Shticks and staple guns. (Did you just say "shtaple" in your head???)

Smart-lady glasses, plaid, and pearls. Because I can.

Yesterday, I had a "conversation" regarding an interesting job. The whole thing was conducted electronically - first through a less-than-ideal-Skype-format and then over the phone (like normal people). I took the time to dress up, do my hair, put on lip gloss, and wear my smart-lady glasses, --- the whole shebang. Once it was over, I disrobed from my "formal" wear, put on some casual "crafty" clothes, and then --- for no apparent reason --- put on a string of pearls. I'm not sure what compelled me to glam up my plaid, but the mere fact that those pearls rested against my collarbones all day brought an awareness to my day that would have otherwise been missing. An awareness that even in my new reality, the little things matter whether they be a splash of perfume, a swipe of lip gloss, or the smooth weight of a cultured pearl. I know some crafters out there have a "shtick" - an accessory/mannerism they adopt to differentiate themselves from the masses and to add an element of their business to their personal appearance (flowery aprons, hair bow thingies, dangle-y earring bits, etc). I don't think pearls are likely to be my thing for the long haul, but for the today they were just right.

Tools (and tricks) of the trade.

And these days I definitely need something just right. When one is working from home on various projects, be they crafts or correcting one's -ahem - unemployment problem, one has a lot of time to think. Pneumatic staple gun in hand (watch out world!), I thought a LOT about my current circumstances. I realized over the hours - between the humming in my head and the hideous noise made by the air compressor - that I truly enjoy home improvement (Beth's re-upholstery project? Done.) or reclaiming a decrepit and sad piece of furniture (my Nana's deacon's bench is finally rid of the most goddawful orange color known to man). It is so much more thrilling

Chair seats ready for the mothership.

 to me personally to see a Twig & Bloom project come to fruition than it ever was to file a flawless travel claim or prepare a well-crafted budget. Not to say the work I used to do wasn't important: I was (and remain) fully committed to changing the world and improving the lives of Montanans. However, at the micro level - my personal level - this unexpected deep dive into my creativity has been revelatory.

Nana's deacon's bench. It's a keeper.

I hope that the future holds great things for me and my family. It may be a new job with a great organization or it may be a Twig & Bloom boutique, but at the very least I hope to stay in touch with this rediscovered love of home and garden and keep the Twig dream alive in some form or fashion. Everyone needs something that lights up their eyes and taps into that well of creativity that we all possess. That "something", whether it is a Twig-like project, a passion for music or an obsession with running on the trails, is what makes us special. In a world where the grind of the workday frequently (always?) collides with the responsibilities of home and family, feeling special (even if it is just to yourself. Especially if it is just to yourself) is what makes the promise of tomorrow an opportunity for joy rather than a day to dread.

So find that something for yourself. Wear the pearls if you must. Revel in your special. Bask in your awesome. ~ Stacey

Felonious Monkey-dog.

P.S. Meet Cooper. He figures prominently in my life right now as a pup of 15 months. He's a troubled soul. (He has a record with the Helena Police Department. Which is not awesome.)

P.P.S. - I am not sponsored or paid by any of the products that I may link to in my blog (yet?). I just love affordable products that make me feel pampered (Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Lip Gloss is da bomb) and if I can include a product link that might make YOU happy, then my work here is done.

New Year's Eve: Contemplating a shower and grasping at straws.

It's the last day of 2014, a year that started with an idea for change that resulted in change that then changed AGAIN. Ups and downs, highs and lows --- emotions that we all experience in this grand adventure called life. I'm cautiously optimistic about 2015, but then again I have a terrible habit of trying to be optimistic even when the facts are in front of me. I won't let that deter me however. I have places to explore, people to love, and passions to pursue. Be gone facts and let that optimism flow...

Amy's winsome bird.

Possibly my favorite ornament.

Joan B's

First things first though: I desperately need to deconstruct the holiday from my home. Pine needles, Christmas light fatigue, and general chaos consume all of the common areas of the house. But before it took on this slightly decrepit  Miss Havisham patina, my home this holiday season was quite lovely. With some extra time on my hands, I wandered into the woods and collected greenery from many different evergreens (with the exception of the Christmas tree, no plants died from my pruning). With a vision in mind to stick to a simple palette and use items that I had on hand (candlesticks and silvery ornaments), winsome birds (from












the talented Amy Clark), or collected (from the talented Joan Bousilman), the scene came together quite nicely. So nicely in fact, that I dared venture into a friend (we shall call her Beth)'s home and reduce her kick-ass-attorney-mom-of-two-lifemate-to-awesome-guy stress (hopefully) by bringing her mantle together and creating a custom centerpiece for her holiday table. Using some of her decorations and some from my collection, the mantle was a stunner.

"Beth's" mantle.

Pre-iced goodness.

Another new experience thanks to the spare time and subsequent spare brain power was that I tackled  Alton Brown's overnight cinnamon rolls (with yeast!) for Christmas morning. I don't know WHAT my problem was in past years about trying to make these little bundles of deliciousness, but in hindsight the fear of cinnamon-rolls-that-could-double-as-doorstops was a dumb reason not to try. Since then I've even wandered into Tyler Florence's buttermilk biscuit territory and Momofuku cornflake cookies ('Fessing up here. That cookie recipe came in a tin, all ready to roll except the mixin' and the bakin'.). Holy heck yumminess on both accounts. 

I "took" this picture over a year ago. Psychic much?

Finally, all of that craftiness and cooking has led me to today: the last day of 2014 and the eve of 2015. During my interwebs rambling today, I came across a "fact" that is uniquely compelling to me personally. Wait for it....Wait for it...Wait for it...IT'S THE YEAR OF THE GOAT!!! Woot woot! How wonderful it that? (For those of you new to my idiosyncrasies, I love.love.love. goats. If I could have one in the city limits of Helena I totally would. And a couple of alpacas because they are adorbs.) More specifically, as someone born in the Year of the Pig (1971), experts on these matters state that "...the Pigs will finally find the oak bearing golden acorns, so poverty and unemployment are not in your cards. The approaching period will prove so successful for your career that in the future you’ll be sure to look back on it numerous times with the sentiment of great nostalgia..." This seems to me to be GREAT (and totally reliable) advice on how to approach a new year that is in flux, complete with unemployment and an inexplicable yearning to leap into an retail endeavor despite modern shopping being too easy (I'm looking at you Amazon Prime), too impersonal (H'ya Etsy!), and cheaper than sustainable (Oh China...). Who knows what will be the story written during 2015, but I'm hopeful. And that in and of itself is a gift.

Now join me in toasting a fond farewell to 2014 and extending a warm (figuratively, this is Montana after all) welcome to 2015. Find all of those silver linings, remember your blessings, and move toward the light of a new year.

Stacey








More:http://www.gotohoroscope.com/2015-horoscope/chinese-2015-horoscope-pig.html.

Unemployed and wondering, "What's Next?!?"

My rustic sign. Need to work on my glue gun skills...

It's been 26 days since I lost my dream job, somewhat unceremoniously. While I've been grappling with all THAT, I've also finally had time to consider making Twig & Bloom, LLC a reality.

What the hell is Twig & Bloom you ask? Well, after my first few stumbling attempts at an elevator speech --- how the heck does one describe taking beloved hobbies and putting them inside a retail store? --- I spent some time this afternoon roughly crafting the gist of T&B. So here goes: 

Foraged greens bundled and ready for the home.

"Twig & Bloom represents a love for comfortable homes and glorious gardens. It is my wish to share the joy I find in those spaces with people who are seeking comfort and relaxation in similar spaces. Twig & Bloom is about finding unique décor – both new, upcycled, and handcrafted – to personalize Helena’s homes and bringing the beauty of greenery and fresh flowers into our homes and lives."


Yeah - it's still rough and barely captures the ideas floating around in my head, but bottom-line is that I love my home and I love my garden. My perfect day is puttering in both, creating a new vignette, pulling weeds, potting up a decorative urn, and rewarding myself with a delightful libation. I want to be comfortable inside and outside my home and it constantly amazes me that people who have beautiful homes and yards lack either the time (that would be me 26 days ago) or the imagination/vision to add warmth and joy to the places they inhabit.

Holiday pendants. Had so much fun cutting up the dictionary.

I also love my friends (I have outstanding shopping skills for those little things that add up into comfort). Small rewards of friendship are so hard to find sometimes in a small mountain town in Montana. The perfect card, let alone an affordable luxury that brightens someone's day can be a hassle to locate. So what do most people do? They let the moment pass - the amount of energy required surpasses the meaningful, but fleeting impulse to shine a ray of light into an otherwise dull day. 

Don't let the tidiness in this pic fool you.

Twig & Bloom, LLC isn't there yet. Right now it's a figment of my imagination and a basement full of "found" goodies waiting to be transformed and personalized. (And an upstairs nook crammed full of fabric, dried flowers, crafty papers, and jewelry findings.) There are so many things I would love to do with this idea, but it's a daunting undertaking and a scary proposition in the big bad world of Etsy, Amazon, and Google-it-until-it's-cheap-enough. 

Can a small town like Helena, MT support a creative outlet and retail store that trades in whimsy and happiness? That remains to be seen, but I keep plowing forward. First stop? Hopefully a vintage craft sale in Kalispell, MT on March 21st hosted by The Prairie Sisters. Shhhhh - keep this a secret. I still haven't submitted my first-ever, this-is-fer-realz vendor application, complete with pictures and booth set up and custom crafts and vintage items and...and...and...

I have the vapors now. Will finish my December margarita and call it a night.