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’ve been squirreling away these fuschia and awesome ties waiting for the big love holiday. And these are HOT! Each is made from a necktie, so there’s only one available in the shop. And, in case you didn’t know, bow ties make ladies’ knees weak. It’s totally true.

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

Happy new year! Holy smokes I am excited at the prospect of a shiny, bright & clean new year- there are so many good things to fill it up with. We’re lucky to be reminded at least once a year that we have power over our own lives and can make with them what we will.

2012 is shaping up to be groundbreaking year for us at xoelle headquarters and we’re starting the year off right by introducing the year of bow ties box set. It’s 12 bow ties packaged smartly in an awesome box, featuring a variety of materials, patterns, shapes, and awesomeness. Get ‘em all at once or ask for them bow-tie-of-the-month-club style and one will be mailed to you each month for a year. Totally awesome!

And, let me tell you about Mr. Jeffrey Vasquez, a rad math teacher from New York, who is wearing a bow tie for 1000 days straight starting today. He’s doing it because it’s cool and to earn a little cash for his school and raise awareness about the achievement gap. We’ve pledged our support of awesome Jeff in the form of 33 bow ties- one mailed to him every month until his project concludes in September of 2014. Just great on so many levels. Check him out and his daily bow tie here. You rule Jeff!

p.s I really don’t know why I always use “we” and “us” in reference to xoelle since xoelle=me.
p.p.s. 2012 is awesome already.

as always,
elle

Happy New Year! 2012 is going to rule.

kisses at midnight: xxxooox

elle

Christmas is magic. We had such a sweet little understated Christmas. Strawberry shortcake & orange juice punch for breakfast. Cars, choo choo trains, accordians, pettiskirts, and ponies for the kiddos to open. Lots of candy & snacks. And an afternoon, dressed in red & green, trying to keep the little ones quiet for an hour of church, almost successfully. I’ve included the last photo just in case there’s too much sweetness and cuteness here and you miss the real lifeness. Garth still had his pee bag to carry around on Christmas and there’s a ripped-up couch (more on that later), broken a/c unit, and moldy high chair just hanging out in our front yard, waiting for the bulk trash day. This’ll be our life for the next year or so while we try to renovate this tiny home, raise two sweet kids, and keep our jobs. Thank goodness for these sweet & happy times.

Hope yours was just as sweet friends.
much love,

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

wow you guys. Ya’ll kept me working during this last weekend. THANK YOU. It took me two and a half days to pack up all the orders- and I listened to Christmas music the whole time. So big hugs and high fives to everyone who acquired some new xoelle bow ties- they are happily making their way to you- watch your maily boxes!

xoxoxo
elle