We spent our July 4th at Fort McHenry, an important battlefield during the War of 1812 and the birthplace of our National Anthem. One of the highlights of our day was the unfurling of a replica of the flag that was Francis Scott Key's inspiration for writing what would become the Star Spangled Banner.
When the flag was laid out, the crowd joined in a chorus of the anthem. If you are someone who cries at parades (no mocking), you would have shed tears along with me. It was a beautiful and purely patriotic moment.
After a short round of applause a lone, deep voice emerged from the crowd. Quietly and confused, we listened.
And celebrated independence.
Yeah, I really cried after that one.
Happy belated Fourth of July, my friends.
Father's Day DIY | Gifts for dad
June 15, 2009
Here's a gift we created a few years ago for Father's Day that's still a favorite. I shared it around the holidays but thought it would be worth mentioning again. It's easy, inexpensive and the results are so incredibly sweet.
Poster paper (one sheet for each letter)
Kids (number varies)
Scissors
Camera
Wide picture frame
Instructions:
Cut out letters using a full-sized sheet of poster paper and hand them off to the kids.
Take as many shots as you can (vertical works best) and stop only when you've got a bunch of photos for each letter (or someone cries and tries to eat the paper).
Find your favorites and pop them into a frame. I printed them out as 4x6 inch photos and put them into a long Ribba frame from Ikea.
I don't have a photograph of the final framed product because it's at Brian's office but here's a small, digital version:
I promise....it was as much fun as it looks.
beautiful gadgety techiness
June 3, 2009
Have you noticed the new iGoogle showcase? You can set up your home page to look like Martha's, Anna Sui's (love that clock), Queen Rania's or Betsey Johnson's. I'm in love with Betsey's prints (they change throughout the day) so I used her color theme and added a bunch of gadgets I hadn't been using but should have (like Twitter and ToDo). I feel like I gave myself makeover just in time for summer!
take your customer to work day
May 28, 2009
Since I work out of my house and it's usually pretty crazy here, I thought I'd share some photos instead of inviting you all over for Take Your Customer to Work Day (which is really my loss because I'd love to have every one of you over for coffee).
I dream of having an amazing studio like this one or that one but I don't. Really. With the exception of the desk, which I bought years ago for my husband from a local woodworker, the furniture is what I like to call "re-purposed late-century Ikea" aka the furniture that was in my living room when I first graduated from college.
Even though I'd love to have my own studio space, my little corner of our busy downstairs family room is perfect. It allows me to keep an eye on the kids and encourages me to stop for play breaks.
I dream of having an amazing studio like this one or that one but I don't. Really. With the exception of the desk, which I bought years ago for my husband from a local woodworker, the furniture is what I like to call "re-purposed late-century Ikea" aka the furniture that was in my living room when I first graduated from college.
Even though I'd love to have my own studio space, my little corner of our busy downstairs family room is perfect. It allows me to keep an eye on the kids and encourages me to stop for play breaks.
Keep in mind, there are lots of reasons that I didn't give you a wide shot of the room. Like this:
And this:
Thank goodness for early bedtimes, portable laptops, and cozy corners upstairs like this:
Thanks for coming with me to work today!
there's just something about that (big) bird
May 26, 2009
Growing up, I felt such a connection with the characters on Sesame Street. Maybe it's because I remember my own childhood trip to the store for "a loaf of bread, a container of milk and a stick of butter" (I'll save that story for another day) or because the front stoop at 123 looked a lot like my own in Ridgewood.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street and I've spentthe past four hours some time on You Tube watching my favorites. What are yours?
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street and I've spent
national stationery show
May 17, 2009
The National Stationery Show started today and I'm ridiculously jealous that I'm not there (either exhibiting or just walking the show like I did last year with my dear friend Jen) so I'll just keep stalking Twitter, Flickr and drooling over the amazing coverage over at Crow and Canary and Oh So Beautiful Paper.
Some pics to satisfy your paper cravings:
Good luck to all of my paper friends!
Some pics to satisfy your paper cravings:
Good luck to all of my paper friends!
the greatest gift(s) i could imagine
May 10, 2009
Thing 1 and Thing 2
Happy Mother's Day to every woman with a child in her heart.
Happy Mother's Day to every woman with a child in her heart.
fried love
May 5, 2009
In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I'm going to attempt to make sopapillas tonight (using a recipe from Emeril). While in New Mexico a few years ago, I fell in love with these fluffy pillows of fried dough. We ordered them at every restaurant from Albuquerque to the Colorado border.
I might as well include some photos from Flickr because if they're good, they'll be eaten before the camera comes out. If they're bad, well...is fried dough ever really bad?
I might as well include some photos from Flickr because if they're good, they'll be eaten before the camera comes out. If they're bad, well...is fried dough ever really bad?
typographica's favorites
April 30, 2009
If you missed typographica's release of their top typefaces of 2008, get ready to swoon. Thank goodness there's no place in the budget for new fonts.
Some of my own favorites from the list...
Calgary by Ale Paul
Memoir by Stephen Rapp
Some of my own favorites from the list...
Calgary by Ale Paul
Arlt by Alejandro Lo Celso
Memoir by Stephen Rapp
And my personal favorite, Compendium by Ale Paul
Did they choose any fonts that you love?
Upcycling for Earth Day | Etsy roundup
April 22, 2009
Happy Earth Day! Some of my favorite upcycled items for children on Etsy:
(Hey! I recognize that beautiful girl in that fabulous photo! Pascale rocks.)
(using repurposed men's dress shirts)
(using 100% recycled wool scraps)
(using recycled tees)
(created from sewing workroom scraps)
(handsewn journal covered with recycled children's clothes)
baking with OCD | cinnamon scones
April 8, 2009
I'm not a baker. Baking is not conducive to my impulsive-compulsive self so I much prefer to cook. I understand the science of cooking and enjoy the ability to alter the flavors of a meal right up until it's plated. But over the past few days I've been a baking fool.
There's a grocery store near our house that sells these incredibly amazing cinnamon scones. I'm not usually a lover of scones but these little triangles of cinnamon-y pleasure have done me in. They're moist, dense, and full of sweetness (almost like a soft cookie). I doubt my British grandmother would approve, but they are my idea of baked perfection.
Unfortunately I can no longer afford to feed my addiction. At $4 for a package of four (and two packages to feed our family for breakfast) I am determined to make them myself.
Since Monday I've been trying out recipe after recipe (which were both delicious) but still haven't quite hit it right. I've added ingredients and modified measurements but each attempt yields scones that are either too cake-like or dry. Today's recipe (a hodge-podge of ingredients) was definitely the best so far (and the only one my four-year-old baking companion/taste-tester approved of) but it wasn't quite right.
So far my recipe (mostly...I'm not good at writing things down) looks like this:
2 cups of flour
1T of baking powder
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1 t salt
1 t vanilla
1 1/4 c of liquid-y dairy items (sour cream, milk, cream...don't mock me)
2t cinnamon
5T chilled butter
No eggs (they made them even more cake-like but I'm willing to reconsider)
I'll need to add cinnamon chips to the final product but haven't added them just yet.
And I bake at 425 for 12 minutes.
If you happen to have any recommendations to make these scones less like well...scones, please post (my cupboard and my family will thank you).
There's a grocery store near our house that sells these incredibly amazing cinnamon scones. I'm not usually a lover of scones but these little triangles of cinnamon-y pleasure have done me in. They're moist, dense, and full of sweetness (almost like a soft cookie). I doubt my British grandmother would approve, but they are my idea of baked perfection.
Unfortunately I can no longer afford to feed my addiction. At $4 for a package of four (and two packages to feed our family for breakfast) I am determined to make them myself.
Since Monday I've been trying out recipe after recipe (which were both delicious) but still haven't quite hit it right. I've added ingredients and modified measurements but each attempt yields scones that are either too cake-like or dry. Today's recipe (a hodge-podge of ingredients) was definitely the best so far (and the only one my four-year-old baking companion/taste-tester approved of) but it wasn't quite right.
So far my recipe (mostly...I'm not good at writing things down) looks like this:
2 cups of flour
1T of baking powder
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1 t salt
1 t vanilla
1 1/4 c of liquid-y dairy items (sour cream, milk, cream...don't mock me)
2t cinnamon
5T chilled butter
No eggs (they made them even more cake-like but I'm willing to reconsider)
I'll need to add cinnamon chips to the final product but haven't added them just yet.
And I bake at 425 for 12 minutes.
If you happen to have any recommendations to make these scones less like well...scones, please post (my cupboard and my family will thank you).
DIY on Indie Fixx
April 3, 2009
I was super flattered when Jen over at Indie Fixx invited me to join her as a guest blogger today. I created a tutorial for some lovely little spring nests using all recycled materials. It's a perfect, kid-friendly spring craft, and you can get most of what you need on an outdoor stroll. Head on over!
Easter dresses | Etsy roundup
April 2, 2009
Some dresses I'm loving for Easter (if I can only convince you-know-who to wear one):
Cotton candy polka bow by Rocker Baby
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