Which Way to the Beach?

I can almost smell the ocean and hear the waves crashing when I look at this picture.  A soul-restoring trip to San Diego -- coffees with a sweet friend, beach beach beach, and busy, busy kids.

Moonlight Beach is our very favorite



                                            We made these super cute softies one day during little-one naptimes.  We used whatever was handy: felt, cut-off legs from jeans, and beads. Very fun impromptu craft.  Meet Fern. 

We end our visits with a delicious trip to Honey's in Encinitas (and, of course, the beach).

First Pets

 Some families have a dog.  Or a cat.  Or a guinea pig.  We (I) can handle... hermit crabs.  I think.  We'll see...

I already love watching the kids with them.  For instance, Sela named them Marianne and Rap (short for Rapunzel).  And Linus says, "This one is Marianne, and this one is RAP!" 

For now they're living in the kitchen.  I'm surprised at how much I enjoy watching them - they're pretty entertaining.  I thought it was a crack-up to see Marianne standing on top of the coconut shell!

Guess we'll be heading to the library to learn more about these little creatures.  This might just work.  But wish me luck, just in case ; )

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day planning to you, that is!  How about a cute card?  Martha has a folded-shirt & a shirt cuff version we're trying out this year (and I found some super simple instructions).  I guess it's all about the clothes this year.  Or not!

Colorful, Delicious Spring

I love the traditions and rituals that come with season changes.  Some are the same each year for spring -- sugar cookies, egg dying, egg hunting, chocolate bunnies.  But how we do them is never the same.  And some we change out according to what we see, where we end up, what we're in the mood for.  They're all so good -- I want to eat'em all up : )

This is our very favorite sugar cookie recipe:                                            

2 1/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond extract

Cream butter and sugar together.  Add egg, vanilla and almond extract.  Gradually add flour and salt.  Divide into 2 disks and chill.  Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes.

Yummy Frosting

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

Melt butter and combine all ingredients.  Beat until smooth.

I love this glue batik project that we found. We use it as a tablecloth for our small table. We're dreaming of making some prayer flags, too. I can practically see them fluttering in our backyard.

Can you believe these are made from egg carton cups? I want to leave it this way, Sela says we need to paint it in spring colors.  I'm sure she's right.

Happy May Day!

I made this sweet summer dress for this sweet girl!  It was so easy that I could do it with this sweet girl and a toddler running around.  It's so easy that she and I can make some together!  I can't wait to gather more fabrics and even some pillowcases - the original inspiration for the style.  I'm so happy she likes it because I want to make more more more!

Snow Day!

 Sela has been begging to go to the snow for several seasons now.  We finally got it together this year to give it a try.  To be honest... I didn't have high hopes for our day.  Boy, was I wrong!  It was a truly wonderful day of family fun.

We all loved the sledding.  It was beautiful day.  And, it even snowed on us several times.
And I'll make a plug here for doing things simply. 
We borrowed most of the snow clothes and gear from generous friends.  We didn't wake up early.  We didn't have a definitive plan for where we were going.  And while I packed bags of warm clothes, Daddy packed a lunch out of whatever we had. 
And it was great!
I'm learning...

None of our family outings are complete without a "car picnic."

We all left happy : )

No Time Like the Present, Right?

I’ve wanted to make a granny square afghan for years. I’m not exactly sure why. Something about them feels so… homey. So, cozy and grandma-y, I guess. So, I’ve decided -- now’s the time to learn how! As with all projects here, I don’t expect it to be done anytime soon. But, that’s okay. It’s the getting started -- or the not getting started, I should say -- that bothers me.

Check out this great tutorial on The Purl Bee, even if you already know how to make a granny square. This blog is beautiful!

I’m learning not to let projects get buried; keep them on a tabletop (or where I can see them) alongside all the needed materials and tools -- this is key (which includes any instructions that I will forget while it’s not being worked on and the actual crochet hook I am using, even though this means owning multiples -- that’s ok!). This way, even if I have just a few minutes, it’s all time spent working and not on gathering and prepping. Because, guess what -- time’s up!

Here's my start.  I'm not wild about this shade of green though.  My thought was that the blanket would be a garden of flowers, full of different colors.  We'll see.  It's a work in progress!  I have a feeling these will end up as tiny doll blankets in the dollhouse (and around the house), and my "blanket" idea will morph into something else with granny squares.  That's great, too!


It’s fun to teach Sela to crochet, too. My favorite beginning crochet book is Kid’s Crochet: Projects for Kids of All Ages by Ronci and Corwin. It’s good for kids as well as for adults like me who don’t have time to do complicated projects but want to create a little something. I’m even going to try making their simple sweater sometime! I think I can, I think I can…

Linus is happy playing with the yarn. He likes to be included. Wonder what he’ll come up with…