Well, we are no longer apartment dwellers . . . thank goodness! After a crazy week of yes, maybe, maybe not and back to yes, we closed on our house soon after my last post - May 14th. We moved in the next day and it's been non-stop ever since. There's been all the predictable unpacking and getting settled in and a couple of not so pleasant surprises, biggest one from our insurance company that our policy was on hold and not in effect until we cleared some tree branches and shrubbery from around the house and, the big one, fixed the fairly significant cracked section of the driveway. After two weekends of intense labor, borrowed tools and countless trips to the home store, all is well.

Here's a few of my favorite images of our new home . . .

Our new digs . . . this is just after the tree pruning.  BTW - the sea of ivy's days are numbered! — Our new digs . . . this is just after the tree pruning. BTW - the sea of ivy's days are numbered!

I absolutely love the morning light in our bedroom . . . it is so peaceful . . . the sense of calm when you walk in the room is palpable.  And an amazing thing - in the six weeks we've been in the house, I've only had to run the a/c during the … — I absolutely love the morning light in our bedroom . . . it is so peaceful . . . the sense of calm when you walk in the room is palpable. And an amazing thing - in the six weeks we've been in the house, I've only had to run the a/c during the day one time. We went almost a month not having to run it at all . . . wonderful!

Zoe's taking awhile to settle in . . . some days better than others.  She might be finally settling down.  The last few days have been much much better. — Zoe's taking awhile to settle in . . . some days better than others. She might be finally settling down. The last few days have been much much better.

And the driveway project . . . a ton of concrete pulled up, a ton of gravel in its place . . . needless to say that was a long weekend.  We were going to keep the concrete to use it for some to-be-determined project, but a neighbor asked if the… — And the driveway project . . . a ton of concrete pulled up, a ton of gravel in its place . . . needless to say that was a long weekend. We were going to keep the concrete to use it for some to-be-determined project, but a neighbor asked if they could have it . . . so they hauled it off. Kind of nice not to have to move it again.

And I'm probably most excited about our major furniture score . . . a 1957 Drexel Profile dining table and 4 chairs . . . a mondo deal from an Ocala antique mall. I've seen these online with 6 chairs for close to $9k - here's the link! Including the cost of renting a van to go down and pick it up, our set was just under $600. I made the placemats with some of my stash of vintage homespun linen . . . they're perfect. Planning on an indigo linen to re-do the seats.

Then there's all the glorious fabrics I've been finding for my home projects. I found a slew of great linen shops on Etsy. So far I've ordered the hemp for bath mats and towels from a shop in south Florida, sliding glass and kitchen door curtain fabric from Lithuania and shower curtain fabric from Latvia.

Top is a sheer stripe from Lithuania, next is the 87" wide 5oz from Latvia, next the really heavy hemp and then the not as heavy lovely jacquard weave hemp and then a  7 oz darker linen from Lithuania . . . yummy!  Still have to order the … — Top is a sheer stripe from Lithuania, next is the 87" wide 5oz from Latvia, next the really heavy hemp and then the not as heavy lovely jacquard weave hemp and then a 7 oz darker linen from Lithuania . . . yummy! Still have to order the dark blue linen.

Then I spent the last week and a half working on some new jewels for one of my galleries. I got that shipped off yesterday and promptly put my online shop on sabbatical . . . I have big plans swirling around in my head! Well, maybe not specific plans, but I'm feeling a huge surge of something building up in my creative zone and I plan to give it my full attention.

I've got my worktable cleared and ready to go . . .

new studio digs . . . like our bedroom, the space has a wonderful feeling of calm about it

view #3 - out the side window . . . now a clear view thanks to Dave's heroic tree trimming efforts

During my shop's little sabbatical, I've got so many things I want to explore. Here's the pile of reading material I've checked out from the library . . . notice there's nothing jewelry related - well, there is one fashion book in there!

There's house stuff and food growing and fermenting, fabric dyeing and a bunch of pottery books . . . I'm looking into joining a local pottery studio where I can rent space and have access to kilns and glazes . . . we'll see. And then there's a couple of Maira Kalman books. I've always been intrigued by her but have never actually sat down with any of her books. My approach at the library has been to just cruise the stacks and see what jumps out . . . her books almost leaped.

Then there's a few Florida guide books. I know, I know - we live in Florida, why would we need guide books. Well, it's been over 30 years since we really lived here and a lot has changed. And mainly, our 35th anniversary is coming up and with all this house buying and new home expenses - a significant chunk of change - our idea of a European vacation for our anniversary went right down the drain. And then we're very hesitant to do anything drastic to upset little Zoe. Stressed Zoe vet bills are never cheap. So now we're looking at going somewhere within a fairly narrow radius, maybe like a 3 hour drive. And some place we can take Zoe kitty as well.

So, I guess that's it for now . . . but that's a lot! While I'm figuring out what to do with my shop, my intention is to keep this journal and my I & I section updated. You can also follow along on my Facebook designer page and my Pinterest boards.

Stay tuned as I have no idea where I'm heading. All I know is the future feels wide open!

with deep gratitude . . . kvk