life lessons from Ashley Stock - a momma-in-training.
Yesterday we took a very impromptu trip to San Luis Obispo and stayed a night at the Apple Farm. It’s been on my “list” of places to go for a while now. We had a fabulous kid-free evening away. We went to bed early, slept in until 7:30, had lunch with new friends, took deep breaths through our meals and were rid of Sesame Street for an entire 24 hours. Quaint, colorful, personal, relaxing and a gift shop that I could spend hours in–best way to {…Read More…}
I decided to go to Blog Sugar for one main reason. To be inspired. You see, Blog Sugar is a faith-centered conference. And that’s something I don’t talk about a lot on here–my faith. Which has been bothering me. Because it’s a big part of who I am, and of who I want to continue becoming. I didn’t create this blog to be preachy, and I don’t have plans of becoming a religious blogger. But I do blog “my story”, and I feel it’s important that I’m {…Read More…}
{via} In an instant. That’s how life goes when you become a parent. One instant you’re laying in bed with your husband, your toddler sleeping soundly in between you both, you glance over, your eyes meet, he gives a half smile and you know exactly what his half smile and sparkling eyes are saying in that moment, because you feel the same way: There’s no where I’d rather be right now. A mere instant later, your baby awakens from his deep sleep with hysterical cries and {…Read More…}
I was watching Oprah. Which, I’m sure, is when 80% of the World experiences their Aha! moment. It was that episode from her final season where she shows the guests who have impacted her most over the years. One guest stuck out to me more than the others. She was interviewing a mother who had accidentally forgotten her child in the car on a hot summer day. Her daughter died. Over a thousand miles away, in Australia, another mother was watching the show. And it {…Read More…}
Every Sunday night,before I go to bed,I sit down and I make a listof all the things I hope to accomplish in the upcoming week. This list literally has over a hundred “to-do’s”.And no, I don’t get to all of them.Not even close. Even the simplest things make the list.Things like wash my hair, buy toothpaste, bring sippy cups in from the car. And then I have my “loftier” goals listed.Things like start that diet, jog at least 3 times, no hair pulling, organize my {…Read More…}
Nap time. It’s fleeting around these parts. Every day it becomes a bit less consistent, and I realize it’s only a matter of time before it stops all together. Like clock work, half way through his nap, Baby W wakes up crying and looking around the room for his Momma. He spots me, whines until I curl up next to him, and then closes his eyes, usually puts his arm or leg over me and drifts back to sleep. He always makes sure some part of {…Read More…}
Sometimes I have one of those days where its harder to get things done. My mind wanders, I’m not as effective, I forget why I walked into the room. And then, sometimes one of those days turns into one of those weeks. Like this week. As hard as I tried, everything I did seemed to take 3 times longer than it should have. I used to get down on myself when I had days like these. But after two years of motherhood, I’ve learned that this {…Read More…}
Dear Babe, Five years, really? Holy cow. Remember the day we got married, later that night, when we finally took a deep breath, excited that all the wedding charades were behind us, and now it was just us… Remember when you asked me, Where do you think we’ll be five years from now? I didn’t know how to answer. I was just so happy, right there in the moment with you knowing I would have you for eternity. I would never lose you again. For the first {…Read More…}
Craft Room Decor Let’s take a tour of my happy place, shall we. I blog here, I craft here, I sew here, I fill Etsy orders here and I eat chips and salsa here. I am inspired here. You won’t find a rhyme or reason to the decor, and that’s the way I like it. warning: you are about to see a ridiculous amount of photos. {looking in from the hallway} Pennant banner made with Amy Butler paper and my Silhouette. This tall work desk with {…Read More…}
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Dear Baby W, Our days have been way too hot for you to take your naps upstairs in your race car bed, so you have been snoozing on the couch while I work away in the next room. Today you woke up early, in one of those inconsolable bits of hysterical cries. In fact, you wake up crying from your naps a lot. It’s kinda your thing. And after two years, you think I’d be used to it by now. But I’m not. It still twists my {…Read More…}
In preparing for the new blog design, I finally wrote my long overdue FAQ page. And since there have been a few delays unveiling the new site, I thought I would post that page here. These are the answers to the questions I receive most often {via emails and comments}. What inspired you to share your secret with us? I heard an amazing bit of advice at my first blog conference. That which is most personal, is most universal. I wanted to be able to {…Read More…}
A Look Into Our Living Room Originally my plan was to show you guys the craft room/office. Except there has been quite a bit of crafting {sewing} going on in that room as of late, so it is hardly picture ready. So in the meantime, I thought we could take a look through the living room. This is our version of the “fancy” room {although its not one bit fancy}–the one we don’t sit in as much–the one without the television–the one where I can {…Read More…}
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Hello Summer {inspired by Lisa Leonard’s Hello Monday Series} Hello chubby cheeks, and melted sticky popsicle that collects in the creases of your neck. Hello tan Summer {and shoe-less} toddler toes. Hello to my go-to Summer shoes. Hello local kiddos learning to sail. And hello crazy lake mansions that I love to gawk at {and imagine I live in}. Hello to a Baby W who would love to go swimming all day long. And hello to a baby who prefers falling in the pool rather than {…Read More…}
My evenings usually go like this:Hubs gets home.Dinner of some sort.Possible, and likely frozen yogurt run.A slow sunset stroll.Change into my favorite PINK sweats and one of Ben’s t-shirts.Curl up on couch.Play re-runs of Modern Family in the background.Cuddle with the babe.And blog. And that’s how I like it.We don’t really get out too much at night,especially since birthing the Tasmanian toddler. Tonight these were my plans,and I was quite looking forward to my elastic waist band and fro yo with coconut shavings. But then I got {…Read More…}
Hooray, the kitchen is unpacked. Not quite shabby chic, not quite urban farmhouse, not quite french bistro–so we’re going with Chateau Chic. And I don’t really think that’s an actual design term, but it seems to work for this space. We work with what we have {and often what has been given to us}, so that usually means you will find a combination of styles and themes within my decor. Next room to finish up…the craft room/office. Stay tuned, as we go room by room.
When life is going really peachy for me I tend to do two things. 1. worry 2. feel guilty I think to myself, Wow, this is pretty great. Do I deserve this? Did I earn this? Is this a blessing to give me strength for a hardship to come? How long can this goodness last? This admission doesn’t make me proud. It’s been a flaw of mine for as far back as I can remember. Take for example, the love I have for my husband–who {…Read More…}
Ya know, moving really isn’t that much fun. It can be exciting, sure. But fun…no way. And I’ve been having an exciting and un-fun week. Full of heavy boxes, back sweat, dust bunnies, Tupperware without matching lids, a toddler learning how to use stairs, and an abundance of rogue coat hangers that seem to appear from no where. But when the dust settles, I have lots and lots to share.
Yep, little ol’ me got a little feature in this months issue of Women’s Day Magazine. Remember this tutorial from back in the day? Well, some of WD’s people thought it would be the perfect summer craft, and I didn’t argue. You can check out the feature here, or at your local newsstand. Pretty neeto. BTW: the corn on the cobs on the cover of the magazine are actually cupcakes. How cute is that?! P.S. the new blog design is coming along awesomely…stay tuned!
