And suddenly...it was done

2013 arrived with a visit to the hospital. Whoops.

Then I decided to give up sugar. Why?

We welcomed spring by starting our house hunt. Stressful.

via Evelyn Henson

In April we took a time out. Whew!

Along with the May flowers came a baby shower. Yea!

Then we hit the road. Exhausting.

Designed by Sarah Reed

We began to make ourselves comfortable. Sort of.

August brought our first house guest. Good times!

Suddenly, we had a fourth grader! Say What?

Then, I ate dirt. Hard.

In November I was thankful to find this guy still wants me around after five years. Insane.

December 24 Em lost a tooth and waited up to see the meeting between Santa and the Tooth Fairy. Fail.

The next week we welcomed the new year along with my parents in New Mexico. Actually, we greeted the new year when we woke up New Year's day because we are all either too old or too young to make it to midnight. Whoops.

I hate being a downer, but I'm approaching 2014 with a bit of apprehension. First, I'm only starting year two of my I-broke-a-mirror-and-now-have-seven-years-bad-luck. We've also got a major change in the works later this year, but things haven't developed enough for me to talk about it yet.

I'm sure the year will come with a fair share of exciting and wonderful things too, and those I intend to milk completely!

Make me a match!

One of the perks of Housewifery is that a larger percentage of my work is away from the computer. Promoting a small business is very media/tech-centric. Now that I have to be on the computer less I want be on the computer more. In other words, less screen fatigue means I can better enjoy things such as Matchbook Magazine.

In the past I've avoided e-zines and e-books and even some of my favorite blogs because I feel it is important to take time away from a screen. I know, I know - all you Kindle, iPAD, Nook owners just hit"unfollow" thanks to my blasphemy.

Anyway...

Matchbook is amazeballs. If Anthropologie, Shabby apple, and Real Simple got together to make a magazine, I probably read it, but only after I'd finished my issue of Matchbook.

Dust off your riding boots, ladies - Autumn is here!

Well, I don't mind if I do...

The mag plays with fashion, art, history, design, literature, shopping, social scenes, entertainment... And they didn't even pay me to tell you all this!

Lucian Freud Portraits [Hardcover] available at Amazon.com

Basically, it makes a great primer for any lady looking to impress at a cocktail party. Speaking of making an impression check out this J. Crew top on guest editor, Erin Hemstra's wish list.

Zigzag sequin tee available at jcrew.com

Oh yeah.

I could go on, but all this raving has made me eager to immerse myself in the Matchbook September issue. Which, by the way, is also available on the iPAD.

Do you have any online "must reads?" Do tell!

Stuff and things

Over the past..I don't know...three months? six? Well, for the past bit I've thought of starting about 50 blog posts with the title "Change is in the wind."

Photograph by Pete Cairns. Click here for details.

Fifty is a big number. Like, really big. And with that number came a pretty big revelation.

If I want to change my business this often something must be amiss.

Is it me? The product? The market? I just don't know. The only thing I know is that there has to be a change.

After some heartache, frustration, and therapy I have decided to put NPJ on one of those cleansing/detox diets.

Rainbow Juice recipe from Crazy Sexy Diet via Deliciously Organized. Click on image for details.

I've never actually done a detox diet, but I have purged my closet a time or two, and I figure the process is pretty similar.
Cut a bunch of stuff out.
Take some time to figure out what you really need.
Slowly add elements back in while evaluating how each addition effects the way you feel/look/perform.
Permanently ditch the stuff that is no good.
Find possible alternatives to the stuff that is no good.
Keep what works for you.

As of right now, this very second, Never a Plain Jane Designs is closed.The Etsy shop is in vacation mode, I've left my Etsy teams, and I said my good-byes to the Scoutie Girl readers.

I thought I'd just stop and breathe for a bit, but no. Emily started school, I had a 30th birthday party to throw, there are cheerleaders to be coached, football games to attend, people who must be fed regularly, rooms to clean...

And I like it!

I'm not quite as fab as Audrey. Yet.

Right now, this is where I need to be.

Around the Net

Happy Friday, Y'all!  If you are looking for me, I'm tooling around on Scoutie Girl. Stop by and say hello.

Today I'm coming clean over at Scoutie! Click the image to join the conversation.