christmas in amelia.
it is dusk. the night is coming.
i am sitting in the parlor. the christmas tree is all aglow.
the ground outside is covered in snow.
it is cold. the wind has been blowing all day.
i can see the outline of the bare trees against the faded colors of the sky.
i see blue and purple and gray and yellow.
it is so beautiful to look out from the windows of this old home onto the snowy ground and winter woods.
this house is over a century old. it was once a hotel.
how many eyes have looked from these very windows onto very similar landscapes?

i wish i had pictures to show you.

as of late.

we had a few friends over for dinner last night. 

it was lovely. 

here some photos from the evening.

intertwined are a some shots of our backyard at twilight. 

merry christmas to all!

exhausted.

today finds me tired and feeling pulled in so many directions. this is not new. it is a growing trend that makes me wonder did i always feel this way or is it my age?

i feel a weight of responsibility i haven't felt before in my life. my parents and elders were not exaggerating when they said adulthood was hard, and that school life was easier in comparison.

not only do you take on bills to pay off, a home to care for, a marriage to sustain, you also take on the weight of "figuring out" what to do with your life, who you are & what you are about.

i am a struggling little sheep at the moment.

maybe this is the perfect season to refocus.

veggies from the community garden down the road.

lemon balm, lettuce, & cilantro.

crates i found on the side of the road.

i am sitting in my living room. yes, i am sitting in my living room and am still connected to the rest of the world via internet. thank you AT&T.

i am sitting at my wonderful little round table i found at a yard sale for $7. it's sits right under my favorite bookshelf. the front door is open and is letting in the rainy breeze from outside. leaves are falling and i can just barely see luna's ears peaking up over the screen door. it is peaceful here. i am trying to be peaceful myself. i find each day i get too easily overwhelmed with all the possible things i could do and then never get much of anything done. jeremiah is on his way to d.c. for work and i am having a friend spend the night so i should be getting to cleaning. but i will show you what i have been up to for the past week or so...

chico.

some lovely golden leaves i cut to put...

here.

my latest pillow. this fabric was originally a bag that i bought while in peru. the pillow is stuffed with newspaper because i'm too poor/cheap to buy batting.

my grandmother's deacon bench which is now being used as extra sitting in living room.

i finally got around to making a curtain for the kitchen window.

november.

time for lunch!

etsy.

so i love etsy. as most people who know about it do. i'm always surprised when people you expect to know all about etsy, don't know a thing. i love getting the opportunity to tell them about it. it's as though i just gave them a special present or a treasure.

so etsy has a blog. imagine that? and it's quite lovely and worth your time (well in the big scheme of things it probably isn't, but...) to browse through. they have these wonderful videos on different etsy artists called handmade portraits. one of my favorites of the handmade portraits series is enhabiten. her new england look is also starting to rub off on me. i find myself falling more and more in love with the simple and "worn" (in a good way) look of new england homes and interiors. to my absolute joy, i discovered that the lovely creator of enhabiten also has a blog! her blog along with 36 Shea are two of my favorites at the moment.

that's it. nothing important. just sharing some of my favorite things at the moment.

relax, never.

It's been over two weeks since I have written. Hopefully, I will not let this become a trend.

As expected, I have become extremely engrossed in my new house and it is very hard for me to pull myself away from it, even to go to Common Market and get coffee and use the internet. I am getting better now. For a few days there, Jeremiah thought I would never relax again and would always be in decorating-mode. Now I will take the time to watch a movie or even sit down and sew a bit. But it's not too long till I am back to making a list and walking through the house to see what else needs to be done.

Here is a little bit of what has been going on at the Austin residence for the past two weeks...

fresh apples from an orchard up in VA. compliments of my sweet mother-in-law! they have now been simmered into soft sweetness with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, sugar, water and more sugar.

jeremiah in his tool pantry. the only space we had left in the house for his tools. he's a trooper!

my china cabinet! repainted and decorated. finally. thanks mom and dad for bringing it to us from burlington. it will be well loved here.

my linen "closet" in the laundry room. full of sheets, tablecloths, towels, and more.

my collection of rags which i use instead of paper towels. working very well so far.

my take on white bean and escarole soup from the recipe book, the broccoli forest. a lovely vegetarian cookbook.

our neighborhood owl!! he's the blob to the left under the street lamp.

spotting him was one of the most exciting parts of our new home so far. hopefully he will stay in the neighborhood and be our owl friend. and hopefully if he does, he won't eat any of my mimis (cats).

happy friday and happy november!

welcome home.

it has almost been a week now since jeremiah and i officially moved into our new home! and i am in love... i can't even begin to express how much joy it has brought me to have my own home to fix up and make my own. i have been nesting like crazy this whole week. here are few shots of some areas in and outside of the house that i have been working on. please excuse the poor photography. i am in need of a decent point and shoot. at the moment i have a Nikon D1 which is lovely and a great tool for learning how to take pictures manually. there are just two big problems: i only have a 50mm lens which limits my picture taking abilities tremendously and second, the camera is not ideal for needing to take quick, easy shots. but at least i have something!

enjoy my joy!

what front porch would be complete without a couple of lovely pumpkins to go with the season? these beautiful pumpkins just happen to be grown by a friend of mine.

the kitchen was the first room i went to work on and the first one to be almost completely finished. still in need of curtains and a few wall hangings. i also need to get to work organizing the pantry. but for the most part all is settled in the kitchen.

st. francis watching over. jeremiah and i love catholic iconography. mostly because we honor and desire to learn from the lives of "saints" like st. francis.

some pretty wine bottles and a nice virgen de guadalupe candle for our outside table.

i love this bookcase! jeremiah and i found it on the side of the road in noda. it is now a main feature in our living room.

a beautiful wooden frame that jeremiah's brother made us as a wedding present.

can you see the little wire figurines? there is a boy, a girl and a bike. they were handmade for me by my sweet, sweet husband. 

i decided to lay out all my knicks knacks and odds & ends while i decorate so i can easily see what all i have to use. 

come sit for a while.

our fall "mantlescape". i love decorating so much. it brings me a lot of joy. especially, when fall foliage and pumpkins are involved.

one lone mouse that i found on the couch this morning. he went quite well with the colors of the pillow and couch.

i always have an aloe plant handy in the kitchen. never know when you may need some aloe for that pesky oven burn!

for inspiration...

Here are a few websites that inspire me as a cook, a decorator, a seamstress, a gift-giver, a housewife...

36 Shea
Not sure how I came across this site, but I love it! Great source of inspiration for home decorating & sewing projects. Also, it just creates a sense of loveliness.

The Kitchn
Need a recipe or just a desire to cook? This site helps me to get excited about trying a new recipe or reinventing an old one.

Simply Recipes
Another wonderful blog for cooking inspiration.

Apartment Therapy
One of my most favorite design blogs. I just realized that I stole my blog name from their sister blog Re-Nest (oops...) which is a good source for "green" living tips & ideas.

Once Wed
If you're getting married, this would be my top wedding blog suggestion for you. If you're not getting married, it's still a great source for party and home decorating ideas and inspiration.

Shop Goodwill
Did you know that Goodwill has an online shop? Just take a peek and see what you can find!

The Crafty Crow
I used this website a lot when I was planning crafts for an after-school program I worked with last spring. This blog has a ton of great crafts ideas and a ton of links to other bloggers with great craft ideas.

CraftStylish
Need help with a sewing project? A great source for help with all types of handmade projects...knitting, crocheting, embroidering, sewing, etc.

BurdaStyle
Want a new sewing project? Find a free pattern or inspiration for your own design on this blog.

natural living

My next purchase will be Natural Living by Liz Wright. I found this book a few weeks ago when I was trying to pass the time at Barnes & Noble. I was at B&N yesterday and picked the book up again. It took all I had not to just go right ahead and buy it. I knew I could find a better deal online so I mustered up the patience to wait. I have a feeling this book will be a great aide in our quest toward a more sustainable lifestyle.