A farmer's market weekend: part two

When I wasn't gardening or reading this weekend I was sewing. My daughter has been wanting some new clothes for her Annie, the Wee Wonderful doll I made her. I thought this fabric, Pink Henna Garden from Sandi Henderson's Farmer's Market line, would be perfect for a summer sundress. I didn't realize the pattern called for a lining so it took longer than I planned. It was so much fun I started some pajamas too. I see a lot of doll clothes for little Annie and Love (formerly Heart Rainbow Sprinkles Love) in the near future.

I also whipped up this camera strap for myself. Ever since I saw some on Etsy I've wanted one so badly. I simply googled a tutorial and finished in less than an hour. I'm sure I could improve my craftsmanship if I make another one but this one will do in the mean time.

A farmer's market weekend: part one

Between the three sweet peas that came off the vine and my starting the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A year of food life, we just could not resist doing some planting today. February may seem like a silly time to be reviving a garden but it was in the 80's this weekend in Arizona and Spring is around the corner.

Everyone helped out cleaning up the existing plants and starting some new ones. We've added more lettuce, tomatoes and herbs plus a variety of peppers and green beans. The garden seems to double in size every year. I can't say that we are loaded with fresh vegetables but we are slowly learning.

A big improvement to what was there just this morning. If you are at all interested in gardening or are curious about where the food we eat comes from join me and others reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: a year of food life over at Simple Mom's. The book club will start discussing chapter one in a few weeks.

Scatter brained

Do you ever have those days where you jump from one project to another? I woke up this morning ready to go back to work (now that it's Wednesday) only to find my three year old has pink eye. Well if I have not written about my pink eye encounter it surely deserves another mention. I work at a school which means I'm much more likely to come in contact with pink eye than your average adult. Several years ago I had the viral (or bacterial?) kind that does not respond to the drops. Well to make a long story sort of short, my husband and the girls had to move out for a week. The irony is it was one of the most relaxing weeks of my life. I thoroughly cleaned the house, because I had the time and I was grossing myself out. After that I lit a candle opened a bottle of wine and put on Roman Holiday (best movie ever). Amazingly the house stayed clean, I had no one to feed and no diapers to change. Ahhh.
Anyway, fast forward to today. Three days off in a row caught me totally off guard. I thought I'd finish the doll I was working on but then got distracted by some magazines. Where I found a new recipe I wanted to try. Then I sat down to make a grocery list and I picked up my book from the coffee table. I felt like that mouse in the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie book. The only thing I really accomplished is cleaning the doorknobs and light switches.

So here is a peek at my little Olive. Maybe, just maybe she'll get finished tonight if I can pull myself off the computer and make it to the sewing machine without getting sidetracked.

A sick day

My oldest has a cold so we have had a few home days this week. This morning the girls decided they wanted breakfast in bed. They had been up for almost an hour, but breakfast in bed seemed like a good idea since that's what you do when you're sick. I didn't have any trays so I used a cloth napkin to cover a cookie sheet. They were delighted.

Dinner was so Delicious I just have to write about that too. This is the second pizza dough recipe I've tried and it is very easy. We topped it was leftover mushrooms, onions and black olives. When we make pizza the girls love to create their own. This is fine by me because I prefer not to have their hands on mine and everyone gets theirs the way they like it.

Although I did start a new Wee Wonderful doll today (pictures coming soon) I'm finding there are so many topics beyond crafting that I feel the need to document. I am so inspired by a list of wonderful people that I have changed not only how I clean my sink or what I make for dinner but how I think about money, where I buy my clothes, learning how to live more environmentally friendly. I would like to expand this blog to incorporate these adventures as well. I've thought about changing my name, maybe, but I think I ready to add some categories in the margin. Why do I feel the need to write this stream of consciousness? Well, it is part of my blogging journey. When I look back on my early posts and think of how many changes to my life I've made since then it's crazy. I hope it only continues to get better from here.

By Golly, they work!

I've been doing more poking around blogs these days than crafting. I can't remember where I came across green cleaning recipes but I thought I'd do a little more investigating. The ingredients were simple (minus the tea tree oil?) and right in my pantry. That is except for the sensational lemons from my neighbors tree. My mission was my husbands shower. This is my least favorite place in the house, city, well the entire state of Arizona. Needless to say I prefer sharing a bathroom with my kids. Okay, back to his shower, which happens to have a glass door. I have tried countless cleaning product on that thing but nothing gets the water stains/soap scum off. Scrubbing bubbles, CLR... the list goes on. There have been days were the chemicals make my arms tingle (and I do wear gloves). I was curious to see what a little lemon juice and some baking soda would do. I just cut a lemon in half and used it like a sponge. After letting it sit a few minutes I added a baking soda paste using the lemon as a sponge again. It created this filmy paste that I let sit for an hour. I rinsed with some hot water and vinegar and found myself staring through a spot free glass door. I was astounded (hense the length of this post). I can't wait to try this magic on the rest of my house.

Happy Valentines Day

I've been up to my weepy eyes in The Pioneer Woman's Love Story these days. Now there is one romantic couple. On the subject of Valentines day, I thought I'd share an after picture from my daughters party on Friday. Pink frosting + my tactile 3 year old = Pinkalicious. This also happens to be one of our favorite stories at the moment. Hope you enjoyed the day.

A snowy weekend

Last weekend our family spend some time in the White Mountains. The snow came on Sunday, just in time for us to get our fill before we headed home. The picture above was taken just as Erin walked out the door. Her instinct was to look up and have a taste. The snow angel below was also a spur of the moment decision. Ava on the other hand showed a little more caution with the snow. But she was up to her nose in it in no time.After three half days on the mountain Ava was heading down the greens with her dad. They even conquered a blue, but I think that was by mistake. Skiing just might be her thing. Too bad we live in Arizona.

The snow was fun but I think all of us just enjoyed a quiet weekend together.

In our garden

The garden this year has been pretty much a bust except for a few herb plants and the broccoli. This little beauty almost looks too good to eat. I hope we can do some more planting for the Spring.

Oh my shoulders have been thanking me for this one.

I snuck in this crafty project last week. It took all of about 7 minutes. It is simply scrap fabric filled with rice. Two minutes in the microwave and it's pure heaven. Oh my shoulders have been thanking me for this one. Excuse the picture. I would have spent more time taking a decent photograph but I posted this one as a reminder that I need spend some time improving my photography skills. Learning how to work my camera's functions just jumped up a notch or two on the to do list.
Now a quick peek at the little changes I'm making in the craft room. I took down the beautiful fall trees (because it's February) and replaced them with this stash of childhood photos I came across while cleaning my house. I can't decide which one I love the best; me sleeping in the beautiful old wooden crib, my kindergarten photo or the black and white snapshot of my mom and brothers taken in our car (long before regulated car seats). I would love to make trees for all seasons but these childhood memories are the perfect way to fill the space with out having to "make" something.

Furniture shift

I'm taking a little vacation from the craft room after all that doll making. Sadly, the two girls have terrible bald spots that I have not fixed yet. But it doesn't bother my girls so I've put it on the back burner.
Since I don't have crafty news to share I thought I'd post a picture of our furniture swap. We had two black leather couches in front of the fireplace. These are now in family room where we watch T.V. It makes the room look very manly so I bought a bright new plant and have been thinking about some pillows in soft colors. This tan sofa has seen better days and will eventually get replaced but for now it is happy in the bright room with all the windows. I don't think I'm the only one that struggles with this piece of furniture. If I'm not mistaken Amanda over at SouleMama had this same couch replace with an antique beauty. Read about her couch story here.