moments and milestones

As we drove in the car one day, Brother was vocalizing. Little Man explained to us: "[Brother] is singing." Then after a pensive moment he added, "It's beu-ful." (beautiful)

I overheard Little Man instructing: "Sit still, [Brother] I am going to jump over you!" It's a good thing I was able to intervene because while Little Man's jumping skills are growing by leaps and bounds (quite literally in this case) these days, I don't think he is capable of jumping over his brother yet.

I was tucking Little Man in when he asked: "Will you snuggle with me? It might be special."

Brother has been saying "na-na-na" for banana and "Ka-kah" for cracker, waving and saying "bye," and calling Little Man "bwo-ver" (brother).

Brother seems to think the most exciting part of the day is when "Da!" walks through the door after work.

Brother has been trying to throw balls just like Little Man.

They both had hair cuts this week. It was Brother's first haircut ever.

Our kitchen is in upheaval, as you may imagine, with the kitchen remodel we've been doing. One of my temporary storage solutions is putting our most frequently used foods in a laundry basket. One day I came into the kitchen after being in the other room for just a couple of minutes and found Brother very happily raiding the raisins. When he realized I was looking at (and taking pictures of) him he looked slightly startled promptly tried to put the lid back on with a "who, me?" look.

to the heavens

Your steadfast love, O LORD,

extends to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness

is like the mountains of God;

your judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you save, O LORD.

Psalm 36:4-6

Kitchen Work

Benjamin has been working hard to transform my kitchen into a place of convenience and beauty. As I type he is braving the horrible insulation in the ceiling, doing the prep work for installing the new recessed lighting. I'm more than a little proud of his beautiful and careful work. These photos are a little old, but I still wanted to show off the process!

seamless sheetrock repairs and new texture

Little Man is so eager to help.

Among other things, Benjamin let him help with some sanding.

priming

preparing to take out the sink

"This is a wrench thing!"

thrilling demolition

checking out the new wall and trim colors

Since these photos, Benjamin has done a lot of work moving outlets, removed the hideous old light fixtures, and done more painstaking repair on the ceiling. He has also painted our walls a fresh, pale yellow and all the trim and ceiling a crisp white. And of course, right now he's working on installing the new lights. I'm beyond eager to see it all finished, and you know I'll be showing it off here too!

garden update

Well, my summer has ended up being more full of both good and bad than I anticipated, and I haven't even come close to reaching my goal to work in the garden half an hour each day. It makes me sad. However, along with the weeds, my garden has continued to grow even in my absence. Here are a few recent snapshots.

baby broccoli

Something seems to like the cabbage.

I've begun to wonder if we will get any of it at all!

tomato blossoms

I have some baby tomatoes too!

baby pepper

I'm afraid it looks more like a hot pepper

instead of the bell pepper the label promised.

snow peas

There are lots and lots of snow peas.

Little Man and I have been gobbling them up without sharing at all.

Pea tendrils make me smile.

quite possibly the best use for polyester ever...

One vendor at the farmers' market last Saturday was upcycling double knit polyester shirts and vintage buttons into adorable hair accessories. It just might have been the best and most clever use for polyester that I've ever seen. How could I resist buying two fancy bobby pins from her?

one is red and black

and the other is brown, cream, and pale yellow

I love them and have already worn each of them more than once!

Farmers' Market

When I vended at farmers' market two years ago, it was a rather lonely experience. Over the course of the summer I did make some new friends, but this year is so different. In addition to looking forward to market as a way of selling some of my wares are making a little money, the market has possibly become my week's biggest social outing.

My beautiful friend Katie and I are sharing booth space this year. She makes gorgeous vintage-style aprons with a variety of cheerful prints.

Another friend, Erin, was just across the street from Katie and I. Last Saturday was her first day vending her home grown organic produce at the farmers' market.

And of course I was there with my handbags, cards, bibs, little treasure bags, sandwich wraps, and reusable snack bags.

Little Man stayed at home to help Daddy with work around the house, but Brother came to market with me. He enjoyed eating many graham crackers and getting very dirty as he crawled around on the ground. (You can sure tell he's not a first born!)

I'm looking forward to the next time I'll be able to go vend at our farmers' market!

Meet Catherine

Catherine is the first hand bag is my first design with ruffles. Or polka-dots. I've been a little slow catching on with the whole polka dot thing; they're just not my cup of tea. While I'm still not wild about them, I have managed to overcome my disgust enough to acknowledge that they're cute for other people. : ) I think it was a good thing that I came to that point; Catherine was my most-ogled handbag at last week's market.

Catherine closes with a cute little antique button just above the bag's most prominent feature: the double-ruffled pocket.
Catherine is made with quality cotton fabric with Pellon fusible fleece lining which gives it durability as well as a more substantial feel. The inside of the bag sadly has no pockets (I ran out of fabric), but the cheerful blue and green print is sure to please.
Catherine's handles are the perfect length: short enough to hold in your hand...
but long enough to be able to put over your shoulder.
I am asking $45 for Catherine which includes shipping to anywhere in the contiguous United States. In you are interested in purchasing Catherine, let me know, and I will post it in my Etsy store where you can purchase it securely.

Meet Fairfax

Fairfax is the first bag that I have designed and marketed that I haven't made for myself first. This is probably a good thing since I only need so many handbags, but it feels a little strange to not know from experience how it's going to last or describe just what I love to carry in it.

Fairfax is my happy-accident bag. I knew the general shape I wanted it to be but was having a hard time deciding how I wanted the handles to attach. That problem was solved when I caught a glimpse of a handbag carried past me in a restaurant It had just the right kind of handles for incorporating into the Fairfax design. To top off the happy accident part of it all, when I got out my fabric out to start cutting, I realized that a bad cutting mistake while making Elinor bags made perfectly sized rectangles for Fairfax.

Like the Elizabeth bags, I have two Fairfax bags to sell: one in pink sprig and one in lily-of-the-valley.

Fairfax's unique handle design adds pretty gathers around the edges of the bag and makes the inside more spacious.

Fairfax is perhaps my most streamlined and lightweight bag design yet. There is only one pocket on the outside, leaving one roomy, tote-bag-like area in the inside (but oh, it's such a cute tote bag!).
Fairfax is made of two layers of quality cotton cloth, making for a light yet sturdy on-the-go bag perfect for throwing a few necessities into and taking off.
Fairfax costs $35 (which includes shipping and handling to anywhere in the contiguous United States). If you are interested in purchasing one of the Fairfax bags I featured here, let me know, and I will post it in my Etsy store where you can pay securely.

Meet Elizabeth

The first of my new handbag designs that I'd like for you to "meet" is Elizabeth. This isn't an entirely new design since I already made one for myself last fall. I love it. While Elinor is the perfect purse/diaper bag combination, Elizabeth is the perfect camera bag/purse combination. I love taking it along on days when I need to pack around more stuff than will fit in one of the slim, petite purses I love so much but when I still don't need a huge bag. Plus the backpack style is comfortable and practical.

I have two Elizabeth bags for sale right now:

one in pink sprig

and one in lily-of-the-valley

There is a nice assortment of pockets all the way around the inside of both bags, including pen and chap-stick/lipstick pockets.
The straps weave through the top of the bag. When whey're pulled tight, they close the bag in draw-string fashion. The knot in the front can be retied, adjusting the length of the straps to what is most comfortable for the wearer.
The bags are made of quality cotton material and lined with Pellon fusible fleece which makes them more bulky and heavy duty. Also, the areas most prone to wear and tear are reinforced to further lengthen the life of the bag.
I am selling the Elizabeth bags for $60 each (this includes shipping to any of the contiguous staes and handling). If you are interested in purchasing one of them, let me know so that I can post it in my Etsy store where you can purchase it securely!

July Trip-Bed and Breakfast

Another extra-special treat we had on this last trip to Utah was an overnight stay in the Inn on the Hill, a charming Bed and Breakfast in a beautifully renovated over-100-year-old house. The boys stayed with their grandparents, and we fully enjoyed being able to finish complete sentences and be just two grown-ups together.

Just a couple of blocks away from the Bed and Breakfast is the architecturally lovely Utah capitol building. I had never been there before, so we walked up to look around. Since we were visiting on a weekend, there were very few people around, and we both enjoyed taking photos and wandering around the large, echoing rooms and halls that were open to the public. I think I could have spent several hours there playing with my photography.

[The marble columns and staircases under the arching roof were marvelous.]

[my love]

[Beautiful script from a framed letter written early in Utah's statehood.]

After our trip to the Capitol, we walked back to the Inn, did a little bit of shopping, and ate dinner in a funky basement Sushi restaurant. It was a dining experience that was most definitely out of my comfort zone, but I found it to be delicious.

[me, striking a pose back at the grounds of the Bed and Breakfast]

[fountain in the Bed and Breakfast's garden]

When we returned from dinner, we sat on the balcony, enjoying the warm summer air and watching the sun set over the Oquirrh mountains. It was simply wonderful.

Breakfast in the morning was coffee, bacon, and delicious waffles smothered in fresh berry syrup and whipped cream. It was really wonderful to spend time with Benjamin away from the hurry and stress of everyday life.