A Personal Post: News Sandwich, Anyone?

You know how in the business world, management is supposed to deliver a "compliment sandwich" where they first say something nice, then something not-so-nice, then finish up with a compliment or kudo? Well, 2008 has been a "news sandwich" for our family, with the sad news alternating with the happy news.

Each time something major would happen, I've wanted to blog about it...and before I got to it, something else major would happen! So, finally, here it is, all in a nutshell (a copy and paste of our Holiday Letter to friends & family)...and for those of you wondering who Nicholas (Nicky) is, he's my sweetie, my muse & inspiration and the very reason I had the confidence and support to start this whole, crazy scarf designing business in the first place! Our letter to you all...

Happy Holidays from the Heart of Canyon Country!

So much has happened this year, we hardly know where to begin! Biggest news first: Nicholas proposed to Celeste at a formal dinner in Salt Lake City in front of about 60 new and old friends…her answer was a resounding, “YES!” We finished out the evening by being quite possibly the happiest couple in a crowd of 21,000 at the annual Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert. A night to remember for a lifetime…we’ll keep you posted on an exact date, we’re looking at next Spring, 2009. Thank you all for your support and well wishes these past 3 years; we’re looking forward to many, many more.

As if a crowd-grabbing proposal weren’t enough, Celeste is basking in a bit of public glory with her booming scarf business: Vegetarian Times, a national magazine, pictured one of her designs on page 62 of the January 2009 issue (it's #2 on the Hot Picks list next to a blurb about the Vegan Etsy team that Celeste belongs to). If you get a chance, pick up a copy at your local newsstand! In fact, business with her online scarf boutique is so bustling, that when she was laid off in November, she was actually relieved because it gave her time to fill all those scarf orders! She hopes to continue concentrating fulltime on designing & selling her scarves.



We’ve been blessed to be able to visit with so much family this year, including both of our dads and stepmoms, Nicholas’ beautiful daughter Hannah who is growing up so fast & Celeste’s mom & her sweetie Mike. We’ve enjoyed keeping in touch with Nicholas’ mom who moved to the big city of Seattle late last year, and look forward to seeing her real soon….maybe at a certain someone’s upcoming wedding here in Utah. ;)

Especially important, we are glad to have had the joy and honor of visiting both Celeste & Nicholas’ grandmas shortly before they each passed away. Although we miss these two, spunky farm girls and their love of life and sense of fun, it does give us some comfort to know that they’re in a better place & that they each left behind large families to carry on their legacy of love & integrity.

We said goodbye to two amazing ladies who were the heart of their families in the span of a month’s time…followed by losing our beloved dog, Cosmo, unexpectedly last week. Cosmo was with Nicholas, every day, through thick & thin, for a decade and our home is not the same without him. Again, our hearts are breaking at losing someone so special, while at the same time we are glad he didn’t suffer and that the tumor that was growing unbeknownst to us didn’t slow him down or effect his quality of life until his last day—he even played in the snow with our other dog, Cinema, and ate with gusto the evening beforehand. Like Celeste says, “Cosmo had 15 years of good days, and one bad day…. Well, maybe the day he got neutered wasn’t so hot, but other than that…”



That’s our year in a nutshell—the happiness and the tears. Next year we will be reporting about the fun we all shared at our wedding!

Love,
Nicholas & Celeste