This sad event really put a damper on my weekend and my weekend plans.  I wanted to get some things done but I just couldn’t concentrate on much with my mind gnawing on all of the implications (no more taking the kids to school or on family outings by bike, no more Christmas Eve lights ride, no more riding the bike to the dentist, no more Sunday afternoon rides) and agonizing over what I could do to find it.  I’m all sorts of heartbroken.  And majorly discouraged.  It’s sort of irreplaceable (there are no madsen dealers on oahu and while you can buy them directly from the company online, they don’t ship them to Hawaii), and gosh it makes me slightly uneasy in this house.

And now, this is all that’s left. sad face.

I have been working on some bicycle recovery projects the last few days to try to lift my spirits and bolster the chances of a safe return. The documentation of that silliness will follow in the next few days. Tonight I am working on another tiny little project to change my perspective. Freaking pink hair. Yeah, I’m not sure if I’ll like it either. I’ll let you know.

elle

So, it’s been like a week since I’ve done any serious work on the studio.  I’m just not into the flow of it and I think that the excitement has finally worn off- so even though I made myself go out there today for a little while I found excuses to come inside (ok, so it was noon, and I was hungry, but still….) and now I’m trying to reignite a spark of interest so that I can go back out there and kick some siding tushie.  And, I do this by looking through my pinterest boards and remembering that this space will be entirely mine, and all about arts & crafts, and filled with the ingredients of a thousand future making adventures.  And a pin-board map of xoelle bow tie wearers.  And, some pallet letters.  And a clean workspace.  Yes.

It’s not working like I’d hoped.  Perhaps someone can place a gallon of Dreyers Peanut Butter Cup ice cream out on the miter saw?  That might do it.

*sigh*  Back to cutting and drilling and cutting and drilling until I feel like doing it.  A real update will be coming soon.  When I feel like it.

xoxoxo elle

I’ve done my darndest to take a photo of each one of the kids each day of their life. Nothing specific or crazy, just a visual documentation of them on that day. Sometimes I forget about it until after they’re sleeping and so I have to sneak into their room and use my little pop-up flash to capture their cuteness. It’s quite a departure from the photos of them that I like to take- but golly it’s real life. I have quite a little collection of them and they make me so happy. They are so full of energy during the day- and I just adore gazing at them in this one moment where they are calm and serene and sweet. And Ginger- with her Dad’s hat and the bottle still in her sweet hand? Classic.

p.s. The xoelle studio is coming right along- there’s a floor and 3 walls! I’d planned on posting about it as we go along- but it’s hard to sum up when we are right in the thick of it. Hopefully we’ll be in the thin of it later this week.

xo
elle

I know that most of the world sees laundry as a chore and that many a mom has complained about the piles and piles that never seem to end. I am not one of these moms. I LOVE doing the laundry. Our laundry basket hardly gets full before I’m putting it through the cycles. And then the fluffliness! The soft, warm, clean piles of clothes and towels to fold into neat stacks-they get my heart pumping! Tiny socks to match, the husbands tees to make into tight jelly rolls (military style), and my own fluffy pj pants to fold into thirds- it’s one of my favorite domestic activities! I love sitting down at the end of the night on my bed watching a movie and surrounding myself with tiny piles of the clothes that my family lives in. Sometimes I like to leave the basket of clean laundry on top of the dryer and fold the items one at a time while I walk to their respective homes to put them away- I can draw it out that way and enjoy it a little more. It’s sort of a sacred responsability to me- and the uber-sentimental part of me loves tending to something as intimate as the clothes that my children and husband wear. Just so that you don’t think I’m nuts- I’m with you on the dishes. I can’t hardly tolerate washing dishes. I make Garth do it most of the time.

But back to laundry. Our newly purchased Maytag started making a strange sound. We called the repair man and he found nothing wrong. We called another repair man and he “fixed” it in 5 minutes. After he left it would not spin or agitate. Repair man #1 came back and replaced a belt and told me that we were loading it too full. I put a tiny load in after he “fixed” it and it still didn’t spin. We’re having our fourth in-home washing machine fix-it party tomorrow and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to leave out the quotation marks with job #4. Perhaps I could plead with the repair man and let him know how sad my nights are without those full baskets of toasty undies? This has got to be some sort of welcome-to-home-ownership prank, right? For reals.

In the meantime we’ve been driving our dirties to the local laundrette and then bringing them home to dry. iPhone documentation follows.

Life is one big treat folks.

xox
elle

I took some time out the other night to sit on my fanny and draw some cameras for the spoonflower contest outdated technology. I drew them on tracing paper, using photogrpahs as guides, and then scanned them in and tweaked them a little. The left is the original file- the right is the fabric design. I am totally an ameteur when it comes to fabric design and I have no doubt that I will look back on this design and think, “oh my goodness, I was proud of that? This is horrendous for so many reasons!”. In fact, I know that I will say that, but proud I am. I think that it’s adorable. A swatch is speedily on it’s way to me to proof and I’m pumped to see it. I know that this’ll be sort of a new obsession with me.

Also:
-wishing that I was at alt summit, which is silly since I’m not a serious blogger.
-just did a little happy dance to celebrate the first ever year of bow ties box having a new owner (like really, just 15 seconds ago).
-have been compiling videos of the kiddos for inclusion in the Hawker family yearbook and holy smokes my kids have grown!
-made chocolate covered rice crispy treats last night and they were all gone as of 11:30 this morning.
-wishing that this awesome camera was really for sale and not just a design students project.

and that is all for now.

loves.

We celebrated the new year the classic way- fondue (cheese for dinner and chocolate for dessert) and sparklers. That was pretty much it. The kids went to bed at the normal time and Garth and I probably would have retired early if it were any other night. Here’s a little of our front yard popper and sparkler fest.

A few days later we celebrated Garth’s 33rd by going on our first date of the year while the kids were at school. We just had lunch and went to a movie but it was so sweet and nice and it sorta felt like it did when we were dating/newly married. We were even able to drive around with the top down since Jack wasn’t in the back to complain. We were sure excited to see them later that afternoon though! Cutest. kids. Ever.

There are some crazy exciting things happening in the xoelle bow tie world right now- but nothing that can be spilled just yet- and of course, crazy awesome things happening in real life too (like a dishwasher!!!! after a year of handwashing in hotel rooms and bathroom sinks we have a dishwasher! I just got a few extra hours each week!).

I can share with you the awesomeness that is the xoelle swatchbook though- they’ve been in the works since last summers Indie Wed, when my parents skipped almost an entire night of sleep to help me assemble them. They have been fine-tuned and tweaked and are now in the shop to delight and seduce potential bow-tie-owners. I lub dem.

ecks oh.

elle

The kiddos are in bed after a long day of movie watching, ornament & cookie making, trampoline jumping, and late night light tour bike riding. The Mr. and I are soaking in the Christmas eve magic in the living room, waiting for Santa. Christmas Eve is the best. From our rainy little hideaway to you- merry Christmas- hope it’s lovely & awesome.

…a little bit like Christmas. Although it’s warm/rainy/sunny here everyday and we never close our windows and it’s just about always too warm for hot chocolate. We picked out a tree the other day at Helemano farms, just down the road from our house and brought it home with the top down. It is decorated and in the living room (that is ALMOST a real living room- we have a couch and everything!!) and the flocked deer and budding Christmas star collection is out. And there’s a wreath or two up. Most of our holiday decorations will remain in their sweet little totes since our house is inches away from chaos (who’s idea was it to try to renovate so many rooms at once?) and I am all but alone in the day-to-day tasks.

Oh golly. I have not mentioned that the mister is an invalid. He has been laying in bed or creeping very slowly around the house for almost 2 weeks now, recovering from a urethroplasty. Poor dude. He’s doing well, considering, but I know that he’s ready to get back to real life. You know, and pee like a regular guy. Hopefully he continues to heal and recover well and we can enjoy Christmas all cuddled together in jammies.

golly, I love this time of year. Hugs to all you, internet friends, real friends, and family that I adore!

elle

I know, I know. This is ridiculous and it’s a good thing that I don’t have sponsors on this blog, they’d be furious. I have been so busy in the thick of living and trying to keep my head above water that the little things like blogging and painting my toenails have completely gone out the window. Ok, and a gazillion other things. Here is our last 6 months by the numbers:

number of beds we’ve slept in: 11
number of states we’ve visited: 5
number of times I’ve set up a bow-tie-making studio: 3
number of Chicago-style stuffed pizza we’ve baked: 6
number of houses we’ve purchased: 1
number of rooms that Garth thought we could paint in a day: 3
number of days it took us to paint one room: 3
number of times we’ve had matsumoto’s shave ice on the north shore: 3

It has been a crazy 6 months. I may or may not be sharing stories from the life I’ve been living offline. It all depends on how well the sanding & painting & permit-getting & baby-watching & bow-tie-making happen in the near future.

Millions of good things,
elle

We are waiting. Hanging out in this house in this one room with one laundry basket, three air mattresses, and a half drawer full of socks that we never wear (except for Garth, he wears his all the time).

We made an offer on a house in February. It was a short sale and at the tippy top of our price range. We are in the last week or so of closing and have been hanging all of our hopes on this limbo sort of being over. When it’s official we will have a backyard! And a kitchen! And a kitchenaid! And lots and lots of renovating/restoring/redecorating/debugging/cleaning to do. We look forward to it.

I will keep you posted- it’s sort of a big deal- our first home purchase.

Big things coming and happening on all fronts.

loves yous people,
elle