1. Daffodils! Not growing yet, unfortunately, but in the grocery store. I will often slip a little something into the grocery budget that’s just for me, something I don’t have to share with my little ones. Usually that’s a ridiculously expensive piece of chocolate, but this week, it had to be daffodils. Goodness, but they smell wonderful. Yesterday, they were practically glowing in the sunshine. I smile each time I pass them, or catch a whiff.

2. I am making again! So much for not diving right back in. I’ve finished one dishcloth, cast on for another, and completed a baby gift I’ve had planned since before the sweet little girl was born several months ago. It’s the Mini Folk Letter cross stitch from What Delilah Did. I really enjoy cross stitching, but it’s rare for me to come across a pattern I’d actually want to hang in my home. These folksy monograms are adorable, and perfect for the nursery. They come together relatively quickly, too. If you don’t procrastinate {ahem}.

3. Oatmeal gets a bad rap. For a long time, I thought of it as one of those healthy, boring, stick-to-your-ribs meals that moms try to push on you, and thus I destroyed any nutritional value it might have had by drowning it in butter and brown sugar. I’m beginning to think I misjudged you, oatmeal. Twice now I’ve come home from sunrise yoga wanting nothing else. I’ve scaled back on (but not eliminated) the butter and brown sugar, and added walnuts. It’s cheap, it’s natural and preservative-free, it’s warming and nourishing. I think I’m in love.

4. We did a little exploring the other day, driving out to Sugarloaf and gawking at the mountains. We stopped at a little place for lunch on our way back – the Orange Cat Cafe – where the girls were instantly enamored with its namesake, a fluffy creature named Copper who roamed freely as we ate. The decor was such a crazy collection of colors and plants, and all of us were instantly comfortable. The food was good, too!

5. I know we have some weeks left until spring actually arrives, and I’m not experiencing any of the despondency that sometimes comes with February, but I do miss the green, and I find myself drawn to the plants and the trees, the seed catalogs and the sunshine. I’ve gone back to the flower section in the Johnny’s catalog again and again, thinking about what to order and dreaming of getting my hands back in the dirt. The zinnias are calling to me.

6. I’ve also been thinking a lot about plastic. Good gracious, it’s everywhere, and it’s disgusting. If you take a moment and really look around your home, it’s alarming just how much of what you use is plastic. I’m sketching out a series for you here on reducing some of that plastic, coming up with simple alternatives for some of the high use areas, and beginning to make conscious choices about how I can cut back for our family. I’m also tossing around the idea of a visual garbage audit – dumping, sorting and cataloging a week’s worth of our garbage for a clear picture of what we’re throwing “away.” Would you be interested in that? I think I’m equal parts curious and terrified, with a good bit of shame thrown in there, because I know it won’t be pretty.

What are you up to?

 

 

I actually finished a project this week.

I know that most people with any sort of drive to make typically have multiple projects in varying stages of completion. I am no different. Sometimes, I have a spurt of creative energy and complete things in rapid succession. Other times, I make grand plans, even going so far as to assemble supplies, and then lose motivation or perhaps fail to begin altogether.

Lately, I haven’t had the wherewithal to even think about making of any kind. Making crafts, or food, or even clean laundry. I suppose I needed to recharge, and that’s what I’ve done. Lunch break naps, hot showers and tea, early bedtimes, and books. Multiple books, devoured in whatever moments I could steal for myself. My poor patient husband.

Yesterday, I woke up ready to do, for the first time in…I don’t know. And so I did.

My little ladies love their hair bows, and they love to pull them out of their hair midday and leave them hither and yon. I have tested more than one storage solution over the past couple of years and they have all been lacking in one way or another. I’ve finally landed on a display of sorts – a central location where they can be both corralled and seen. I think it was a hit. There was much squealing and then Sweebee dragged Beanie off to find all of the lost hair bows before “helping” me hang it on their wall.

This is my favorite kind of project because it didn’t cost me a dime, and it re-purposed old materials. I found the old picture frame at our transfer station (read: dump). There’s a little building there called the Swap Shed where you can leave items that are still useful for your neighbors to find and claim as their own. It’s remarkably organized and tidy, and just filled with good junk. We already had the spray paint and the chicken wire, so it was just a matter of putting it all together. I’m reveling in this feeling of accomplishment, and should probably make a list of my other projects that have been pushed off for far too long. Or maybe I’ll just pour another cup of tea. Wouldn’t want to dive back in too quickly.

What are you making?

You know, I almost believed him.

It was 50* here yesterday. Maine in February isn’t as bad as they said, I thought to myself. We had a light dusting last weekend, but by bedtime last night, everything was thick, gooey mud, including my living room floor.

The snowflakes began just after breakfast this morning, coming slowly at first, and then with a fury. Ten hours later, it’s still snowing and I’m planning breakfast for dinner because we’re at the end of our groceries. I guess it’s not spring yet.

My thirty-fourth birthday was last week. Two very excited little girls presented me with cupcakes, a new yoga mat, and beautifully gaudy “rainbow” flowers. J took me to a restaurant with white tablecloths and a wine list, and I wore high heels (boots, to be fair). I was able to take the time to acknowledge and make note of each Facebook wish received, and I have more than one sweet card taped to the wall above my desk. It was a calm, lovely day.

I’ve tried to hold onto that easy pace in the days since, an effort that became a real exercise in conscious living. In the quiet moments, I caught up on thank you notes, and the teapot has been whistling almost non-stop. The light has been amazing in the mornings and early afternoons, and I’ve been making an effort to take my camera with me when I’m out and about.

I stopped several times to catch the fishing shacks on the lakes around us. Yesterday morning, they almost seemed to be floating in the mist rising off of the ice. This space is my preferred place to focus on the good and the beautiful in my life, but my camera filled in over the past two weeks, and it was actually a nice little change to notice things through a different lens.

I’m holed up in my office today, watching the snow fall as I work through my inbox. I’ve tried to set the room up as a little haven, temporary though it may be. Swee gifted me a “beautiful tower” of her own construction, and arranged it in my window to keep me company as I work. Chai tea on the mug warmer and Thieves in the diffuser made for a cozy afternoon. I’ve got beans soaking for ham & bean soup this weekend, and some reading laid out on the art of stockpiling – hopefully I’ll learn some good tips to share with you!

What are you doing this weekend?