Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Forsythia Road


There is a stretch of Road in good 'ol Delaware- rt 100 that runs behind Winterthur that has a pretty amazing display of Forsythia this time of year. I took a little wobbly video of the road on my cell phone the other day and thought you might like to have a spring blast of yellow in your face! The first version was only a partial selection... but the day was bright and so were the flowers.


This second version is the entire stretch of Forsythia on a slightly cloudier day...  double click on the video to watch it super large on youtube if you like.

Have a great Wednesday!

xo
abs

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Our trip so far...


We are HERE, in Maine arriving yesterday after an epic road trip with our toddler. I have plenty to say on the topic, but I will wait until the verdict is in on our return trip when our little experiment will be complete.  One thing is for sure it would have been an easier voyage if we had an RV or if we left the toddler at home- joke (kinda).  But overall we are having a great little vacay as our family of three.  I'll share more pics and travel tips next week but I just wanted to check in and say hi from MAINE!


around town, btw it's in the 30s here, even Mainers are shocked after their freak 80 degree weekend!


the view of the harbor from our hotel room


little detail of our first family vacation as a family of three...


downside of not finding an apartment to rent- a lot of time drinking coffee and tea in the bathroom while the baby falls asleep...


the upside- my favorite breakfast of Eggs beni with fried green tomatoes from Hot Suppa...

If you like what you see- fee free to follow me on twitter and on instagram- "tiptoethrough"


Monday, March 26, 2012

A Love Letter to Spring



Hi all!  By the time you're reading this we will be on the road heading north to Maine for our little spring break vacay. We are very excited!!! You can follow our trip by following me on twitter and on instagram "tiptoethrough" and I'll be sure to share bits and pieces here on the blog through out the week! Here is this week's Love Letter to Spring.
xo
abs


























Friday, March 23, 2012

How do you find daily magic?


this is how I feel today, and really most days... I find this image hilariously accurate. I guess that's why they call it a "Laundry List" one's to-do list seems to be a never ending flow where the machine hardly has time to catch its breath...  

While doing the dishes today I was thinking about my friday blog post- what should I write about!? Should I choose from the long list of blog posts I have drafted in my head, but never seem like I have time or the will to sit down and make them perfect enough to publish...? Should I share a round up of images of the unfinished projects I have lying around in little nooks and corners? Or perhaps bore everyone but my family with more home videos of the toddler? I'll save the video post for later...

So instead I'll briefly discuss something I've been thinking about intensely over the past year... 

How Do you have daily magic in your life?

Even that sentence, that question seems hokey and like I'm going to have it hand painted on my entryway or some such cheesiness, but it's a question I turn to when it feels like we desperately look forward to the weekend, to a future vacation, or trip... if I can just get through this week, etc. (and as I mentioned before we currently don't have a "weekend" with our little family... hence why it's important for me to find this break, this magic through out the week.) This is something I've been discussing with the husband for a while and although I don't have a solid response, just asking the question makes me feel like I am striving towards a bigger better goal with my life and not settling for the mundane, or being ignorant of what life could be. I just don't want to waste time always looking forward instead of enjoying the present...

Ultimately I know that during the seemingly hectic week - it's the little things we can do to make our lives feel special, to feel magical. For example I am obsessed with Terrain's new soap "Sea Salt and Lavender"  (not currently available online but their Vintage Peony is lovely and by the same brand). Using this soap in the shower really feels like a treat, a mini spa day. That's an example of a little day to day thing, but what about the bigger elements that would soak one's day in light?  I know Gratitude is something I've spoken about before, and it's true that it helps make chores palatable ; ) ...  But for me I also find it easier to find daily magic when I live more closely with nature.  

I guess I've been thinking more about this as we prep for our trip back up to Maine on Monday.  Although there were pros and cons to living in Maine, I loved it there because of the accessibility to this magic thing I've been yammering on about. Plus after all the places I've lived, since going to boarding school at 16, Maine was the first place (besides my Aunt and Uncle's farm) that really felt like home. While in Maine even doing the dishes had it's potential for magic- looking out the window at the foggy landscape hearing the fog horn on the harbor and the seagulls up above, feeling the weather, the seasons (remember seasons!?). If we were having a rough day- we simply put the dog on the leash and went for a big walk around Portland where we had easy beach access and could walk for hours... in the burbs I walk around a circle, not the same... My seasonal Monday Blog posts- A Love Letter to Spring, Summer and so on- are a little way I try to start my week with a visual treat, with a little bit of magic... I also pin "magic" to my STUNNING board on pinterest. Well, I'll try and stop here, as I could go on and on about this topic, as I'm sure I will in the future. Plus prepare yourself for more Maine Musings this next week as I share pictures and favorite locations with you through twitter and my blog. 

In the mean time here are some pictures of bits of daily magic from this past week... Let me know how you find escapist moments and daily magic through out your week?


our bedroom tea station


the trees bloomed this week


sleepy dog


swinging


afternoon tradition


from the passenger seat




Thursday, March 22, 2012

Links and Such


Hey all! Happy Thursday, congratulations you made it, you are now soooo close to the weekend! I'm pretty excited because we are heading to Portland, Maine on Monday to spend 5 days in our old stomping grounds with the little miss. Taking her back to her birth place where we plan on eating at all of our favorite places, catching up with friends, hanging out on the Eastern Prom, walking on the beach, checking out light houses and seagulls, as you do! I'll be sure to blog more about our mini holiday, in the meantime, here are this week's Link and Such!


ombre tights
bad ass NYC roof top gardener- bees and chickens y'all!
make paper flowers- with this tutorial
adorable doll kit
knotty jewelry
cabbage bowl- perfect for hosting an Easter party
want these sandals
toast with pesto, shrimp and garlic!
25 fonts, for font snobs
perfect statement earrings
just what my iPhone needs!
pretty bracelets
maybe the one thing my tired mom ass needs?
a lamp shade made of slides- luv this idea
New Board: Mother's day Gift Guide



Wednesday, March 21, 2012

... just because


ahhhh a very good ending to a very good series. I shamelessly will admit that I could and have watched this clip many times this past weekend... what a perv. KIDDING. It's just too good. If you haven't seen the series North & South then this clip is a spoiler- and do not watch it! 

You can check out more Downton Abbey - esque suggestions HERE (although I feel like North and South kinda kicks Downton in the butt).

Spring Clean plus Other tricky Fixes


Since it's now officially spring, I thought a spring clean post was in order! Mostly to help kick my butt in gear. So here's a little round up of some fun links to help you as well! ; )

Martha's Daily/weekly/monthly cleaning lists
and her summer housekeeping tips (why not!? it sure feels like summer!)
DIY Green Cleaning recipes
Spring clean your Mattress
Real Simple Magazine's 101 quick clean solutions
plus their tricks on how to make the clean last longer
clean car headlights with toothpaste!
35 Green pest remedies
Stain remover 101


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

What I learned this week and it's only Tuesday


*I'm officially a real mom- dancing like a dork in the car to entertain our toddler.

* Ever have a stalker? that's what having a mobile toddler is like... poof just when you think you've lost them- they're right there pulling on your pant leg.

* There is a socially acceptable amount of peanut butter one can wear out in public.

* Yogurt is like white deodorant, just when you think you have it off your clothes or face- it reappears crusty and yellow.

* Even with a dog on clean up, feeding a hard boiled egg to a toddleer is a messy thing, making tiny crumbs that even the dog can not find.

*A Frisbee in the car is a fantastic impromptu puke receptical- as is one's hand as my husband also demonstrated.

* My diaper bag should now include band aids- her speed and mobility are not always so sure footed, and I should be prepared!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Vintage Shop Update, Plus 30% off ends tonight!


I'm listing a lovely little stash of vintage aprons this afternoon into my vintage shop GrayDay. They are perfect for spring and some would make a cute gift for mom for Mother's Day! Take advantage of my SPRINGFLING sale happening now with 30% off my entire vintage shop, act fast because the sale ends tonight at midnight EST!








A Love Letter to Spring



Morning all, hope you had a great weekend! A Happy Mother's Day yesterday to all the English Ladies including my Cousin who celebrated her first Mother's Day! 

and pst- don't forget my 30% off Vintage sale ends tonight at midnight EST! Have a great Monday.


























Sunday, March 18, 2012

What to cook Up this Weekend: Ebelskivers


For Christmas the Husband (the baker in the family) received an ebelskiver pan and cookbook from my parents. It was one of those gifts that was completely unexpected and hit the nail on the head! The husband is a big breakfast guy and unbeknownst to us, had admired the ebelskiver pan from afar. SCORE! Since Christmas we've been cooking them up on the occasional Sunday morning and they are a huge hit. So tasty, that I was unable to get a lovely staged final shot of the little treats before they were consumed! whoops.  Ebelskivers are basically little round pancakes. 

For the plain variety: you simply fill each pocket with the batter and then (once you get the timing down) flip them with the special wooden curved sticks. This was the trickiest part to get down, but I'm getting pretty good at it! Look at that handy work, so graceful!



You can eat them plain with a dusting of powdered sugar... OR you can be a rockstar and fill them with Nutella, jam, or peanut butter etc etc. The Nutella and jam ones have been the most successful... we have also combined a few fillings together like- nutella + peanut butter and a PB & J variety, but the classic solo fillings are the best. In order to fill an ebelskiever- you simply put less batter in each pocket. Then add your filling, and top it off with more batter before flipping them over.


So popular and dangerous, that this the only shot I was able to capture of the finished product! The cookbook provides a variety of other ebelskiver variations as well. I bet if you think of them as a miniature crepe you could really have some fun with them! Use cheese as the filling and poof- a fun appetizer party treat!

Yum, Yum!

~abs

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