Picture Windows

I think I drew this charcoal sketch of the view from my childhood bedroom window about 15 years ago:

It sits in my bedroom now, above my desk where I write, grade papers, and am currently trying to teach Oliver to fetch (it's a process -his goal is to teach me patience).

We (my family and I) said goodbye to our childhood home about 2 weeks ago. I found myself taking pictures of the windows - the views. I was really trying to avoid pictures of an empty house. I wanted to remember it full of us. In the end, everything went into the moving truck and as we walked down the driveway for the last time, I believe the walls were still vibrating from all the noise we made over the years. It never felt empty.

I did snap this one of the closet my sister and I shared:

(I'm not sure I'll ever find a dresser that will hold that much stuff ever again!)

My sister and I used to climb up to the top, and pretend that we were trapped on a speeding boat or a runaway train. I remember writing with my finger on the dirty window pane: "Save Us!" In my neatest 8 year old handwriting. Of course it was backwards to anyone looking in - which was pretty much impossible because we were at the top of a hill. And then the rain would regularly wash it away. It's funny the small things we remember.

Honestly, letting go of this home was rough but it was time to move on. This place will always be special but it's just a house and walls that kept us safe from the elements - what I will always carry with me is who I lived there with, all the noise we made, and the view from the windows.

Deck The Halls

So, I learned something today: changing a fuse on a tiny string of Christmas lights feels an awful lot like playing operation with an electrical socket. 

But there is glitter everywhere and our halls are officially decked... now we just need to have a Christmas Party!

Brandy did the ornaments and I did the mantel.

And then I lit our front window:

Then, I made this... I think I need candles and pine cones to really fill it out...

Now to plan a party!

Starter Garden

Yesterday I finally planted the little succulents that I'd been collecting. I put them in pots I picked up at Anthropologie and set them on my picture window. I was inspired by a Christmas gift I received from my friend Laura.

Her gift to me came with a friendly reminder written in stone: Create.

Thank you, Laura!

Poppyhill Flowers is her floral business and if you are in the Los Angeles area and are planning any sort of event, you should email her!

I'm still debating about what my word for the year should be. No matter what, there will be lots of creating!