This Vintage Chica

And There They Go!

Today my boys got on the bus...all three of them.  One comes home at 11:40 a.m., but summer has officially ended for us.

All last week I would run into people who would ask, aren't you going to be sad that your little one is off to kindergarten this year?  Do you think you will cry at the bus stop?  

There is part of me that is a bit sentimental about new milestones.  But am I sad...no.

I am so excited for them!!!  This is how we have raised them...to be independent young men ready to go out into the world and do great things.  And this is just one of many test runs so to speak.  

I think it would make me more sad to see them clinging to my leg and crying not to go to school.  Like I had not prepared them for what was ahead.

So to my little men today...

Good luck!  I love you.  Do great things, amazing things, wonderful things today!  

Sit with the new kid on the bus.  Be polite and remember your manners.  Ask someone who looks lonely at lunch to sit with you.  And learn all you can from your teachers.  

Always know that I will be here, waiting for you when you get home.  Ready to hear about your day's adventures over popcorn and apple cider.

Love, 

Mom

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And a few treats for you...

• The Autumn edition of Rhythm of the Home is out!  And included in this edition is a little tutorial for how we made our thankfulness journal.  Its not difficult.  So easy really.  But a journal for focusing on all that we have has been such a blessings to our family, we thought others might like to make one too.
• I posted my last post over on Simple Organic last week.  It was so much fun at the Simple Mom group, but I need to focus my energies elsewhere right now.  Thanks ladies!
• If you haven't been over to The Magnifying Glass in a while, check it out.  There are lots of new posts and and a great interview with nature mama Annie Thompson.  And we have a Magnifying Glass bookshop!

Back-to-School Book Week: Freedom Friday (on Saturday), Gardening Books!

 

Nothing like Freedom Friday on Saturday, eh?

Oh well...we're talking gardening books here today.

Since getting the new Gayla Trail book, Grow Great Grub, I have been eager to share it with you.  I have been a long time fan of Gayla's work and I still use her first book You Grow Girl quite a bit.  However, I think I might like Grow Great Grub even more. Filled with gorgeous photos, diy projects and recipes it is my kind of book for sure.

Old Stand-bys

• Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholemew is my all time favorite
• Organic Gardening for the 21st Century is an old Reader's Digest book, but it is filled with great information about each type of plant and organic pest controls.
• DK Living's, The New Kitchen Garden by Anna Pavord

Gardening with Kids

• Of course, it has to be Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy
• A Child's Garden: 60 Ideas to Make Any Garden Come Alive for Children by Molly Dannenmaier

On My Library List:

• Tomatoes Love Carrots: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening, by Louise Riotti
• Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series) by Steve Solomon
• Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners by Suzanne Ashworth and Kent Whealy

And I think that wraps up our Back-to-School Book Week!

Thank you so much for playing along everyone.  It was fun.  Maybe we'll do it again sometime.  

Don't forget to check the comments in the posts below.  Latecomers are adding their recommendations as well.

We're off to the Farmer's Market and to have our fish tank water tested to see why we're loosing fish left and right.  Im guessing one particularly sweet little boy has been feeding them too much.  We shall see.  Happy Saturday all!

 

Back-to-School Book Week: Non Fiction!

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         BREAKING NEWS
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We interrupt this book week for a hurricane.

Sorry all.

We're fine.  Earl has turned out to be a fairly nice fellow...lots of rain, wind.  But no damage here in our area.  Whew!  We'll see how he treats our neighbors further up the coast.

(I'll follow up with Freedom Friday: Gardening Books! tomorrow, which I know is really Saturday.  But Im asking for an extension.)

So back to our regularly scheduled programing.

Non-Fiction!

Like I said on Wednesday, much of my reading these days is focused on my family...being a better parent, cooking better, being more mindful, taking time to notice the small things.  So here you go...

Recent Reads

• Farmer Jane, Women Changing the Way We Eat.  This inspiring book profiles thirty women in the sustainable food industry, describing their agriculture and business models and illustrating the amazing changes they are making in how we connect with food. I have loved reading each woman's story and find the whole concept of women having a dramatic effect on how we eat fascinating.
• Read my previous review of  From Orchards, Fields and Gardens.  I have gone back and re-read parts of this book several times over the past few weeks.  I think it will quickly become a go-to book when life gets crazy and it's time to refocus.
• Consicious Kids:  A Family's Guide to the Greater Good, Activities and Ideas to Inspire Greater Consciousness  
• Steady Days by Jaime Martin.  I am giving every new mom I know a copy of this book.  Professional, intentional motherhood?  Amen!  Read more about Jaime and her book on her website.
• My favorite book of poetry...Why I Wake Early, Mary Oliver.  I am a huge Mary Oliver fan and this little book of 47 poems takes the everyday, simple beauty in Nature (which we oftentimes take for granted) and wraps it in simple, lovely prose as only Oliver can.

Rocking My World:

• A Million Miles and a Thousand Years by Donald MillerA good friend recommended this book and I am so glad he did.  I am only in the first half of this book and already my mind is spinning on how to make my life more meaningful, how to give my children an amazing story to live out and how to edit my own life.  Can't say enough good about this funny, honest and thought provoking book.

Old Stand Bys:

• How To Raise Emotionally Healthy Children by Gerald Newmark, M.D.
• Revolutionary Parenting by George Barna
• Wild Things, by James and Thomas...a MUST for parents of boys!
• Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson
• Organic Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck
• Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist
• Amanda Soule's books Handmade Home and The Creative Family...I know they might be considered craft books, but there is so much more about being mindful and focused on the everyday included in these books.  Love them...and her.
• Animal Vegetable Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver

I can't wait to get my hands on:

• Radical Homemakers, Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture

 How about you?  What book is rocking your world lately?  What books do you continue to come back to again and again?

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And the winners (yes, two winners!) of the Craft Hope book are:

Miss Mousy Brown:

I would love to win a copy of the Craft Hope book (especially a signed one!) My favorite craft book of the moment is Homemade by Ros Badger and Elspeth Thompson but I have to admit to having at least seven more on the go at the same time! :D

and

Carissa:

 I would LOVE to win the Craft Hope book... I've been wanting to get my hands on a copy!

Congratulations ladies!  Shoot me an email and I will get your books signed and in the mail...right after the post office opens back up ;)

Back-to-School Book Week: Fiction (Kid's Edition)!

I have to confess.

I am not a HUGE fiction reader.  I used to be.

These days, I find myself reading biographies, gardening books, parenting books, cookbooks and craft books.

The focus of my fiction reading has moved to my boys.  We still read aloud to them in the evenings.  And there are several kids' fiction books I would love to share with you.

So, let's talk kid's books.

My older boys are entering 3rd grade this year.  I've got one who reads almost anything he can get his hands on.  And one who resists with everything he has.

But here is what "we" are reading.

• Our first favorites were Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Treehouse Series.  If the guinea pigs has been a boy and a girl they would have been named Jack and Annie we love this series so much...like so many other kids.
• We have also discovered Roald Dahl.  Zane's teacher read The BFG to his class outloud and he was hooked.  Since then we have read Dahl's The Magic Finger and The Minpins. September is Dahl month in the UK.  If you are a fan too, download a month of Dahl inspired activities here.
• The Hardy Boys series
• The Elliot's Park series are great transition books from easy readers to chapter books...lots of pictures.
• Encyclopedia Brown and 
• The R.A. Montgomery Choose Your Own Adventure books...especially for my reluctant reader.  There are other CYOA books, but this is the series we have landed on.
• Abel's Island and the Tales of Despereaux (much different than the movie) were great evening read alouds.

Make sure you check the comments in the other Back-to-school Book Week posts.  There are so many great book recommendations below the original post.  Thanks to all of you who have been playing along.

And lastly, you still have until today at noon to enter to win the new Craft Hope book.

See you tomorrow for the Non-Fiction category.  That is if we don't get blown out to sea by Hurricane Earl.

Back-to-School Book Week: Cookbooks!

Sorry this post is up a bit later than I had hoped...but behind the scenes, we are preparing for what has the potential to be a pretty nasty hurricane.

But on the front side...It is still Back-to-School Book Week!

And to day the book subject is cookbooks.

Favorite Old Stand By:

Better Homes and Gardens, New Cook Book (1996).  My copy is so worn out it lost its spine cover several years ago.  But everyone knows its a BH&G with that red and white checked cover.  I have an even earlier copy (1975) that I picked up at a thrift store that is taped together with duct tape.  I have a feeling these cookbooks are lots of people's old stand-bys.

Favorite New Purchases:

The River Cottage Family Cookbook I love this cookbook!!!  I love everything about it.  I love the gorgeous photos!  I love how the pages feel in your hands.  I love that all of the recipes are fairly easy and are family focused.  I love that they include little tips here and there for substitutions, omissions, little educational tidbits here and there.  Love this cookbook!

Mad Hungry:  Feeding Men & Boys by Lucinda Scala Quinn.  I first picked up this cookbook for the title alone.  As a woman living with 4 boys (1 being my husband who can eat an entire chicken in one sitting) I was interested right away.  This book contains simple (but very hardy) meals that will "stick to your ribs".  But the surprise to me was how she explains teaching her boys to cool right along side.

Favorite Gluten Free:

The book I use most often is The Gluten Free Gourmet:  Cooks Fast and Healthy by Bette Hagman.  I like many of her recipes, but if anyone has another favorite that uses more items you already have on hand, I'm looking for another to have on hand.

Others:

I still have a stack of MS Everyday Food magazines.  And still rely on them for quick ideas if we're having someone over for dinner unexpectedly.  I may not end up using a recipe out of them everytime I pick one up, but it really inspires me to make a great (and attractive) meal when I being the process.  And the smaller size is perfect for throwing in your purse.

I can not wait to get my hands on Jamie Oilver's, Jaime at Home: Cooking Your Way to the Good Life.  We are 5th on the list from the library.  We've followed Jaime's Food Revolution and are big fans!!!

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How about you?

What are your old stand-bys?  And your new favorites?

 

Back-to-School Book Week: Craft Books!

Its book week here!  See the original post here.

And up first are my favorite craft books.

I haven't had a chance yet to post about Craft Hope: Handmade Crafts for a Cause by Jade Sims yet.  But if you haven't purchased a copy of this book, run out and buy it...right now.

The publishing of this book is such a personal experience for me.  If you have been reading this blog long enough, you know about my visits to Nicaragua with ORPHANetwork.  You can read the original post on Craft Hope.

The book contains over 30 projects with step by step instructions and templates.  Each project is paired with a a worthy charity in need.  Perfect, eh?  Make two...one for you and one to give away!

There are two projects in the book benefitting ORPHANetwork.  One is for more dolls for the new children coming to the Casa Bernabe orphanage and another is for crib sheets and burp cloths to benefit the childcare center outside of La Chureca, the Managua City Dump. Of course these are the projects that mean the most to me, but some of my good blogging friends have also included a project or two that will benefit their favorite charity.  You might recognize a few of them...

Stefani Austin, Ellie Beck, Amanda Carestio, Christina Carleton, Lisa Cox,Maya Donenfeld, Malka Dubrawsky, Molly Dunham, Celine Dupuy, Cathie Filian, Wendi Gratz, Betsy Greer, Jenny B. Harris, Vickie Howell, Rebecca Ittner, Rebeka Lambert, Kathy Mack, Kaari Meng, Manda McGrory, Aimee Ray, Eren Hays San Pedro, Amanda Blake Soule, Blair Stocker, Amanda Swan, Susan Wasinger, Dana Willard, Rebekah Williams and Geninne D. Zlatis!

All  are amazing projects, all thoughtful, and all beautiful... and all designed with the intention of helping and giving. 

Lark Crafts has given their Craft Hope contributors each an extra copy of the book. They even recommended that their designers sign them. So I will do just that, and send it off to one of you... with a little bonus surprise tucked inside... just a small something, I crafted with love and care for you. As always, I'll ship it anywhere in the world...  please leave a comment by next Wednesday, September 1 noon EST, and I'll announce the winner on Thursday morning.

Other craft books I am loving:

• A new favorite, Green Crafts for Children by Emma Hardy
• Homemade Fun: 101 Crafts and Activities to Do with Kids, Rae Grant
• Sew Liberated, by Meg McElwee
• Handy Dad for the crafty man in your life!
• An old time favorite I keep coming back to, Japanese Crafts: Lacy Crochet
• And finally, I don't have this book yet, but I can't wait to get my hands on The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt

Tomorrow's Back-to-School Book Week brings you COOKBOOKS!

If you are playing along, leave a comment below with your link.  I can't wait to see everyone's recommendations.  My book list always has room for a few new books!

Back-to-School Book Week

back to school book week, originally uploaded by eren | thisvintagechica.

Have a list of trashy novels you read this summer? Or how about a cookbook that is just rocking your world lately? A craft book that you can't wait to dive into?

In honor of going back to school,

Join me in a Back-to-School Book Week!
(Aug 30-Sept 3)

Monday: Your favorite craft book(s)
Tuesday: Your favorite cookbook(s)
Wednesday: Your favorite fiction book
Thursday: Your favorite non-fiction book
Friday: Free Day! Any book you think deserves mentioning!

Feel free to play along all week or just one day.

From Orchards, Fields and Gardens

 

This is two posts in a row that have new books as their subject.  I've been reading (and ordering) a lot of books lately.

I have many more books to bring you as well.  In honor of our kiddos getting back to "hitting the books", how about a book week next week?

Anyone else want to play along? I was thinking about sharing a few of my current favorite books with a different category each day.

Monday - cookbooks

Tuesday - craft books

Wednesday - etc....

What do you think?

Today, I want to tell you about this little book above.  I am in love with it.  Enchanted by everything about it.

Rarely do I read a book cover to cover.  I am a skimmer.  And it is not unusual for me to put down a book for months only to finish it at a much later date.

But I knew From Orchards, Fields and Gardens was different from the moment I unwrapped it at the mailbox.  I knew that night I needed to put the boys to bed early (we are starting school in a few weeks after all), pour myself a glass of wine and read.

So that is exactly what I did last Friday night.

Although it is a small book, I read every single work and did not move from my chair the entire evening.

Here is an official description of the book:

From Orchards, Fields, and Gardens: Art and Rememberings Celebrating Sustainable Agriculture and Good Food, a book curated, compiled and edited by Kerstin Svendsen. The book "features writing from 11 authors, and photos and illustrations from 21 artists". And what an amazing line up of artists and writers it is! It is abundantly clear Kerstin put her heart and soul into this project. She is also donating proceeds to the Seed Savers Exchange and to the American Farmland Trust.

You may recognize many of the artists and photographers included as I did.

But the thing I loved most is that the stories shared are all real accounts of how each author fell in love with gardening or farming or growing flowers on their balconies, etc.  Most recall childhood memories of walking through their grandparent's gardens or visiting the market with their mother.

The book called me to remember similar stories of when I was a girl picking peaches at my grandparent's orchard or learning to snap green beans with my mother.

If you have any interest at all in sustainable agriculture or just pretty writings about gardens, you will enjoy this book.

You can order your copy here. 

Book Giveaway - Is He Really Coming Home!

There are times when the things that end up in this space seem very trivial - pretty vintage fabrics and flowers freshly cut from the garden.

But if you have read this blog long enough, you know there is also another part of our life that I do not write about often.

We are a military family.  My boys have never known life without a Papa who goes away for long periods of time to very dangerous places.

And if you share this title with us, or you know a family that does, I want to recommend a new book to you.

Is He Really Coming Home! is written from a child's point of view about life in the military and issues families have gone through for years. The mother having to break the news when the children are so excited to have their dads/moms back in their lives again, even if it means that their lives have changed forever due to the injuries of battle.

Our family is blessed to know both the author of this book and the young illustrator.  Both are family friends.  You can watch a short video from the local new station that explains more about how this book came to being.

So in honor of Linda and Alex's amazing work, I'll be giving away a copy of Is He Really Coming Home! to one lucky reader.

The only stipulation to this giveaway is (and this is on the honor system folks!) that you must be a military family or plan on giving it to someone who is.

Good luck!  The lucky winner will be drawn from the comments below at noon on Wednesday, August 25th.

Or if you can't wait, order your copy on Amazon.

 

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Update!

I ended up with two signed copies, so the winners (generated by our new kitten who chose to bat two numbers around the floor) are Lisa and Kelli !!!  Yay!!!  Send me your addresses you two (or Lisa, we can just finally meet at the beach or something ;).

Friday Vintage Fabric Finds

This summer I had grand plans (as always) of making it to yard sales ever Saturday morning even if it meant bribing the boys with doughnuts along the way.

But like grand plans sometimes...that hasn't quite happened.

However, the few pieces I have found I am really thrilled with.

There is something to be said for the less is more concept - having a few pieces that you absolutely love as opposed to too many that you sort of like.

 
The fabric at the top of the post is my favorite.  It is a 3 yard piece of vintage printed linen.  I love the colors.  And the print reminds me of people raising their hands above their head in celebration...either that or it looks like a bunch of neckties.  Either way, I love this print.  There isn't enough of it to make two full curtains, but maybe pieced with another fabric it might work.

Next, the red fabric is a great oriental print I found at an estate sale.  These were shoved down in the bottom of a box that had been in the shed for Lord knows how many years. They were pretty stinky.  But after a good soak in my bathroom tub in woolite, they are much happier.

I have a use for two of the panels and a friend of mine wants to make some floor pillows for her playroom with one of the other panels.  That leaves three large panels left.  I would be happy to sell the last three if anyone likes them and is interested.

(Sorry people, Melissa snagged them.)

 

And lastly, I found this great wool plaid at my favorite thrift store a few weeks ago.  It has been hanging out on the back of one of our living room chairs.  I have been staring at the combination of prints in the curtains, the pillow and the plaid fabric.  Something about it really works for me.  I think the wool will make a great blanket for cozying up this winter.

We are doing a bit more thrifting this weekend...for school clothes.  And everyone needs a new pair of shoes too. 

Hope you have a great weekend!

A Moment of Weakness

I think we all have days when we let our kids get by with a little more than we normally would.  Times we need just another 10 minutes in bed in the morning.  Or a few more minutes chatting with a friend on the phone.

I especially have these moments of weakness when S is out of town.  Or when I have stayed up too late watching a movie.

Popcorn and lemonade for lunch?

Sure...

Can I watch another episode of Flipper.

Absolutely!...

One day last week I had one of these such days.

The only difference a few days ago is that we happened to be at the pet store.

The boys have been begging for fish and a fish tank for months.  And I have been telling them that after summer visitors and vacation are behind us and we will have a bit of extra time to put the tank together, we would make their little dream a reality.

So, innocently we went off to the pet store with our eyes on mollies and neons and a "sucker fish" or two.

So, how is it that we came home with two guinea pigs and a kitten rescued from the SPCA?

Meet Ace...

 

And Bugsy...

And Daisy Dash.

It was a moment of weakness I tell you.

Pray for my soul friends...S is going to kill me when he gets home.

The Real Souvenirs

We are home!

Portland, Maine was amazing.  

Many of you all asked about how this house swap came about...well, last December while visiting my parents in Texas, I was reintroduced to the daughter of family friends.  Julie and her family live in Portland.  In the course of conversation, I mentioned that I had always wanted to visit Maine.  She echoed with her desire to visit Virginia.  We joked that we should just swap houses for a week.

Later Julie emailed me to see if I was really serious about the swap and the search for a date began.  4 months later, we were in Maine and she and her family were in our home in Virginia.

The boys and I (and Whitney, our kidsitter who tagged along since S couldn't come this time) visited two beaches, ate Maine lobster, wandered around Old Town Portland, found Bull Moose Music, picked blueberries at a local farm and generally enjoyed the cooler weather.

Yes, we brought home Maine blueberries.

Round, weathered rocks.  And pockets full of shells.

But more than the tangible souvenirs the now sit in our windowsills (and in the freezer) we bring home a fullness of spirit.

My boys feel like Lewis and Clark having read their own maps and explored an uncharted coastline.

And I am feeling empowered (having driven all the way to Maine by myself).  More hopeful and sure of everything I know to be true.  Elated to have had a secret (sshhhh!) meet up with a friend.  More committed to eating right, allowing my little men to be who they really are, thankful that we are a family who stick together through thick and thin.  

I have plans of extending our garden because of Julie's amazing site. (more on this later)  I am dreaming about might be in store for our family after our retirement from the U.S. Navy in a few short years.  Land?  A farm?  A camp for kids?  The beach?  The mountains?

It is a wonderful place to be...so solid in what I know, but full of questions for the future.

How is it that hitting the open road gives you all of this and more.

Where would you go if you could house swap with someone?
 

The Colors of Coastal Maine

 
As we were driving North from Virginia toward Maine, each child had their own laminated map of the U.S.  As the boys followed along our route, Wyatt got a serious look on his face.  He had a question.  "Why was Deleware orange on the map, but was still green and brown outside the car window?"

But after arriving in Portland and upon visiting Mackworth Island we learned that in face, different areas of the country do in fact have different colors.

Even though our trip is just beginning, Maine will forever be brilliant colors of amethyst purple and brilliant cerulean yellow-green.

This has me thinking...I wonder if our house swap friends think our beach has "a color pallet"?  

What colors would a visitor notice in the natural areas of your hometown?

Interesting thoughts today.

An Exercise In Thankfulness

::thankful for pretty flowers::

::and for people who make things making a difference::

::for friends who invite us over for a dip in the lake when things get hot::

 

::for friendly spiders:: 

  and peaches, and sunshine and towels warmed by the sun and so much more.

There's a little post over at Simple Organic today.

And my pretty thrifted dishes found their way over to The Stir's Summer Table Settings Series alongside some other amazingly simple but tablescapes.

We'll be gone on a little vacation next week - We're headed to Portland, Maine.  So we'll see you in a few days.

Happy Friday all!

A Day To Myself

Yesterday was a good day.

A very good day.

A day that brought an unexpected period of time all by myself.

I keep a mental list of all of the things I want to do if I the stars align perfectly and I get a few hours to myself.  Things like...start seeds for the Fall garden, sew new throw pillow for the living room, straighten the pictures in the guest room.  You know...those important little things that just never get done because you are too busy being busy.

Last Saturday morning, S announced that he and the boys were going to Busch Gardens for the day and I was not coming with them.  He knows what a homebody I am and how I really don't like places with too many people, food that costs way too much especially on a 109 degree day.

Bless him!

So how did I spend my day?

- breakfast, zucchini bread with chocolate chips, while I contemplated peeling the rest of the peaches and catching up on a little blog reading.

-I got a few jars of peach butter jarred up and added to the pantry, here is the recipe I used.  Easy is an understatement people!

- I watched the tomatoes ripen in the window, did a little more reading, and apparently spent way too much time looking at vintage inspired boys rooms

- because, then I got a wild hair to repaint the boys' bedrooms

both of them

- I am loving the results.  It isn't a huge color change, but there's nothing like clean, freshly spackled  and painted walls.  I'll show you the full update when I finish getting the new shelves up and Im excited about a little swimming inspired art piece Im working on for above Ian's bed.

What would you do if you had a day to yourself?

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Oh, and I have a new post over at Simple Organic on the health benefits of getting outside with your kiddos if you want to check it out.  There's lots of good stuff over at Simple Living Media.

Garden Surprises

We've had a mystery plant growing in the garden this summer.  The boys and I have had a ball trying to guess what it is.  Every morning we've been going out to see what new clues the new day will bring.

We have a huge fondness for vining plants that stretch out their curley little fingers.  So initially we thought it might be a squash of some sort.

This plant also has a very strong musky scent when you rub the leaves.  But the pretty white flowers make up for the smell.

Then earlier in the week we finally spotted a little gourd behind one of the cucumber pot.

Yes!

Our failed attempt at making gourd birdhouses last summer has yielded a gorgeous gourd plant this year.

And there are other surprises...new ones every morning.

- green beans outgrowing their poles

- swallowtail caterpillars on the remaining dill

- tomatoes that seem to ripen overnight

- carrots that are growing perfectly sheltered from the hot sun under the tomatoes 

- giant tobacco hornworm caterpillars

- butterflies on the zinnias 

 
 Any garden surprises for you these days?
 

Cool As A Cucumber

Its been so hot here.  And humid.  Holy moley, its been humid.

And we have had very little rain.  I have been having to water the garden twice a day to keep the green beans and tomatoes going.

Until yesterday.

The skies finally opened up and the rain poured!

I couldn't help but think of the farmers around here.  They must have enjoyed the rain as much as we did.

We sat on the porch for a long time.  Watching the beautiful lightning.  The skies changing color.  Dark blue-gray to golden to pink again.

We even spotted our first ever otter running around across the street.  We knew they live around here, but we've never seen one in the wild.  The boys were so excited!

Something about the color of cucumbers has an instant cooling effect.

We made pickles...lots of pickles.

Oh, and a few jars of blackberry preserves too.

Coincidentally the pretty flowers on my table, picked up at the local farmer's market last Saturday, are the same color.

Ahhhh, you can feel the heat melt away, can't you?

OK, maybe not.

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We are full on into swimming lessons this week, before we take a little vacation up North to Maine country.  I'm thinking we'll drive it in two days.

Anyone know of a good halfway stopping point?  Boston?  New York?

An Explosive Weekend

Sometimes I almost forget I am a military wife.  Especially when S is home for a good length of time.  I say "almost" because it is only a temporary passing thought.  Reality comes calling sooner or later.  

And we are reminded that our Papa plays a role. And Sara's too.

our Papa and his friends.

Our boys are getting to an age where they are coming to more fully understand what he does.  They watched the demonstration this weekend - looked up at him and asked "Do you do this when you are gone?  Is this how you help people?"  And he answered quietly, "Sometimes, if we have to."

This weekend my boys met men who have been injured by gunfire and have been pieced back together, still bearing the scars that will forever be reminders.

This weekend was a reunion of his friends.  His brothers in arms.

My boys will remember these men and their stories for the rest of their lives.

And this mama will continue to pray every night that her boys will never find themselves the tellers of such stories.

It was a good weekend.

We are proud.

***************

Most people don't know what so say when they see photos like this on a blog that is normally full of pretty garden shots and words about patient parenting.

And that is OK.

I don't know what to say about it sometimes either.

I feel like I am always torn between being grateful and proud and just plain mad that we are still in this dumb war.

But knowing that this is part of our reality.

Really, it is OK not to know.

On another note...

There is a little post over at Simple Mom if you are interested in a few things you can learn from military moms.

Wonderful Weekending

 

Hello all!

Is it really Monday again?

I love that in the summers, weekends and weekdays just blur together.

One of the boys ask me this morning what day it was and I honestly had to stop and think for a minute.

It's Monday!

We had a most lovely weekend here at the beach.

We were visited by some already friends, but now I am so excited to know them "for reals" as Zane says.

Really though, Jennifer and her family could NOT have been more fun.  The kids got along swimmingly and the husbands did too.

Its nice to know that there really is something to this whole blogging community.  If you have ever wondered if you really get a good idea of what someone is like through their blog, Im here to say...yep.  Jennifer was as warm and charming as she comes across in her blog.

Of course we could have used another day or three.  We didn't get to talk much knitting.  I could really use a lesson or two, ya know.  And I didn't even get to thank her for the CD she sent last week.  And completely left out talk about the finish of the Virtual Quilting Bee...and my poor performance towards the end.  But she shared some of her jelly (YUM!) with us and we sent her away with a little reminder of our day at the beach.

Thanks Jennifer and family.

We had a ball!

Whose next?  Anyone want to come to the beach?

Homegrown Potato Chips!

 

Every  year we try to grow something we've never grown before.  Last year it was corn.

This year we grew potatoes!

(In old rubber tires stacked three high.)

We've been harvesting a few spuds at a time by gently picking the top tire up a little and reaching in under the plant and pulling out a potato.  Potato picking just might be our new summer sport.  Its just so darned fun and the kids get such a kick out of finding "the monster ones".  

Spud is coming to an end here, but before it does, I wanted to share with you my kids' most favorite potato recipe.

Potato chips, of course!

What else?

We must really have a thing for chips.  I just remembered our Terra Chips.  But who really cares when you grow them yourselves.  Eh?

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Homegrown Potato Chips

You will need:

Knife or Mandonlin

Potatoes

Salt

Olive Oil

Iron skillet (or fryer)

Directions:

Pour about and inch and a half of oil into your iron skillet and heat it to medium high heat (at least 400 degrees).  Wait for the oil to get hot if you put the potatoes in too early they will absorb too much oil and get soft in the center.

While the oil is heating up, cut your potatoes with a mandolin on the 1/16th in. setting or with a knife as thin as you can.

Here is the *secret*...Soak the potato slices in a bowl of water while you are finishing cutting (about 10  minutes or so).

When the oil is hot, take the potato slices out, dry them off and slide them carefully into the hot oil making sure that they do not stick to one another.  Don't put too many in at one time as to make sure each potato slice is surrounded in hot oil.

Watch them carefully as they will brown fairly quickly.

When they are lightly brown in color, lift them out of the oil and onto a rack or paper towel to cool.

While they are still warm, sprinkle them with salt.

We've been enjoying them with hummus, accompanies by frozen (yes, frozen) grapes or watermelon as a yummy snack.

Enjoy!

back in the habit

A few weeks ago life got a little topsy turvy around here.

Like it tends to do sometimes.

I had no words, but lots of things floating around in my brain...disorganized.  

And I found myself reverting back to the concept that the habit project has encouraged back in March. The rules are easy and simple - one real-life photo and no-more-than 30 words posted on the day the photo was taken, posted to the habit blog. It is a similar concept to Amanda's {this moment}.

I took it easy on myself and gave myself permission to hang out in the garden, where I really wanted to be.  Not at the sewing machine, or redecorating the boys' rooms, or finishing painting the wall that is still half yellow, half white.

I should have just been a bit more patient.

Because a few days later I got a sweet little invite from emily + molly to join in their habit celebration.  Habit has been going strong for 18 months now and they are celebrating with a flickr pool of habit photos.  During the month of July, a few photos from the pool will be chosen each day and posted to the habit blog.

If you have a few minutes this afternoon, or this evening, or tomorrow, visit HABIT.  They are good people. 

And if you really want to exhale into summer, put on this song, pour a glass of sweet tea, and watch the habit photos parade past you one by one.

Happy 18 month anniversary HABIT!

Our 4th!

All together now...

Oooooooohhh!

Ahhhhhhh!

 

It was a beautiful night on the beach...our beach.

With friends.

And cold drinks.

And peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that were quickly thrown together using leftover hamburger buns.

We had sweatshirts on...and it was perfect.

Hope (if you live in the U.S.) you all had a fabulous 4th!

Beaching It!

 
We have an abuelita (grandma), a tia (aunt), a tio (uncle) and dos primas (two cousins) in town this week.  Plus an abuelo (grandfather) coming in from Mexico tomorrow.  Sangria anyone?

Paul and Claudia rented a great little pad down at the beach, and are more than happy to share their sand.  Abuelita Fia keeps saying "Im going to the beach", but in her heavy Mexican accent it comes out "Im goin to da b*tch" and we laugh hysterically everytime.

Summer is 'ON' here!

If you need us we'll be catching crabs with the cousins.

Pallet Projecting

Hello friends.

It feels like I have been away from this space for quite awhile.  

Thanks for the kind comments about the garden habit posts that have been filling in for my usual wordiness.

We are settling in to new routines here...but anxious about what is around the corner.

At some point I will share what is going on here in our home and our family.  But we still do not have all of the answers.  But at least I feel like I can come up for air now.

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Today I wanted to show you some of the pallet projects going on around here.

The patio has been complete for several weeks now, but we were in need of some furniture so that we could actually enjoy the space.  And if you haven't shopped for outdoor furniture in a few years...its expensive as all get out!

And then I saw Rachel's table.

After seeing how Rachel and her husband used a pallet and a few castors to make an outdoor coffee table...I knew the answer to our furniture problem.

I started collecting pallets from alongside the road, behind stores, etc.  Many of the pallets we found had color on them, but I like the look of the natural washed wood.  The boys had a ball with this..."There's another one Mom!  Quick Stop!"  Kids have such good spotting eyes, ya know.

 

Here is our finished table.  I love it so much.  And all it cost us was the price of the castors.  Which wasn't much.

We also ended up using pallets for several other projects.  Actually we went a bit nuts with the pallets.

 

We are lucky enough to have the ugly green power box for the surrounding 8 houses in the corner of our yard.  I absolutely hate looking at it.  So we used two pallets nailed into a 90 degree angle to hide it.  I planted a few volunteer morning glories at the base of the pallet.  They are just starting to climb in and out of the slats.  In a few more weeks, you won't even be able to see the box behind it.

S also came up with the idea of using pallets to upgrade our outdoor shower area.  The pallets were perfect to raise the shower floor up out of the area that stays pretty muddy.  He used pallets to also semi-enclose the area to give a bit more privacy and a place to hang towels and swim suits.

We have a new outdoor kid's table too.  Its super long and skinny and we can fit 10 little people at it at a time.  Perfect for summer time.

Have you had enough yet?

There's one more...

A good friend was getting rid of a sample piece of butcher block counter top left over from their recent kitchen remodel.  S used it, plus left over pallet pieces to make this kitchen island for me.  Now the stove top is free of the cast iron pans, but living on the bottom shelf of the island, they are ready at a moment's notice.  And I love having so much room to chop up veggies fresh from the garden.

I told you we went a bit nuts.  But we were having so much fun, we just couldn't stop ourselves.

We're feeling like we have a whole new backyard with the addition of the patio and all of the new finished projects.

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I have a new post over at Simple Organic.  A little diy project for summer travelers.  Enjoy your weekend!

We have family coming into town, so ours will be full of crazy cousin time!  So fun!

Garden Habits: Morning

"Hello, sun in my face. 

Hello you who made the morning 

and spread it over the fields...

Watch, now, 

how I start the day in happiness, 

in kindness." 

— Mary Oliver

Garden Habits: Lessons

Sometimes lessons are best learned in the garden.  Today's lesson was about hard work, about patience, the fruit of one's labor, and about delayed gratification ... without one word spoken aloud by me.

  *********

Watching my boys learn lessons this way makes me think about how many lessons we as adults could be learning if we choose to care for the Earth in a more honorable way.

Are you learning lessons in your garden too? 

Oh, and Happy Summer Solstice to you dear friends!  We're celebrating with homemade french fries for breakfast this morning.  Hey, its summer!

Garden Habits: Harvest

He came home safely last night and with a sigh of relief I went to the garden to pick what I could.

 

Garden Habits: Retreat

When life feels topsy turvy, I am thankful to retreat to the garden for answers.

***********

Today is the last day of school for the older boys.  Schedules are changing and I am feeling a little out of rhythm.  So for the next several days, I am applying what I learned from participating in the habit project here.  The knowledge that a picture and a few words can provide focus and meaning.

Hope you all are well.

Eren

Happy Birthday Ian and Zane!

My older two boys turned 8 yesterday.

Wow.  8 seems like such a big kid age, doesn't it?

Or is it that I just can't seem to wrap my brain around the fact that its been 8 years since these little men came into our lives.

You know the old women in the grocery store stop and tell you how fast time will fly with kiddos.  And you smile and say something like "they DO grow up fast, don't they?"  But you just don't really imagine how fast it will be until you wake up one morning and your sweet little tiny baby is 8!  8!

It has been an amazing gift to watch two little boys push and pull to become the men they are becoming.  Despite their mother's efforts to treat them equally, they continue to remind me that they are different.  And much be treated as such.

I feel like this year has been a really big year for them in many ways.  We have always given them their space.  They have always been in separate classrooms, but this year has found them on separate soccer teams. (with the younger one too, that's three soccer teams, three different practice nights, and three games on Saturday).  Which left me worried what would happen when your two teams played each other.  You are also in different bedroom for the first time in your lives.  But it makes my heart glad when at least half of the mornings I go to wake one of you up to find the other has climbed into bed with you in the middle of the night.

Thank you for being such good kids.  Thank you for being so good to your little brother.  Thank you for teaching me so many wonderful lessons I would not have learned otherwise.  Thank you for caring about your friends and your community.  Thank you for loving God.  Thank you for being honest, strong young men.

My prayer is that you two continue to realize what a special relationship you have.  And that you take the strength and confidence that relationship comes with having a brother that close and use it to do wonderful things in the world.

I love you my two big 8 year olds.

-Mama

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Oh, and I don't think I ever posted an update to the zygosity test, but...to their pleasure, they are identical.

Living a Gifted Life and My Own Bada$$ness

Last night I was sitting in the garden as the sun was going down.  The upstairs window was open and I could hear the boys conversation while they were getting ready to take a shower. One of the olders was explaining to the younger about how amazing outer space is and how he'd like to go someday. But he's a bit afraid of heights.  He thinks he'll go anyway because when you are on a space ship it feels more like you're in a house not high up in space.

Aaahhhhh!

As the smile spread across my face, I could feel the space between my shoulders soften.

I thought to myself "What a great life we have here."  I was confident.  Yes, the dishes are not done...still in the sink from dinner (and lunch).  S is gone again.  I have a birthday party (x 2) to plan and my feet are so dirty from working in the garden I might need a pressure washer to get them clean.

But life is good.

This life we have been given is such a gift.

And I am proud of my boys, my house, my husband.

I have been reading Steady Days by Jamie Martin.  In her book Jamie talks about the moment you really begin to "own" your own motherhood.  The moment you realize it is the amazing gift it is and walk confidently in that role.

I can say I am there.  And happy to be here.

Last night's soccer practice was canceled, but we didn't know it until we were already in the car.  So instead we went to the neighborhood park to run our own drills.  You know, so we don't get too out of practice.  We're getting ready for the 2010 World Cup, you know.

While I was sitting on the bench, watching the boys, who had abandoned heading drills for the tire swing, a 20's-ish guy with his shirt off came our way.  He approached some high school kids sitting on the bench next to mine and proceeded to cuss them up one side and down the other.  And of course he used all of the good cuss words...the "f word", the "b word that rhymes with snitch, and my favorite, the "four letter c word that only real morons use". Oh yes...all of the good ones...within earshot of the boys.

I told my three it was time to go and I put them in the car.

But before we left I marched myself across the street to where this guy was waiting by his car. (Right here is where I begin to ask myself "What the heck are you doing?  S would kill you for approaching this guy.  He could be some psycho with a gun...or numchucks."

I proceeded to tell him how disappointed I was that my boys and I had to leave the park because of his poor taste and rude behavior.  That I hoped he was more intelligent than he just came across because only idiots use language like that in front of children and young women.  (And then I said a prayer that he would not punch me.)

We exchanged a few more words, but in the end he apologized and said that he should not have used those words in front of the boys or the young ladies on the bench next to me.

And then, I read Rachel's post.  She said it perfectly.  

Today I transplanted three more tomato plants.  Helped one kid design a stellar prop for is oral presentation tomorrow.  I folded 3 loads of laundry...AND put them away.  I "Three Little Birds" exactly 9 times while the little one and I watched chickadees at the bird feeder.  And I safely diffused three arguments about who has the better gun...Captain Rex or Commander Green.

Don't mess with me or my kids at the park.   I am a strong woman.  And I am a mother damnit!

Rachel's right.  Sometimes you have to own your own bad assness.

My life is such a gift.

Want to play along?  How are you owning your bad assness?

Green With Chicken Envy

How is that for a wake up call?

Over the Memorial Day holiday we spent a large part of one of the days at a local farm...5 hours...most of the time in the chicken coop.

 

There were very few visitors, so we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.  The farm education director was able to spend a good deal of time with us - telling us each of the type of chicken -white leghorn, orpington, barred plymouth rock, derbyshire redcap- and even their nicknames.

The Japanese Bantams were our favorite.

 

The boys made a game of trying to catch every chicken in the coop at least once.  Every few seconds someone was coming to me, arms full of chicken, "Mom I caught another one."  I would take the chicken from him, and let the poor soul go back to scratching around.

Hannah and Diane and Molly and Chrystal and Molly and Amy all have had chickens for quite a while now.

This morning while I was wandering around the garden, I couldn't help but think about how nice it would be to be letting chickens out to peck around as part of my morning ritual. Our neighborhood is not zoned for agriculture, but there is debate within the city as to whether you could keep them as "pets" or not.

I hate to go ahead and get chicks, only to have someone show up on my doorstep telling me we can't keep them.  We are friends with all of our neighbors, but I haven't actually asked them if they would object.

Scout, despite her hunting nature, has learned to leave the ducks alone, so we would probably be able to teach her to leave the chickens be.

I'm going to keep checking with the city and researching.

Until then, I guess we'll just visit Polly and Cotton and Mr. James at the farm when we can.

Strawberry Fruit Leather Recipe

This past weekend was the Strawberry Festival in a nearby community.  We don't usually go for the funnel cakes and carnival rides, but on Friday afternoon we found ourselves out of school, in Pungo watching the 4-H animal judging portion of the festival.

The boys had a great time and are now begging for a sheep to raise and show.  (Great idea Eren!)

But even though the strawberry season has not been what is usually is because of spiratic temperatures and less than average rain fall, we ended up bringing home our share of strawberries.

We're freezing most of them for smoothies and ice cream, but we're making fruit leather with the rest.

Fruit Leather Recipe

Ingredients:  

• Strawberries
• Water
• Lemon juice 
• Sugar (if needed)

**4 cups of fruit yield about one sheet of fruit leather

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to the lowest setting or 120 degrees...the lowest my oven would go was 170 degrees.
2. Rinse the berries and cut of the green tops.  Cut the berries into quarters if they are large berries.
3. If the berries are sweet you will not need to add much sugar, but if they are tart you will need to add a bit more.
4. Place the berries in a covered saucepan on medium heat.  Pour in 1/2 c. water for every 4 cups of fruit.  Bring the berries to a simmer and let them cook down for 10-15 minutes until the fruit is soft.
5. Use a potato masher to mash the fruit that is left in the pan until fairly smooth.  (Or wait for the mixture to cool a bit and put it in your food processor or blender.)  If you kiddos are sensetive to the seeds, you could strain the mixture through cheesecloth to remove the strawberry seeds.
6. Add sugar 1 tsp. at a time until desired sweetness and lemon juice to taste  I added 1/2 c. sugar and the juice from 1/2 of a lemon to give it some real zing.
7. Simmer fruit until sugar is completely disolved and the mixture has thickened (about 5 or 10 minutes more).

8.   Spray a baking sheet lightly with cooking spray and line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Pour the strawberry mixture onto the lined baking sheet until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick or so.

9.  Bake in the low temperature oven for as long as it takes for the puree to dry out (between 8 and 12 hours) and not be sticky to the touch...ours took 6.5 hours since it was at a higher temp.

10.  Let the fruit leather cool.  Then as you take the leather up, tightly roll it, plastic wrap and all as you would do cinnamon rolls.

11.  Then cut the leather into desired widths.

12.  Store the homemade "fruit roll ups" in airtight containers or plastic baggies.

Our recipe was adapted from this one that gives directions for making fruit leather out of many different kinds of fruit.  The boys absolutely love it, and so did the new neighbor kids next door.  Which is music to a mamas ears. I think we'll be try making some blackberry leather next.  Our blackberries have ever so slightly started looking much more pink than green.

I have an old 1905 cookbook from my great, great Aunt Grace that directs you to spread the softened fruit out on a plate and set it in the sun for 24 hours.  We might try that method as well and see which one comes out better.

Pretty Pictures and a bit of Housekeeping

Wyatt officially out of preschool.  And I am welcoming these several weeks it is just he and I before the older boys are out.  This morning we are off to run a few errands (pay off our fines at the library and hit TJ's) before we eat lunch with the older boys at school.

Above are just some photos I took of some of the flowers blooming in our yard right now.  The pansies and daffodils have given way to delphenium, lavender, and whatever this pretty pink one is that the bees love so much.  The zinnias are starting to pop up too.

Memorial Day weekend is special around here, so I will probably not be back until Tuesday.  If you will be hitting the farmer's market this weekend, I have a new post over at Simple Organic on how to make an easy market bag out of a t-shirt.  So easy!

The Magnifying Glass is going great guns again with new commenters and followers every day.  Check it out if you have a few minutes this weekend.

And a big thank you to Tammy and Ohdeedoh for featuring our outdoor movie night.  What a treat!

Happy weekend my friends!

The Shift

The season is shifting...do you feel it?

We've got three and a half weeks left of school for the older boys here and we still have homework, bedtimes.  But I remembered late last night that today is the last day of preschool for the little guys and I hadn't done anything for Wyatt's teachers.  Easy Peasy tote bags to the rescue!  I originally found Skip To My Lou's instructions for a Simple Reversible Tote bag a while back, but it has become my go-to pattern for quick gifts needed on the fly.

One child out of school and two other still in is not the only indication of riding the fence on which season we are really living in these days.

We picked the last of the peas.  And now the edamame and pole beans are beginning to climb where the peas were.  Tomatoes are starting to take off.  So are the cucumbers, melons and squash we planted several weeks back.  The potatoes are blooming now, so it won't be long before we can dig those up.

We're spending every free moment we have at the beach.  It is such a perfect time to enjoy the surf before the summer tourists get here in full force.  And before the "skitos" get bad.

We've been eating better too.  Fresh and local is so much easier during this time of year. Im addicted to grilled chicken and avocado taquitos with fresh berries.  I've had them for lunch and dinner for the past two days.  I picked up the vintage melamine a few weeks back.  Now that the patio is finished we were in need of some cute dishes that would not break if dropped on the stone.

Are you feeling it too?  The season shift I mean?

What does the shift look like where you are?

Make Way For Ducklings

Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey is one of our most favorite books of all time. The cover of our copy is tattered and taped many times over.

Its so fitting that it is duckling season in our neighborhood.  Our area is pelted with little ponds and inlets.  You can't drive one mile in any direction without finding water.  Which makes this area a perfect place to hatch ducklings.

Remember last year?  We're not planning on taking any in this year as last year our luck wasn't so good.  We've had a few in the back yard that were only a few days old, but luckily their mama was still around and we were able to shoo them all in the direction of the water.

This weekend S had two of the boys on an errand with him and Ian and I were cooking in the kitchen.  It was cool outside so we had the windows open.  All of a sudden we heard a racket outside and Ian went to check to see what the noise was.

And it was this brood of 11 ducklings.

According to Wike Answers...

A group of ducks is called a badelynge, bunch, brace, flock, paddling, raft or team. 

If it's a group of ducklings (i.e., they've recently hatched and are being looked after by their mother), it is called a brood.

Their mother was not with them, but this group was around 5 or 6 weeks old, so we weren't concerned.  They were doing a great job of foraging for worms and dropped bird seed.

Ian and I watched for at least 30 minutes or so.  

We had such a great conversation about the ducklings themselves.  About mothers and babies.  About independence.  About respecting the natural world.

Moments like this seem like such a gift in an otherwise busy season of life.

Eventually we heard a loud quacking overhead.  Both the mother and father (we're guessing) flew over, made a circle and landed.  She called them off of the front porch and down the street.

Thank you little ducks...for the excuse to stop for just a few minutes and enjoy how pretty you are.

More info. on ducklings on The Magnifying Glass.

The Patio...Finally

Sorry everyone.  I didn't mean to be away from this space for so long.

The patio project officially began two weeks ago and has been a huge exercise in delayed gratification.  It was supposed to be finished by Mother's Day.  But you know how construction projects go.  First the stone was delivered late, then the sand was late.  And then it rained for 4 days.

There were many nights S and I were up until midnight laying these huge stones (really more of him than me) with flashlights.  The boys helped fill in the cracks with sand and helped me plant the stepables that will eventually fill in and look something like this.  I can't tell you how much I am loving these stepables.

Our stepables include:

• two types of ajuga
• three varieties of thyme (my fave is wooly thyme with its pretty little flowers)
• golden creeping jenny
• irish moss and scottish moss (which really are not mosses at all since they flower)
• and sedum goldmoss stonecrop

We've also ordered some irish moss seeds to see how they will do.  They should be arriving via mail this week.

I know you all are wondering if the chairs got a coat of paint or not.  Well of course they did!  I had a hard time coming up with a color...or colors.  But I have loved this little succulent that sits in the middle of our patio table and thought it might be good inspiration for the chair colors.  Each chair is spray painted a different shade of blue/green.

*** I have to say it again...I love spray paint. ***

Zane was doing his homework at the patio table yesterday while I was putting a second coat of paint on the chairs.  He commented that I must really like spray paint since I had spent so much time with a can in my hand.  And after I explained all of the wonderful things you can do with spray paint and how much I loved it...in true 2nd grader style, he told me that if I loved it so much, I should marry it.  I told him to call the preacher then, cuz' Im getting married again.  He thought that was pretty funny.

The old metal glider got a fresh coat of black paint.  And new cushions found on sale for $10 each.  And the wisteria was repotted in pretty lime green.

Im really loving how it all turned out.  It was SO worth the late nights and juggling who was putting who to bed while the other parent worked outside.  We still have plans for a pergola or something to provide a little shade during the hot summers.

So if you need to find me, this is where I'll be...until...about...November.

Happy Thursday everyone...I just noticed the legs on the patio need a new coat of paint. *wink*

Strawberry Season and a Winner

This weekend I saw the first roadside signs for pick your own strawberries.  And for the past several days all I can think about are getting my hands on some pretty red berries.

This morning I dropped by my favorite fruit and veggie stand to pick up a few of these little gems to tide me over until I can get to our annual picking.

I'm thinking the few I picked up this morning just might not make it to after desert after dinner.  Because I'm dreaming of freezer jam and fruit leather.

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I loved, loved, love reading about everyone's thrift, family hand me down, flea market furniture finds.  I read each and every entry and loved hearing the stories behind why you love the pieces you do.

And now for the winner of the Flea Market Style book giveaway.

The winner is #22 is  Sarah Jackson of Green Clogs who said...

Oh gosh - that bedroom is adorable. I don't think Annika would go for it either, but I can dream. I'd love for my house to look like that, but I'm afraid for me it would just look messy and cluttered, instead of carefully crafted. Maybe the book would help?

I don't have any flea market furniture, but my favorite thrift store furniture is an end table that I bought about 14 years ago for $25. It's mahogany with a little cupboard on top that has beveled glass in its doors and a leather top. It has traveled with me everywhere. The cupboard is the perfect place to stash my mess when people are coming over and I don't have time to clean. :)

Happy weekend, friend. xoxo

Congratulations Sarah!!!

Send me your address and I'll pop this little book in the mail to you pronto!

Off to nibble on some more berries.

Happy Monday!

Happy Mother's Day

Dear Mom,

Thank you for washing my cheerleading uniform at midnight the night before the big game.

Thank you for having the best hugs in the world that always seem to make everything OK.

Thank you for helping me find the most perfect pair of jeans with rainbows on the pockets…and encouraging Dad to get them for me even though they were way too much money at the time.

Thank you for making me take my dishes to the sink.  And help with the laundry.  And make my own lunch. 

Thank you for making me wait while you talked to Dad before letting me go to Kristen DeMonte’s house.

I’m glad you made me write notes to my grandparents and call them on the phone. 

I’m glad you made me say “Yes Ma’am and No Sir”.

Im glad you took me to church.

Thank you for making it through a long, difficult labor just to see my little face.

Thank you for staying up all night to make my Christmas cantata dress. 

Thank you for making every one of my prom dresses, four homecoming dresses…and my wedding dress.

Thank you for teaching me how to make 7-up pound cake, homemade macaroni and cheese and meatloaf.

Thank you for naming me Eren…I still love my name and have never wanted it to be something different…unlike my brother (who wanted to be called Clint).

Thank you for setting my 11:00 p.m. curfew, even though I had to be home earlier than everyone else.

I will never forget you letting me take in lost little baby birds, and turtles, and snakes…even though you hate snakes.

I will never forget our vacations to St. George Island and you showing us the sea turtle nest.

Because of you I will never forget the names of all of the Texas wildflowers or the words to “Skip to the Lou, My Darlin’”.

Because of you I know the difference between Roseville and Zanesville pottery.

Thank you for buying a station wagon when I know you probably wanted something a little sportier and more red.

Thank you for showing me women can be anything they want to be…a career woman (like you) or a stay at home mom (like me).  Or anything else.

Thank you for having an impact on your community through volunteering.

Thank you for beginning to put money away for me to go to college even before I was born.

I’m sorry I lied to you about going to Jennifer's graduation party.  But thank you for cooking breakfast at 4 a.m. for all of my friends anyway.

I’m sorry you continued to work so long in a job that did not appreciate you so that Ryan and I could both go to college.

I’m sorry for forgetting your anniversary this year.

And for not asking how you are before I go on and on about my latest frustration with the PTA or about our orders not coming through.

Thank you for letting me date Peter Prodanov…and Shane Listch…and Jeremy Green…even though you almost pulled your hair out.

Thank you for chaperoning the Jr. High dances and two stepping with Dad.  I was not as embarrassed as I acted.  Inside, I was really proud of you two.

Thank you for being next to me through all three of my boys’ births…even though you said it was one of the toughest things you’ve ever done.

Thank you for marrying Dad…he’s the best.

Thank you for raising me to be independent…and then having the courage to let me go.

Thank you for letting me make my own decisions.

Thank you for always worrying about me…even after I left home.

And now thanks for worrying about not only me, but my husband and our three boys.

Thank you for being proud of me now that Im all grown up (almost).

I am a good mom because you are a great mom.

And I love you!

Happy Mother’s Day Diana.

And Happy Mother's Day to all of the great mothers I am lucky enough to know and do this mothering thing along side you.  I am inspired by you daily.  Much love to all of you. 

(inspired by Kelly Corrigan's video through )

Weekend Giveaway: Flea Market Style

love this table and bench combo...especially the color of the bench's legs

and you all already know how I love chalkboard paint

Im in love with Friday right now...

I feel like everyweekend that comes along is just a little taste of the summer that is coming right around the bend. We have just a little over a month of school left here in Virginia. And believe me my boys are counting down the days.

So to celebrate just because its the weekend, I'm giving away another book.

another mismatched, multicolor chair photo to add to the inspiration

I don't think I could talk one of the boys into redecorating their room like this one, but the wall treatment is so darned sweet it makes my teeth hurt

I have had Flea Market Style by Emily Chalmers and Ali Hanan for several years now and continue to refer to it often. It has become one of my favorite decorating reference books. 

A few weeks ago I came across another copy and couldn't resist not picking it up.

Luck you!

To enter to win this book, simply comment below with an answer to the following question:

What is your most favorite piece of flea market furniture in your home right now...and why do you love it so much?

I'll be back on Monday morning with the winner and hopefully some pics of an almost finished patio.

Good luck everyone.

Happy weekend to you!

In the Garden: Early Morning

I took my coffee (and my camera) outside this morning, before the boys were up.  The birds were chirping away, mallards flying overhead.  It was a good way to begin a day. Little did I know, that the littlest would be home from school today with a cough and a fever.

We're trying to do a bit more repurposing in the garden.  A few weeks back, S needed new tires unexpectedly.  Luckily he asked for the old tires back, because they are making great potato pots now.  We started the potatos in the bottom tire and then as we piled the soil on top, we added the next tire.  This is the first time we've grown them this way, so we'll see how they do.

We've had a tiny little cement slab patio ever since we purchased this house 5 years ago. It is barely big enough for the grill and a small bistro table.  But this past week S and the boys started digging out the grass to lay a new slate patio.  The rock gets delivered tomorrow. Im so excited!

Perfect timing too because on Tuesday I rescued three sweet little patio chairs from the garbage.  They will go great with the iron table that has had no chairs. I can't wait to see it all come together.  Hmmm...to paint them or not to paint them?

Im a bit crazy with the spray paint around here these days.  So Im guessing they'll end up with a new coat of paint.

There's a new book giveaway coming up tomorrow, so stay tuned my friends!

Decorating: In Need Of White Space

You know how it goes.

You paint one wall.  But then the wall next to it looks dirty in comparison, so it needs painting too.  Or you get new curtains, but then they don't really go with the throw pillows, so you'll need to make some new pillows as well.  One thing leads to another.

Well that's the way things have been going around here.

I love the new light over the breakfast table.  But there was just something not quite right about it.  I finally decided the green light (which I decided to leave green) and the yellow tablecloth curtain behind it was just a bit too much for me.  So I replaced the curtain with some really gauzy linen.

Simple is always better it seems.

I love it.

And I've been working on rearranging some pictures and framing some of our favorite photographs.  Since I switched to a digital camera, I never seem to get prints made and framed.  One day I looked around and all of our framed photographs were from at least 3 years ago.

I've been picking up random frames here and there.  The three cork board frames now holding photos from our Christmas vacation trip to TX now hang in the playroom.  

Finding good boy fabric is tough for me...meaning finding fabric that doesn't look too much like a baby and does not include a transformer or a star wars character.  Not that we don't play with those things.  I just don't want them on my curtains.  The vintage fabric above used to be two coverlets originally sold by SEARS.  They are now new playroom curtains.  I love the boats and compasses and eagles.

 

The boys have been bringing home some exceptionally good artwork from school as well. They helped me pick out their favorite pieces and we framed them alongside some other prints that are finally hung.

In looking at all of these photos, I can't help but think that there is a lot of white...and clean space that is a bit out of character for me.  Im guessing that my brain is in need of some clarity and white space as of late.  We are up for orders again and things have been a bit tense around here.  I don't really want to move again.  But you military wives know how that goes, eh?

I guess the way one decorates their house really is a direct reflection of the owner.

What do you think your decorating is say about you right now?

Friday Favorites: Redecorating Edition

I've been pouring over decorating sites and flickr pools every evening for the last week...looking for ideas and inspiration.   

If you are doing a bit of redecorating yourself, here is a little post I wrote for Simple Organic. It is full of great ideas for decorating your space using furniture you already own.

• As always, Habit is amazingly beautiful to me.
• I watched the first episode of 9 by Design via hulu and can't wait for the next two to become available...this might just replace my Project Runway addiction.
• Interior Styling is a great source for ideas too...as the only chica in a house full of boys, I've gotta watch the pink quotient, but it has been so much fun to click through the photos.
• L-o-v-e this rug.
• Via SimpleMom...How To Create an Easy Living Home
• I loved getting a peak at Alicia's home via the Stir

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There's been quite a few changes over at The Magnifying Glass.  If you get a minute, check it out!  Especially the new nature book recommendations being provided by one of our new contributors!

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Have a great weekend everyone!!!

New *old* Light and a WINNER!

Here is a little scene from our kitchen this morning.  Some people have to have their sink clean and spotless before they go to bed.  But me...the dishes can be piled to the ceiling, but I have to have the kitchen table clean and ready to have breakfast.  

The little robin's egg vase arrived on Friday from Melissa.  And I couldn't get the box open fast enough to fill it with some of the wysteria that just started blooming.

I've mentioned the redecoration that has been going on around here, but I haven't shown many photos yet.  That's because its a little here in this room and another little bit here in this room.  Not one room is really "finished" yet.  

On Saturday after three soccer games, we all went over to our new favorite junk shop to pick up a few things we saw last week.  No, the boys did not go into the shop with us. We bribed them with a rare trip to a local drive in.  They stayed outside the shop while S and I tag teamed who went in to browse.

This vintage Benjamin barn lamp now hangs over the kitchen table...replacing a very deco modern number that just didn't fit.  It is amazing how just changing a light fixture can have such a big impact on a room.

We paid $15 for the light.  Compared to what they are going for on this site, I think we did pretty good.  If you have a minute or two, browse around the Original Barn Light site.  It is full of great ideas and photos.

Now I'm wanting to change the lighting in the dining room.

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Oh, and now for the winner of the Cath Kidson MAKE book!

The winner is...

#37...

natalie t. said...
 ooooo! Must. Have. That. Book. How fun it would be to win it:) If not, the local book store will have an eager customer. Have fun with the little boats at the game(s)!

Natalie, send your address to me at esanpedro1(at)cox(dot)net and I will send this great book your way.

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Thanks everyone for entering, I loved peeking at your pretty (new to me) blogs.  I hope you stick around.  
 There are more books to give away coming next week.
 Happy Monday Everyone!

Book Review and A Giveaway: MAKE! by Cath Kidson

I know some of you knit or crochet all year long.  But for me it is a winter sport only.  The cowl I started during the Winter Olympics was abandoned the minute the garden started its sleepy wake up.

So, what project is easy to pick up and take to soccer practice and to work on here and there in the preschool car line?

Embroidery and Applique, my friends.

Last week, as if on cue, a copy of Cath Kidson's newest book entitled MAKE! arrived in my mailbox.

Like her other books In Print and Sew, MAKE! is book is filled with beautiful images and colorful eye candy.

Using applique and embroidery, MAKE! contains 48 DIY projects sure to add some Spring freshness to your home.

My favorite part of this sweet book is that it gets your mind to thinking about how you can give new life to plain items in your home.  Cath gets you started by giving you 16 liittle patterns or you can use your own.  The project cover almost everything including tea towels, bath towels, bags, blankets, skirts and pillows.

I do think a more appropriate title would have been "Makeover" since most projects are not made, they are embellished.  

But having said that, my favorite project in the book were the framed sailboats, so I started on those right away.

Maybe I'll finish it tomorrow as we sit on the sidelines from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. cheering my boys on.

Better yet, maybe I should take enough embroidery thread to make two sailboat pieces. Its going to be a long day.

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To win a copy of Cath Kidson's MAKE! book, just comment below.  Tweet this post and be entered twice to win.

I'll close comments and announce the winner on Monday, April 26th.

Good luck and happy weekend everyone!

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Comments are now closed.  Thanks everyone for commenting!

An Unofficial Flower Week

 

 

I just can't seem to stop taking photos of the blooms right outside our door.  Try as I might to get a shot of the decorating going on indoors, its the flora that is demanding my attention right now.

Abbytriesagain, one of my most favorite photographers ever, is hosting an unofficial flower week.  Its a good thing.  

Now I have an excuse to stop sewing curtains for the  playroom and get back outside to the important stuff.  Watching Spring unfold in full in the garden.

 

Greens and Visions

Here's a quick shot of the greens we picked from the garden this morning. Chard, kale and mixed lettuces...yum!  

Oh, and my most favorite in all the entire world Liberty flip flops from Target.

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Also, Lisa of Visionary Mom posted a little interview about my interest in Nicaragua and and how I balance (or do not balance) motherhood.  In Lisa's own words she says:

How do we teach our children to dream big and to fulfill their dreams?

We have to be doing it ourselves.  Period.

If your children are watching you settle for less than what you want or need in life, you are ripping them off!  They want to see you THRIVE!  They, for sure, do not want to see you being a mommy martyr, sacrificing things that make you happy all for the sake of “taking care of the kids.”

Really, they don’t.

They want to see you alive and well. Happy.  Fulfilled.  And, this is what you want for yourself also.

Thank you Lisa for the opportunity.  Your questions were wonderful and really made me think.  Keep up the great work over at Visionary Mom as you encourage each of us to live lives our children will be proud of.

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There are new posts over at The Magnifying Glass with more news on contributors later in the week.  Stay tuned.

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One last thing before I head of too bed...Meredith, one of my most favorite photographers has just published a photo book.  You can read more about how this project came about on her blog.  I encourage you to support a fellow mama living out her dreams for her children. It is available in her new etsy shop.

Hasta luego chicas!

Friday Favorites

Just sharing a few of my favorite photos from this week that didn't make it on the blog.  I am already missing my time over at habit.  Thanks again Emily and Molly for the March fun.  

Check in this month for photos from E+M as well as the new April guests alicia, molly, and tracy.  

Also, don't miss...

• Creating Life Margins from Stefani via Organic Homeschool
• A Call for Entries over at my other blog The Magnifying Glass
• This repurposing idea from Sneezerville
• For lego lovers (like us), you'll want to check out Courtney's book
• Believing Nature
• Erin has a shop update if you are in the market for a camera strap like mine
• And this video from Amy Butler, via Decor8, makes me smile

How To: Outdoor Movie Night

It's outdoor movie season!

You all know we don't watch T.V., but we are big movie buffs.

Last week, during Spring break, we hosted the official outdoor movie night opener with one of our favorite movies "The Apple Dumpling Gang" staring Don Knotts and Tim Conway.

Some of you have asked what projector we use and how we set this up, so I thought I would let you know well in advance of the summer.

Last summer we knew we were going to be getting a little bit of money back from our tax return so when talking about what we should spend it on, we decided we wanted to get something that would be not only a family present, but something that would be a gift to our community of friends as well.

Ours is an Epson Moviemate 55 Portable Projector.  It is super easy to hook up I can do it myself...easier than our regular DVD player.  The only problem we had was that the speakers on the projector were not loud enough.  So S hooked up some old computer speakers we had in the garage and now you can hear everything just fine.

For a screen, we took a plain white sheet and added medium sized grommets across the top and down both sides.  It is not necessary to grommet the bottom side.  We just leave the nails in the fence so that we are ready at a moment's notice to pop the sheet up.

Some of our favorite family movies to watch outdoors include:

• "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938)
• "Babe" (1995)
• "The Apple Dumping Gang" (1975)
• "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again" (1979)
• "Back to the Future" (1985)
• "The Bad News Bears" (1976)
• "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969)
• "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982)
• "Field of Dreams" (1989)
• "Fly Away Home" (1996)
• "The Iron Giant" (1999)
• "Mary Poppins" (1964)
• "Peter Pan" (1953)
• "Pinocchio" (1940)
• "The Princess Bride" (1987)
• "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)
• "The Rookie" (2002)
• "The Secret of Roan Inish" (1994)
• "Star Wars" (1977)
• "Swiss Family Robinson" (1960)
• "The Three Musketeers"  (1974)
• "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962)

We've also been collecting previously loved (meaning very worn) quilts and blankets.  The kind you don't mind if juice gets spilled on them or cheesy popcorn fingers get wiped on them because you just throw them in the wash.  We have about 5 now, so they are at the ready.  

Movies!

Popcorn!

Quilts!

Friends!

Could there be anything better?

In the Garden: Mid Spring

Our little seedlings are not ready for big world of the garden.  So the past several days, my three little helpers and I have been planting away.

Some of what we planted early on and a few things that survived the winter, like the cilantro and kale, are now shooting up and going to seed.

 

We are trying our hands at some new things this year.  We're growing potatoes in pots.  I've never been able to grow potatoes before because of limited space, but this (so far) is working perfectly.  Looks like it is time to add another layer of soil to these.

The onions planted several weeks earlier, are off to a great start.

Last Fall I started a new herb bed along the back side of the house next to some slate pavers we found via freecycle.  The newspaper has been down all winter to kill the grass and weeks underneath and it was finally time to plant.  The new bed holds bee balm, rosemary, mint, thyme, basil and strawberries.

Despite several new beds, why does there never seem to be enough room to plan everything you want to?

Charles (Charley) Harper at the Virginia Living Museum Spring break is over and all three boys are back at school this morning. Which is nice. And sad at the same time. We had such a wonderful week. It really was.Camping.A hockey game.Neighborhood outdoor movie night. (more on that on Wednesday)Fishing. (yes he is tethered to the tree, just in case he hooks a big one tries to pull him in)and The Virginia Living Museum in Newport NewsWe have been wanting to visit the VLM for over a year now and just couldn't seem to make it work. But on Friday last week, my friend and I and our six kiddos between us, finally made it. They have bald eagles, wolves, bobcats and foxes, the green-house (my personal favorite) and so much other nature-y goodness that we didn't know what to do. But to top it all off, they had an art exhibit of Charley Harper's work. You can read more about him here. And a flickr fan club too.So good!I knew I recognized his work right off the bat. But it wasn't until I got home and read more about his illustrations in Childcraft books that it clicked. When I was a kid I poured over Childcraft books like they were the Bible itself. No wonder I could have spent the entire time looking at his work.Yet, another reason to expose our kiddos to good art while they are little. You might never know when you'll run into it again years down the road and something will click. April 12, 2010 in everyday moments, local goodness, mothering | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) Reblog (0) | | Digg This | Save to del.icio.us | |

Spring break is over and all three boys are back at school this morning.  Which is nice.  And sad at the same time.  We had such a wonderful week.  It really was.

Camping.

A hockey game.

Neighborhood outdoor movie night.  (more on that on Wednesday)

Fishing. (yes he is tethered to the tree, just in case he hooks a big one tries to pull him in)

and The Virginia Living Museum in Newport News

We have been wanting to visit the VLM for over a year now and just couldn't seem to make it work.  But on Friday last week, my friend and I and our six kiddos between us, finally made it.

They have bald eagles, wolves, bobcats and foxes, the green-house (my personal favorite) and so much other nature-y goodness that we didn't know what to do.  But to top it all off, they had an art exhibit of Charley Harper's work.  You can read more about him here.  And a flickr fan club too.

So good!

I  knew I recognized his work right off the bat.  But it wasn't until I got home and read more about his illustrations in Childcraft books that it clicked.  When I was a kid I poured over Childcraft books like they were the Bible itself. No wonder I could have spent the entire time looking at his work.

Yet, another reason to expose our kiddos to good art while they are little.  You might never know when you'll run into it again years down the road and something will click.