday season don't you think?

it's been a foggy gray day here in new england, i stayed in and made soup for lunch and decided to take some kitchen pictures for you!

happy thanksgiving to those celebrating here in the states! i'm thankful for you, my wonderful blog readers! thanks to you and have a happy weekend!

xo *s

ps: we did see some meteors last week! we watched the night sky as we were serenaded by lots of howling coyotes! i had some pretty cold/windburned pink cheeks the next day... but it was worth it!

friday evening list

* * *

i am still playing catch up~ i finally uploaded all of my squam photos here! (better late than never!)

preparing for weekend guests~ today i did 7 loads of laundry. please note that we live on the third floor and the laundry is in the basement. yup, got my exercise today.

rewarding myself~ tea and a chocolate croissant. i earned it.

preparing for TWIST~ my favorite show is here again next weekend!

crossing things off the to do list. feels really good. that list is just way too long.

wishing i could be at the dinner party at her house tonight! it's a pre-CORE celebration!

i'm so thankful that i made it a quiet (online) October~ feeling much more refreshed and ready to share lots more with you next week. still more news to share and catching up to do!

loving our new couch~ at last we have a non-hand-me-down cozy couch! our new place is beginning to feel more like a home. ready to nest in for the winter already i think!

looking forward to showing our friends around our neighborhood and campus. i think we'll eat here too.

i'll be thinking of all of the ladies out in L.A. at the opening tomorrow night! if you are in the area, hope you'll check it out the amazing show! oh! and if you go, please, have an extra glass of wine for me!

wishing you a fun-filled weekend and i'll see you next week!

xo *s

a monday list.

my pieces for the eta show.

getting everything together for my squam classes!

i am going to make beet soup.

a list of (some not so fun) things:

- the day started out with an eye full of shampoo. foreshadowing.

-i then opened my shipment of carefully chosen squam supplies to discover that they had shipped everything but the paint. yes, the paint which was the majority of the order.

hello? dick blick? yes, um, i'm gonna need that paint you forgot to put in the box to teach a painting class in a few days... instead of bursting into tears, i suprised myself by remaining calm, cool and collected. they overnighted it for free and say it'll be here tomorrow. i leave for squam on wednesday. so that's that. fingers crossed.

- remember how i was going to share with you my photos from the opening of the enormous tiny art show at nahcotta? well, let's just say things didn't go quite as planned... in our first attempt at a mini summer vacation, (note that summer is pretty much over and this was our first attempt at a get-a-way) our new car died on us just as we pulled into freeport, maine. we thought it'd be fun to go to freeport, walk around for a bit and then hit our favorite spot for dinner before then making our way back down south (about an hour or so) to portsmouth, nh for the opening.

instead of having a leisurely and relaxing eveing, we rode in a tow truck to portland, then in a taxi to the airport, then in a rental car back to portsmouth. we made it to the very end of the opening, got a very late dinner and made it home just after midnight. yup. that was fun. i say all this to tell you that's why i don't have any pictures of the opening because we were just too frazzled. i hope you'll forgive me.

- i've been having fun packing up for squam and i thought you'd like to see a sneak peek. notice no paint yet, but lots of other fun goodies! i'm getting so excited to teach my class!

- i had special photo shoot with this amazing lady last weekend! it was so much fun, she's magic that one... can't wait to show you the shots she took of me. excited to see you in a couple of days thea!

- school started last week. i had first day jitters even though it my husband's first week as a new professor here at smith. i made a first day of school celebratory dinner that included a fresh arugula and goat cheese salad, a homemade pizza with carmelized onions and summer squash and chocolate lava cakes... it was nice to be cooking again now that the kitchen is (somewhat) unpacked. it was delicious. i am now attempting a chilled beet soup. wish me luck.

- the crisp fall air is officially here. love.

- hopefully with paint in tow, i head for the beauty of squam on wednesday morning. i cannot wait. going with an open heart and mind and with a car packed totally full of creative supplies. i'm so looking forward to meeting many wonderful people and having a magical time. i keep having to pinch myself.

till soon,

xo *s