Of course not all of this was just from today. I tend to alternate between knitting and sewing binges. Seeing as I'm waiting on some new yarn to arrive to finish a project it only made sense for the sewing to take over for a bit.
I made both of the girls new dresses but only have photos of Louise's. A simple smocked dress from a fabric of her choosing from my stash. It took one hour from start to finish. I love it. Pattern from One Yard Wonders.
I'm very excited about my new doll project!!! A gift for a little niece. I knew I had to make this for her the moment I saw it in Wee Wonderfuls. Seriously if you have ANY inkling to make toys for little ones get this book. It's magnificent.
Apparenly I can't go more than three days without knitting needles in my hands because I just had to cast on something. This is a simple slip stitch shawl with some gorgeous noro sock yarn I've had for years now. I'm excited to see it unveil itself.
A rather wonky picture of a kind of wonky project. I made two new booster seats for the girls this weekend. They've been fighting over our one banged up blue one forever and it was time. I could have just bought another one but that's no fun. So on a trip to the fabric store I grabbed a giant 4" foam pad, some butterfly vinyl fabric and had at it. I cut 2 12" squares from the foam, sewed all but one seam, crammed the foam in and used clear packing tape to close up the edge. They're working great, and most importantly? No more fighting!!!
A scene from the disaster area that is my sewing area. Someday I'll have time to keep it organized AND make things right? For now I guess making things wins out.
As for the kids? there's a lot going on around here lately. As usual I'm surprised by how easily long days can be filled when I put my mind to it and make a few simple plans. I find one craft or cooking project a day, plus lots of outdoor time and playtime with either neighborhood friends of a school friend on a playdate is enough to keep us happy most days.
Acrylic paints are our new favorites. The covered both the terra cotta pots and wooden birdhouses beautifully.
I'm also in the middle of a toy revamp. We got rid of a LOT of stuff over the winter but I still feel like I'm in perpetual clean out mode. I pulled out Ainsley's first dollhouse from the back room and it's the new favorite. They have to play it at the dining room table to keep Felix at bay.
We found a new bike for Ainsley at a garage sale two weekends ago. I believe it's a 20 incher, a jump up from her tiny pink one. She can barely touch her toes to the ground on the smallest seat setting but she's figure it out and flies around our block with ease. She's such a big kid in so many ways.
At the beginning of the season I made a vow to try and fully enjoy summer. If I'm honest I'll say summer is my least favorite season. Of course I love lots about summer, trips to the cabin, gardening, playing in water, sun. I do not like heat though. Anything above a dry 75 finds me a bit cranky. And the real trial for me is cooking in the summer.
So far the weather has been absolutely gorgeous. I know it's still early in the season, but it leaves me optimistic.
We've had enough cool mornings to bake a bit and I'm finally figuring out some good grilling recipes for those hot days. I'm excited to try some new recipes from Naptime Chef for the scorchers to come. Her curried chicken salad sounds amazing.
I'm also learning to grill tons when we do light up the weber. This weekend we grilled chicken breasts, sausages, hot dogs and corn. I'm using the chicken and corn on my lunchtime salads* and loving having a grilled treat mid week.
All of these marinades are bang on. The chicken on is my new favorite.
And this simple recipe for eggs in tomato sauce is definitely a new staple at our house. We eat eggs at least once a week for dinner. It's nice to have a new go to.
If you love baked goods like we do this King Arthur muffin recipe is a must. I've made it so many ways. The one below is oatmeal with brown sugar and three kind of berries.
*spinach, roasted corn, a tiny bit of finely crumbled blue cheese, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced grilled chicken, dressing; a swirl of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and pepper...I'm obsessed.
A great moment from today was when I was teaching Ainsley about the concept of relativity after she asked if Earth was big. I answered that it depends on what you're comparing it to and we went through examples. Then she ran around the house with a purple brush telling me what it was big and little in comparison to, RELATIVE to. After about 15 minutes of this she ran to me exploding. "MOM! THERE ARE SO MANY WORDS THAT I DON'T KNOW!!! TEACH ME!!! I WANT TO LEARN THEM ALL!!! She's definitely Ian's child.
The rest of our afternoon has been fun. Louise was feeling a bit under the weather and the rain had picked up so we postponed our trip to the library in favor of staying put. While Felix napped the girls and I made tea and played slapjack and Old Maid. I got this set of cards recently and we're having a blast. IT's crazy to me that my girls are big enough to play card games all on their own. Wonderful too.
Ian's finishing a grant up at work so he's back for the night. Grants are the worst. I'm glad he gets to come home tomorrow once it's submitted and get some sleep!
This week I'm excited for lots of playdates, a trip to the library to get Ainsley's very own library card, snipping a few of the last peonies to grace our dinner table, and of course celebrate our awesome guy this weekend. Just in time Ian's good friend's family is opening their Vietnamese restaurant. We're VERY excited for Father's Day lunch.
I hope you all are having a wonderful week!
No comments:
Post a Comment
i LOOOOOVE comments. Seriously. They make my lonely stay at home mama day.