Fires in Colorado - Again!

So I had fully intended to continue my seasonal mix-up musings.  But with the events of yesterday, I'm feeling a bit more like life - not fashion.  (And no - fashion is not life!  Fashion is fun, and I love it, but let's face it folks - it's a bit frivolous.  And frivolity certainly has its place.  But let's recognize where that place appropriately is for heaven's sake.)

Fires are burning all over Colorado again this summer.  I am so thankful to all those working so hard to protect us.  I am so sorry for those who have lost homes, pets and even loved ones (though thankfully that number is small).

We got a first hand taste of it yesterday.  A fire started probably a mile from us as the crow flies - down the mountain from us - fire burns UP.  We got the evac notice.  Be ready to leave at a moment's notice and if you have livestock - get them out NOW.  We have horses.  And we have a horse trailer.  And my husband had the truck - an hour and a half away.  After a moment to panic and text him to GET HOME NOW!, and after a moment to pray, we (the kids and I) went into action.

We grabbed our "fire list" and started working - harness on the dog, halters on the horses (which have dog tags on them with our cell phone numbers), important items (wedding pics, baby pics, passports, insurance papers, baby videos) into the car.  Grab my mom's wedding ring and mine, our family Bible and travel diaries, the Raggedy Ann doll my mother made me, the Toni doll my Godmother left me, the kids most important stuffed animal and the laptops, wallet and cell phones.  Toss everything in the trunk of the car.  Check.  Two extra minutes - grab a couple of paintings off the walls made by my kids and my dad, the box with the most special kids artwork.  Call the neighbor girl up the street  to make sure she's not home alone.  We're ready.

Meanwhile, my husband is racing home but had the presence of mind to call a nearby friend with a Suburban - Darwin arrived just as we finished loading the car and hooked up the horse trailer.  We got the horses loaded without a hitch and took off down the mountain to another friend who was well below the fire.

Oh, and I should mention - how many folks called to see if we needed help and how many stopped as we were loading on their way down to see if we needed help.  We really have a great and caring community.

The first responders worked so hard to get that fire contained.  It was burning right next door to a friend of mine.  They weren't home at the time, but animal control went in and got the dogs out safely.  It's sort of a joke around here that the fire department hasn't lost a foundation yet.  But we all understand that their objective really isn't to save a single burning house.  Their goal is to save the mountain.  They are heroes and certainly did their jobs well yesterday.  I'm sorry and sad for our neighbor's that lost their house.  And I'm thankful it ended up just being one house.

Once they announced 100% containment we went home.  Left the car loaded until we got the "all clear" announcement several hours later.  Then we unloaded our most precious possessions once again.  It's kind of liberating to know that the things you care about most you can take in a small car (and a horse trailer :)

We were fortunate.  But you know what, even if the fire would be been bigger, and even if we had lost our house.  We would still be fortunate.  Fortunate to have people fighting for us.  Fortunate to have a system that gives us time to collect our most important things and get out safely with our loved ones.  Fortunate that what really matters in this world isn't "stuff".

Season Scramblers

So, last post was about our photo shoot for Spring 2014, before that, we were talking about the current season, Spring 2013 and before that we talked about Fall 2013.  Now we're ready to start working on Fall 2014.  Seasons and years are always scrambled around here....that's just the way the fashion industry works!  I started writing 2014 on my checks several months ago (much to the dismay of some of my utility providers!)  I remember back when I used to do women's wear - with 5 seasons a year - and we did catalog (which is further out than regular retail) and we did monthly delivery collections for a couple of the big department stores.  I honestly never knew what season it was - I would have to walk outside in the morning so I could go back to my closet to pick a sundress or sweater to wear to work.

Back to fall thoughts.  I always like to take a recap of the previous fall season before starting a new one.  WGSN and FGI have just released their season recaps, so it's a great time to revisit what the big selling points of  the season.  And it's a perfect time for you to start thinking about what you will soon be seeing in stores for back to school!  Here we go - according to WGSN:

Best colors:  Raspberry and Blue

Best Prints: Geometrics

More to come next week from the runway recap reports!

Happy - whatever season it is!

LamanBlu Summer 2013 Fashion Video

Behind the scenes at LamanBlu's spring photoshoot

I love photoshoots - I actually find them exhausting, but the kids are so much fun that I look back on each shoot fondly (after a day of recovery!)

 

Setting Up

 

Going over the plan

Let's Play!

Going over the plan (again)

 

More playing

 

Silly Time

 

More Action!

 

Aren't they cute!

 

More play

Going over the plan AGAIN (what did we forget?)

Ice Cream Payment

And more ice cream

Spring Ramblings

Wow - it's been crazy busy, photoshoots for LamanBlu and Hang Ten Gold, Memorial Day Weekend, the end of school, the start of a strange summer break for the kids (feels more like November with blustery winds and periodic snow than summer dawning).

I'm faced feeling a bit blustery myself actually.  We're moving our offices today to downtown Denver, next to Ralph's Industrial Sewing.  We've used the DDI studio there for quite some time for various activities, but now we'll have our very own spot.  We'll still keep our mountain design studio - too much solitude and inspiration generating to walk away from entirely, but we've simply outgrown our space.  I'm excited and a little sad in all honesty.  But I guess the only constant in life is change.

My kids are changing too.  My daughter, going into second grade is truly becoming independent.  My son, just entering his teenage years is a whole different story.  He's in the midst of wavering back and forth from wanting to be dropped off somewhere just to explore his independence (away from parents) and then still wanting to hold my hand during an intense part of an action movie we're watching together.  It's sweet, but makes me a little wistful.  When did he grow up so much?  I can't believe how the past 13 years have flown by.

And it's spring, and I miss my mom.  She passed away suddenly just over 6 months ago.  Sometimes it seems like much longer and sometimes it still seems like yesterday.  Memorial Day was a big reminder of her loss.  It's always been a big holiday for my family growing up - the first weekend we splash the boats in the water and head to the lake for 3 days.  Most families have standard meals which become traditions for Christmas or Easter - our meal tradition was Memorial Day.  Smoked baby back ribs, tabouli, baked beans dressed with bacon and homemade peach ice cream.  Even though we now live too far to partake in the boat and lake festivities, we still celebrate with the same meal.  It was sad making it this year knowing she wasn't around.

But it is spring, the season of new beginnings, a season of hope.  Things are good.  I'm thankful for family and friends and a great job.  Let's remember to stop and small ALL the spring flowers - not just the roses.  It really is a beautiful life.

Salu,
Holli