In case you were curious...

This screenshot is what my life has felt like absent from SLOmygosh for the past 8 weeks or so.

Being rejected by my mom while attempting to FaceTime with her.  Blah.  And may I add... that also sums up my feelings about the holidays this year.  Blah.  I used to send my Christmas cards the day after Thanksgiving.  I read articles about "Holiday Blues" and wondered "Who the heck are these Scrooge McDucks who don't like CHRISTMASTIME?!"  Friends, I've become one of them, and I don't even know how it happened.  I managed to get Christmas cards out while battling a ferocious fever/flu, only to realize days later that 30 of our nearest and dearest received a darling photo of the kids with A ZIPPER DOWN.  Very down.  Blah.  To add insult to injury, the card company noticed the photo, liked it and asked to use it in their Holiday marketing.  Yeah, letting them know about zippergate wasn't embarrassing or anything.  Thanks, card company.  Of the oh, HUNDREDS of cards I've sent through you, you've finally taken notice of me when I send my most errant card ever ever.  BLAHHHHH.

Anyway, are the holidays over yet?  Please wake me when they are.

Hello all... Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had an outstanding Christmas and New Years.  It felt really good to step back from the blog for a bit and just focus on my family and non-online life.  Sometimes things start feeling stagnant and you just need to regroup.  Honestly, towards the end of 2012 I started to feel anxious and a little lost about  a lot of things.  Like, all of the stress accumulated throughout the year had piled up inside me.  I don't feel like it's all just magically disappeared yet- but I do think it's time to try pushing through the yuck.    I'm not really a "resolutions" kind of person, but every new year feels like a gift- and a welcome fresh start, so I'm taking advantage of that.

My goals for 2013 are to calm down, focus my energy more efficiently, prioritize better, separate my work from my personal life (eeek!), and not allow myself to carry so much dead weight in my head.  I need to lighten my load in all aspects of my life.  I've literally lightened it by donating huge boxes of miscellaneous stuff, and of course- you guys helped so much by taking hundreds of clothing items off my hands.  Now it's time to mentally clean house.  It seems easier said than done.  Any ideas?

Here's what the past few weeks have looked like through my eyes while on my self-induced hiatus...

Welcome, 2013.  Here's to starting anew...  ♥

A Cute Little Christmas Show...

I'm SO excited about Jeff's little Christmas show tonight!!!  I don't think we've hosted an art show in about a year and a half.  Hmmm... is it a coincidence that we have an almost 18 month old?  

ANYWAY, YES!!!  ART SHOW!!!  TONIGHT!!!

A lot of people have asked me what's up with the gallery since we officially closed for regular business hours, and the truth is- Jeff's a painter, not a retail clerk.  When one began to outweigh the other, he simply shut the doors, got back to basics, and began to paint again.  I'm so happy that he did, because he's much easier to live with when he's being true to himself (and his inner artsy fartsy-ness).  No more shop hours- just painting full-time, keeping other galleries stocked with his work, private commissions, and online sales.  Much better.  But of course, a part of him misses the social aspect, and the stress of hosting events... so this little, low-key, show is perfect.  

If you're around tonight, definitely come say hello, eat some cookies, enjoy some music, and take a peek at Jeffrey's latest work.  Plus, it's officially too late to order anything online to get in time for Christmas, so if you need a gift- this is a really fun way to shop.  He has both prints and originals in big and stocking stuffer sizes.  I'm especially in love with his new sparkly pieces.  Yes,  S P A R K L E  A R T.  It's kind of amazing.  He's also been experimenting with gold foil crowns on octopi, and marbled backgrounds.  Please note: By "experimenting", I mean: 90% making huge messes, 10% making great artwork.  ♥

SEE YOU TONIGHT!

Ambiance Holiday Magic... Are you in the video?

I'm not!  But that's ok... I got to wear my favorite gold party dress and hot pink feathers in my hair, 

and then hide behind a camera all night.  M Y   K I N D A,  P A R T Y ! ! !

It really was a great party- the food was ohmygosh... TOO good.  The Range really outdid themselves.  And Carlos is officially my favorite DJ in town.  Everyone talked about how fun the music was all night.  We had ridiculous machete juggling, over-sized unicycle riding, and yeah- a crazy guy who had to be escorted out.
You KNOW the party's hot when the crazies come a'calling.  

For those of you who missed it, I hope to see you there next time.
And for those of you who partook... let me know if I caught you on camera, k?  

♥,

       

What an amazing Christmas...

I really tried to take it easy this Holiday Season- but with two businesses, two young children, their two birthdays, Christmas, and a new baby, it's been- ummm... challenging. But wow, what an amazing culmination today was. Last night we celebrated with the extended family. No biggie, just the 27 of us. Then we stayed up until 2:30am or so, playing Santa. Thankfully we all slept in good and late, opened presents, and walked to church. After a beautiful Christmas mass, we enjoyed a way-too-big late breakfast at the Madonna Inn. SO. MUCH. FUN. Let me tell you something, if ever you find yourself yearning to eat out... in San Luis... on Christmas Day... this is the place to be. We spent the afternoon with family, and the early evening appreciating the quiet of downtown on this special day. Jeff did wheelies all over the streets and I stood in the middle of them, taking pictures. Something typically unheard of before and after 3am. Ready for dinner? Guess what... Yep, we went BACK to the Madonna Inn.

So now it's 11:30pm on Christmas Day, and at last the house is quiet. Elliott's tuckered out from his very first Christmas out in the world, the children are tucked away, the rubbish full of gift wrap, the bellies full of yummy treats, our hearts full of gratitude.

It's a wonderful life.

Truly.

Happy Holidays!!!

Ok, I've really been trying to wait to post this, but I can't contain myself any longer. Do you see where I'm going with this? 90% of my Christmas shopping is done and Jeffrey had to hide all of it from me (including the gifts I bought for him), because I SO BADLY WANT TO GIVE EVERYONE THEIR PRESENTS RIGHT NOWWWWW!!! Also, I AM SO EXCITED about Elliott's first Christmas. I've been listening to Christmas music for about a month, subsisting on candy canes and gingerbread, and I'm pretty much sweating hot cocoa. Can you tell?

Were any of you downtown for Black Friday? Thankfully I was able to float in and out of it, taking respites at home in-between the madness. But I snagged some pretty awesome deals at the MAC store -which James and Evy lovingly refer to as "the APP Store", AMBIANCE -we did 40% off of ever-y-thing from 9-12, which was insanity, and ATMODSPHERE (damn, I hate being a forgone conclusion...) - where I found Thyme's Eucalyptus soap (so I can smell like my mommy), a crazy-awesome stocking stuffer for my special someone, and an adorable fold-up stool for $14.50!!! Shopping local is where it's at, yo.