enJOY it
an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.
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When Paul and I first moved in together in August 2007, he had already lived in an apartment for five years. Four years with friends when he lived in Berkeley, and one on this own – his first year of med school. I came almost straight from the sorority house. We each brought a bag of tricks into the relationship.
He could cook. I could bake.
He could mix fun cocktails and pick out red wines. I could drink.
He could parallel park. I had mastered the art of circling until a bigger spot you could pull right into had opened up.
He could make piles (and piles and piles). I could sort, organize & throw away.
He could fix the Internet whenever it went out. I could do anything in Excel.
He could put together Ikea furniture without crying. I could figure out how to decorate.
He could memorize maps and directions. I knew how to leave early so there was time to get lost.
He loved a deal. I could find them.
He could put air in the car tires. I could find the least expensive gas station in town.
He could keep the dishes clean. I could keep the apartment clean.
He dealt with the bills and insurance. I made flights and hotel reservations.
He could fix anything. I could make anything.
He sent cliff-noted emails because he knew I hate excess text. I kept us up to date on thank you notes.
He did research for big expensive purchases. I did "research" for all the little ones.
He could grocery shop. I could navigate any Target with my eyes closed.
He was busy. I kept to-do lists.
We were – we are – such a good team.
I am realizing this more and more as I prep for this move by myself.
All of the things – canceling utilities, arranging the movers, transferring insurance, adjusting our billing address, setting up new utilities, getting the internet to work, getting the TV to work, buying appliances, worrying about the car getting a flat tire, worrying about the appliances being good enough, directing the movers, signing off on big purchases, sealing the deal on a new place, reading the lease – are honestly, probably things Paul would have taken care of (except, he wouldn't worry).
My role would have been more subtle. I would have been the list-maker, the question-asker, the i-dotter and the t-crosser.
Without him, I'm taking care of all this. I've been calling and making adjustments to things and they always ask to speak to the primary account holder. I always respond super upbeat, "No problem, but he's deployed in Afghanistan. Can I get a direct number for him to call you at to avoid the voicemail jail I just sat through?" And they usually respond with, "Ahh, well, um, Mrs. Cripe, let me just take care of this for you."
My bag of tricks has grown ten-fold since I moved in with Paul. And then, because of this deployment, it's expanded greater than it ever would have.
It's unreal.
*ps. photo by our friend katy from new year's eve 2007. I was 21 and he had just turned 24. we were babies! but already in love! aww!
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new sheets from Anthro / playing with paint / slipper socks / Starbucks red cups.
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Celebrating lots of little and big things today. Mostly the magic that was getting eight creative women in a room and making books and getting crafty and sharing ideas. I had an opportunity to teach a class in real life this past weekend and I will have more to share about it shortly. It was an awesome experience that I am so thankful for. I left exhausted, but inspired.
Also celebrating the fact that I am looking at some downtime. I know moving to a new town and cleaning/repainting an apartment and traveling for Thanksgiving doesn't sound like downtime. But at the moment, it feels like bliss. Between the stress of that race and then the excitement but nerves that came from working at Kolo and prepping for this class, I think my brain is ready to settle into a little hibernation mode. Without meaning to, I set three big challenges for myself this fall and in the past 28 days I happily (and perhaps magically) tackled them.
I am loving the freedom of not knowing what is next. When I said that to my mom (who I can't thank enough for coming with me to the workshop this weekend) she said, "Weren't you going to write a book?" And OH YES, I totally am. But still. Coming up with new projects and playing with text sounds like a vacation.
Blah, blah, blaha. Lots of chatter today. I'm excited. I'm thankful. Tiffany, my Teahouse Studio partner in crime this past weekend, said a few times, "The universe gives us exactly what we need when we need it" and she is totally right.
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I was talking with someone recently about how big sales can mean a company is on their way out. I think the words "kiss of death" were used. It stuck with me. While I am far from closing shop, I am ready to give a few of my products, that have been awesome over the past few years, a kiss goodbye.
I need to clear space in my office. I need to clear space in my shop. I need to clear space in my head. I want the shop to get a little empty so I can start with a clean slate and come up with some new ideas. I have no ideas yet. That's terrifying, but liberating and I'm ready for it.
So – I've marked down a lot of the product currently in the shop and stuck it all in a category aptly named SALE. I am hoping to clear a lot of the inventory and then possibly give away what's left. I do not have a lot of any of the items though, so if there is something you've had your eye on, grab it when you see it.
I should mention that holiday books are not going to go on sale – at any time. 🙂
Thank you, as always for your support. Here's to the new ideas that better appear early next year with bells on. And heads up, I'll be back this afternoon with my magic Monday post.
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Thank you so much for your kind words about my little home book. Putting the photos together was inspiring. Hearing that you enjoyed seeing it was inspiring. I was so honored that some of you would have bought it. I am not going to be making that book available for purchase – but I am going to make another DIY decor book.
Yep. I am going to put some photos (many that appear in the home book) and tutorials together and publish it myself – probably using Blurb. Tentative release date : January 15 (that should give me time to work some projects from the new place into it).
Ready, set, go.
(Actually, it's ready, set, host an awesome workshop, pack up our current place, celebrate Thanksgiving, move to a new town, then GO!)
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Bread no. 27 : easy little bread.
Adjustments : nada, followed this one exactly.
Notes : I decided to bake some bread the other day when I was already hungry for dinner. I went to pinterest and typed in "easy bread" and this is what popped up. It was certainly quick to make but because there is so much less light these days, I didn't get a chance to take a picture before it was already half gone.
Review : as mentioned, super easy, but not my favorite. It needs lots of butter on top to keep it from being too dry. I'm sharing 40 different loaves in this space though, so one was sure to not be great. 13(!!) more to go!
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Including our current apartment. I loved it. I love it. And it changed a lot over the past 16-ish months. I decided to make a small book to share photos of the space. I didn’t take any new ones for this at all, just went through my iPhoto archives and flickr stream to find ones I had taken in the past.
I used Blurb because I wanted to try out the service and I wanted something small and simple. This book is 7×7 and I used the easiest drag and drop option. Nothing custom went on these pages. Just my photos. And then their font options for the spine and first page.
I don’t think it gets simplier than that – and it’s so fun to see photos of all the stages our apartment went through. It’s a nice reminder that I can take my time in our next place.
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Celebrating the small magic stuff today : a repeat performance from my awesome hair stylist.
My San Diego days are numbered. I am currently gearing up for my workshop this coming weekend and then I'll be prepping the apartment for the movers. And then it will be Thanksgiving. And then I'll be settled into my new place.
November is not promising calmness, like I had hoped it would. But it is rushing by & filled with exciting stuff, so I cannot complain. I anticipate posting will be light over the next few weeks. It's hilarious : just recently, I was so confident about my consistent blogging that I was thought to myself "hmm, it might be time to bring blog sponsors back." And then just like that, everything is turned on it's head and I don't have a single thought to put up on this space.
I am grateful that I have the opportunity to step back and then jump in again when the ideas are flowing.
Thanks for your patience.
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Paul left three months ago today. I wouldn't say it gets easier, but you do settle into the habit of being apart. Right now, the luxury of having him near seems … well, like a luxury. It's something I can't really imagine.
I think we are almost halfway through. And while I still can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, I can at least see the tunnel. That feels like great progress.
Miss you babe.
*photo by our friend Conor from 2009.
enJOY it 