merry christmas (and a little update)

Hello there, friends. 

It's Christmas Eve. And so it is.

It's been a good two weeks since my last blog post, and I cannot even begin to condense into this post all that has been taking place in my personal life/family life as well as my work life. My time in front of this computer has been limited to posting new items in my Etsy shop, trying to once again readjust from taking everything from being exclusively online to being exclusively in a brick and mortar shop, and then back again. It was an incredibly frustrating experience with a lot of wasted labor and money, but I am glad I saw the writing on the wall and got out when I did. Now I am trying to take all the inventory that I hadn't been able to post and get it listed... I am not even close to finished but I feel like I have been busting my butt for a couple weeks now... I have posted about twenty five new dresses, jeans, and several vintage coats. And there is so much more... Here's to goal setting and marathon photography session and listing sprees. And if you want to take a look, I won't mind!

Jason and I have been struggling through some stuff. It's not been an easy few months in our relationship. I think the persistent financial stress has eroded some aspects of our relationship. We had a few lump sums come in over the last few months that sort of insulated our problems... the thing is, money is not the answer... having money insulates you from the real issues sometimes and that has been true for us. I think we have to work through some issues that have been present in our marriage that are being exacerbated by the inconsistency in our income. So, we move forward and are learning about choosing to love and live and behave lovingly towards one another. And we really do truly love and adore one another. It is literally a one-day-at-a-time thing. Right now Jason is cleaning gutters, but has had another interview for a job that would be great for us. I really hope he gets it but we have to wait until after the holidays to find out.

There have been a lot of fun things going on too - Shiloh had her sweet little preschool Christmas performance on the 8th. Dakota had his band concert on the 11th. I planned my work Christmas party which took place on the 17th. That was lots of fun! I really love my job and the people that I work with and for. They are an extraordinary group of people and I have developed a true affection for each one of them. I consider it an honor to work for a restaurant like Table & Main. If you live in the Atlanta area and you haven't tried us yet... what are you waiting for? 

Shiloh is the 2nd from the right on the front row. :)

The restaurant is so pretty!

Ryan giving everyone some "love" and appreciation. 

Our plans today include a trip to the grocery store to get fixin's for Christmas morning brunch, a dessert for Christmas day dinner and brunch for the morning after Christmas where we'll spend Christmas with my Mom. We are going over to my mother-in-law's place in a little bit. Jason's family traditionally does presents and Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, so we usually spend Christmas Eve with his mom, and then Christmas Day we are going over to my Dad's. My brother and his wife and my sister are in town so it's been back to the crazy that it usually is with my Dad's family. There are six of us siblings all together! On Boxing Day we are headed to my Mom's to do our Christmas with her. It'll be a lot of fun for sure. What are your plans?

This concludes my little update... hope you all are doing well and enjoying the holidays. This year has been busy but satisfying and relatively stress and anxiety free. I wish you all a wonderful and truly Merry Christmas for those of you celebrating... and hope that the next year brings you all a tangible measure of peace. Thanks to those of you who read my blog. You give me a place to write and process and share all that I otherwise do not share with anyone. And that's the truth. I am thankful for you all. 

Love, Brooke