A Gift Guide of Sorts

The Stocking is the Thing, or King, depending on your analogy preference.  I love the constraint of trying to fit as much goodness as possible into one over-sized sock.  A play silk, a plush animal, The Rainbow, a Schylling critter, and a slide whistle.  

The drum will stand alone.  I got one for each of them at Ten Thousand Villages.  A set of very brand new markers may take the prize.  An Elephant & Piggie book by Mo Willems and I hope with that it will be a Happy Christmas.  :)

Thanksgiving Tidings

Last night my brother called to say that he'd be joining us for Thanksgiving and that his girlfriend would be joining us too!  I should have seen this coming, but I didn't.  Before this fateful phone call, we had decidedly decided that we were not hosting this year.  We were not cooking the big bird.  The plan was to secure an invitation by way of inviting ourselves over somewhere and bring some killer sides to make up for it.  Change of plans.  So far I know that I want to make a collard green gratin and I know that we will drink cider of the fermented kind with our meal.  I also know that I still don't want to cook a bird.  But you can get away with anything these days, so we will figure it out.  Hopefully we will just eat some really good food.  Hopefully you will too.

A friend sent me this NYT article which is fun, although brussel sprouts are too delicious to shred.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Small Winter Habits

Today Naomi and I drank hot chocolate and ate peanut butter toast for our morning snack.  I think we are going to make this one of our winter routines.  In my mind I had hot chocolate as an afternoon treat, but it is being bumped up.  Naomi scavenges her way through most mornings.  She starts off with a banana, followed by oatmeal, followed by almonds which wait for her in the removable plastic sink from our play kitchen.  From there it's a hodge podge of requests, mostly loud hollerings for a bowl of cereal.  At the end of all this but still before the nine o'clock hour we will insert hot chocolate and toast.  After which Naomi will remind me as she did this morning that Mercy Watson likes toast with a great deal of butter on it.  Not my favorite reference, but a very true statement.  

Instead maybe we can start putting this poem to memory:

Animal crackers and cocoa to drink, 

That is the finest of suppers I think;

When I'm grown up and can have what I please 

I think I shall always insist upon these.

What do YOU choose when you're offered a treat?

When Mother says, 'What would you like best to eat?'

Is it waffles and syrup, or cinnamon toast?

It's cocoa and animals that I love most! 

by Christopher Morley

Winter and a Wedding

It's a puzzle I tell you: dressing your children in the cold weather months.  I was determined to get it right this year.  I'm not a rookie.   I wanted to count myself among the prepared.  And so I didn't wait to rummage through the local rummage sales piecing together a warm-enough ensemble.  I ordered the snow bibs from Hanna Andersson and the mittens on a string for both girls.  They both had coats and hats from previous years and previous owners.  We were ready.  

It's safe to say that Naomi has some tactile sensitivities.  What I mean by that is getting a jacket, boots, hats and gloves on her, in no particular order, is a real ordeal.  My "I'm leaving without you" walk out the door is very convincing.  But it's a bit of a downer to have to pull that out every day.  Then a couple things happened.  First, I noticed that there was not a single vacancy in the row of hooks by my front door.  And then one day at Naomi's preschool pick-up I witnessed a rock-star mom getting her daughters dressed for outside.  (She is European and I pay particular attention to mothers that hail from colder climates than our own.)  They were dressed in the full-on all-weather snow-suit -and it wasn't snowing.  "I'm done," she said.  "You will see them in this till March."  "Don't they complain?" I countered.  She looked at me with confusion and her eyes said, "Do you think I care?"  And the winter wardrobe dilemma dissolved right then and there.  The winter coat that isn't water-proof is being given away.  The fleece is being hidden.  Today I drove back to the consignment shop I was just at and bought a similarly legitimate "winter suit" complete with hat and mittens.  This set is almost half the price of the snow-bibs I bought new.  

I feel like I've broken some code.  

But for now that all can wait.  Tomorrow we head a few states south to celebrate a dear friend's wedding.  I'm packing some ribbon and an old handkerchief to wrap her flowers in.  It will be a special time with old friends in the Capitol city which we all shared several years ago.  

  

Color Palettes at Daybreak

I read in the last Domino magazine a great tip about decorating -limit your color palette.  Make a short list of colors and then work within those shades.  I'm a fan of anything that helps me eliminate options and so I've really enjoyed implementing this constraint.  

Between me and my home, I will be the one wearing green.  See how authoritative that sounded?  My green-legged table now stands mustard.   

This project coincided perfectly with the time change of this past weekend.  We've been hit hard by daylight savings.  The word brutal only touches on it.   4:30.  5:30.  5:20.  If you are going to wake us up at that hour you have to happy.  New rule.  Seriously, quality of life before 6am in our house is at an all-time low.  I hope you guys are fairing better.  :)       

And Then Comes IKEA

What comes after Halloween?  IKEA.  Fabric by the yard for me.  Paints and paper for Naomi and at long last, Verity got some cabinet locks.  

What are you guys up to this weekend?  I've got my favorite rummage sale on tap tomorrow morning.  Hoping to squeeze in a run and an Ohlin's doughnut beforehand.  

And, in case you haven't seen it yet, here's a laugh to end this Halloween week.  

   

Reunion Weekend, Not My Own

I crashed Eric's college reunion this past weekend.  You can't go to Colonial Williamsburg and expect me to stay at home.  I brought Verity with me, for the company and because I had to.  Eric was right about the fact that it wasn't particularly kid-friendly, and I was right that it kinda was.  We didn't pack a stroller which was awesome for the travel part of the trip and not as awesome on the walking around part.  I almost bought a cheapie walmart stroller, and would have if I had not had twenty pounds of baby strapped to my back.  We had beautiful wind-blown weather, trail mix made of peanuts, raisins and candy corn, and a pick-up soccer game with Eric's friends where I exerted myself too much.  It was great, exhausting fun.  Tonight its back to lentil soup seasoned with tumeric which is keeping it a mainstay around these parts.  It is the perfect cure for the weekend hangover.  I hope you all had a great one. :)

    

Test Kitchen Tonight -The Cocktail

Martha Stewart does many things very well.  Halloween isn't one of them.  Take for example these sparkly, spray-painted skulls with peaceful butterflies resting just so.  There's no way she approved these.  Right?  

But, she's hitting the mark on the cocktails.  We are throwing a party in a couple of weeks and we are searching for the perfect one.  Tonight it's Maple-Bourbon Cider.

the longest shortest week

I sat down several times this week to say hello but Verity isn't quite on board with my blog yet.  I wanted to tell you about New York because I did in fact make it to The City.  For a night.  For a day.  For a break.  For a breather.  I missed my partners in crime -those to talk me into or out of whatever it is in front of me, and those to share a playground with.  But, I walked and thought and walked and thought.  And this I don't always get a chance to do.  Oh, that city still has me wrapped around its finger.    

I came back still thinking and considerably distracted into the arms of the longest, shortest week.  I saw that one coming.  But, Naomi and Verity had me laughing more than once as I watch them get to know one another.  I'll take it.  

This is Friday

Did you all have a good week?  Naomi was her cheerful self for a lot (some) of it, and today Verity threw her best fit yet in her twelve short months of life.  It was a valiant display, and entertaining.  Rolling around on the ground, running up against the refrigerator and the high chair.  Turning her back on all of us.  Piggy finally got her in the end.  She couldn't resist piggy.  And then she ate the whole bowl oatmeal that had sent her into this pit of despair.

In other news, I opened up a shop on Etsy.  There is one item listed -the birthday hats I made for Verity's birthday.  I actually enjoyed making them, being first inspired by the miniature hats on Bleubird and then recalling a long lost irresistible boutique party hat for sale in Newburyport that I somehow resisted.  Let me know if you like them and I'll make you a set for free. :)  

This is the book I hope to be listening to while on my merry way to New York City.  I miss the Fung Wa.  You could decide to go, show up to go, and GO -all within a span of a couple of hours.  Now you have to reserve a seat, and hope there is one.  Which there is not.  We shall see.  Regardless, it has been an inspiring endeavor.  

Sincerely Yours, 

Anne Shirley

Magpie Kids

I love this store-front.  Not too inviting and not at all gutted.  But once you open the door, there is no turning back.  It is filled with sunshine and only good things.  (Especially if you are there on Wednesday mornings with Jeff Jam singing his stuff.)  Magpie Kids.  I have my eye on a recycled cashmere winter hat for Naomi and a wooden play camera for little V.  It sits a little lonely, outside of Davis Square.  Not for long I'm sure.  

The Best-Laid Plans

I'm ready for Sunday.  Sweet little Verity will be one year old.  I've got my overly-ambitious DIY project all nicely laid out, and plans for very decadent chocolate cake to be made.  And to top that, I have this waldorf birthday ring.  I love it.  I bet there is a non-traditional poem to be sung while lighting the candle, but we will start by just admiring it and remembering to bring it out each birthday to come.  This little blue house looks a bit like ours.  Thank you to Auntie Favorite for showing me this link.      

Pack meaning Little

 

 

Miller State Park -a very forgettable name.  But what a lovely, friendly, hideaway national park.  Upon exit the park ranger gave us a heartfelt, Miss America wave.  I did a double take as I've grown accustom to the scarcity of such friendliness in the city.  It's okay, we make up for it in other ways.  

Oh, there is nothing like mountain air.  We drove to the top and I've just gotta be okay with that.  Next time we will borrow a second Ergo.  Pack Monadnock.  Pack meaning Little. 

The obliging town of Peterborough, New Hampshire provided us with these keepsakes.

   

Waiting for Raspberries

I think my favorite picture is the last one.  One, because I finally own a box of zip locks.  Two, we didn't eat all the raspberries on the way home even though we hit traffic.  And three, we now have raspberries to enjoy during the holiday season.  I know, how sweet, but honestly this has been on my life's list for several years now; ever since I found a letter from my mom telling me about the raspberries she once picked, ate and froze.  I remember the sauce she made with it at Christmastime.  

A friend tipped us off to Old Frog Pond Farm and I'm so glad she did!

Friday Love

Somehow I find you on Friday again.  September is just plain showing off now.  We've had such beautiful weather.  Enough to spare.  The sky is that crisp, vibrant blue and the breezes, oh the wonderful breezes that blow.  All the while I'm doing my winter inventory list.  What do I have and what do I need.  Last year I wasn't prepared, running out to T.J.Maxx after bedtime to find clearance rack gloves and hats for cold, numb fingers that like to eat snow.  But enough about cold.  It is Friday, thank goodness.  Lentil soup is on the stove and there is half of an apple pie to be eaten afterward.  (I have a bit of a love affair going on with Whole Foods Pies.)

Make ahead feasts?  Yes.  Have a great weekend.  :)

Friday Passing By

It's Friday again.  The days do roll right on by.  Verity is ferocious right now.  Crazy curious and on the move.  Her favorite toys are surge protectors, brooms and brushes, books that tear and bottles that break.  Yesterday I duct taped our low-positioned liquor cabinet shut and she was devastated.  She is so innocently frustrating.  This morning I really wanted to do something just for her.  Take her someplace where she could roam free and wild.  Where she could crawl wherever she pleased and put whatever she wanted in her mouth.  I had in mind a very large field of dry green grass.  Here perhaps.  And then it rained and home we stayed.  No stroller.  No car seat.  No ergo.  Switch out some toys.  Lock the bathroom door and let them be.

Also, thanks for bearing with me as I figure out what this place should be called and what it should look like. 

I Heart Chuckie Harris

This morning our destination was Chuckie Harris Park in east of east Somerville.  My friend put it right when she said it sounded like a B-list movie.  It's wedged between a few abandoned buildings and a spare vacant lot.  In the best kind of way.  The access street was closed for construction (of course) so the traffic cop told me to go ahead and go down the one way street the wrong way to get there.  If I needed any more convincing that Somerville is the new Brooklyn, this park sealed the deal.  It was pretty much awesome.  Innovative and open and simple.  

So next time you are near the Mystic River...

Have a great weekend.  :)

Cheap Leeks

These leeks were my prize today.  Verity and I crossed a few, slow city miles to get them for $2.50 a bundle.  Yesterday at the Whole Foods register I timidly asked the cashier to put back the five leeks that were about to cost me ten dollars.  I have fritters on my mind.  

I also have in my possession more bread buns than I know what to do with.  I made them this morning after we took Naomi to preschool.  We were all very brave and attentive.  Next time we will arrive five minutes late because it was the transition room filled with well-intentioned parents that was the most overwhelming by far.  "What do you do when you miss mommy?"  I heard one mother ask her son.  "Show me your mommy hug."  There is no one right way to do things.  This is good news for us all trying to do our best.

Summer then Fall

Life with a planner continues.  My first forgotten appointment has come and gone.  Otherwise we are off to a good start.  Naomi starts preschool on Tuesday.  It has a play-based structure so I'll be grading her block towers on height and durability as soon as she comes home.  We are also stepping boldly into the food allergy department.  No peanuts, no tree nuts.  No sesame seed products.  This includes hummus.  No hummus wraps.  That was number one on my list for lunch ideas.

The air has been cool here in the mornings recently.  Spring might always be late in New England, but Autumn never misses its cue.  Wool awaits us.

I bought this for six dollars and fifty cents.
Handmade by someone's grandmother or great-aunt Ida.  

We will take good care of you.    

Blueberry Bay

We were a little late getting there this year but we acted as gleaners, filling half a pail between us all before settling down to drink our blueberry lemonade.  I was just happy to have made it there this summer.  Labor Day is on its way.  My planner arrived in the mail today.  I'm told organization doesn't close you in.  On the contrary -it will set you free to do the things you always wanted to do.  I'll give it a whirl.  So far it has just meant doing more laundry.  I hope you all are enjoying these last lovely days of carefree summer.  

We still have September in our back pocket.  

Ice Cream Dinner

"Why not let it be the meal instead of adding its calories to already satisfied stomachs?"  That is exactly what I was going to say.  I read this quote from my More With Less cookbook and off we drove down one of my favorite back roads to Kimball Farm for an ice cream dinner.  Along the way I craned my neck to peer into all the immense gardens and beautiful backyards.  We eyed the beautiful old homes (like this one) and imagined.  It was a celebration of a perfect summer evening.