Much Goings Ons.....

  The house has had a busy buzz feeling these last few days.  The weather is getting warmer (maybe 70's this week!!) and spring has sprung. One thing we like to stop and enjoy with the kids is on Sunday night watching the new series, LIFE on Discovery.  The show brings back memories of my childgood.  My sister and I would watch the animals on Discovery or Wild Kingdom. Then we go off into our imaginary worlds and play "animals".  We were snakes, lions, polar bears, pandas, sharks.  Silly, but fun. Of course our shows never looked as beautiful.  The images for LIFE are truly amazing and almost the entire time, I ask "How did they film that?!"

  It was so great to watch the boys enjoy some of the same experiences.  They thought the Venus Fly Trap was cool.  Then one of the boys (or one of us parents) would become the fly trap and the boy(s) would be the fly.  We would have to catch them and hold them.  These fly's usually would escape.  Last night my oldest said something that is always wonderful for a parent to hear.  We asked the boys if a certain scene was to scary or intense (Hyenas Vs. Lions), and my oldest says "No mom, I want to learn something new".  Awesome!!!

3 Little Birds

  The softie project is done!  I went in a very different direction.  I still made birds, but I used a different pattern.  These three lovely birds are from a pattern found on Spool Sewing.  Although I did not make the mobile, these birds are headed off to be with my new nephew and his little brother. My sister is a fan of birds and nature,so I thought these suited her styleI did not put any eyes on them, I just kept them plain.  I was not sure what "mom" would want or not want on them.  So in the interest of safety and keeps it simple, the birds have not been embellished.  On my next go with these, it would be fun to experiment a little with some felt or embroidery. I loved this as a stash busting experiment. It always feels good to get some scarps used up.  Now it is time for these three to fly this house and onto another!

New Life

I am feeling the need to do a little planting.  The snow is finally all gone and thoughts of sprouts and things growing out of the ground.  I think I will start with something inside the house.  Some grass maybe? A crocus?  I am not sure yet.  I love the idea of the moss planter over at Sweet Paul!

 ( image from Sweet Paul)

 Perhaps some herbs might just be the ticket.  How fantastic would it be to just walk to the window and pick what you need. You would also have that added bonus of those fantastic smells.

There is much to ponder this week as the temps and sunshine tell us that it is time to come out of hibernation. 

Fluffy Goodness

  I am such a joiner.  It seems like all the cool kids are making their own marshmallows today.  This is with good reason, they are amazing!! Any packaged marshmallows in the house are usually for kids only. After reading about the joy and YUMMY homemade marshmallows, I figured, why not try it??  So try I did.  Using the recipe found the always delicious blog Smitten Kitchen.  I went into the kitchen and began.

Boiling the sugar was the most scary for me.  I did NOT want to mess that up!

Of course one wants to be very careful when pouring that hot sugar onto the gelatin.  Yikes!

All set to chill in the fridge.  They boys were very good at checking on the pan to see how things were progressing.

THE YUMMY END!!!!

The Work Continues

March 8 is International Women's Day! Today lets pause and congratulate all the women who are making big strides and big impacts on the world around us. It seems like there is LOTS of work to be done, and so much injustice, but for today, let's be inspired and celebrate!  With today we can cheer, shed a tear, find hope, and support the hard work being done around the world.  Check out to see if there is anything going on your neck of the woods!

Thinking Softie

The project for March is to sew a softie.  Believe it or not, this very simple and small project is intimidating to me. I don't know why, I just really don't want to mess this up.  The fantastically creative  LollyChops has inspired me to create my own owl.  Look how cute her little guys is! (above picture is hers!) The project seems straight forward,simple, and I am hoping to send these guys off to my 14mo.old nephew and his soon to be sibling.  We are waiting to see if said sibling is going to be a girl or a boy.  In the meantime, I am taking a deep breath and plunging into the softie world.  THIS is the very reason why I am doing this challenge.  Time to get out of the comfort zone and try new things.  So onward and upward. 

When Am I Going To Learn??

  I need to remember to bring an actual camera to a concert! The cell phone just does not cut it. Anyway, had a rejuvenating and fun mom night out. Had great tapas from San Chez along with a pitcher of sangria to share with friends. Then onto the show to see John Mayer.  Had no idea what to expect, but he did great!! He went off on a couple of amazing jam sessions! The man can seriously play the guitar.  Now, if we could just get him to stop talking to the media and  that "put foot in mouth disease".......  Anyway, here come the bad cell phone pics!