growing and refocusing

like most of you out there, our family has been pinching pennies lately, and that meant holding back on our holiday buying this year. looking back on past christmases, my hubby and i were shaking our heads about the amount of money we used to spend in our carefree pre-baby, two-salary life. many dollars were spent, not only on gifts for each other and friends and family, but on our life in general - admittedly our favorite courtship pastime was having a nice dinner out complete with bottle of wine (or two) - a weekly event that we surely couldn't afford but somehow always found a way to justify. there are moments now, with our nonexistent savings account, that i start to regret our self-indulgent beginning. but then i think about how i have so many wonderful, comical memories of those days and i know those memories will stick around much longer than a few extra bucks would!

see how good i am at justifying?

in any case, for various reasons our focus has now definitely shifted and i am quite satisfied with our quieter, simpler life. actually, i think the state of the economy has some benefits for everyone. this holiday season, when so many people had to tighten their belts, made a lot of us get back to the real reason for the season. sharing quality time with our loved ones, making gifts by hand, thinking long and hard about our purchases so that they are thoughtfully chosen. it's nice to get back to basics and enjoy the freedom that comes with a less consumer-centric life.

so the hubby and i had a limit for ourselves, and i was touched by his thougtful choices and the fact that he even stayed, well almost, within budget. one of my gifts that i've been thoroughly enjoying is the book craft, inc. unknown to my husband, i had actually listened to a podcast interview with the author, meg mateo ilasco, on craftsanity a while back and had already learned a bit from her and her craft business sense. this book is great for anyone who is attempting, or thinking about attempting, a craft-based business. i'm about a quarter of the way through and already have some good ideas on ways to refocus and grow oliver.handmade. meg writes with a casual prose that makes it an easy and pleasurable read. so i urge you to check it out!