Imagine

October 28th, 2011

Today was a really good day. It was kind of a full-circle sort of day. Aren’t those the best?

My handmade goods are in a brick and mortar. I met with the wonderful owner of the sweet little shop Frances this afternoon and it’s happening. My little plush girls and boys are on a shelf in a real store! There are also a few donut rattles there for the taking.

I feel so blessed to have this opportunity. It’s one I’ve looked forward to for a very long time. I’ve been working on my plush for over five years now, and slowly but surely I’ve settled on a design that I love. I’ve had roadblocks, walked away from them, there have been long stints of time apart, but for some reason I couldn’t let them go completely.

A few years ago I stepped into Frances and fell in love immediately. I turned to Ant and asked him how amazing it would be to one day see my creations in this shop.

Today was a full-circle experience.

I threw this necklace on just before I left the house this afternoon. I wanted my loves to be with me and figured what better symbol than a heart to signify all of them.

This journey is so much more to me than selling my handmade goods. That part is exhilarating and so exciting for certain, but more so, I am proud of this path I am creating because it is providing an example for my girls. I want them to know that if they can dream it, and they can work for it (and it’s okay if it takes a long time), then they can most definitely have everything they imagine.

And let me tell you about the drive home from Frances today. Scanning stations brought me to some classic rock and just as I was about to move past, I heard John Lennon’s voice. I listened as he sang the familiar verses of Imagine and I felt an overflow of happiness. Talk about kismet.

You just have to imagine.

Tonight I am grateful, fulfilled, proud, bright, and content. I am overjoyed and full. Thank you for letting me share my journey and excitement with you.

Outfit:
Heart necklace//Perfect Dressipe, bought at last year’s Crafeteria show
Tee//Gap
Dungarees//vintage via The Splendid Suitcase on Etsy
Wedges//Blowfish Shoes

How are you doing? Would you share something you’ve imagined for yourself? I’d love to hear.

Xs & Os, Katy

tags: handmade, Huckleberry Faye, Kismet Plush, What I Wore
I thought this was a party...LET’S DANCE!

A Pie for Mikey

August 17th, 2011

via

Things have been busy. Our days have been moving fast. A rush to make it through every task, just so we can get to the next. Dishes taken out of the washer but left stacked on the counter, laundry piles, clothes dropped mid-fold. Counters need wiping, floors need sweeping. Blogs need posting.

But this weekend while away from my girls and Ant, I learned about a family that was enduring a heartbreaking tragedy. A well-loved food blogger, Jennie Perillo, suddenly and tragically lost her husband to a heart attack the Sunday before last. Her online community reached out to catch her as she fell. In response to how they might help, she made a simple request. To make Mikey’s favorite peanut butter pie – one she’d been putting off to make tomorrow after tomorrow.

Tonight I stumbled across the story again, and all over again, my heart broke. My chest grew tight and suddenly I was crying.

These days are moving too fast. Are we filling them with the things most dear to us? I can’t help but assess the things I have been turning my attention to lately. Are they the most important things, or in the end, just trivial?

Last Friday hundreds of friends and strangers honored Mikey and wrapped Jennie and their two daughters in their arms by baking his favorite dessert.

Now I know I am late to the game, but tomorrow I am making a peanut butter pie.

Our schedule is cleared. My girls and I, we’re spending the day together. We’ll go out to the market to buy things for our pie. And as we make it I will be thinking about this life we are so blessed to move through. I will be thinking about the little souls I get to share this life with, and my soulmate with whom I’ve created these angels.

We will sit down and have our peanut butter pie and I will think of Mikey and his girls left at home, how fragile we all are, and how amazing life truly is. I will honor his family, I will honor our family, and I will be grateful.

Here’s a beautiful video that just begins to demonstrate the power of the online community. Such moving support, such love.