Mid-Winter Vignettes

I am finding that winter in the canyon is a magical time. Whenever snow falls, it seems like we get just a little more than the rest of the city, tucked back in the foothills, and our little house becomes covered in a blanket of white, making it look even more like a fairytale gingerbread house.

I have enjoyed the stillness of winter, taking lots of quiet time for inner work, rest, and hibernation. I have enjoyed hiking in the canyon with Preston and with my friend Jessica, (and maybe with you, next!) and finding our way through the ice to the more melted, sunny-side trails.

Just yesterday Preston and I ventured up a trail to find ourselves looking over a great mountainside, as high as we could be, snow gently melting on our noses. You could see a fog of white drift over. It was blissful! Everything looks so different here in mid-winter.

I would love to share with you some pictures that capture some small scenes in our home that celebrate the magic of winter, and some of Preston's beautiful photos of the canyon, blanketed in snow....




I changed our Christmas mantle a bit, keeping the enchanting silver, but adding some of my favorite woodland things...







Annie and Kevin gave me this AMAZING frame for Christmas this year, and put in it a special picture of a very important moment in my life. It meant the world to me, and it is Perfect for this little nook right now...





Tiny white birds, a lost feather and a crystal...







Some of my favorite ceramics in the kitchen, along with a picture of P and I at Grandma and Grandpa's at Lime Lake in NY, when we were teenagers...



A collection of crystals, waiting with our plants to catch the light when sunshine comes...




Spoofer all snuggled up in our bed for a winter's nap...







Some special shots captured by Preston early one snowy morning in the canyon...













There is stillness and quiet here. What a blessing to dwell in the winter for a while, allowing for a winter of the mind, body and spirit, preparing for a new emerging of light in the springtime...

Love to you...

Love's Garden Spring Party and Trunk Show

At the end of April my husband and I hosted a Spring party and a little trunk show to show off my Love's Garden Spring collection. It was wonderful and we had a great turn out! I didn't think I had any pics to share, but I just recently realized that Preston had taken a bunch of really nice pictures before the party started and I was so excited to be able to share them with you! If you couldn't make it to the party, here is a way for you to see it anyways! And if you are interested, many of these items are still available for sale in my shop. If there's something you want that you see here that's not in my shop, just contact me at LovesGarden_Etsy@hotmail.com and I might still have it for you!

Here is the food table, a whole spread of delicious goodies, and peach iced tea and lemonade of course!

There were vegan golden agave vanilla buttercream cupcakes...

A white bean dip that Preston created...



Veggies and homemade hummus...

Three kinds of crackers and chips to dip!

A variety of yummy vegan cheese spreads: Hickory smoked cheddar and regular cheddar, and a mexi-cheddar dip. We found them at Whole Foods, and now they also carry them at Vitamin Cottage, and they are actually really good. They are called "We Can't Say Its Cheese" and they are made from oats! They are not as "fatty" as raw nut cheeses, but are really delicious and great for dipping and spreading.

Beautiful spring garlands...I still have a couple of these and I'll be putting them up in the shop this week, but you can contact me if you'd like to reserve one while they last!

Sweet Teapot Aprons...



Here is one of the display tables...

Little wall hangings for decorating your home...

A one-of-a-kind bird's nest...

I created little kits to plant your own herbs for the kitchen... you get to choose and customize which herbs you want with your kit!

There were many lovely earrings to choose from, and the earring displays got a lot of attention as they always seem to..

Here is a little piece of art you can wear around your neck...

A display on our coffee table with lots of knitted goods and my spring earrings!

Sweet handknit baby booties..."Little Sprouts"

Bride and Goddess bracelets on sale...

Handknit baby washcloths...

A one-of-a-kind original watercolor painting...

Can you tell I love nests? :)

My newest line of earrings...

A sensual line of dead-sea bath salts, contact me at LovesGarden_Etsy@hotmail.com to find out more and to order yours @ $15 a jar

And here, my sweetie took a couple of really beautiful photos of my little vignettes all lit up for the party...

I want to sincerely thank everyone who was able to make it to our Spring Party and Love's Garden Trunk Show. I had a wonderful time and it was so exciting to share my goodies with you, and catch up. Thank you also for supporting handmade! And of course, thank you to my amazing husband Preston for these beautiful photos and for supporting me tirelessly in all of my passions.

For now, I've got lots of new ideas in the works for the Love's Garden Summer collection, my Soul Painting (a painting for process class) on Wednesday nights, veggie and herb gardens to be planted in our backyard, my work with children several days of the week, preparing to get some of my goods in some local shops, and maybe I'll get to squeeze in some days for doing henna this summer too!

I hope you are enjoying your day whatever you are up to, and maybe I'll see ya at my next trunk show!

Peace,

Abbey

Various Spring Vignettes

My decorating is very nature-inspired, and I especially love this time of year...



I have been picking up a boquet of Ranunculus flowers from Whole Foods each time I go shopping, and they bring moments of joy and pure presence to me each time I see them. They are one of my very favorite flowers and I love to arrange them in all my little vases...



On the coffee table, a beautiful slate my husband rescued from being taken to the landfill, with a little nest (nests are my favorite symbol right now), and a sweet cast-iron feather I bought at a wonderful shop in downtown Ventura, California called B on Main that I always insist on visiting every time I go to see my sister Annie and her husband.



Little built-in shelves to the side of our fireplace provide the perfect space for creating little worlds of interest. Here, a wild turkey feather I found several years ago while walking the trails at Unity Village in Missouri, a beautiful gold-leafed frame my dad hand-leafed and gave me one Christmas that just seems to be art enough by itself, and two lovely stone candle holders given to us by our brother-in-law Kevin.



Precious treasures: One of my favorite little books in the world, Keep Life Simple Therapy, an Elf-help Book, and a little ceramic deer my dad gave me.

A beautiful photograph taken by my husband Preston that he framed and gave to me for Christmas this year. It adds so much brightness to my day whenever I see it. Visit his Etsy shop to order this photograph, or choose from many other beautiful and unique fine art photographs: http://www.stohsphotography.etsy.com/

I always get so much joy from filling my fruit bowl full of fresh fruits right after grocery shopping. When I shop for fruit, I look for the colorful and interesting ones and arrange them in the bowl as if it were an art piece in itself. :)

Sweet little hand-thrown miniature vases I bought this summer while we were visiting Zion National Park in Utah. Tucked inside one of the pots is an absolutely precious and beautiful hand-painted matchbox by MaryHanks on Etsy, that I fell in love with, and my sister and her husband got me for Christmas last year. I love and cherish sweet little things that could be ordinary, but are made extraordinary. It always brings me joy to use my little matchbox.