Prepped and Primed

I am thrilled to be up and about today after spending much of my weekend with the view above. Snuggled up in bed not feeling well. Not exactly ideal. Unfortunately, I never got to see my sweet sister after our surprise sushi night because of all the sickies in my house. We are now all almost back to health. I'm still pretty dizzy and nauseous, but I'm UP.

Sickness didn't keep us from pressing on with renovations! We finished the pine ceiling and prepped everything for our first coat of primer...applied with our paint sprayer.

It's getting lighter and brighter every day! I know many of you have said "leave it natural!". And to that I say..."Noooooooo!!". I'm not a fan of naked pine in my home. Not a fan at all. Northwoods cabin is not exactly my style. I'm going for open, bright, white, spacious...FRESH! The big beam on the ceiling is going to be capped with barnwood. *sigh*. Can I just do my whole house in barnwood?

We had initially decided to whitewash the fireplace...but I think that we are just going to paint it completely white instead. I cannot wait to get that part done...it will change the dated look of the living area dramatically! Our main dilemma with the fireplace is what we will do with that left side. The living room layout is not super TV-friendly, and the fireplace might be our only placement option. Yuck. Not my first choice! Today we talked about creating a built-in bookshelf on the entire left side of the fireplace. I prefer to keep it all brick to maintain the sheer size of it. It creates visual impact! Does anyone want to brainstorm with me? 

We are in the midst of kitchen layout and cabinet finding as well. I've been spending lots of time on Pinterest and on lighting websites. Matt found CRAZY DEAL for us on a dual-gas range! An open box item that they were just trying to get rid of fast and we saved TONS of money. So excited. We now have all of our appliances...next up: apron sink!

In the tiny window of time when everyone was well, we headed into town on beautiful sunny Saturday and picked up supplies we needed at Home Depot. I love walking down the aisle where they cut the wood...my favorite smell ever!

Happy healthy Monday everyone!

One Month of Nesting Gypsy!

This morning I'm watching snow float down from the heavens...it's so peaceful and quiet here on the mountaintop. It's hard to believe just one month ago TODAY, life looked oh so very different! On the morning of February 7,  I sat on my couch at the farm and nervously/excitedly pressed PUBLISH. And then I waited. Waited for YOU!

And you liked it! In that moment, I shared tears and joy with my "blog doula", Hillary Rain. In the time we spent working together on my blog design, she became dear to my heart and someone I will forever call "friend".  If you are looking for something different and desire someone magical to walk alongside you and help you create a new blog or a blog re-design...she is your girl. Your perfect fit. Her creative process and her attention to detail far exceeded my expectations. I could go on and on...but you really should just click over there and get a quote! And while you're over there, read her beautiful words and sign up for her eCourses. Her words are so full of life, I just can't get enough. 

It's been such a joy interacting and getting to know all of you even better than before and to meet so many new readers as well! I sort of surprised myself by posting 5 days a week...in the middle of a move. The principle of "creativity breeds creativity" definitely applies here, it's so much easier sharing with you daily than monthly or every couple of months. I re-discovered my love of writing and it encourages me to live my life with eyes wide open. My goal is to continue this schedule as much as I can...I have a huge list of things I want to share with you and love connecting here in this space. 

And so on this Friday, after a week of little girls puking and canceling THREE play dates...I'm looking forward to some fun!  My sister-in-love, Jess, surprised me by flying my sister, Laura here! I thought that I was just meeting Jess for a last-minute sushi date in Boulder...boy was I wrong! What a great start to my weekend! Happy Friday everyone!

Into the Dark Night : GIVEAWAY

Friends...I am SO excited for this eCourse to begin. These self-proclaimed "wild gypsy artists" are two of my very favorite people. I have spent blissful face to face time with Mandy of Messy Canvas and have devoured her words and art. Hillary is the heart and soul of my new blog...my design genius who has walked with me every step of the way. Even at 3am on the night before my book launch (oh how I adore her)! Dedication I tell ya. She writes at Spirit Soul Earth and she is mesmerizing.

Both of these beauties bring soul-filled wisdom and life-experience...illuminating the way to self-exploration. Their words are deeply moving and powerful...intention and insight pours out into every word.  I can only imagine that this course will be the same. 

Into the Dark Night — A Guided, Creative Descent
into the Shadowlands of the Soul

A mystical journey with your gypsy guides Mandy Steward + Hillary Rain

We are Hillary Rain + Mandy Steward, a duo of wild gypsy artists determined to create what we most need to find.

For us right now this is space for our spiritual sojourn through the dark place we are drawn to again and again: the Mystery, the womb where life begins, the earth which cradles roots and bones and secrets, the long dark night where we thrash about with God or our stories of God, wrestle in and out of soulskin and emerge, sometimes bleeding, limping, haggard, and exhausted, into daylight. And because we create what we most need to find, we have also made space for you to come alongside us as we continue our creative descent into the shadowlands of the soul.

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”

— Jack Kerouac

We are honored to announce a spring session of Into the Dark Night—an eCourse created for the dark night of the soul. These dates run March 16 - April 26th.

“We see ourselves as wild women of the wilderness. We have dreadlocks and feathers in our hair. We follow the seasons of the moon. The night air whips our skirts into chaos until they shiver like prayer flags in the wind.”

— The Wild Mystics

Love, consider this your invitation to join a gypsy tribe, a motley gathering of the poet and the prophetess, of artists, dancers, seers and mystics, earthen sisters unafraid to mine the seasons of life / death / life and seek the wanton truth packed in our bones.

the way is difficult

We warn you: it isn't an easy sojourn. Within our descent we explore the rough edges of rejection and the harrowing emptying-out of grief. We embrace the aching howl of lament, of the sorrow and loss and death encountered along the way. We press up against the hard questions, the uprooting, the ripping apart of all we have known.

It's uncomfortable. For some it's unbearable. Actually it's quite dangerous. It gets messy and painful and hard; harder still knowing that this isn't a linear path but one which spirals through unexpected caverns and mermaid caves and dark forests, hidden labyrinths and catacombs and even our own backyard. It can be incredibly lonely. It is dark and wild. And while each path is uniquely our own, for we can only walk the Way we're given for ourselves alone, we do find solace knowing that others are merely a breath away—trembly and ragged as it might be.

For the Shadowlands are always with us. And when our eyes adjust to its glimmering light we find secret soul messages whereby we become transformed. This is the work of uprooting: of cracking open and finding light—but also accepting that while our fire can draw others close for intimacy and warmth, it can rage, create discomfort, burn up, smolder, scorch, and burn away.

In fact, to come along with us you have to be a little bit mad.

giveaway

Our journey begins March 16th and runs six weeks.

We are honored to offer one complimentary spot in our eCourse to a reader of Nesting Gypsy! To enter, please visit our website, www.thewildmystics.com, and become familiar with our eCourse.

Then come back here to this giveaway post on Nesting Gypsy and leave a comment below sharing why you would like to come along on this sojourn into the shadowlands of the soul. Deadline for entry is Tuesday, March 11, 2014.

*winner must be willing to provide contact information + if we are unable to make contact within 24 hours, an alternate winner will be selected.