Happy first Friday of the year!

chocolate chip cookie baileys shake
And it came so quickly!  That’s the best news of all.

I can’t say this without Mark looking like he might cut me (he had to work) but it was a little rough to get back into the groove after having had almost a week and a half of vacation (my life is so hard!).  Early mornings, trying to eat right again… boo-hoo to me, I know… but I do have to say that seeing all of you again has been entirely wonderful.  I’m looking forward to a fantastic new year and hoping that each and every one of you had an amazing holiday season!  Here on the blog — it’s good to be back.

Here are the first few things I’m loving for 2013…

Because everyone else is sharing salads and kale chips… kit kat cheesecake bars and cookie shakes.

Oregon obvs — One more year!

I know the holidays are over, but I just love this little gathering so much I had to share.

2012 favorites from This is Our Jam.

An Illustrator how-to.

A few super cool e-course suggestions.

And if you’re looking for e-courses, this one looks pretty amazing too.

It’s an older DIY but I’m dying to do this.

(Now where to put the chair?)

6 Comments | Posted on: January 4, 2013 | Category: Life

With Intention

with intention / a thousand threads
Too often, I try to do everything… to be everything. So in 2013, rather than write a long list for the new year, I was inspired by one of my favorites to choose a focus.

2012 was an amazing year, but it was also a struggle. So many pieces (that I don’t even think I knew could) fell into place… and it’s a cliché, but I really have never been happier. I feel lucky every day. And maybe it’s because I really am so happy at home that my head has gotten all chatty about the other things. Or who knows, maybe it’s because I’m getting closer to 30… closer to babies and savings and grown up decisions I don’t quite feel ready to make. Maybe it’s all of those things, but I feel like I’ve been moving in so many different directions that a light breeze could blow me any which way.

There are so many things I want to accomplish and so many paths I’d love to take, but chasing them all is bound to come up short… so my focus for 2013 is to simplify.

When I returned from our honeymoon, I wrote down my goals for the week, the month, and the year, and my first for the year was to “focus on authenticity and stick to a purpose.” This has been on my mind for a while. Purpose. Intention. Authenticity.

It’s time to slow down. It’s time to focus… and I’m looking forward to finding out what this year holds.

3 Comments | Posted on: January 3, 2013 | Category: Life

2013 Planners and Calendars

2013 planners and calendars
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had an amazing holiday and that so far, 2013 is treating you well.

After what was an incredible and eventful 2012, I’m excited to get started on this new chapter of our lives, and buying a new planner is always one of my very favorite ways to wipe the slate clean and start fresh.  Even though I still use my online calendar a ton, there’s nothing like putting a pen to paper to set goals and keep track of the day to day.

Here are a few of my favorites for 2013 (in fact, #6 is in the mail now).

Do you buy a new day planner or wall calendar each year, or do you use an electronic version?

6 Comments | Posted on: January 2, 2013 | Category: Life

Here’s to you, 2012

2012 / a thousand threads
2012 was good to us… so good that it’s actually kind of hard to say goodbye.

In honor of what really was a fantastic year, here are a few of my favorite things… and if you keep scrolling, a little wrap-up of my favorite posts.  I can’t wait to see what 2013 has in store…

Read More »

1 Comment | Posted on: January 1, 2013 | Category: Holidays, Life

The stockings were hung…

diy stocking / a thousand threads
We’re all ready for Santa… and how could he resist such charming cold-weather gear?

I’m signing off for now, but I’ll see you back here in 2013. Have a happy holiday and an amazing new year!

And be sure to keep reading for what might have been the easiest diy stocking ever (just my kind of project).

Read More »

0 Comments | Posted on: December 23, 2012 | Category: Decor, DIY, Holidays

Happy holiday weekend!

winter shoot by jessica lorren
It is my firm belief that the final day before any big break should be spent sipping margaritas at a three hour lunch… but sadly, that never does seem to be the case. It’s a busy day ahead, both at work and at home… with plenty still to do to prepare.

What do you have on your list for these next few days? Even the most prepared of you still have at least a couple of errands to run… right?

(Lie to me, it’s okay… it will make me feel so much better.)

Before I run off to search for something remotely resembling wrapping paper, here are a few things I’m loving…

This gorgeous winter shoot by Jessica Lorren makes me want to bundle up and spend all of my time outside.

One of the most terrifying things I’ve ever seen (no it’s not gory or anything, but if you’re afraid of heights you might not want to look).

Hilarious.

Oh, hey, how about the fact that it’s not the end of the world?  Tara Reid will be so relieved.

5 great books for bloggers.

Healthier comfort food… for that time between Christmas and New Years when you know you should eat right, but you really don’t want to…

Beard porn.

Instagram is dead.  Thoughts?

So much better than an inflatable Santa.

1 Comment | Posted on: December 21, 2012 | Category: Holidays, Life, Link Love

Christmas Tradition

non-tree
Each year growing up, my family would gather on Christmas Eve for clam chowder and a slightly confused version of a singapore sling… and to this day I can’t let a single year go by without a big bowl and a bright red drink (or two) by my side.

Traditions don’t have to be traditional… in fact I think there are as many quirky variations out there as there are families.

What are a few of your family’s holiday traditions?  And have you kept them alive?

Photo via.

9 Comments | Posted on: December 20, 2012 | Category: Holidays, Life

Christmas at the White House

IMG_0257IMG_0290
In all of the time I’ve lived in the DC area, I’ve never stepped foot in the east wing of the White House… so this year when an invitation for a Christmas tour hit my inbox I kind of jumped for joy… the national tree is one thing, but to see each room of the residence in all its Christmas glory… totally another.

I’m a big geek for the china patterns and portraits, and especially all of the history held within those walls. It was fun to walk through and imagine Jackie greeting guests in the Vermeil Room, Teddy Roosevelt’s children sneaking a tiny tree into the Green Room… Sasha and Malia playing in the East Garden Room…

Okay the Teddy one is at least partially true.

Keep going for a few shots from my favorite rooms and a recipe from the White House Pastry Kitchen…

Read More »

7 Comments | Posted on: December 19, 2012 | Category: Holidays, Life, Recipes

Bundling Up

bundling 14 bundling 11
Out of fear that I might somehow jinx myself into the coldest, most biting January and February ever, let me just say that I am soo not complaining, but… for the second year in a row we seem to be having kind of a really warm winter… practically tropical for these parts.

And I know I usually complain about the cold, but guys… the truth is I really miss the snow.

I was totally prepared for a big one this year… so prepared, in fact, that I am now the proud owner of the awesomest of big, furry, super warm hats that might imply I live somewhere near a village of Eskimos, rather than you know… the mid-Atlantic.

I’m a wimp, but right now even my wimpiness can withstand the current temperatures…

Unless, of course, you take me to 9 degree weather for “fun.”

I use the quotes because to me, a 9 degree ice chamber sounds strikingly similar to torture… but to Austin and every other child on earth/okay adults too, me included… when the ice is shaped like Shrek and the three little pigs it’s totally worth it.

And even though I think we were all a little disappointed that there weren’t more sculptures (I mean it’s Ice! with an exclamation point) 9 degrees can overtake even the warmest of hats on a big wimp like me… so I was more than ready to retreat to the warmth outside once our ice tour was done.

3 Comments | Posted on: December 18, 2012 | Category: Style

Oh Christmas tree…

our christmas tree / a thousand threads our christmas tree / a thousand threadsxmastree 8
I swear our house was meant to have a tree in it all year — I couldn’t love it more.  But then I guess I’d miss out on pulling out our ornaments… which is sort of like opening a little Christmas present in itself because I always forget what we have.

My favorites, though, never change.  My favorite ornaments are these little glass balls that belonged to Mark’s nain.  Some are fading and some are beginning to chip, but that just makes them all the more special.

Do you keep an assortment of sentimental ornaments from over the years, or do you have a matching collection?  I think both can be just as beautiful.

8 Comments | Posted on: December 17, 2012 | Category: Decor, Holidays, Life

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