Happy Heart

Hello friends! I just got back from a much-needed trip to northern Illinois to visit my parents, and it was the perfect reset. I always treasure time with my mom and second dad, and this visit was full of meaningful moments. My momma and I shared plenty of laughs while spending hours in her incredible gardens—we weeded, transplanted, planted seeds, tackled the veggie beds, and even spread out pea gravel. My second dad treated us to peaceful boat rides (grand dog included!) and we even started dreaming up our next big adventure—hopefully happening this November. As always, I painted a picture for my momma during the trip… this time, it was a squirrel. Scroll through the photos to catch a peek!

To everyone who’s reached out about the classes I’ll be teaching at the Threadworxs Fair in June 2026—thank you so much! I truly appreciate your interest and enthusiasm. I’ll be sharing an update tomorrow (Friday) that will answer some of the common questions I’ve received, so stay tuned. Thanks again for your patience and support—I’m really looking forward to both classes and can’t wait to share more with you soon!

For now, I will leave you with my favorite photos from my trip to Lake Summerset...enjoy!

A Beautiful Beginning

Greetings friends! If you have been following me for a while, then you know I just took an incredible trip abroad with my momma and second dad. They asked me in August if I would accompany them on a trip to Paris and London in September...and everyone around the world probably heard me squeal. I was not only excited for the journey to new and unexplored places, but to spend time with my parents - something I don't get an opportunity to do nearly as often as I would like. With my husband and I living in Kansas City and my parents living in northern Illinois, we have found the easiest way to travel between our homes is by train...so, on an early September morning, I started my extended travel by making my way to their beautiful lake house property via Amtrak. I will be breaking down our travel into several posts, as I have quite a bit of beauty to share. 

This first post is focused on photos I took on their property in Illinois before we departed for Paris. As my regular readers are aware, my parents live in a wonderful, gated, lake community in Northwest Illinois and they have an extensive property. My momma's true passion is for gardening and every time I visit, I can't wait to take my photo skills into her incredible gardens. With her age, she has started to simplify her plantings to be more manageable, but to me they are just as grand. Here are some favorite photos from our visit, the day before our flight to France...and within these photos, you will find my favorite photo of my momma (in her element)...

When I tell you that this was the perfect way to start our journey, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. There is something so special about spending time with them at their home surrounded by the beauty of nature. It has the most calming, refreshing effect on me...oh, how I long to live next door...

This was day one, so be sure to stop back for my next update, when I share about our time in Paris...which exceeded all of my expectations...

The Start of Summer

Greetings friends! I have returned from my trip to northern Illinois and survived a Memorial Day neighborhood gathering at our house (the day I returned) and I am ready to get back to work. To say my lists are long would be an understatement - I have one more needlework finishing order to complete (I started it before my trip...and left my studio in shambles) and another special order, then I will be working on my Poppie Cotton projects for June (think Christmas!) and my latest Therm O Web tutorial. I also have a pile of "one-of-a-kind" pieces I would like to list in my Etsy Shop this week. There are several patterns to write that are calling my name and some model stitching that I am itching to get to, as well. With all that on my mind, I will keep this post short and let the photos "talk" for me...here are some of my favorite photos from visiting my parents at their incredible lake house property...as you will be able to see, my momma has a very green thumb (she planted everything and does all the gardening). I hope these photos will showcase their very special lakefront property - spending time with my family in such a breathtaking, nature-filled setting is quite good my my creative soul...