A is for Akari...

"Winter"

2012-01-23T17:27:00.001-08:00

We are visiting my family in Maui for two weeks.
It's............heavenly.
Supposedly, it's winter here in the islands. That is, if you consider blue skies and 75 degrees "winter".

{this moment}

2012-01-13T07:12:00.000-08:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama

{this moment}

2012-01-06T08:18:00.000-08:00

New Year Tradition

2012-01-03T10:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you!

We started a new family tradition this year...

Wine making!

Apple wine, to be exact.

I gave Joe a wine-making kit for Christmas and he found a local farmer who was willing to part with 20 lbs. of his cold-stash of Mitsu & Fuji apples. We're 3 days into the initial fermenting stage and I must say...it smells much better than I thought it would.

I'll let you know how our apple country wine turns out.

Maybe we'll have a corking party on the summer solstice!

{this moment}

2011-12-30T17:39:00.000-08:00

Holly Jolly Christmas

2011-12-27T07:23:00.000-08:00

Patsy Cline, you said it, sister!

"If I could see the world through the eyes of a child, what a wonderful world this would be..."

Every year, since my babies were born, Christmas has gotten better and better.

Somehow, I don't think this is a coincidence.

Happy Holidays 2011

2011-12-23T13:54:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the festivities, my friends!

It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Christmas...

2011-12-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

An awful cold has been making it's way through our family for the last 10 days. At last, today, I am feeling a bit better. Better enough to bake cookies and do some Christmas crafts with the girls. The festive mood of the holidays is creeping in and I'm finally getting excited about this weekend. Did I mention my sister is coming to visit? That's the best gift of all!

Thank You Cartwheel Clothing!

2011-12-19T05:17:00.000-08:00

(A long overdue) Thank you! to Ivey and Cartwheel Clothing

for the awesome give-away they sponsored a couple months ago.

We won the girl's package and Indigo loves her matching headband and belt ensemble.

Jennifer, the owner, was sweet enough to also throw in a couple other cute headbands

and it's a good thing because Hazel is all over those.

She hasn't quite got the hang of it, but it's early yet.

The other awesome thing we won from Cartwheel Clothing is

this adorable reusable sandwich bag.

And look who's been putting it to good use...

{this moment} the late edition

2011-12-19T05:09:00.000-08:00

{this moment}

2011-12-09T16:22:00.000-08:00

Secret Hollow Book : A Cool Handmade Gift For Guys

2011-12-07T07:06:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I have a difficult time coming up with handmade gift ideas for guys. Girls are easy...Felt Flower hair clips, Dinner napkins, Pot holders, Fancy aprons, Lumiaries...there's a lot of options. Guy gifts though; they leave me stumped.

However, I do have one pretty cool trick up my sleeve when it comes to making a gift for a guy...

The Secret Hollow Book!

Neat huh? I'll bet it would make any guy or girl happy. I made this one as a Christmas gift for my 11 year old nephew. I hope he likes it. Just to make sure, I threw in a $10 itunes gift card.

I think this gift would be enjoyed by pretty much anyone, girl or guy, young or old. I gave one to my 30 year old brother and he loved it! (Although that might have been partially due to the choice of book that I gutted...all I'm saying is that lightening hasn't struck me down yet!)

Guinness Gingerbread

2011-12-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

This is my new favorite holiday treat. I've made it twice in the past week and you should make it today. For lack of a better word, it's delicious.

I followed Nigella's recipe and the only departure I made was to substitute 2/3 c. corn syrup + 1/3 c. molasses for the 1 c. of Lyle's Golden Syrup, which is what the recipe calls for.

Also, this recipe makes the perfect amount to fill 5 of those mini foil loaf pans so you can share the scrumptiousness with your neighbors, like I did. (Cooking time is the same, 45 min.)

The best part is you'll have half a Guinness left over to drink! Cheers!

{this moment}

2011-12-02T05:37:00.000-08:00

Under The Wire

2011-12-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

I made it! (I made it.)

Happy December 1st...Let's kick off this Advent season right!

{this moment}

2011-11-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

{this moment}

2011-11-18T10:01:00.000-08:00

Fleur De Sel Caramels

2011-11-16T05:25:00.000-08:00

Uncle Ivan sent me this fancy salt from France.

I love the container, don't you? I thought I'd try my hand at making caramels.

They turned out wonderful! Not initially...but eventually.

I have one of those old school candy thermometers, and maybe the newer digital ones leave less room for error. I bring it up because although I followed Ina's recipe, my first try turned out too hard and crunchy, kind of like toffee so I re-melted the whole thing down, added a bit more water and cream and proceeded again.

The second time it worked like magic and when I ate those delicious ~~sweet, creamy pillows of bliss~~ suckers, I felt like an alchemist.

The Explosion in the Alchemist's Laboratory - Justus Gustav van Bentum (1670-1727)

P.S. The Caramels are in the mail, Uncle Ivan

{this moment}

2011-11-11T10:45:00.000-08:00

Stocking Advent Calendar

2011-11-08T05:01:00.000-08:00

This is a repost (Dec. 1 2009) and although this craft was on my holiday "To Do" list last year...it didn't quite make the cut. I'm trying again...and I've got 23 days to get it together!

I'd seen these Stocking Advent Calendars on various craft blogs and decided to try my hand at them this year.

As a kid, I remember having the store bought version; the one with the little perforated doors that housed a hiding chocolate for each day of Dec. and I just recall being SO EXCITED to open a new door every night. The candy! The countdown! The anticipation! It was so much fun.

I thought my nieces and nephews could also appreciate this ritual so I made a set for both families and it turned out to be a very fun project. (I'll make one for our family next year; I thought Indigo might be a little too young yet)

I roughly followed a Martha Stewart tutorial, but customized it to my liking; making the template larger, decorating each stocking different, and sewing a ribbon to hang them instead of metal rimmed tags. (the stockings ended up being about 8" high)

The fun part was decorating them! I designed 24 different stockings, with a special blue one for the winter solstice.

Traditionally, you would put an edible treat in each stocking, but here are some alternative ideas for more tooth friendly treats...

Lip gloss
colored pencils or other art supplies
quarters
fancy soaps
key chain
stickers
rubber stamps
cookie cutters
a compliment
beautiful rock
whistle
home-made coupons (foot rub, oh that's for mommy. Maybe a coupon to stay up late?)
Christmas ornaments

What else can you think of, Moms?

{this moment}

2011-11-04T04:46:00.000-07:00

4

2011-11-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

Indigo turns 4 today!

Oh, this girl.

This fierce and funny girl.

How can it be that only 4 years has passed since she showed up?

How can it be, since she can sing Alabama songs by heart at the top of her lungs,
tell stories with hilarious endings and run faster than ever?

Surely this all adds up to more than 4...

Happy Birthday Indigo!

You are more than we ever imagined.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

Trick or Treat...

Happy Halloween!

What To Do With All That Candy

2011-10-31T06:44:00.000-07:00

Photo by www.sensiblegirlfriend.com

My friend Angeline wrote this awesome article about what to do with all that Halloween candy that your kids will be lugging home today. I had been wondering about how we were going to handle the impending sugar influx and now I've found a genius solution!

{this moment}

2011-10-28T05:55:00.000-07:00