tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31612830285260508462024-02-07T00:21:17.526-05:00a pocket full of posiesKarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-88667769148364469792011-03-16T10:40:00.000-04:002011-03-16T10:40:50.176-04:00eggsThe April magazine issues are starting to fill up my mailbox and with them beautiful pictures of blown and dyed eggs. There seem to be endless ways to decorate the simple egg. Martha Stewart alone has a <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/easter-eggs">slideshow</a> of 62 different ideas. Here are some of my favorite...<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" height="450" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2006Q2/0406_msl_dyed_eggs_xl.jpg" width="360" /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" height="450" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/goodthings/gt_eggtree01_xl.jpg" width="360" /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" height="450" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/goodthings/gt_botegg01_xl.jpg" width="360" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">How cute are these ideas to make with kids!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" height="320" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/kids/2006Q1/kids_spring06_egg_xl.jpg" width="256" /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" height="320" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/kids/2006Q1//kids_spring06_egg_chickens_xl.jpg" width="256" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" height="320" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/kids/2006Q1/kids_spring06_egg_cow_xl.jpg" width="256" /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" height="320" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/kids/2006Q1//kids_spring06_egg_ladybug_xl.jpg" width="256" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">While I don't enjoy blowing eggs, I do love that they last for years. Every year I blow and decorate a few more so my stash continues to grow and grow.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This year I'm planning on making a garland out of brown and white eggs. I'm going for a more monochromatic mantel with pops of green and I think the natural eggs will look perfect. In the past I've had a "Happy Easter" garland made out of eggs that I dyed and sketched letters on hanging on the mantel. Over the years the eggs have gotten a little chipped and cracked so I decided that it was time to retire the garland.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Of course, when you blow all those eggs you end up with a lot of, well, egg left over. My favorite thing to make with the eggs is frittata. Frittata is probably one of my favorite meals, though I don't make it as often as I should. Frittata is as good as quiche but so much easier and quicker to make because you don't have to deal with the crust (which you don't even miss).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
Search the internet and you'll come up with thousands of frittata recipes, but the great thing about frittata is that you can throw in whatever you have in your fridge. Tonight we made a frittata with sausage, red pepper, zucchini, leek, red onion, ricotta and mozzarella cheese. It was delicious. <br />
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Once summer comes I'll post my all time favorite frittata recipe. I'd share now but none of the veggies are in season so it wouldn't taste nearly as good as it will come summer time.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-88810431052422929522011-03-07T22:54:00.000-05:002011-03-07T22:54:50.698-05:00Less is More March- Week 1<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Money-Facts" border="0" height="284" hspace="4" src="http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/money-facts-tm.jpg?w=400&h=284" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" vspace="4" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://listverse.com/2008/11/26/top-10-lost-rules-of-etiquette/">source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>So this month we're focusing on our budget and trying to eliminate extemporaneous spending (see more <a href="http://pocketsfullofposy.blogspot.com/2011/02/less-is-more-month.html">here</a>). The first week was a little bit harder than we thought it would be.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><i>Money spent</i></div><div>Here's the breakdown of what we spent this week:</div><div>52.38- Groceries/coffee</div><div>41.31- Gas</div><div>14.75- Personal items</div><div>8.50- Dry cleaning (seriously Jeff, you had to wait until this week?)</div><div>3.19- Redbox rental (had we returned this on time it would have only been $1 and not this month)</div><div>31.35- Books for bible study</div><div>50.00- Money owed to Jeff's brother (he's killing me here)</div><div><b>198.29 total spent- </b>$48.29 over budget</div><div><br />
</div><div><i>Money saved</i></div><div>During this month we're taking the opportunity to look at our monthly bills and see if there are ways to cut or eliminate them</div><div><u>Comcast bill:</u> Savings of $50 a month</div><div>We were paying $155 for cable and Internet. With all the commercials touting $99 a month for Internet, cable and phone we were a little perplexed as to why we were paying so much. So Jeff called Comcast and was able to negotiate our bill down to $105 with a new home phone thrown in too.</div><div><u>Life Insurance:</u> Savings of $39.01 a month</div><div>A few years ago we took out some life insurance policies. Last year we opened a few new policies with another company but never closed the old ones. We were way over-insured but I just never got around to canceling. I thought the company would make it really difficult to cancel the policies (since I use to work for one and know all about retention policies). Well, a five minute phone call later and that was that.</div><div><br />
</div><div><i>Thoughts on this week:</i></div><div>- Jeff and I need to communicate more on what our upcoming plans and money needs are going to be. We do talk about it but I think we mention things randomly and aren't actually paying attention to each other.</div><div>- I'm really happy with how little we spent on groceries this week. $50 is not too bad! We had mostly meatless meals this week (barely and roasted root vegetable salad, homemade pizza, lazy man's lasagna... the rest is escaping me)<br />
- I do like the challenge of not spending money. It was nice not really having to go anywhere. We did take a few trips to the library but hung out at home the rest of the time.<br />
- Hanging out at home has its advantages. I repainted the dining room and kitchen using paint we had in the basement. I love how the rooms came out. The colors work perfectly in those rooms (though I have no idea what rooms these colors were in before). Next up is painting and framing in a chalkboard on the kitchen wall (using supplies we already have).<br />
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<i>Next week:</i><br />
This week's budget is $180. I have to buy diapers and groceries tomorrow. My birthday is on Wednesday and we're hoping to go out to dinner one night to celebrate. We'll be using gift certificates so that shouldn't cut into our budget too much.</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-19014420882331177412011-03-05T12:42:00.000-05:002011-03-05T12:42:21.327-05:00ribbon board<div style="text-align: center;">Sometime you have to wonder how buying clothes pins...</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="webkit-fake-url://215E7728-6547-46A6-ADB1-CDC1B3625B7E/image.tiff" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.michaels.com/Treasures-by-Shabby-Chic%C2%AE-Clothes-Pins/sc1328,default,pd.html?cgid=products-seasonsandcelebrations-funfinds-shabbychic">Shabby Chic clothes pins from Michaels</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
...can result in a ribbon board.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98qFNGeEs6zP0_8BtKhye4D2-KcDkvqLejSYEAoDTwYWIuokB0xlFBrMiDWY8qO5xaEZ175JxP8g4ioBwctAjLYNOh_2PYOa0w1UDK71egfh8n55lHQgUGZOpumKh00JjTcSy8hpVJHvd/s1600/IMG_6499.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98qFNGeEs6zP0_8BtKhye4D2-KcDkvqLejSYEAoDTwYWIuokB0xlFBrMiDWY8qO5xaEZ175JxP8g4ioBwctAjLYNOh_2PYOa0w1UDK71egfh8n55lHQgUGZOpumKh00JjTcSy8hpVJHvd/s640/IMG_6499.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I bought the clothespins on a recent trip to Michaels. $2 for 4 clothespins is really not a bargain but I thought they were the cutest thing and just had to have them. Of course, once I got them home I realized I really didn't have a place to put them. I eventually decided to glue magnets on the back and use them on the fridge to hold papers (still have to get around to doing that).<br />
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But the clothes pins reminded me of a shabby chic curtain panel I had bought at Target years ago, which made me think that it was high time I made a ribbon pin board (I have no idea why my mind works the way it does).<br />
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As with all spur of the moment projects I didn't have all the supplies I needed. I really wanted to use some cork board backing but I didn't have any. What I did have was a frame, spray paint, ribbon, the fabric, and lots of glue and tape.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8svuXkovSfecCOTkMDf-aVPJ60Sbw-1ZJI69Y9spYhQeCIrOtctIGmuWEijejrYEPCP6tqjlNj2acAR5W0bEo-C7D8LhQSWfq46v6-iR8HyeA8v7eCFRpSUnbxObchRRHHoUoY3M9SNZn/s1600/IMG_6278.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8svuXkovSfecCOTkMDf-aVPJ60Sbw-1ZJI69Y9spYhQeCIrOtctIGmuWEijejrYEPCP6tqjlNj2acAR5W0bEo-C7D8LhQSWfq46v6-iR8HyeA8v7eCFRpSUnbxObchRRHHoUoY3M9SNZn/s640/IMG_6278.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">supplies</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I pulled a wood frame out of the basement that had definitely seen better days. Before I painted it I used the staple gun to reinforce the frames edges that were beginning to pull apart. Gotta love a staple gun. Then I braved the winter weather (and less than ideal painting conditions) and gave the frame two coats of white paint. I let the frame dry overnight in the garage and then brought it inside and used some sandpaper to roughen up the finish.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGz6hGyEtVx2KN9BUqq1UfS2PUlqqwxqqugoNYp0xg17hx8NlIMzEWfP_uWfvzUCjTDlCAX6KcxnUWX-x9l9ACR_sGME5ggTbd3cCZ1H1VR6609fM3ItIv7SuZR1B34maYtmz1gCFIrJl/s1600/IMG_6501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGz6hGyEtVx2KN9BUqq1UfS2PUlqqwxqqugoNYp0xg17hx8NlIMzEWfP_uWfvzUCjTDlCAX6KcxnUWX-x9l9ACR_sGME5ggTbd3cCZ1H1VR6609fM3ItIv7SuZR1B34maYtmz1gCFIrJl/s640/IMG_6501.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">love the distressing<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
**I should preface this next section by saying- Don't do what I did. I knew that this was only a temporary thing until I could get some cork board and do it right, so my taping method is not to be copied (since it's not very secure).**<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I wrapped the fabric around the plexiglas and taped it in place with masking tape. Then I strung three different types of ribbon in a random pattern across the fabric and also secured it with tape. It looked really cool but wasn't that functional at actually holding anything.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigh0P8_lOoRIWKOTOMf6jFuhLi9xpSuUcrnIf5KLyK24uMCEDJT_1QMrHrjp6vCoaX0hSwJJn52adCfM4E0cYbvsY7H1AMTIDopOllLemylzZsw-uQtegcA2c3a_6tYqzJ82hkO2GoPOzP/s1600/IMG_6292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigh0P8_lOoRIWKOTOMf6jFuhLi9xpSuUcrnIf5KLyK24uMCEDJT_1QMrHrjp6vCoaX0hSwJJn52adCfM4E0cYbvsY7H1AMTIDopOllLemylzZsw-uQtegcA2c3a_6tYqzJ82hkO2GoPOzP/s640/IMG_6292.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the first design</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
As fate would have it the command hook I used to hang the ribbon board couldn't hold it's weight and the board fell off the wall after a few days. In the fall the frame got jostled and so did some of the ribbon (hence the reason not to use tape). Luckily, my mom was in town and wanted to use her JoAnne fabric coupon to buy me an early birthday present. I went straight for the cork board (sometimes it's the little things).<br />
<br />
So with my cork board in hand I stripped the fabric, ribbons and lots of tape off the Plexiglas and started over.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZxI7RKZ36kVHviS-z76fzrGMsr8vuEQeF3dSfpMbpVXLRxfQBKSjjVcLc8RG1FZkQhPl7E0aZlF9Ysx4vvvqbiy-z7L5CidOg0wH10S3SqWHoZ_IYGs1XuZFnGjaTQ_-iniYwJNyc6AYu/s1600/IMG_6480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZxI7RKZ36kVHviS-z76fzrGMsr8vuEQeF3dSfpMbpVXLRxfQBKSjjVcLc8RG1FZkQhPl7E0aZlF9Ysx4vvvqbiy-z7L5CidOg0wH10S3SqWHoZ_IYGs1XuZFnGjaTQ_-iniYwJNyc6AYu/s640/IMG_6480.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cutting the cork board to size</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I cut the cork board to the same size as the Plexiglas and then glued the two together (using a glue gun). The glue dried really fast on the Plexiglas so I'd recommend gluing down one section at a time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_FDlJ4PRqQc8zB_618WV2g_JC0EjC6dFI1q-ZNx3YUIfbG2CCJp4NB3GLkihkDz-4Jz5PELcjTEXTmdhwQhjQRyMkZCTE69OwxiNs2fT0xyGO0hue-x4A1kwueARzPPF1Xr3nXwFnjZ-t/s1600/IMG_6484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_FDlJ4PRqQc8zB_618WV2g_JC0EjC6dFI1q-ZNx3YUIfbG2CCJp4NB3GLkihkDz-4Jz5PELcjTEXTmdhwQhjQRyMkZCTE69OwxiNs2fT0xyGO0hue-x4A1kwueARzPPF1Xr3nXwFnjZ-t/s640/IMG_6484.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my gluey cork board</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Then I glued the fabric to the plexiglass, folding down the corners so everything was neat and tidy. I'd recommend gluing down one side and then the opposite side so that you can pull the fabric nice and taut. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_0LHWl3-Nxu9K82HPtQYrdwPnFwd1vkrUDHNLswgfe2n6b8n9U_xD6y98mOJKISsrQ1dqzOYXHpoCpKkXd51vcgSZd5x8f6XHbfSzIDGfi3plRC7LFwPjuqk61BtXaVWYCGzNhea_xU6/s1600/IMG_6485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_0LHWl3-Nxu9K82HPtQYrdwPnFwd1vkrUDHNLswgfe2n6b8n9U_xD6y98mOJKISsrQ1dqzOYXHpoCpKkXd51vcgSZd5x8f6XHbfSzIDGfi3plRC7LFwPjuqk61BtXaVWYCGzNhea_xU6/s640/IMG_6485.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">all glued down</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I decided to go with the typical ribbon pattern (since it does work well). I figured out how many ribbons I wanted, spaced them out using a ruler (about 4 inches between each ribbon) and then glued the ribbons to the fabric.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1Vy6a_g3U7DPL_d_WVKj1hd18UM4rkkIy5-kCFSNtCR7Qrkw9kIf8lS2HZ2UeDmxdVKXT0b9PU54guOHoo8q3ZCQL6kgOXPUcQSTAD8sbfH5iaMBMSx89VQR1MSlresVoSHnQFFcVgym/s1600/IMG_6490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1Vy6a_g3U7DPL_d_WVKj1hd18UM4rkkIy5-kCFSNtCR7Qrkw9kIf8lS2HZ2UeDmxdVKXT0b9PU54guOHoo8q3ZCQL6kgOXPUcQSTAD8sbfH5iaMBMSx89VQR1MSlresVoSHnQFFcVgym/s640/IMG_6490.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">half the board in blue<br />
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</tbody></table><br />
Remember to weave your second side of ribbons through the first side so that your papers will have a place to "sit."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBIMn9AsZbru4NBnWtmI12s-_F29ufO_UzqVV5GVzCflVeKZSBJcixWS1RfYQCj3Gwt33n9TEKnFTd5ackvX6pIDLE3wwfoQ3hSleUymF85bBqUYvWhonILtTJ9Jfz9hSYx8tghuf5_Igx/s1600/IMG_6496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBIMn9AsZbru4NBnWtmI12s-_F29ufO_UzqVV5GVzCflVeKZSBJcixWS1RfYQCj3Gwt33n9TEKnFTd5ackvX6pIDLE3wwfoQ3hSleUymF85bBqUYvWhonILtTJ9Jfz9hSYx8tghuf5_Igx/s640/IMG_6496.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">weaving the green ribbon through</td></tr>
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Once all the ribbons were attached I popped the board back into the frame and presto- a new ribbon board. The colors go perfectly in our family room which is where I keep all my craft supplies. I hung the board on the wall by my desk (using a nail this time) so that I can put all my little inspirational clippings up there.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6Q6LZtBPM6lMaODJXVFPoZLZa2i3hcxPhZNbBEVmC7oI3c6VRB6LI2sRz6eIY9QKGxV6z1j1f5Dz0WDm6MzPB3hcwx19L_1C12ZdAOfDgoy4aeghSiJMazIzx5MSrrajkNGAWpqunB2B/s1600/IMG_6500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6Q6LZtBPM6lMaODJXVFPoZLZa2i3hcxPhZNbBEVmC7oI3c6VRB6LI2sRz6eIY9QKGxV6z1j1f5Dz0WDm6MzPB3hcwx19L_1C12ZdAOfDgoy4aeghSiJMazIzx5MSrrajkNGAWpqunB2B/s640/IMG_6500.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So this particular project was free (I always love that). I'm sure there are a million different ways you could make these ribbon boards but this one worked well for me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What have you made lately?</div><br />
</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-38717418709619735602011-03-01T13:34:00.001-05:002011-03-05T13:30:38.000-05:00shelves for Elliot<div style="text-align: center;">Do you remember when I <a href="http://pocketsfullofposy.blogspot.com/2011/01/ideas-for-kids-rooms.html">posted</a> about my wish list for the kids room? These shelves weren't on that list but I love them just as much as the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/madison-3-shelf-bookrack/?pkey=dstorage-bookcases" style="color: #33aaff; text-decoration: underline;">Madison</a></span> book rack. The <a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/collectors-shelves/?pkey=e%7Cshelves%7C16%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C5&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-">shelves</a> start at $39 which seems like a lot for a few pieces of wood stapled together.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/collectors-shelves/?pkey=e%7Cshelves%7C16%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C5&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-"><img alt="Collector's Shelves" class="photo" height="338" id="hero-image" src="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/pkimgs/ab/images/dp/wcm/201107/0003/img10m.jpg" title="Collector's Shelves" width="383" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I really, really love the shelves and I just couldn't get them out of my head. I thought they would be perfect in Elliot's room so we decided to make a pair ourselves. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Here's our version.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Fq7UWX_BI9VSE60_ekDwNnUdDnIld_d9-pntxLaVxHXWNOs3M77EL4ebBzDTlf3im56NrLmecF88MTkIU85sz2SSN9_FBdRg6W3JEgxNPiUKQVlm7iSylwuGgH3Wjy602hYbcVnm7a1M/s1600/IMG_6547.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Fq7UWX_BI9VSE60_ekDwNnUdDnIld_d9-pntxLaVxHXWNOs3M77EL4ebBzDTlf3im56NrLmecF88MTkIU85sz2SSN9_FBdRg6W3JEgxNPiUKQVlm7iSylwuGgH3Wjy602hYbcVnm7a1M/s640/IMG_6547.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I'm so happy with the way they turned out, but I think Elliot likes them even more than I do. As Jeff was hanging them last night he kept saying "Thank you dadda!" </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I wasn't planning on putting anything on them last night (so that the paint would have time to cure), but Elliot was SO excited to put books up that he wouldn't go to sleep. Around ten we finally let him put a few books on the shelves so that he would go to sleep. I'm glad he likes them so much.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCzrwCTA-BkKFX5WzLJIyPnHcagloNIccfFITJDDaE9iw3wm48HAMkoMCw-bCvzFriqiUE1Snr9H5EgQI7F739GdKLZRzqkZA7wRndfWNiA9PZKOcdC9jCyW4lmTp2S-qB94fJYNoGRII2/s1600/IMG_6551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCzrwCTA-BkKFX5WzLJIyPnHcagloNIccfFITJDDaE9iw3wm48HAMkoMCw-bCvzFriqiUE1Snr9H5EgQI7F739GdKLZRzqkZA7wRndfWNiA9PZKOcdC9jCyW4lmTp2S-qB94fJYNoGRII2/s640/IMG_6551.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The best part is that these shelves only cost $24 to make! We made them out of red oak boards from Home Depot. Jeff did the assembling and I did the painting. The shelves are each two feet long. The paint color is Calypso from Ralph Lauren. I had some left over from another project which was great (and free!).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDr99xtjk1bWzt30z6ai1BKIWP6gpflh9UuJDNbjuAGsMALFIDrLnXDD5A9r7Yu9SrnGr74hQEfgpZHpF_mtgRizcFa8Hvz5IZuR6-aJhrUrQxZF69rrsD_SKdYSsY4abdQvl44JXVdpo/s1600/IMG_6560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDr99xtjk1bWzt30z6ai1BKIWP6gpflh9UuJDNbjuAGsMALFIDrLnXDD5A9r7Yu9SrnGr74hQEfgpZHpF_mtgRizcFa8Hvz5IZuR6-aJhrUrQxZF69rrsD_SKdYSsY4abdQvl44JXVdpo/s640/IMG_6560.jpg" width="456" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of our favorite books</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The back of the bottom shelf extends a few inches below the shelf (unlike the PotteryBarn version). I'm planning on putting some hooks there so that Elliot will have a place to hang up some hats and coats.<br />
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I've linked up to <a href="http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/">Funky Junk's</a> Saturday Nite Special.<br />
<a href="http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/"><img alt="Funky Junk's Sat Nite Special" border="0" src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/signmakergirl/smallsns.jpg" /></a></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-90789043311449314422011-02-28T12:48:00.000-05:002011-02-28T12:48:45.265-05:00Perspective<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRStwgjjZJgnneNxLbLvRBx7GPYRXWSOlb39X64_iek3tunkGx0xk5NtZnbbSfi-wRUPxfTHvQHkMAPzIMzau4mMUqjDbninNxXgEmyTGMEaLu64xYxdw3MUxV0ZbTs6tCUJrb3FaKYKow/s1600/IMG_6537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRStwgjjZJgnneNxLbLvRBx7GPYRXWSOlb39X64_iek3tunkGx0xk5NtZnbbSfi-wRUPxfTHvQHkMAPzIMzau4mMUqjDbninNxXgEmyTGMEaLu64xYxdw3MUxV0ZbTs6tCUJrb3FaKYKow/s400/IMG_6537.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elliot thinks the ducks would rather be looking outside than lined up neatly in a row.<br />
Isn't it funny how sometimes when we just change our viewpoint things can look so much different.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Yesterday I started putting away the Valentine's Day decorations and pulling out the Spring and Easter ones in the hope to brighten these winter days. The last few days we've gotten more snow, rain, and ice which has been somewhat depressing. With all our house troubles (now the basement is leaking too), Jeff and I both being sick this weekend, and the dismal weather I've sort of been in the dumps. <br />
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Today we woke up to the world covered in ice with didn't make for a great start. My short temper and sour attitude was even annoying me. When Emme went down for her nap I put on a movie for Elliot (How to Train Your Dragon) and plopped myself down with my laptop and started catching up on the blogs I follow. Of course, I was thinking to myself "Finally a minute to myself. I totally deserve this." You know, all that selfish self-justification that we do.<br />
<br />
But then I went over to <a href="http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/">Under the Sycamore</a> where one of her posts today was about <a href="http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2011/02/28/cancer/">cancer</a>. In it she talks about two women. The first is Valerie Koop who lost her husband to cancer early this month. Valerie writes candidly about it on her <a href="http://www.beinthemomentphoto.com/blog/">blog</a>. I found myself weeping at her account of her loss, of her two young children, of her family, and the love of her friends. It instantly changed my mood from self-absorbed depression to one of wordless gratitude that God has granted me the life I have.<br />
<br />
The second woman is Libby Ryder who just this past week became cancer free! She also chronicles her fight with cancer (and now it's defeat) on her <a href="http://libbyryder.blogspot.com/">blog</a>. I love her motto "don't waste your cancer or your life."<br />
<br />
Both these women have very different experiences with cancer and I'd never even knew they existed until today. But isn't it weird/ awesome/ amazing that God used both of them to encourage me and get me back on track.<br />
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So now it doesn't bother me that Elliot wants to play dragons (again) or that the world outside is covered in ice (it's actually very beautiful and shimmery). Will this feeling last forever? Probably not, but I hope that the next time I fall into a funk it won't take me so long to get out of it. Because really what's the point? Life is SO short so why waste it being cranky? (This is not what I was planning on writing today but I felt compelled to share it.)<br />
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In other news- I'm currently painting two shelves we made for Elliot's room that I can't wait to share later this week. Less is More March starts tomorrow which I'll also be writing more about (we've already cut one bill by $50 a month). And I have lots of projects in my head that I can hopefully start working on soon.<br />
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Hope you have a happy Monday!Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-67915833839306259482011-02-24T22:44:00.001-05:002011-02-24T22:45:47.580-05:00March Madness?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Less is More for March. What does that mean? Well for the Ryan family that means we are cutting back- way, way back.</div><br />
In January I read an article over at <a href="http://chiotsrun.com/">Chiot's Run</a> entitled "<a href="http://chiotsrun.com/2011/01/31/join-us-for-no-buy-february/">No Buy February</a>" and it really resonated with me. The basic premise is that you only buy what you absolutely need. You pay your bills but after that it's only what you need to survive. I kept mulling it over and over. While our family is frugal in some things, we definitely spend almost all the money that Jeff makes, and I know that we don't need most of the things that we're buying. I think that having to buy a new furnace this week was what made me decide that we're definitely going to give this thing a shot (Jeff's fully on board too in case you were wondering).<br />
<br />
<b>Less is More</b><br />
<i>Why are we doing this?</i><br />
Well, first of all to stop buying things we don't need (but that's the American way right?) Is buying things wrong? No, but sometimes I feel like my stuff controls me and that's not a fun way to live. Secondly, to pay down/off debt and eventually to put more money into savings. This whole furnace purchase really threw a wrench into our plans. We have a busy summer ahead of us and we'd like to start the summer out in a good place financially.<br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Rules</i><br />
- This is whatever you want it to be. For us it means that we are going to try to not spend any of Jeff's income from his job at a local Insurance company. When I became a stay at home mom last June, Jeff started working part time for our church to help make up some of our lost income. While working two jobs is never fun, it was a perfect fit for Jeff since he does so much at the church anyway. This part time job brings in about $150 a week so that means we'll be surviving on $600 for the month. Now, for some people that may be a lot and for others that may be unthinkable, but for us I know it will be a challenge.<br />
- No stocking up on goods before or after March. This would skew the actual money spending in March.<br />
<br />
<i>What's Not Included</i><br />
- Bills: those will still be paid out of Jeff's normal income. However, we will be looking at all our bills to see if we can cut or eliminate them<br />
- Medical: this is paid for out of our HSA but even if it wasn't, health is necessary for survival<br />
<br />
<i>What's Included</i><br />
- All Food (this includes coffee and alcohol) I'm guessing we spend at least $600 a month on groceries. We buy organic eggs, raw milk, and mostly organic meat and dairy products whenever possible. It all adds up- fast (though I'm sure you all know that)<br />
- Diapers: I currently buy Pampers which sets me back about $30 a box. With two kids in diapers that's $60 each diaper run. I know we'll have to buy diapers at least once next month, if not twice. So that's $120 out of our $600 (ouch)<br />
- Gas: Jeff drives a Golf and I drive a Jeep. Depending on how much we drive it'll be $100-$150 on gas for the month<br />
- Anything else: any toiletries, household products, stamps, clothes, books, craft supplies, basically anything you can buy at Target (I think you get the picture)<br />
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<i>What our month looks like</i><br />
So are we going to hunker down and not do anything or go anywhere this month? Well, that would make this a lot easier, but March seems to be shaping up to be a busy month. Some of the things we're up to include:<br />
- My birthday<br />
- Hosting two small group meetings<br />
- Host a fantasy baseball draft<br />
- Attending a friends baby shower<br />
- Attending a girls day out<br />
- Traveling to Boston for a medical appointment (this is the one that's gonna make it tough)<br />
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<i>Plan of attack</i><br />
- Food: Since food makes up the majority of our spending this will be my main focus. Will be we eating pasta and pbj for every meal? Hopefully not. I have a pretty diverse menu planned for the month but I'll have to reevaluate it week by week. This will be a good chance to clean out the freezer and the pantry.<br />
- Entertainment: library, free play groups, get together with friends, I really don't foresee us lacking in things to do.<br />
- Gas: think twice before just driving around (which we generally don't do anyway). I'm hoping that since we won't be shopping as much that will help cut down on our usage.<br />
- Misc: avoid the mall, Target, and Costco. Those are my favorite places to shop and probably where I spend the majority of our extra money.<br />
- Put the debit and credit cards away- far, far away.<br />
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<i>Final thoughts</i><br />
I'm really excited about this; I'm also really nervous. I think the first two weeks will be manageable and then next two, well not so much. If we can do this (I think we can, I think we can) than we will be able to pay down some of our debt. If it goes well than I'd like to do this again in October, but let's not get ahead of ourselves...<br />
<br />
I'm going to try and write weekly updates on our progress.<br />
<br />
Here's another great <a href="http://smallnotebook.org/blog/">website</a> about a "<a href="http://smallnotebook.org/2009/07/01/the-no-spend-month-challenge/">No Spend Month</a>." Rachel and her family only had a budget of $200!!!Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-25532046803629657932011-02-22T22:50:00.000-05:002011-02-22T22:50:31.488-05:00counting blessings<div style="color: #515151; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFpUwQ_RHnHDLrH14Yx0kV40q09eWkFeueWZ9hKQMg9ZV_u9HRhfIL_piMVtEbRMnLegXxeutJ6iPFBmAVf8-347pJL2puk6xBEvudRL7apDoJlCQ867s6T9I7E7CRivYOd8ARV_NMIKZt/s1600/0077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFpUwQ_RHnHDLrH14Yx0kV40q09eWkFeueWZ9hKQMg9ZV_u9HRhfIL_piMVtEbRMnLegXxeutJ6iPFBmAVf8-347pJL2puk6xBEvudRL7apDoJlCQ867s6T9I7E7CRivYOd8ARV_NMIKZt/s320/0077.JPG" width="228" /></a></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bear with me as I share a little glimpse into our weekend. This post isn't filled with photos (the ones above are from my brother in law) or how-to's, but it is filled with the unpredictability of life and how it can be great even in less than ideal circumstances.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sunday morning we had Emme dedicated at our </span></span><a href="http://www.wordgrace.us/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">church</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. It was a wonderful service: a visiting group put on a fantastic puppet show and there was a </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzCuvzUMzYg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">slide show</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> of the children being dedicated (our Emme is at the end). Then all the families with children to be dedicated were prayed over. After the dedication my husband preached a wonderful </span></span><a href="http://www.wordgrace.us/messages.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">message</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> entitled "using your talents." It was a great morning, so uplifting and encouraging.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unfortunately we arrived home to find the carbon monoxide alarm going off. What do you even do in a situation like that? Guests were already arriving for a little party for Emme. The next 30 minutes were a blur. I had no idea what to do (neither did anyone else) so I quickly jumped on the Internet and searched “what to do when the carbon monoxide alarm goes off.” The site I ended up looking at started off by talking about number of deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning (just what I wanted to read about). The “what to do” section was way down on the page and said “call the fire department.” </span></span></span></div><div style="color: #515151; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I called the fire department and they told me they’d be right here. In the meantime I had to try and figure out what I was going to do with the party and all our guests. Jeff and I quickly went over our options (quickly because there weren’t many). I ended up calling my neighbor asking if I could bring all my party guests over to her house while we figured out what was going on at mine. She most graciously opened her home to people she’d never met or barely knew. </span></span></span></div><div style="color: #515151; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was a chaotic hour of dealing with the fire department, making sure our guests knew where to go, trying to prepare the food and move a party across the street. Everyone was more than flexible and there were many helping hands. The firemen pinpointed the furnace as the cause of the leak and promptly shut it off. They said that we could return to the house but we weren’t allowed to use the furnace until it was repaired or replaced. We decided it would be best if no one stayed in the house and we ended up holding the party at my neighbors.</span></span></span></div><div style="color: #515151; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was a very crazy day. It’s odd entertaining in someone else’s home, especially while you’re running across the street to deal with your own home issues. Unfortunately, Jeff missed most of the party since he was dealing with the HVAC specialist and fire department. I didn’t end up getting any pictures of Emme in her cute little outfit or of the cupcakes I made for her. The day didn’t end up anything like I had planned or envisioned, and left us with a heatless house and the realization that we’d be paying a lot of money for a new furnace.</span></span></span></div><div style="color: #515151; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But when I look back on all the things that happened on Sunday all the bad stuff sort of disappears and a few main things stand out.... </span></span></span></div><div style="color: #515151; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First, we dedicated our sweet baby girl to Christ. I can only do so much for Emme as her mom, but God can do so much more. Ultimately, He holds her life in His hands, I’m just a steward of it. God brought her here for a specific purpose and it's our job to raise her to fulfill that purpose. Daunting, yes, but that's why we trust God to help us.</span></span></span></div><div style="color: #515151; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God knew that Emme is exactly who our family needed. She</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> is feisty, smart, and willful. Her smile lights up our hearts and her laugh can make you cry with happiness. She adores us. She loves to cuddle, wave and give you kisses. She thinks the world revolves around her older brother, and their love for each other melts my heart. Her little personality is starting to develop and it's fun to watch her cough for attention or laugh at things she finds funny. She may have temper tantrums and crying jags, but that doesn't diminish who she is- Emme</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> is PERFECT because that's exactly the way God made her. </span></span></div><div style="color: #515151; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Secondly, I can never repay Ellie for opening her home (with only a few minutes notice to tidy up) and welcoming our family and friends in as if they were her own. I know how crazy it is planning a party, and to have one thrust upon you without warning (and adapting so well) is something I hope I can one day repay to someone else. I start to cry when I think about it. It's truly one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me.</span></span></span></div><div style="color: #515151; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lastly, all our guests were so accommodating. They helped move everything across the street, helped prepare all the food, and were so sweet towards Ellie and her family. While I am partial to our guests, it was our family and closest friends after all, it's a treat when your friends can bless other friends and new relationships can form. I'm glad each and every one got to spend Emme's special day with us, even if it was a little crazier than normal.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On Monday Ashley, from </span></span><a href="http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Under the Sycamore</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, wrote a </span></span><a href="http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2011/02/21/signs-of-life-depends-on-how-i-look-at-it/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">post</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> that relates similar thoughts far more eloquently and beautifully than I can. I encourage you to read it. It helps put life in perspective.</span></span></span></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-60179252611090210052011-02-18T21:32:00.002-05:002011-03-05T09:57:00.933-05:00a tree for Emme<div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EaZGYa6iGUQO7fWK_LZezyM-TLHd8yjm0gU5lhWXupCnW8KIxo9fjLVXPDUy5DnBw6OEI_8xH-KzNkyfZpyJqnkjYZx25OjnRPE_ICgJc9fpIBp3RQmJYBrcS7deMdvwgx1sE0smIL30/s1600/IMG_6426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EaZGYa6iGUQO7fWK_LZezyM-TLHd8yjm0gU5lhWXupCnW8KIxo9fjLVXPDUy5DnBw6OEI_8xH-KzNkyfZpyJqnkjYZx25OjnRPE_ICgJc9fpIBp3RQmJYBrcS7deMdvwgx1sE0smIL30/s400/IMG_6426.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emme's family tree</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I'm slightly obsessed with family trees. Every time I see one I get excited, but for all my excitement I actually don't have one in my house. Martha Stewart (I seem to reference her a lot don't I?) dedicated an entire article in Living to them a few months ago. I particularly liked this "<a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/birds-of-a-feather-family-tree?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/make-a-family-tree#slide_1">Birds of a Feather</a>" version. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/birds-of-a-feather-family-tree?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/make-a-family-tree#slide_1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" height="400" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q4//mld106413_1110_kids_098_xl.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image from Martha Stewart</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">I even went so far as printing out the template which used up over 60 sheets of paper. Unfortunately, I have a commitment issue and can't decide where I'd want to put it (though as I write this I know it would be perfect at the top landing of the stairs).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">For all my indecisiveness, I did put together an informal, yet whimsical, one for my sweet Emme. I wanted to incorporate some sort of branches into her room but wasn't quite sure what to do. As luck would have it we found a great branch laying on the snow in the front yard (Elliot graciously climbed the 4 foot snow bank to retrieve it for me.)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">It ended up being a little too large for the space I had originally had in mind, but it fit perfectly in the space by her bedroom door.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdtch5kRFJqmTfIKIbn44mM11HlfIlsLWCGAus5e8Z9er0ecm_fpdhuQB_eNMNmn08JHAjLKpdiJNw0KczQrGQxkycomVUku1oybloniP_hPzw4xplT-Sf_NRHh5GeZXcZYq9lRYfMrX6/s1600/IMG_6428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdtch5kRFJqmTfIKIbn44mM11HlfIlsLWCGAus5e8Z9er0ecm_fpdhuQB_eNMNmn08JHAjLKpdiJNw0KczQrGQxkycomVUku1oybloniP_hPzw4xplT-Sf_NRHh5GeZXcZYq9lRYfMrX6/s400/IMG_6428.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><br />
I printed family photos on white card stock and then mounted them onto a heavier pink card stock. I strung the photos using thin green, blue and yellow ribbons. Then I made flowers out of pink and white tissue paper to liven up the branch (directions <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/tissue-paper-pom-poms-how-to?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/tissue-and-crepe-paper#slide_1">here</a>).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtkgCvFPeDaRMgACB1gstPJF45T20-gWNzwA7GFjnPVZb3qzgNPidgbmdCQ0j18Oy0nxpHnEGPKEhMBlfoV-7h0j3BCV3AuR896epmnM_lbyaBUUGYV3GIngbD6K_lf81jnkQwrISqC-Ui/s1600/IMG_6434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtkgCvFPeDaRMgACB1gstPJF45T20-gWNzwA7GFjnPVZb3qzgNPidgbmdCQ0j18Oy0nxpHnEGPKEhMBlfoV-7h0j3BCV3AuR896epmnM_lbyaBUUGYV3GIngbD6K_lf81jnkQwrISqC-Ui/s400/IMG_6434.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn13d0rj9AaxVQ56-0yuYPEqLWe6U63_zeYy8C9qir4PtDvoEJJSnMORLutB74qTNqy2DlDPJ2ao2bMSOLmJD5ou8nyGn_LMRr21EgshqCnP8GLwUagKmIWyMJuvhIEYiUh-2EUgteNslf/s1600/IMG_6433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn13d0rj9AaxVQ56-0yuYPEqLWe6U63_zeYy8C9qir4PtDvoEJJSnMORLutB74qTNqy2DlDPJ2ao2bMSOLmJD5ou8nyGn_LMRr21EgshqCnP8GLwUagKmIWyMJuvhIEYiUh-2EUgteNslf/s400/IMG_6433.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRgmj-1a3x2akN7OYZuBNK0q9V8LzdVvg7KWk3Be2gy5gBSn_lTVk4MwtytDq9-8EyN5MOYp8ZAZsm3l5hqTYnhCsMP2YiEWvz8TS5xeTxbmLHj28Fwa1pWHE1hAxJc1gjobUE2nTaLzi/s1600/IMG_6435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRgmj-1a3x2akN7OYZuBNK0q9V8LzdVvg7KWk3Be2gy5gBSn_lTVk4MwtytDq9-8EyN5MOYp8ZAZsm3l5hqTYnhCsMP2YiEWvz8TS5xeTxbmLHj28Fwa1pWHE1hAxJc1gjobUE2nTaLzi/s400/IMG_6435.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
I still have a few more photos to add and I'd love to make these <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/article/crepe-paper-birds-how-to">crepe paper birds</a> when I have the chance, but I love how it came out. I debated it spray painting the branch white but I like how the dark wood contrasts with the lighter wall color.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/article/crepe-paper-birds-how-to" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_571013062"><img alt="Bird's Nest with Branches" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2008Q2//mla103219_0408_warbler_l.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image from Martha Stewart<br />
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">PS- I wrote this post yesterday and today <a href="http://www.ohdeedoh.com/">Ohdeedoh</a> just posted an <a href="http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/inspiration/a-modern-family-tree-from-martha-stewart-139699">article</a> about Martha Stewart's family tree. Maybe I should become a trend spotter or something.<br />
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Linked up to <a href="http://www.thestoriesofa2z.com/">A&Z's</a> Tutorials & Tips Party<br />
<a href="http://www.thestoriesofa2z.com/"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp57eWSCNembwiDCgwqUR8z8sFPFEqQGVqVMTNck4yWueU49pYlyrOWrZHOKJkkSb94xwpho33Wta-PJkQztmRlm3RFUGZ8rEE-saFW-CCRWjzKLoiK3nV-q0CaLJoWTvRh3w5iRnbong/s1600/Tutorials+and+Tips_Page_01.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-17806784779567502022011-02-17T10:04:00.000-05:002011-02-17T10:04:45.554-05:00This and That<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAAXqprerjfJP-s7yl3G-gtDIIxMJMg8kXGLvdzb4gyzSJH8PNWbPC7gNeWbEK4QyqqKYaamzsKnvaZXMGpAb3kxUWXemi514HwR1xW23cs5raGLq7WA-t2DN8n4taP-DH0p3-gB9EiFk/s1600/IMG_6409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAAXqprerjfJP-s7yl3G-gtDIIxMJMg8kXGLvdzb4gyzSJH8PNWbPC7gNeWbEK4QyqqKYaamzsKnvaZXMGpAb3kxUWXemi514HwR1xW23cs5raGLq7WA-t2DN8n4taP-DH0p3-gB9EiFk/s320/IMG_6409.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Do any of you remember the Martha Stewart Baby magazines? There were only seven issues published back in 2000-2003, long before I had my babies. Fortunately for me, my brother and sister-in-law's first child was born in 2000 so Alissa had 4 of the 7 issues tucked away on her shelves. Since their youngest is now 6 (almost 7- when did this happen?) I decided to "borrow" the issues for awhile.<br />
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I love pulling them out to peruse every few months. They are full of amazing information, photos, and great tips. I'm sure I've seen most of the same projects online but there's just something about flipping through a magazine that is so relaxing.<br />
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I pulled them out last night because we're having Emme dedicated on Sunday and I was looking for some cake decorating ideas. Of course, in flipping through I noticed a whole bunch of projects I'd love to try someday. One magazine is a spring issue (what perfect timing) and just look at some of these cute ideas.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDsoqH2ilMG4aY-IbTsYWQw0cU-84Xc3D7OLP_vNQUFTPTB0rWlo0Gs1aVCEAoHvMOw0C9XRb4bcIsGA-eYDRgQLBwyND1mASopk0CrGE5UZrRZ04ntlDIn6sw75RVY9Bkyi_mWPWl7XM/s1600/IMG_6412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDsoqH2ilMG4aY-IbTsYWQw0cU-84Xc3D7OLP_vNQUFTPTB0rWlo0Gs1aVCEAoHvMOw0C9XRb4bcIsGA-eYDRgQLBwyND1mASopk0CrGE5UZrRZ04ntlDIn6sw75RVY9Bkyi_mWPWl7XM/s320/IMG_6412.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paw prints from the Easter bunny</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCBQAv270MEx4qE8qTdcJOwHILhYA1paEwN9QbQovh0EWBdOHu3E5ZA0bSsSeSkGwTV6pJGa1gBiFOSBUXM8JVB6hq33kJNh3tS7rw8k9dRvM9Ww1Wwp-gtRxmdX-HLYocUN8uRlmF87YD/s1600/IMG_6413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCBQAv270MEx4qE8qTdcJOwHILhYA1paEwN9QbQovh0EWBdOHu3E5ZA0bSsSeSkGwTV6pJGa1gBiFOSBUXM8JVB6hq33kJNh3tS7rw8k9dRvM9Ww1Wwp-gtRxmdX-HLYocUN8uRlmF87YD/s320/IMG_6413.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isn't this the cutest Easter basket!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOHGuWFDwnN4CGsdhVVOQJ_LaAkCLYrTYyqzr7qRCR89Ux7r2z2pBmOJEjVsC4vZfzR5dKs4caDib1bHVc6LB5CMcG_oO0-cygxUeNPndQEg9l-jZpLW5FTVsewD5vKUhKKLRVTVza-mYe/s1600/IMG_6414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOHGuWFDwnN4CGsdhVVOQJ_LaAkCLYrTYyqzr7qRCR89Ux7r2z2pBmOJEjVsC4vZfzR5dKs4caDib1bHVc6LB5CMcG_oO0-cygxUeNPndQEg9l-jZpLW5FTVsewD5vKUhKKLRVTVza-mYe/s320/IMG_6414.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flower cupcakes!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I'm still not sure what I'm going to be doing for Emme's cake. I think I've narrowed it down to cupcakes and I'd love to do some flowers, but we'll see how much time I have to "play."<br />
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Speaking of Martha Stewart...a few days ago I was searching "tree branch images" on Google (to get ideas for the tree branch family tree I'm making for Emme's room) when I came across this image<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.examiner.com/interior-decorating-in-san-diego/hanging-from-a-branch-designs-that-will-blow-your-mind"><img alt="" height="365" src="http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID20412/images/Tree_Bookshelf.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Isn't that incredible! It appeared in an <a href="http://www.examiner.com/interior-decorating-in-san-diego/hanging-from-a-branch-designs-that-will-blow-your-mind">article</a> for the San Diego Examiner which has a lot of amazing pictures of trees incorporated into home design. Just look at these beds.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.examiner.com/interior-decorating-in-san-diego/hanging-from-a-branch-designs-that-will-blow-your-mind"><img alt="http://www.slmetalworks.com/beds_a.html" height="200" src="http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID20412/images/bed.jpg" width="194" /></a> <a href="http://www.examiner.com/interior-decorating-in-san-diego/hanging-from-a-branch-designs-that-will-blow-your-mind"><img alt="" height="200" src="http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID20412/images/Under-the-apple-tree-bed_4CBDC46B.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Unfortunately the article didn't source where that lovely green bookshelf came from. Imagine my surprise when I opened the March issue of <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/">Martha Stewart</a> and saw the same darling green bookshelf staring back at me. This sweet little bookshelf is from <a href="http://designartist.co.kr/">design artist</a> and retails for $2,500 (gulp). Far too expensive to ever purchase but that doesn't diminish my love.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTvzM_hans39UkeSoO7hld_ID1z2PA4qJ6xCUSXACh5sKOSxVQ5N5dcp4dbvH9oTg6E1rlVhdKM9aUHk4MUvW9yR_AEJKArmJjT21xV554LiCFzk-sLQR7CaFovwv5VWXeKeYUGoFunrs/s1600/IMG_6416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTvzM_hans39UkeSoO7hld_ID1z2PA4qJ6xCUSXACh5sKOSxVQ5N5dcp4dbvH9oTg6E1rlVhdKM9aUHk4MUvW9yR_AEJKArmJjT21xV554LiCFzk-sLQR7CaFovwv5VWXeKeYUGoFunrs/s400/IMG_6416.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-50647777774983108492011-02-14T08:21:00.000-05:002011-02-14T08:21:52.775-05:00Valentine's Day<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Happy Valentine's Day!</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559553980595969906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5PjXXLu4h3dVWjzAkx3F5fjGI-JgW0Wpl7XHKbaYsebmahHUvbS0pHOUQAfMw8-HrHCbLb-kOWsHrwC0LucszfVcg1XQ1Qyv0pMBQSXGWEE_vWmnwYytUm-1TELO7vLvgrv5Sg03yESQW/s400/swallow-clipart-graphicsfairy012b.jpg" style="display: block; height: 267px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of the <a href="http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/">The Graphics Fairy</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Thank you for all for your love and support in my life!</div><div style="text-align: center;">Love- Karen</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-51130756988555710482011-02-12T14:41:00.000-05:002011-02-12T14:41:09.407-05:00a heart of wood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChV4UnEFd9lclbnzDS456TbpP-gecrOizSvDtvg5hU-1HcqIOlpjwfY-867cCGig7P3QNVJyEfDWJw_bOiBZlZJiYJds2h7sSqzt0U5zx6zEgznhl0f8H-JqSx0g1eyUT0OPLsRLHOl0b/s1600/IMG_6275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChV4UnEFd9lclbnzDS456TbpP-gecrOizSvDtvg5hU-1HcqIOlpjwfY-867cCGig7P3QNVJyEfDWJw_bOiBZlZJiYJds2h7sSqzt0U5zx6zEgznhl0f8H-JqSx0g1eyUT0OPLsRLHOl0b/s400/IMG_6275.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="285" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I have a confession to make. With all the snow, ice, and frigid temperatures we've had around here I didn't take my Christmas wreath off the front door until last week. The evergreens were still in good shape but the red holly had long since shriveled into little black balls, so I figured it was time to part ways.</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The front door sat lonely and unadorned while I figured out what I wanted to put out there. I wanted something seasonal for Valentine's Day, but didn't have anything on hand and I really didn't want to buy something. Then an idea came to me one night as I was laying in bed thinking of all the crafts I want to make. Why not make a heart out of wood planks?</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSRUQBPlzhs2dggfoNHJG87-P_AEMOhftvzKbpWFR4TNKrSY0joXpSSP6faEGOkGTw5ZAbbdDXfBpmoYqPdgecYgRdZ2o0JYgB-YWgsjqPJNkVhGn6A2f1yOyuBOlM9dUJwT8usWZx58D/s1600/IMG_6253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSRUQBPlzhs2dggfoNHJG87-P_AEMOhftvzKbpWFR4TNKrSY0joXpSSP6faEGOkGTw5ZAbbdDXfBpmoYqPdgecYgRdZ2o0JYgB-YWgsjqPJNkVhGn6A2f1yOyuBOlM9dUJwT8usWZx58D/s320/IMG_6253.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I just so happened to have a few whitewashed (and dirty) pieces of wood in the basement that have been used in more random projects than I can count. They were a little too long so I cut them in half (using a mitar saw- go me!) and then laid them out on the floor to figure out my design.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGA8OAgoleEUTrkHv4YAk-NbzMYt0NcqaidBKBYZcafKva08qDyQE_XRWuZtZJRJcCGrIt6QVi72WkkXb19XyZ1xvQOyJWk-pxKMyPZ3MRPxmbk8ytLXDBBLAF6NK1BnYQfsbz_u02AWDM/s1600/IMG_6254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGA8OAgoleEUTrkHv4YAk-NbzMYt0NcqaidBKBYZcafKva08qDyQE_XRWuZtZJRJcCGrIt6QVi72WkkXb19XyZ1xvQOyJWk-pxKMyPZ3MRPxmbk8ytLXDBBLAF6NK1BnYQfsbz_u02AWDM/s320/IMG_6254.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="213" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I used one side of a plank as an edge, then I traced a line across the other boards. I used the saw to cut along the line, then I brought the wood back inside to put it all together. I ended up fastening the boards together using wood glue and my staple gun, probably not the most long-lasting method but it works for now.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWrcIEY_W-6QUrYhUK-SUpPqWP98Okb8uIc-TSyDjx6L_gMdoqCm-FWgSMw2yf_HkRs-kGmzdLEqFz06hWcdLyCuhS6umxwZ-1JPIol841aQixI8RggecmCIHdzuFqAhi8roAE8rFQyN2/s1600/IMG_6260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWrcIEY_W-6QUrYhUK-SUpPqWP98Okb8uIc-TSyDjx6L_gMdoqCm-FWgSMw2yf_HkRs-kGmzdLEqFz06hWcdLyCuhS6umxwZ-1JPIol841aQixI8RggecmCIHdzuFqAhi8roAE8rFQyN2/s320/IMG_6260.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="213" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Initially I free handed the heart shape because I wanted something unsymmetrical, but eventually I ended up using a bowl as a template. I can buy something unsymmetrical but I don't think my hands and brain will let me craft something like that (the OCD is just too strong).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I probably could have cut out the heart mounds (that sounds so weird) myself but I'm not as comfortable with the jigsaw, so I waited a few days until my husband got around to it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">When I first hung the heart on the door it just didn't look quite right (at least on the door). So I played around with some different materials for awhile before I settled on adding the grapevine. The grapevine was one long garland so I cut some pieces off and wired them together to form a smaller heart. I attached that to the wood heart with a few more staples. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The heart wasn't exactly what I was envisioning but I like it. It's something unique that I made myself (well, almost).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pr2vpCSTGVpO-dJNbgE9kZMTW1Gvfg40nrRoZ00n05HJN4WdxmlXlZfA3jfgAgXH2KTbdHWZGlV_wEo_jYYl6cLXGkaBoCcj5-GPW44pnW7FnkIzK5z8YBGgvjGAw_hUoAItmrODeP0g/s1600/IMG_6320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pr2vpCSTGVpO-dJNbgE9kZMTW1Gvfg40nrRoZ00n05HJN4WdxmlXlZfA3jfgAgXH2KTbdHWZGlV_wEo_jYYl6cLXGkaBoCcj5-GPW44pnW7FnkIzK5z8YBGgvjGAw_hUoAItmrODeP0g/s320/IMG_6320.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="228" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">I've actually been up to a lot of fun projects/ baking this week that I can't wait to share soon. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">What have you been up to?</div></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-86058858331665958402011-02-06T11:00:00.003-05:002011-02-06T11:25:30.562-05:00valentines gift ideas<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Valentine's Day is all about the jewelry right? Flowers, chocolate, and dinner out is nice and all, but jewelry is where it's at. Now, I suppose I should preface this post by saying that typically I'm not really a jewelry kind of girl. I wear my wedding rings and sometimes an emerald cut aquamarine (my birthstone) that my husband got me for our 5th wedding anniversary, but I don't own any other rings and I don't even have my ears pierced. </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">However, I do have a weakness for necklaces. Even then, they are usually the pendant type or pearls (but then again who doesn't love the classic pearl).</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Of course anything that comes in this little blue box is bound to be fabulous (and fabulously expensive).</div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><img class="imgBorder" galleryimg="no" src="http://press.tiffany.com/local/en-us/images/about/tiffanybluebox.jpg" style="cursor: move; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The Tiffany Blue Box</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Image from <a href="http://press.tiffany.com/Default.aspx">Tiffany & Co. for the Press</a></div></td></tr>
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</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">But there are also some other wonderful options out there that are just as beautiful and not quite as expensive.</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Take these <a href="http://www.thevintagepearl.com/products/copperheartcharm_p60">copper heart charms</a> </div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_498522675"><img alt="copper heart charm Product Image" class="NoImageEffects" id="ctl00_cphContent_imgCategoryImage" src="http://www.thevintagepearl.com/Images/Catalog/Products/5.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; cursor: move;" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.thevintagepearl.com/">Image from the vintage pearl</a></div></td></tr>
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</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">or this cute <a href="http://www.thevintagepearl.com/products/alittlevintageloverts_p225">little vintage love</a> heart (both from the vintage pearl).</div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_498522681"><img alt="a little vintage love. (rts) Product Image" class="NoImageEffects" id="ctl00_cphContent_imgCategoryImage" src="http://www.thevintagepearl.com/Images/Catalog/Products/lilvintageloveweb.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; cursor: move; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.thevintagepearl.com/">Image from the vintage pearl</a></div></td></tr>
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</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/Default.aspx">lisa leonard designs</a> has this sweet <a href="http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/forever-necklace-P125C8.aspx">forever necklace</a></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><img alt="forever necklace" border="0" id="ProductImage" src="http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/Assets/ProductImages/ForeverNecklace.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; cursor: move; height: 370px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 370px;" /></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/">image from lisa leonard designs</a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3b3519; font-family: TypewriterFSRegular, 'Courier New', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3b3519; font-family: TypewriterFSRegular, 'Courier New', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">and this <a href="http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/Marked-By-Love-Necklace-P54C8.aspx">marked by love</a> pendant.</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3b3519; font-family: TypewriterFSRegular, 'Courier New', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span></div></div><table align="Left" border="0" cellspacing="0" class="catalog" id="ctl00_wpm_CategoryGrid2_ctl03_CatalogNodeList" style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: initial !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; width: 590px;"><tbody>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_498522651"><img alt="Marked By Love Necklace" border="0" height="200" id="ProductImage" src="http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/Assets/ProductImages/markedByLove.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; cursor: move; height: 370px; width: 370px;" width="200" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/">image from lisa leonard designs</a></div></td></tr>
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Both of these ladies have a lot of other beautiful jewelry, especially some darling things for moms. Plus, there are numerous <a href="http://www.etsy.com/">etsy</a> shops that have some amazing stuff too.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">So send this post on to your significant other (and my husband while you're at it since he probably won't be reading this), as a little reminder that Valentine's Day is only 8 short days away.<br />
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Of course, you're going to need something to hold all your pretty things. I love this stand from <a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/?cm_type=gnav">Pottery Barn</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/bird-jewelry-stand/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bird Jewelry Stand, Bronze finish" class="photo" height="344" id="hero-image" src="http://www.potterybarn.com/pbimgs/ab/images/dp/wcm/201049/0004/img92m.jpg" title="Bird Jewelry Stand, Bronze finish" width="383" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/?cm_type=gnav">Bird Jewelry Stand</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-45565652291263325632011-02-05T11:00:00.000-05:002011-02-05T11:00:23.008-05:00coffee and deals<div style="text-align: center;">On Wednesday we celebrated my husbands 33rd birthday. He was slightly depressed about turning another year older and the never ending snow falling outside our window, but it was fun having a relaxing snow day snuggled up together as a family. <br />
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Last night we took a quick family outing to the mall so that he could spend some of his birthday money on <a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/hario-v60-buono-kettle/?pkey=e%7Cteapot%7C10%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C9&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-">this</a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/hario-v60-buono-kettle/?pkey=e%7Cteapot%7C10%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C9&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hario V60 Buono Kettle" class="photo" id="hero-image" src="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/wsimgs/ab/images/dp/wcm/201041/0042/img100m.jpg" title="Hario V60 Buono Kettle" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hario V60 Buono Kettle<br />
Image from Williams-Sonoma</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Yes, my husband bought a teakettle. I guess I should explain that my husband is a coffee aficionado. He has more coffee making machines and tools than I think is necessary for one person to own (though I'm sure he could say the same thing about my vices.)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">In January he bought this <a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/chemex-6-cup-glass-coffee-maker/?pkey=e%7Cchemex%2B6-cup%2Bglass%2Bcoffee%2Bmaker%7C1%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-">Chemex coffee maker</a> which I must admit makes a very smooth cup of coffee. Unfortunately, for pour-over-coffee brewers our pfaltzgraff teapot isn't cutting it. I guess the Hario Buono can pour water so precisely that if you look closely enough you can see the water droplets form into a thin stream of water (at least that's what my husband says). I will admit that coffee making is indeed an art, just look at all the websites devoted to it, but I'm not sure we really need ALL these coffee making methods.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/chemex-6-cup-glass-coffee-maker/?pkey=ccoffee-makers-teakettles%7Celtcofspt" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chemex 6-Cup Glass Coffee Maker" class="photo" id="hero-image" src="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/wsimgs/ab/images/dp/wcm/201041/0040/img47m.jpg" title="Chemex 6-Cup Glass Coffee Maker" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chemex Glass Coffee Maker<br />
Image from Williams-Sonoma</td></tr>
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Somehow I resisted the sirens call of every single item in Williams-Sonoma (even with a gift card in my pocket). I can't say the same thing about my trip into Pottery Barn. I was planning on "just looking" but then I happened upon the 50-75% shelves at the back of the store and that was that. <br />
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I got these silver ornament vase fillers for $3.99 (originally $10). Silver features predominantly in my Christmas decorations so I couldn't pass theses up.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4nq6lZkelgkC25L_5a6F6UiBy1b7f2M6jwKWq-8_lioQ9QBa689sffC5aYRJ4g1bzQ5FwFOARnHsLYeKegvxhc0B2IYc-fbm1PQuMyUKY4R_gjd3b8c9fb3ITrPuTDXhpB7keqs1G9qM/s1600/IMG_6227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4nq6lZkelgkC25L_5a6F6UiBy1b7f2M6jwKWq-8_lioQ9QBa689sffC5aYRJ4g1bzQ5FwFOARnHsLYeKegvxhc0B2IYc-fbm1PQuMyUKY4R_gjd3b8c9fb3ITrPuTDXhpB7keqs1G9qM/s400/IMG_6227.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
I also grabbed this glass glitter music sheet ornament for $1.77 (originally $6). I don't know if the whole music sheet obsession will still be going next year, but I loved this design and thought that I could use this as a template for making other ornaments next year.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0y17wNyqbxb2-6Od6WncpeEki-PRuJFMF-gXmNoQByYGyaIbQkGBN2Y6m0LO_wkgqSrZm59pDORg61uJpjyQYK1fBm0RWQMTZktKAhejBXDCvz4n5sW0XI89ONNsOEc06kg0_wsSbns0/s1600/IMG_6232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0y17wNyqbxb2-6Od6WncpeEki-PRuJFMF-gXmNoQByYGyaIbQkGBN2Y6m0LO_wkgqSrZm59pDORg61uJpjyQYK1fBm0RWQMTZktKAhejBXDCvz4n5sW0XI89ONNsOEc06kg0_wsSbns0/s400/IMG_6232.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
My husband exact words were "What is that?" when I showed this to him after we got home. I love little signs for the bathroom but haven't found one that was subtle enough. This is only about 5" wide and 2.5" tall which is perfect. This was half off at only $3.99. I can't wait for my husband to put it up today.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLURJ6n0FQqlmmkjUTw1nEOeSTe5_qphiQuTeOI9vRraud1KxwWMvv5qcj6m_bcIWYWhHtWNuvx35Z12uKTKeq_mBGOJu0W-Wz_u7VwqZa_Qtoush4kRGYdImj1r52J5FcGDpeYqBMYCRM/s1600/IMG_6234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLURJ6n0FQqlmmkjUTw1nEOeSTe5_qphiQuTeOI9vRraud1KxwWMvv5qcj6m_bcIWYWhHtWNuvx35Z12uKTKeq_mBGOJu0W-Wz_u7VwqZa_Qtoush4kRGYdImj1r52J5FcGDpeYqBMYCRM/s400/IMG_6234.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
My best deal of the night were these rattan stars. As soon as I saw them in the Christmas catalogue I was in love. Originally priced at $29 each there was no way I was going to buy them. Now they are marked down to $10.99 each. So I snapped up the three they had left which basically means I got three for the price of one. Love it!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQHyJ8wPDCQgGoNY6wKN66AK1_KurKZsmoYbQLy7cr-_WWOZGsCs84Isfckv_nv5fGhmskDSnaOr_f-shJ7nmthzi8WGvJI5eIIU1nd13ieHGYK-mGTdZdiIxmaIfA2hyphenhyphenK9MGojLlPmiA/s1600/IMG_6242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQHyJ8wPDCQgGoNY6wKN66AK1_KurKZsmoYbQLy7cr-_WWOZGsCs84Isfckv_nv5fGhmskDSnaOr_f-shJ7nmthzi8WGvJI5eIIU1nd13ieHGYK-mGTdZdiIxmaIfA2hyphenhyphenK9MGojLlPmiA/s400/IMG_6242.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
All in all I spent $42 on $111 worth of merchandise. Not too shabby. I always love getting holiday goodies on sale. It's so much fun to put them away and rediscover them the next time around.</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-16955107991418201432011-02-03T10:44:00.000-05:002011-02-03T10:44:20.956-05:00love is all you need<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4GYaru28TFWH7TRihb8uI-H4dX-EqOQ8RbElLcl4Sx3uMFE_gSu0uEgM2dXZabfCKpEiVNR2kgbSIw-8vJc7B9v4X8dTLGhbQCWnr9bKxdt3HooninZCqfyroh3wtNMooq_Box5m2NgI/s1600/IMG_6203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4GYaru28TFWH7TRihb8uI-H4dX-EqOQ8RbElLcl4Sx3uMFE_gSu0uEgM2dXZabfCKpEiVNR2kgbSIw-8vJc7B9v4X8dTLGhbQCWnr9bKxdt3HooninZCqfyroh3wtNMooq_Box5m2NgI/s400/IMG_6203.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Valentine's Day cards ready to mail</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Every year I make Valentine's Day cards for my family. It's something I like to do for several reasons. The first, I LOVE my family and I like to take every opportunity I can to let them know. The second is that I just love making things, especially cards. There's just something so relaxing about it. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOJjFREXyxCw55W-RtNr8y1Dfpl7WwSq3MizABAsk6343AisY-5Amqp7Nmc6CJi9JCJx6LheSmFgnfoh4lVlbOYeTJR3n3jcYP2iQTCHqawXhueLkNuIy6adZhmfuJ59GJhdElseunFCG/s1600/IMG_6154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOJjFREXyxCw55W-RtNr8y1Dfpl7WwSq3MizABAsk6343AisY-5Amqp7Nmc6CJi9JCJx6LheSmFgnfoh4lVlbOYeTJR3n3jcYP2iQTCHqawXhueLkNuIy6adZhmfuJ59GJhdElseunFCG/s400/IMG_6154.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">For this years cards I used plain red card stock and pages from an old book and dictionary. I used punches to punch hearts out of the book pages and then used those to make a bunch of different designs on the cards. I also printed a little saying on the inside of the card too.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Here's an example of one of this years cards (I can't share more because then it wouldn't really be a surprise for the family).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNucq4uJFLi26wy2kV9Ulc3cStOR6OHT0YgdCIezQi62OR7zWKRmkEBuCLg9CKStkx0dgM8qjn0vDw-7aFagpeVUd7LoHFl1X9-2L1jUJQxrPbtb8CuNjA6W_8BAQTWNPlG6C_rpA_cxUF/s1600/IMG_6157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNucq4uJFLi26wy2kV9Ulc3cStOR6OHT0YgdCIezQi62OR7zWKRmkEBuCLg9CKStkx0dgM8qjn0vDw-7aFagpeVUd7LoHFl1X9-2L1jUJQxrPbtb8CuNjA6W_8BAQTWNPlG6C_rpA_cxUF/s400/IMG_6157.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Last year I used a card in a different shade of red and used pure white card stock to make the hearts.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjAetg_LCzOqafub3MZzEEpQvXGhwl6EcTCkqo2mDWnuUI8Vo-avjXiTIhWuATxa3zIVOjH7nTcFzjvUMyof-kTfAhkJ2Fc3hyphenhyphenpw2WkZPMyohUR20LZWOXIdZgkk5Jo4G7j_faPmYdlzxn/s1600/IMG_6168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjAetg_LCzOqafub3MZzEEpQvXGhwl6EcTCkqo2mDWnuUI8Vo-avjXiTIhWuATxa3zIVOjH7nTcFzjvUMyof-kTfAhkJ2Fc3hyphenhyphenpw2WkZPMyohUR20LZWOXIdZgkk5Jo4G7j_faPmYdlzxn/s400/IMG_6168.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Do you make Valentine's cards for family or friends?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">If you want an easy DIY Valentine card check out <a href="http://jonesdesigncompany.com/stationery/valentines-for-your-valentines/">these</a> cute printable ones from <a href="http://jonesdesigncompany.com/">Jones Design Company</a>.</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-23215122695665203402011-01-27T23:42:00.000-05:002011-01-27T23:42:43.817-05:00valentine's day approches<div style="text-align: center;">Love it or hate it, Valentine's Day is quickly approaching. I've long ago accepted the fact that my Valentine's Day will never be like the iconic movie scenes. My husband is wonderful and very thoughtful, but after eleven years of marriage and two kids priorities change. Flowers and chocolate are fabulous, but I think I'd rather have a few hours all to myself (though I guess that's not very romantic).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I must admit that I love this holiday, it's so fun to decorate for. The reds and pinks are a nice color burst in midst of the monochromatic winter scenery. Of all the holidays it seems like one that best lends itself to crafts. This year I'm using a lot of red card stock, pages from an old book, and some heart punches that I had bought at Michael's last year. Here's a few of the decorations I've been busy with...</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I bought these enamel pitchers on my last trip to Ikea. I reemployed the fake berries I had used in the Christmas greenery and put them into the largest pitcher. Since we haven't played scrabble lately I used the letters to spell out some valentine's day related words around the house.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0LwvaUJhrd_wskyRbdiVeaT68F2QrFOMEF1oJ9X9_6TzHEbqeP6H-jbgR4uUl7fcdmv7G57zbjco6cwyjdJ9jnInfnUOJxv5RPCJMmQO7on2QM7rwslorrLjWRowd9NbhT7Dba1aIlrn/s1600/IMG_5977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0LwvaUJhrd_wskyRbdiVeaT68F2QrFOMEF1oJ9X9_6TzHEbqeP6H-jbgR4uUl7fcdmv7G57zbjco6cwyjdJ9jnInfnUOJxv5RPCJMmQO7on2QM7rwslorrLjWRowd9NbhT7Dba1aIlrn/s320/IMG_5977.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFg5RLn8IwKGD11yhA7RmDGroGkUAJ0Sfkjodqy4wW-pSQe3PGw2QhsgBrPO0LBv5BnWuShhWATyMt4Ue0EJF4ISZVEHqajTurzdJu86SN9BnHAW2s7YyxUmW1d8OeHYJHw6YWOIL2fb2r/s1600/IMG_5979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFg5RLn8IwKGD11yhA7RmDGroGkUAJ0Sfkjodqy4wW-pSQe3PGw2QhsgBrPO0LBv5BnWuShhWATyMt4Ue0EJF4ISZVEHqajTurzdJu86SN9BnHAW2s7YyxUmW1d8OeHYJHw6YWOIL2fb2r/s320/IMG_5979.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Some hearts before being sewn into garlands and made into flowers</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7k6ncXO02RGljgoSeKAQqNCoKZ4_tLpUe0zp5wOG-nyOcZwefolKEybYV5nocJKFo4Tfj0IKuVSKLAgt3vdAEITiqjOhvumRFdJ4NNgvctghGHtjU2cocXfw3aah4ME4WPk23dC6YqROL/s1600/IMG_5999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7k6ncXO02RGljgoSeKAQqNCoKZ4_tLpUe0zp5wOG-nyOcZwefolKEybYV5nocJKFo4Tfj0IKuVSKLAgt3vdAEITiqjOhvumRFdJ4NNgvctghGHtjU2cocXfw3aah4ME4WPk23dC6YqROL/s320/IMG_5999.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">The mantel- LOVE sign and heart paper garland. I stitched the hearts together by hand. I would have loved to have used my sewing machine but it is currently broken. It actually didn't take too long to do by hand and was sort of therapeutical. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I love using cookie cutters as templates when making different crafts. This year I pressed them into service as decorations by hanging them, along with some smaller paper hearts, from the chandelier in the dining room.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGa1zv5W09NIKDTDH7-GcWgRB7egQehQ-Yb9carGyjYrsZulpD1rb22op_yN8fyLeqEqGe1d9r69XBxzjENLUU57WN_pYSbasQNhosq-aRFkoeOmgtGqiefF7EgA_BXY1YcDp40Pb_2YM/s1600/IMG_6027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGa1zv5W09NIKDTDH7-GcWgRB7egQehQ-Yb9carGyjYrsZulpD1rb22op_yN8fyLeqEqGe1d9r69XBxzjENLUU57WN_pYSbasQNhosq-aRFkoeOmgtGqiefF7EgA_BXY1YcDp40Pb_2YM/s320/IMG_6027.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkOxYRI0DTkwsGxLF0d5BCIRU9rY_XMQ2-xJrS6GmtAv0USqxDkRSl6uHMJv99ONXn2U7kujrBh6CBo38SpIi2b7VQjB1ohAE3eOmhsJM1qjESgfbDeLT9STwoPIK-wVNgpgcLzIEaeIiP/s1600/IMG_6026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkOxYRI0DTkwsGxLF0d5BCIRU9rY_XMQ2-xJrS6GmtAv0USqxDkRSl6uHMJv99ONXn2U7kujrBh6CBo38SpIi2b7VQjB1ohAE3eOmhsJM1qjESgfbDeLT9STwoPIK-wVNgpgcLzIEaeIiP/s320/IMG_6026.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeCrGCr9GeVLB-C8hidkzkwglpV7MRy7u3UVYxpc43POc3WKPjSQA3tqTrFSVfwLUSAOGZkvHRC8ulOUo0PKNz83r5V6z_8IS4WM5-T7xVPW5j_menEk0PzhyphenhyphenT74HDo4xvFFsi46llgnY/s1600/IMG_6036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeCrGCr9GeVLB-C8hidkzkwglpV7MRy7u3UVYxpc43POc3WKPjSQA3tqTrFSVfwLUSAOGZkvHRC8ulOUo0PKNz83r5V6z_8IS4WM5-T7xVPW5j_menEk0PzhyphenhyphenT74HDo4xvFFsi46llgnY/s320/IMG_6036.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">I got these adorable vases and metal holder as a wedding shower favor many years ago. I used some of the extra paper hearts to create flowers to liven up our family room. I love how they turned out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjgDNKUDoYCwKpVFT84Blb-lkA5UPZg6xARHGxcGZA9NsjC7lPLV3tub3vft4sfJfQd5986T5WFwG7KPE1jmjdpqJiWyLeSZpzP7Cd8i8Mtm9e9OWtx0Wnf-M7TyLFJlCezXVx82KCThv/s1600/IMG_6052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjgDNKUDoYCwKpVFT84Blb-lkA5UPZg6xARHGxcGZA9NsjC7lPLV3tub3vft4sfJfQd5986T5WFwG7KPE1jmjdpqJiWyLeSZpzP7Cd8i8Mtm9e9OWtx0Wnf-M7TyLFJlCezXVx82KCThv/s320/IMG_6052.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrW-PeOq1L8Bh7hqOv2m8uQY6TSeqMnDbzRf8YSQYxUuXzVbwG-Yyod2BmVhPpXB571osdcsW78St96kbIiNWBRhbJbO9ByaxhDWXFKmNH7NoCBV-kvX0L-gwK2-73Xg6q7-nL2hHgBxa/s1600/IMG_6053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrW-PeOq1L8Bh7hqOv2m8uQY6TSeqMnDbzRf8YSQYxUuXzVbwG-Yyod2BmVhPpXB571osdcsW78St96kbIiNWBRhbJbO9ByaxhDWXFKmNH7NoCBV-kvX0L-gwK2-73Xg6q7-nL2hHgBxa/s320/IMG_6053.jpg" width="228" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnx_7i67YAIOS71NqyZ1G9Dlv43c_QTGoZJ2JCVIS0VP7Qz3wKWIDTU0R0F6rfYUtgMVXTdjymMW6TEJx9dLNmmf4BhrYQ68tlV_kiNhmUamjTibxxgQHOQWlrshZZ5nReTzlNMy9w7gPr/s1600/IMG_6054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnx_7i67YAIOS71NqyZ1G9Dlv43c_QTGoZJ2JCVIS0VP7Qz3wKWIDTU0R0F6rfYUtgMVXTdjymMW6TEJx9dLNmmf4BhrYQ68tlV_kiNhmUamjTibxxgQHOQWlrshZZ5nReTzlNMy9w7gPr/s320/IMG_6054.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVStqVX8nbt020o5IM7F9-D2uUb-UE4MbCdWtDbko3PFewiThOwUF67npPMXEzT36X5mNBgk6dt4LtIVIQamh5ZTQM0fMaYj_LJVHDPS9FX1w4cePYePB4cifa3f-YH7bE5eougcMHqkU/s1600/IMG_6055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVStqVX8nbt020o5IM7F9-D2uUb-UE4MbCdWtDbko3PFewiThOwUF67npPMXEzT36X5mNBgk6dt4LtIVIQamh5ZTQM0fMaYj_LJVHDPS9FX1w4cePYePB4cifa3f-YH7bE5eougcMHqkU/s320/IMG_6055.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGz1RCAjAScKA6Y9qv3wh_N7Jnn5THbAdvUT2xednj6tsumU6DHVRGiSntErVBtFbC8qMLUDRlh90p4U3VYsEkdvhqjvOMdMeR3SNZ8ZsuIghljBi24Wjx1AweUYo_QaW9MtmW06B8_dAG/s1600/IMG_6060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGz1RCAjAScKA6Y9qv3wh_N7Jnn5THbAdvUT2xednj6tsumU6DHVRGiSntErVBtFbC8qMLUDRlh90p4U3VYsEkdvhqjvOMdMeR3SNZ8ZsuIghljBi24Wjx1AweUYo_QaW9MtmW06B8_dAG/s320/IMG_6060.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgywWPzqdl4jkUwaa5enPlFvTcRwm_rdgd_porvQ7ehbkWtryn0KnLaeIYdZYl662VKe7jLupS1wKY4sucygOFGIyQpcKfr2l8F3T14tUIgJp36XSmPnlte8r85rv42nmFuAtbldNLq1gpy/s1600/IMG_6061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgywWPzqdl4jkUwaa5enPlFvTcRwm_rdgd_porvQ7ehbkWtryn0KnLaeIYdZYl662VKe7jLupS1wKY4sucygOFGIyQpcKfr2l8F3T14tUIgJp36XSmPnlte8r85rv42nmFuAtbldNLq1gpy/s320/IMG_6061.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">How do you like to decorate for Valentine's Day?</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-73694356327294132312011-01-24T22:15:00.000-05:002011-01-24T22:15:27.959-05:00wild yeast at work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was thumbing through my January issue of <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/">Martha Stewart </a>Living (after prying it out of my daughters mouth) when I came across an article about <a href="http://www.tartinebakery.com/chefs.html">Chad Robertson</a> and <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_12283289">Tartine</a><a href="http://www.tartinebakery.com/"> Bakery</a>. After my successful bread making foray last week I took a second long look at the article which includes a recipe for <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/tartine-country-bread">Country Bread</a>. The recipe spans a page and a half, somewhat daunting on first glance; but after reading the recipe in its entirety one discovers that it really isn't that difficult, it just takes some time- like three weeks worth. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5TUg49XpvFB41XermGI2LZzAxqkeMWuOl_8N02QtDni4j8EYiMRpM7Ankk71wigXTcBePpvSsMxP2l9cvBKR3tlj0KkiTKGdgI3VkgiDZkmEEA7pgpxyyocDoBZYbbljaLAKtitRhi-v/s1600/IMG_5897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5TUg49XpvFB41XermGI2LZzAxqkeMWuOl_8N02QtDni4j8EYiMRpM7Ankk71wigXTcBePpvSsMxP2l9cvBKR3tlj0KkiTKGdgI3VkgiDZkmEEA7pgpxyyocDoBZYbbljaLAKtitRhi-v/s320/IMG_5897.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the lengthy recipe</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Since I have nothing but time I thought I might as well give it a try. I mean what's the worse that could happen? If it didn't work I'd be out some flour, water, and a few hours of my time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So the experiment began on Friday. I carefully weighed out my wheat and bread flours, mixed them, and then measured them out again. I added in some water (also weighed) and mixed it dutifully with my hands which left them looking like this.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHDD-xcK0QoHRDLSzoh0qMKJDardmkGJing5wKT3aUoo2x5im3y6vUIqu6PxAoGQoBNV2paqs3RHTq7Phn_HUG5UBe8OHt8jvTEPqqn8tjHS7vJ1MzOPySsioDDyacVv8TqGat-yS1o_hK/s1600/IMG_5885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHDD-xcK0QoHRDLSzoh0qMKJDardmkGJing5wKT3aUoo2x5im3y6vUIqu6PxAoGQoBNV2paqs3RHTq7Phn_HUG5UBe8OHt8jvTEPqqn8tjHS7vJ1MzOPySsioDDyacVv8TqGat-yS1o_hK/s320/IMG_5885.JPG" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">dough hands<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Then I put the dough into a glass container (so I could watch the wild yeast work it's magic), covered it with a pretty little cloth napkin, and put it aside for two days.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV7zYCIsYZCbCRSG-fzlf2I8AQ7HxjKLEg4Q86derbpmemlupyMwaWna6eahUyEOW5tHwcBIugjpEgPDNKHUQmDtCIz-T5kJiGRVBOTpPvlSAtFntYGIwcCGclvBmhBYFHWttcv2pDSMkl/s1600/IMG_5902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV7zYCIsYZCbCRSG-fzlf2I8AQ7HxjKLEg4Q86derbpmemlupyMwaWna6eahUyEOW5tHwcBIugjpEgPDNKHUQmDtCIz-T5kJiGRVBOTpPvlSAtFntYGIwcCGclvBmhBYFHWttcv2pDSMkl/s320/IMG_5902.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flour and water<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> I must admit, I did peak at the mixture quite often. I remember looking at it the morning of day two and thinking to myself "hmmm, not much is happening here, this might be a bust." But then, inexplicably, by the end of the day it had beautifully expanded and become nice and bubbly. It didn't smell very nice. I guess it takes awhile for it to stop smelling rancid and mellow into that nice tangy smell that is associated with sourdoughs.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyuHdZXNB3OfTiIjy8zjJX9NDn729nZHkXLOA4ugrXek_TsJuSTBj6zicbPn7mY4_aRMu6ITN9FYxV9rgCR7Pnw9v6t1HQ0-eaMqlh4CUzQdYGMt6RqwPFWg8RNeFJCH-aw349h_WJULzQ/s1600/IMG_5904.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyuHdZXNB3OfTiIjy8zjJX9NDn729nZHkXLOA4ugrXek_TsJuSTBj6zicbPn7mY4_aRMu6ITN9FYxV9rgCR7Pnw9v6t1HQ0-eaMqlh4CUzQdYGMt6RqwPFWg8RNeFJCH-aw349h_WJULzQ/s320/IMG_5904.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">success!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJzBGrKc52eB1fVvw2P4J2sXO9boom2D1DPueRr3K3qUiYggUqCrFbq3Bo9jf7mu8toI_EgvT0h8QUYY4W5-VFE9ReUvoYKXmU1Sg2IUF-vqFIC39pnFOkB5wjFPg06gd-9Kx-P44Jh7nr/s1600/IMG_5909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJzBGrKc52eB1fVvw2P4J2sXO9boom2D1DPueRr3K3qUiYggUqCrFbq3Bo9jf7mu8toI_EgvT0h8QUYY4W5-VFE9ReUvoYKXmU1Sg2IUF-vqFIC39pnFOkB5wjFPg06gd-9Kx-P44Jh7nr/s320/IMG_5909.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fermentation</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm a little dismayed at how much of the starter you have to discard every time you feed it (which is daily). I'm sure there is some extremely important reason, I'm just not sure what it is. It's sort of exciting to let time and the environment influence such simple ingredients, transforming them into something sublime. Maybe on Valentine's Day we can finally taste the fruits of all this labor.</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-14937343260221733322011-01-19T12:11:00.000-05:002011-01-19T12:11:25.511-05:00Baked Banana Oatmeal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">With all the snow, ice and frigid temperatures that have settled in to the northeast it's nice to start the day off with a hearty breakfast. This baked oatmeal is just the ticket. We've been making it at least once a week, and since it bakes in the oven that leaves mommy's hands free to do other things (like chase the kids around the house). Healthy, warm, and yummy this oatmeal will give you all the energy you need to do something like this...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEity15m0m0WMAlvse4qVUZhQ0wrdj-6sEdSi1GIGrhb5Awt0Jt4kbxL4xaHLQJnhccHywaaC6LLsNEUd6V0_WydImNycshJxpbl6SOdx-TsQWv_QMeEzkX4E6RwhhIyZ3SPJx_-sxND0mNz/s1600/IMG_5856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEity15m0m0WMAlvse4qVUZhQ0wrdj-6sEdSi1GIGrhb5Awt0Jt4kbxL4xaHLQJnhccHywaaC6LLsNEUd6V0_WydImNycshJxpbl6SOdx-TsQWv_QMeEzkX4E6RwhhIyZ3SPJx_-sxND0mNz/s400/IMG_5856.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">play in a fort</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...or this.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDQv6dVVAxP9xBiSna0LhJhVKOEm0UZb2zB-VUdGPMLw1jKrKg1f9xaDgoatMBxJVWzsWhE4BJYtNvxU_StZ2uvg2QHNbvxVqtoHTGMSQyY4b-1spuqSkv_H951ODpBG1WpPJiG95FwTPY/s1600/IMG_5874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDQv6dVVAxP9xBiSna0LhJhVKOEm0UZb2zB-VUdGPMLw1jKrKg1f9xaDgoatMBxJVWzsWhE4BJYtNvxU_StZ2uvg2QHNbvxVqtoHTGMSQyY4b-1spuqSkv_H951ODpBG1WpPJiG95FwTPY/s400/IMG_5874.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">what mommy gets to pick up while the kids are napping</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Baked Banana Oatmeal</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">serves 4</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2oKvIB4dTvXP1wHLUlpN-QKU-RcfX_niAkYyEsmoybVDskh1QlLraGQWIOVO0uYLZOI9CEGb-qu58qnycHNHa4V76ptFIbQWZnOdJYW_dYejQ5sPl44In5PZATLo9hOTX-TkM0Sed_cJ/s1600/IMG_5867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2oKvIB4dTvXP1wHLUlpN-QKU-RcfX_niAkYyEsmoybVDskh1QlLraGQWIOVO0uYLZOI9CEGb-qu58qnycHNHa4V76ptFIbQWZnOdJYW_dYejQ5sPl44In5PZATLo9hOTX-TkM0Sed_cJ/s320/IMG_5867.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The mashed banana gives this oatmeal a touch of sweetness without any added sugar. If you want a caramelized crust a sprinkle of brown sugar and a few minutes under the broiler is near perfection. You could always add in a few tablespoons of ground flax seed, wheat bran or chopped nuts to the mix too. I like to serve the oatmeal with a splash of milk or half and half.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">2 cups milk</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 egg</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 teaspoon vanilla</div><div style="text-align: left;">2 bananas- 1 mashed/ 1 sliced</div><div style="text-align: left;">2 cups of oatmeal</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 teaspoon baking powder</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/2 teaspoon cinnamon</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/2 teaspoon salt</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/4 teaspoon nutmeg</div><div style="text-align: left;">2 tablespoons brown sugar</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Preheat oven to 350 degrees</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Combine milk, egg, vanilla and the mashed banana. In a separate bowl combine the oatmeal, baking powder, spices and salt. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until well combined.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Pour oatmeal into a 8x8 baking dish or pie pan (I don't grease my dish and it seems to come out without any problem). Place the banana slices on top and sprinkle with brown sugar.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the oatmeal is set and slightly brown on top. If you want a nice caramelized top, place the oatmeal under the broiler set on high for 3-5 minutes or until nicely brown and bubbly.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-53574734526689042712011-01-17T08:35:00.001-05:002011-01-17T11:36:38.964-05:00bread making<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvzLY_dmYLp-GCzS5m01IgUMKpn5jOI309Fs-XzNMqvgagWuvY2uE4Z42p6q-ztswhu_9k2QsMyDcmkvD5l3YsTeLBf7A5esolYNrGapO832GS-w003M3HszLqXeL-D5Daiwz1zh7pHOEr/s1600/IMG_5802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvzLY_dmYLp-GCzS5m01IgUMKpn5jOI309Fs-XzNMqvgagWuvY2uE4Z42p6q-ztswhu_9k2QsMyDcmkvD5l3YsTeLBf7A5esolYNrGapO832GS-w003M3HszLqXeL-D5Daiwz1zh7pHOEr/s320/IMG_5802.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Are you ready for a posting all about bread? I really can't help myself since yesterday I actually made a loaf of bread that was not only beautiful to look at but incredibly tasty. This might not seem like such an amazing feat since man has been making bread for thousands of years, but after producing quite a few dense, unappetizing loaves I'm ecstatic to have finally made a good one.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I'm convinced that bread making is an art, a talent that one hones baking many loaves and knowing all about how yeast, humidity, and the simple combination of flour, yeast, water and salt can create so many different types of breads. In bread making patience is indeed a virtue, but in the end it's all worth it. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I'm not sure if my failed attempts are due to the recipes I've used or my technique but I'm happy to have finally gotten it right. My friend Leah shared her favorite recipe and it's definitely a winning one. It produces two fabulous loaves that are perfect for sandwiches, toast or just snacking (since I know few people that can resist the aroma of a fresh loaf of bread.)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">OK, I'm sure you are all tired of me waxing poetic about a loaf of bread- onward...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Recently when searching for a recipe on <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/">epicurious.com</a> I came across an article about the top 10 bakeries in America. <a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2011/01/top_10_bread_bakeries_in_america">Bon Appetite's January issue</a> listed <a href="http://berkshiremountainbakery.com/">Berkshire Mountain Bakery</a> in Housatonic, MA as one of them. How is it that I've lived in this area for 10 years and I don't know about this bakery? As soon as I mentioned its existence to my husband he said, "let's go!" I was tempted to take him up on the offer but then remembered that I'd have to bring a toddler and infant along for the ride and I decided that a two-hour round trip drive for a loaf of bread probably wasn't worth it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Founder Richard Bent has been making bread for over 25 years and takes the subject very seriously. All the grains used for bread making are freshly milled and soaked and fermented to reduce phytic acid and increase the beneficial enzymes (but that's a subject for a whole different post.) I can't wait to stop by the bakery on our next trip to the Berkshires.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><img alt="Berkshire Mountain Bakery" height="600" src="http://berkshiremountainbakery.com/images/bakery/BMB-040308.290.jpg" style="cursor: move; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://berkshiremountainbakery.com/gallery.php">Photo from Berkshire Mountain Bakery</a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Don't these look delicious!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Soaked Whole-Wheat Bread</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Yield 2 Loaves</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>This bread is the perfect sandwich bread. The crust may seem hard when first taken from the oven but it softens nicely. The bread will stay soft for about two days when left covered at room temperature. To keep for longer slice, wrap tightly and store in the freezer.</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">6-7 cups whole-wheat flour (divided)*</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">2 1/2 cups warm water (divided)<br />
2 tablespoons of plain yogurt or plain kefir</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">1/3 cup honey</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">1/3 cup canola oil (you could also use sunflower or vegetable oil)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">2 1/2 teaspoons salt</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><i>Step One</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Combine 5 cups of flour, 2 cups of warm water and 2 tablespoons of yogurt/kefir in a covered bowl overnight.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><i>Step Two</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Proof yeast by combining 1/2 cup warm (not hot) water, honey, and yeast. Let sit for five minutes.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Add oil and salt to yeast mixture.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Mix yeast mixture into soaked flour. Work in additional flour as needed until dough is just slightly sticky. Knead dough for about 8 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 2.5 hours or until doubled in size.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><i>Step Three</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Punch down dough and knead for 3-4 minutes. Divide dough in half and place in two greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes or until dough has risen about a half-inch above the pan.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><i>Step Four</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the bread for 30-40 minutes or until an internal thermometer registers 200 degrees. Let cool slightly then remove loaves from pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">*I actually used 5 cups of unbleached white flour and two cups of whole wheat flour</div></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-39262280536337787352011-01-13T16:24:00.000-05:002011-01-13T16:24:06.643-05:00Butterflies for Emme<div style="text-align: center;">Being a stay at home mom has many advantages; today's was not having to worry about heading out to work when the roads looked like this</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAeJWbJOjLTeiPlcRYFGi_O7yBZbT13AuS3U_Ksm2pXF-5kMkY_N53mcFPFQh2_6wlsntxIrQpKuApwn5fEmeSBTkXt7GNjw1PIMTJrsvruWNkwp6DW-sbcPNeThe0OQdpXP__7WjiUJX/s1600/IMG_5756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAeJWbJOjLTeiPlcRYFGi_O7yBZbT13AuS3U_Ksm2pXF-5kMkY_N53mcFPFQh2_6wlsntxIrQpKuApwn5fEmeSBTkXt7GNjw1PIMTJrsvruWNkwp6DW-sbcPNeThe0OQdpXP__7WjiUJX/s320/IMG_5756.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">and the best mode of transportation is being pulled on a sled.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="goog_785992996"></span><span id="goog_785992997"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nWPUPuJLQKJrcY0h3VA4og0CH3E2fK_b58QyvEDTO_5j_WxjWpPzmvnPlrHr7yWBWtSlT84EUG9xBc7fOCYHSzSuAVRse-lng5uOzglBCLG15Mbnyx0Tnht6nU9_uktg5KDKF7MC8Mg7/s1600/IMG_5674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nWPUPuJLQKJrcY0h3VA4og0CH3E2fK_b58QyvEDTO_5j_WxjWpPzmvnPlrHr7yWBWtSlT84EUG9xBc7fOCYHSzSuAVRse-lng5uOzglBCLG15Mbnyx0Tnht6nU9_uktg5KDKF7MC8Mg7/s320/IMG_5674.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Even daddy got to work from home which was a nice change of pace for me and the kids. We relaxed, watched movies, played in the snow and enjoyed being housebound for the day.<br />
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After the kids went to bed I started organizing my craft supplies and came across some pink scrapbook paper I had used to make Valentines Day cards a few years ago. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZg-XiDsNwJV3uRHUNhFhl63VhfRY79L2dd098FV-0eQncPii3lPPqldUfjhfQgA6kAPS_VDXa-hANbvNI_n9C9G2DJi8LMO9K70AXPc329HVDfuNBz9VwtySKmykapi6UXnvm1g3700OE/s1600/IMG_5773.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZg-XiDsNwJV3uRHUNhFhl63VhfRY79L2dd098FV-0eQncPii3lPPqldUfjhfQgA6kAPS_VDXa-hANbvNI_n9C9G2DJi8LMO9K70AXPc329HVDfuNBz9VwtySKmykapi6UXnvm1g3700OE/s320/IMG_5773.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I also found this little cardboard die cut butterfly (I have no idea where it came from)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqwtvddCzkfQj1qJuBXJZ3s-YGaU0cSYBPe_czDQInqkHt34E-JszXuBcsLe3d_gr0Khwp_TPkF0tOjfnSpZkPPAuHkeMwpwF8snvO6eDsbStkSHRXPAkjwY-MWSqkaDKEkx0dIcPlmQy/s1600/IMG_5771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqwtvddCzkfQj1qJuBXJZ3s-YGaU0cSYBPe_czDQInqkHt34E-JszXuBcsLe3d_gr0Khwp_TPkF0tOjfnSpZkPPAuHkeMwpwF8snvO6eDsbStkSHRXPAkjwY-MWSqkaDKEkx0dIcPlmQy/s320/IMG_5771.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Remember this <a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/pink-butterfly-mobile/?pkey=e%7Cbutterfly%7C40%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C14&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-">butterfly mobile</a> from my last post? Since I had all the supplies I thought I might as well try to make a garland. (Why do I always start my projects late at night?)</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/pink-butterfly-mobile/?pkey=e%7Cbutterfly%7C40%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C14&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pink Paper Butterfly Mobile" class="photo" height="338" id="hero-image" src="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/pkimgs/rk/images/dp/wcm/201047/0015/img31m.jpg" title="Pink Paper Butterfly Mobile" width="383" /></a></div><br />
So I traced the butterfly template onto the paper and cut, cut, cut. After I had 16 butterflies (4 of each paper type) I strung them onto some thread by putting a dot of glue in the center of each butterfly and then pressing the thread into the glue. I didn't want to use ribbon because I want the thread to sort of disappear so the butterflies look like they're floating.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9Uo_GvH3fwnarw4lwtfiWsSJQC_TUwnideO-DflbGtf3VNhUYtrr_fhCRLX7cG26gaQxOby_2YuSu19Q6kVN1QqRJh7nwUcWwgt5NEz3y0SXwDBPU9LcNox4S-_1mBYgg5COs7cWClKs/s1600/IMG_5767.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9Uo_GvH3fwnarw4lwtfiWsSJQC_TUwnideO-DflbGtf3VNhUYtrr_fhCRLX7cG26gaQxOby_2YuSu19Q6kVN1QqRJh7nwUcWwgt5NEz3y0SXwDBPU9LcNox4S-_1mBYgg5COs7cWClKs/s320/IMG_5767.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The butterflies </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTzYgHUzfw5cy1NGEJ-cJYsxjuLW8bqqryAWDmg2aJJWMLaPmoNLEL8ukEYTrD0XJdjY74p7ONqhyltn9-5HslF7tBhNsz9abImWJRRASsLiGOcZZWaT2JVbQnCrn1orkpoNiEKY2hnxVa/s1600/IMG_5769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTzYgHUzfw5cy1NGEJ-cJYsxjuLW8bqqryAWDmg2aJJWMLaPmoNLEL8ukEYTrD0XJdjY74p7ONqhyltn9-5HslF7tBhNsz9abImWJRRASsLiGOcZZWaT2JVbQnCrn1orkpoNiEKY2hnxVa/s320/IMG_5769.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two examples of the paper I used</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJk-2xWV9nKNSiYs-K55NlQOjmob7Q1c1wg4muflBcXAU2dcvw3zVSfcU4cMUg7E0afvoNh8TSCwi1e_LYmY5aY22Y7HaOk3UGmTPELj4UO5LfEGo7iQLoXJ3v9Jfqmv1kDgq30cOfPO1f/s1600/IMG_5775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJk-2xWV9nKNSiYs-K55NlQOjmob7Q1c1wg4muflBcXAU2dcvw3zVSfcU4cMUg7E0afvoNh8TSCwi1e_LYmY5aY22Y7HaOk3UGmTPELj4UO5LfEGo7iQLoXJ3v9Jfqmv1kDgq30cOfPO1f/s320/IMG_5775.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The garland ready to hang</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6YLXKGJuJZ4HDoXSoz-0ntRMU8GYPpdLf7Oy3UWJ62xtBaqJUz6X4JttVLCtI5upXRMinMFD-mvW1o1CwstNFuog8ImCQ21VoFcSEsZcD5HEocOWSN31vNGNtQMTJQZDXXpVQ1IXwdsS/s1600/IMG_5777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6YLXKGJuJZ4HDoXSoz-0ntRMU8GYPpdLf7Oy3UWJ62xtBaqJUz6X4JttVLCtI5upXRMinMFD-mvW1o1CwstNFuog8ImCQ21VoFcSEsZcD5HEocOWSN31vNGNtQMTJQZDXXpVQ1IXwdsS/s320/IMG_5777.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The garland hanging in the hallway until the baby wakes up<br />
and I can hang it in her room</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The garland is about six feet long. I'll probably make a few more so that I can hang a few at various heights from wall to wall above Emme's crib. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So instead of spending $40 I made a cute little garland for my darling girl for free! Not too bad for a late night craft binge.</div></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-37045795107582735082011-01-09T21:53:00.000-05:002011-01-09T21:53:09.860-05:00ideas for the kids rooms<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Pottery Barn Kids catalog came in the mail yesterday. All the bright colors make me pine for spring. (Unfortunately, as I write this there's about 5 inches of snow on the ground.)</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thumbing through the catalog always makes my mind spin with possibilities on what I can do in the kids rooms. I wouldn't consider either of their rooms complete. Both kids still need some art on the walls; Emme needs a bookshelf, curtains, and an area rug; and Elliot could use some shelves and hooks.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ELLIOT'S ROOM</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Modern Children's Art Print - Airplane" height="299" src="http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_570xN.163153593.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been coveting these </span><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/62798979/modern-childrens-art-prints"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">transportation art prints</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> from </span><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/oodlesofcolor"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oodles of color</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> on </span><a href="http://www.etsy.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Etsy</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for Elliot's room for awhile now. They sell for $50 for a set of three (mat not included) which is just a bit more than I'm willing to part with. When looking at these I think- couldn't I make them myself? Don't you think a little boy who just adores anything that moves would love these?</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Madison 3-Shelf Bookrack" class="photo" height="338" id="hero-image" src="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/pkimgs/rk/images/dp/wcm/201039/0039/img76m.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="Madison 3-Shelf Bookrack" width="383" /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been seeing these bookracks everywhere lately (this is <a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/madison-3-shelf-bookrack/?pkey=dstorage-bookcases">Madison</a> version is sold by PBKids for $99). They make perfect sense since it's hard to remember what books you have when they're all stacked on bookshelves or piled in baskets. I've been thinking of focusing on certain subjects with Elliot each month and this would be a perfect way to keep the books we're reading on display. I wonder if I could get Jeff to make one of these for me.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Airplane Shelf" class="photo" height="282" id="hero-image" src="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/pkimgs/rk/images/dp/wcm/201041/0005/img49m.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="Airplane Shelf" width="320" /> </span><a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/truck-shelf/?pkey=dshelving-pegs-hooks"><img alt="Truck Shelf" class="photo" height="282" id="hero-image" src="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/pkimgs/rk/images/dp/wcm/201041/0005/img30m.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="Truck Shelf" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How cute are these </span><a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/airplane-shelf/?pkey=dshelving-pegs-hooks"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">plane</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/truck-shelf/?pkey=dshelving-pegs-hooks"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">truck</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> shelves! It's hard for me to buy things that I won't be able to repurpose once the kids get older, but if I had an extra few hundred dollars to burn I'd buy Elliot one of these (probably the plane).</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">EMME'S ROOM</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/printed-ribbon-board/?pkey=daccessories-pinboards"><img alt="Printed Ribbon Board" class="photo" height="338" id="hero-image" src="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/pkimgs/rk/images/dp/wcm/201047/0014/img65m.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="Printed Ribbon Board" width="383" /></a></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This <a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/printed-ribbon-board/?pkey=daccessories-pinboards">printed ribbon board</a> is too cute (<a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/">PBKids</a>) though $99 seems a little pricey. It's not something I think fits into Emme's room right now but this is something I'd love to make for her in a few years.</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/butterfly-decor/?pkey=dwall-accessories"><img alt="Butterfly Stick-On Decor" class="photo" height="282" id="hero-image" src="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/pkimgs/rk/images/dp/wcm/201047/0014/img74m.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="Butterfly Stick-On Decor" width="320" /></a></span><a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/butterfly-decor/?pkey=dwall-accessories"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Butterfly Stick-On Decor" class="photo" height="282" id="hero-image" src="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/pkimgs/rk/images/dp/wcm/201047/0014/img51m.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="Butterfly Stick-On Decor" width="320" /></span></a></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How cute are these </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/butterfly-decor/?pkey=dwall-accessories">butterfly decals</a>! A set of 9 is only $19 dollars at <a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/">PBKids</a> which seems pretty reasonable. I probably couldn't buy the fabric to make them for much cheaper (I don't yet have a stash of fabric remnants).</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I think they'd be just as cute made into a headband or hair clip.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Pink Paper Butterfly Mobile" class="photo" height="282" id="hero-image" src="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/pkimgs/rk/images/dp/wcm/201047/0015/img31m.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="Pink Paper Butterfly Mobile" width="320" /></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This <a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/pink-butterfly-mobile/?pkey=dmobiles-hanging-decor">butterfly mobile</a> (PBKids) is adorable (can you tell I have a thing for butterfly's right now?). I'm not really a mobile girl but I can totally see this as a few long strands in the corner of a room or hung like garland across the ceiling. This retails for $59 which boggles my mind because you could make it yourself SO much cheaper.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've yet to find curtains or a rug I like for Emme which is why her room is a little bare right now. I really need to find or make her some curtains. Heavy drapes are so nice to have in the winter because they keep those drafts out and keep the room toasty. I want a curtain that is just barely pink, but I guess most people think that girls pink should be extremely pink. Maybe I can find something when I go to JoAnn Fabrics later this week.</span></div></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-63721486274872565082011-01-08T14:47:00.000-05:002011-01-08T14:47:19.572-05:00what I did on a snowy saturday morning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYdqqYKxSjhHbzwKQvmRmE-IlT8PDW0hqvuuScoJPo-EkF0T7hsOEedooXURHEgikqZnNKjCvr2MSuyoXimy1oAO-beCl38D2TXzysiX-CwNrhHaheCSHh9oQBcJOlORJolwYZgYTUghA/s1600/IMG_5614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYdqqYKxSjhHbzwKQvmRmE-IlT8PDW0hqvuuScoJPo-EkF0T7hsOEedooXURHEgikqZnNKjCvr2MSuyoXimy1oAO-beCl38D2TXzysiX-CwNrhHaheCSHh9oQBcJOlORJolwYZgYTUghA/s640/IMG_5614.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">I made book page wreaths for my sister and best friend for Christmas and have been waiting for a chance to make one for myself. Today was the perfect opportunity. This wreath is so easy to make, it just take some time. This one took me about 2.5 hours. Now I just have to decide if it should stay over the mantel or if it belongs somewhere else.</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgykKx1Uu3b3Gi0wl9kppKE3J9E-6rLRErm4PA1Jx4Zz4Vt1W_ssTCiuqqvZn3yc_jeS42u-3IzYUwVETMH5SDqaMjxSeJYj1CV47uM1u382KZSAS0rCd_Zn0oKYKOvS8FCnS3RTg5sHwjL/s1600/IMG_5613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgykKx1Uu3b3Gi0wl9kppKE3J9E-6rLRErm4PA1Jx4Zz4Vt1W_ssTCiuqqvZn3yc_jeS42u-3IzYUwVETMH5SDqaMjxSeJYj1CV47uM1u382KZSAS0rCd_Zn0oKYKOvS8FCnS3RTg5sHwjL/s640/IMG_5613.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Close up of some of the pages. I used an old book about the Civil War.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Interested in making one yourself? Check out this great <a href="http://jonesdesigncompany.com/create/5-days-of-favorite-projects-day-4/">tutorial</a> from j<a href="http://jonesdesigncompany.com/">ones design company</a>.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-67880108495531609892011-01-05T19:15:00.000-05:002011-01-05T19:15:18.343-05:00wish list<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For Christmas I received <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Martha-Stewarts-Encyclopedia-Crafts-Instructions/dp/0307450570/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294250387&sr=8-1">Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts</a> which I have way too much fun thumbing through. So many ideas and so little time to try everything out.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of the best parts of the book is the list of of resources in the back. It's caused me to lust after these...</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41rco7P+p1L._SL250_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Martha Stewart Crafts Large Circle Cutter" border="0" id="productImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41rco7P+p1L._SL250_.jpg" title="Martha Stewart Crafts Large Circle Cutter" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/">circle cutter</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21re70LD6qL._SL250_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Martha Stewart Bone Folder" border="0" id="productImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21re70LD6qL._SL250_.jpg" title="Martha Stewart Bone Folder" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://shop.marthastewart.com/Martha-Stewart-Bone-Folder/A/B001PX893Q.htm">bone folder</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Martha Stewart Craft Knife" border="0" id="productImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/310j0TLekBL._SL250_.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Martha Stewart Craft Knife" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://shop.marthastewart.com/Martha-Stewart-Craft-Knife/A/B002BTSM08.htm">craft knife</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Martha Stewart 12-Inch by 12-Inch Cutting Mat" border="0" id="productImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IU8czuO-L._SL250_.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Martha Stewart 12-Inch by 12-Inch Cutting Mat" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.marthastewart.com/Martha-Stewart-12Inch-by-12Inch-Cutting/A/B002BTOT14.htm#wbaCustomersReviewsWidget">cutting mat</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Martha Stewart Screw Punch" border="0" id="productImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31vvOOzxxHL._SL250_.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Martha Stewart Screw Punch" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.marthastewart.com/Martha-Stewart-Screw-Punch/A/B002FW4G9M.htm">screw punch</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Martha Stewart 24-Vial Glitter Multi-Pack" border="0" id="productImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41L6puqoNOL._SL250_.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Martha Stewart 24-Vial Glitter Multi-Pack" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.marthastewart.com/Martha-Stewart-24Vial-Glitter-MultiPack/A/B002BTWI62.htm">glitter set</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Martha Stewart Marker A and C Set 1.2mm Bullet" border="0" id="productImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41++m0S4tJL._SL250_.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Martha Stewart Marker A and C Set 1.2mm Bullet" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.marthastewart.com/Martha-Stewart-Marker-A-and-C/A/B002FW5A4C.htm">Marker Set</a><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Rotary Cutter" border="0" id="productImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/11ddf8+AmwL._SL250_.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Rotary Cutter" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.marthastewart.com/Rotary-Cutter/A/B00379JCSM.htm">Rotary cutter</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Martha Stewart Crafts Glitter Glue Set-24 Count" border="0" id="productImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5190MEm1UKL._SL250_.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Martha Stewart Crafts Glitter Glue Set-24 Count" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.marthastewart.com/Martha-Stewart-Crafts-Glitter-Glue-Set24/A/B0044JKPZI.htm">Glitter glue</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Of course I'll need a place to put all my supplies.....</div><div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Maybe something like this</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://myforgottenfavorite.blogspot.com/2010/07/dreaming-of-craft-room.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4DVSrZmuT9RLjZhkI99Sbvp_eyhvOHFXuWYnSfVK54aEBEZc8x8A0u-d6dkLOliHD2dP8HCFk2BK7Dm52IxycY4C-ADhlYMwFPP1DoW6HVyhSKAjDmgIkJsANAjCZF_GPWTtlHJmmFS57/s1600/craft_remodelingcenter.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">or this</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.designmom.com/wp-content/uploads/from_blogger/craftroom1-793447.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">or maybe a corner like this</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.home-designing.com/2009/05/craft-room-home-studio-setup"><img alt="craft-room-studio-theme" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3366" height="320" src="http://www.home-designing.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/craft-room-studio-theme-582x776.jpg" title="craft-room-studio-theme" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Of course I want to get <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Martha-Stewarts-Encyclopedia-Sewing-Fabric/dp/0307450589/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294272434&sr=8-1">this</a> book too which means I'll need even more room for a whole new set of supplies.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Martha-Stewarts-Encyclopedia-Sewing-Fabric/dp/0307450589/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294272434&sr=8-1"><img height="320" id="prodImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51qnwvkwEaL._SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-88175158906390121562011-01-04T20:42:00.000-05:002011-01-04T20:42:42.870-05:00a new beginning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTAZyGiCoMVqol_AIXrWYgRPUtr3YcxI3RTfvGvTQocLcCW6d8tBhSNK2hT83vNMwPUkbiboDdUSiwhSsG72ys1J2CYeyz-tW8lqG2mcRDplAC7t2mu20fJKTE-dgvsZSHQdsDyy77kj-/s1600/IMG_4552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTAZyGiCoMVqol_AIXrWYgRPUtr3YcxI3RTfvGvTQocLcCW6d8tBhSNK2hT83vNMwPUkbiboDdUSiwhSsG72ys1J2CYeyz-tW8lqG2mcRDplAC7t2mu20fJKTE-dgvsZSHQdsDyy77kj-/s320/IMG_4552.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It is impossible for me to resist the siren’s call of the new year and those “resolutions.” I find it humorous when people say they don’t make resolutions but then follow up with a list of goals, improvements or whatever other word they choose to interchange with “resolution.”</span></div><div style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So here’s my list of resolutions. Since a year is so long these are subject to change as life changes, but for now these are my dreams in no particular order..</span></div><ul><li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">read with my children every day/ night: our shelves are overflowing with books. I really need to impart my love of reading to the E’s while they are still impressionable.</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">learn how to make yeasted bread</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">make marmalade: for some reason I’ve always had an aversion to marmalade. I’m not sure how this came about since I don’t think I’ve ever even tasted it, but what could be wrong with sugar and citrus fruit?</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">make ricotta cheese: that fresh pasta we are now making (thanks to a new pasta machine from the in-laws for Christmas) needs some fresh ricotta to go with it</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">make mozzarella cheese: once again the fresh pasta, and all those heirloom tomatoes from my garden this summer, beckon</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">start composting: if I have a garden I really should have a compost pile</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">really get to know my Lord and Savior, my Father, my friend</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">volunteer my time and talents: I need to start giving more of myself to others so I’m not so obsessed with- well, myself</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">reduce my plastic consumption (or at least be more aware of what my family is using/ consuming)</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">institute family game night: make some time to just stop and play</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">have a family Saturday once a month: life gets so busy we need to make sure to make time to just relax, explore, play, discover and enjoy each other without details getting in the way</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">hang out with girl friends more often for both my, and my husbands, sanity</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">learn to let go of things, details, ideas that aren’t important</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;">grow one new vegetable that I've never eaten before</li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;">try a new craft every month</li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">start an etsy shop</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">catch up on my photo albums (I’m only two years behind) and order them</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">catch up on the kids and family scrapbooks (only a year behind here so that’s not too bad)</span></li>
<li style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">blog regularly</span></li>
</ul><div style="color: #515151; font: 12.0px 'Century Gothic'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Yes, this list is somewhat lengthy but some of these goals will stretch far beyond this year. It’s really a list of my dreams and what I’d love to do if I had enough time in a year to do everything that comes into my silly little brain.</span></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-91165213259558957112011-01-04T20:33:00.000-05:002011-01-04T20:33:59.741-05:00Au revoir 2010<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a little sad to see 2010 fade into the dark winter night. It was a year full of all the emotions life can bring. Here's a little of what I was up to...</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmOycYu1S3YeEqwiIlwkHEapGRjv2OIalKL_7WASAZFXNH-_JmaCaXpMyut6IFBKKI0zv7f8LCXZJncgeBWJcGae9q_OmMHXacxWCiytQwadL_kn7TN7JVtMBgu4RS5kFNx4pBxAM8WPJ/s1600/IMG_2347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmOycYu1S3YeEqwiIlwkHEapGRjv2OIalKL_7WASAZFXNH-_JmaCaXpMyut6IFBKKI0zv7f8LCXZJncgeBWJcGae9q_OmMHXacxWCiytQwadL_kn7TN7JVtMBgu4RS5kFNx4pBxAM8WPJ/s200/IMG_2347.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVoBKw_qfXmbvyXhHifi7OF6ZpzuX6VNSFMpHQsZCod-ivMh3uHA4lXa5gtjaWJFp3-zhNoMm3I6kRdpeh2egkf93SmSD83EvLvi-aHu1S__JuOo0zI3Q__K_EhQED6yxUX_RDIqa5HHX-/s1600/IMG_2397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVoBKw_qfXmbvyXhHifi7OF6ZpzuX6VNSFMpHQsZCod-ivMh3uHA4lXa5gtjaWJFp3-zhNoMm3I6kRdpeh2egkf93SmSD83EvLvi-aHu1S__JuOo0zI3Q__K_EhQED6yxUX_RDIqa5HHX-/s200/IMG_2397.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnq5y6DQiPNpkUOI6Y17AIrunNbqZ2ASQwBq6uQuFICDXbc3wn6XtKQhuyJMiHiyuvL3PNlm6xEBdkvTB558Bf7UOJpX3KL1x49Xvcjk0lEU-dUTjfAa6JcSNAgGcGCK4DvO3iT2tAT-Mr/s1600/IMG_2360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnq5y6DQiPNpkUOI6Y17AIrunNbqZ2ASQwBq6uQuFICDXbc3wn6XtKQhuyJMiHiyuvL3PNlm6xEBdkvTB558Bf7UOJpX3KL1x49Xvcjk0lEU-dUTjfAa6JcSNAgGcGCK4DvO3iT2tAT-Mr/s200/IMG_2360.jpg" width="133" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Survive the long new England winter</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEireVvR0hrt3-OvljWdif05HQPXQMQnQoNVsIoa_soRJmeaKyv08sV8btSBcBPCTHOiNk6HbsVynUkhyphenhyphenoBRh1Qnxauy0zOtFGh_Wx7BGAoy6U7lMFD0BPgezZ5leiZ4qSThYhLXNMUYXI4k/s1600/IMG_2483.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEireVvR0hrt3-OvljWdif05HQPXQMQnQoNVsIoa_soRJmeaKyv08sV8btSBcBPCTHOiNk6HbsVynUkhyphenhyphenoBRh1Qnxauy0zOtFGh_Wx7BGAoy6U7lMFD0BPgezZ5leiZ4qSThYhLXNMUYXI4k/s200/IMG_2483.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmwPMtMCd4DP9t5mssV0yLeKr37ZXjIdDNQWhxJXKdXxnOti-ZOaN5x-BisfvHRHS7PE4HB-1vTdbOVxRYHwNCMPTbxiDLS9VwAhqvRAg1K4LAKWxijBbZtlZtnS8XOIanQXw-VbOIdmiz/s1600/IMG_2487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmwPMtMCd4DP9t5mssV0yLeKr37ZXjIdDNQWhxJXKdXxnOti-ZOaN5x-BisfvHRHS7PE4HB-1vTdbOVxRYHwNCMPTbxiDLS9VwAhqvRAg1K4LAKWxijBbZtlZtnS8XOIanQXw-VbOIdmiz/s200/IMG_2487.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbYyIerpNfXWPvz3DPgL-f8eZbjCL3jpO54Zg-nNB8t1Ay_X3Ea0vJYqACmOUBlnLemJMcGJQTLMUQ8UH_ufrL7NAJe0a4uZnWFa-gOg_KislU9wf_WoYwEro7uhMIZVktsgiftBWG-Xt/s1600/IMG_2447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbYyIerpNfXWPvz3DPgL-f8eZbjCL3jpO54Zg-nNB8t1Ay_X3Ea0vJYqACmOUBlnLemJMcGJQTLMUQ8UH_ufrL7NAJe0a4uZnWFa-gOg_KislU9wf_WoYwEro7uhMIZVktsgiftBWG-Xt/s200/IMG_2447.jpg" width="133" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Smell the spring flowers</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfzxoQ9XGmks9RXhg-DM95k926DMW3rUlDJHom5R2rsVmQBoKOf9BvXQPaW805S_CVWlmk7xFWTu4uOVJIYDOyCVAFAK0SA-dUUqPxBSiDDP2vvw5WqUIIdVO86jaujqR268p3jRSTT5K/s1600/007_7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfzxoQ9XGmks9RXhg-DM95k926DMW3rUlDJHom5R2rsVmQBoKOf9BvXQPaW805S_CVWlmk7xFWTu4uOVJIYDOyCVAFAK0SA-dUUqPxBSiDDP2vvw5WqUIIdVO86jaujqR268p3jRSTT5K/s320/007_7.JPG" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Grow a baby girl</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDucesJ64tu8WQ6lpZzKc5bWKe1cvYAD1DoeOTaSMWaE596PhXyGf8YzoODKyCtjqIYzCy9ndG3nn73G_aGek5tVxmDQbkw4QJ277FyYq023KWPFC08ekUcGkuWowSWEo3S-PyW7TltDTp/s1600/IMG_2710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDucesJ64tu8WQ6lpZzKc5bWKe1cvYAD1DoeOTaSMWaE596PhXyGf8YzoODKyCtjqIYzCy9ndG3nn73G_aGek5tVxmDQbkw4QJ277FyYq023KWPFC08ekUcGkuWowSWEo3S-PyW7TltDTp/s320/IMG_2710.JPG" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Play in the dirt</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHZ6QixDxhp4nY6D6_TZL2YQ0hvMy4r3REgDT92C8MXyEgTbOWP9POEco4tl4fn-f8QKMRgrv8OeMu8Ebi1a0mHKH5CS5laDvAr-SXCM7bLcEab3LmGzudjCa1lzHZRaSixcQBcqQbzqK/s1600/IMG_3184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHZ6QixDxhp4nY6D6_TZL2YQ0hvMy4r3REgDT92C8MXyEgTbOWP9POEco4tl4fn-f8QKMRgrv8OeMu8Ebi1a0mHKH5CS5laDvAr-SXCM7bLcEab3LmGzudjCa1lzHZRaSixcQBcqQbzqK/s200/IMG_3184.jpg" width="133" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnmUl3kFS_jb7Mzi58C4PQJGZM0lcLMCUCinN3Syh24KLm9fuyDJSRzqJKcstRftKEf6703pbM0OD1zercSjbFnq90E6g2kDO_UZRBqNI11XT7f9CISqQAfCiQ6wXsTkic9QqorKMprre/s1600/IMG_2821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnmUl3kFS_jb7Mzi58C4PQJGZM0lcLMCUCinN3Syh24KLm9fuyDJSRzqJKcstRftKEf6703pbM0OD1zercSjbFnq90E6g2kDO_UZRBqNI11XT7f9CISqQAfCiQ6wXsTkic9QqorKMprre/s200/IMG_2821.JPG" width="133" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jq4l5-iUq9frJttR5JZqNuU7yj5MQSa2B43kazImL6d86QBLYIIRs8efR9pjLkLsuUxpABohWNFx90EIMRUU59RHoEq9jbgrQNL5yu3SNWA__Z5Oj2bD1h1vU9qtJX3HBuhb6tmus2S7/s1600/IMG_3183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jq4l5-iUq9frJttR5JZqNuU7yj5MQSa2B43kazImL6d86QBLYIIRs8efR9pjLkLsuUxpABohWNFx90EIMRUU59RHoEq9jbgrQNL5yu3SNWA__Z5Oj2bD1h1vU9qtJX3HBuhb6tmus2S7/s200/IMG_3183.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jq4l5-iUq9frJttR5JZqNuU7yj5MQSa2B43kazImL6d86QBLYIIRs8efR9pjLkLsuUxpABohWNFx90EIMRUU59RHoEq9jbgrQNL5yu3SNWA__Z5Oj2bD1h1vU9qtJX3HBuhb6tmus2S7/s1600/IMG_3183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Watch the garden grow</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UKBvsrbttI68On86ANE0NXlkc2QiNImSYWiCquSMTpaBgUbV02OODPwXpJnFeQoqXN6Jrv2mxQGCK32HF9sOYifQ2awW2fXmBOQ5CNRjxGw20OYTJNOpHRz6ScGTrLZcsor3zCb1FvXG/s1600/IMG_2957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UKBvsrbttI68On86ANE0NXlkc2QiNImSYWiCquSMTpaBgUbV02OODPwXpJnFeQoqXN6Jrv2mxQGCK32HF9sOYifQ2awW2fXmBOQ5CNRjxGw20OYTJNOpHRz6ScGTrLZcsor3zCb1FvXG/s320/IMG_2957.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Welcome Emme to our family</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_xTtgrWpyWnDD3XhLFPGe8TUQ2-pz_mEpO40UQNx2BBBQfxjZ1x0NUYFVgwSunPDhpe9krr0j3rSFLYfTp1vqwazmPq9uqa_OZQcOMxhfP_ETs0yEggyjbDDaPSohS1IauySTQusF-dm/s1600/IMG_3483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_xTtgrWpyWnDD3XhLFPGe8TUQ2-pz_mEpO40UQNx2BBBQfxjZ1x0NUYFVgwSunPDhpe9krr0j3rSFLYfTp1vqwazmPq9uqa_OZQcOMxhfP_ETs0yEggyjbDDaPSohS1IauySTQusF-dm/s320/IMG_3483.JPG" width="213" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Watch love grow</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw-J3dFqJYgu0rvkaCM3ywHyMdkuYqGBLQ1ibe3IyuQXLpVm3kfZd5Qv9SbbrE0zhIY261vQADXmikZXtfEinkgqmr9DBpaPWYK2bjqMDOmmNQxwA6oTaT5P01APQyxpyFlxtUOmvEPMWc/s1600/IMG_4463.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw-J3dFqJYgu0rvkaCM3ywHyMdkuYqGBLQ1ibe3IyuQXLpVm3kfZd5Qv9SbbrE0zhIY261vQADXmikZXtfEinkgqmr9DBpaPWYK2bjqMDOmmNQxwA6oTaT5P01APQyxpyFlxtUOmvEPMWc/s200/IMG_4463.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="133" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyJflcHFRCxxMSskip8vpoe4wt-svxJWBxYBYlEE35unW-jMIMRGo61JWcPzdLX1BuuKfeFfPAaCUJ6n1YCyxXvwPSQWpBm-BNCEAztUhyieokLnQiZwz4pjQsUF6lnkz48r1zoiJlUOk/s1600/IMG_4448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyJflcHFRCxxMSskip8vpoe4wt-svxJWBxYBYlEE35unW-jMIMRGo61JWcPzdLX1BuuKfeFfPAaCUJ6n1YCyxXvwPSQWpBm-BNCEAztUhyieokLnQiZwz4pjQsUF6lnkz48r1zoiJlUOk/s200/IMG_4448.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="133" /></a></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocB-RqRnwv7_eG_S2K7WoLMD-AUAm6L3G-cboAX7qKhXC27xenOuWx9rAzX5xw9xaAsf6G0iF8RSEgxo86yJD2mRMSd8Zi9ACInMWuUZ0ZNGxoA7FI6AV2l-oOdHDyWHb6_9_OouGWBs_/s1600/IMG_3736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocB-RqRnwv7_eG_S2K7WoLMD-AUAm6L3G-cboAX7qKhXC27xenOuWx9rAzX5xw9xaAsf6G0iF8RSEgxo86yJD2mRMSd8Zi9ACInMWuUZ0ZNGxoA7FI6AV2l-oOdHDyWHb6_9_OouGWBs_/s200/IMG_3736.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="133" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">pick some fruit and veggies...</span></span></div></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9TRummoCXzCqMPyauJADswFZVNzqwvE9F692-O-FhCdhvCp39Oih4h2C_Or_Py3wopsUm8UhUjwAoal291FfPXFj8H9MelRsJMtSPGVb0ZSozF9ZCQ7SiELsu9q1lK7_wHAFH2_b_Ttf/s1600/IMG_3927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9TRummoCXzCqMPyauJADswFZVNzqwvE9F692-O-FhCdhvCp39Oih4h2C_Or_Py3wopsUm8UhUjwAoal291FfPXFj8H9MelRsJMtSPGVb0ZSozF9ZCQ7SiELsu9q1lK7_wHAFH2_b_Ttf/s200/IMG_3927.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3zJnOHlDdvGRVgehSjQvbAaut1dpJxzZSxCtgzcgfAHcKK7hZsueWH_bhhx1tzHp2UM0rE7LAQKaIdaEApIKV1qMk9lG2UvCqwPfNMo9vJH19TCZFHCsNJeDWb2jyicwb6SJmcZAi894/s1600/IMG_4547.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3zJnOHlDdvGRVgehSjQvbAaut1dpJxzZSxCtgzcgfAHcKK7hZsueWH_bhhx1tzHp2UM0rE7LAQKaIdaEApIKV1qMk9lG2UvCqwPfNMo9vJH19TCZFHCsNJeDWb2jyicwb6SJmcZAi894/s200/IMG_4547.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzvuBStxuIGt95fC4uwjxvjw_ZGvFbooJ6yLPmppFQ7fuY0rvZP-rs2ZwkLEZvtAhWdw3jGmywJmk0115Al4aJyV-svpaB3QhJDrt1Tpjdz3x8TWroK0Oto13DobnXgjVv6Mgn3FE2cImF/s1600/IMG_3861.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzvuBStxuIGt95fC4uwjxvjw_ZGvFbooJ6yLPmppFQ7fuY0rvZP-rs2ZwkLEZvtAhWdw3jGmywJmk0115Al4aJyV-svpaB3QhJDrt1Tpjdz3x8TWroK0Oto13DobnXgjVv6Mgn3FE2cImF/s200/IMG_3861.jpg" width="133" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">...and make something yummy out of it</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfS-ktqWR-WL-sfluqxoEtzAjxYQ1NjpMDt-yf-FIump61AIQVMRTXngHVGYXvT5yOMQufMOyAKp5RaHJTX_yYkHsPTUNe8uLxs7erUWVVHumbwJ3SWETz_j-tG3ZTBvByfCmuoWnMmFd/s1600/IMG_4253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfS-ktqWR-WL-sfluqxoEtzAjxYQ1NjpMDt-yf-FIump61AIQVMRTXngHVGYXvT5yOMQufMOyAKp5RaHJTX_yYkHsPTUNe8uLxs7erUWVVHumbwJ3SWETz_j-tG3ZTBvByfCmuoWnMmFd/s320/IMG_4253.jpg" width="213" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Watch my little boy turn two...</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAojl-R0V-O08brHTDOGL2cy6S6Ht0jUQU47tgjpU1Pg-lStL0oahH7mXNW5LtOeCAqJQC9GWD-Lg3q46qj5tYz3DYm3sbbPdC9RfFpqEIEanVCLbRtS1r_iiESXdZvSQLGxt-3NmAYAkH/s1600/IMG_4363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAojl-R0V-O08brHTDOGL2cy6S6Ht0jUQU47tgjpU1Pg-lStL0oahH7mXNW5LtOeCAqJQC9GWD-Lg3q46qj5tYz3DYm3sbbPdC9RfFpqEIEanVCLbRtS1r_iiESXdZvSQLGxt-3NmAYAkH/s320/IMG_4363.JPG" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">...and make him a fabulous Curious George cake</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDIHzP8MTxLBd99nBseY_1ixYEAde7Mr5G1NcamWb1WK1z8en6gynTvASVRHNRRb-CwWg5MaiWBpvXtL37NfhCoX9SFGF3SB-W7YCkR1NtjDHjLiEYYWwtO2Pua9ICV8zp70Ii9rfRiSe/s1600/IMG_4632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDIHzP8MTxLBd99nBseY_1ixYEAde7Mr5G1NcamWb1WK1z8en6gynTvASVRHNRRb-CwWg5MaiWBpvXtL37NfhCoX9SFGF3SB-W7YCkR1NtjDHjLiEYYWwtO2Pua9ICV8zp70Ii9rfRiSe/s320/IMG_4632.JPG" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">go on a train ride</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQvFD6AN1ZM-fH9SJOttydeyea4NrHbyYqg2ERGGdsiUlIHDiTpSwDj-5s99HuaSszdXMnL2uaIdWPHkIJc9kIsrtDR-6cX_AD0X9vxsj6tHvuaMj8qFYM9gwaJbJ_Hi3KCnC_gaCjaKs/s1600/IMG_5106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQvFD6AN1ZM-fH9SJOttydeyea4NrHbyYqg2ERGGdsiUlIHDiTpSwDj-5s99HuaSszdXMnL2uaIdWPHkIJc9kIsrtDR-6cX_AD0X9vxsj6tHvuaMj8qFYM9gwaJbJ_Hi3KCnC_gaCjaKs/s320/IMG_5106.jpg" width="228" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">take stock of this years preservation efforts</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4tfQHfndGPZ2xW7VAkIiLijsjfxuYx1SDZ5_j_4poPiNqEFAXKCocyAuDxj1e12MmVHwe7UcmxwQK1Zwz70hdn7BVeU8gbvPzRlpWJZtryLuHvXCmRQa5OV5w2Gwouo-s9BkDnNlHf6S/s1600/IMG_4982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4tfQHfndGPZ2xW7VAkIiLijsjfxuYx1SDZ5_j_4poPiNqEFAXKCocyAuDxj1e12MmVHwe7UcmxwQK1Zwz70hdn7BVeU8gbvPzRlpWJZtryLuHvXCmRQa5OV5w2Gwouo-s9BkDnNlHf6S/s320/IMG_4982.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">take an owl and zookeeper on a candy expedition</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK80AZlEeZ6GTQSxTz_klxYk2_9ry06dD57elULEOjxhtMgMNZ3L4BC7AP4CHD67YbVe4SWOUrNmcLOwPC7ZQZW6xq9cMlzAS1gIL9q5zy9_sqwLHGhB4ZR7NlNKREqlM5LR0smtD7mTe2/s1600/IMG_0881.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK80AZlEeZ6GTQSxTz_klxYk2_9ry06dD57elULEOjxhtMgMNZ3L4BC7AP4CHD67YbVe4SWOUrNmcLOwPC7ZQZW6xq9cMlzAS1gIL9q5zy9_sqwLHGhB4ZR7NlNKREqlM5LR0smtD7mTe2/s320/IMG_0881.jpg" width="240" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">take a trip to visit family in California</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKe0MGUDbXM_62GdC_sPfuvzXIOsmu6-ncXETUW3zXYOgjYr5rsSoBHhUhjYbcE3s17cIzDNc324u06JloAHpMm4Q4mp6jliySH6Z-xDsxSu2PP6sgveSvdUly9x9LUhnBPAlH7VUyHNEI/s1600/IMG_5448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKe0MGUDbXM_62GdC_sPfuvzXIOsmu6-ncXETUW3zXYOgjYr5rsSoBHhUhjYbcE3s17cIzDNc324u06JloAHpMm4Q4mp6jliySH6Z-xDsxSu2PP6sgveSvdUly9x9LUhnBPAlH7VUyHNEI/s200/IMG_5448.jpg" width="133" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzfEkLiT64kBvvdbPFQ3CaAMn-38bfxiHQ3A1CWtMfetfwaR3kDezFBieom8Xt4vZB_5zelnp1VcUY0-bXOhANXu3_fuDHS_D82BEAKl0TIhvqrIxLI6F3_elCd8GNtEhZjOQbakIwwjl/s1600/IMG_5115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzfEkLiT64kBvvdbPFQ3CaAMn-38bfxiHQ3A1CWtMfetfwaR3kDezFBieom8Xt4vZB_5zelnp1VcUY0-bXOhANXu3_fuDHS_D82BEAKl0TIhvqrIxLI6F3_elCd8GNtEhZjOQbakIwwjl/s200/IMG_5115.jpg" width="142" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">make some Christmas gifts</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifavPB90HQczLIJ8myDQ56DvYh_bEyiPQtHsrO300QFRvaJSETNHNPMBmnW7XyZuYeBhSjP3z4TY1Q0kQf4BnxQMUHgb48PXzTDvPMY3rvFyM5FpbkOyoSKpecm9rexXFO9-1lnignJ3n4/s1600/IMG_5204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifavPB90HQczLIJ8myDQ56DvYh_bEyiPQtHsrO300QFRvaJSETNHNPMBmnW7XyZuYeBhSjP3z4TY1Q0kQf4BnxQMUHgb48PXzTDvPMY3rvFyM5FpbkOyoSKpecm9rexXFO9-1lnignJ3n4/s200/IMG_5204.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBtKdQSMoV2eQZT4mVXJihPvvjAhKCiaGwct1cLPv1rcIC184vd4Mr7hfkHuHYGmfGB5sXRRMtXuPtYLC9-FFggQ1NJiNQiAFAr4MOrPZn4rPmovtwTdqcPXzEGsOCvcV4QxCvjVrzdEs/s1600/IMG_5132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBtKdQSMoV2eQZT4mVXJihPvvjAhKCiaGwct1cLPv1rcIC184vd4Mr7hfkHuHYGmfGB5sXRRMtXuPtYLC9-FFggQ1NJiNQiAFAr4MOrPZn4rPmovtwTdqcPXzEGsOCvcV4QxCvjVrzdEs/s200/IMG_5132.jpg" width="133" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">deck the halls</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvv3Sff8rCr6YppSsmBVq9CFueQkey64uEI2vrB7SRqpovdQmbFKt8AbtzG7DOF_SNrcjBnUHVpiRYtRnKT53naQQ9bmlj96nNY4Z2yPoAiMiw8G2c5s1TnAgfzPpEuNIvK7PRcgV5AWuo/s1600/IMG_5272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvv3Sff8rCr6YppSsmBVq9CFueQkey64uEI2vrB7SRqpovdQmbFKt8AbtzG7DOF_SNrcjBnUHVpiRYtRnKT53naQQ9bmlj96nNY4Z2yPoAiMiw8G2c5s1TnAgfzPpEuNIvK7PRcgV5AWuo/s320/IMG_5272.jpg" width="213" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">celebrate the birth of Christ</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161283028526050846.post-19641214615461204772010-09-06T18:27:00.004-04:002011-01-01T21:45:41.494-05:00Flour Bakery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFVgVbVn7rOF9qT9kMiTalyANURj1XEL9gSBkWYLysXy72AcP-qq1iNabrHG0DlzgHTp2kR-iwcnHx3oLt4RcNYruevWTKN1ipQMHtcKGf994Te_A2G_YShz4SdykQJodoKbO5ZRavizP/s1600/IMG_4150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFVgVbVn7rOF9qT9kMiTalyANURj1XEL9gSBkWYLysXy72AcP-qq1iNabrHG0DlzgHTp2kR-iwcnHx3oLt4RcNYruevWTKN1ipQMHtcKGf994Te_A2G_YShz4SdykQJodoKbO5ZRavizP/s320/IMG_4150.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This weekend we took a quick family trip to Boston. Since me and my man are relatively good cooks we've been having a harder and harder time finding restaurants that serve food that 1) we actually like and 2) we don't feel like we could make better ourselves. Sod I'm counting on my favorite foodie stations to like the Food Network and the Travel Channel to come through for me. Boston had a fair representation from each site. Some of the offerings were not places I'd want to go with children (more like our next weekend getaway for two) but there were a few that stood out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Flour Bakery was featured on multiple Food Network's shows. It's also has a long list of write-ups in local and national newspapers that you can check out on its website. I hate to be "shallow" but I really do first judge a restaurant by it's name and signage. If a person is creative enough to pick a great name and design a fabulous sign than you know their food is going to be great because 1) they're smart enough to hire a great marketer or 2) they're just that talented.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Flour Bakery is a great name and it's signage/ logo is clever too. Built into the corner of a warehouse the store is spacious and chic. The chalkboard menu board was crowded with so many offerings it was hard to make a choice. We ended up ordering a peach ginger muffin, a spinach, zucchini and feta quiche and one of their famous sticky, sticky buns. It was all delicious. Jeff even decided that we couldn't go home without buying a few extra sticky buns for breakfast the next morning. If you're even in the Boston Metro area it's definitely worth the stop.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzI7NPKn4aDrLYGcAGTVJa0w9AGt0BueLrjQgIrUCDq2sozV8C0M9NwkEyzi2Ta6SIxiGLgvT3QESzY5H4A3LCJbA-ZcCb6tjrsNkYiM3x0mZ1GJ3Ij_1QrJvWMduTsssGO8CFVF39P0f/s1600/IMG_4144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzI7NPKn4aDrLYGcAGTVJa0w9AGt0BueLrjQgIrUCDq2sozV8C0M9NwkEyzi2Ta6SIxiGLgvT3QESzY5H4A3LCJbA-ZcCb6tjrsNkYiM3x0mZ1GJ3Ij_1QrJvWMduTsssGO8CFVF39P0f/s320/IMG_4144.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8IqFhv97T2zwAMw95nbRyrwYd3g246UHIeAiq8GKrhgXVJw2DFAn8Qm92XGCoUdL4NH7Zvt7NwR7LHUycvSVTYUlstIVGL6rXYWWgABkZb95F71688ejGLJYFd00abgBMn9q_CPsxpq3N/s1600/IMG_4148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8IqFhv97T2zwAMw95nbRyrwYd3g246UHIeAiq8GKrhgXVJw2DFAn8Qm92XGCoUdL4NH7Zvt7NwR7LHUycvSVTYUlstIVGL6rXYWWgABkZb95F71688ejGLJYFd00abgBMn9q_CPsxpq3N/s320/IMG_4148.JPG" /></a></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07389105698307032727noreply@blogger.com0