Pages

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Holiday Weekend Fun

Thankful for:

~BEAUTIFUL finally summer weather
~Window fans that cool off
~New outside water toys
~Cooking on the grill
~Family & Friends
~A little one who loves to dress in Mama's shoes (& purse & clothes)
~Toddler legs
~Lazy summer afternoons
~Little ones who are content with a pen & paper
~The inevitable pen marks on said toddler after pen & paper fun
~Those who protect our country
~Summer watermelon
~And corn on the cob
~And potato salad
~The birds singing
~The summer roses blooming
~Cut flowers on the kitchen counter
~The sound of lawn mowers
~The smell of grass
~So much more

So thankful that all this was packed into just one three day weekend!

Monday, May 30, 2011

Project Spectrum

Another round of Project Spectrum began at the beginning of May. Project Spectrum is the creative project of Lauren from Lolly Knitting Around. This is my second time participating and I'm really enjoying the focusing on one color a month.

To begin this round May's color to focus on was red. Above are a few pictures that I took throughout this month. Not as many as I had hoped but still some.

I had knit a pair of baby booties out of the yarn in the bottom...again I had wanted to knit a few other projects but it just didn't happen! I do have a few projects all set to go for June when the color is green!

I love Project Spectrum for it's wide variety of interpretation. There is no limit on where your creativity can take you as you delve into each color. I chose to go very laid back for May and yet red still seemed to pop up...almost like it found me rather then the other way around!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Lemon Sunshine

It rained here for almost 2 weeks straight. Then we had one GORGEOUS day and then more rain for 5 more full days. By the 15th day of rain I was ready to go crazy!

Then our local grocery had lemons on sale. So I bought a bunch, went to my new favorite blog for recipes: Smitten Kitchen and found this post with a recipe for Lemon Bars.

I made them with the 1:1 ratio. I'm not all that fond of lemony tartness but my husband LOVES it. So I pretty much made these for his taste buds and for my need for bright color in the house!

They came out a little too tart/sweet for my taste but they weren't too bad as I ate quite a bit myself! And they did brighten up my kitchen and now the sun has been shinning in and out so everything is good!

Friday, May 27, 2011

This Moment {Smelling the Flowers}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Joining Amanda again this week! And a special congrats to the Soule Family on the birth of their new daughter!!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Late night Daybook

FOR TODAY: May 24; but only for about a half hour more!

Outside my window... dark! And I just heard some rain. AGAIN.

I am thinking... Of how this late night is going to hurt in the morning!

I am thankful for... my husband who has been working such long hours to provide for us

From the kitchen... It's been raining for almost 2 weeks so there has been lots going on in the kitchen lately. Tonight I made lemon bars. A post on those tomorrow once I get pictures taken!

I am wearing... a white tee-shirt and pink pajama bottoms

I am creating... Christmas socks for my dad

I am going... to bed soon

I am reading... A Homemade Life

I am hoping... that sleeps come easily

I am hearing... silence

Around the house... it's all picked up for night-time.

One of my favorite things... freshly cleaned bed sheets

Picture thought... a lone flower in the backyard

Monday, May 23, 2011

In the Kitchen

These pictures are of the process of making homemade sauce in order to make eggplant parmesan. While making it I found the deliciousness of fried eggplant. Oh YUM! I never thought I liked eggplant (until I tried it) and can't believe what I've been missing all these years!
For the first time last week I did what I've been talking about for months: made a menu plan. And WOW! Talk about making the agonizing decision of what to have for dinner so much easier when 4pm comes around! Not to mention feeling good about going out for the day and knowing what I'll be needing to prepare when I get home!

So I sat down yesterday and did it again for this week. Now I just need to start making it up a little earlier so I can start making only ONE trip to the grocery store a week! But it's still progress!

Monday: Leftover eggplant parmesan
Tuesday: sausage and pasta
Wednesday: Beef Stew
Thursday: frozen pizza
Friday: American chop suey
Saturday: Chicken pot pie

Friday, May 20, 2011

This Moment {The cooking edition!}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Joining Amanda again this week!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Wednesday

I came home yesterday to a most wonderful surprise on my porch! I huge bunch of lilacs! Lilacs are my absolute favorite flower and I was so bummed to find out that there is no lilac tree here. A friend found out about it and dropped some off for me today!

And to top it all off my wonderful husband came home with a cheesecake. Today was a most awesome day!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Yarn Along

Once again joining Ginny's Yarn Along!
Almost the same picture as last week! Except that I'm at the stage of sewing all the parts of the sweater together and I'll be finished! I've been at this stage since the past weekend. Anyone else procrastinate when it's time to sew the finished product up? This is why I usually find patterns that DOESN'T include stitching!

A few people asked last week if I would be knitting the hat as well. I don't think so. Just the sweater this time around!

Also the same book as last week except that I've begun it! I'm not very far into it but I'm enjoying it. It's making me remember different recipes that bring back so many memories from my youth. I'd never before realized how tied together many happy memories of my growing up revolved around my mom's kitchen. It's making me try to be more aware as I think over my own family's menus...I want my daughter to have fond memories of my cooking as well!

But I'm starting to get into a post that I want to write up for next week sometime! :-)

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Right now....

~I'm wearing a heavy sweater & thick socks
~the sky is raining. Again. Still.
~I'm sipping a hot coffee
~I'm planning menus
~And grocery lists
~And dreaming of chocolate
~I'm thinking of bright flowers
~Of bright sun & warm breezes
~I'm hoping that spring really IS around here somewhere!!

But I'm very thankful for a warm house; warm coffee; warm clothes. I made meatballs and sauce this afternoon for dinner. I'd really like to be grilling and eating outside. That's not happening this week! But whenever I need a little pick-me-up I just look onto the porch, see these gorgeous flowers greeting me and feel better!!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Rainy day daybook

FOR TODAY: May 16, 2011

Outside my window... Gray and showers every so often. Pretty much what it's going to be like all week. After a weekend of it too!

I am thinking... I need to come up with some sort of exercise routine.

I am thankful for... a job!

From the kitchen... I've made a menu plan for the week!! I'm so excited! Tonight will be left overs.

I am wearing... black yoga pants, pink tee shirt and black zippered sweatshirt.

I am creating... a grocery list & finishing up a sweater for M-T

I am going... to finish the sweater once I finish up a few chores

I am reading... A Homemade Life

I am hoping... to be able to get outside for just a few minutes at some point this week

I am hearing... birds tweeting and a dog barking

Around the house... took it easy...too easy this weekend! There's piles of laundry (Why does it seem like one day there's none and the next it's overflowing?); bathroom that need cleaning; toys that need picking up; beds that need clean sheets.

One of my favorite things... the smell of lilacs! I'm so bummed we don't have a lilac tree here

Picture thought... my little big girl loves exploring in the backyard!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Mother's Day Flowers




The gift that keeps on giving! I got three beautiful hanging baskets of flowers for Mother's Day. I love it! Now I need to make sure I water them every day so they keep coming back!

I hope everyone has a beautiful weekend!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Yarn Along

Once again joining Ginny's Yarn Along!

A few weeks ago I talked about how I was working on a Shalom Cardigan for myself. I got everything but the arms finished and decided I didn't like it. It didn't fit right; the drape was all wrong etc. It really didn't hurt all that much taking it out either so that must be the sign that it really wasn't for me!

Then I had a whole bunch of balls of yarn that needed knitting! (See at the beginning of the year I had made a decision that any yarn I bought this year NEEDED to be used as soon as bought....no stash making.)

I want to make my daughter a sweater each year of her life. She got a little one when she was three weeks old and I had every intention of knitting her 1 year sweater for her 1st birthday but that didn't happen. So I decided to use the yarn from my not sweater to make up hers. (Rav link. It's called the Boat Ride).

I finished the back and am almost done with the front and it's going great! I'm excited to finish it up and with the way the weather has been around here lately she may be able to wear it a bit before summer kicks in!

As for reading there really hasn't been all that much of that going on again. I did check this book out of the library last week "A Homemade Life" on the recommendation of a fellow blogger whom I can't remember at the moment! I'm hoping to begin tonight when the little one is in bed.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Slice of Life Tuesday {Delight}

I haven't been taking pictures for the Slice of Life project these past few weeks but decided to jump back on the bandwagon this week. I may go back and "fill in" the few that I missed in the coming days.

This week's "subject" was Delight. I've been delighting in the foods of spring the past few days!! And this....summer squash....is a HUGE delight for me! I love making summer squash casserole and that is exactly what I did for Mother's Day for myself!! Here's to many more this spring & summer!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Weekend

It was a beautiful Mother's Day weekend full of family, friends & flowers!! My sweet daughter (with the help of her Daddy) got me wonderful gift cards for coffee and craft stores and took me out for dinner.

Then yesterday we spent a lot of the day planning dinner for my mom & grandmother. Even though I like to be spoiled I'd much rather be planning the spoiling of others! It was a beautiful weekend and I'm so blessed with my wonderful family!

Friday, May 6, 2011

This Moment {Flying kites}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Joining Amanda again this week!
(Despite the kite in the tree we really did have tons of fun!!)

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Fabric goodies

I got ambitious just before Easter and decided that I wanted to make up things as little gifts. And then didn't take pictures of things before giving them away!

I grabbed the few things that are still at our house and took a few pictures:

I made up three of these bags for the little girls in our life and filled them with some goodies. I loosely based them on the pattern from Noodlehead: The Library Tote.

And these little chickies I made by cutting up a chick my mom had made before I was even born and using it as a pattern. While over her house awhile ago my husband saw my mom's (she has a whole bunch) and wanted some. So these 4 little lovelies were in his Easter basket. I made doubles of each color and gave them away as little gifts.

That's just a smattering of the projects that were taking place here in the weeks leading up to Easter!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Yarn Along!

This week once again joining Ginny's Yarn Along!

I'm working on a few Mother's Day projects for my mom who LOVES penguins! At Christmas time I made her a few dish clothes with the penguin pattern. She uses them all the time so I decided to make up a few more for her.

This week not too much reading going on again but I have been looking through many different patterns looking for things to make my daughter using the sewing machine. I checked these two Anna Maria Horner books out of the library: Handmade Beginnings and Seams to Me.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Let's go fly a kite!

Yesterday was the 2nd birthday of a little friend of M-T's so we all went out to fly kites, swing on the swings & have a little birthday celebration. This was the first time the little's got to fly kites and the wind sure did cooperate!! It was so much fun! Although I think us Mama's had more fun then the little girls!

Monday, May 2, 2011

This Weekend....

We:
~found a new playground
~enjoyed lots of time outside
~had a surprise visit
~watched a Royal wedding
~worshipped our God
~took naps
~knit a whole bunch
~spent time with family
~made play dates for this week
~ran errands
~smelled the flowers
~shared meals
~finished chores
~counted our blessings & gave thanks to be alive!