edible centerpiece

My husband treated to me to such a sweet Valentine ~ a beautiful herb pot filled with basil and oregano! We had been talking about how it would be fun (& economical!) to grow our own herbs so now we are! When we buy them at the store, at least half of them go bad before we have the chance to use them, the packaging seems so unnecessary, and I have a thing for wasting food. Inspired by the recent post winter greens on one of my very favorite blogs maya*made, we placed our herbs in the center of our table and walla! ~ we have our own edible centerpiece. It really is such a fun idea and makes for such a lovely focus on the table, and the kids are LOVING eating the fresh basil leaves (probably my favorite herb of all) right out of the pot. Owen likes to carefully place each basil leaf atop his pizza, then dip it in a little bowl of pure balsamic vinegar. Makes my lips pucker just thinking about it, but this five year old is turning out to be quite the adventurous little eater!

I am for sure a snow lover and seriously adore winter time ~ crackling wood burning fires, hot tea with honey, soups and warm bread, bundling up, the amazement that every single snowflake is unique, and just being cozied up in the house during the darkness of winter are some of my very favorite things. But for some reason this year, winter seems long and I'm really ready for the warmth of the sun to return. Our new centerpiece surely makes me feel that spring is just around the corner. Pretty Please!

check this out!

I came across this amazing pop-up school in New York City, Trade School. Trade School = 30 days of classes, co-working and bartering. As their site explains, take a class every night with a range of specialized teachers in exchange for basic items and services. Secure a spot in a Trade School class by meeting one of the teacher’s barter needs. Really? Something like this exists?!? I'm definitely in love! It is just so amazing to witness all of the creative things people are doing to deal with the recession, and a beautiful example of figuring out a positive response to our flailing economy. I mean check out the diversity in their class offerings...brilliant I say! There is everything from crochet classes to daydreaming, making butter to drawing for relaxation or pleasure, workshops on composting and even one called 'eating class. moving appetities.' Seriously? Trade School here I come... if I only lived in NYC!

silliness

This is how I found my Mia a few weeks ago right before dinner time... she was such a big girl taking her 'own' bath with hand soap in our pedestal sink. The entire bathroom was a huge mess - water everywhere, soap all over the mirror, and all I could do was laugh. This little girl certainly keeps me on my toes, and ALWAYS makes me smile. Hope this makes you smile too!

handmade heart love

For my two little loves on Valentine's Day, I wanted to give them a handmade gift. I found this adorable project in one of my favorite books, Handmade Home, and stuffed the pockets with hand knit finger puppets. I used patterns from this book. I loved creating them, but loved Owen's comment when I gave them their gifts even more. "That's a symbol of your love for me, right mom?" Oh honey, it is, and you have now idea how much!

i'm back!

Hip Hip Hooray! I'm so happy to be back here! What we thought was the flu was actually a pretty bad case of pneumonia that landed me in the hospital for 6 days! WHEW - what was a crazy, scary ride this was, but I'm on the mend and feeling stronger everyday. I have felt so unbelievably blessed by my beautiful family and friends that have been so caring, loving and supportive through this, and continue to be. My mom (who flew into town at the drop of a hat)... well she deserves an entire post all to herself which I will write about a little later, but let's just say she took the most exquisite, tender care of me and I just don't know what in the world I would do without her. Thank you mom from the bottom of my heart mom for absolutely EVERYTHING and for being my hero. And Emily, my cousin who is like a sister, came to visit me in the hospital and brought me the sweetest care packages, called every single day to check in and and almost had O & M spend the night at her house on her birthday, when all she had wanted was to have a quiet birthday dinner with her sweet boys. And her dad, my Uncle Mark, picked the kids up from school and had a whole afternoon playdate that included playing at the park, ice cream and a movie! It was so special for the three of them to have that time together that they would probably never would have had the chance to have. A little blessing for being sick! I am just beyond touched by the generosity of everyone... gorgeous flowers...



the sweetest cards... yummy treats... and my cheery kids' artwork...



and if you're going to be in the hospital, Boulder, Colorado is not too shabby of a place to be. I mean take a look at these views...





A most heartfelt thank you to ALL of my family and friends for all of your sweet love!

a little break

I have been bitten by a nasty flu bug and will be back as soon as I feel human again!