when gram + gramps came to town

the sugaring :: part 2

Any guesses what we’re having for dinner?

{psst, looking for part 1?}

the sugaring :: part 1

:: neighbor’s drilling sends us scurrying outside to see the long-awaited tapping ::

:: sugar shack, nearly ready to come to life ::

:: season’s first sugar bush hike ::

:: syrup’s first stop ::

:: little one along for the ride ::

:: free to roam outside again — so beautifully free ::

old jail antiques

So I discovered this out-of-control awesome antique shop on Saturday. It’s inside an old jail, so the back part of the store is a row of claustrophobically narrow hallways packed with antique-filled cells. So rad. I think I was in an aqua mood.

{resources}
van gough :: mellowmint
washi :: pugly pixel
photo textures :: lost and taken
font :: mom’s typewriter via dafont
font :: learning curve via dafont

art show details

So! The art show. It was in a huge, beautiful old Victorian home that everyone probably wished was theirs. There were nine vendors, and it was a family-and-friends kind of thing — no public advertisement — so the whole thing felt very manageable and friendly. At my booth, I had an assortment of DIY bunting kits (thanks, Jane, for the amazing [and totally last-minute] packaging tags!), which were a favorite with the mamas. Watch for these soon in my Etsy shop — there’s a limited number of them, and when they’re gone, they’re gone!

I burned the midnight oil on Friday night to whip out a bunch of these clutches from the linen & lace collection. They are lined on the inside with vintage fabric, and they make beautiful gifts!

My favorite things that I made for the show were these snazzy little aprons. Unfortunately, the pattern maker’s terms of use do not extend to online sales (in-person craft shows only), so I’m working on some snazzy giveaways/promos to get the rest of them out to you guys! Skirts big and little are also on the rack.

Our hostess very thoughtfully gave me a spot with a beautiful armoire behind it so that I could hang up some sample buntings. They make me happy just looking at them.

The other vendors had some amazing stuff to show — I absolutely love craft shows for this reason! I didn’t get awesome pictures of everyone’s booth (my camera + low light = no good), but here is a sprinkling –

Pam, who invited me in the first place, makes incredible jewelry that incorporates new and vintage accents. She sources her materials with a lot of care, and it shows! She also sells on Etsy, and you can find her shop right here.

Louise makes the most delicious soaps you ever did smell — I got a bar of clary sage & lemongrass soap, and it lathers wonderfully and has just the right amount of essential oils so that it smells good but isn’t overpowering (and hot dang, she’s having a Black Friday sale!).

There was also amazing lampwork beaded jewelry and silverware –

And unbelievable turned wood bowls, sealed with beeswax, that feel so good in your hands –

There were also quilts, fine art prints, baby accessories, and mixed media stationery. I wish I’d gotten good photos of everyone’s stuff — it was all so great! Big thanks to everyone who came, to Claire for hosting, and to Pam for inviting me — it was an awesome opportunity, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

road-tripping with toddlers (by your onesie)

So, if you’re just tuning in, I just drove myself, my two girls (aged 1 and 3), and a car crammed with crap from Georgia to upstate New York. And we made it here in one piece. And we still like each other. And in case you find yourself in a similar pickle sometime, I’d like to present my vast store of accumulated knowledge and wisdom on the subject…

(See? This is me. On day three. With my vast knowledge and wisdom. And I’d like to add that the only reason I’m wearing eye makeup and have my hair done is because I got to see my husband for the first time in a month that day. The other two days = not so pleasant.)

Keep a schedule. For us, that meant books (physical and audio) in the morning, snack and movie time around 10 and 3, lunch at 12, quiet time at 1, dinner at 5:30, and toys, music, and meals in between. It provided a semblance of normalcy, and I felt calmer just knowing that this trip was not going to be one eternal, empty, endless scream-fest stretching out before us.

Define time. My kids don’t understand clock time yet, let alone the concept of “we’ll be there in ten minutes.” And I read this somewhere else — I wish I could remember where — but the idea was to mark time in a way they can understand — e.g. “You can watch a movie after lunch,” or “We’ll get to the hotel when it gets dark.” For us, it helps immensely if I can get Lizzy to parrot back the answer (“So when will we get to the hotel?”) — that way, she knows that I know that she knows, and she’s less likely to pester me ask about it again — at least for few minutes.

No go-go-gadget arms. It has long been a hard and fast rule that I don’t give the kids toys or food while the car is on. If they drop their toy or get thirsty, they know they’ll have to wait until Mommy stops the car. This was totally key to everyone’s sanity.

Limit snacks. On previous road trips, I’ve thrown exciting snacks at my kids nonstop, which always went poorly (it made them cranky and turned me into an all-day vending machine, which is my most-hated aspect of family road trips). This time, they got two snacks a day and three meals a day. That was it. And everyone was happy.

Surprises. A couple of books, a couple of small toys, and one bigger toy went a long way for us. Then at lunch on day 2, I let them each pick out a small toy at the Cracker Barrel (yeah, the vegetables are overcooked, but it’s one step closer to real food than Mickey D’s), which completely made their day (cute story: Maren went off like a shot for the baby dolls, adopted one, and would. not. let. go. She mommied that thing gleefully for the rest of the trip — you can see its leg in the picture below). Anyway — Lizzy knows that surprises = awesome, so I played it up — “If you eat a good lunch, I have a surprise for you when we get back to the car!”

(Two happy chickies with a $1 surprise. Thank you, Target.)

Pray. Morning, noon, night. In your heart. With your kids. Over every meal. Each time you start the car. Pray for safety. Pray for sanity. Pray for love. And darnit — pray for fun. I think God knows we need some fun to get by.

Any more tips? Let’s have ‘em!

autumn in fast-forward

If there was ever a perfect season in which to drive the length of the country from south to north, Autumn is the time. Oh, the colors. The absolute riot of colors.

The day we left Georgia, it was still flip-flop weather and the leaves were only starting to change. As we drove, the season began changing so rapidly that it was like watching a time-lapse sequence on National Geographic. It started somewhere north of Atlanta, exploded like a firecracker in southern Virginia and through the Carolinas, and gradually ebbed away as we hit West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and finally New York — where, in the northern extremity of the country, winter has all but begun.

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It is beautiful and humbling to me that we live in a country — in a world — where there is such diversity, such majesty, such glory. It makes me so thankful.

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And the drive? It went so well. Predictably, Both Lizzy and I had a couple of tantrums apiece. And predictably, Maren sat and sucked her thumb pretty much the whole time. Oh, those girls of mine. More details soon; I’m brewing a whole post of here’s-what-to-do-if-you-suddenly-have-to-drive-your-children-across-the-country-by-yourself. Oh yes.

destin, fl

R took some leave last week, so we packed up the kids and had our first real family vacation. It was heaven — sugar-white sands, clear waters, cool mornings and not-too-hot afternoons, tasty seafood, the very best company around — in short, the perfect getaway.

(Yeah. He’s ripped.)

There is something so healing about the ocean. Watching its heaves and swells — its quiet retreats — the way it unassumingly submits to the unseen force of the moon — it makes me relax and realize — it’s okay to trust — to move forward — to go with the flow, so to speak, of a loving God who, while unseen to me, is nonetheless very much there.

If you go, don’t stay anywhere but at the Old Pier Motel. Our room had a full kitchen and a separate bedroom, which meant that R and I got to stay up late, creaming each other at Dominion and watching Hoarders. The beach is right across the street, and the motel provides toys, chairs, and umbrellas. Plus, the off-season rates are incredible. Two other must-dos, thanks to my buddy Jess — Dewey Destin Seafood and the public beach at the end of Gulf Shore Drive. It’s a tiny inlet full of fish, hermit crabs, barely-there waves, and very few people.

My most pressing question: when can we go back?

postcards from california: trois

I cannot express Lizzy’s delight at the train, carousel, and petting farm at Tilden Park.

Maren loved it, too.

I loved seeing fog again. It’s been an unseasonably cold summer in Nor Cal; I wore jeans and a fleece every day. Contrast that with the Birmingham airport, where I was so sweaty within 30 minutes of landing that I stripped down and changed clothes right there in the parking lot.

Friday (my birthday!) took us back to Oakland for a visit to the LDS Temple grounds, some hot chocolate at the inimitable Bittersweet, shopping for a hostess present at Market Hall (oh just let me die now), and browsing at Bella Vita, a gorgeous little boutique that made me feel like I was walking through an Etsy treasury. As if that weren’t enough, we went to Livermore (the town where I lived last year while R was in training) in the afternoon for a splash in the city’s new fountain, a stop at In Between Stitches, a haircut for Lizzy, and (of course) green chicken curry and brown rice at Lemongrass. It was definitely one of the better meals of my life. My mom made an awesome chai spiced carrot cake, and after the girls were in bed, my parents and I spent the rest of the evening talking together. Talk about a great day. My only regret is that my man wasn’t there with us!

As for the trip home, let’s just say it involved getting up at 4 am, driving 2 hours, flying 7 hours, then driving 3 more hours. We are all pretty tired. But oh so happy to be home, and oh so happy to see Daddy again!

Lots of craftiness coming your way soon. I am bursting at the seams with inspiration; my first project involves Dos Equis commercials and totally awesome commercials from the 40s and 50s like this one. Totally off the beaten path as far as my hobbies go, but I’m really excited about this one!

postcards from california: deux

Buttons and bolts at Stonemountain and Daughter. If you’re ever within a reasonable radius of Berkeley, you must go.

R happened to call while we were there. The crux of our conversation was when R said, “Well, it is your birthday on Friday…”

Babies discovering Grandma’s garden on Sunday morning.

Drinking in the delicious smell of lavender.

Falling in love with our new dolls (they deserve a post of their own — stay tuned).

Having a ball at the aquarium (the girls’ favorite was the sharks; Grandma liked the jellies, and Mommy loved the seahorses) and Carmel-by-the-Sea.

We’re here for two more delicious days.