Since posting last: Some photos + some happenings

I keep saying to myself that I am going to post here...

And then time whizzes by.

Some days, I don't even know how the world seems to turn so quickly.

There has been a lot on my mind lately, but as much as I am told I am good at communicating, sometimes I just feel like I can't put it all into words. Or that I have enough words.

We have been trying to manifest a move, a super life change. It is taking a while, a good + solid lesson on patience, I guess (not my forte). But I feel things shifting, our new life drawing nearer and I am riled with excitement from deep down. Some days I can barely sit still or focus.

Anyway, here are a few things that are either going on or have happened since my last (and very distant) post:

1. We have gotten a butt-load of snow. I mean like record breaking! It is starting to melt now though (Hooray! I am ready for green and less clothing!)

2. I bought myself a bathing suit on a whim the other day (you know, just to be ready)- now I just need to get my butt in bathing suit wearing condition, ha! Do you have any favorite ways to get in shape? Or a type of movement that you enjoy?

3. I moved my shop/website to a new space. The old etsy shop is still up and running, but I am looking to move away from that platform, maybe all together. You can find Little Owl HERE.

I would love to know your thoughts! Do you like the look, the layout, etc.?

4. Also, I have many new things in the works for Little Owl, some of which are new designs and new styles to be brought in. I have a new print on a new dress style that you can find HERE.

Also, there are now a few men's tees in the shop as well!!!

5. We were totally sucked into this and now I pout every once in a while because we can't watch the 3rd season yet. Boo!

6. I was super excited to do a trade with this awesome lady.
I am totally in love with her work, make sure you pop by her shop and take a look!

7. I have been having itchy feet and the immense feeling of wanderlust. We are planning a trip later this spring. Hopefully flying into Denver and traveling down to northern New Mexico.

I. Can't. Wait.

8. I have never been a runner, but lately all I want to do is go for a jog (read: run a little, walk a little, repeat. Especially since I have 2 puppies + a 13 year old dog who likes to take her time).

9. I signed up for a nature exchange. So fun!
(I hope I can find a few things to send under all this snow!)

10. For my birthday a few months ago I gifted myself this.
I have been wanting this deck for ages and it was a great decision.

11. I have taken quite a few photos since my last post.
If you want to see some more, make sure to pop on over HERE to see...


p.s.
I am having an impromptu sale in the new shop right now!
20% off your entire order, just use the code SHINEON20.
It runs until 1:54 pm, tomorrow.

xx

Solstice glow approaching

Every day grows a little shorter. The deep night's darkness lingers longer in the mornings and falls heavier and swifter come late afternoon's twilight. These are the times of hibernation, of restoration. Of quiet and insight. I can't help but feel a spark of magic when gazing out on that oblique and golden burnished glow stretching across the land in front of me. I always feel a little joyous and comforted, like I am the one being wrapped in that savory incandescence.

In the stillness leaves crunch and twigs snap as I take each step. Each step is precious contact with the sleepy ground, rising and heaving in places where there is moisture and the cold air hits. It is a combination of folklore and science, this sacred time of year. And as the air thickens, what would normally be rain crystalizes and turns white. I can feel my senses heighten and my thoughts turn inward. I already have my thermos stashed in one of the water bottle pockets in my pack. It is filled with ginger tea that I spent an hour simmering, then mixed with honey. To keep the fire in my soul aflame. I will find a spot to sit and enjoy this simple, soul warming libation.

And it is simple things like this that stir me. They gently nudge me awake and give me bright inspiration for the day. No matter the day, I am ready for the Solstice. I am ready for the dawn of that short day that signifies the end of one years cycles and begins the excitement of what is to come. Each dawning of a new day, each evening as that Solstice glow approaches. An infinite cycles continues on.

Until then, I will sit out in the fresh air, and think and smile and breathe. I will feel the deep slow inhale as my heartbeat slows and steadies itself, then exhale, watching a steamy cloud of hot breath reach out into the world. One more way to connect me. I will enjoy the four-legged (and one 3-legged) beasts sprinting around me playing, sniffing, exploring the scene before settling down nearby to demolish a stick or just sit by me and observe the world around. I appreciate their closeness, their bond with me and mine with them. This is our sacred space. Maybe our spot is out on top of the hill, above the treeline, on top of a giant boulder left behind from a glacier's travels to the sea. Maybe it is sitting on a fallen tree across marshy land or along the swamp trail that winds its way through a magical place that shows a fine balance between life and death and how one is nothing without the other.

These are the places where I sit and ponder and learn.

About the environment around me,

About the earth.

About connection.

About myself.

There is joy in this simplicity.

I always have my camera and sketchbook in my pack. Always. But sometimes there are just moments that I swear a for me only. I am alone in the time and space, like natures gift to me.

It is so good. I am humbled and honored.

It is snowing here today.

Again.

Although the sun is "trying" to break through and at this point it is much better than freezing cold and icy ground.

I do love winter, but I may be ready for spring to bound in... What's that saying about March? "In like a lion, out like a lamb." This is so true, especially in New England and especially this year!

The past few days had been springlike, but Mother Nature apparently likes to play tricks...

Anyway, I have been sipping tea, trying to catch up (on work, on reading, on knitting, on everything). Oh, and I have been snacking on the most delicious granola bars ever (homemade, of course)! I loosely followed THIS recipe that I had pinned to one of my Pinterest boards, but I added chocolate chips (which melted all over the ingredients, yum!), pecans, sunflower seeds, cranberries and currants. CAN'T. STOP. EATING. THEM!!!

So good, and waaaay cheaper with better ingredients than those found at the store. Next time I will add pumpkins seeds and maybe try using sunflower seed butter.

Do you have a favorite snack that you like to make?

How about a favorite tea?

Well, headed back to work.

Working on some new designs for screen printing.

Happy Thursday to you!

~xx~

A Blank Canvas: Behind Are The Colors of Winter

...VVVVV...

I think one of the reasons I adore winter so much is because it is like I get to wipe the slate clean and start over with a brand new, blindingly white canvas.

Although there is a new and seemingly empty space to evolve and create in, it is far from boring, lifeless or colorless. The vibrant white of fresh snow contrasts with the rich browns and greens of pine trees, saplings and branches. The electrifying reds of leafless, sleeping raspberry stalks, winter berries waiting to feed birds and the roots of its own plant. Even the deep red of blood spotted around the site of where one animal was taken to feed another. There are shadows and shade and let us not forget the ultimate zest and sparkle of a clear blue winter sky looking down on the "sleeping" world with firm affection. No, the world IS white, but it is almost as if that alabaster is laid down gently and lovingly to show off what the land really has to offer. As if to point out the little things that ones eye might miss in the chaos, rush and vigor of the greenest and most lush time of the year.

I do love winter.

I need winter.

It is my time to renew and restart.

I am thankful.

*****