Doesn’t she look so graceful and serene in these old photographs?

Lola Carmen passed away this morning around 4am. She went peacefully and had family with her. The past few years have been very hard on her body, but she fought carcinoid cancer bravely and remained with us longer than was expected. I wish I were able to give her one last hug and hold her hand again, because I miss her. Everyone misses her.

My heart is comforted with the knowledge that I will one day see her again, and that she is at rest now, freed from pain and her earthly body. I hope she had an awesome welcome party in heaven. Filipino-style.

Rest in peace, Lola. We love you. Till we meet again.

I have a modest stack of these valentines now listed in the shop. $5 for a pack of 24. For Moulin Rouge fans on an inkjet printer strike, like me. : )

The latest issue of LA Times Magazine had a neat spread on vintage matchboxes. I was easily able to locate the article online, so now I share with you.

And my sense of humor must be very primary, because I’m seeing that “Bullock’s Tea Rooms” matchbox and thinking of the word “bollocks,” which is a very funny word to me, especially when said in a British accent. Kai is in a potty-mouth phase right now, though fortunately most offenses have been done at home. Pee-pee, poh-poohh! would come out of his mouth at the most random times, and then I have to try real hard to contain a giggle so that I’m able to keep up the appearance of being a perfect example. Hopefully I’ll be more mature when he learns wiener, otherwise I don’t stand a chance.

A little last minute, like many things, but a new card design for the shop is in the works. I’ll also soon be listing these cards from last year, precut and professionally printed. I’m sort of on an ink cartridge strike right now (replacing ink every couple of months is kind of ridiculous, and I’d rather spend the money on sushi or downloading Battlestar Galactica episodes because I’m too impatient for my Netflix, you know?), but the cards are still available here.

Hope the free download makes up for the wonky blog as of late. Ryan moved everything to a new server, and the blog said, no way –  I am now going to bombard all your reader subscribers with random comments. And then I said, oh no, how could you? Can we just go back to the way things were? So I think things are now on the mend.

Cut up some security envelopes today. I don’t have any application for my little raindrops, but I find them fun to look at.

I never knew as a designer/creative I’d be so influenced by my childrens’ interests. But here I am cutting out a t-rex skull because dinosaurs fascinate Kai and I. And because of this book, we also have frogs and bats on the mind. What’s the saying? Slugs and snails and puppy dog tails…

Watching them stumble around with pillows on their heads was just like the ascot scene.

I adore my crochet doilies from Ikea. Not sure what to do with them yet, though I find this very inspiring.

And I am treasuring my hand-cut wooden anchor necklace by Emedemarta. Opening the package was quite the experience; little brown paper packages tied up in red and white baker’s twine, a thoughtful handwritten note, a little pouch to store my necklace, and little extras thrown in with my order. Definitely my favorite Etsy store right now.

And speaking of handmade, my good friend Stacie and her sister are doing an apron giveaway on their blog Never Enough. My post is a little late on this as the contest ends this Wednesday, but head over there for your chance to win a retro, Minnie-Mouse inspired apron. Good luck!

Yeah, this is what I do when I waste pretend time. I really should be prepping the craft for nursery at church tomorrow, but it’s really satisfying to look at pretty things online. I’m not ashamed to admit that.

All sofas from Room and Board: The Hutton, Reese, and Dublin.

The day of our shoot quickly went from partly sunny to overcast, especially the closer we got to the beach. With a slight chance of rain, the clouds began rolling in, creating a gorgeous, foggy backdrop. The soft, hazy mountains in the background remind me of Asian brush paintings. Beautiful. And I love how the images have a quiet, subdued feeling to them. Natural lighting is where it’s at. We are so grateful for Raya’s time and talent, and are thrilled at how these turned out!

{All images by Raya Carlisle Photography. Children by Ryan and Jenn.}