Wait so Long

We wait so long for spring here. Too long. For the past 2 nights I have been out gardening, until after dark, once in the pouring rain, covered in mud in my trusty rubber boots. All of this just to be out there a bit longer, to smell the sweet, peppery apple blossoms on all of the trees in the backyard. There really should be just a few more hours in each day.

This feels like the first year I have taken real note of them. Despite their being terribly neglected from lack of pruning, I do love these trees. This year I am promising myself to prune them, to save them and restore them to their full glory.

The lilacs and honeysuckle just bloomed too, and ahh-the lily of the valley-I am so lucky to have such sweet smelling plants in my yard.

Spring was worth the wait this year.

Happy to Be a Mama

I hope all the mamas out there had a good Mother's day!

My husband made a mother's day brunch for my myself, my mother, my sister and my mom's friend. What a menu! Crepes with Ghiradelli chocolate sauce and strawberries, warm croissants with real butter and raspberry jam-then my fave: Cafe Maison. We always get this when we go to Quebec city; coffee and hot chocolate in a bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream-divine! Of course we had Mimosas and I made chocolate turtle brownies for dessert. No dieting at this meal.

My dear friend across the street brought over a sweet flower arrangement from her garden and a card that made me teary eyed.

I set the table with real silver and festooned it with my white milk glass collection, little cups with fresh strawberries and an assortment of my first garden flowers. A scrumptious morning.

I spent the afternoon installing a small garden for a friend who is about to be a mother herself and then came home and got my Mother's day gift: a child without hair in her face. Yep-we finally had to do it: cut Ava's bangs. I had long ago lost the barrette war-she pulled them out and put them in the trash can, so we trimmed her up-she looks like a little girl now, my petite bebe.

Let's just pretend that is mascara under my eyes and not tired puffs!

Happy Mother's day to all-though everyday is really mother's day I think...

Another Knit for 2009

Among being way too over committed right now and having no significant time to do anything, I manage to somehow still do everything...sound familiar? I know so many of us are in this boat. In my obsessive and likely annoying effort to give my daughter a magical childhood, filled with creativity and hand made things, this little jumper was bound off the needles yesterday.

Despite being a bit frantic, and oh- so busy with a long list of things to do...The yarn came from that stash I built a while back. This may be knit # 5 for 2009, but I am not counting anymore really. (Okay, yes I am, #4 is a red diddy that I am a bit hung up on and have fallen out of love with, but I will forge ahead and finish it, as I am on the last 5 rows...)

I used Cascade 220 light blue yarn and a green wool I had from a previous yarn binge, but we won't talk about that one...the color switch came about because as usual, I got bored while knitting 9 inches of stockinette stitch for the base of the jumper and decided to switch colors. The buttons are pale blue from Joann's.

Then I got bored with the called for Garter stitch and decided to practice a few different stitches on the top: ribbing and seed stitch. The other modification I made was omitting the straps on the front piece, and knitting in button holes on the ends of the straps on the back piece-I am not one for ties on the shoulders. I can't even imagine how often I would be re-tying those in a day...

I promised myself I would take a knitting break and focus only on the camper (yes, the saga continues), but alas, since last night, I am already 5 inches into another baby garment. Sigh...so many cutesies to knit, so little time!

Smart Planner Interview

I am excited to have been featured on The Smart Planner blog-you can read the interview here. The author of this blog is an Arizona based wedding planner who started a consulting business for wedding professionals. Liene interviews planners from all over the country in a series called, "Meet the Planners". I enjoy reading about the other planners and hearing about their successes and that many of their obstacles are ones that I share. Being a one woman show has been isolating at times for me-and I admit I have not put forth the best effort at getting out there and being in touch and networking in the past two years-I am learning to adjust to being a business woman, a mother, a wife, and all of the other roles I fulfill every day... My mother is visiting from Illinois, my laptop was in the "shop" for repairs and I have been in a gardening fury for the past few weeks-I apologize to have been away!

Ava's 14 month Photo Shoot

I am so excited to share some of these...My friend and very talented photographer, Sharyn Peavey sent me these pictures from Ava's 14 month shoot...so yummy, I had to really exercise control to pick just a few for this post.

I love this one of Chris helping Ava put on one of my lime green shoes that she took from my closet...while she holds a pink one in the other hand... And this one of us from above, such an interesting angle that I never see us from...

And this one of me giving Ava a kiss, and her anticipating it with a scrunchy face...

This little concentrating face illustrates Ava's determination and will...

I love this of us just on the floor talking and looking at each other-a tiny moment that might have passed us by, if Sharyn had not captured it... Chris is helping Ava go down the stairs, I love the sweetness of this one, another moment that I would have missed because I would have been doing laundry, washing dishes or otherwise catching up...

And I just could stare forever at the little eyeballs and pursed lips in this one...

I love these historical collections of everyday times in our little family. I treasure each of these images so much already and I know we will cherish them in many years to come as well.

Yarn Affliction

My friend got me started using Cascade 220 yarn. Being new to the knitting craft, I take advice and recommendations from the seasoned knitters in my life. I really love the feel of this yarn, it has helped me make several sweet little projects. This same friend also told me about a web site and recent sale on Cascade yarn-and I followed her recommendation on this one too, and gorged myself on some new yarn for my stash.

It is probably unwise to buy yarn with no specific project in mind-how will you know if you have enough when you decide on a pattern-and what if you don't?!?

I have decided to focus on baby items and small knits for right now-there are so many new babes entering the scene and it is quick and easy for me as a relatively new knitter. The other benefit is that I can make these little knits with minimal yarn, allowing me to splurge on several different colors, because I only buy a few of each. The problem is that I am running out of good patterns for toddlers and babies, that are in the easy department and that aren't dated looking...anyone have any good sources for knitting patterns? I admit I haven't done my due diligence in searching online-I haven't put down the needles long enough to log any real computer time in a while...

I went all out on a 100% cashmere yarn too, but the color on the computer and the color of the actual yarn aren't the same. The actual yarn is a saturated pumpkin orange, not the softer orange I thought I was buying...oh well, I will find something to make with this little precious...

Completely not in the financial budget, but oh so within the happiness budget! I squealed with delight when the delivery man came up my driveway with this box-I ran out to meet him barefoot. I think he is going to expect me to jump into his arms if I keep running out to meet him like that. Perhaps I should cool it on the yarn ordering for a bit...

Easter Treats

Easter marks the no turning back point on winter for me. We enjoyed a very busy day filled with family, friends, a very competitive egg hunt, and too much food and candy.

In preparation, Ava and I made my mother's sugar cookie recipe and glazed the cookies with thinned out royal icing. I gave Ava some little craft paint brushes and let her paint a few cookies-much to her delight and my needing to clean up afterward!

What a nut.

Yes, our daughter loves sunglasses. The Easter Bunny delivered several pair in her basket and she proceeded to wear all of them...while reading a book. Indoors.

We brought in some quince and forsythia branches last week, in hopes that they would bloom by Sunday-and they did!

Our Easter egg dyeing left all of us with stained finger tips, but it was fun to dye eggs with our child-a vision I have had for years and years. We blew out raw eggs, instead of using hard boiled, I wanted to hang them from branches for the week before Easter.

Ava and I made a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and decorated it with jelly beans, coconut and malted eggs-delish!

Moist and Scrumptious Carrot Cake: The only substitution I make is adding a 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce to the recipe below-extra moist!

1 1/2 Cups Sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

3 cups shredded carrots (about 5 medium-I use the food processor for this)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour bottom and sides of rectangle pan (13" x 9" x 2"), or one 8 " round and one 6" round cake pan.

2. Mix sugar oil and eggs in large bowl until blended, beat one minute, stir in remaining ingredients except carrots and frosting, pour into pan(s)

3. Bake rectangle 40 -45 minutes, rounds 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack

4. Frost with cream cheese frosting

Cream Cheese frosting:

One 8 oz. package cream cheese-softened

1/4 cup stick butter-softened

2 tsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

1. Beat Cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla in medium bowl with electric mixer on low speed until smooth

2. Gradually beat in powdered sugar at low speed, 1 cup at a time, until smooth

Refrigerate left over frosting

Happy Spring- finally!