CHERRIES

It's getting to be Cherry Season, and I am so excited!

I have always loved cherries, but my passion for them intensified after spending two summers in Michigan near Traverse City. Traverse City is known as the Cherry Capital and every summer they have a Cherry Festival! Yeah, that's right a Festival completely dedicated to the wonderful fruit that is the Cherry! I'm half tempted to take a road trip this year to the festival, and I'm sure in years to come I will be one of those tourists who books my room a year in advance for this special occasion.

Another Michigan favorite of mine is Cherry Republic! Their ice cream is AMAZING- Cherry Garcia doesn't even stand a chance!  And if you can't visit their lovely shop and ice cream store in person- their online store fits the bill!!! I'm even signed up for their email updates, which are fun to get throughout the year, especially during the gray months of winter.

We have a little Cherry rule in my family- To make a classic Cherry pie you will need Cherries packed in water. This makes the pie so fresh and tasty with none of this corn syrup crap, no thank you! ( Let me know in the comments if you want our pie recipe and I'll share it!)

Huffingtonpost's food section has some fun Cherry recipes from classic desserts to fun sides like Cherry salsa!

I hope this has inspired you to get yourself some cherries and to whip up something fun this summer or keep it classic with a simple bowl of the tasty fruit!

Time travel, can we all be 30 at once?

I remember maybe 10 years back or so, my father waxing nostalgic and sweet- proposing how much fun it would be for everyone in the family to be 30 at once- grandparents, children and grandchildren all hanging out at 30... As my 30th year ticks away and my big birthday approaches in January, and as I count the weeks until I bring a new family member into the fold... my husband and I have fun now and again thinking about this concept and playing it out in our imaginations. It would truly be sweet for sure...  

And once again going through more family slides as I look for landscapes for my etsy shop, I came across these two images that reminded me of my father's concept. 

Above is a picture of my Maternal Grandmother horsing around while on vacation. Sweet dress huh?

And here are my maternal grandparents doing what they did best, teasing, laughing and loving each other.  Yes indeed, it would be awesome to all be 30 at once. But in many ways I feel like I did see a young side of my grandparents throughout my childhood, they were always very youthful and carefree. So maybe that's the goal- to continue to be our best selves and not to put a label or expectation on age or aging....  anyway, I've read and have personally realized- how one's pregnancy is often a time of reflection on your past, your family, your childhood etc. So this photo documenting process I'm certain is a part of this whole retrospective I'm happily particiapting in plus I like these pictures and wanted to share. (remember- click on them to view larger)

Sneak a peek! upcoming on my print shop

I've been working on some sketches for silkscreen prints for both paper prints and to print on fabric. I am going to print on canvas bags and swatches of fabric for pillows etc for my graydays print shop. Let me know what you would like to see more of in my shop, I love feedback!

Father's Day gift ideas: some inspiring links...

Alpha Mom has a fun diy custom Father's day foodie gift package idea.
Craftzine will teach you how to etch glass ware for that special Dad!
Martha Stewart has some fun home made card ideas as well as tasty recipes!
Stylecrave offers a unique list of Father's Day gift ideas for the "Man's Man".
Frugal Living offers 8 cost effective ideas for Dad!
Urban Outfitters has a cool Recreaction section that is ripe with inspiration for dad.
Fashion in Motion has a variety of classic and untraditional father's day gifts, with a few world cup inspired items in the mix!
And as always I LOVE the gift of Art! and 20x200 has a lot of great work to choose from!

Hope this helps with your last minute ideas!

Some Links to get you through...

Mint- a design blog that I subscribe to. Love getting their little email gems in the morning.
Been enjoying the chill new album from Josh Ritter "So Runs The World Away".
Video of a tortoise helping out his buddy.
Coco+Kelley- another fun design blog.
A list of the 50 best "Mom Blogs"
Weleda- natural skin care and beauty products. (I am using one of their oils for my "pregnancy skin")
And always a favorite- Design Sponge and Not Martha.

Happy hump day!

French Film: To be and To have

Tonight, while knitting and prepping for my busy day off tomorrow, I was excited to learn that one of my favorite french documentaries was available to watch instantly on Netflix.

To be and To have chronicles a teacher in a small French town who teaches a variety of ages within one classroom. I am always struck by his patience and calm in handling and negotiating everyday school situations.  This is a darling film where the kids are cute and the story is uplifting and warms the heart- worth the watch (over and over again)!

NEW Wrist bands on UrbanKnitfits!

Finally added two new color wrist bands to the shop! A Rosy Pink, and a Sea foam Green.

 Both very soft and stretchy. Custom sizes are available!

Looking back and Looking Forward- converting slides to digital

I have a bucket load of old slides that my Grandparents took over the years. Some of the images are so fabulous I felt that I should convert them to jpgs for family preservation.  My grandparents traveled a lot and thus within their collection are vintage images of Hong Kong, Paris, Egypt, etc.  The Travel images and some of the ones between, I will list as photographs to buy on my grayday etsy shop for the home.

Today was my first day using my slide attachment on our new camera. There are still a few kinks to figure out before I can list images. Mainly I need a tripod a more consistent light source, practice and ideally a light table would be awesome!  But for now here are a few of my favorite family images.

Above: is my Uncle on my grandparent's speed boat on the Chesapeake. I think this picture would look awesome SUPER SUPER big in a contemporary/simple frame in a living room or a fun surprise in a kitchen.

My Grandfather playing one of his many accordions at my great grandmother's house.

And my beautiful mother in all of her 60's fabulousness.

I will share more as I go along, and ultimately you will be able to purchase some of these prints on my shop!