The Princess and The Frog Blog

Desk Nook in our Foyer

2012-01-27T12:47:00.000-05:00

One of the things that I really wanted to do better in 2012 was to keep a calendar that was available for everyone in the family to look at. However, I was flummoxed as to where to keep said calendar. I've been thinking for a while now that I would like to have my "command central" area free to use rather than have it taken up by the laptop computer all the time. Therefore, it made sense to me to move the computer to my little antique desk that resides in the foyer. At various times I've had the desk open with pictures on it, but as of late it has been closed and unused.

Our house is a four square which basically means that it has four rooms (not including our mudroom area) downstairs and the rather large foyer is one of those rooms. I love that by moving the computer to the foyer it gives the room a purpose and meaning rather than just a pretty entry to the house

I had a little chair that we hadn't found a purpose for that was sitting in the basement. I gave it a new padded seat and it's perfect for the space. I really like how it compliments my favorite frog fabric on the sofa.

All in all I'm very pleased with our new set-up. This calendar has found it's home at the kitchen desk and it makes me smile.

Friends

2012-01-25T18:09:00.000-05:00

Our dear friends, Jack and Kathleen, have been visiting the past couple of days! Jack had to travel here on business and Kathleen came along too. It's been so great to have them here. The guys were gone during the day, during which Kathleen and I managed to fill our days quite nicely, and then in the evening we would all eat together, play a game of peanuts or sit around and solve the world's problems! It was wonderful!

I've always been very blessed with wonderful friends, and I'm so thankful for them and the positive influences they are in my life. Kathleen and I talked a lot about accepting children, spouses, family and friends for who they are instead of who you want them to be (something I'm working on) and I'm so lucky to have friends that do just that, flaws and all.

Hot Chocolate Station

2012-01-23T17:52:00.001-05:00

We got snow over the weekend! The children were delighted and made the most of it by playing, sledding and making snow candy. Of course, after they were done playing, they wanted hot chocolate and marshmallows. Soon after Christmas, I created a little hot chocolate station in the kitchen. It's pretty too look at and makes everything easily accessible. Plus, it encourages us to drink hot cocoa and shouldn't we all do that?

Our Master Bathroom

2012-01-19T16:38:00.001-05:00

Are you ready for picture overload? Words cannot express how very much we are enjoying the bathroom. It is such a peaceful, pretty place that we all find ourselves hanging out in it! The heated floors help out with that too.

The tub is one of my favorite things. It is definitely the main focus in the room, and I've already enjoyed a number of sublime baths.

With the exception of the tub, everything is lined up on either side of the bathroom. We each have a vanity on opposite walls. Bryce's vanity is kitchen cabinet height and mine is regular bathroom vanity height. The countertops are marble and our vanities are the same except that mine has the bow added on. Oh, how I love the bow!

As you walk into the bathroom there is a small "dressing room" type area. We continued the carpet from our bedroom into this area to give it a little bit of distinction from the rest of the bathroom. The makeup vanity that Bryce gave me fits perfectly here! Across from the vanity is a small closet. I added beveled mirrors to the doors, which I love and is hugely convenient.

Each of our vanities has a small shelf built in next to it. I keep playing around with the objects on the shelves.

I found the strawberry cage chandelier on ebay. I'm completely smitten with the scones above our vanities because I love that their shades look like regular pleated shades even though they are ceramic. Isn't that clever? We also have a schoolhouse light above the toilet.

Thanks for being patient with this many pictures of our bathroom. I just couldn't seem to pare them down. The bathroom has also become the favorite hangout spot for Lily and Coco!

Fun Fruit

2012-01-17T09:42:00.000-05:00

I've been having fun sending cute fruit to school with the children! Did you know that if you write a message with a toothpick on a banana, that the message will "magically" appear after a little bit of time? The children love it!

I've also been drawing faces on the Cuties that we buy at the store. This absolutely tickles Harris and Grace! This is such an easy and quick way to put a smile on someone's face!

Water

2012-01-13T09:28:00.000-05:00

Thank you for your birthday wishes yesterday! Your comments made my ~~day~~ week!

I've recently realized that I'm not drinking nearly enough water. Coffee? Plenty. Tea? Check. But water has not been something I've made a conscious effort to drink lots of. And I believe that my skin has been letting me know. It's been dull, splotchy and dry.

Several years ago, I found a tall glass pitcher (decanter? shaker? I don't know what to call it!) at an antique shop and loved how simple and beautiful it was. In an effort to monitor the amount of water I'm drinking, I've started filling up the pitcher every morning, it holds about 7 1/2 cups, and making my way through the whole thing by evening. Hopefully, my skin will thank me!

I've always loved the quote by William Morris, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." I think this water pitcher fits both criteria beautifully.

39

2012-01-11T10:20:00.001-05:00

I turned 39 yesterday and I feel good going into my 39th year. Last year I struggled with my age, but this year I've realized that I'd rather turn 39 than not. Period.

I had a great day! My Bible study group met yesterday and there was coffee cake with sparkly candles, I had lunch with a friend and then I spent the afternoon baking a birthday cake! It's exactly what I wanted to do.

In the evening, Bryce took us all out for a celebratory dinner. Afterwards, we came home, ate some cake and opened presents.

I got some great gifts (my friends and family know me well!) but one of my favorites is this sunhat from Bryce! It's a bike helmet! I mean, how fabulous is that?

P.S. The cake I made was a dark chocolate chiffon cake with rosewater icing. I found it on this amazingly beautiful blog. Mine didn't turn out as pretty as hers did. but it sure was delicious!

Favorite Thing #18

2012-01-09T21:05:00.000-05:00

Last year, I bought a mitten tree for our mudroom in an effort to corral mittens, hats and scarves. We have baskets in the mudroom for the purpose of keeping shoes and accessories, but I've found that simply keeping all the hats, mittens and scarves on the tree all the time makes getting bundled up so much easier. Also, I haven't been finding accessories strewn all over the room because it's easy for the children to put away their winter gear! The tree makes it easy for items to dry out after getting wet from snow (not that we have had any!) and is a very cheery red. It's definitely a favorite thing in our mudroom.

P.S. This one is on sale!

A Great Day

2012-01-08T23:40:00.000-05:00

We had a lovely weekend. How about you? Friday evening we went to dinner with friends and had great food and even better company, Saturday evening I had dinner with girlfriends and today we took the children on a little adventure!

The weather was just right to go ice skating! Everyone was a little shaky when we first got on the ice but soon started to get the hang of it. Thank goodness Harris is already close to the ground!

After we were done skating, we took a quick walk over the bridge to The Franklin Fountain. This place is like stepping back in time. I LOVED it! I was planning on getting a hot chocolate, but was lured by the roasted marshmallow hot milk shake. They literally set the marshmallow on fire!

After we left to walk back to the car, we passed an amazing little candy shop and had to stop in. Bryce left with a piece of chocolate covered bacon and the children got little candied fruit slices.

In Harris' words, "This has been a great day."

Farm Table + Chairs + Mason Jar Chandelier

2012-01-05T14:34:00.000-05:00

I didn't intend for this to be "screened in porch week" on the blog but it has turned out that way. Maybe because it didn't get out of the 20's yesterday and it's nice to dream of spending lazy, warm days on the porch. I promise this will be it until the spring!

Even though the porch is not overly large, I have been determined to fit a sitting area around the fire and a table to eat our meals on. In my mind both of these things were musts! I knew that I wanted a long farm table but it was difficult to find a table that wasn't too large. Most tables I found were very, very wide and we simply don't have room for that large of a table. I was thrilled when I found this table at a local antique shop! The legs of the table are reproductions but the wood top is from an old building/factory. One of our rules for the new space is that we don't want to have to baby anything and this top fits the bill perfectly. It's already got some "character" to it!

We purchased Tolix chairs to go around the table. These chairs are so pretty and I love what clean lines they have! These chairs have a lot going for them and that was a big factor in our choosing them. We can pull the chairs indoors to use around our dining room table when we need more seating, they take up very little space and they easily stack.

I love our light fixture over the table. It definitely adds some warmth and interest to the room! And really, mason jars can serve just about any purpose!

The story of BABS

2012-01-03T14:18:00.000-05:00

Even though we have a few things on the screened porch we've decided to wait to "decorate/furnish" the porch since it the middle of winter. It will be something to look forward to doing in the spring! However, we have had a few fires in the fireplace and that has called for a fireplace screen.

I'd like to introduce you to BABS. She has been patiently waiting in the basement for her chance to come out and shine (literally... she's very shiny!). I expect that several of my friends from Atlanta will laugh as they read this because BABS has a story to tell and they might very well have been a part of that story.

In our old house in Atlanta we had a large fireplace, and when I went looking for a screen I came across this brass one with bows. It is well established that I have a love for all bows and I was immediately smitten with this screen. However, I was worried that it was going to be "too much." Bryce laughed when he saw it, and he quickly named it BABS, short for "big a** bows."

I vividly remember friends (Kelly!) and family coming over and we would all sit and stare at the screen trying to decide what we thought of it! This screen has provided a lot of laughs! Ultimately, I decided that anything that made me smile every single time I looked at it was a keeper. I'm very attached to her!

When I first put her out on the porch, I thought that she was too fancy, shiny and brassy for the area. But she has worked her magic on me once again and I've already grown accustomed to her new spot!

The Screened In Porch

2012-01-02T11:43:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited to share photos of the screened in porch, it's finally done (here is the before)! We were disappointed that it didn't get done in time to enjoy this fall, but at least it will be ready to go as soon as spring hits!

When planning the porch I was concerned that it would look like an afterthought or an insubstantial addition to the house. I wanted it to look hefty and solid- like an extension of our home. The carpenter who worked on the molding was able to achieve this with the woodwork and I'm very pleased.

The fireplace is my favorite thing. It turned out to be such a focal point on the porch. The stonework that the mason did far exceeded our expectations.

The floor is mahogany. Apparently, it can take a beating and still look good!

The ceiling is white beadboard.

We are so excited that it is done and look forward to lots of time spent in the semi-outdoors!

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

2011-12-31T17:02:00.000-05:00

This week has been so very wonderful and relaxing. It's 4:30 on New Year's Eve and the children and I are still in our pajamas! Except for an excursion to a museum we have done very little except read, play games, and play. There's something about this week after Christmas that feels so much slower than any other week during the year. I love it.

I've been thinking a lot about the upcoming year, more so than usual. 2012 is poised to bring about some changes in our lives and I find myself apprehensive, excited, and at times a bit sad, but it's all moving in a good direction and I have faith that this year will play out exactly as it is supposed to. Change can be hard but I plan on working to enjoy the journey instead of worrying and second guessing choices we make.

All of this is to say that I'm not really making resolutions this year. Instead, I'm going to focus on relationships with those around me, making a loving home for my family and being grateful for all that we have been blessed with.

Thank you for reading this little blog! I have so appreciated your kind, uplifting and enthusiastic comments. I wish you and your loved ones a very Happy New Year!

Favorite Things #17

2011-12-29T12:23:00.000-05:00

When Gretchen and I were in the city over Christmas we ate what was possibly the most heavenly food ever offered by a street vendor... a waffle covered in speculoos and whipped cream. I had never had anything of the sort and it was so, so good.

So of course, I was delighted to discover Trader Joe's Cookie Butter. I love this stuff. It's a spread made out of biscuits that tastes like gingerbread cookies and other bits of goodness. I've been enjoying it on cinnamon bread, crackers and bananas. I've yet to put it on a warm waffle but it's only a matter of time. Have you tried it?

Sibling Gifts 2011

2011-12-27T11:04:00.001-05:00

When we started making sibling gifts several years ago (here, here, and here) I had no idea that it would become such a family favorite. The children love making gifts for each other and it's the first gift they want to open on Christmas morning.

This year, Grace knew right away that she wanted to make some sort of animal for Harris. She decided on a sock animal that she found in an old Martha Stewart Kids. With a little help/guidance from her Grandma she created Mr. Meows for Harris. He is darling and Harris adores him!

I helped Harris to make lip balm for Grace. He was giddy the whole time he was making it (and he did almost all the work- he even shaved the beeswax!) because it was one big science experiment for him! We followed the instructions from Martha Stewart and the balm turned out beautifully. I think we will all be using it. I waited a little too long to order pots or tubes so we used travel sized pots from Target and they worked out just fine.

Christmas Eve and Christmas

2011-12-26T12:51:00.000-05:00

Christmas at our house was everything one could hope for (minus the snow, we wish we had some!).

How was your day? I"m already feeling the itch to clean-up, put away and organize for the new year!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T19:02:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! I hope that your day has been full of merriment, magic and happy family time.

Peppermint Hot Fudge Sauce for friends

2011-12-24T00:16:00.001-05:00

I delivered a few gifts to friends today that I'm hoping will add some seasonal cheer to their weekend! I made a double batch of peppermint hot fudge sauce, packaged it up in small mason jars, tied on candy cane toppings and added a pint of really yummy (local) ice cream.

While wandering the grocery store, I happened upon these darling miniature, one serve ice cream containers. They fit the top of the mason jar perfectly and were adorable. But alas, I figured it would be nice if my friend's families could have more than one spoonful each, so I'm filing the idea away for later because everything is cuter when it is smaller!

Vintage Christmas

2011-12-20T13:31:00.001-05:00

After Christmas last year I found two vintage pieces at the antique store that I bought and put away for this year! I plan on using them both for Christmas breakfast. They make me happy just looking at them!

This sweet Santa pitcher will be perfect for cream at the table.

This tablecloth is meant for a rectangular table, but I plan on using it as an overlay on one of my round tablecloths. I love each little scene!

Bubble Print Wrapping Paper

2011-12-19T09:46:00.000-05:00

Harris has been really excited this year about wrapping gifts. He has even made colorful wrapping paper! In one of our craft books is a "recipe" for making bubble-print wrapping paper. The process was fun and the gift is certainly wrapped uniquely (perfect for a grandparent!).

A Recipe for bubble-print gift wrap

In a shallow bowl mix together 1/2 cup water, 1-2 tablespoons red paint*, and 1/2 tablespoon dishwashing liquid.

Put a straw in the mixture and gently blow to make bubbles. Blow until the mixture almost rises over the edge of the bowl.

Put a piece of paper over the bubbles and hold until several bubbles have popped. Move the paper and continue to blow and pop bubbles until most of the paper is covered.

Let the paper dry.

Repeat the whole thing with green bubbles, let dry and wrap!

*In the picture of the materials used I show children's washable paint. This is what we originally tried to use but found that the color didn't show up in the bubbles. We ended up using regular craft paint. I also changed to a shallower bowl than shown.

Weekend

2011-12-18T13:37:00.000-05:00

Hello friends! I took a bit of an unintended blog break because the hustle and bustle of the season won out and I was either too busy, too tired or too uninspired to blog! But this weekend? This weekend has been a perfect start to Christmas week. We filled it just so with lovely Christmas activities and I feel ready to enjoy the next week leading up to Christmas.

Friday evening we spent with dear friends to see a live nativity. It was beautiful.

Saturday morning was our annual Christmas breakfast with Kristin, Tim, Grace and Matthew. It's always a highlight of the season!

Saturday evening we attended a Christmas party that was loads of fun and where Bryce was able to dance his heart out (seriously funny and fun!). We joined friends for dinner beforehand for extra festivity!

We feel very blessed to have such good friends!

Christmas Scenes- Part 1

2011-12-13T12:51:00.001-05:00

Our Christmas season is flying by! I love everything about Christmas, but this year I have found myself a tad overwhelmed. I just wish that there was more time to fit everything in and do it in a relaxed and thoughtful manner. Is that too much to ask?

I thought I would share some scenes from our Christmas activities. I could have blogged about them all separately but glimpses will do. After all, I've got presents to wrap!

Our town's holiday walk was lots of fun, Santa is always the highlight!

Both children and Bryce participated in our church's Christmas Pageant. I love it every single time.

Yesterday, Gretchen and I went into the city for a fun adventure. We did some window gazing (that's Tiffany's I'm standing in front of), a bit of shopping and had a long, leisurely lunch with a dear friend. Any restaurant that serves cotton candy for dessert is tops in my book.

P.S. I wore my "new" vintage coat into the city. I got it for something like $10 (but I did have to alter it!).

I love how old fashioned I felt in it and it was really warm!

Lavender Sachets (in a tea strainer)

2011-12-11T22:49:00.000-05:00

Remember the lavender that I harvested back in the summer? I finally did something with it! Years ago I saw a suggestion in Martha Stewart magazine to put lavender in old tea strainers and use them in drawers and closets as scented sachets. Lavender also has the added benefit of being a repellant to moths (I've had an unfortunate incident recently with a favorite wool cape).

I bought this strainer for a couple of dollars, including shipping, on ebay. It's a nice large size and it cleaned up very easily. Ebay had lots of choices including some beautiful sterling silver ones! I think that I'm going to be on the lookout to add to my collection of two strainers!

I filled the strainer with lavender buds, tied a bow on the top and stashed it in a drawer. Now I'm hoping that the lovely smell will subtly scent the drawer!

A funny story about Harris and a Savings Account

2011-12-10T13:43:00.000-05:00

Last week Harris missed a day of school due to an unfortunate late night trip to the emergency room (he had a severe reaction to an unknown nut!). Since it was a late night we thought it best for him to sleep in and rest for the day. It was actually great to have him home with me again! At some point during the day, he decided that he really, really wanted to open up a bank account and the sooner the better! I told him that I would be happy to take him to my bank to open a savings account, but he was insistant on going to the bank in the heart of our town. I questioned him about why he would want to go to a different bank than where I go and his answer still has me chuckling. He reasoned that his bank choice had a much bigger vault (as seen in the picture) and therefore would be much more likely to keep his money safe. Also? Santa visits with children there so it must be good! I must say that he has good taste because this particular bank is a beautiful building!

Portrait Labels

2011-12-07T11:09:00.000-05:00

The children have been really into wrapping their gifts for everyone this year and I think these Christmas labels are the cutest things ever! These are from last year but we will certainly be using them again this year. I just adore how personal they become and who doesn't smile at a child's portrait of themselves? You can print them off here (we did enlarge the labels).

Holly Berries

2011-12-05T18:03:00.000-05:00

I've never had the gift of flower arranging (oh, how I wish I did!) but I decided to try and arrange some fresh greens in my window box on the back of the house. I must admit I'm rather pleased with the result!

My happiest discovery was a ginormous holly bush in between our property and our neighbors. How I've lived here for five and a half years and never noticed this bush is beyond my comprehension, but I was thrilled to take some cuttings. The red berries are so festive. In fact, I went ahead and added some to our front door wreath as well!

Trimming the tree

2011-12-02T09:27:00.000-05:00

Traditionally, we trim our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. I"m a put it up early and take it down early sort of gal. For some reason as soon as Christmas is over all of those beautiful, magical decorations start to look a lot like clutter! Remember how we went pumpkin picking in the snow? This year, we went tree picking without coats! It was unseasonably warm.

My Mom joined as for our tree trimming and helped to decorate some awfully cute brownie Christmas trees.

We also snacked on crackers, brie, grapes and cranberry spritzers!

This year Harris got a darling scout for his ornament since he joined the scouts this year. I found it here- she even puts there pack number on the ornament!

Grace received a reading mouse because those are two things that she loves and adores!

Wallpaper

2011-12-01T09:34:00.001-05:00

Last week our bathroom got wallpapered and I'm thrilled with the result! I'm a big fan of using wallpaper because I think it often makes a room feel "finished" and I love how it can transform a room.

The wallpaper we ended up using is a small foral but it functions as a neutral pattern on the wall, and I don't think that it hits you over the head that it is a floral. The paper instantly made the room feel like it was a part of the house and a room to spend time in rather than just a utilitarian bathroom. It's warm, cozy and inviting (the heated floors also help with that!).

Favorite Thing #16

2011-11-29T15:56:00.001-05:00

I can't upload any photos to iphoto because the computer keeps telling me that my memory is full! I'm not really sure what to do about that but until I figure it out I thought I would share a favorite thing!

Five years ago I bought the Tight-End Reversible tights in brown/black from Spanx and have worn them almost exclusively through fall and winter. Therefore, I find it pretty impressive that they have just now gotten a hole in them. Five years seems like a long time for a pair of tights to last! I love, love, love the fact that you can wear them as black tights one day and brown tights the next. Anything that can do double duty and do it well is a favorite in my book. Actually, they do triple duty since they also help in other areas as well (they are Spanx after all!).

P.S. The above picture is no longer the design for these tights, but I preferred it to the half naked gals on the new design!

Holiday Attire

2011-11-28T10:16:00.001-05:00

I've recently taken advantage of some sales and free shipping to put together the children's holiday attire. In years past Grace has had dressier dresses, but this year we went with something that she will be able to wear well past the holidays. This dress from Olive Juice is super comfy and cute at the same time and I love how the buttons on the MiniBoden sweater add some fun color and will match most anything!. Harris is wearing a sweater that has somehow managed to be wearable for several seasons (which makes me wonder just how big it was on him when I bought it!).

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T16:59:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving was perfect. We had a slow, happy day at home.

My Mom came over and she and the children made adorable turkey fingerprint art for the table. I even found a note in mine! How awesome is it that Harris included a thanksgiving banner?

Our fresh turkey was delicious! It was moist and flavorful and we have a ton of leftovers!

We had all the usual suspects for dinner- turkey, stuffing, green beans, sweet potato souffle and cranberry sauce. Delicious.

Dessert was a big hit! It was over the top good.

I hope that you all had a wonderful day too!

Preparing for Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T23:17:00.000-05:00

Are you ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow? I spent some time today baking a salted caramel cheesecake pie and getting our cranberry sauce started. It was a rainy day and it felt great to be in the kitchen while the children played and did some crafting in preparation for the holidays! I love Thanksgiving weekend because it's a relaxing, low key start to our holiday season.

I sent in a small Thanksgiving snack to Harris' class today. I pieced these cute turkeys together from several that I had seen online. I tried to put a popsicle stick in the oreo but they kept breaking on me. And then I got frustrated and decided the children didn't care about a stick anyway. Right?

Speaking of turkeys, we got a fresh turkey this year. It was delivered last night and I can't wait to see if they are as good as everyone says that they are. It's a 19 pounder so we will be eating turkey for a long time...

Detective thank you notes

2011-11-22T18:25:00.000-05:00

Harris has been working on getting out his thank you notes for the lovely gifts he got on his birthday. I thought it would be fun for the boys that attended to see themselves as detectives. Plus, they are awfully cute!

In about 5 minutes I was able to create these fun cards in iphoto. It was quick, easy and they arrived the next day!

School Auction

2011-11-20T09:21:00.000-05:00

On Friday evening the PTO of the children's school hosted a fundraising auction for the school. Rachel, Gretchen and myself were the decorating committee for the event and I think it turned out really lovely. I thought I would share a few pictures that I snapped (they are low light and poorly done but you can get the gist!).

We kept the decorating scheme simple with black cloths, burlap runners and giant balloons.

P.S. I won a watercolor painting of our house, a perfect way to celebrate our construction/renovation coming to a close!

Mr. and Mrs. Pillowcases

2011-11-17T15:25:00.000-05:00

This morning I took a bit of time to work on a project that I've had in mind to do for a while- Mr. and Mrs. pillowcases! Whenever we take our own pillows on a trip I alway attach a clothes pin to my pillow because otherwise I can't tell mine and Bryce's a part. I dearly love my husband but I'm very attached to my pillow! I thought of taking them to be monogrammed but I decided to try my hand at embroidering them. I love how they turned out!

Are the stitches even and perfect? Not even close, but I sort of love the homemade look of them! The project took me a little over an hour to complete and now I'm thinking of all the other pillowcases I want to make. Wouldn't they be a fun wedding shower gift?

Rice Krispie Ice Cream Cones

2011-11-16T09:33:00.000-05:00

I'm taking a belated birthday treat into Harris' classroom today and I decided to make a treat that I've had bookmarked on pinterest for this very purpose (and no, mine did not turn out nearly as adorable as hers!). They are rice krispie treats dressed up to look like ice cream cones! I think they turned out rather cute, but I did have a difficult time with the candy melts because I couldn't get it thin enough to run down the sides. In the end I ended up globbing it on top and then shaking the treat with my hand to get it to smooth out.

I have a funny story about the making of these treats. I forgot to put the sprinkles on and was disappointed because they would have helped mask the messy candy melts. I decided to use my hairdryer to melt the candy melts enough for the sprinkles to stick. I poured the sprinkles in a bowl and started up the hairdryer. I then accidentally aimed the dryer at the bowl which caused approximately one million sprinkles to scatter throughout my kitchen and dining room! We will be finding sprinkles for days...

Favorite Things #15

2011-11-14T11:40:00.000-05:00

Often it's the little things that make you smile that bring joy into your life in an otherwise insignificant moment during your day. My coffee "cozy" is one of those things. Bryce gave it to me several years ago for Valentine's Day and I love using it. I keep it in my purse so that I can just pull it out when needed.

P.S. I know he purchased it on Etsy but I'm not sure from what storefront. It looks an awfully lot like these.

Countdown to Christmas

2011-11-12T14:26:00.001-05:00

Can you believe that the holidays are right around the corner? Neither can I. On the other hand, the children are so super excited that they have already been making lists and making gifts. In fact, there is already a gift sitting in the living room where our tree usually goes! It even has a homemade card (I know that kid spell is not as popular with teachers as it used to be, but I still love and encourage it!)!

A few weeks ago I printed out this darling printable from Giverslog to make a holiday to-do list*. I filled it in with all that I want to accomplish during the season so that I too can (hopefully) have a magical and relaxed holiday season. I feel good knowing that I at least have everything to do written down even if it's not done yet!

*She also has one that is already filled with things to get done!

The Shower

2011-11-10T16:40:00.001-05:00

Our bathroom is this close to being done! All that is left is painting, wallpaper install and some tweaks here or there! Our shower door was installed on Monday and it looks great. I love how the tiles, stone and marble all came together.

At Home Party Tips

2011-11-09T09:46:00.000-05:00

Thank you for your kind and gracious comments about Harris' detective party, each one made me smile and appreciate the fact that I get to share special moments in our lives with you. Thank you for reading.

We have hosted almost all of our birthday parties at our home, and both the children, for now, prefer that their parties are home based. Certainly that could change, but for now we are content to keep them here. I know that throwing children's birthday parties at home can be stressful and overwhelming but it can also be wonderfully fun. At home birthday parties also lend themselves to all sorts of imaginative things that can be hard to do elsewhere. I'm certainly no expert, but I've made a list of tips that I've learned about throwing at home parties and I thought I would share them with you, maybe they will be useful to someone!

1. Pick a theme. I could never have a party without a theme. Having a theme helps pull together every aspect of the party and helps you to make decisions about every element. Everything from favors, to cake, to activities are easier to come up with if you have a jumping off point.

2. Keep it small. Our house (and my nerves) are not large enough to have a whole class party in our home. We've always loosely gone by the rule of age- you can invite as many guests as you are old. The exception to this rule is the first birthday party- that's for the parents as much as for the child!

3. Keep the food simple but fun. I love Amy Atlas type food tables, and the past couple of years I have loved putting together a little food table. However, I've learned that going over the top doesn't pay off because the children cannot possibly eat all that food! Those tables make for a great gathering point and for terrific pictures but they aren't the party. The party is the children having fun together and celebrating a birthday!

4. Keep it short. We make almost all of the parties an hour and a half. It's enough time do some activities and eat cake!

5. Plan every moment of the party. I know that sounds over the top but having a timeline can help keep things from getting crazy. I plan enough activities to fill our time so that the children are together and busy the whole time. For me this is not the time for the children to run off and free play (remember that our birthdays are during the colder months so we are almost always inside!).

6. Send out themed invitations. Evites are huge and for good reason but it's nice to send out a themed invitation to get the children excited. Plus, the children don't often see the evite on the computer, it's exciting for them to see the invitation!

7. Don't worry about how clean your house is. The children do not care. Really.

How about you? What are some of your tips for a fun and smooth party?

P.S. The above picture is from Harris' first birthday. The house was a wreck.

A Detective Party

2011-11-07T16:25:00.001-05:00

Harris' detective party was so much fun for the children! I think that this might have been the most excited Harris has ever been for a party. And I have to confess that I believe it was the least prepared I've ever been. Two days before the guests arrived I still was unsure exactly what we were going to do! However, it all came together easily and swiftly in the end.

It was important to Harris that he look the part and he asked if I could try to find a trenchcoat for him. I kept striking out (I was unwilling to spend a lot of money) until I happened upon one on the Target website! He met his friends at the door looking very dapper!

We divided the party up into three "segments." First, we had detective school where the children learned and then practiced detective skills. We then took a break and ate cake (and licorice pipes and chocolate moustaches). Finally, we discovered that we had a true mystery to solve!

While I was looking for cake ideas I kept coming up with cute magnifying glass cakes, but since Harris was embracing the old fashioned Sherlock Holmes look I really wanted to reflect that in the cake. I had a vision of a fondant detective and when I broached the subject with Bryce he was willing to give it a try. I couldn't have asked for a cuter cake topper. Didn't it turn out adorable? The cake was chocolate with chocolate buttercream icing.

We kept the food really, really simple. In addition to the cake we served licorice pipes (Sherlock Holmes style) and chocolate moustaches. I called the chocolate milk Private Eye grog.

We started the party off by explaining that all good detectives have some important equipment that make their jobs easier. We gave each child a "briefcase" that contained a magnifying glass, moustaches, spy sunglasses and a notepad to take notes. The "briefcase" was a legal sized folder that was closed on three sides. I made a slit in the top so that the top flap would close and added a yarn handle. My dear friend Dawn made a detective society logo that was an awesome addition to the briefcases! The boys loved these briefcases. They carried them around for the rest of the party. These were also their take home gift. Grace also made name tags for everyone with code names. She did this on her own and they were such a great addition to the party!

Our first activity was playing an observational game. The children had to study a bookshelf and then try to figure out what was moved while they weren't looking. It was hard for them to do!

We learned how very important it is to be able to disguise yourself adequately. After they dressed up Bryce took their picture for their spy ID (which I'm planning on sending with thank you notes). How awesome are these guys?

We then moved on to decoding and secret messages. I showed them how to make invisible ink from a lemon and they each wrote a secret message.

We also worked on fingerprinting. Each child got fingerprinted and then studied their fingerprint with their magnifying glass. We then learned how to lift fingerprints with fingerprint powder and clear tape. The boys loved it! (I got the fingerprint kit at Michaels)

Soon after we were done with fingerprinting I "remembered" that I forgot to serve the thumbprint cookies (get it? thumbprint!) when I served cake. When we made it to the kitchen we discovered that there were only crumbs and no cookies. Someone had stolen the cookies! We had a mystery to solve!

Here were the steps we took to discover the Birthday Bandit...
1. We followed the trail of crumbs to the stair landing where we
2. discovered an open window!
3. The Bandit must have jumped out the window because there were muddy footprints leading into the grass
4. where we discovered a note written with invisible ink!
5. We decoded the note, which led us to the playhouse,
6. where we discovered an empty plate.
7. This led to mad running around until the Bandit was found hiding out!

Harris' Birthday

2011-11-06T12:49:00.001-05:00

Today my baby is 7.

One of my crystal clear memories of him is from when he just just days old. My Baby Club friends had gathered at our house bringing much needed and appreciated dinner and fellowship. Jen was holding Harris and he began to get rather fussy. As his fussiness escalated I finally reached out to take him to try to get him settled down. As soon as I laid him on my chest he quieted and I remember feeling such a surge of emotion as I realized how deeply connected we already were. That moment has stayed with me for the past seven years and I still feel that connection. I love him dearly and am so happy to be his Mom.

Here's my annual list of the top 10 things I love about Harris right now...

1. He loves to dress up and own the character he is playing.

2. He loves to work and will be very serious about whatever he is doing.

3. He's a dog whisperer, he loves dogs and dogs love him.

4. He adores his Dad.

5. His smile and his curls.

6. He will play for hours on end with his sister. They (usually) play beautifully together.

7. He has an amazing attitude about the foods he can't eat. It makes our life so much easier.

8. His imagination.

9. He loves to be outdoors.

10. His willingness to hold my hand, which I love doing.

P.S. His party was a rousing success! I'll share pictures tomorrow!

Tomie dePaola

2011-11-04T10:37:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, the children had the wonderful opportunity to meet the children's book author Tomie dePaola! I might have been more excited than they were.

Tomie dePaola talked to the children about how he came up with his stories and answered questions from the parents and the children. He has written over 250 books! It was really interesting to learn the history of his popular Strega Nona books and the origins of his newest book, Strega Nona's Gift. Harris had recently become quite smitten with the Strega Nona books so he was particularly excited to get an autographed copy of the new book.

He taught the children how to give a proper italian kiss- which of course was great fun for the children!

Dish Detergent Bottle

2011-11-03T11:40:00.000-04:00

Hi friends! This week has been a bit crazy with Halloween and birthday party planning (and life)! However, I wanted to share something with you that I meant to share months and months ago. Martha Stewart made decanting dish detergent into a pretty bottle a "good thing" and we have done it for years, but about a year ago our bottle broke. Instead of buying a new one I used an old Real Lemon bottle. The pouring spout (that you can buy by itself) fits the bottle top perfectly! Plus, the green color looks pretty sitting by the sink. I think that counts as a good thing all by itself!

A Halloween Snowstorm

2011-10-31T10:03:00.000-04:00

Wow. The past few days have been crazy and extraordinary. We had a snowstorm, in October! I knew we were going to get some flakes, but I was not prepared for a full day of falling snow. Neither were the trees because many of them still had their leaves on! Leaves and snow do not make for a good combination and we had lots of downed limbs and trees. Thus, we lost our power for 24 hours (we are lucky that was all it was, lots are still without power) and had to make a bit of adventure for ourselves!

*Out came the hats, mittens, winter coats and boots for some snow play. I should mention that I had not even gotten around to moving our pool bag out of the mudroom yet! When it was time to come in hot cocoa was served halloween style.

*Our great neighbors, who did not lose power, were gracious enough to have an impromptu dinner party and game night with us! It was super fun. We shouldn't wait until we have no power to do something like that.

*Saturday night was our scheduled pumpkin carving night, but we moved it to Sunday and then we moved it to my Mom's house! Going pumpkin picking in the snow was a first for me!

*Golly, we love roasted pumpkin seeds around here! I use a little olive oil and kosher salt and they are delicious!

*This years scary pumpkins.

Halloween Week Menu

2011-10-27T23:31:00.000-04:00

A few nights ago we began enjoying our dinners Halloween style. It's become a tradition and the children love it!

Halloween Week Menu

Open face jack-o-lantern turkey burgers (faces are cut out with cheese, like this)

Black bean soup with sour cream spider webs

Frankenstein Pizza*

Baked potato bugs

Chili with mummy dogs

Chicken Pot Pie with eyeballs in the crust

*I used pizza dough from our local pizzaria, and I put pepperoni over the whole pizza but under the cheese.

Detective Invitations

2011-10-26T11:37:00.000-04:00

It's that time again! Harris' birthday is in two weeks and we are having a small, at home party with a detective theme. I found the perfect invitation at Rifle Paper Co. I stamped each envelope "top secret" and added a mustache on the back for fun (in these pictures I've blurred our city name before the detective society). Now it's time to plan the party!

Halloween Costumes 2011

2011-10-24T10:20:00.001-04:00

Years ago, a friend told me to prepare myself for the day that the children would ask for store bought costumes because that is what all of their friends have. That day has never come, and I have a hard time imagining that it will. Even when the children toss around the idea of being something that would be easier to purchase in the store (Spiderman), they assume that their Grandma will make it for them. The costumes mean something to the children on a level that rises above one evening spent in costume. They represent tradition to the children and having something that is handmade by someone they love is still far more important than what their friends have. And for that I am thankful.

Harris has known he wanted to be a gnome since he received his beloved Gnomes book from the Easter Bunny. My Mom even made a padded belly for him!

For the first time ever, Grace had a bit of a hard time deciding what she wanted to be. However, while we were looking up ideas for Harris' costume she spotted this toadstool and knew she wanted to compliment Harris. Isn't it darling?

Our newest ornaments for the Halloween tree.

Grateful

2011-10-21T17:32:00.000-04:00

You know what? Today, I'm grateful. I'm grateful for...

rainbows,

the look of absolute happiness on Harris' face when I volunteered in his classroom,

a girl who love, love, loves to read,

the best book that I've read in a long time - Peace Like a River by Leif Enger,

brisk air and a blustery wind,

friends who remind me that girlfriends always have your back,

the Starbuck's pumpkin spice latte (I looked forward to having one all week!),

blogger friends and family who always leave the nicest comments and make me smile,

and the most darling Grandmom made costumes ever (I can hardly wait to share).

P.S. What are you grateful for today?

Playhouse Details

2011-10-19T10:54:00.001-04:00

Honestly, when I first envisioned how the playhouse would be decorated I had in my mind all of the beautiful, perfectly styled playhouses that I've seen on other blogs, pinterest and in magazines. It quickly became apparent that my children had ideas of how they wanted the playhouse to look and to be used, and I came to the realization that this is their space, not mine and it should be a reflection of them. Therefore, the children chose where their pictures would hang and what they wanted to be in the playhouse. I'm sure it will be ever evolving!

My friend, Sonja, suggested to Grace that no playhouse is complete without a mailbox. Grace took it to heart and we now have a petite mailbox to collect mail, notes and tiny packages!

We also have an adorable fox doorknocker, I love it's whimsy!

We moved the play kitchen that Al built for the children out to the house. The sunflower paintings, as well as some art Harris created, also found a new home in the playhouse.

Grace and Harris created some house rules.

The cleaning set should help with at least one of the rules (I can't wait to see how that goes!).

Every house needs a hook to hang your superhero cape on.

The children and I made a paper mache bunny to hang on the wall!

I needn't have worried about whether the playhouse would be used. The loft is a huge hit and the children have already spent hours in the house and in the loft (I've also taken a catnap in there!).

The Children's Playhouse

2011-10-17T11:25:00.000-04:00

I've never posted about the playhouse because we've still been putting finishing touches on it. However, I've realized that this little house is going to be just like our house in that it will continually be evolving and changing as the children grow. Time will determine how it is used and how it is "decorated."

Al built the frame for the house, Bryce completed a lot of the woodwork and details and the children and I painted it. It really was a family affair!

The door is one from our house that was taken out during the kitchen remodel and stored in our garage. Al cut the door in half in order to make a charming dutch door.

Plexiglass is in each window and the windows on the side and in the loft can all be opened. I also love the cedar shake on the roof! Maybe we will get lucky and some moss will grow up there!

Tomorrow I will post about the inside and the fun little details of the house!

House Paint Colors

2011-10-14T11:32:00.001-04:00

You may remember our decision to restore the cedar shake and clapboard siding on our house. It was really, really bad for a while, a long while, but it is now finally starting to get put back together!

One of the exciting things about it moving along is that we got to pick out new paint colors for the house. I found the process of picking paint colors to be rather nerve wracking because I want to get it just right! I want the house to be simple, pretty, classic, welcoming and warm. Is that too much to ask? We chose to go with gray for the house, white trim, black shutters and a red porch!

There are so many variations on the color gray! I didn't want a taupe gray or a blue-gray or a green-gray but rather a warm true gray, and I think I found it in the Benjamin Moore historic house colors. We are using two different grays for the top and bottom of the house but the difference is very subtle. We are keeping our red porch but using a brighter, truer red. Our shutters are already black and we are keeping with our white trim. Of course, I couldn't seem to get a very true picture of the colors but hopefully you get the idea.

Chore Charts

2011-10-12T14:09:00.001-04:00

We've struggled a bit with chores around our house. I feel that it is really important for the children to participate in the running of our household, but oftentimes we neglect to really enforce the chores that the children are assigned. I believe (hope) that the children do not purposefully avoid their chores but rather they simply forget or get busy with their day. I'm a list maker, and I do much better with getting things done if I can have the satisfaction of crossing things off of my list. I thought the same might be true for the children so I created a daily chart of sorts for the children.

I made up the chart and then had the children decorate it. I had them each laminated at a copy center, this way we can use a vis-a-vis marker to write on it every day and wipe it off every night.

Included on the chart are their daily must dos, any extra chores that we might assign to them and a reminder of what is going on during their day other than school. So far this method seems to be working, and I'm hoping that the novelty won't wear off for any of us!

Bathroom Cabinets and Countertops

2011-10-11T12:41:00.000-04:00

Our bathroom cabinets and counter tops have been installed and I absolutely love them! Bryce and I each have our own vanity/sink area and from the beginning I knew that I wanted our vanities to be the same but with a feminine/masculine feel to them. I had in mind using some sort of onlay and was thrilled when I found one I loved in the catalog of our cabinet maker. It features a bow, of course!

Bryce's vanity is taller than mine (kitchen cabinet height) and has no onlay. I'm really happy with the piece of marble that we picked out, the pictures really don't do it justice!

We also had an outlet put in the back of my cabinet, behind a drawer that will hold my hair dryer and such.

Getting Closer...

2011-10-09T22:19:00.000-04:00

The bathroom is getting closer and closer to being done (the porch looks exactly like it did three months ago)! I can hardly wait to soak in the tub!

Patio Fabric

2011-10-06T10:23:00.000-04:00

You might remember the fabric I was thinking of using on our screened porch? Well, I've completely ditched it and gone in a new direction. Honestly, the gray and striped fabric just wasn't setting me on fire, it was pretty but I didn't love it. After seeing a friend's outdoor fabric, I started on a hunt to find a Scalamandre indoor/outdoor fabric with jumping frogs (Calabassas County). Unfortunately, the fabric has been discontinued but I lucked out and found a remnant of 2 yards online. I'm praying that it will be enough for throw pillows (the furniture company doesn't think it will be) because there doesn't seem to be any left anywhere! Isn't the fabric fun and cheery? Just as a porch should be!

Pumpkins

2011-10-05T10:19:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that October is already here! As ready for fall as I have been, I haven't been in much of a Halloween mood (just ask my Mom who has been trying to get me to focus on costumes!). Because of our ongoing ~~chaos~~ construction at the house I'm not able to put pumpkins, mums and fall decorations out on the steps and I believe that that has helped to put a damper on my enthusiasm. However, the children are not lacking for enthusiasm and were super excited to decorate the house yesterday. So we put on some halloween music, poured some cider and pulled out our Halloween bins! And do you know what? Their enthusiasm and the decorations combined to get me excited as well! Plus, it's always fun to switch things up in the house!

This year, I pulled all of our pumpkins together for a cute display on the cake plates. I love how cheerful they look!

Favorite Things #14

2011-10-04T12:31:00.000-04:00

Remember the ipad that we got? I don't use it very often but when I do it's most often to read a recipe while I'm cooking. Unfortunately, it wasn't very convenient sitting on the countertops and I worried that I was going to get it really messy. I started wishing for a way to mount it to the cabinets and I've finally found one! It's made by Griffin Technology and while it's not perfect (Bryce thinks it holds the ipad a little too loosely) it has worked beautifully for me. When you are not using the holder you just push it up into the bottom of the cabinet.

When I ordered the device I believed that it would be invisible when not in use, I didn't realize that you would be able to see it's arms when it is nestled up into the cabinet. I put off installing it for a few days because I worried that it would really bother me every time I looked at it since I like the clean lines of my cabinets. However, I can honestly say that I haven't given it a thought and the benefits outweigh that particular negative. Plus, I live in my kitchen so anything that makes life easier gets a big thumbs up.

P.S. Anyone have recommendations for apps for the ipad that I should have/use?

Dinner and a Movie- The Water Horse

2011-10-03T10:21:00.000-04:00

We used to do dinner and movie nights a lot. We would watch the Little Mermaid and eat seafood or watch Curious George and have banana pancakes. The children always loved it and it made dinner a little special for those family nights. However, somewhere along the way those dinners disappeared, along with our regular monthly family nights! We've decided to make Family Nights a priority again and we started with dinner and a movie.

Months ago we read the book, The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith and really enjoyed the sweet, simple story of friendship, hope and love. I thought the children would enjoy the movie but, I was stuck on themed food. In the end, I ended up sticking a dinosaur bath toy in each of the children's soup (I washed it well!) and hoped it looked like the loch ness monster! I think the children got a kick out of a toy being in their food as much as anything else. I also made pudding for dessert and stuck a cut up gummy worm in it (I used a food writers pen to draw the eye). I'm not sure why I thought the loch that the water horse lived in was swampy looking- I'm pretty sure the lochs in Scotland are crystal clear and beautiful not brown and dirty looking.

I have to note that the children didn't enjoy the movie as much as I had hoped. They found it scary in several parts because of the addition to the story of the war and bomb attacks. Also, Harris was devastated by the idea that the boy wouldn't see his "best friend" ever again. Having read the story, I assumed that the movie would continue in the same vein and I didn't preview the movie before watching it. That was an error on my part, especially knowing how sensitive my children are to movies.

Paper towels vs. towels

2011-09-28T10:22:00.002-04:00

Did I ever tell you that we gave up using paper towels? We did and it has been so much easier than I would ever, ever have anticipated! After reading about the huge amount of waste that is created each and every day by paper towels (not to mention deforestation, toxins emitted by the bleaching process, and fossil fuels used in transportation), I was curious whether or not this was something that we could give up in our household. It's now been a year and a half and we haven't missed them at all!

I purchased these towels to use in the paper towel's place and they are still going strong! They are a bit smaller than a normal paper towel, but that hasn't been an issue. Also, I just throw them in the wash with my regular loads of laundry- I don't do a special load just for them. We keep them in our tilt out door in our sink cabinet, I love that counter space is not taken up with a paper towel dispenser anymore!

I just want to encourage you to think about trying to use less/no papertowels. Our environmental issues seem so massive and large but I really believe that we can make a difference! Please share what efforts your family is making so that we can learn from each other!

Favorite Things #13

2011-09-27T09:07:00.000-04:00

Life is short, so I've been wearing sparkly shoes to pick-up. And grocery shopping. And lunch. And pretty much everywhere.

These shoes are comfortable and seem to go with everything. Plus, they make me smile!

A little letter to fall

2011-09-25T15:10:00.000-04:00

Fall 2007

Dear Fall,
Why did you abandon us? For a few glorious days you teased us into buying cider, wrapping up in quilts and pulling out our flannel pajamas. Your mysterious disappearance has prompted a warm, damp and very humid substitute to take your place, but he is not welcome here anymore. Nats and mosquitoes are taking advantage of your absence. Windows have once again been shut. Shorts and sandals that had been given time off have been called back into service. The massive amounts of moisture are causing pumpkins and gourds, your very symbols of the season, to rot on their stems (not to mention making it very difficult for any work to get done on my house). People who are normally cheerful beings have turned grumpy and lethargic. You, and you alone, can turn this tide around. Please, please come back and reclaim your rightful place! We miss you.

Love,
Anna, Bryce, Harris and Grace

Legging Jeans for Grace

2011-09-22T10:00:00.000-04:00

I've been working on switching out the children's clothes for the upcoming season. While I do so I always take the opportunity to discard out-grown clothes and access what the children will need in the upcoming season.

One of the large gaps in Grace's wardrobe is always pants. Grace is very, very sensitive to clothing. She has been for as long as I can remember. She cannot stand for things to be too loose or too tight, she doesn't like anything that doesn't sit at her natural waist (no low rise for her!), and zippers, buttons and stiff material are usually no good! So you can imagine that jeans are not really an option for Grace. In fact, I can count on both hands the times that she has worn jeans and been happy in them! Skirts, skorts, dresses and leggings are staples for Grace.

However, I'm happy to report that I think we have finally found our saving Grace! We recently bought legging jeans at Gap and they are perfection! They fit like leggings but look like skinny jeans! The waist is elastic and is not low rise. Also, there are no buttons or zippers! She loves them!

She liked them so much that we went ahead and bought a pink pair too!

Beer Bread

2011-09-21T09:38:00.000-04:00

As the weather has cooled down around here, I have found myself having the urge to cook soup once again. Oh, how I love soup! And the only thing that makes soup even better is warm from the oven bread! I have a favorite go-to bread that gives all of the pleasure of serving my family fresh, homemade bread without the hassle of waiting hours for the bread to rise. It's Beer Bread*! Our whole family loves it, it's healthy and it couldn't be easier. Seriously, it takes 5 minutes to throw together and is ready to eat thirty minutes later!

Beer Bread

1 12oz bottle of beer (use a beer without preservatives)

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached flour

4 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan warm up the beer and maple syrup (I've also done this in a measuring cup in the microwave). Mix together remaining ingredients, pour warm liquid into the flour mixture and mix it up. Pour batter into well-buttered loaf pan. Bake for 30 minutes.

*This recipe is adapted from a Susan Branch recipe. And when I say adapted I really mean that I just leave out the Caraway Seeds that she includes in hers! Susan Branch now has a blog! I just love her.

Favorite Things #12

2011-09-19T09:56:00.000-04:00

I'm not a huge jewelry wearing person. I wear the same rings and the same earrings every single day. However, I love, love, love my necklace from Nest Pretty Things by Tamar. I perhaps wear it a little too often, but I figure that means I just need another one. Right? It's one of those necklaces that you put on and instantly feel feminine and pretty.

You really must peruse Tamar's etsy site! She is offering a 10% discount right now, so it's the perfect time to buy Christmas gifts!

Bathroom Tile

2011-09-15T11:25:00.000-04:00

Our new bathroom is getting tiled this week! It's finally starting to feel like it might all come together! I thought I would share the tile that we picked out for the bathroom. As you can see, we went with very subtle, neutral colors.

Our floor tile is 12x12 and we are laying it on the diagonal. For our shower we are using two different sizes of white subway tile.

At the tile store I fell in love with this little tile. It has everything I wanted in it- Carrara marble, white marble and some taupe colored stone or marble! I had visions of this on the shower floor but, unfortunately, it was way out of our budget (that seems to happen to me a lot!). A happy compromise was to buy one sheet of it and use it as an accent in the shower!

For the floor of the shower we are going with a flat stone. Bryce has always loved this look and I think it fits right in with our other picks!

Compost

2011-09-14T09:49:00.001-04:00

We started composting a year or so ago, but it wasn't until this summer that we got serious about it! Our first decision was to decide what sort of receptacle we wanted to use. After reading an article in Martha Stewart Living I decided on a three bin design from the Iowa State University Extension. This design is a bit of overkill for us but hopefully we can grow into it!

Bryce (with Ron's help) built the bins over the course of several weeks. It's a simple but efficient design. The slats in the front are removable so that it is easier to get to the compost and it allows you to have several brews at several different stages (we are clearly not to that point!).

I've been surprised at how much I love to check up on how the compost is doing! It's oddly exciting to check on the progress. I'm still learning what makes a great compost (I'm concerned mine is not hot enough) but we are off to an exciting start! The whole family has shown fantastic interest in the composting and the children now automatically compost banana peels, carrot shavings and the like.

I found a fantastic book for children on composting. We learned so much from Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals, I had no idea one could compost dryer lint! The illustrations are very fun to look at and it definitely gets the children excited about composting. I would highly recommend it to future composters or current composters*.

We use this compost bin from Crate and Barrel. It's the perfect size to fit under our kitchen sink. It's big enough to fit a fair amount of material in but small enough that the children can easily carry it to the compost pile. We've never had a problem with smell.

*I'm not sure that composters is a word. But I like it.

Porch Furniture

2011-09-12T10:35:00.004-04:00

I spent a lot of the weekend trying to figure out porch furniture. Though the porch is nowhere even close to being done, I wanted to get a jump start on it. From the moment we decided to add a screened in porch to the house, I've had a vision of what I wanted it to look like. I've always envisioned a comfy seating area around the fireplace and a dining area with a long table! In my minds eye there is lots of open space and room to move around. In reality, it's going to be "cozy" and a little tight to fit everything in. I'm sure that it would make more sense to give up one of my areas but I just can't do it. My heart is set upon having both.

There has been a little bit of debate as to whether we should go with wood, metal or wicker for the porch. I've always had in mind wicker, not sure why, and I found a line of wicker which I really love by Lane Venture. I really, really wanted a sofa out there but after doing some measuring I realized that the sofa might be an impossibility. I was having a hard time visualizing the space so I ended up making "furniture" from newspaper and catalogues that were in our recycling. It worked out great and quickly helped me realize what would and wouldn't fit.

sofa and two lounge chairs

I think that we are going to get two "cuddle chairs" and flank the fireplace with them. In the place of two lounge chairs we will use dining arm chairs. Even though they aren't as comfortable as a lounge chair might be, they can do double duty as dining chairs and sitting around chairs. It's always nice in a tight space to have multiple uses for something.

cuddle chairs and two dining chairs

I would get white furniture and so my fabric options are really limited. Apparently, most people do not buy white furniture so the fabric choices are geared toward fabrics that compliment darker furniture. Go figure. I'm considering this combination...

Thoughts???

School goals- for me

2011-09-09T12:30:00.000-04:00

With the start of school I find myself, for the first time in 9 years, with 7 hours a day without children! To be perfectly honest, I'm incredibly sad and overwhelmed about it. Of course, it will be lovely to have time to wander the aisles of Target, grocery shop and have the occasional lunch with friends without my trusty sidekicks. But as the children have gotten older I find that I crave time to myself less and less often. The children are no longer so very dependent on me- they go off and play for huge chunks of time, so I have time to myself even if they are home with me. I can start a project and finish it. I can cook dinner without a million interruptions. I can have and finish a phone conversation. I can run errands with the children and it's actually helpful. And all of these things have evolved so slowly that I didn't even realize it was happening!

I've struggled with the children getting older. I've loved every new stage and they are at an exciting and interesting age right now, but I see their childhood slipping by a little too fast for my taste. I feel so very blessed and fortunate that I have been able to experience every moment with the children and I don't want that to end, not just for me but for the children as well. Just because they are older doesn't mean they need me any less (I hope!).

However, I feel that now that they are both in school full time I need to redefine my "job." Does that mean I need to think about going back to work outside of the home? I'm not ready, nor do I think my family is ready, for that. But I want to do something... I just haven't figured out what that something is. Hopefully, this year it will become clear to me. In the meantime, I have made some goals for myself in the hopes that I can find a new rhythm to my day.

Less time on the computer- no computer before the children go to school or after they get home

More creating

Plan more activities with the children, Bryce and as a family

Be more intentional in my days- have a plan

Make exercise a part of my lifestyle (walking, biking, gardening, etc.)

Find a volunteer position that I'm passionate about

Attend all PTO meetings

Learn to sew

What about you? Have you had a transition to make? What made it easier?

First Day

2011-09-08T09:17:00.000-04:00

It's official. The children have gone back to school and our fall routine has been set in motion! Both children were excited but a little nervous for their first day. Unfortunately, opening ceremonies had to be cancelled due to (excessive) rain but they didn't seem to be too unsettled by that change of plans.

Do you know what I dread the most about school starting? Lunches. Every year I determine that this is going to be the year that I faithfully send the children off to school with good, healthy lunches. And every year Grace buys lunch at school more and more and more throughout the year! That has to end this year because Harris cannot buy lunch at school. For their first day I sent in this cute lunch...

I thought it was super cute, but I must admit that it will not happen with any regularity for several reasons. 1. it took too long to make 2. it fell apart in their lunch boxes (seriously, Harris had no idea his sandwich was supposed to be a pencil!) 3. it's a little too much wasted food for me (all those scraps of cheese and bread!)

Even though the children won't be getting "artistic" lunches all the time, I would still like to send a variety of food. Any ideas or suggestions are welcome!

Back to School Celebration

2011-09-06T23:09:00.004-04:00

I can hardly believe that it's already September, and I really can't believe that it's already time for the children to head back to school. Tomorrow is the children's first day back in school, and we celebrated tonight with our annual "back to school celebration."

Harris loved helping put the alphabet vase together and running around the house in search of letters to spell our names for the place settings! The zinnias are from the children's garden.

We had our usual alphabet soup and letter breadsticks for our meal. For dessert I made chalkboard cupcakes that turned out adorable and could not have been any easier!

At the end of the evening we gave the children their school cones. Of course, they were delighted with them!

I can't believe that we have a first grader and a fourth grader! How is this possible?

Construction Update

2011-09-02T22:51:00.000-04:00

Our construction project is moving along at what seems to be a snail's pace. We are now officially three months into the project, which is how long it was originally going to take for the whole thing to be done! Every time I start to get too antsy I try to remind myself how lucky I am to be getting a new bathroom and porch at all!

Even if it doesn't always feel like it, things are getting done and they are working on the house everyday! Our fireplace (on the screened porch) is in and the stone is pretty much complete on the outside. I love how it turned out.

Dry walling is almost complete in the bathroom.

(This is where my little vanity from Bryce is going to go!)

Longwood Gardens and Bruce Hornsby

2011-09-01T10:12:00.000-04:00

We've recently taken an overnight trip to Longwood Gardens to see Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers in concert (Bryce is a devoted fan!). It was the children's first concert and Bryce was excited to share the experience with them!

We originally had planned to spend the afternoon at the Enchanted Gardens but when we pulled up we discovered that they are closed on Mondays! Oops. That was a disappointment, but we recovered and spent time hiking* at the Brandywine State Park instead.

Our accommodations for the evening were amazing! We stayed at The Inn at Montchanin and loved every minute of it.

( I'm sad that this picture of us is out of focus! It's always very hard for others to take our picture with the Nikon!)

Our tickets to the concert included the day at Longwood Gardens so we spent the whole day exploring. They have a fantastic indoor children's garden in which no detail has been left behind! Every sight in the gardens is more spectacular than the next! We really enjoyed it.

The concert was great and we left with tired, but happy, children and one very happy husband!

*I had dressed for the day in anticipation of a leisurely day spent at the enchanted gardens so it was very humorous that I ended up hiking on a very muddy, overgrown hiking path (we even had to climb under a fallen tree!) in a pink and white dress with very flat sandals on!

Fruit Art Palette

2011-08-31T09:29:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry for this very poor picture, but I was in a hurry and didn't take time to see if I got a good shot! As we were working on one of our art pieces, I served the children this fruit art palette. I originally thought I would serve mini-cupcakes with different colored icing but a healthy snack and ease won out!

P.S. I promise the palette was clean!

Sunflowers

2011-08-30T00:22:00.000-04:00

In the children's garden we have a most magnificent sunflower! It stretches toward the sky and is heaven for about 5 bumblebees at any given time.

After reading, Camille and the Sunflowers, A story about Vincent van Gogh by Laurence Anholt we spent an afternoon painting our sunflower. I set the easel up in the garden, gave each child a canvas and some paints and told them to paint the sunflower however they saw fit.

I think that the results were darling- including the bees.

P.S. I want to note that I have found that the children respond the most favorably to creating when they have quality art supplies. I don't really buy "children's" paints anymore. Rather, I've found that it's not too much more expensive to buy artists paint at Michael's (especially if I use a coupon). The results are worth it!

Anholt's Artists

2011-08-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

As we are nearing the end of the summer we have finally found some time to do some themed activities! Instead of a theme day, we have been taking our time and exploring our subject, art and artists, at a leisurely pace. Have you read Laurence Anholt's series of children's books about famous artists (I believe there are 9)? It's a fantastic series that explores a specific artist through the eyes of a child who was involved in the artist's life.

The illustrations are wonderful and incorporate the artists real work! These books manage to convey a lot about the artists and yet stay engaging as a story for children. At the end of each book there is an "information" page that gives more details about the artists life. The children and I both love these books and we learn a little about famous artists. What more could one ask for out of a book?

Favorite Things #11

2011-08-26T09:50:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from The Land of Nod offering a 20% off coupon for anything in the store. I had been wanting to purchase their wire bin to corral the numerous balls we have floating around in our garage, so I headed over to their website. Of course, while I was there I had to check out a few other things and I came upon something that made me get all excited and happy!

You see I have a love for first aid supply bins- especially vintage looking ones! In my excitement I ordered both the red and white because I couldn't decide which to get (and I had a coupon!). I had the intention of returning one after I decided which one would work best for us. Guess what? I love them both and have put them to use holding all of our first aid supplies and medicines! It was a terrific opportunity to go through our supplies, throw away expired medicine and make a list of lacking supplies. Also, it freed up a tremendous amount of space! Bonus!

P.S. I still love my mudroom first aid kit- it gets used all the time!

Angel Parking

2011-08-25T09:22:00.002-04:00

While we were in Iowa, we stopped by the church Bryce went to as a child. He told us about how for years he thought this sign said angel parking instead of angle parking! Isn't that so cute?

Iowa State Fair

2011-08-24T15:54:00.000-04:00

We timed our trip to Iowa so that we could attend the Iowa State Fair while we were there (that's another item checked off of our Empty Nest List!). The fair was so large that there is no way we could have seen it all, but I think we gave it a valiant effort! My only regret? I didn't try any of the food on a stick!

Iowa! (Wisconsin and Illinois too!)

2011-08-24T15:44:00.000-04:00

We've recently gotten back from a trip to Iowa! Bryce has a lot of family there and though we did a lot of driving during the week we were so happy to be able to visit with almost all of his family! Bryce's parents even made the trip from Colorado to join us! I love visiting Iowa, the rows and rows of corn and soybeans are so beautiful to me, as are the farm houses and outbuildings surrounded by trees. Oddly, I didn't come home from our trip with an excess of pictures- I was too busy visiting with everyone!

Our first two nights were spent at Russ and Lana's beautiful farm. On Saturday much of the family came over for lunch. We also managed to fit in a game of Peanuts which made Bryce very happy! It was wonderful for the children to get to play with their cousins.

We had dinner with James and Jackie (and his parents too!).

We traveled to Leah and Aaron's new house and got to feast our eyes on sweet Addie!

We made a one night stop in Madison, Wisconsin to visit our friends Mark and Lori. We got a little tour of the beautiful city of Madison, and Bryce got to ride and drive in his dream car!

We had a short visit in the suburbs of Chicago with our friend Leslie. We even got to dip our toes in Lake Michigan!

We headed home (but not into the field of dreams!)....

Prom- 80's style

2011-08-22T22:52:00.006-04:00

Our fun friends, Tucker and Cathy, celebrated a big birthday this summer and decided to have an 80's prom themed party to mark the milestone (Tucker didn't get to attend a prom while in high-school!). Everyone was asked to come in appropriate formal wear and I loved how all the guests had such a great sense of humour and were good sports about it. It was definitely the best prom I ever attended!

I wore my own prom dress from 1989! I tried to get my hair as big as I possibly could, I even used rollers, but I still couldn't achieve the volume that I used to get to back in the day!

Bryce, being the good prom date that he is, even brought me a corsage!

Of course, every prom must have a balloon arch...

and a cheesy (note the wicker chair!) photo backdrop for the awkward and cheesy pictures that will be taken of happy couples.

Are you ready for a nice, hearty laugh? 1989.

Oh, yeah.

A Poem

2011-08-21T19:11:00.000-04:00

Hello friends! Phew, it has been a busy, busy week and a half! I have lots to share- an Iowa vacation, continuing construction and one super fun prom(!) party, but I need another day to sort through all the pictures. Instead, I thought I would share this poem that Grace wrote about a wolf. I think that it is pretty great and I love that she's a writer!

The Wind Again

by Grace

That something inside of me

urging me

telling me

wanting me

The wind

Then I answer

I howl like never before

My muzzle reaches to the sky

like a rocket shooting up from its platform

I lurch out

My legs like pistols

I fly through the snow

like a racehorse

victory a mile away

I am the wind again.

P.S. The above picture is one of my favorite pictures of Grace. It was taken by Harris on my phone!

Siding (and a blog vacation!)

2011-08-11T00:12:00.001-04:00

Remember our siding dilemma? Today we took the plunge and by 9:00 the front of our house was without the vinyl siding. It is very exciting but also very nerve wracking- I've been a bundle of nerves all day. Was it the right decision? Has our house officially become a money pit? Will the old siding be worth saving? Will we regret this? What color am I going to paint it?

We really had no intention of taking the siding off but in the end we just couldn't put it back on. Some of the siding looks great, some looks not as great and some is inexplicably missing but all in all our contractors thought it was good news what they found. We've still got a long way to go, but at least we've gotten a good start!

Our next week or two is very busy and I'm not sure how much I will be posting- if at all. I hope you all have a good week (or two!).

A letter to Harris

2011-08-07T22:28:00.000-04:00

Dear Harris,
I want to let you know that I think that you are just great. I love what a hard worker you are and I'm amazed at how willing you are to jump in and "own" a project. Did you realize that you have painted about 75% of the playhouse by yourself over the past two days? I think you love working hard at something. In fact, I think that it gives you joy to work and make something with your hands and heart. And I believe you get a lot of satisfaction out of a job well done. Just like your Dad. Tonight, while we were painting the inside of the playhouse we discussed something that is very important for you to understand. I told you that you were going to be just like your Dad and know how to do a lot of stuff and you said that you got it from your Dad and your Grandpa and that you would teach your son (and I reminded you that you could teach your daughter too!). It's important to remember how much others can teach us. While we were talking and working I was reminded of how proud of you I really am. I love you.~ Mom

P.S. Could you please pretend that you didn't notice that after repeatedly telling you not to let your brush drip it was I who kept dripping paint everywhere!

Sconces and mixed finishes

2011-08-04T21:47:00.003-04:00

We have been making a lot of decisions about our master bathroom the past several weeks. Tiles, faucets, cabinets, sconces, mirrors and a tub have all been chosen and ordered! I'm super excited about the way that it is coming together and can't wait to see the finished product. As you may know, I love and adore my kitchen, and I wanted our bathroom to have the same look and feel but in bathroom form! We've chosen a lot of similar elements for the bathroom as we already have in the kitchen- white cabinets, marble, wood and some vintage lights!

Months and months ago I picked up a pair of old sconces for a song at a consignment store. Of course, I was drawn immediately to the bows and couldn't resist them (my electrician is probably going to want to throttle me- they don't have a back and won't cover a modern junction box!). I've really worried about the fact that I'm going to be mixing finishes in the bathroom. The sconces (and a chandelier) are brass and my faucet fixtures are going to be nickel. Would it make the bathroom look helter skelter or like a room that has come together over time? I fretted and fretted over this detail and yet today I looked at my range in the kitchen and realized that it too has mixed finishes! I love my range, so here's to hoping I love the mixed finishes in the bathroom!

Herb Pesto

2011-08-02T21:34:00.000-04:00

Last week I went on a bit of a pesto making frenzy. One of my all time favorite foods is pesto and so when I found recipes in Southern Living for different varieties of pesto I knew that I wanted to try them. The mint pesto was not our favorite (though Marilyn thought it was good) and I wouldn't make it again but the herb pesto? It was very, very good and will be added to our recipe box!

I love that I can get a lot of the ingredients from my herb garden and that it has a variety of uses. So far we have had the pesto atop fish and chicken and mixed in with scrambled eggs! Delicious!

Herb Pesto (from Southern Living Magazine)

2/3 cup olive oil

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves*

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup pine nuts**

1/4 cup cold water

1 to 2 garlic cloves

2 Tbsp. fresh oregano leaves

1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as needed.

*I used curly parsley because that is what I had.

** I toasted the pine nuts because I like the flavor that brings out!

Out of the mouths of babes...

2011-08-01T21:58:00.000-04:00

My sister and her son, Brendan, are here visiting for a few days and we went on a little adventure today. Here's a snippet of conversation from the car ride (a little paraphrased except for Harris' contribution!)...

Brendan: Why isn't Uncle Bryce going with us?

Anna: Uncle Bryce had to go to work today.

Brendan: Why can you go with us?

Delita: It's not that Aunt Anna doesn't work, she just doesn't go to a job everyday like your Mom and Dad do. Isn't that nice?

Harris: She works for us!

A Visit with Grandparents

2011-07-31T11:40:00.001-04:00

Bryce's parents left us yesterday to travel home after spending a little over a week with us. It was a good week. Unfortunately, the beginning of the week found Bryce very sick (we are still waiting on the full blood work but it is most likely tick related) and we were worried that the whole week was going to be a bit of a wash. However, the second round of antibiotics worked some magic and Bryce was slowly able to be a part of things.

One afternoon we traveled to a state park where there is giant boulder field. When you hit the rocks with a hammer they "ring" in different tones. Harris loved hitting those rocks with hammers!

Gran helped Grace with building a permanent fairy house.

Al spent most of the week building the children a playhouse. Friends, this playhouse it so charming and fun that I'm ready to move in. I can't wait to share it with you!

We went out to dinner to celebrate Al and Marilyn's 27th wedding anniversary!

Tic Tac Toe in the Garden

2011-07-28T10:16:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of the summer I spotted this post on Ohdeedoh that featured a children's garden in Virginia. As you may have realized, I am a sucker for children' s gardens! One of the (many) things I loved about this garden was the tic tac toe game they had created and so we set out to recreate something similar in our own children's garden.

We used stone that we already had and Bryce cut it using his tile saw. I found cast iron critters at Amazon and sprayed them with clear Rustoleum to stop them from rusting since I plan on keeping them outside. We tucked in some moss in the crevices of the game and hope that more will grow! I love that it adds a bit of whimsy to the garden!

Construction Update

2011-07-26T10:09:00.000-04:00

Our smallish addition is moving right along! I thought I'd share some pictures of the progress being made.

Our whole house got a new roof. I think it looks pretty sharp!

Also? Bryce's parents are visiting this week and Al has started a construction project of his own by the children's garden. Any guesses what it might be?

Favorite Things #10

2011-07-25T13:49:00.000-04:00

Our neighbors just got back from an incredible four week trip to Paris! Can you believe that? They have been waiting for a long time to do this, and I was so excited to hear that their trip exceeded all of their expectations! It was a trip of a lifetime and it has definitely got me thinking about whether or not we will ever be able to do something similar (we went to Paris for a week years ago and I loved everything about it!).

Before they left, Marci asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything specific and my immediate answer was Laduree macaroons! I've seen these famous macaroons around the blog and in magazines and I thought that I would love to try them straight from Paris. They did not disappoint! The packaging was gorgeous as were the macaroons themselves! Thank you to John, Marci, and Hannah!

Our Rainbow Garden

2011-07-22T19:15:00.000-04:00

I'm super excited today to share a project that has been 8 or 9 months in the making! Last fall, the children and I started a rainbow garden inspired by the book, Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert.

We picked a spot right by our driveway so that we could enjoy it as much as possible. I will admit that I was a little worried that the garden would not be very pretty to look at because of the riot of color (in a straight line no less!) but that has proven to be an unfounded concern. One of the best things about the garden has been the continual surprises and color. Once one plant fades another takes up the slack! The garden has been delightful to watch grow and bloom!

We mostly used plants that were suggested in the book though we did have to scale back a little due to size constraints. We planted tulip, daffodil, crocus and iris bulbs in the fall and were thrilled when they poked up this spring!

With the exception of the zinnias, we planted the rest of the garden with plants from the nursery. The green zinnias were from seed and the lavender was already planted. Unbelievably, the hardest color to get was red! We planted a red rose but it turned out to be hot pink! Also, we had planted an orange poppy that was doing wonderfully and was ready to pop open, but we came home one day to discover that the bud had fallen off!

Yellow and Oranges

Purples

Blue

Green

Red?

Moonshot and Moon Pies

2011-07-20T22:52:00.003-04:00

Forty-two years ago Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first set foot on the moon! Isn't that simply astounding? It absolutely blows my mind that cell phones and computers weren't a household staple but we were able to put someone on the moon!

I thought that today was a great day to read, Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca to the children, and since we haven't made anything together in the kitchen lately, we tried our hand at making old fashioned Moon Pies.

Moonshot is a gorgeously, and realistically, illustrated story of Apollo 11's trip to the moon. It's a wealth of information in several different formats- there is an illustrated timeline on the front pages and an essay detailing the history of the flight on the back.

In an effort to not have to go to the store, I cobbled together several different recipes to make the Moon Pies. I used this recipe for the graham cracker cookies and this recipe for homemade marshmallow fluff. I sort of cheated and spread chocolate on the top of each Moon Pie instead of dipping the whole thing. A big glass of cold milk was a perfect accompaniment!

Butterbeer

2011-07-18T09:56:00.001-04:00

Kathleen and I have tried four different butterbeer recipes in the past two days, and I'm sorry to report that we still have not found "the one."

Three of the recipes we tried used cream soda as the base of the drink and three involved ice cream. They were all good but all a little too sweet. In my mind, the butterbeer that Harry, Ron and Hermione enjoy is not a dessert drink.

The first one we tried used a whipped cream head for the cream soda base with a little added butter extract.

Next, we tried a drink that had spices and butter mixed in with the ice cream and warm cream soda poured over the ice cream. This one was actually very tasty but did not have much of a butter undertone at all.

We mixed butterscotch syrup with ice cream and poured cold cream soda on the ice cream. This one just tasted like a cream soda float.

Lastly, we tried the same ice cream combination as above (cinnamon, nutmeg, butter and brown sugar) with warm apple cider. I thought this one had the most potential but it had too much of an apple pie taste! However, I thought it looked great!

Next time, we are going to try to make butterscotch syrup and add that to various combinations, maybe with some rum extract? The search goes on...

Harry Potter

2011-07-15T17:13:00.001-04:00

It's that time again! Kathleen arrived on Wednesday in time to keep our tradition of going to see the Harry Potter movies together (we also always got the books together!). I can hardly believe that it is over, it makes me sad all over again. I'm really thankful that I got to be a part of the Harry Potter phenomenon and a little sad that my children will not experience it in the same way that I did. I believe those of us that got to read the series over the ten years it took for all the books to be released were the lucky ones! The waiting for the next book, the midnight readings, the endless wondering and discussing of plot twists and turns was all part of the magic for me. As crazy as it sounds, Harry is/was very real to me and I will miss him! Though when the time comes I will very much enjoy reading it with the children!

Yesterday, we went to Harry Potter, The Exhibition in NYC. It was really fun and unbelievable how much effort went in to making the movies authentic. The details are amazing.

What about you? Are you a Potter fan?

P.S. Tonight we are taste testing a few recipes for Butterbeer. I'll report our findings tomorrow!

Lavender

2011-07-12T12:15:00.000-04:00

As you might remember, I have a love for lavender. A few years ago, I planted lavender that has done beautifully, and this year I decided to try my hand at harvesting some of the buds and drying them out.

However, before we dried out the buds, we used the fresh lavender to make Lavender Tea Cookies. I use Susan Branch's recipe and we all love them. We especially delight in Susan's description of being able to "taste breath of bees" in the cookies.

I felt wonderfully domestic having bundles of lavender hanging in my kitchen!

After two weeks, the children and I picked all the dried buds off of the stem.

We saved the stems in little bundles to use in the fire pit so that we can enjoy the wonderful aroma of lavender in the fall!

A Garden Party

2011-07-11T09:21:00.001-04:00

Over the weekend Bryce and I were fortunate enough to attend a garden party hosted by our friends Jess and Matt. Their garden was absolutely beautiful as was the table they set! I can't think of a better way to spend the evening than with friends in the garden.

P.S. The top photo was taken with Bryce's phone, all others are Jessica's pictures!

Block Island in pictures

2011-07-07T22:32:00.000-04:00

As seems to be the case at the end of many vacations, our week at Block Island ended with us wistful for a little more time to do the things we thought we would get around to doing all week! We did manage to eat doughnuts multiple times, spend long stretches on the beach, build many sandcastles and see a few sights! Here is our week in pictures...

We went mucking in the sand, looking for crabs.

The Southeast Light

Best fish tacos I've ever had!

The Mohegan Bluffs

One of the many sandcastles!

The North Light

We had drinks on the porch of the Springhouse, the children had Shirley Temples.

There were miles and miles of these beautiful rock walls, this one was at our house!

The best doughnuts we have ever had (Payne's Killer Doughnuts!).