Here and There and Everywhere

(photo)

I wish I could say that this was of my little one, but it's not. Just a photo I found today as we're laying low at home on a snowy day and recovering from a whirlwind trip to South Carolina for my sister's graduation. A good and celebratory time was had by all but we are TIRED. Phew. Long flights. Long waits. Long drives. Short sleeps - all with an 8 month old make for one weary clan.

And can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner?! We have but a few more days to gear up, wind down, sleep, do laundry, shop and then pack for our Christmas trip to Seattle. We're so happy to get to spend some quality time with my husband's family. They've promised lots of game playing, cozy fires and warm drinks. Works for me. 

How are you feeling these days about Christmas and the end of the year? Is your shopping done? Will you be traveling or staying in this season? 

Fresh Headbands

I've been experimenting with some new designs for headbands lately. For someone who doesn't want a big 'ol flower on their head, I think these simpler, more geometric pieces might be a pretty alternative. And wouldn't they also make a lovely holiday gift? As always, their available in my shop! 

New Goodies in the Shop!

I haven't been feeling the blog mojo lately, and just like anything  - working out, taking vitamins, praying and reading the Bible, the less I do it, the less I want to do it. (Not that blogging is as important as exercise or reading the Bible - it's not) Anyway, I have been feeling the crafting mojo lately, so I thought I would post a few pics of new goodies in my shop.

Every woman needs a chunky cocktail ring, no? 

And a bit of coral here and there is always a good idea. 

This piece isn't brand new, but was worthy to re-list in my shop. I love the glossy, vintage shoe buckles. 

I know it's not even Halloween but it's never too early to start your holiday shopping! 

Take a peek at all my goodies right here.

My Life Lately

The Eats: Fruit crisps of all kinds. 

I've made the Betty Crocker fruit crisp (with a few variations of my own) so many times, I don't need to think about it. Toss in the fruit (apples, peaches, pears, plums, berries, whatever!), add a bit of lemon juice and agave nectar - toss to coat. Mix the brown sugar, oats, butter, cinnamon and flour together and crumble on top. Bake at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes and voila! The house smells like heaven as this bakes and Ike and I devour most of it in one sitting. A dollop of Greek yogurt on top adds the perfect bit of tang...

The craft:A little necklace for my sister's birthday. 

I had as much fun packaging it up with twine and a chevron print card as I did making it. 

The other craft: Tissue paper tassel garland. 

A dear friend of mine is about to have her first baby. She loved and supported me so well when I was expecting baby O, that I was more than happy to make a few decorations for her baby shower last month. Isn't this garland sweet? Kinda wanna make one of my babe's room. Tutorials are all over the web and super easy.

The trip: Home for my nephews birthday party. 

Just this past weekend, we flew home (baby O's first flight!) for my sweet nephews joint birthday party. They are two years and one month apart so my sister has taken to throwing one big party for both of them and it is a hoot! Loads of presents and food and aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great grandparents and cake make for a merry time. Aren't they the cutest little family? Gosh, I love them. 

The Babe: Growing like a weed!

Our little guy is six months old today. What the?! He is such a riot. He's babbling and chatting up a storm, rolling from side to side, grabbing everything he can get his hands on and sleeping better at night more and more. The green onesie he had on a few mornings ago matched the green smoothie I made myself. He doesn't look too excited on that last picture. "Blended up spinach eh? Looks delicious. Not really." Keep an open mind kiddo! We're going to your six month check-up tomorrow to talk about introducing solids! You'll be drinking down one of these bad boys before you know it. 

That sums up things in my corner of world. What have you been up to? 

Pumpkin French Macaroons

After attending a Halloween art fair this past weekend and buying up some adorable Halloween party invites from my dear friend and talented artist Kara Rosenberry, I've been inspired to throw a Halloween soiree and have been poking around online looking for tasty fall goodies to serve. I think these pumpkin french macaroons from Yummy Mummy Kitchen's blog would be perfect. 

Oh the deliciousness of a well-made macaroon. And bonus for me - they're naturally gluten-free. 

Yummy Mummy busted out the food coloring and a paint brush and added some color to her macaroons.

She uses Martha Stewart's recipe and swears that it's easy and virtually fail safe, despite the fact that folks are always talking about how difficult creating the perfect macaroon can be.

Here's the link for the full post on these babies and the recipe too.

Meditation

I'm thinking about these words this morning and singing them to myself as I realize that my desires need some realignment.  William Williams penned these lyrics in the 1700s. Grateful for the encouragement they brought me today. 

Weekend Eats

(photo by Travis Rathbone)

I tried a couple of new recipes over the weekend and they were both quite yummy, so I thought I would share. 

Friday night we made Grilled (or in our case broiled) salmon with a blueberry pan sauce. The sauce was really lovely and mellow with balsamic vinegar, shallots, blueberries and fresh mint. Sadly, the salmon fillet I bought was FULL of bones, making the over all dining experience less than pleasant. Argh.  Does anyone know what the deal is with that? I mean, was it up to me to know that there would be lots of floss-like bones still in the fish and I should have removed them? Not sure what the deal was there... but anyway - the sauce was delish! 

We added in baked sweet potatoes and a green salad with toasted almonds and goat cheese. 

Sunday lunch was chicken with herb roasted tomatoes and pan sauce. Let me tell ya - those roasted herb tomatoes? Fabulous. I want to run out and buy a few pounds of cherry tomatoes right now and make a tub of them, so I can smear them on anything - toast, cheese, by themselves. They're that good. 

(photo by Romulo Yanes)

The tomatoes were super easy: olive oil, freshly ground pepper, kosher salt and Herbs de Provence. Couldn't find Herbs de Provence at the store, so I used an Italian blend that I already had on hand and it worked just fine. Warm the aforementioned ingredients in a skillet and oven roast for 15 minutes until the tomatoes start to pop and their juices start flowing. Oh mama. Take them out of the oven and drizzle with Worcestershire sauce. SO good! And that's just the tomato part. The chicken was delicious too. 

What did you eat this weekend? 

Flowery Friday: Delphinium

I know I say this about every flower I've posted about lately, but the Delphinium is truly one of my favorites.  I was so fond of it back in jr. high that when I got my very first email account my address was delphiniumgirl. I kept the address for so long that I used it as a contact for  job interviews in college (not super smart) and got chided by a prof in  front of my entire class  for keeping it because it wasn't professional-sounding. I was a dork, what can I say.

So back to the flower. Did you know:

- Delphinium symbolizes boldness

- The name derives from the Latin for 'dolphin' as its buds appear to resemble the aquatic mammals.

- The prime growing season for Delphinium is June and July and be sure to stake these beauties because they grow rather tall and tend to break or topple over in the wind. 

- The delphinium normally is found in shades of blue, ranging from light periwinkle to deep cobalt but also comes in salmon and light pink. 

Here I used individual delphinium blooms pulled from the tall stalks in this woodsy bouquet. 

White roses, pale blue hydrangea, berzillia berries, lambs ear, white roses, tweedia and plumosa fern were included too... 

Delphinium is often found in English cottage gardens. It seems to thrive in the cool climate of the UK. 

(image)

I'm loving this whimsical little bouquet by Portland based design Franciose Weeks. 

(image)

Bring some of the delphiniums incredible color in to your life with these... 

(Love The Print)

(rsharts)

(holcroft)

(couple home)

(studio botanica)

Current Obsession: The Green Smoothie

(twopeadsandntheirpod)

I recently read a book on detoxing and healthy eating. While a lot of the stuff in there was a bit on the extreme side for me and mine, I've happily incorporated the recommended green smoothie into my daily routine. I throw in a mix of romaine lettuce, spinach, an apple, pear or peach (or a combination of those three) some water, a few cubes of ice and a few squirts of fresh lemon or lime juice. This is surprisingly tasty people!

It's not very sweet, but has a fresh, earthy taste and I'm pretty much addicted now.

Why I love this:

- Long have I wondered how to incorporate more veggies into breakfast, beyond onions and spinach in an omelet. I don't want to eat a salad for breakfast, but I WILL gladly drink down a smoothie. This solves my veggie dilemma in the morning. 

- This smoothie keeps everything in the digestive tract moving along nicely, if you get my drift. Enough said there.

- This smoothie is easy to change up. If you have a bunch off berries on hand and no apples or pears, throw 'em in there. Add celery, cucumber, kale - whatever greens and green veggies you happen to have on hand. Just avoid melon according to the original recipe. It makes things funky.

- My husband will gladly drink it, so I send half the mixture out the door with him every morning. Thank for being open-minded, Ike. 

- We just got a new blender last night to increase our smoothie blending power (hooray!) specifically for these  green smoothies. Our little cheap-o blender from 9 years ago when we got married just wasn't gettin' the job done. I made it this morning with our new blender and it was whipped up in the half the time and tasted twice as smooth and creamy as before. Jack pot. 

Here's the orginal recipe if you'd like to give it a try:

Glowing Green Smoothie

Flowery Friday: Ranunculus

Oh the ranunculus. It has always topped my list of favorite flowers. The tight clusters of delicate petals that open up into a full bloom or fluttery loveliness (can you tell I like them?) are just heavenly. 

The above bouquet is one I did for my sister's wedding a few years back. Their colors were chocolate, ivory and a hint of pink, so I used pink ranunculus, pink pepper berries, chocolate orchids, ivory roses, lisianthus and fiddlehead ferns. Her bouquet was one of my all-time favorites. She cried when I gave it to her (and she didn't even cry when she saw her groom for the first time she later told me - so that's sayin' something!). 

Did you know:

Ranunculus is native to Asia and celebrated for it's medicinal properties.

A bouquet of ranunculus means "I am dazzled by your charms". (Ooo la la!)

Ranunculus is available February for May, if you're thinking of requesting it for an arrangement.

Aren't these pale pink ranunculus with the soft green centers beautiful? Mixed here with lily of the valley and deep green galax leaves, they create such a sweet and simple bouquet....

(wedding chicks)

They also come in the most beautiful yellows. Bits of velvety gray lambs ear tucked between the blooms are so pretty... 

And then there's crimson. So stunning. I arranged these a few years ago for a photo shoot...

There's nothing like fresh flowers but if you'd like to add some ranunculus to your life in a more long term way, take a peek at these inspiring options from where else but Etsy: 

(Lauren Everett Finn)

(Alice B Gardens)

(Brigite)

How incredible is this felted ranunculus. This girl's got some mad skills.

(From My Atelier)

Loving the clean and simple ranunculus design of this tiny pillow. 

Wear This! (It's New)

Every girl needs a chunky pendant in her jewelry collection, I think. If you agree, then you might just fancy the new necklaces I've been making as of late. I've been combining large circles of vintage fabrics finished with brooches, vintage buttons, beads and twine to come up with some fun stuff. 

Both of these pretties are up for grabs in my shop today! Swing on by!