Happy Day-After-Valentine's-Day! I hope you had a love-filled one! I'm still recovering from the flu -- I joked that I look like Botox gone wrong to M and an uncomfortable silence ensued. "You're supposed to disagree," I told him. "You actually look like a really swollen, bruised pumpkin," he answered. He then said that in fact, I appear jaundiced. I don't know, maybe I'm overthinking this with my flu-addled brain, but some communication lessons might be in order here. Honesty is not always the ... Read more
Happy Friday + SVE plans
Happy Friday, friends! I'm guessing that most Secret Valentine Exchange folks are following #2018sve on Instagram and are probably not checking ye olde blog posts much, but thought I'd do a little update. This year my partner lives in the US, so that gives me a little extra time to work on her gift. I've been poring over my fabric stash, trying to find something that feels just right. Above are a few contenders. So pretty aren't they? Are you playing or following along with the SVE ... Read more
2018 SVE Underway!
Hello my friends! Final tally of Secret Valentine Exchange participants came out to 576. 576!!!!!!!!! Ute and I are, as always, bowled over by the enthusiasm of all involved and this is an extra special year because after 5 years, we finally have not one but THREE gents joining in the festivities. Welcome, guys! We love how the diversity of the group keeps expanding for this global swap. A few housekeeping notes: If you included an instagram handle but have a private account, please ... Read more
Happy New Year + 2018 Secret Valentine Exchange!! {CLOSED}
UPDATE: Sign-ups are now closed. We have 576 participants!!!!! WOW. Ute and I are busily getting all the partner information together and will send out emails by January 16th. If you signed up but didn't receive a confirmation email from Google Forms, please contact us at secret.valentine.exchange[at]gmail.com and we will trouble-shoot! Happy 2018, my friends! I'm having a hard time believing that we are now launching our 5th annual Secret Valentine Exchange!! Ute and I are teaming up as ... Read more
Merry + Bright
It's Christmas Eve and our house is quiet. My mom is drawing in the kitchen, K is off with a friend on a last-minute shopping expedition, M is also out and about -- probably hunting for gifts as well. I am sitting by our tree, candles aglow, marveling at the snow that is drifting gently outside. It's been quite a year, my friends. I launched one book, completed another (out next September!). I had so many adventures near and far. There were ups and downs, joy and sadness, ebullience and ... Read more