treasures

yard treasures

curated by Little Man

to take to show and tell

at preschool

three things

Three simple things

I have discovered this time around

that I wish I had known about

when I had my first child:

Swaddlepods.

My sister-in-law gave us a set of these for Baby.

They are fantastic!

Simple

(Just zip it up!)

Secure

(Baby is snugly wrapped up in them.)

Stretchy

(He can still move around a bit when he wants to.)

Soft

(Made from mostly cotton

plus the zipper is cleverly covered with a special flap

so that it doesn't scratch his chin.)

It's a brilliant product.

 I don't know why it took me so long

to start folding receiving blankets

in stable oblongs

instead of in tower-of-pisa squares.

They fit so much better in the drawer,

they don't fall over,

and it's one less fold to make

which can add up when you're washing a few.

Win-win.

I don't have a photos for this last one,

but this take on a brilliant nursing tank top design

has revolutionized my nursing wardrobe.

aliens

Little Man and Brother

love adding googly eyes to their projects,

so I got them some for their Christmas stockings.

They recently decided to use their googly eyes and paint

to make aliens.

These were Brother's.

This one's my favorite.

And these are Little Man's

I so enjoy the things they come up with.

Handmade Christmas 2012-these are a few of my favorite things edition

I believe I mentioned that I am not going to hold myself to my usual standards of making handmade Christmas gifts for my family this year, which is very reasonable of me. : )  I'm making better progress than I anticipated, but it's still nice not to be pressuring myself.

I'm not the only one who makes pretty things, though.  This post is dedicated to lovelies that are handmade by other artists. I have made purchases from all of these sellers and have had fabulous experiences with all of them. I think that products from any of these sellers would make wonderful Christmas gifts. I would love to send some business their way, so if any of these product catches your eye, please follow the links to their stores!

I own this exact leaf necklace

by Color Shoppe Stained Glass Studio.

It's one of my favorites,

and I get compliments every time I wear it!

Plus the owner of the shop

very generously sent me a multi-strand necklace free of charge

after I inquired about purchasing one

for my vintage Jerusalem cross pendant.

My very favorite pair of earring of all time

come from South Wind Design.

They're dainty pink-and-green flower earrings.

Unfortunately they're not available anymore,

but when I lost my first pair,

I missed them so much I ordered a second

plus a pair of these classy, understated red earrings.

I don't own the pair pictured above, but aren't they pretty?

I love Moaning Minnie's artsy hats!

I own one of her cloche hats.

It was a special order,

and she made and mailed it days before leaving on a trip,

getting it to me from England

in less than two weeks from the day I ordered.

One of her unique newsboy caps (pictured above)

is high on my wish list!

Bella Blue Knits' fingerless gloves

met all of my picky requirements for fingerless gloves:

they must have cozily covered thumbs, not merely thumb slits,

they must not roll or bunch on the palms,

they must be a nice, medium length,

they must be machine washable,

they must not be itchy,

and they must not be prohibitively expensive.

I'm quite content with the green pair I own

(they're just like the blue pair above),

but sure wouldn't mind a pair of these pretty green leaf ones too!

If you've read my blog for a while,

you might remember that I purchased three

of naokostoop's Red Knit Cap Girl prints

for Sweet Pea's nursery.

I also own a print from her brown paper bag art collection.

I love so many of her pieces

that I could easily fill an entire wall with them!

These limited edition Christmas cards

are just as charming as the rest of her work.

And just so you know...

The photos I used in this post

were taken by the artists whose work I admire (not by me).

Also, I wasn't given anything for saying this stuff.

I just love these products

and wanted to share how beautiful  they are.

gifts

I mentioned in my last post

that Benjamin

spent a week in Chicago for work.

Being the sweetie that he is,

he brought back some oh, so thoughtful gifts for me.

a Voseges Gourmet Chocolate

cherry rooibos bar

(so, so delicious--milk chocolate that I actually liked!)

and a charming teapot

and some loose rooibos chai tea

(also super-delicious)

from argo tea

The chocolate is all gone,

but I am definitely still enjoying

the tea and sunny teapot!

He has good taste in gifts. : )

~~~~~~~~~~~

Unrelated note: My schedule isn't really slowing down as I expected even though the summer is coming to a close.  Combine that with the fact that both my netbook and sewing machine are currently broken down (lets hope that my camera and Kindle don't follow suit!), and my blog posting may continue to be infrequent.  I have plenty to say, but my blogging rhythm has definitely been thrown off!  We'll see what happens over the next couple of months.

i still can't quite believe that i'm doing this...

Have you ever heard of the clothing store Maurices?  Well, during out last shopping trip to the "big city" I noticed posters advertising their upcoming Main Street Model Search, a competition in which they select a dozen normal girls of all shapes and sizes to model their clothing.  The bulk of the prize is $7,500 to donate to the local charity of the winner's choice.

Long story short, I ended up entering the competition.  The first round is a round of voting open to the public.  I would love to have the fun opportunity to model, but even more, I'd love to see New Hope Pregnancy Clinic and Support, an organization making a difference the lives of young families in my community, have the chance to get some extra funding which would enable them to make an even bigger dent in the needs surrounding us.

Will you please vote for me? In addition to helping me out, each time you vote, you get a coupon and a chance to win gift cards to Maurices.  The voting is open until Monday, the 19th, and you can vote once every 24 hours.  Thank you, thank you in advance!

little things

Hooray

for having adorable children

and for knowing the manager at Starbucks

and for being given

almost-expired yet still delicious

cake pops

for free.

It's the little things in life...

~The cinnamon rolls baking in the oven right now smell so good.

~Sweet Pea is wearing a little pink sleeper that has a print of teeny-tiny baskets of flowers, butterflies, fruits and veggies, and the cursive words "sweet pea" all over it. How appropriate.

~The feeling of little arms wrapped all the way around one's neck and shoulders for an affectionate squeeze is one of the best sensations ever.

~I made flourless fudge chocolate chip cookies last night. They were intense and delicious, perfect for killing a chocolate craving. While they were tasty, and I'll probably make them again, I don't foresee them becoming a top favorite.

~I bought a stained glass leaf necklace last week. I had been looking forward to getting it for so long that when it arrived on a day when I was already emotional, not looking quite like I had envisioned it, I was really disappointed. After a little adjustment, I decided that I do like it after all. Silly me.

~I intended to write posts on Thursday and Friday about the other two leaf projects the boys and I made last week. Ooops.

~On Thursday Benjamin and I played classical flute-and-piano music as background music at the fundraising banquet for our local crisis pregnancy center. We pulled it off amazingly well considering the amount of practice we had. I love making music with that man. : )

~Speaking of music, the other day Brother was playing the piano (he makes some beautiful incidental music!) and singing when he announced to me: "I singing a New Song, Mom!"

~Benjamin is out in the mountains getting firewood with a friend this morning. I'm so thankful. Having a fire in our wood stove will make the coldest days this winter much more bearable.

~The timer just beeped for the cinnamon rolls. Gotta run.

blogiversary

i've been journaling

in this spot for

three years

tons of photos

thousands of words

nearly six hundred posts

crazy

but my

favorite part

are the friendships

precious new friends

old friends reconnected

unknown needs met

amazing

i would never have dreamed

thank you, thank you, dear readers

for reading

(sadly i have no giveaway this year...my heartfelt gratitude will have to suffice)

crabby pets

We are not really pet people. We have allergies to pet dander. We don't like the time investment, smells, exertion, and expense associated with most pets. The benefits just don't seem worth it. However, on our last trip to Utah (where there are decent pet stores), I rather surprisingly and spontaneously decided to research and purchase hermit crabs for the boys.

Little Man was on cloud nine. He kept exclaiming, "I'm so glad we're getting a pet!" His eager excitement (and the crabs' lack of smelliness and low maintenance) make it all worth it. I'm finding the littler critters fascinating to observe, and I've been enjoying learning about and caring for them with the boys.

Did you know that hermit crabs breathe through hardened gills, so even though they live in the air, they get their oxygen from water? This makes it important to keep their environment humid. They love to climb and dig in the sand and bathe in salt and fresh water. One of their claws is bigger than the other. Hermit crabs, in spite of their name, are social little creatures and do best in groups of multiple crabs. And they chirp. Yes, I'm truly enjoying observing them.

This is Little Man's crab, Ortho. Little Man was very decided about naming his crab Ortho from the first time I asked him about it in the pet store. I'm not quite sure where he came up with it, but it's pretty cute. (The close up pictures of the crabbies are actually a little disturbing...sorry. They're much cuter at their actual 2 inches.)

And this is Brother's crab, Chica. That's the best we could make out when we asked him what he wanted to name his crab. He seemed pretty happy about it, though, so we must have guessed closely enough.

Little Man very conscientiously helps give the crabs fresh water and food.

.

I love this photo even though it's sadly blurry;

it just captures his joy and pride in being a crab owner so perfectly.

If you look closely in the front of the aquarium on the right side of this photo, you can see Chica. Brother was so excited that she was doing her daytime sleeping in a visible location. He was exclaiming "Hi, Chica! Hi, Chica!" over and over and pointing her out to me.

So far the only thing I regret about our new hermit crab pets is that they're nocturnal, so the boys don't get to enjoy them as much as I do. Hopefully this happy state of pet ownership continues!

gifts

I think that just-for-fun, no-particular-occasion gifts may be my favorite. For example, last weekend Benjamin surprised me by bringing home a sunny, yellow bush of lovely mums for me. I loved them; they cheered me as I enjoyed their beauty. Plus they made me smile as I reminisced about the very first bouquet he ever gave me which included sunny yellow mums.

I have recently received several other no-particular-occasion gifts. I have been enjoying and am very thankful for each of them.

My Mum gave me a new green tea pot (complete with a loose-leaf tea strainer!) to replace my old, stained, lidless one (the lid broke quite a long time ago). Its clean lines and cheery color make me smile as does the tasty tea that steeps inside of it.

This teapot was a college creation of a friend. Apparently, it's actually something of a joke in response to her pottery teacher telling her that her work was too generic. : ) When she was reunited with it in my presence and was not sure what on earth she wanted to do with it, I offered to take it off of her hands. I love how quirky and unique the clever textures, colors, and patterns make it.

This antique printer's drawer is from my mother-in-law. A while ago I stumbled across an Etsy shop featuring printer's drawers turned into wall-mounted jewelry organizers. I absolutely loved the idea and embraced it as something that would be ideal for my growing (and disorganized) collection of earrings. The price tag, however, didn't fit my budget, so I posted a plea on Facebook for my friends to keep a look out for an inexpensive printer's drawer for me only to find out that my mother-in-law had one in storage that she was willing to give to me! It is in beautiful condition, and I can't wait to mount the little hooks in it and see my earrings in it!

I am so thankful, way beyond my thankfulness for these gifts, for the friendships behind them. After all, what makes gifts truly meaningful is the lovely reminder of the people who gave them.

bridal shower-the games and gifts

I can't rally take credit for the games since my mom and the bride-to-be's sister planned them, but since they were part of the bridal shower experience, I thought I'd tell about them anyway.

The first game was a bridal shower bingo game. There were the usual numbered squares as well as a numbered list of things about the bride, the groom, and the couple. For example, under Katie's name were things like "has a named car," "was born in [our town]," "is the youngest in her family." Under Jeff's name were things like "loves Mountain Dew" and "owns a business." Under Both were things like "has blue eyes," "loves to farm," "was born in the 80's," and "is a teacher." The goal was to find another guest who had one of those things in common with Katie, Jeff, or Both, and get them to sign the numbered square corresponding to the number of the item in the list. The first three people to finish won small prizes.

The second game was a simple word game: How many words can my make from the letters in "Katie Loves Jeff" in three minutes.

For the third game, 17 different herbs and spices were placed in unmarked, numbered jars. The jars were passed around, and the guests teamed up in groups of two to see how many they could correctly identify by smell, look, and even taste (watch out for the chili powder!) without the telltale labels. We actually had one team who correctly identified all 17!

After the games was present time! Jeff and Katie received many kind gifts, and they loved the calligraphy I made for them. Even though I wasn't surprised that they liked it, I still find myself glad and relieved.

(Isn't she cute!?!) Of course we had to make a rehearsal "bouquet" from the bows and all the gifts.

I had such a good time coordinating, planning, and making this bridal shower happen for sweet and special Katie. I enjoyed planning the decorations, making the food, interacting with the guests... It was so worth the achy feet and back at the end of the day.

sprinkles

when I was small

I loved sprinkles

I was convinced that they added instant

fun, glamor, and deliciousness

to whatever they touched

(yes, even the counter)

now, if possible

i enjoy them even more

as I watch the wonder and delight

in my sweet sons' every expression and action

as they discover sprinkle magic

while helping in the kitchen

golden yellow

Is it possible to crave a color? If it is, I'm definitely craving golden yellow. I think it has something to do with anticipating spring--golden sunshine, yellow flowers, and warmer air. It's just such a happy color.

Over the last three days or so, I've been enjoying doing all sorts of fun Etsy searches for things with "golden yellow" in them. It has been a nice (though not overly practical) way of spending quality time sitting with my heating pad trying to sooth a sore back. Here are few of the golden yellow things I found and loved.

1. citrine nugget necklace 2. hand painted letter C 3. genuine depression glass teacup 4. daffodil scarf 5. baby partridge beeswax candle 6. Daisy hairpins

1. vintage floral, linen, and wood purse 2. black-eyed-susan t-shirt 3. flower and honey chalcedony earrings 4. 1950's silk dress (oh, how I wish I had the money, occasion, and courage to wear this!) 5. wildflower watercolor 6. bow-decorated canvas tote

1. bird and bead earrings 2. vintage sweater 3. vintage bead necklace 4. over-the-top peony 5. golden skies 6. amber pressed glass bowl

insomnia

the inability to sleep

while feeling ready to drop from exhaustion

when every cell cries for rest

has to be among the most uncomfortable sensations

in human history

fragments on song

flashes of image

incomplete thought

swirl in my brain

whirlwind speed

the aches

and sharp pains

that make themselves known

are an even louder phenomenon

i toss and turn

in a rest

that is not rest

Lord, give me peace

help me to sleep

and be nice

even if i can't

(insert clever title)

home is a lovely place to be

especially after a trip

i left two tuesdays ago

on a 2,000 mile round trip road trip

and returned last wednesday

it was a lovely journey

(as little man would call it)

i have so much to talk about

so many projects and pictures to share

but i've been tired

and simply haven't felt like writing

today

however

the word floodgates are opening

the gears are turning

prepare for a deluge

of catch up

posts

:)

extra sunshine

extra sunshine

from Benjamin

on a day that I very much needed it

I heart him

good gifts

"Every good thing given

and every perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights,

with whom there is no variation

or shifting shadow."

James 1:17

Ripe fruits and vegetables (I'm especially enjoying tiny tomatoes sprinkled with salt this week) in the middle of winter are certainly good gifts, are they not?

giveaway winners

The problem with this giveaway is that I loved all of your comments and want every single one of you to win. Sadly, I can't send camera straps or clutches to all of you, so I used the not-very-technologically-advanced method of writing all of your names on scraps of paper (pink and green paper!), put them in a favorite mug, and got Benjamin to draw the winners' names for me. And here they are! (drumroll?)

Lisa who blogs at stitching under oaks won the peachy-pink and brown clutch. I love Lisa's blog. She shares all sorts of cool crafty things and makes me wish that I could actually really knit. Plus she shares excellent thought-provoking serious posts as well as glimpses into her sweet family. I think that when my children are the same ages as hers are now, I'd like to be about where she is. Lisa is one of my most faithful commenters, and I always love reading her responses to the stuff I say.

Shaina won the camera strap. She runs a website called Sioux Falls Frugal Mom, which, contrary to what I first thought, is also applicable to people outside of the Sioux Falls area. She also blogs (not frequently enough, my opinion, though I know she has plenty to juggle) at While I'm Waiting. Shaina is one of those people who is a great friend even though we've never met in person. We're hoping that our families will be able to meet at Yellowstone next summer, though. (I can't wait!)

The third surprise prize is an autumn-colored flower pin. (Remember how I said I was having a hard time that not everyone was able to win? Well, I just had to add a third one.) It goes to my local friend Gayle who blogs at The Schuller Family. I have had such a good time getting to know Gayle; her amazing level of energy and enthusiasm never fails to inspire me, and every time we get together I leave encouraged.

Thank you all for participating. I'll get the gifts to the winners as soon as possible.

Two Year Blogiversary Giveaway

Next Friday will be the two-year anniversary of when I began blogging. It has been a marvelous experience. I have been able to document day-to-day happenings and special occasions, record projects, and write out thoughts. Best of all, though, I have made some great friends! Some of you I knew already, and I'm touched that you care to read my writings, get to know me better, and leave kind comments. Some of you I met in the bloggy world; your fabulous blogs and responses on my blog grew into friendships which met needs at a very lonely time in my life. And some of you might even be readers who don't comment (yet). I appreciate the time you spend reading and would love for you to leave a comment or two so that we can "meet."

In celebration of the friendships I have developed here in the last two years, I am giving away a couple of recent projects.

The first is a camera strap designed to fit snugly on a two-and-a-quarter inch wide camera strap. The inside (the side which will be against the neck) is made of oh, so soft cotton velvet.

While the outside (the side everyone can see and admire) is decorated by a shirred ruffle in a cheery, though not overwhelming blue and white print (one of my favorites).

Included with the camera strap is a blue ruffle-flower pin accented with a vintage button.

The second item that I'm giving away is a small peachy-pink and brown clutch (or makeup bag, or whatever you want it to be).

Included with the bag is a peachy-pink ruffle-flower accented with yet another vintage button.

To enter this giveaway, just leave me a comment telling me which prize you'd most like to win (and hopefully I'll randomly draw one of each preference). : ) If you'd like you can also tell me what aspect of friendship you most appreciate. I'll be drawing the winners sometime next Friday evening.