embracing winter::number 2

Masterpiece Classic on PBS. Most always a great selection of cinematic storytelling. This season's roundup is not as familiar to me as others, but i'm never disappointed. View 2011 schedule here.  Add a blanket and a cup of hot cocoa into the mix and it's a practically blissful way to spend a Sunday evening.

have your cake

I quite like these cake paintings by Paul Ferney and really wish my budget could accommodate one.

favorite things::at home

my lavender bush that started out as barely a twig

white towels and sheets

my ikea chair that is just the right size and still looks new, even though it's white

my brother's wooden toy box, passed along to my little ones

the garden grows some more

our very own strawberries. those that survived the local bird population, anyway.

into the sunset

Montana has been on my mind every since our long road trip earlier this month. So, when I noticed that the latest issue of Sunset magazine featured a few pieces on the Big Sky state, I purchased a copy. So glad I did. This is one of the articles (in this case, not about Montana) that caught my eye and now has me day dreaming of constructing my own little DIY no-frills cabin in the mountains.

the garden grows

the first ripe tomato from my garden. hooray! 

I must be a grown up if...

 the sight of this in my yard puts a smile on my face and makes me want to do a happy dance:

so happy to be fenced in.

back yard dreaming

Mr. J showed me this website the other day, following our discussion of "to get a swing set or not" for the boys. Wow.  The lack of pricing on the website is a sure sign that these are way, way,  way  beyond my budget. Fun to dream a little, anyway.

earthy art

happy earth day

owen's artwork makes me happy

pretty linens

as I fantasize about pulling together a pretty master bedroom, I also fantasize about this washed linen bedding from Garnet Hill

in the zone

the spring cleaning zone.

list made

supplies gathered

attack planned

mr. j on board (or so he says)

bring it on, dust bunnies.

antiques

When my parents came to visit for Nanuk's birthday last week they brought piles of candy, toys and clothes for my boys (too much, of course), and this:

It's a secretary, and it's probably 100 years old. my mother's grandparents purchased it at a garage sale and eventually passed it along to her. It stood in the entry way of my parent's colonial for over 20 years.  Then they moved and no longer had a suitable "wall" for it. My mother has boo-hoo-ed for months on end about how it must stay in the family and we must cherish it, but nobody else would take it. Now it's mine. More ornate than my preferences, but I like to mix things up a little bit so I think I can make it work eventually.

My issues are thus: I don't care for the finish (why does it still smell like varnish?) and I'm not thrilled with it's current placement in the corner of my front room. Mr. J insists he likes it where it is, but I'm fairly certain that's because he doesn't want to move it downstairs to an alternate location in the guest room.

Do I dare paint it? white? yellow? A major undertaking for sure, but maybe worth it in the end...

new towels

If I weren't on a self-imposed spending hiatus, I'd seriously be considering some of these lightweight cotton towels. And the on-line shop is a non-profit. Oh! does that make my purchase a charitable donation? Maybe I can justify them after all...They look summery, comfy and cheerful. Which is precisely what I'm longing for at this moment.

hiatus

I'm on a spending hiatus. Not because I'm a compulsive spender, but because the winter blahs make retail-therapy all too easy to justify. And because there are lots of expensive projects on my to-do list. And because I just don't want more stuff. Months of hibernation, surrounded by all of my current stuff, has me feeling a little suffocated. Less stuff must equal more air, more peace. More zen. Or something.

A vacation is so much more appealing to me than more stuff. A fence is more necessary to me than more stuff. A pretty bedroom is more important to me than eating out or that thing from Old Navy that I just had to buy because it was so cheap and I would never have bought it except that it was on clearance and I'll probably hate it in 3 weeks because it will prove to be so cheap.  So, spending hiatus it is.

          

Instead of buying special Valentine packaging and ribbons and sprinkles and special treats and what not, I made do with the odds and ends on my craft shelf and in my pantry. Instead of throwing a big shindig for Nanuk's 1st birthday, we are keeping things small, sweet and simple. Instead of buying the beautiful lamps that would look really great in my light-and-style deprived living room, I'm tolerating the el-cheapo random light fixtures I currently have even though I think my living room looks like it belongs to college students. Maybe the lamps will get marked-down before they are sold out? Instead of fun high-maintenance treatments at the salon, I'll go the close-to-natural route (what grey hairs?). Instead of eating out once per week (even on the cheap), it's once or twice a month. Still on the cheap. Sticking to essential purchases only. Little things, all of these minor sacrifices for the greater good, but together perhaps they will equal the greater good. And a handsome fence to keep my wee babes corralled.

saturday is a special day

it's the day we

feed the children
dress the children
make the beds
wash the clothes
dry the clothes
send the emails
knead the dough
bake the cookies
sing the songs
race the little cars
clean the counters
clean the stove
unload the dishwasher
load the dishwasher
feed the children
clean the children
wash the clothes
dry the clothes
scrub the bathroom
wash the car
run the errands
fly the paper airplanes
slice the veggies
bake the pizza
feed the children
bathe the children
wash the clothes
dry the clothes
read the stories
snuggle the children
cut the fabric
make the phone calls
...and so on until tucking my self into bed.

On paper it looks like I accomplished a lot. So why does it feel like I didn't accomplish anything?

happy for...

ugly warm boots
cheerful manners: "oh, thank you mommy!" and "you're welcome very much!" and "please, may I _______?!"
a book to read
cute paper buntings
leftover cake
nanuk's gleeful, lightning-speed tongue-trilling
an extra blanket on my bed
and today especially: soup simmering, bread baking, baby napping, toddler "reading," sun-shining, diet-coke-sipping.

Southern Living Idea House

There are so many wonderful things about the South: the drawl, the Kentucky Derby, the hospitality, the magnolia trees. I really enjoyed Southern Living Magazine's 2009 Idea House tour. So happy I stumbled upon it somewhere in blog land. Go here to view all the photos. The color schemes are soothing and inviting, but with personality, too.

make your bed!

Shortly after Mr. J and I tied the knot, Mr. J claimed he didn't know how to make the bed.

?

!

It was a "what have I done?" moment in my marriage. I got over it, but still, didn't everyone learn to make their bed by say, age 6?

So he didn't know how to make the bed. Tucking in the sheet corners was a foreign concept altogether. (As was setting the table, I learned later). Doesn't everyone do hospital corners?

There is the sneaking suspicion he only claimed these shortcomings as a way to avoid responsibility. Hmmmm. But, he does mow the lawn, take out the trash, and build shelves. And he did eventually learn how to make the bed. I guess I'll keep him.

so much to do...

and so little time to do it. We are up to our chins in dirt and paint and meetings and piles and other things. None of them sunshine. Boo. Unplugging for a couple of days to play catch-up with our household to-do list.

how does your garden grow, part I

We've started our little garden indoors, and things are sprouting up quickly. Each morning Piglet takes a peek and exclaims: "Oh look! They growed! They growed!"

We tried last year, but a series of snowstorms in april, may and june (curses!) foiled our plans. Things are looking better this year for our corn, peas, carrots, herbs. Tomatoes and pumpkins will soon join our little tribe of sprouting veggies. Studying, composting, and crossing. Our fingers, that is, for a summer full of shelling peas and shucking corn on the back porch. And eating. Lots and lots of eating.