{ this moment }

a friday ritual - a single photo - no words - a moment I want to pause - savor - and remember

inspired by soulemama

Walking.

Taking a bit of my own advice we went walking around Lake Galena (Peace Valley Park) yesterday.

 It was soooooo gorgeous. 

The views never cease to take my breath away.

Sometimes it's hard to get outside. 

The laundry is piling up and there's only a drop of milk left in the fridge.

But on a day like this, when good friends and sunshine beckon, I have to tell myself the laundry can wait and there's enough milk to get us through one more morning.

I inevitably feel like I've made the right decision after getting out there, breathing the fresh air and getting some excercise.

I feel even more motivated to get my chores done after a day outdoors.

It's like pressing the reset button.

(Insert deep cleansing breath here.)

Seasons.

I grew up in Florida so for a portion of my life I didn't really see the seasons change save for a visit to the northeast to visit family.

But I've lived in Pennsylvania for 11 years now and this house for 7 years and have seen many seasons come and go.

Now that August is coming to a close I can see the light hitting the trees a little differently, the shadows are a little longer and the days a little shorter.

It doesn't make me sad to see the summer go (although come february...) but excited to pull out my fall boots, go pumpkin picking with the nugget, dressing up for halloween, stews, stuffed acorn squash, cable knit everything, knitting, cocoa, cocoa and knitting...well you get the picture.

Make these last days of summer count!

PS. I finally learned how to knit in the round! WOOHOO!

Weekend in Review.

Well it was my intention to work on Iris's invitations this weekend and have a full post on that but my computer issue's continue to slow my progress. I did, however complete carving a block to stamp on the one side of the invite. I'm hesitant to start stamping before I print the actual information in fear that it might complicate the printing process. I also made 2 tissue paper pom poms. So there is progress... just very slow progress.

They're Iris in case you can't make it out

Tissue pom pom. Sooooo easy to make.

My workspace is poised for birthday action!

I've got the balloons so that I can make the pinata and I've started collecting old newspapers for my paper maiche. I'll try to complete that phase of the pinata over this next week and weekend.

I'm still trying to come up with a kick ass party favor idea that will please both boy and girl party guests so if anyone has any brilliant ideas please leave them in the comment section of this post.

{ this moment }

a friday ritual - a single photo - no words - a moment I want to pause - savor - and remember

inspired by soulemama

Rainy Beach Daze.

What do you do when it rains on your parade? Sing and drink beer.

A room with a view.

That was all we saw of the sun.

It was a drowsy ride home but I have to say I think a good time was had by all.

Farm to Table.

I mentioned that I was going to a farm to table dinner a few posts ago. My first event away from baby and husband since said baby was born. Just me and my girls. It was a lovely evening. Rain threatened to ruin it all but the gods were smiling on me and the rain cleared, the sun shone and even the bugs behaved themselves. I almost didn't know what to do with myself. Sitting in a lawn chair relaxing with a glass of champagne and dining on gorgeous food prepared with love on the very farm where it was grown (Blooming Glen Farm) has hardly been in the cards this past year.

In hindsight we probably should have brought local wine. Maybe next time.

Danielle sitting pretty.

Nothing says "farm to table" like a blue grass band.

We had burgers which came from the farm across the street with gorgeous brioche buns, wheat berry salad, fingerling potato salad with pickled wax beans, watermelon salad and locally made lemon verbena ice cream from oWowcow Creamery . Yummy!!!!

There were a ton of little kids running around and I can't wait until next year to bring Iris and some of her cousins who couldn't make it this year. But believe me I was grateful for the time away.

Thank you Zone 7 for hosting a wonderful event!

Random things...

So it's been another whirlwind tour for us. 

The beach was wonderful. Iris just loves the sand now and has taken to chasing (on all fours) the seagulls. She doesn't mind a faceful of sand.

I planned on returning last Monday but with computer issues, a new iphone to get up and running (one having everything to do with the other... Jeesh!), trying to get organized from being away and everyday life with an energetic baby it just didn't happen. But we're here now.

Not a bad view huh? There is music and weddings in this gazebo every weekend. I'm really going to miss it there.

I added a little something to my dining room decor. This little round vase has housed some mementos from our travels (beach glass, smooth stones, shells, etc.) for some time but I added a little sand in the bottom from the beach where my Dad lives (pictured above). He'll be moving away from there soon so it was the perfect addition to a bowl full of memories. I know it's corny and it makes even me throw up in my mouth a little bit but at the same time it makes me smile and it has meaning to me.

This is me having fun with my new phone...

Gotta love that morning sun!

Since we've moved our dinner time back until Iris goes to bed (you know...so we can actually enjoy our food) I've been whipping up these little snacks for us. A little cheddar, goat cheese, olives (black and red cerignolas...my favorite), whole grain dijon, crackers and my latest edition but not yet pictured... organic medjool dates do the trick.

The platter was a 5 year anniversary gift from our BFF Danielle who also officiated our wedding. Apparently wood is the traditional gift for the 5th wedding anniversary. There's a joke there somewhere.

We were also able to do something else we hadn't done in a while... go to the library. I love the library! By today's standards it's an old fashioned concept. I love the hushed environment and the access to all the books I could ever want without paying a dime for them (unless there late of course but even then it's pennies on the dollar)

Must... learn... to... knit... in... round.

This is my happy place (below). I rarely get to hang here but when I do I'm usually....well...happy.

I even made myself a mini margarita. Ahhhhh summertime!

And finally, my main focus right now is Iris's birthday party. I bought some supplies for the invitations (can you tell I'm in love with instagram). So until then... no new projects unless they're birthday related.
I pained over a theme of some sort and I didn't want to go overboard on a first birthday (but still want to make it special of course) so I just chose colors. That's right, my theme is colors. Pink and green. All shades.  I'm still kicking around ideas for food. I'm keeping that simple too.

And I bet you can't guess what I'm doing right now...that's right, I'm at the beach...again...in the rain.

Beach Bound.

Hey all. We're heading back to the beach to visit grandpa and to attend a wedding shower. We'll be back Monday (hopefully with pictures this time). 

And I'm soooo excited to be attending a farm to table dinner at Blooming Glen Farm on Sunday. It will be my first time out with just the girls since I had Iris 10 months ago. It's long overdue. Of course, I'm already planning what I'm going to wear, how I'll do my hair and what kind of wine we're going to bring. 

We wish everyone a safe and fun filled weekend and we can't wait to share ours just as soon as we can!

Coffee Talk.

You might not believe it in this Starbucks-driven mocha-frappe-latte saturated world but I never drank coffee (not never, just never habitually or ritually) before I had a child. Not because I didn't like the taste but because I didn't want to have that vice. That whole don't-talk-to-me-before-I've-had-my-coffee attitude just never appealed to my general outlook on life and personality.

Well motherhood changed all that. I was just having that moment about three months in thinking "I don't know if I can go on like this" and then I turned to my husband and said "pass the coffee". This request was met with shock and disbelief. Nonetheless, he passed the coffee.

Something else you should know about me... if I'm going to do something, I like to do it right (my interpretation of right). And I like my milk foamy so when I discovered this little jewel in ikea I  was thrilled. And the price was right too ($2.99). I've seen others for way more (like $35 more). This was a sign.

So every morning, preferably during Iris's morning nap, I enjoy this...

...sprinkled with a little cinnamon.

Eat your heart out Starbucks!

Does anyone have a morning ritual that they started after becoming a mom? Out of necessity or maintaining of sanity?

BTW, I was not paid by ikea or anyone else for that matter to mention products. I just really like it.

The Pinterest Challenge.

If you're just getting on board you can read about what this is here.

Well here it is. My adorable little jumper project. Here is the original pin.

I cut the inseam in a wide U shape to create a harem pant effect.

I cut two pieces. A front and a back but this could easily be done by cutting just one piece and sewing the seam in the back. I'll do that next time.

I hand stitched around the edges to create the cinched look. I don't know what the technical term for this is but I remember seeing my mom do it for something. Then I sewed the bias tape over that.

My camera battery died while I was doing the bias tape and neck tie so I'll just tell you I used a 2 inch strip of an old tablecloth in my repurpose pile. It was soft and had a nice contrast with the vintage sheet I used for the actual jumper.

Is she nuggaliscous or what!? 

Check out all the challengers and our gracious hosts below.

Sherry from Young House Love

Emily from Style by Emily Henderson

Katie from Bower Power

Lana from Making a House a Home

Thanks ladies! This was really fun!

#9. Check.

If you missed the sneak peek you can read about that here.

Let me first tell you I ended up buying the bookshelf new. Why? Well, the person I was going to get it from on craigslist took to long to get back to me and in the end I would have had to drive too far and it came with a coffee table that I didn't know what I was going to do with. In my book it was a wash. I still got the desk for $20 and sold my Trofast system for $50 so I only ended up spending $20 total in the end. Not too bad!

The next thing is I wanted to use the desk in a formation that it was not made to be used in. I new I'd have to do some retrofitting of my own but in the end I would have exactly what I wanted.

We used metal brackets to secure it to the book shelf and I leveled it (since the bookcase on it's side was a little taller than the desk) by shimming it up from the other end.

I also want to address why I chose the dark brown bookshelf with the white desk. 1) I didn't want all dark wood in that room as it is already lacking in natural light. 2) I like the idea of a simple white worksurface especially with patterned fabrics and sometimes small objects that could be hard to see on anything but white. 3) The dark brown and white combo is the same as Iris's furniture and I thought it might one day make a good place for her to do homework if we ever decide to move it into her room.

I spent alot of time rearranging, repurposing and reorganizing all sorts of things so that this new configuration would work for all it's purposes.

This person didn't help much.

Just to name a few... I moved a hanging organizer out of the closet to use as storage for fabric and took what previously resided in it (pants, pajamas, etc.) and placed them on the shelves (pictured below) of the ikea closet system that I was not utilizing (bad girl). Then I moved Iris's old yet organized clothes (you can read about that here) into her closet and also maximized some use of space in there. That freed up a three drawer rolling storage (bonus) which slipped perfectly under the desk. For now it remains empty but will soon house some of the clutter that still lingers.

This room is doing overtime and busting at the seams (puns are fun) but for now it works for me. 

It's like a puzzle. You just have to experiment and find where all the pieces go.

Tomorrow is the reveal of the Pinterest Challenge! I've been working feverishly to complete my challenge and so far I'm pleased with the results. I hope you will be too! Betcha can't wait to see what I chose to do. I'll give you a hint...You'll find it on the board titled Nugget.