Unemployed and it feels so good...

Well, technically I'm not unemployed yet... but I will be in a week. There is something exciting about that statement. There is also something that has me reaching for a paper bag & putting my head between my knees.

I have never been a super spontaneous person. I am always up for an adventure... but I like to plan as much as I can before we go. This is no different.

I have been running through millions of scenarios in my head for months now.  When we get to Portland who will work, where will we work, where will Drew go to school, will we have health insurance... and the list continues... do I want to do the same type of work I do now, do I want do something else, do I want to stay home?

Some very wise friends of mine told me to knock it off.

And today... I feel really peaceful about leaving for Portland with no employment lined up. Is it faith? It's possible. Is it complete naivety? Also, very possible. Whatever it is - I'm finding comfort in it.

Sometimes we have to jump get tossed off a cliff to see if we can fly.

So... for now... instead of worrying about what I am going to do next... I am going to start dreaming about what I am going to do next.

Maybe I'll start a blog!... oh, wait..
Maybe I'll be BETTER about posting on my blog! I have some fun ideas... maybe I just need some time to work on them.

I'm excited.
Are you excited? I'm excited.

this is me, flying... you can tell by my sassy outfit

photo credit: http://vintageprintable.com

XOXO

Fun New Project

I bet everyone is wondering what I'm up to these days... where have I been? what am I doing? 

Actually.. I am working on something big. Well, big for me, at least. 

I am opening an Etsy store. Yay!

After my post about my festive birthday garland, I got so much positive feedback on it that I decided that I would make and sell different fun garlands, banners, buntings, etc. I've been a busy bee trying to work on some items so sell in my new store so that is why my blog posts have been so sparse lately. That and it's the holidays... work is crazy... I have a 2 year old... etc.  (is "etc" even needed?! Aren't the first 3 things enough?) So definitely look for that, coming in January.

Something I do want to share with you is my new Lepper Colony logo that my very talented husband made for me. 

Isn't it awesome?! I heart it so much.

So now that I've told you all about this festive new venture, I have to get working as not to disappoint all my adoring fans. All 8 of you. (For all of whom, I am very grateful!)

And maybe I can get my buns in gear and actually post some holiday posts. I've been working on some tasty treats that I want to share. I'll be back with those - pinky-promise. 

Happy Holidays!

Pretty Motivation

My birthday is not for three more months but my mother-in-law said she saw these and thought they would be perfect for my blog. *gulp*

You mean that blog that I abandoned for 6 weeks? 

Yep - that's the one. 

She said she thought these would photograph nicely.

Should we take a sneak peek?

 Well... it's from one of my all-time favorite stores. 

It is wrapped up in a little paper cocoon. 

I love all the details: the letter pressed box, the personalized masking tape, the muslin bag for the gift receipt. Swoon...

And what do we have? 

The most beautiful measuring cups that anyone could ever own. 

It makes me want to start baking pretty things. Don't you just have the urge for pie? Or a a multi-tiered chantilly cake? 

I do. 

So I'm back. 

I have to put these pretty, little things to work. 

In Training

I bet you're wondering where I went... ok.. hopefully you're wondering where I went. 

A couple of things have kept me from blogging as much as I would like. 

First is my crazy toddler - Drew. He has decided that he wanted to move his bedtime from 7pm back to 8pm which means my "me" time has been reduced by an hour. Phoo! But the trade-off has been him sleeping through the night (most nights). I guess I'll just have to deal because I think I would rather give him the hour before bedtime rather than at 3am. No thank you!

Second is the Ragnar Relay. For those of you who weren't following me an entire year ago, the Ragnar Relay is a 200-mile relay race from Huntington Beach to Coronado Island (San Diego). Last year, Mark and I joined a team with his cousins and this year we formed a new team made up of a mish-mash of cool people we know. The relay basically functions like.. well.. a relay race. There is a "baton" that is passed from one runner to the next and we just run in sequence until we reach the finish line. There are 12 people on each team (unless you're crazy *ahem, Carl* and run an Ultra team, which is only 6 people) and each runner runs 3 legs. Legs can vary from about 3 miles to 10 miles, flat & hilly, day and over-night. It is an amazing experience & we're super excited to be running it again... in less than 4 weeks! So that is where the rest of my evenings have been going. Since it is crunch time for our training, I've been running at night trying to get my body ready for this race. 

So, please forgive my absence. Trust me, I'd love to be focusing on other things.. like this new brownie recipe I found. But all in due time. Next week should be better and I'll try to get my act together and blog for realsies.

I leave you with a few fun pics from last year's Ragnar Race...

Me & Mark before the race - it was a beautiful weekend!

The Starting Line - Huntington Beach

 

Who wouldn't be motivated by this?!

Have a very happy weekend!

Major: Food

I've been working on a "focus" for my blog... and all it has gotten me is a realization that I have no focus. I took a webinar last week on Blogging 101... and it confirmed I needed to find a focus. Hmmm... but what to focus on?


Do I go with fashion and trends? Probably not... ever since I got married and bought a house I traded in my Vogue and W subscriptions for Martha Stewart Living and Sunset. 


Or there is kiddo stuff? Maybe... but he's pretty little still and we don't do anything all that interesting except defy gravity on a daily basis when diving off the couch face first onto the dog. 


I could be crafty! But I don't think I am really creative in my own right... I am a knock-off artist. I suppose I could stretch myself and see if I could come up with something fun to do... but it's much more fun for me to do stuff I found on another blog or on Pinterest. 


So.. that left me with food. 


I have a love-hate relationship with food. I love it... but it can make my jeans tight (tight jeans = hate). But I love to cook and bake and learn new things. So... I am pretty sure that is what I am going to use as my focus. 


For my oodles of readers, do not be sad... There will always be room for posts about my crazy son or my sporadic cleaning habits. But this is for the best. For the same reason they make you choose a major in college (umm.. is now a good time to mention that I pretty much was forced to pick a major because I had tried about 5 and was still a bit indecisive..?) I have decided to make my blog "major" food and all that it encompasses! With a minor in crazy toddler. 


I hope my new direction (cue husband laughing... ha ha new direction = nude erection.. very funny, I get it.. moving on!) proves to be a good choice. If not, we'll just switch it. See.. unlike a college major, I am not paying upwards of $25k a year to do this. (Which also means no student loans. Thank you, baby Jesus!)


As my beloved Poppa used to say, "Cheers to the cook!"