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6 years

6 years

Today our little Etsy shop celebrated 6 years of business! 6 years of following a “path less traveled”, taking twists and turns that we didn’t expect {but that have been a wonderful blessing} as we “live creatively & celebrate every day”. 6 years! celebrating 6 years | the Path Less Traveled

6 years ago we were living in a little {uh, yes …quite little…not our littlest ever, but still, quite little} apartment, living from one slim paycheck to the next with an almost 1-year-old {and another baby due that summer} and gratefully taking advantage of any opportunities to earn an extra dollar that we could. We had opened a shop on another selling platform the year before {you can read a bit about that story here and here} and, as pennies were getting pinched tighter, the time had come to mix things up a bit and see if something else would work better – and lo, our Etsy shop was born. office luncheon | the Path Less TraveledOur first sale came over 2 months after opening our virtual doors – and it was a welcome one! 6 years later, our shop bears very little resemblance to what it was in early 2010: we are in a different city, different state, we have a house {with an actual yard!}, our family has grown to 4 precious little ones, John is the one mainly running the business now {there’s a good chance he’ll be the one answering your emails} and I have taken more of a back seat while I homeschool the littles, we have 3{!} employees and every single item in the shop right now was birthed sometime in the last 5 years.
celebrating 6 years! | the Path Less TraveledA few things are still very much the same – every single thing that we sell is hand made right here in our home, we still make sure that each new product fits within “live creatively & celebrate every day”, and we do everything we can to make your visions come to life. The custom orders that we fill are always a fun challenge!

We are so, so immensely blessed. This “path less traveled” is not the easiest thing, but it is well worth the rewards. {Our 3 year old cannot remember a time when her Daddy wasn’t home every day – he may be busy, but he is home, and it is wonderful. :D}celebrating 6 years! | the Path Less Traveled You – each and every one of you – are a huge part of where we are today. Without you and others like you, our shop {and lives!} would look very different! Your orders and feedback are always, always deeply appreciated.celebrating a year together | the Path Less Traveled Our second hire celebrates her 1 year anniversary with us tomorrow, so we rolled both events into one and celebrated with a lunch – and cake {of course!}! It was a fun time to take a few moments to mark the occasion, to celebrate how far we’ve come – plus, a great excuse to have cake. :Dthe evening glow | the Path Less Traveled

So … here’s to another “Etsy-versary” in the books, and looking forward to whatever new and exciting things this next year holds.

<3

items featured: Monogram Cake Topper (6 in Gold Glitter)

Sparkly Star Cake Toppers

Customizable Letter Banner in Gold Glitter

 

 

for remembering: small, sweet and dimpled

for remembering: small, sweet and dimpled

I just clipped 40 tiny nails: 20 fingers and 20 toes, and 2 chubby, dimpled toddlers worth.
As I was clipping I kept thinking “these fingers and toes will never be this small and sweet again, not even tomorrow. Em and Ian are shooting up like weeds and I need to savor them.”

So, once we were finished I sat them next to each other on the couch (even though they were ready to dash off and play) and took a few photos of those fingers and toes.

And then they hopped down and got back to their playing.

<3

almost 3 years

almost 3 years

3 years ago today John and I were finally able to be together after not seeing each other for over 4 months. We were finally in the same time zone, same state, same city, same car. It was wonderful.

(photo from the rehearsal dinner – we both needed sleep!)

3 years ago today we were not only finally together, we were finally alone and on our way to our last pre-marital counseling session with our pastor (and the only one that happened in person). The next stop of the day was to get our marriage license. We were sorely tempted to pay the extra $25 and get married then and there – so that we could not only be together but be man and wife just a few days early. But we waited.

It was so good to finally feel each other’s touch again, see each other’s face … four and a half months apart just before a wedding is really, really rough. But our God was so faithful.

Our love story is just riddled with bits and pieces of the faithfulness of God, so much so that we asked a friend to sing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” (using Fernando Ortega’s new score) as part of the music for our wedding.

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou for ever will be

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed thy hand hath provided
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed thy hand hath provided
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me
Great is thy faithfulness

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness
All I have needed thy hand hath provided
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me

And you know what? He hasn’t changed, He is still faithful.
We’ve had a very good three years. Interesting, exciting, sometimes trying and sometimes overflowing with joy – but it has been good.
Right now we are in a place that I truly never expected – or dreamed – to be in, but He is faithful. Would I change our current circumstances? In a heartbeat! But then we wouldn’t be in the prime place for us to see the greatness of God’s faithfulness.

Darling, I love you. I’m so very glad that I am yours and you are mine. You make every day brighter, hearing your voice lifts my heart, and seeing your face … is wonderful!
I don’t know that I’d recommend any other couple taking the path that God has led us on together, but Darling, it’s been so good going down it with you.

(another) precious baby boy

(another) precious baby boy

We got a new nephew last night!

 John’s twin and his wife birthed an adorable baby boy named Owen Hunter. I’ve heard that Mommy, Daddy and Baby are all doing well and am so looking forward to hearing his special arrival story!

Thinking about them as they are getting acquainted with each other, seeing their baby son face to face for the first time and just resting after all the hard work of pregnancy and birth brings memories of the few days of being in the hospital with our Emma Grace.

Emma was born late at night and we were so very tired, but also so very happy. The day of and following her birth were two of the best days of our lives. That little recovery room in the maternity wing was our own private sanctuary, a place where we learned to know our baby girl, our firstborn, a place to just be quiet and still together and bask in the joy.

Sweet, sweet memories.

Owen, we can’t wait to meet you, to love on you and to kiss your darling baby nose. You have been a much prayed for baby and we are terrible excited to finally see you! Love to you three(!) and hope to see you soon!

flaming baked cappuccino alaska

flaming baked cappuccino alaska

One of the Jacobsen family traditional favorites is Baked Alaska. It’s a very special dessert and would usually only be made for very special occasions – such as when Dad’s little brother was in the States.
It’s best when it’s eaten all in one sitting, so having a table full of people was also a prerequisite!

John and I didn’t have anything special happening, but a few days ago I had a hankering for some charred meringue atop of a slice of ice cream and cake. Plus, I felt that John needed to experience something that I had such fond memories of!

I knew the gist of the recipe by heart – slices of cake in the bottom of a pie dish topped with ice cream and meringue, brown the meringue, splash it all with some alcohol and strike a match – but I pulled out my copy of the Joy of Cooking just to be sure. :)

According to the Joy of Cooking, the first step is to line your baking dish with a half inch layer of cake – both sponge and angel cake are recommended. My family always used pound cake which tasted delicious and stood up to the weight of the ice cream quite well. I deviated from both and used a pan of brownies as the base.

Next, make up your meringue. Beat 6 egg whites until frothy. Beat in 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, a pinch of salt, 2/3 cup sugar (adding the sugar slowly) and 1 tsp vanilla and continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff.

Once the meringue is quite stiff and glossy, mound 1 – 1 1/2 quarts of slightly softened ice cream on top of the cake. I used coffee ice cream, but any flavor combinations are acceptable! Fruit flavored ice cream is especially good.
Joy of Cooking says to next lay strips of your cake over the mounded ice cream. I didn’t, and my meringue didn’t quite cook through, so I am guessing that this is an important step! At this point you may choose to freeze the Baked Alaska for 30 minutes or so to firm it up.

Spread the meringue over the ice cream and cake, taking care to cover right down to the edge of the baking dish.
Rinse off half of one of the egg shells and place it on the top (this will hold the alcohol).
Brown the whole thing under a 500 degree broiler for no more than 3 minutes. It browns quickly, so watch carefully!

Grab some plates and forks and matches and tell everyone to gather round! Pour about 2-3 tblsp of alcohol into the egg shell and shake the Baked Alaska so that some runs down the sides. Strike a match, turn off the lights … and voila!


24

24

Emma was very interested in the birthday pound cake. :)

It has been a good year.
John had his first Father’s Day.
Emma and I went to visit my family in California.
Brian and Leah got married.
We moved.
Found out that God had given us Baby #2.
John’s sister Sarah flew with Emma and me to California to visit my Gramma just before she died.
Emma had her first Thanksgiving and Christmas.
John and Emma and I went to see the CA Jacobsens.
Emma learned to walk, turned one and cut some molars.
We celebrated our second anniversary by dropping Em off with some friends and going out for a rare but wonderful date.
Emma went on her first Easter egg hunt.
Ian was born!

just the three of us

just the three of us

Mother’s Day 2010



It will only be the three of us for a little longer.
Mimi (John’s mom, Teri) plans to come and pick up Emma when we give her a call, and then wait to hear.
It may be soon.
It may be in a few days.
Either way, we are treasuring the last few days being just us three.


mother’s day

mother’s day

my second mother’s day, and the second baby is almost here.
time is passing quickly, so quickly.
what will the next year hold? 10 new little fingers, 10 new little toes. New baby smells and sounds. Emma’s first words. A little life beginning to explore the world, with a sister just barely older than he.
and God only knows what else.
one thing is sure – it will never be dull!

2 years ago

2 years ago

we were madly running errands, rehearsing, and celebrating because on the next day
we
were
getting
married.

what a difference two years makes!


recipe: Ambrosia, a.k.a. "5 cup salad"

recipe: Ambrosia, a.k.a. "5 cup salad"

This fruit salad has lots of memories for me: it was a standard Easter dish at Gramma’s house, and often served at other Moose/Jacobsen gatherings as well. Gramma taught me the recipe when I was staying with her for a few weeks one summer and it is so simple that even a 10-12 year old can remember it. And it’s really yummy, too (come to think of it, I say that about every recipe that I post here).

So here you go (ready? you might want to write it down ….. ;) ):

Combine:
1 cup chunked pineapple
1 cup mandarin oranges
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup sour cream

Stir.

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, until the flavors have melded.

Yup.
So simple. And so good.