I’m cooking up some exciting things in the studio these days. Go ahead and sign up for the newsletter and you’ll be in on all the super-awesome secret stuff (and by secret I mean a coupon code for holiday shopping!) SIGN UP HERE — but don’t worry if you’re already on the list, you’ll get it all too! Eeeeee!!!!

Also — everything in the shop now ships for FREE (yes, that’s free shipping! on everything!) through the end of the year. I guess I’m just feeling generous? Yippee!

Maybe it was the October snow? But I’m ready for the (winter) holidays!

our little monkey on her 2nd Halloween

]]> http://www.lauriecoyledesigns.com/blog/2011/11/3110/feed/ 1 http://www.lauriecoyledesigns.com/blog/2011/10/five-years/ http://www.lauriecoyledesigns.com/blog/2011/10/five-years/#comments Sun, 09 Oct 2011 00:43:48 +0000 Laurie May http://www.lauriecoyledesigns.com/blog/?p=3078

I know I pretty much do this every year, but it’s time for some reminiscing. Five years ago today yesterday (who thought I would finish a blog post in a day? Not me!), John and I were married. It was a warm fall day, with amazing foliage all around, and we were surrounded by so many of the people we love; it really was one of the best days ever!

It feels a little more special this year, I guess the five-year-mark is a milestone, and also to be sharing this day with Natalie. She’s napping now (of course, how else would I do this?) — but we have lots of fun planned for the day, also including a toddler-less dinner out for mommy and daddy (rev: we did this! It was awesome! We went to Nudel — YUM!), but she’ll have fun with her Grammy so she won’t even notice!

So here’s to love, marriage, babies, all the fun and awesome stuff, plus they yuck in-between that makes us appreciate these love-soaked days, and to all the people who help hold up a couple’s love and convince us to share it with the world. Happy Anniversary, darlin’, I love you so much!

]]> http://www.lauriecoyledesigns.com/blog/2011/10/five-years/feed/ 0 http://www.lauriecoyledesigns.com/blog/2011/10/3073/ http://www.lauriecoyledesigns.com/blog/2011/10/3073/#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:12:24 +0000 Laurie May http://www.lauriecoyledesigns.com/blog/?p=3073

Natalie choosing some pumpkins

So it seems this little bug likes pumpkins. Or at least tolerates them. She tried to pick up those she was seated next too. She has enjoyed gnawing on the decorative gourds (organic, of course!) on her Grammy’s kitchen table. And last night she seemed interested in watching me scoop seeds and guts from my carving pumpkin. This one was destined to sport her likeness. Well at least her two tiny teeth!

I am usually somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to craft projects (what? really? That doesn’t mean I don’t use my fingers to paint or smudge every once in a while, but it takes me a while to get it all juuust right, you know how it goes). But as I had a six month-old watching me and waiting for me to be done, I kind of had to hurry. But somehow, despite the rush, I was able to go a little zen and be in the moment while doing it. It was lovely. The part where this really happened, though, was when sorting the seeds from the pulp so we could roast them. At this point she was out for a walk with her dad and the doggy, letting me just zone out and enjoy the slimy job. Fun times.

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Satisfying results, having two completely sorted piles and filling that bowl! As Will Shortz says in the introduction to the Sudoku book I picked up yesterday says, “…nature abhors a vacuum. We as human beings seem to have a natural compulsion to fill up empty spaces.” {ZOMG now I get to tell you how suddenly obsessed I am with Sudoku! I sort of resisted this for a while b/c I thought it had something to do with MATH. YUCK. But no… it’s just…. so. much. fun. Talk about satisfying! I’m terrible at crosswords, possibly because I’m not the best speller or at remember the accurate answers to trivia (but I always think I know the answer!), but this is awesome. And quick and ok to pick up and put down and care for a baby for a bit. Then go back to it. haha. It’s only been two days, but it’s pretty much taking over my train of thought. So if I never update this blog again, you’ll know what I’m doing.}

Happy Halloween!

my mom's amazing garden

things i’m thinking about today, things I have been meaning to post about, things I will maybe someday devote entire posts to:

• FALL!

• editing Natalie’s birth story to post for you

• finally making a before/after post for our basement renovation project

• food — specifically introducing solid foods to an infant. And the school lunch program and our nation’s epidemic of STUPID when it comes to nutrition. Including our Doctors. I love our new pediatrician, though, who told me “meat is overrated” when I asked if I had to think about making sure our wee babe got enough protein when she’s finally eating solid foods. I kind of wanted to hug him.

• Naps. Or lack thereof. Natalie is a classic “nap resister” who doesn’t want to miss anything. The No-Cry Nap Solution is helping, though.

• Elimination Communication, AKA “The Diaper-Free Baby”. This is a whole series of posts-worth of content, but let’s just say I’m getting over the feeling of being CRAZY for wanting to try this, and really enjoying the JOY on N’s face when she uses her tiny potty. SHE LOVES IT. I AM NOT CRAZY. And yes, she is not quite even 5 months old.

my cup runneth over. for reals.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents’ with 20 family members and friends, followed by some visiting with John’s family.

Then a second round on Friday with a gang of friends at our house for our “Annual Day-After Thanksgiving Leftover Feast”. Yum! Just writing about it makes me want more mashed potatoes… seriously.

A few things I am grateful for this year:

• my family
• my wonderful husband
• our growing baby bean (almost 5 months!)
• our dry basement
• craft fairs, loyal customers and awesome fellow crafters
• art, craft and doing-it-yourself
• furry friends
• my tribe of fantastic human friends
• mashed potatoes (can you tell I’ve gotten my appetite back?)

I was at Twist this weekend! I did not take any photos!

It was wonderful, though, and I had lots of fun chatting with customers and friends and my fearless helpers and fellow vendors (why are you all so wonderful and fun to be with?!) — and thankfully some of them captured the day in pictures. You can see a few nice shots on fellow vendor Maeg’s blog, including a photo wherein I appear to be as humongous as the Sasquatch on her t-shirt, but that’s ok — there’s a baby in there (Did you hear?)! I was so grateful to be able to spend the night with my lovely friends, too, so I didn’t have to drive back and forth Friday night/Saturday morning. They showed me the sights in Florence and Leeds; I’m definitley going to have to go back for some swimming this summer!

So yesterday I spent the day lounging and doing not much of anything, in an attempt to recuperate and get some energy back. John and I had a lovely and gluttonous brunch at the Dakota restaurant, followed by movies and tv-on-the-internet and a leasurly stroll or two around the neighborhood. One of those was at sunset and the sky was so darn pink, it was quite amazing! And again, I didn’t take any pictures. I’ll try next time, I really will.

I am so thankful that I sold almost all of my new holiday ornaments (little stuffed birdies!), but now I need to get back into making-mode for Mass MoCA this weekend! My back is still bothering me, though, and I’m trying not to aggravate it and make it worse. I am going to attempt some gentle yoga today; I really need to get back into that. And apparently back into taking photos for you, too. Like I said, I’ll try!

here I am. But sort of wishing I was still here:

with these lovely ladies:

sigh. We had a great time up in the woods and mountains of Maine. It was a quick visit, with a very rainy day for our one full day, but we made the best of it.

We have been friends since High School, and I find it most amazing that we are still in touch. What’s more, we are probably closer, better friends now, after all these years. We can make each other laugh and cry even harder than we used to, and it’s sometimes even harder to say goodbye. Why don’t we all live closer, ladies? I’m so lucky to have Stephanie so nearby, and I think we will get even closer once I’m a mama, too. But wouldn’t it be nice if we could all get together like this all the time? I’m missing you all muchly!

hehe. We had a GREAT time, which may or may not have included moose and lobster hats, lots of snacks, squash and salad, a selection of board games, a rousing round of charades and a dance-off. More photos here.

First of all, thankyouthankyouthankyou for all of the love and support and congrats on our big announcement. It has been so fun to see (here and on facebook!) that you are almost as excited as we are to welcome the little bean to our family! I promise to post updates when I have ‘em, but for now just know that no news is good news and everything is progressing along nicely.

Secondly, they’re everywhere! We have lately been infested with ladybugs. It’s really odd, but it seems to happen every year. Some kind of migration, I guess? Do you have ‘em, too? I don’t mind them, but I feel bad when they get trapped inside. And I hate the way they smell, (and my sniffer is more sensitive than usual — chalk that up to another pregnancy sypmptom they don’t tell you about!) so I hope they say outside!

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aaaand thirdly, I’m off this weekend on a little mini-break with some of my best girls! We are headed to Maine, to a little cabin in the woods for a little R&R — and thankfully dear Stephanie has offered to drive, so I don’t even have the 5-hour drive to dread! I will hopefully have some photos to post from the trip next week (I’ve been having some issues with my camera and my computer, but I think they are mostly workable, if totally annoying).

Have a great weekend!

As I write this, I’m just over 12 weeks pregnant. It’s true! A baby! Making it’s way into our lives at the end of April (2010!)!

I have been soooo tired these last few months, and thankfully that has made it a *little* easier to keep this secret, since it takes all my energy to sit down and get anything done, including this blog post. I haven’t been doing much making, and therefore not a log of blogging, but as Penny’s hubby said about her first few months of pregnancy in this post, I need to remember that I have been busy creating something completely different. I might look like I’m just sitting on the couch, but darn it, I’m working hard!

So far everything is going great with out little bean, and we will get to see much more at an ultrasound at 18 weeks. We got to hear the heartbeat a week ago, and let me tell you that was quite an amazing thing. We had an ultrasound at 6.5 weeks, too, but weren’t really able to see anything but a little blur and a flickering speck of a heartbeat. {Little flickering speck, how I can’t wait to meet you!}

I spent the last 4 days in Pennsylvania with my cousin Becky and her twin boys who just turned one on Wednesday. What a fun time that was — they are quite possibly the cutest and happiest children in the world. It was a nice for me to get some baby practice, too, even though they are technically toddlers — both walking now!

Some FAQ about the baby bean?

• No, we don’t have any names picked out (tho some front-runners, which we will probably keep a secret)
• We still aren’t sure if we want to find out the sex until the birth, but I think I would like to, as I am not a very patient person!!
• Yes, we had been trying off and on for about a year, but it finally happened when we relaxed about it and really believed “whatever happens, happens” (my hubby’s favorite mantra). And then it happened! I really didn’t believe it when I saw that plus sign on the test, and I had to wake John up at 6am to tell him! It has been so hard not telling everyone in the world, and we started telling select friends and family pretty early — at 5 weeks. I decided I didn’t want to go through any of it alone, and especially if something bad happened, you know? You know. And also wanted to share the joy and excitement as soon as we could!
• Thankfully I have been feeling pretty good. Super tired and a little moody, but I have been soooo lucky not to have any morning sickness. I am just constantly hungry, but I get full really easily and nothing really sounds good to eat. I have had some heartburn, which is not terribly fun, but I am so lucky not to have much nausea at all that I really can’t complain. I do pee about every hour, and there are lots of other “symptoms” of pregnancy that I’m not going to get into here, but I’ve got ‘em! It’s been quite a ride so far, and I really can’t believe I’m already a third of the way through!

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P.S. Just listed my 2010 calendar in my Esty shop! This year it’s “Birds of the Berkshires”; a whole collection of hand-painted likenesses of our favorite New England avian friends. They’re pretty pretty, if I do say so myself. I’m so happy with how it came out!