This week I was stranded in Dallas thanks to a healthy coat of ice on EVERYTHING. I know, what? Dallas in December? Isn't it supposed to be like 60 degrees? (Yes, yes it is.) And you guys, I'm from Michigan. I went to school in Kalamazoo, where you regularly walk through 3 feet of snow courtesy of the "lake effect." I mean, I live in Wisconsin. I've had my share of terrifying winter weather. Midnight freeway rides at zero visibility, snow drifts that cover cars - that I can handle, that I can do.

This was nothing like that.

This was 7 hours of driving the 86 miles between Waco and Fort Worth. This was going 8 mph with your hands at 10 and 2. This was traversing a frozen lake of ice. This was semi-trucks, trying to climb impossibly high freeway ramps (as only Texas builds them). This was spending 2 days in an airport where people are sprawled out on cots, with screaming children and Red Cross relief aides. This was boarding and de-boarding the same plane THREE TIMES. This was agreeing to be flown into a city an hour a way from home just to get out of that godforsaken state. This was a nightmare.

So after the 100th delay at DFW I had to accept the inevitable. I was not going to make it back to vend at Hover Craft on Sunday. I know, I know, compared to all of the power outages and car accidents and parents separated from children - all of the horrible things happening across the region - this seems like a pretty selfish, narrow world view; but man, I'd been looking forward to this. So I sent my email late Saturday night to the coordinator. I was unable to attend... thank you for the opportunity... I hoped to work with them in the future... sniffle, tears.

And then, I got on a flight to Madison. Yay! My wonderful husband (man, he earned his keep this weekend) drove the hour plus to pick me up at 1am. I spent the rest of the wee-hours cleaning up and packing up the goods, drank a Red Bull (eehek, gross) and set up shop!

And I just wanted to say thank you, Milwaukee. We had so. Much. Fun. There were bloody marys, football, Christmas music and just an overall attitude of awe - awe that this incredibility talented collective of artist and craftsmen came from our little-big city. And no we didn't sell out, but we sold a lot. And despite yet another blizzard swirling outside, the place was packed. We got a lot of positive feed back / kind words / encouragement / conversation / delicious tamales.

So despite the serious lack of sleep and lingering hatred for winter weather conditions, I'm going to say this weekend was a win.

Turner Hall Ballroom is amazing in its semi-restored state. This was the main space in a 2-story vendor layout. (60 vendors! Whaaat?) And those lights, swoon.

The goods + our winter decor - natural woods, pine cones, birch branches, twinkle lights. (As always / predicted the napkins were the number one seller. I love that you guys love those. I love those.)

We were not quite as stranded as it appears. Due to the aforementioned email, they rearranged booth spaces and we were shifted to the staircase by the bar and food vendors. Not surprisingly, this worked to our advantage. 

Coming off of a wedding weekend in Washington DC with old friends, some quality time spent with family, and feeling inspired, refreshed, excited. Sometimes you just find yourself in a bit of a rut, you know? Dealing with what has to get done day-to-day and not making time for the little things that push you out of your comfort zone.

I've long loved a Jim Rohn quote that reads: "You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with." And while I don't think it's quite that cut and dry - I definitely believe you start to become the culmination of your experiences, relationships and surroundings; from the books you read, the images you digest, the outings you take, the new things you try, and yes, the inspirational people you surround yourself with.

So while this weekend was a reminder of the amazing people I have in my life, doing some pretty amazing things. It was also nice to get out to a new city, get away from my work - Museum life from 9 to 5, and behind the sewing machine / drawing board from 5 to (ugh) 11 - as a reminder not to live solely in the microcosms which surround us.

In the spirit of this, hey-do-something-you-don't-do-every-single-day, Tre and I threw caution to the wind, stayed up way past our Tuesday night bedtime and saw Amos Lee at the Riverside Theater last night. Talk about inspired. It's almost electric seeing someone do what the love to do, and do it well. The energy was infectious - brought the house down and we both left tired, but revived.

Now back to that drawing board.

Okay, I'm just going to say it: summer is exhausting.

Living in the ever-weather-fickle Midwest I feel like we plan and schedule all year for the elusive 4 months of warm weather and then *POOF* they're gone. This year Tre and I spent a record 3 weekends at home in Wisconsin. (Which, when you think about it is kind of insane.) Don't get me wrong, we were fortunate enough to spent time with friends and family from Chicago, to Michigan, to Pennsylvania, to New Jersey, to Washington DC... with a side of work / pleasure trips to San Francisco, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota and Maryland. But already with the dropping of temperatures our calendar has opened up, and I for one am thrilled.

I say bring on the sweaters and quiet, cozy afternoons.

photo: up in the air somewhere over the great plains.

Last week I spent a totally relaxing seven (seven!) days recharging with the fam at a lake cottage in Northern Michigan. (Also know as, truly the most beautiful place on earth. Fo sho.) Growing up in suburban Detroit, summers "up north" were a right of passage and are responsible for some of my most favorite childhood memories: days spent with (lots and lots of) family and food; afternoons at the beach, hunting for Petoskey stones; put-put games, outside ice cream eating, exploring the local towns (presumably for more ice cream), and many, many games of Euchre.

Since moving to the other side of the lake, these Northern escapes have happened much less frequently. Grandparents have passed, family has scattered... and the drive from Wisconsin includes an infuriating 7+ hour trip arrrround the lake. Maddening.

I was, however, pleasantly surprised to find that very little has changed. Still lots of family and food. Lazy, sunburned, hours on the beach, maybe a little more wine and a few less ice cream cones (to be expected). But otherwise, I was able to unplug and derail from life's scheduled plans and make time for things I enjoy doing. Like sewing, sketching and eating cherry pie. (Admittedly some of those things are more relevant to this post then others.) 

Anyways, because of this little breather I was able to catch up on pending projects, do a little brand building and will be posting goods here, on the website, and on etsy. I'll also be unveiling processes, products and snippets on the blog throughout July.

So yay. Here we go.