the white house garden

I absolutely LOVE our first lady Michelle Obama. She is so wholesome, inspiring, healthy and real, among hundreds of other things. It is so easy to relate to her and I love the family values she exemplifies and inspires in others. This is such a fabulous story about the garden she created at the White House. I can't wait to own a home again so we can plant a garden too!

two-color embroidery

I am loving embroidery lately. I love how delicate it looks and how vintage it feels. I found this pattern on the ever-inspiring purl bee. It was great fun choosing the colors and a delightful project to make. I used organic cream colored pillow cases because I love the soft color of cream and I truly believe in using organic materials whenever possible. I got the whole organic sheet set from Target for Mia's bed and thought the embroidery details gave it a bit of pizazz. One little bitty mistake I did make was using a yellow dressmakers chalk to mark my embroidery lines. Little did I know that this does not wash out. Oopsies. Over time, the yellow lines have faded, but they are still there. Oh well... good lesson in letting go of perfectionism. I still love them.


Now... I need to make a duvet cover. Going for an Anthropologie look (something like this). I want it to be all cream, with some type of texture or flowers. That way I can change up the look easily with different colored fun pillows or throws since I tend to get a bit bored with the same thing. And when Mia does have an opinion about what colors she wants in her room, it will be easy to incorporate. If you have any ideas for me, I would love for you to share!

cake topper

I had to share this totally precious cake topper I found on little lovely. Note to self for future girly birthday parties!

potato printing

We had a relaxing, slow weekend... very rare for us! It's been so chilly here that it's hard to get motivated to get outside so we've been busy finding inside projects. With Valentine's Day around the corner, we decided to put good use to an old little potato we had lying around and tried potato printing.


I cut out some little squares from paper bags for the kids to stamp on, glued them to some old notecards and voila, our valentine's cards are finished! Mia punched a sweet little butterfly stamp into hers (below). Happy early heart day!

art art

LOVE this video I found on the wonderful blog whatever and wanted to share. So sweet, so fun, so cute, so true!

candlelight

There is something about candlelight that is mesmerizing, relaxing and calming all at the same time. My son loves candlelight, so we've been having candlelight dinners and candlelight baths and it's quickly becoming part of our every day routine. Not too shabby of a habit to add to our lives, and even sweeter when it comes from a five year old! Owen apparently is into candlelight sleeping in the hallway too - battery powered that is! : )

magic

This little girl of mine... she is an old soul. I just can't explain it, but she just gets it, and I feel like she's been here before. At the ripe old age of three, my Mia just knows. I was having a 'what am I going to do with my life' kind of day... and while I was snuggling with her at nap time, she started brushing my hair out of my eyes. It was such a tender, sweet moment. I think that in her own special little way, she was telling me everything was going to be okay. I am just amazed by her, not only in these precious moments, but by her thoughtfulness in the every day. She never accepts just one sticker offer at the grocery store, but always makes sure to ask for one for her brother. How in the world am I so blessed to be her mom? She is truly my magic little Mia...

p.s. This wonderful photo was taken by our resident in-house photograher... my mom! She is the most beautiful photographer and we are so lucky to have her documenting our lives. Her photographs adorn our walls at home!

smitten

I love to bake. I love how it makes our home smell. And of course, love to eat a treat that is still warm, right out of the oven. We made this banana bread from one of my favorite cooking blogs, smitten kitchen. I changed the recipe just a bit, by roasting the bananas, which made for a lovely caramelly flavor. My kids loved mashing the bananas by hand, and I loved that I didn't have a mixer to clean! Yum!

for Haiti

Craft Hope opened up an Etsy shop to benefit Doctors Without Borders. They are looking for crafters to donate products that allow people to purchase them with 100% of the proceeds going to charity. This is a call for all things handmade! I donated a few items from my Etsy shop to this effort and thought maybe you'd be interested to? It's a little thing really in the scope of the help Haiti needs, but if we all did just one little thing, in our own little way, we could make one big difference. If you would like to participate by donating an item, please click here. If making things isn't your cup of tea, no worries at all. You could still support Craft Hope's wonderful efforts by purchasing a beautifully handmade item from the Craft Hope Etsy shop, and feel great that your money will go directly to the charity. It’s that simple!

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Note: As of today, Tuesday, February 16, Craft Hope for Haiti had raised over $30,000 for Doctors without Borders! Isn't that AMAZING!?! What a difference we can all make by doing it together!

a cozy little space

I love small, cozy spaces, and have been dreaming about creating one for my kiddos. I have had this vision in my head for a handmade playhouse made out of fabric, and here it is! I talked my husband into building a frame, which he did out of pvc piping, and after a few adjustments to the size, (yes, he was a sport!) it was just right. What's neat about this house we created is that you can take the piping apart, just like big tinker toys, which my son loves to do. The house is sewn as one big piece so it's really easy to get on & off, and washable if necessary. I am new to sewing so piecing it all together was a bit of challenge for me, but I am so excited about the results! Here's a little peak...



















I'm not sure who is having more fun playing in it... I just might like to move in!

lovely little things

I named my blog 'Sweetest Littles' because the simple, little things in life tend to be the most magical for me. When I am able to focus on the present and be in these moments fully, they are tender, sweet and oh so lovely. Here are a few of those little things I truly love.

:: creating anything at all

:: a hug for no reason

:: a long, open-hearted chat with a dear friend

:: the daily phone calls with my mom

:: the excitement of my children when they learn something new

:: the smell of hot, warm anything-in-the-bread group baking in the oven

:: the wonderful, endless creativity of children

:: a genuine, warm smile

:: this video... it says it all about just how lovely little things can be. I get a little teary every time i watch it! I CAN'T WAIT for the follow-up. You can take a peak here.

introducing...

the little loves of my life. My creative, energetic Owen is five, and my silly, sweet, thoughtful Mia is a bit over three. They light up my world in countless ways! If ever there is a day that just doesn't feel right, all I have to do is snuggle up to these two little miracles at bedtime and the world stops and I don't want to be anywhere else... and then the world seems right again.

the beginning

I really did it. I really started a blog! I can't believe it. My name is Ali and I love everything handmade, homemade, little and cozy. I love being a mom to my two little ones and it is by far, the best, most amazing and hardest job I'll ever have. I'm inspired by oh so many things, and I can't wait to share them with you. I love reading the countless beautiful blogs I've discovered and admire the courage and openess of what people share in them. I love passionate people who follow their dreams. I want to be one of them.