Come Sail Away!

Come Sail Away. Come Sail Away.  Come Sail Away with Me!

 
If you have been following my blog lately, you know that I am head over heels in LOVE with the Sea!  Who isn’t, right?  I know, but my passion for the coast and the trends for Spring/Summer 2013 have merged.  What better way for a Mama to sneak in some vacation inspiration into the everyday,  than to add a bit of nautical flair into her closet?  This trend is effortless, fun, and puts you in a great mindset just by wearing it.  It is your trusty stripes, boat shoes, canvas shoes, rope accessories, anchor detailing, espadrilles, high waists....you get the idea? Just pick out the pieces that call to you and make it your own.

Now,  let's see how it comes into play for a Mama!

You know me.  I love handmade goods and am a huge supporter of those businesses.  Being a fellow Etsy shop owner, I like to show the fashion options that come from the world of handmade.

 
Jekyll & Kleid Berlin  This is perfect for those rare, but much needed date nights with Hubby.

I believe that if you don't have the money to go all gung ho on the latest fashion trends, you can add touches of the trend and just as effectively achieve the look.  Just wear your basic tees and jeans that you have in your closet.  Top off with a stunner of a necklace,  and you are done.  You will look pulled together, even if the kids are making you feel a bit frazzled.

 
 Try a statement necklace like this bold,  but elegant choice by NasuKka.  A little effort goes a long way!

 If you are feeling crafty, you may want to try this DIY Rope Bracelt!  I just may have to try out this one.   Click here for directions. 






 Can't you just smell the salty air when you put these on? Slip these on when you bring the kids to school or go just about anywhere! 


 
Inspiration for those rough days, and perfect for lugging all that stuff around!  If you have kids you know that us Mamas always have loads to carry.  Why do little ones require so much stuff?!  It is mind boggling.  Refuse To Sink tote by Printed Palette.

We all have phones, so why not dress them up?  Check out this iphone case from To Gild the Lily.

  

Or how about adding this feminine scarf over that tank or basic shirt?  Here is a lovely one from Yadish Accessories.

I am dying over this personalized necklace!  It's from Hot Mix Cold. It looks totally rich,  but is affordable and perfect for a gift.  (Gifts for yourself, Mama are totally acceptable!)

Have some fun with this trend this spring and summer.  Many nautical inspired threads are out on the racks in just about any store right now, so pieces will be easy for you to find.  We like easy, right?

Talk about easy, this dress is perfect for chillin' out with the family on those hot summer days.
 
  I am loving all these anchor prints!  I want to sail around the world and wear this dress doing it. 

 

And because it wouldn't be a post of mine lately without topping you off with some inspiration...........

Ahoy!
Mama Nic

Getting it Together

Welcome my friends,  to a series I am going to call "Windows of the Soul Wednesdays."

Me and the water.  I thrive and feel most alive around bodies of water.....therefore, I will live next to a beautiful ocean harbor!  Water energized me and calms me at the same time. 

 
I will try to convey some inspiring and brain stretching ideas here,  along with some photos to help us out.

A gift from Mother Nature that I was lucky enough to see on my trip to Punta Gorda.

Here we go.

The phrase "getting it together" is a phrase that I think of often this year.  It means a variety of things to me on any given day.  It can mean reorganizing the house in a way that works for me, it can mean trying different discipline techniques with my children, it can mean eating healthier, or working on projects to enhance my career.  It can mean all of things and more.

Enjoying nature and days at the park with my family is something that I have found to be important in my life.  I want to live where parks and sunny days are plentiful.  Here was one of my favorite trees I saw in Florida.  I love the Spanish Moss that is flowing from it, making it easy and breezy and carefree.  This is the park in Harbor Heights, Punta Gorda which happened to be one of the most lovely parks I have ever  seen. 

Here is the more and in my humble opinion, the big one....... 

Getting it together means taking the time and the space that is needed around making important decisions in my life.  To get to know who I am.  What do I stand for, what do I want out of life?  What brings me joy, where do I want to live, what do I want to spend my days doing, what is going to be my contribution to the world?  Getting it together for me is about making authentic decisions for what I will allow in my life and what I want out of life.  Only when we know the answers to these questions , and the answers do not come easy,  do we even have a shot at being happy.  I have meditated and prayed on these topics and finally feel like I can see the path.  That in itself is a huge blessing!  It is a journey, and you know that I am not foolish to think that I can see every twist in the road, but I can clearly see the path.  I will use my heart to guide me in the right direction. 

Sometimes the path is dark and you can't quite see what is down the way.....but you call on your faith and believe in your heart that you are headed for something great!

Lovely hibiscus hubby and I came upon as we ventured around Punta Gorda......another gift of Mother Nature that I am thankful for seeing.  I want to live in a place that has these gifts all around!

Me and the Sea.  It doesn't get any better than that.

I hope you take the time this year to find what makes you happy.  Don't be afraid to go for it!  This is your one life.  Use it wisely.    Go out and get it together!

Peace, Love, and Sandy Feet,
Mama Nic

Arrrgh! I think I am raising little buccaneers!

Ahoy, me Hearties!

You ever noticed how kids get hooked on different things and become obsessed with them?  I am sure you have seen it for yourself......a book you have to read 98 times in a row, the same DVD on loop for weeks, a game, a color, an animal, an annoying noise, a joke..........you get the idea.  All kids do it.  Some things are funny  and some are not after awhile.  Arrrrgh! 

This week,  in our house, or minivan rather,  is it pirate themed music.  Whenever we all enter the van (or our ship on wheels), I get requests (demands) to listen to the Pirate songs.  I have to fess up that I love both of these songs and that is why they know them in the first place, but I never would have thought that they would have created such a craze for my kids.  Blimey!!!  I love it.  (Right now, at least!)

Bubba, the eldest of the pirates, sings "Mother, mother ocean, I've heard you call.   Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall.  You've seen it all, you've seen it all."  That is all the amomo that boy needs for me and I am finished.  Blow me down!  It is so cute I can't even stand it.  That song, of course is  "A Pirate Looks at 40," by Jimmy Buffett.  When hubbo and I were recently in Punta Gorda at a fabulous place called, Dean's South of the Border, we got the pleasure to hear this song performed live by one of their talented entertainers.  I was in heaven!

Then shiver me timbers, add Marmalade AND Bubba belting out lines from "Pirate Flag," by Kenney Chesney and I am toast.  Those kids could do just about anything then and there and I would be a bowl of mush at their mercy. Bubba refers to Kenney as the "Cowboy Pirate."  Somehow, I think Kenney would be ok with that title.

I might spend my whole life running around
Still let the wind kinda blow me around
Well I dropped a note in a bottle
To a long-legged model
And I traded it in for a whole 'nother world
A pirate flag and an island girl
A pirate flag and an island girl

I am enjoying the Pirate Extravaganze while it lasts.

Avast Ye!  Maybe you will even see our ship on wheels with a pirate flag soon!  Keep an eye out for us.  A Seadog or two, a lad and two lassies.  Not to worry, if you spot us.   We are not the walk the plank type pirates, just the loud, singing, treasure seeking type of folks.  

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me!

Until next time. 

Smooth Sailin',
Mama (Captain) Nic

A Seashell in My Pocket

Sometimes having a tangible reminder of your dreams is just the thing you need.  It doesn't have to be big, or expensive,  or even be seen by anyone other than yourself.  Here is something that no one knows about me........  I carry a tiny seashell in my pocket some days.  It is a tiny shell but a BIG reminder to focus,  and do the daily work I need to do now in order to accomplish my dreams.  It gives me faith and hope.  It calms a panicked heart and mind.     

.


That tiny little shell represents my dream of coastal living, salty air, sunshiny days, warm nights, being outside and active year-round,  and so much more.  It's about a different quality of life that I want to attain for my family.  It represents a home on a sunny spot of land,  with lush tropical landscaping all around, a pool with screened in lanai, ample rooms  for the each of us to have our own space, a sewing area/office for writing, a playground for the kids, a workspace for my husband to tinker about and fix the 107 things that always seem to need fixing. A place for my husband and for all us us, to kick back,  relax,  and enjoy.  I want this  nestled in a safe and family friendly neighborhood,  with lots of trees and caring neighbors all around.

The shell also represents new life in a career for me.  It represents my Etsy business and writing full-time.  I want to write from anywhere and be present and available for my children when they need me.  I want to be around in the afternoons after school (once they start school) to pick them up and bring them to activities, help with homework, make dinner, and be BE there with them and with my husband.  I want to sew teeny tiny dresses because that really makes me happy,  and I want to write because that is a challenge and I feel fulfillment from it.  I want my office to be anywhere I chose it to be.  I want that freedom.

Tall order?  Absolutely.  But they say:








 So go out and find that tiny reminder for yourself.  I promise it will help you.  Be brave.  Be bold.  We only have this one life!


Love,
Mama Nic

P.S.  Did you guess where the pictures where taken from the last post?  Do you know where our place in the sun is?  That's right!  Florida........SW Florida...........Sarasota and Charlotte County Area......Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, North Port, Venice. All lovely areas.  We will see what shakes out in the future for us there.  In the meantime I will "Hang Loose.  Hang Loose.  Let the ocean worry about being blue." - Alabama Shakes  And of course, hold that seashell close to me.  :)

Our Place in the Sun!

I know I haven't been around the land of blog in a while.  I am just going to jump right back in the water and try to catch you up as I go.  Thanks for coming back with me!  Sunny days are bound to be ahead!!!

..............................................................................................................................................................

If you know me at all, by now you will know that I love the warm sun, I live for salty air, I wish I could be with my little tribe outside most of the time.  Living where I do in New England, the sun is out some of the year but the winters are gray, bitter,  and long.  Salty air is is not to be found around this part of the state,  and being outside happens when the weather allows.  We are not the winter type folk who enjoy skiing, snowboarding, or anything in the aspect, although I do enjoy snowshoeing on a sunny and warm winter's day. I despise  having to drive on snow covered roads.  It is enough to give me a good panic attack!  I should be used to this since I was born and raised here.  As the years have passed my tolerance for winter months have dwindled and this year pretty much fizzled out for me.

Anyway, being cooped up in the house with the kids all winter really got to me.  Too much time inside the house and too much time in my own head.  Slightly disastrous mix.  Depression and anxiety (and through in some offbeat hormone issues for good measure) and this Mama had about all she could do to get to the Spring.

But here I am.  Still standing.  A little clarity has finally come to me and what I wish for my family's life and for me.  I am just going to say it.  I more than dream of coastal living at this point.  Years of reading of sunny places for pleasure, turned into researching, investigating, narrowing down state by state, city by city.  I do believe I have found a place that the dream of coastal living could turn into a reality.  It will be hard, no doubt leaving family and supportive friends, but at this point if we don't go......it will be worse.  Regret is not something I want in my vocabulary years down the line.  What ifs?  If onlys.  Well, those phrases are what inspires me to push forward and take risks in my life. 

It won't happen overnight.  Having three little souls to care and nurture,  makes planning something like this a priority and a necessity.  Lots to consider and ponder and nothing to rush into.  We need to be sure what we are gettting into and what is the best thing for them as well.  You can rest assured family and friends that I have been doing my homework on the situation.

The first out of town assignment was checking out the location for ourselves.  After nearly a year of reading everything I could get me hands on about this place,  it was time to go.  Hubby and I took a much needed 2 night trip alone,  which in an of itself was heaven. I felt like I was interviewing the area for the biggest job of its life in a way, hoping that it would be everything I had imagined it was.  Needless to say, it passed with flying colors.  Much more on this topic as the weeks and months roll along.

I will let some pictures do some talking now about the area, since I have rambled on enough for one day.

Do you know where these photos where taken?  If you do, you know exactly the heaven I am talking about.  It is not a place for everyone,  but it sure at this point seems like a place for us!  Our place in the sun.


Love,
Mama Nic