a gentle, peaceful start to 2016

tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
~mary oliver

It seems the time has come again to reflect on the year past and to make plans for the future that will unfold before us. I had big (as in unrealistic) intentions of filling out workbooks, journaling, and unravelling my experiences of 2015.

Instead, I took a grand pause and practiced the unfamiliar yet deeply nourishing art of not-doing.

I think it’s easy to feel a lot of pressure to get so much done in January, which in many ways is counter-intuitive to the nature of Winter. The earth is hibernating, this is a time of rest and restoration for plants and animals. I feel called to do the same – slow down, drink hot tea, allow my mind to rest, and go to bed early most nights.

It has taken much practice, healing, and personal transformation to arrive into a space where I could feel content with my life, just as it is right now.

Allowing myself to just be present and not strive for more is not a natural skill. It’s something like trying on a new shade of lipstick that feels garish at first while your friends tell you it looks amazing on you. You trust them, so you buy it and start wearing it around the house here and there. Little by little, you realize they were right and now it’s your go-to, feel-good color.

The seeds of slowing down were planted for me last year and I intend to water, fertilize and mulch the heck out of them. Part of this came with motherhood. I think it also had something to do with turning 35. I’m understanding both my power and my limits in new, fascinating ways.

I’ve grown exhausted of pretending, hiding, placating, suppressing, and all the other unhealthy and energy draining “ING” words.

I don’t have it all figured out by any means, but I do have a grasp on a few broad-brush concepts that will guide me in 2016

COURAGE ~ It’s time to take bigger risks to create the bliss-filled, love-drenched life I know is possible for myself and my family

TRUTH ~ I will say what I mean and express how I feel

FREEDOM ~ I am comfortable allowing my work to shift, even if that means radical change or even starting over completely

As usual, I’ve taken on a big, chunky piece of pie, so I will just have to write about these things, piece by piece, in the coming weeks and months ahead. In everything I do, my hope is that sharing these words will provide a measure of comfort, healing, or inspiration to someone who reads them. I whole-heartedly believe we are on this journey together and it is a beautiful gift to travel with your illuminated souls.

The first step for me in 2016 is a new offering that will begin in February. It’s a big evolution for me and I feel so excited to share it with you soon!

Until then, I would love for you to share your intentions or wishes for the year here in the comments below. I promise I will respond to each one and hold space for your beautiful dreams in my heart.

Making creative space for our heart and soul

Hello loves! It feels so good to be in this space, writing and connecting in this living room-kitchen-dining table of a blog. I’m delighted to ease my way back here after the big break I took last year to work on a little project of my own…a baby named August!

We welcomed our little man in December and the three of us have been getting to know each other ever since. Newbornville is a wild place but we wouldn’t trade it for anything. And being a mama, this all-consuming, tiring, and blissfully rewarding adventure, is my new favorite job.

Preparing for our baby’s arrival got my creative juices flowing. I deeply craved the unique satisfaction that comes from making things. Quilts, toys, knitted sweaters…I was a woman on a mission to make, make, make! I felt the primal urge to nest, prepare, and carve out space in our home and our lives for a new little person.

All that creativity reconnected me to the things I love doing outside of the kitchen. Things I am excited to begin sharing more as this bright, shiny new year unfolds and reveals itself.

The everyday pleasure of eating is such a rich and juicy part of the life I am creating with my new family. So food and the family dinner table will always be at the center of this blog. But at heart, I know that what I am really sharing is the importance of nourishing ourselves and our loved ones. And any activity, done with intention, can nourish us deeply. This is why I’m so excited to expand beyond food and the kitchen table in my writing and courses.

In doing so, I’m allowing room for a full spectrum of creative pursuits to breathe and grow. I’m gathering the yarn and fabric together with the scissors, buttons, thread, and needles. The shelves are filled with baskets of markers, feathers, ribbons, paper, and tape.

A big cutting table is covered in linen and cashmere scraps, is ready for the next quilting or stuffed animal project that captures my imagination. The bookshelves are filled with books on cooking, knitting, sewing, design, yoga, and holistic living.

My intention is to open up new possibilities for connection, heart-centered creativity, and soulful self-expression.

This year, I hope for all of us to have more chats about a handmade, home-cooked life together over mugs of steaming tea. Together, we can put the puzzle pieces of our varied interests together into a nourishing tapestry that celebrates the simple pleasures of the everyday.

I’ve dreamed this space into being and yet it’s still a work in progress. I love sharing my vision for this space because I am guessing that many of us yearn for more freedom to do what our heart desires. We choose guiding words for the year. We jot down our ideas in notebooks. We dream of a nook, room, or big barn where we can play and create.

As mamas who nourish others all the time, feeding, caring, and offering ourselves to the ones we love, making time and physical space for ourselves is so important. We know we need to fill our cups and put our own oxygen masks on before we can offer our extra energy and love to others.

Oxygen is just as essential for life as sacred space.

Within the reality of our unique homes, budgets, and creative desires, each of us has a different vision of what this would look like. Often, it’s a multi-layered process to identify what our heart really wants or needs. One first step is to name it, say it loud, write it down, or just tell a friend what you’re thinking about…

• What creative passion is important to you?
• What kind of space do you need to express that?
• Is there one small step you could take to start claiming that space for yourself?

I’m inviting you to name your intentions here, in writing, for what you want to create for yourself this year. I’ll be reading every response and I can’t wait to hear what you have to say…

FulFILL Your Year Giveaway!

Today I am delighted to be offering a giveaway on the Skill It blog!

If you joined Skill It for Season’s Eatings in the Fall, you were introduced to Kelly Weed Dahl of Perched to Fly.

Kelly is a mama, wife, and life coach who considers creativity, intuition, and love as her daily guides.

Now the holidays are behind us and a beautiful New Year lies ahead, it’s a beautiful time to be thinking about what we will create in 2013. To help us with this, Kelly has created on online course, “FulFILL Your Year,” starting on January 14^th.

Guided by Kelly, participants in the course will spend four weeks to mindfully create a clear vision for a fulfilling year.

The course offers journal prompts, videos and creative exercises designed to help you uncover what you want out of the new year and shows you how to make it happen. It is all delivered straight to your email inbox with a whole lot of love.

In the same way that we love creating community here at Skill It, one of the benefits of this experience will be sharing it with a group of women all working to make 2013 their best year yet. The course has a private Facebook group where you can make these connections.

Kelly has gifted us with a spot in the course to giveaway to a Skill It reader! To enter the contest, please leave a comment below with one word or one thing you’d like to create in 2013.

You can enter through Thursday, January 10^th at midnight and we’ll announce the winner on Friday, January 11^th!