Winding Down

...and March is done- hard to believe, right?


But really. It barely even felt like early spring with shorts out of storage, early gardening, and a genuine taco feast.

Fake Snow

The winter decorations are making their way up around our place.
After learning this very handy technique, Phia and I started a little production line of snow flakes and paper chains made out of old school handouts and scraps. I love the way the snowflakes turn out- and once you get the hang of it they are pretty easy to put together.
I couldn't resist snipping up doilies to add into the mix, and when I started stringing everything up it got a little reminiscent of my favorite scene in the movie Elf.

Cloudy Ambitions

One of my decorating dilemmas at our new place has been how to set up the kids' bedroom. Since they are still sharing the space, I didn't want it to be overwhelmingly girly or boyish.

Enter Seuss clouds- inspired by the lofty clouds floating in the background of Horton Hatches the Egg, and painted by the kids with the help of a paper stencil.
It is still waiting for a more permanent place on the wall, but I think it's a fun little addition to Ori's space.

Sewing Enablers

I picked up sewing after summers spent visiting two very crafty grandmas. They have each been majorly inspiring and supportive, and when one was visiting this past week she took notice to the fact that my sewing space was lacking a work table.
We found this little piece at my favorite thrift store and brought it home for $9.99.
I gave it a little touch up with a new coat of paint and even found a home for it between stacks of vintage fabric and my ironing board. I am pretty into it and definitely ready to put it to use.

Moving Experience

It's official- we have moved into a new apartment. With big bright windows, hardwood floors, and much more space, our new place is undeniably nicer. But, I have to admit, I was really reluctant to move out of our tight duplex.

In general I am not a huge fan of packing or unpacking, but this time the move seemed a little more personal. It was the first time I have felt like a home was being made since we started our family, and even though we weren't living in the most glamorous accommodations, we were in good company; we were surrounded by great neighbors who became great friends. So, adjusting to the new place has been both exciting and sad- I just have to keep telling myself that even though we aren't borrowing cups of sugar anymore, my friends are only a 25 minute drive away. That very happy reminder has been very comforting, along with the package of Jojo's that Ori is so delicately enjoying in the above picture.

Back in Business

The illness has passed, and things have mostly returned to normal.

Little miss had big smiles after her first day back to school, and Ori is ecstatic to have his voice back. I have been working my way through a pile of drawn out projects, scrambling to get them squared away before the real fun begins with holiday sewing.

Trusty Thunderbirds

My old Minnetonka's have done me well, but they are starting to show their age. I picked them up about six years ago when Danny and I took a cross country road trip together. They were in an Arizona gift shop, and while they are your standard beaded moccasins, I have loved them since first wear.

The only problem to report is due to the fact that I have over worn them so badly. I realize now that since they are soft soled I really shouldn't have taken them on hikes or trips through the city. For the past couple years they have acted only as display shoes.
It makes me happy to see them up on our shelf, and think of all of our adventures, so I thought that I might give them a more permanent spot up on the wall.
Moccasin goodness:

Knit Moccasin Baby Booties by Purl

"Everything I make is a prayer", via American Seeker

Making Moccasin by Popular Science, via Design Rehab

Gold & Turquoise Mocs by Darlingtonia Moccasin Co.

Pretty Sunlight + A Cleaned Room

Since having a clean sewing room is an occasion all on its own (mostly because it occurs so rarely), I felt it was necessary to take a couple pictures when I walked up and saw how pretty the early morning light was.
Besides the old Huskystar and my tools, most of the things up in the craft room were found, thrifted, or handed down. My beautiful desk was a curbside jewel, the wooden notion display was the packaging to a child's tea set, and the trinket holders are all of from estate sales.
One of my favorite things about my room is a filing cabinet with letter sized drawers. It was given to me by Danny's little sister, which she used to organize all her treasures (like stationary and candy). I like to stash works in progress, scraps and notions. The areas that are not pictured are filled with a bookcase of fabric (that still needs some work) and a basket of toys for Ori. The only thing that I don't love about my sewing room is the carpeted floors; in a couple days they will be covered in little trimmings of fabric and string.

Big Producers

While I miss our nice big plot from last year, I have been trying to utilize the dirt in our flower beds. I tried to stick to my plan to really get the most out of every inch of soil, but there may have been a few dropped seeds that sprouted into hearty plants that I didn't have the heart to move.

We acquired a hand me down bakers rack that felt too unsteady for our mud room, so I decided it might be a little bit more stable with its legs a foot deep in soil. It has been perfect for seedlings, and has been great for my beans and cucumbers to climb up.

Earlier in the season I started to clear and sow on the back edge of our lot on an awkward little cinder block structure that was covered in weeds. I planted some squash and tomatoes just to use up seeds from last season.
It has been a gradual project of weeding and tilling and adding seeds, and I feel like it spreads a little more everyday. 
It has also proven to be half garden and half excavation site as I dig up new rocks and random objects, all of which have become part of the border, like this little weight plate.

Recuperation

On Valentine's Day Danny and I went to a wedding (which I am still recovering from) and we returned home with one of the centerpieces. The kitchen smells beautiful, and the sight of flowers reminds me that...

-Hal Borland

Now all we need is snow...

The living room has been decked...
...complete with Christmas corner...
...with our sweet little tannenbaum...
...and the family portrait.
My long term ambitions include doing a sketch like this each year, but possibly with less striped pattern.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Winter Edition)

My living room is in a transitional state. Since Phia is old enough to enjoy some of the finer details of the holiday season we decided to (modestly) decorate this year.
While a Douglas Fir would have been nice, we opted for one of its distant relatives of the fiber optic variety. Plug her in and the kids could care less that the house doesn't smell of pine. Thanks to Phia and Ori the tree has been trimmed, and then untrimmed and trimmed again, and so on.

autumn appreciation week

sometimes i get caught up on 

the fact that summer is over

and i don't appreciate fall

as much as i really should. i

decided i would embrace the 

seasonal change now, and bask in the beauty of autumn.

it is a glorious time to focus 

on the finer points of domestic 

loveliness. baking, sewing 

and home making always 

seem so much more special 

in the fall. so of course i was 

thrilled when danny picked 

out a selection of the last blooms from the garden, including but not limited to dahlias, marigolds, nasturtiums, hasta leaves, fennel flowers and mint.

i really loved hanging up this fun little collaborative project painted by phia and ori. i let them go crazy with some orange paint yesterday. after their artwork dried i cut out little pumpkins, and phia and i arranged and glued them down. she has spent a substantial amount of time counting the pumpkins, deciding which ones are the baby pumpkins, and came up with the title "thirty little pumpkins".