08/11/2026
i could fill a coffee cup with all the happy tears i cried over this. 💕
Mandi Miller surprised me with this custom cross stitched little village piece, & not just any piece. she stitched it onto one of the very first tote bags we ever made. one of the first things we ever put out into the world.
gahh. here come the water works again. 🥹🥹🥹
i keep staring at it and there's a metaphor here that's on the tip of my tongue & i can't quite land on it, but it's in there somewhere. my words are just a little jumbly (mom brain)
it's something about how the most meaningful things are almost always made by somebody's hands & somebody's time. something about thread. how one on its own is nothing, but pull enough of them thru the same cloth & suddenly there's a whole picture.🧵
which is sort of exactly what's happened here at little village. friendships stitched between strangers. support handed to people you just met. grace given freely. an unspoken agreement that we're all just doing our best & figuring it out as we go.
it's nothing fancy. it's not perfect. it's not sparkly or lavish or some newfound idea.
it's just showing up. it's just caring. it's just doing what you can with what you have, & teaching your kids to do the same.
this space is magic, ofc. ✨ but the people who fill it? the families, the regulars, the ones who you bump into at the park. i'm at a loss for words. it's simply the best.
so yes. my cup runneth over. with happy tears & gratitude, for this beautiful thoughtful thing & for everything it reminds me of. everything it represents.
next time you're grabbing a drink at the cafe bar, take a peek at this beaut. & think about the threads you're stitching. how it all comes together. & what thread you might be in somebody else's stitched together life.
thank you forever Mandi Miller. i'm so grateful & so inspired. 💕
xo, abi
