Taking Stock

The shift into autumn and the start of another school year seems like the perfect time to take stock....

Making : basil pesto
Cooking : summer harvest soup
Drinking : peppermint tea
Reading: old issues of Mollie Makes for some creative inspiration
Looking: for a brown leather handbag...no luck yet
Deciding: where to hang some pictures
Wishing: all weekends were three days long
Enjoying: cooler evenings
Waiting: for the yellow peppers to ripen in the garden
Liking: my new houseplant
Loving: how my Color Block blanket is coming along
Pondering: the cost of living
Listening: to this podcast...so good
Considering: how much honesty is appropriate
Buying: new shoes for the girls
Watching: Homeland
Hoping: for some good news
Marveling: at the girls' creativity
Cringing: at the music coming from my neighbor's yard
Needing: time for myself everyday
Smelling: my beeswax candle burning on the kitchen counter
Wearing: leggings
Noticing: that the leaves are changing color
Knowing: that I can do this, though I am not sure I want to
Thinking: about possible crochet projects
Getting: as organized as possible for the start of school
Coveting: this macrame wall hanging
Disliking: Halloween decorations in the shops already (!!??)
Opening: the latest Anthropologie catalogue
Feeling: a little anxious about the return to school and routine
Hearing: birds chirping through the open windows
Mixing: Greek yogurt and granola
Embracing: all the benefits of natural skin care products

(writing prompts courtesy of Pip)

36/52

"A portrait of my girls, once a week, every week, in 2016."

Claire: "Mommy, my smile has changed"

Bridget: more opinionated everyday....

Joining in with Jodi for the 52 Week Project.

Snippets of Me

Every once in a while I get out my SMASH book and add a few things. I'm not sure how popular these books are anymore - I got mine at a scrapbooking show several years ago where they were being flaunted and demonstrated everywhere you turned - but that is not really important, is it? For me, I love how this book is casual and quirky, how the whole philosophy behind it is to just put stuff inside - stuff that you love, words that inspire you, pictures that makes you smile, mementos that make you happy - what is not to love about that?

This time around I added a few pictures I took when I was deep in making my Cozy Stripe Blanket, and talked a little about why I love to crochet:

I also wrote down some of my favorite quotes:

And finally, this page, featuring a smiling horse and a gorgeous photo I took of a Dahlia when we were in Halifax last summer.

The pages are random, there is really no rhyme or reason to things other than that this is a place where I can record snippets of me. I made an "about me" page last year and really enjoyed reading it again now as I flipped through my book; so happy for a glimpse into who I was and what I was feeling then.

I have a few other page ideas for this book, mainly one with all the memorabilia I saved from when Steve and I were dating. I think it would be fun to get it all out of the shoe box and arrange it whimsically on these pages...not to mention, what a trip down memory lane that would be.

It feels so good to take this time for myself, to sip a cup of tea and record what I am feeling, who I am, my favorite memories, my deep and silly thoughts,....to get my story down on the page, even if that page also has a smiling horse on it.....

Local Produce Box: Week 10

So much goodness in this week's box: cabbage, cantaloupe, corn, field tomatoes, grape tomatoes, cucumber, pears, carrots, purple beans, potatoes, green pepper, and onion.

With this week's box being very similar to last week's, I didn't try any new recipes, but simply remade some of our favorite dishes. One night we even had an entire dinner prepared from what came in our box: Balsamic Honey Roasted Cabbage Steak (try this, it is delicious, and an excellent way to get cabbage into your diet), roasted potatoes (nothing fancy, just olive oil, salt, and pepper), and Tomato and Cucumber Salad (I was going to add basil from the garden, but it was pouring rain so I could not go outside). This was a lighter dinner, but with it being so hot outside, it was perfect.

As for the other produce we just ate it as it came: cantaloupe for dessert, grape tomatoes and carrots dipped in hummus, steamed beans, sliced pears...

I'm sure I sound like a broken record saying this again and again, but I love having all this produce available to us. It is local, and tasty (the way food is supposed to taste actually), and with all this in my fridge every week I am spending less time and money at the grocery store...

Tomorrow we pick up our next box....I'm excited to see what is inside.

I can not believe how much of a foodie I've become...

35/52

"A portrait of my girls, once a week, every week, in 2016."

We spent the day in the woods: hiking along the paths that were muddy from the previous days' torrential downpour, enjoying the breathtaking views over the edge of the escarpment, eating granola bars while sitting on fallen trees, prancing precariously on the edge of the creek, staring in wonder at the waterfalls. You girls walked, ran, and chatted the entire time, so completely happy...that is until the end of the walk when you were both very "hot and hungry". It is these simple days together that are my favorite.

Joining in with Jodi for the 52Week Project. 

Meet Ellie...

It has been so long since I have made a crochet toy, so very long. I used to make them all the time when my girls were little, but then didn't anymore.... because I went back to working full time and had less time to craft...working really cuts into crafting time, a harsh and sad reality....

But....I have been on vacation the last two weeks (glorious!) and as a result have had some serious crafting time, and with that, the little elephant that I began crocheting back in May is now finished.

Meet Ellie: 

Isn't she adorable? You bet she is. And she is all mine, currently sitting on the dresser in our bedroom, making me oh so very happy every time I see her.  

While I love to make these toys, I do tend to morph into an obsessive-perfectionist when it comes time to join all the pieces together: I count and recount the stitches between the arms and legs, find the center countless times, leave ends undone for days while I look at the toy from every angle...all to make sure that everything is exactly straight and centered.  I got this way when finishing off Ellie, so much so that Steve exclaimed "good grief, you did a great job, stop nit-picking your work". And he was right, it was time to move on, time to stop obsessing. This was last night, and today when I looked at Ellie again I loved what I saw and walked away without recounting anything....no more nit-picking.

As for my yarn choices, I used Bernat Handicrafter cotton from my stash to crochet this cutie; I am still stash busting and even resisted a trip to the local yarn sale, remaining firm in my decision to work only from the yarn I have on hand....yeah me!

On the crochet front, I now only have two projects on the go: my Color Block Blanket and my wreath. And I intend to finish these projects before I start any others; I find it a little overwhelming to have too many projects on the go at one time....

Local Produce Box: Week 9

Our first produce box after our vacation was a real treat: cucumber, potatoes, green peppers, grape tomatoes, field tomatoes, zucchini, corn, onions, beets, carrots, cantaloupe, cabbage, and chum.

Have you ever heard of chum? I hadn't, so I did a little research and learned that they are a hybrid of plums and cherries. They have a pit inside and a very bitter plum taste. I was not overly keen on them, but the girls loved them.

The cantaloupe was absolutely delicious, perfectly sweet. I did not even know that they grew cantaloupe in Canada. Many years ago when we were in Costa Rica for vacation we saw fields and fields of cantaloupe growing under the tropical sun and I never would of thought that these melons would grow here in the north. Thank you produce box for teaching me something else about local food.

I was happy to be back in the kitchen this week cooking up delicious meals for my family. Here is what I made:

(from left to right)

1. Cabbage and Carrot Coleslaw - one of my own creations. I cut up the cabbage, shredded some carrots, and diced up a little onion, mixed it all together, and dressed it with Honey Chive Dressing (recipe from The Forest Feast cookbook). 
2. Carrot "Noodle" Salad - recipe courtesy of The Forest Feast for Kids. The recipe calls for the carrots to be cut into "noodles" using a spiralizer (which I just bought and was trying for the first time). Unfortunately this tool seems to work better with fatter carrots, and with the exception of one carrot, the carrots that came in the produce box were too thin. I will try making this salad again when I have fatter carrots on hand, but have to say that even though the presentation was a little off, the salad was delicious.
3. Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Basil - another one of my creations: tomato, cucumber, fresh basil from the garden, all dressed in olive oil. The girls gobbled it up.
4. Quinoa Zucchini Fritatta Muffins - recipe courtesy of The Forest Feast (where else?). These muffins are a little bit of work - you have to cook the quinoa and shred the zucchini first - but they are worth it...

We are right in the thick of the summer bounty now, with such great things coming in our produce box and from our garden....I'm so thankful for all these fresh fruits and vegetables...