Simple Joys of the Week, November 11th Edition

Happy Veterans Day and a BIG thank you to everyone who has served our country! I am so grateful for your service. 

Speaking of our country, this has obviously been a very emotional week for all. I know many are still reeling from the election and so am I.

But as I always try to emphasize here on the blog, even when you have a hard, sad, upsetting, or frustrating day or week, it's still important to reflect on the good in your life. I've found that helpful over the past few days; despite being fairly devastated by the state of our country, I've been trying to focus on everything I'm grateful for and all of the gifts in my life--and the gifts that I enjoy every day because I'm an American. So this week's SJOTW post is very welcome in my world right now.  

If you can, perhaps join me in taking some time to reflect back on your week today and think about all of the simple pleasures that have made this challenging week more enjoyable [things beyond "the carton of ice cream that I stress-ate while watching election results come in...BEN!"]. 

Here are a few of the simple things that have brought me joy over the past 7 days...

HEAR: "Charlie" by The Milk Carton Kids
OMG, this song! It's about a baby girl named Charlie! Sure, the singer/songwriter who wrote it doesn't have a daughter named Charlie yet, but he hopes to someday and he's written this song for her, and that's all that matters ;) One of my clients sent it to me when she found out that we named our daughter Charlie Mae (shout-out Heather!), and I was immediately in love with it. You can listen below: 

SEE: Pantsuit Nation
If you haven't heard of this, it's a private, positive, uplifting Facebook group for Hilary supporters. It has been an incredible source of inspiration for me this week; the members have been posting beautiful stories and everyone has been there for one another as we mourn the loss of our candidate. It's been really wonderful to see so many powerful women [and men] come together in this supportive way online. 

TASTE: Pecan Pie from Centerville Pie Co. 
Ben's Aunt Nancy had a bunch of us over on Tuesday night to watch the election results come in and eat dinner. We were there early, when spirits were still high, and it was so great to be with some of the incredible women in his family as they did their cute "Hilary dance" every time she won a state or positive news came in. While there, Nancy served both sweet + savory pies from Centerville Pie Co., which is a delicious local pie shop that I've mentioned here before. After enjoying a savory pie for dinner, I cut myself a BIG piece of Pecan Pie for dessert and enjoyed every bite. Delicious! My favorite kind of pie, hands-down. It's the Southener in me, I guess...

SMELL: Dr. Boudreaux's Butt Paste (ha!!)
I know it sounds gross and weird to say that I love the smell of "Butt Paste," but I can't help it! We use this paste on Charlie Mae to keep diaper rash at bay, and not only does it really work (highly recommend to other parents), but Ben and I both love the smell. That could be because we love everything associated with our baby, but whatever the reason, it smells good ;) 

TOUCH: Watercolor paints + brushes
For the first time since having Charlie Mae, I painted this week! No huge paintings yet (I'll be starting all of my holiday commissions next week), but watercolor illustations, which I've grown to love just as much. In fact, I'm excited to report that I've been working on this year's yogi holiday card designs, and I think they're definitely my best yet! Can't wait to share them with you next week.

So there you go! Another week full of simple joys [amidst heartache] has come and gone. 

​Oh, and last reminder: today is the *final day* to place your holiday custom art orders if you want them guaranteed by December 20th! Details here. 

I hope your weekend is restful + restorative. Lots of love to you all!