Happy New Year!

If you're scratching your head right now and double-checking the date, let me explain: it's not you, it's me. For me, the new year didn't really start until last Friday, when I shipped out the last of my orders from 2011. If you follow me on twitter or facebook, you'll know that there were a lot of them.

The holidays were very kind to Dear Edna this year. I've said it before, and I'll never stop saying it, thank you! It was crazy in the best way. But after two months of long hours hunched over a cutting table and sewing machine, creating 6 or 7 aprons a night, packing up all those orders, answering emails and blogging, and then waking up to a full day of copyediting and doing it all over again... this girl is seriously looking forward to some down time. That's probably not what a business owner is supposed to say. But it's the truth.

I used to dread this part of the year and all its depressing lack of sunlight, bone-chilling cold, and anti-social hibernation, but I think it's actually starting to become one of my favourites. After a season of go go go, it's a time when I can finally just stop and take a breath. It's a time when I can give the machine mentality a rest and give my ideas and creativity space to grow. It's a chance to get my ducks in a row. It's a time to relax, reflect, recharge and play. It's like recess for grownups. Haha!

It's also a time to plan. Now that I'm officially living in 2012 with the rest of you, I'm naturally setting some goals and intentions for the upcoming year. There are some truly excited things in store! I can't wait to share them with you, but in the meantime, I think I'll let them ruminate a little longer while I enjoy more of that glorious down time — I'm off tomorrow for  a little four-day getaway to Ottawa and Kingston. Fingers are crossed that we don't get stuck in a snow storm halfway there. Snow or no snow, we'll be seeing this fine jokester performing live...



... and hilarity will ensue.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

E xo

P.S. That's my new calendar in the photo above. Isn't it pretty? It's from one of my favourite stationary companies, Rifle Paper Co., and I bought it in the fall, so I was pretty excited to finally put it up. I took it as a sign when I flipped to January and realized the colours matched perfectly with the art I already had on the wall. It's going to be a good year!