Be Still My Heart

Blue and Green Heart Pillow from Etsy seller bexcaliber

My heart has been doing funny things lately. It is sometimes so full it feels like it might burst. But then it will ache with a wanting I have never felt before. And then some days it burns with frustration and a feeling of helplessness I can't seem to shake.

There are so many emotions and thoughts going through my mind and heart right now I have no idea what direction to go in.

The love I have for my new baby boy is unlike any love I have ever known. All I want to do is snuggle him and kiss his cheeks. Hear him laugh and giggle and cuddle him next to me as long as he will sit still (which is getting less and less with each passing day). He has changed everything about who I am in his short five months of life.

Suddenly my priorities are completely different and all I feel is a need to change. To change who I am, or rather change back to who I was a long time ago. Someone who was softer. Someone who had dreams and wouldn't compromise. Someone who valued friendship and love above all else.

All of the things I thought I 'needed' in life suddenly seem trivial and childish. A waste of effort and energy. How did I get so off track? Or rather, how did I end up on the wrong one? Did I know myself so little?

Eli has made me open my eyes to who I truly am, who I truly want to be, and what I truly want to make a priority in my life. But now I am at a loss on how to get to that point. I am making changes, slowly. To my thinking, to my routine. But the bigger items I am not sure how to tackle.

There are so many things I want to have time for but time seems to be sparse these days. With my regular job, my Truly Noted business, my new Pampered Chef business, and the regular every day things that need to be done, I really have no idea how I do anything to completion.

I need to de-clutter my life- but how? I need my job to pay the bills (and even then it is a stretch). I need the businesses to hopefully make enough to off-set the job so I can eventually leave it. So do I just need to bear with it for now? How can I be assured there is a sunny ending? That all of this work and sacrifice will be worth it?

And I refuse to sacrifice any time I have to be with my baby. It is all for him, but I don't want to miss anything in these early days.

How does anybody make this work and come out the other end intact?

It's been a long, long time...

Well it's actually only been a couple of months, but it feels like years since I last posted! There have been some exciting changes going on for me both personally and professionally and I am so happy to finally be back to blogging.

Of course the biggest (and best) change has been the introduction of my little man, Elijah. He made his appearance on September 13th after what seemed like the longest pregnancy EVER. Here is his birth announcement that I designed (before I actually gave birth- always good to plan ahead!).


Aside from all things baby I have also just finished designing the new Truly Noted website! I am so excited to finally have this project up and running. There are lots of new signature invitation designs that you can purchase straight off of the website. I also added a new Baby & Kids section where you can find fun items like the Owl Birth Announcement I did for Eli.

Now that I have my new website, new baby, and my Etsy store back up and running I am super excited to see what the future holds!

Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is (chosen by random.org)...........


Commenter #35 - Simonka

Congrats and thanks to everyone who entered!

Vermont Etsy Street Team Giveaway!

Even though things are winding down for me as I prepare for our new bundle of joy, I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to host a give away for the Made In Vermont Etsy Street Team!



So from July 12-15 you can enter to win a set of Custom Note Cards from Truly Noted! You get 10 beautifully printed note cards made with thick linen textured cardstock complete with matching lined envelopes. I will customize them with whatever name you like, or if you would prefer a message such as 'Thank You' I can do that as well.



They come nicely packaged in a box tied with ribbon so they are perfect for a gift if you choose to get them for someone else. Or enjoy them for yourself and never be without a pretty card to send to a friend!

There are four ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Leave a comment on the Made In Vermont Etsy Street Team blog.

3. Become a fan of the Made In Vermont Etsy Street Team on Facebook (leave a comment here letting me know that you did).

4. Tweet about this giveaway or the Made In Vermont Etsy Street Team (leave a comment here letting me know when you tweeted).

The winner will be announced here and on the Made In Vermont Etsy Street Team blog on Monday July 26th!

Great Guest Book Idea

Just found this great guest book idea on Chookooloonks (found via Design Mom). So creative and fun!

Good Things Come To Those That Wait

{Image from the long thread}

Waiting for something truly momentous is quite exhausting. Or maybe it's the whole gestating-a-baby thing that is exhausting? Either way, I knew I wasn't going to be able to continue making invitations right up until I go into labor. But when to stop?

I finally decided to do it in stages. Starting this week I put up a sort of 'out of office' notice on my website explaining that I will no longer be taking any custom orders. Couples can still order invites off of my Etsy store until the end of July, when I will cease invitation creation until after the little one has arrived and we have a handle on things. (Does anyone ever feel like they have a handle on a newborn baby?)

But hopefully all of this free time will help me get my new website up and running for when I return. I have so many ideas and designs swimming around in my head, and I haven't had a lot of extra time to work on them. Time is definitely the secret ingredient for making a business thrive and I need to make more of it.

If I ever figure that out how to do that, I will let you know. :-)

Amazing Wedding Video

You simply must check out this amazing wedding video I spied on Snippet & Ink today. Absolutely breathtaking!

Neda + Sati "A Marriage of Two Cultures" from Cherish Films on Vimeo.