a little insta update

i just barely got used to writing 2014 on everything

then it went and switched to 2015

yikes.

i really am not sure where the year went. it kinda flew by.

it was a hard year for us. but a good one too.

Christmas came & went sorta like i just snapped my fingers

there's definitely things i want to do different next year as far as Christmas goes.

playing a little catch up here in photographs...

i post almost everyday on instagram. it's just so easy to keep up with everything there

it makes blogging seem like a lot of really hard work. yeah there's that.

you can follow me there my user name is @raisinguprubies

i got a new phone after thanksgiving so a lot of my pictures are still on my old phone but this pic was snapped the night of my Christmas cookie exchange/craft night.  my craft besties and i have been doing this every year for a lot of years ... maybe like 8 or 9? i dunno. a lot. we do gifts, cookies and food. lot of food. and this is what my craft table looks like by the time everyone sets there stuff up. crazy.

i suprised my hubby a few years ago and redecorated out master bedroom while he was out of town ... there are still things in that room that i haven't finished ... minor things, but things.

so i'm bound & determined to do them this month .. or next. but i'm doin' em. you can take that statement to the bank. this little ledge above our bed is one of those things. my ideas of what to put up there have changed since i first did the room, but when i found a few of these pretty things (mercury jars from target - picture frame from hobby lobby) i had a few visions, and a new place to start.

my hubby maaaaaybe. just maaaaaybe let me get a white Christmas tree.

i love it so so much. thanks babe. i really love it

so much.

this is what we do when grandparents have the kids and we have a free sunday afternoon

we rummage throught the 2x4 pile at home depot. ha.

one of the best decorations i put out this year. a color-it-yo-self paper tablecloth from the tarjet

a bucket of markers, some candy and boom. my kitchen table was kid friendly holiday-ified

(thanks to my bestie for the tablecloth tip)

new slippers. yes

wood trees. yes.

cuppa tea. uh huh.

just what the blizzard that day called for.

the next day it was 58

ny is weird

happy mail. my stitching the states project was on hold until i got some new thread colors

was super excited to lay them out and finish up the east coast with them. i sell the pattern in my shop here. and i get most of my thread here. (which is not the same thread that is in included in the kits i've been selling but similar) oh and that cute stationary stuff?? from here.

a few travel pillows went out the first few weeks of December...

the charlie brown one in the middle really came with the book! i found it at a thrift store and had to put it in the pocket :)

yeah this was my studio. full of kits waiting to be sent out 2 weeks before Christmas

and that was only the second half of all the kits i mailed out since black friday! whew.

early Christmas present from my hubby. i bake a lot. which if you follow me on instagram, you already know. 

the 6 qt. bowl can hold two batches of anything i make at once! saves me so much time when i'm meal planning or making breakfast/baked goods to store in the freezer 

shameless bathroom selfie at van maur. have you ever been in their bathroom?!?

it's like a mini spa. i could hang out in there for a while.

wrapping my gifts actually happened the night before Christmas eve... which is when i'm usually scrambling to get it all done. so even though everything else i did was late, my wrapping was early. 

go figure.

i love serving together with my husband at out church

he's so good at what he does. but it brings us closer together when we're serving, helping others as a team. this was the stage we put together with friends at church for Christmas eve services ... at was awesome. it was fun.

clementine wreaths = neighbor gifts

found the idea here

all i did was add ribbon, jingle bells & a pretty little tag

that 2x4 pile we were rummaging though up there? was for these nativity sets i wanted to make for some of our besties kids ... the nativity images were a printable kit from here

and the trees were a tutorial from here

put it all in a basket and brought it over ... i think they loved it!

i loved it ha. i made another set for our house too.

here's the original caption from this picture when i posted it on ig ... this was exactly what was on my heart that night:

"props to all my mamas who are up at this hour. i know there's alot of us...wrapping baking decorating all the things. for our spouses, littles, families...we. are. tired. we are worn out. but we do it because we love. the Creator built a driving force inside of us that loves nurtures and serves...all of these little meaningless petty things we're doing that no one notices while running ourselves into the ground ....they are not missed by Him. they are not forgotten by Him. He sees, He knows... and we love because He first loved us.

for God so loved the world

He gave His only Son

that whoever believes in Him

will not perish

they will have everlasting life.

#johnthreesixteen

#thatsenoughformetocelebratewithacookie

#nowgodoallthethings 

#orgotosleep

#sleepisnotoverrated"

that about summed it up.

a little bit of our living room decked for the holidays

joy to the world printable from here

breakfast in bed from my littlest little (a toaster strudel & applesauce on a paper plate :)

my journal & jesus calling. just what i needed that morning

this was the Christmas view upon entering our casa

a year in review ... rainbowtized edition

boxwood forever

(new anthropologie goodies help too)

i mentioned that one of my new years resolutions would be to NOT not eat more crackers with nutella. 

so there.

late night stitching sesh with my old person glasses

i don't wear glasses but the readers help me see better at night!

are you working on the pattern? you can share your progress in the #stitchingthestates hashtag on ig!

go take a peek and see how many people are making their maps beautiful!! it makes me so happy and all warm & fuzzy inside!! seriously guys it does. and i show my husband all the pictures. 

sunday-funday partner in crime. love this girl.

so this is what my map looks like right now.... actually i think i finished SC & NC since this progress pic... getting there! almost done!

blueberries in the freezer from a warm summer berry picking day ...

turned into muffins for a cold snowy morning breakfast.

i love how God provides for us in all seasons. blueberries n all.

how do you start your morning?

i try to stay disciplined with my planner (though doesn't always happen)

my journaling or some type of quiet reading/ relecting with Jesus

and breakfast. yum.

oh recipe for the muffins is here.

craft room diaries.

big suitcase full of vintage strips. mainly used for garlands i sell in the shop

or for whatever else you'd want to use vintage sheet strips for ... i can think of lotsa things :)

my car thermostat read -11 that day. without windchill

brrrr.

aren't these supa cuuuuute?

you can purchase them here.

 they store all your stitching the states goodies & projects supplies ever so nicely.

it's january. that means #throwawayallthethings

finally got around to cleaning out these two big drawers 

you can see my kitchen here or more kitchen organization ideas here

muddy buddies. nuf said.

and this was yesterday .... this is what was goin on in my brain

kinda feels the same today....

"started my day immediately feeling bogged down & overwhelmed with the things i had put on myself to accomplish today. my husband texted me a short sentance and it caused me to stop. i just stopped. long enough to hear thoughts of#ephesiansthreetwenty running through my head

now all glory to God. who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

so stop for a minute girls. lock yourself in the bathroom, turn off the radio or just close your eyes...and let that soak in. now look through ephesians three twenty lenses at what you want to get done today and what might have to wait until tomorrow. cause tomorrow's a new day. aaaaand bonus: new mercies will be right there with it.

#canigetanamen

#nowgomakeachickenpotpieortwofordinner

#raisinguprubiesinthekitchen"

i'm not sure what happened to me being all gung-ho about getting back to blogging

i think about it all the time

that's just the problem

i have a lot more time to "think" than i do to "do"

what about you girls? what are you busy "doing" lately? organizing, purging, catching up on sleep that was non existent over the holidays? 

check check check all of the above.

tell me! and i'll email the PDF file of the stitching the states pattern in my shop to the first twenty people who leave a comment, and hopefully if you're on instagram you'll share your progress in the hashtag! mkay?! kay :)

much love ♥