Nectar & Light

 

everything in the little italy shop is 20-50% off until 11 february - this is the last chance to purchase anything from this collection as my work will be taking me in a new direction this year.  hurry - there are only four calendars left!

xoox~jla

water is sacred, holy and spiritual.  often, i feel as if no one knows this better than fire signs - we need it to quench our tempers and balance the lapping flames.  connecting with water in a spiritual way is one of the reasons i swim.  after nearly a six month break in which i have no excuse for, i have returned to the water.  i have been swimming a mile several days a week and once again, i feel connected in a way that was missing.  the connections manifest themselves quiet quickly through the physical - but it is the emotional connection to water that draws me back - it is an ancient energy that i feel at one with.

my mother - also a fire sign - has a strong bond with the deep blue as well.  she recently came across a project by white forest pottery's nancy bauch that i would love to share with you.  it is called the water mala bowl.  mala is the buddhist rosary - or prayer beads - and there are 108 bowls in this collection - the same number of beads found on a traditional mala.  the 108 water mala bowls were first created in dedication of famed cultural historian thomas berry who passed away just last september.  a second set has been handmade now and is available here.  every morning, i meditate on my water mala - i think of the water this tiny vessel holds and thank the earth for this gift.  it is a tiny thing - meditation - thanks - being grateful - but it's power is all encompassing.  

xoox~jla

p.s. and thank you.  i know i say that a lot in this space; but truly i am so grateful for you - for understanding me, my faults, my crazy dreams - i love sharing with you and you always, always help remind me that those dreams are what life is about - thank you for the love yesterday. 

 

i forgot about something last week and i am not sure how that happened.  i forgot that nectar & light turned two.  it has been a blessed two years. when i began sharing my life on this blog, i never imagined the journey that i would take.  it is a journey that has brought some wonderful people into my life - a journey that has afforded me some incredible professional opportunities - a journey that has been a study of introspection.  the small slices of silence in which i sit down and begin to write to you {and to me}  each morning, acts as a cathartic reminder to be a better mother, a better wife, a better photographer, a better person.  this is my happy place.  yes - there are things in my life that are chaos - that are full of stress - that worry me endlessly; i curse like a sailor; i can be pretty snarky;  i loose my temper with my children and yell.  but this journal acts as my daily affirmations and reminders that the important things - finding balance, creating a warm and welcoming home and meals, pushing myself as an artist - and most importantly - working everyday on being the best mother i can be, are of the utmost importance. nectar & light keeps me balanced.

as most bloggers who write about their personal life, i have struggled in the past with how much to share - how much of me to really reveal through the curtain of this little space.   i mentioned last week that life is getting ready to change for us this year.  we are ready to explore - to find something new.  we will be spending a great deal of time on the road traveling over the next 12 months and this will effect every aspect of our everyday - school, work - everything.  we are still working out the details but we are excited.  i considered starting a new blog about this adventure - but that adventure is a reflection of my life - and so is nectar & light.  so you are invited to share in this journey with us... of sunshine & lollipops... more details soon.

thank you friends... thank you for supporting me, my words - my work - thank you for believing in me; thank you for sharing the excitement of my vision over these last two years and thank you for your constant words of love and encouragement - they fill me up and renew my energy every single day.  thank you.  

xoox~jla

 

only 20 sets...

 

i am really.  trying really, really hard.  but coming home was bittersweet.  we ended up leaving sedona very early in the morning in hopes of bypassing a snow storm that was beginning to cripple northern arizona.  all of the passes to the north were closed.  so we spent a very, very long day in the car driving all the way south - nearly to the border - to cross into new mexico and head north again.  it was a scary few hours until we cleared the white out conditions and the lazy day we were so hoping to spend in santa fe will have to wait until summer - though we were able to stop for lunch at our favorite diner {best carnitas tacos and mexican hot chocolate EVER}  in the midst of the southwestern snow.

our road trip was a what road trips should be.  americana, family, love, laughs, amazing finds and food - it truly could not have been better - only longer.  and it was on this road trip, sitting in that aforementioned cafe that we began to lay plans for the rest of the year.  plans that will forever change not only our lives - but our outlook on the world.  i look forward to sharing more soon...

xoox~jla

p.s. another sneak peek of the REDscarf - opens on thursday...

i have a secret.  it is something that has been brewing for some time.  and now i can show you a sneak peek...a very special pop up shop and collaboration with the incredibly talented ms. martha mcquade of uniform natural - we are excited.  i hope you are too.  more soon.  very, very soon.

xoox~jla

 

we have been blessed with sunshine.  so much gorgeous sunshine.  until today.  a huge rainstorm has moved into northern arizona - but that is okay.  the sun has been warmth and love and the rain brings a cool, fresh air.  i was able to sneak in a photo shoot for the upcoming spring issue of small magazine {a sneak above} - i will let you know as soon as the new issue goes live.  the girls have been having a wonderful time running around the ranch like the wild bunch - riding in grandpa's rat rod {above}, playing in their secret playhouse {an unused horse trailer}, brushing down horses and baking up a storm.  

see you in santa fe...

xoox

 

with a vacation that began with a major bump - waking up the second morning of our trip to find my credit card number had been stolen and said card maxed out - the trip was quickly redeemed upon entering the magic kingdom.  what is it about disneyland?  do they pump faerie dust into the air?  the girls behaved so beautifully, strangers smiled and made small talk, everyone was smiling.  everyone.  we met a wonderful family - and found that adie shares a birthday with the oldest of the two boys - they were born just hours apart.  within minutes of meeting they were running hand in hand through the park as if they were truly twins.  magic.

see you in arizona in a few days...

xoox

 

i hope you are cozy, warm and full of happiness and optimism!  it has been so incredibly cold and wintery here - truly shocking - i don't remember such an early and angry winter since my youth.  while in the midst of our second blizzard of the season which happened to whip through the city on christmas day - cozy in front of the fire watching the christmas day parade at disneyland - i looked at den and with all seriousness stated how i much i need to leave the snow behind for a little bit.  no joke - we have four foot drifts in the front yard and the paths leading to the sidewalk remind me of secret snow tunnels.  and it is cold.  really, really cold - like 20 below cold.  so we are taking the girls to disneyland - the magic kingdom of my personal youth - and spending time with family in arizona.  i hope to blog on the road... 

it has been such a blessed and wonderful break.  one of the things that i love most about being a part of this community is the heartfelt relationships that have come from blogging.  one of these people is jen, and i truly feel like we have known each other forever.  just before christmas, we met.  finally.  and it was everything i knew it would be - magic and memories - laughter and endless smiles - and i heart her more, if that is possible.  and just after the new year, our two best friends who are both graduate students in boulder braved the I-80 to spend some time with us.  they inspire me, they make me laugh - they make me happy and remind me of the hope and joy in the endless quest for knowledge. 

and we are standing on the threshold of an adventure in so many ways.  den has quit his day job to focus on his side business that has grown at a steady pace over the last five years.  remember this and then this?  it is still our plan and we are taking the baby steps that will help make it happen in the most responsible way we can.  

i have so much to catch up on - so many new collaborations and exciting new projects by friends of mine that i have only had minutes to peek at in the last few weeks - i am excited to share some of them with you - and maybe one of my own and a certain someone...

see you on the road...

xoox~jla

p.s. adie is wearing a fascinator that we made to ring in new year's eve...

 

our world seems to be blanketed in grey wool... we have been keeping the fireplace aglow and staying close to home as we are expecting another snow storm in the coming days.  today the paths are covered in diamond ice... i want to bake, i want us to burrow ourselves under pounds of blankets on the couch and watch "frosty the snowman", i need to start a thick, rich beef stew - i need to keep the fireplace aglow.

thank you for your feedback regarding our solstice tree.  we found a four-foot potted colorado spruce.  she is a delicate little beauty.  the man at the greenhouse told us we could move it to our un-insulated side porch and it should survive so that we can plant it in the spring.

wishing you all a lovely holiday and safe travels... see you in the new year friends.

xoox~jla

p.s. one of my favorite solstice gifts from one of my favorite people - thank you my love - i can stop looking at them.