We had a busy Easter weekend, and visited family both days. The boys had a wonderful time and participated in no less than three egg hunts. Ryan and I have become those parents and took way too many pictures of the entire celebration. Seriously, I am a big believer in “Less is More” (unless we’re talking about perfume), and I had to sort through almost 400 photos to find five for this post. That’s a tough job. Still, it’s a nice way to remember these days of simple pleasures, especially as the boys grow older. One day, they’ll be too busy for Easter eggs, and I’ll have these pictures to remind me of when they were so young.
So, here are the five pictures I chose to highlight our weekend.
(Peeking over the fence at the neighbor’s goats at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.)
(The cutest neighbor ever!)
(Helping Grandpa plant flowers in his garden. The sweetest of memories were made that day, and we have the pictures to prove it.)
(Cousins and trucks! It doesn’t get any better than this.)
(The final hunt of the weekend. My boys take it very seriously!)
As you can imagine, James and Rhys were exhausted by Sunday night, but they (and we) had a fabulous weekend. I hope you did, too!
(This is a love story that was meant to be, despite the obstacles that stood in the way.)
Two weekends ago, my family and I attended a local art fair at a nearby shopping center. The boys were a bit restless and in a hurry, so we quickly walked by each booth, not finding much that caught our attention. Near the end of the displays, I noticed a stand with a lovely, silver owl, so James and I walked over for a closer look, since owls are one of his very favorite things.
That’s when we met Liliana Olmos, the jewelry designer behind Olmox Fine Filigree Jewelry. She showed us her delicate pieces and explained a bit about the intensive process used to create them. Each piece is painstakingly crafted using a very old technique called filigree, in which tiny threads of silver wire are woven or wrapped to create an intricate pattern. I was absolutely enthralled by Liliana’s entire collection, and I especially loved the Daisy ring she had on display. Since we had just purchased new shoes for both boys, I decided not to buy anything, but I couldn’t get her jewelry out of my head!
(The Daisy Ring by Olmox Fine Filigree Jewelry.)
In fact, I thought about it all day long, and finally asked Ryan if we could return to the fair the next day to see it again. He agreed, and though a cold front blew through in the middle of the night, bringing with it gale force winds and much cooler temperatures, we bundled up the boys and visited the art fair again the next morning, just after it opened.
But I couldn’t find Liliana or her booth anywhere, and I was brokenhearted. I spoke with a representative at the artists’ station, and she told me that the windstorm had knocked down many of the display tents in the middle of the night, so some of the artists had to pack up and leave, taking their broken products with them. I felt so sad for Liliana and her beautiful work, and when we got home, I emailed her, checking to see if she was okay and asking her to contact me so I could purchase the ring.
Less than an hour later, Liliana called to inform me that she was again set up at the fair, but without her tent this time. And thankfully, all of her jewelry survived the storm, though she did have to venture out into the cold at 4 A.M. to clean up the mess. I was thrilled, and headed over once more after lunch, while Ryan stayed with the boys.
Finally, I was able to purchase the ring that captured my heart, as well as a lovely pair of silver stud earrings.
(The Magangue Stud Earrings by Olmox Fine Filigree Jewelry.)
Liliana was so helpful and gracious, and her jewelry is incredibly detailed and elegant. I’m especially drawn to its timeless quality with elements of modern design. She travels to the many fairs throughout Texas and even beyond, and you can find her schedule of events here. Her jewelry is also available for purchase through her online store.
For this week’s question, Shayla and I tackle the issue of nerves.
Have You Ever Felt Nervous or Uneasy About Publishing a Post? Why?
On my old blog, I used to get political and controversial all the time, mostly because I didn’t think anyone was reading it besides a few friends and family. Here, I’m much more aware of what I put out into the world, and I try to maintain a fairly neutral position, I hope. I’ve written a couple posts about delicate issues, and before I published my post about living with scleroderma (which was still on my old blog, too), I sent a copy to my family, just so they would know ahead of time. The comments I received (now closed) were incredibly supportive, and really reaffirmed my decision to write the post in the first place.
But the piece that caused me to lose sleep had nothing to do with controversy, and everything to do with perfection. It was my profile of Emma at Home, a line of paintings and home decor, which was also on my previous blog, that stressed me to no end. I wrote it while taking the blogging class last summer, and after falling in love with the paintings (and in the interest of challenging myself as a blogger), I contacted the company and asked if I could profile them, thinking I wouldn’t here back. Instead, literally minutes later, I heard from the PR representative, who was incredibly helpful and gave me full use of the photos to share on my blog. It was my first-ever contact with a company, and I wanted to get everything absolutely right. I wrote and edited the post, and then edited and edited and edited, proofread and proofread and proofread and proofread. Since I publish at midnight, I lay in bed that night, unable to sleep, and finally double checked everything one last time as it went live.
Now, it all sounds kind of silly and over-dramatic, but it was a big deal for me at the time, and since I was added to the company’s press list, I felt a responsibility to maintain their level of accuracy and perfection, too. I wasn’t paid for the post at all, and I simply loved the works and wanted to share them with others, so all the pressure I endured was completely self-created. In a way, that is really hilarious.
The post on Emma at Home was definitely a big blogging step for me, and I’m much more comfortable in my shoes now. I still profile artists I love from time to time, contacting them for permission to use their pictures, but I don’t feel nearly as much pressure as I did the first time around. I guess it all comes down to experience.
I also try to think of my blog as a living thing, which might sound totally cheesy, but I can revise and edit after a post is live, too, so mistakes can be corrected. Plus, you know me well enough to know that a mistake, to me, is probably something like a missing comma or a photo that I forgot to label.
I take blogging very seriously, but I don’t want it to become a source of stress, so I try not to get too nervous about my posts now.
Lesson learned, for sure.
Do you have a post that made you nervous? I’d love to hear about it, and feel free to share the link, too. And remember to check out Shayla’s response on her blog, Northern Exposure. I’m curious to see if life as a reporter has given her a thicker skin.
