Friday, July 29, 2011

Weekend Project: Get out your hooks and needles!


It's probably the last thing you might be thinking about this weekend... the thought of dealing with wool or any fiber besides your spandex bathing suit is probably the furthest thing from your mind.  But I'm thinking about it, because fall will be here before you know it... and I always end up kicking myself for not having a hat or cowl made to mark the new season!!!!   My cousin and I actually went to the local yarn store yesterday. I'm going to help her knit a cowl neck and I have yarn for a special secret knitting project I will share once it's completed. In the mean time I thought it would be fun and perhaps inspiring to share some other knitting and crochet projects I have "pinned" to my to-make-list!


If you crochet, what about making a darling colorful rattle?


For the guy in your life, this gray hat is simple and classic.


super easy baby blanket from purl bee


buff up on your skills with this seamless crochet technique


or try your hand at hand quilting!


or try this fun badminton heart project!

have a great weekend and let me know what you make, recipes included!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Links and Such


Happy Thursday! Isn't this room great? I love the plush neutral bedding with the pops of color in the smaller pieces of furniture. And how about that window!? That's the real show stopper. I love that it's yellow... and it really works with the minimal decor and tall ceilings. Would you ever try something like that? 

Here are this week's Links and Such, enjoy.

darling necklace, especially if you have a Peanut in your life (which I do)!
ever heard of The Leisure Dive ?
THE GOOD LIFE- a hand painted stool, too cute for a kid's room.
Website for free graphics to download, print, use, even frame?
Using lemons in flower arranging

and
my ramblings about the little miss turning 9 months old.
and
my Quilt is in this treasury on etsy

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

9 months old...







The little miss is officially 9 months old. Crazy, crazy.  Sort of at a lose for words, well no that rarely happens, more like at a lose for where to begin!?  How do you asses these past 9 months?  (how will I even process her turning a year old in October and so on..?)  I will admit, next to my natural home birth, raising a baby full time has been the hardest thing I have ever done. People often tell you this, and it's easy to brush them off... because in most cases it feels like they are Mr. or Mrs. doom and gloom telling you life sucks in general, the same people that refer to their spouse as the 'ol ball and chain...  But in another way, from a different aesthetic- this is THEE hardest thing I have ever done.  

Sure being pregnant was not always super fun and had its good times and its more challenging times, but this is a totally different mindset.  I once heard someone describe birth as -going to the moon-  and I found that to be true and feel that it holds up when defining the subsequent months of raising and caring for a baby. It's like going to the moon.  It's both glorious and isolating all at once. It's out of my realm of normal, completely new and unchartered territory.  The word survival comes to mind ; )  But it's this mysterious inner strength that is the amazing part, this unrecognizable will that often takes the wheel just when you don't think you can breast feed any longer, or pick up the heaviest baby known to man, or be cried at, or continue to put your stuff on hold. What stuff?  And this "will" that keeps you engaged and "on" at all times like the clown that parenting requires you to be, as you dance around the kitchen waving your arms in the air, making up a song about the microwave all to amuse a baby while their food is heating up... this "will" that keeps you intact, that somehow tells you that brushing your own teeth today, getting out of your pajamas before lunch are all worthy and noble mini victories, this "will" that has essentially turned you into a pasty triathlon runner with the mindset to go the distance, to "RUN, Forest RUN" all the way across the continental Unites States and back again because some where in you there is this thing that pushes you on  ... this "will" is (yup you guessed it) LOVE.

And. It's. Insane. 

It's like you went ahead fell in love, had a baby and now the love that you had for each other that was just for the two of you... that was at times self centered has EXPLODED all over the room. And now instead of just being consumed with our relationship ... I watch us fall in love with our daughter on a daily basis. Sure there are moments when I don't like her so much, but I always love her, always will. The other insane part is being another link in the chain of your family generation, of future generations... we talk about this sometimes and it blows our minds. (not in a trippin kind of way, mind you. Just a looking up at the stars type of moment when your brain gets a new wrinkle).

anyway... my point is (after writing this at midnight last night) that these 9 months have been wild, fun, hard, challenging, lovely, inspiring, exhausting, all consuming... a special time in my life. I normally don't write so openly on my blog like this, but I thought it was important to share an overarching view of the changes in my life. I feel that, as women, we don't always share the hard stuff. Sometimes out of kindness to not scare the ones that are on deck, or from this old school 1950's view that there are just some things you don't talk about, that admitting that this baby-thing is hard, or that you had a rough day- is weak or unsightly.... but here it is in all it's glory.  And it reminds me of the first thing I said after she was born, as I sat in our home birth tub holding her... "I would do this again!" that's the crazy-ass insane love talking, and it's true.

Happy Wednesday!


Monday, July 25, 2011

A Love letter to summer


My third installment of my new blog series A Love letter to summer... and I'm digging deep! The heat wave this past weekend was a bit of a bear.  We went to the shore but stayed inside during the day and ventured out for cooler night time walks on the beach. It was still a fun time but definitely one of those  summer moments where I had to focus on the more positive aspects of why I would write a love letter to summer after it felt like it did me wrong ; ) Easy to do in an air conditioned house! enjoy.








buy the print HERE











Friday, July 22, 2011

A Few Tasty Solutions to Beat the Heat Wave !


Ooooo wee it is HOT! It's suppose to break 100+ degrees here in the Philly area today! yikes. I'm staying cool by staying inside and looking up some fun drink recipes and other chilling tasty treats. Here's what I've found so far. Let me know if you make one this weekend!?







Maple Leaf Rag Sundae recipe from Philly's awesome Franklin Soda Fountain




Blueberry Ice Cream by sfgirlbybay



And a little heat wave blog post from last summer: The Dog Days of Summer

Stay cool and have a great weekend!!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Links and Such



Happy Thursday everyone! Don't you just love the above picture? I found it on Pinterest of course. It reminds me of my wedding bouquet. Although much more grand in physical size... it's aroma made me burry my face in its petals and I wanted to just live in those big peonies and cabbage roses... anyway my blog has been going through some subtle changes and tweeks as I ready it for a new blog header- the big reveal TBD. Overall a pretty good week in our little household, despite the heat! We might escape to the shore again this weekend... which will no doubt inspire future Love Letters to Summer. Here are this week's Links and Such, enjoy!

Never before seen pictures of The Beatles
Rubber Stamp Business Cards
pretty bouquet- more similar to my wedding bouquet
10 pieces made of cork
thimble rubber stamp
Love this wooden animal puzzle
Crocheted wooden teething rings
A Goodbyn Lunchbox Review (love these btw!)
Recipe: Chard and white bean stew with a poached egg

AND

Listen to the first Mix I made on 8 Tracks: Fireflies and Cornfields

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Going Green by Going Vintage


A little combination of themes this week... as you may know I do a little Handmade Shout Out every week of some lovely things I heart on etsy, and this week I thought I would turn my attention to some great little vintage finds. After all part of being "Green" is buying recycled/repurposed/vintage goods. You can get lost down the rabbit hole of Vintage on Etsy, so this is only the tip of the iceberg! You can check out more of my Etsy Favorites HERE.  Enjoy!

Above: Vintage grainsack pillow, by Jillbent





Vintage Nautical Tablecloth, by UncleBunksTrunk


Tic Tac Toe House Dress, by FancyLuckyVintage



Tuesday, July 19, 2011

So this has been happening...


now that the baby is crawling all over she is learning how to play with our dog Millie... here's a little video of them at the shore.  (caution it is a 3 min video- a bit home-movie esque, but cute, of course I am bias!) 


and the little miss solo crawling down the hall

cover art


How great is Gillian Welch's new album cover!?  I love it. I just purchased the cd and am easing my way into these lovely songs, becoming acquainted with each story and melody... perfect for summer. ah her music makes me want to live in the middle of fields on a farm with kids and dogs running around getting dirty and being content and happy.  Thus the cover really fits the music. Read more about The Harrow and The Harvest HERE.

After searching around on NPR's website I came across these videos about the making of the cover art by Aardvark Letterpress in L.A. (more proof why you should purchase the actual album rather than download it from i-tunes, dangit!) And listen to the interview on Fresh Air with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Recipe: Grilled Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad


We spent another lovely weekend at the shore and as always we had some leftover corn to reckon with. Having seen a tasty corn, avocado and tomato salad recipe on piterest (from the blog For the Love of Cooking), I knew just what to make! The salad was very tasty and we loved the honey and lime dressing, what a great idea.  I love this new-to-me blog! check out more recipes I love on my pinterest board: Tasty treats I want to eat.

a love letter to summer



last week I started a new little blog series called "a love letter to summer". It's a visual collection of all things summer with the occasional recipe or how to. Here is the second installment. Happy Summer!






LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...