Spring tree

When you've publicly sworn you aren't a crafty person, does making this tree turn you into a liar? What if you were feeling sick all day and Karis was content with play-doh at the table and you got a whim to make the awesome paper tree you saw here? Liar still? If so, you are not alone in your disapproval. Matt came home as I was mid-project and looked quite confused. He saw the shards of cereal box cutouts and magazine clippings littered about the dining room floor and me feverishly cutting away little paper leaves and carefully sticking them on the tree while happily exclaiming, "Look what I'm making."

He probably asked me 3 times throughout the night, "So what's up with that tree?!" He knows me better. I don't craft. At least not under normal conditions. I think his concern only proves how much he loves me.

I do love the way the tree turned out, but a quick scan of the paper/play-doh disarray at the end of the night reminded me exactly why I don't normally do this sort of thing.

Corners

The last few weeks have been busy weeks. Like fall-in-bed-at-night-and-sleep-soundly kind of busy. It's been a good busy, though. Matt and I have a lot of projects we're working on these days, both together and separately. One of the many things keeping me busy is my continued effort to make this house a home. And though I'm a slow decorator, something I recently came clean about, I am making progress. Spaces throughout the house are gradually being assessed then thoughtfully organized and decorated. And when arrangements prove to be inadequate, well then there's a little bit of reorganizing and redecorating being done to better fit our needs.

As I move about the home these days, I'm please with the progress we've made. There's still much to be done to freshen up and regenerate this old home, but for now, I want to celebrate the progress. I present a tour of a few of my favorite corners around the house, the ones that make me happy when I walk past them. Enjoy!

The funky tea set (enjoy, Lindsay!) and other glass/porcelain items sitting in my china cabinet. For the most part I prefer a clutter-free home. Since I've acquired a number of adorable, vintage items, I've relegated them all to one place. My china cabinet feels like the one place I can let things stack and collect. In fact, it feels a little like an antique shop in that small space, and I love it.

Some colorful felt birds my mother also gifted to me. They hang from a branch I found while on a walk, and the whole thing is nestled in a milk glass vase on the fireplace mantle.

The kitchen nook in Karis' room. Sidenote: The babushka dolls shown here are special. I bought them for my mom when I lived in Europe in college. The last time I visited her, she gifted them to Karis. I love that they've come full circle, and of course, Karis loves them...especially the littlest doll.

Every time I peek out the kitchen door into the mudroom I smile. I recently transplanted a bookshelf from another part of the house where it was underutilized, and now I have an organized, streamlined system for holding our household supplies. Is it weird that I love seeing an army of paper towels just sitting there waiting to be used?

I'm not in love with my pantry, but like many old homes, you have to make do with it's quirks. The house actually doesn't have a designated pantry in the kitchen. Instead we've re-purposed a small, built-in corner cabinet in the dining room and made it into our pantry. The space it tight and triangular (since it's a corner), but I love when I find a system that works within the confines of the space. And pictured here, mid-spin, is a lazy susan which helps this space work. (Oh, and don't judge me by the SPAM you see here. It was a gift. Long story short, I'm planning on making this recipe with it one day.)

O'clock

912
3 6

Stepping out

Karis is currently enthralled with the idea that she was once a baby, born and cared for by mommy and daddy. While I was paying for my ear doctor appointment today, Karis informed the receptionist that Karis was once a baby and "was born." She then proceeded to show her what she looked like when she came out, doing a little dancing jig with hands out to her side and feet running in place. Of course, I only remember the excruciating, unmedicated pain and violent yelling at the doctor to "get this baby out NOW!" But these are just minor details, right? And who knows, maybe little baby Karis was doing a little dancing jig, so glad to be out of that confined space.

Later in the day, Karis stepped out the back door with instructions by me to stay within sight and come whenever I call. I proceeded to make dinner, one ear angled to the door and two eyes frequently looking out on her. It was her first real taste of independent play outside, and though there was only one minor incident involving her hair and the grapevines on the side (of which she'll retell the story over and over during dinner about how I "saved" her), I think we've found a new outdoor routine.

Likewise, while Karis was trying out her independence, I stepped out on a limb with dinner, making skillet curried chicken and rice from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook. It called for long grain white rice, but we're short grain brown rice people around here. Feeling gutsy, I adapted the recipe...and two hours later, I stood over a pot of bland, undercooked curried brown rice. Any of you familiar with that panic feeling that arises at 7:30pm when dinner is looking to be a miserable failure? Note to self: stick close to home on this recipe next time.

Grateful for

:: This man, this girl, this sky
Though Saturday started out slow and cranky, it ended with a long shopping trip together and an unbelievable sunset. Whatever we do, doing it together is best.

:: Sister-in-laws
While it can be a trying relationship for some, I'm surrounded by honest and kind women. I'm so grateful for them, all 3 of them. Pictured here is Erica, my northernmost SIL, basking in the Florida sun while on a visit from Baltimore, Maryland a few weeks ago.

:: Green onions
When I say I love green onions, I'm talking about young love here. Even though I have been eating them off and on for years, I have to say my love for them has really just taken off in the last few weeks. What's not to love about this relative of the bulb onion...the more reserved, fresh-flavored cousin that doesn't bring tears upon cutting or eating raw?

Our favorite ways to consume them: 1. a breakfast or easy dinner consisting of a bowl of steaming grits, two eggs over easy, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and a generous sprinkling of chopped green onions (whites and greens included), or 2. In a salad, strewn throughout so as to get a hint of fresh, mild onion flavor in every bite. Mmm.

:: My stay-at-home job
Where else could I work and be allowed to take a Monday morning field trip to the beach just so we can chase gulls and draw letters in the sand?

On hummus and faith

I sat across the table today from Leida, a beautiful, spirited Puerto Rican woman with 54 years of life experience. She's honest and she's fun...totally reminds me of my mom. Karis was along for the ride, and though I would rather have had a childless date, in the end my phone was a good babysitter. I'm not proud of this, but in a pinch, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse streaming through YouTube will quiet even the most restless 2 year old.

Over a sampler platter of tabouleh, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, kibbe, and falafel, Leida and I spoke about marriage, faith, and hope in the midst of suffering. In the end, Karis was stuffed with chicken (from Leida's meal not mine), my phone was covered in tabouleh juice, two packets of sugar were dumped in Karis' mouth and all over the table, a few booths scaled like mountains, and I was greatly encouraged. A momentary sacrifice of parenting for the long term benefit of my heart. Totally worth it.

Project shmoject

(Alternate title: Look, Ma, I'm crafty!)

I was talking with my dear sister a few weeks ago about blogging. She was showing me one of her favorite blogs she reads, thefrugalgirl.com. It's chock-full of useful information on baking, budgeting, repurposing furniture, household chores, and general thrifty living. Incredibly practical stuff for my sister, a newly married woman who is currently learning to build routines into her home life.

Well those thoughts got me thinking about this here blog space, and I wondered what I offer. In the end I figured I offer a little inspiration...perhaps. Practical tips? Rarely. I guess it's not really my thing right now.

That is...until today. Get ready for this:

I crafted today. (I know, I know!)

I found two packages of kitchen towels, each containing 3 different towels, by DwellStudio at Target on clearance for $2.48 each. I loved the designs, though I wasn't sure how the color scheme of brown and aqua would go with my current kitchen colors of red and white. But they were so cute and such a good deal that I figured if I didn't use them I could, at the very least, give them away.

True enough, they didn't go with my curtains and the color scheme I'd already established in the kitchen. So they sat on my counter for a few days, and I mostly ignored them, pouting because they wouldn't work. And then it hit me. They would make great curtains to replace my current ones. Sure, the current curtains were great, but these were looking fantastic, and I would always have my former curtains to return to if I wanted to change back.

A little ironing of the fabric to remove the creases...

A few packs of ring clips I purchased at Wal-mart...

And Voila!...new curtains!

And get this...the curtains were the perfect size! I turned the striped pair on their side to make them into cafe curtains for the window. And with the polka-dotted pair, I totally got lucky because they were just the right length to cover the random hole in my cabinet. They are nicely sewed on three sides with a cute strip of aqua ribbon on the fourth side, giving them a finished look. Long story short, people: Not a single stitch sewed! (contented sigh)

Ok, so maybe this project doesn't exactly qualify as crafty, in the sense of skilled sewing and general making of things with your hands. But I'll settle for the other kind of crafty, meaning cunning and tricky. Because I think getting two pairs of curtains, sans sewing, for the low price of $5 is both cunning and tricky.

Oh, and look who also got her a new pair of kitchen towels after all?!

Morning inventory

A lukewarm cup of coffee.

The last of the Neiman Marcus lemon squares (Mine, all mine!)

A baby dropped in front of me with urgent orders to put her clothes on. She's cold, I was told in no uncertain terms.

Words to live by, carefully written down with the hope that they'll stick to my brain and give me strength when I most need it, which happens to be nearly every morning.