tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60233369971121858972009-11-14T08:21:14.893-05:00happy inspirations for a good lifeGood + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.comBlogger377125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-59530866923258093742009-10-25T20:23:00.003-04:002009-10-25T20:31:31.038-04:002009-10-25T20:31:31.038-04:00

It all started with Sabrina ripping out a small clump of grass from our newly seeded lawn... the grass came out with the dirt attached and to all our eyes looked exactly like a fairy bed. So of course we had to make a fairy house to shelter the bed, and pluck a leaf of lamb's ear for a blanket, add a few rocks for fairies to sit on, and even make them a swing. They also have a straw floor,

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-10824848759422126422009-10-21T22:14:00.001-04:002009-10-26T07:43:20.593-04:002009-10-26T07:43:20.593-04:00

I love organizing small parties for the girls. A party that is not a birthday party is always so much more relaxed. And Halloween is the perfect excuse to get some friends together. This was Sabrina's first party with kindergarten friends, so she was very excited to have them over to her house. We had gorgeous fall weather and spent most of the time outdoors. The biggest hit was bobbing for

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-199478738366432172009-09-29T09:29:00.000-04:002009-09-29T09:29:00.227-04:002009-09-29T09:29:00.227-04:00

Even though it technically does not qualify as a new recipe for us, I really wanted to make Belgian Steamed Mussels this weekend and share it with the group. I haven't made it in over a year, so I think it counts since I'm reintroducing it into our repertoire of recipes. Also, for the record, I've been very inspired by all the great recipes the group has made and have tried several new dishes

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-13081688724494499852009-09-28T08:13:00.001-04:002009-09-28T08:13:00.382-04:002009-09-28T08:13:00.382-04:00

With apples on the brain how could I resist this adorable craft? So simple (even CC could do the winding part), so cute (even Patrick keeps saying so), and so addictive (I kept sneaking in another now and then but got caught by Sabrina--hey, are making an apple without me?). And it's the perfect excuse to buy a bunch of colorful yard for fun projects, though we may just use it all up on apples

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-33349883525593731562009-09-27T19:54:00.008-04:002009-09-27T20:24:39.773-04:002009-09-27T20:24:39.773-04:00

A few hours spent at Gulf Branch nature center near our home learning about apples and planting apple trees seemed exactly what we needed to get us in an appropriately autumnal state of mind.We tasted many different apples and decided on a few favorites to add to the Fuji, which we usually reach for first: Honeycrisp for me and Jonagold for Sabrina. We learned a lot of little facts about apples

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-80410862245424304692009-09-22T10:42:00.008-04:002009-09-27T21:31:00.082-04:002009-09-27T21:31:00.082-04:00

Shrimp Fried Rice was our first dinner for the Raising Foodies Cooking Group, and it was a winner. The girls love Chinese and Thai fried rice, so I was pretty sure that if I could get the recipe right they would enjoy this dish from Everyday Food. For some reason cooking ethnic foods intimidates me so this was a big step in expanding my repertoire.I was also attracted to the all-in-one aspect

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-13051989038798621582009-09-21T11:06:00.003-04:002009-09-22T12:46:48.988-04:002009-09-22T12:46:48.988-04:00

Back to school means getting back into a routine, which for me has meant, in great part, getting my cooking act together. All summer long we ate well but whimsically. Lots of travel meant lots of eating out. Lots of visiting with family meant lots less cooking for me. Grilling also took me off the hook because Patrick handles that. Once a week we dined at the pool, and weekends were an

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-81766820953026583712009-08-26T07:51:00.011-04:002009-08-26T09:44:32.436-04:002009-08-26T09:44:32.436-04:00

One of the things we wanted to do this summer was make Villa Villekula, that magical, wonderful, whimsical house belonging to the equally wonderful Pippi Longstocking. Finally the right materials came our way in the form of a stack of white boxes. We watched scenes from the movie to get a better idea of the color scheme, bought big bottles of paint and inexpensive brushes and got to work. It

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-90141272002098513252009-08-06T15:41:00.006-04:002009-08-07T07:32:37.551-04:002009-08-07T07:32:37.551-04:00

This is our third summer completing the local library reading program, and if someone had told me two years ago that Sabrina would be completing her list on her own this time around and actually reading, not just words, but entire books, I would not have believed it. Reading, after speaking, seems nothing short of a miracle when I watch my own children learn to do it. Between CC's increasingly

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-72363261874625393072009-08-05T13:58:00.004-04:002009-08-05T14:30:35.523-04:002009-08-05T14:30:35.523-04:00

Few things get Sabrina more excited than the idea of collecting her own fruit. She's always picking and eating the crabapples from our garden, no matter how tart. So we went berry picking at Butler's Orchard in Maryland. And here we had juicy blackberries coming into their sweetness and end-of-the-season blueberries just scattered enough to make the picking a challenge. Sabrina harvested (the

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-63461280908694994172009-08-04T06:41:00.003-04:002009-08-04T06:59:34.594-04:002009-08-04T06:59:34.594-04:00

Here are the ingredients for a perfect summer morning. Keep Sabrina home from day camp. Make waffles from scratch and serve them with berries and bacon. Drive to Lake Anne, a spot just far away enough to feel special and close enough for me to go alone with the girls. Have lunch at a little lakeside cafe with a child-sized counter and stools. Get ice cream and dip our feet in the fountain.

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-27498932659755607812009-07-28T20:28:00.002-04:002009-07-28T20:32:45.172-04:002009-07-28T20:32:45.172-04:00

One of the items on Sabrina's summer list was to make Pollock-inspired art. So here she is, abandoned in her work. The legs are the real art here, I think. She went straight into the bathtub after this.

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-16663957382248671422009-07-24T21:27:00.005-04:002009-07-24T21:49:38.479-04:002009-07-24T21:49:38.479-04:00

We've been back from our trip for a while now... 10 days or so actually. I've been taking it easy and trying to stay in the nice quiet relaxed mood I adopted during the two weeks I was at beach with the girls. I did not once get on a computer or drive a car or make a list. And it was nice! I will surely go back and update the blog with pictures and reflections from the wonderful things we

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-31338592147246826642009-06-19T14:32:00.004-04:002009-06-19T14:52:05.009-04:002009-06-19T14:52:05.009-04:00

We leave this evening for Europe and will be gone for nearly a month. As tends to happen, despite my best intentions of packing light and keeping cool I've been packing and repacking, shopping in excess, preparing for all eventualities and generally working myself into a frenzy this week. But with a wedding and visits to Madrid, the beach, Stockholm and the Swedish countryside, I had to be

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-10946614733909364832009-06-15T12:14:00.008-04:002009-06-15T16:53:04.532-04:002009-06-15T16:53:04.532-04:00

I've noticed that the girls take a lot of interest in everything I do lately. Maybe it's because Sabrina is getting older and is more aware of being a girl, or maybe it's because we're together so much. But they both love my clothes, my books, my art materials, what I eat, the music I listen to, even my piles of paper hold mystery and wonders for them. Everything I do is fascinating.So the

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-74106091593153981402009-06-11T09:44:00.002-04:002009-06-13T10:14:02.392-04:002009-06-13T10:14:02.392-04:00

Inspired by this post we worked on our own small clay bowls decorated with colorful beads. When we were done Sabrina pointed out they would be perfect as candleholders. Maybe we'll try that one of these summer nights. For now they look pretty in the sun. I love how more and more of our art projects are now suitable for both girls. In this case I made CC's bowl but she pressed her beads in

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-41564205230388568172009-06-10T12:39:00.001-04:002009-06-11T12:52:47.963-04:002009-06-11T12:52:47.963-04:00

Today Sabrina and I went to our neighborhood elementary school to register for Kindergarten. I'd been slow about getting the paperwork together, and even once I had it I didn't drop it off. It seemed like something we should do together, mindfully and with time. So while Patrick worked at home and CC napped we went.After turning in the papers we explored the school. Sabrina was quiet and

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-54792995228374276402009-06-09T12:16:00.001-04:002009-06-09T12:42:49.162-04:002009-06-09T12:42:49.162-04:00

We love ... to skip Sabrina's camp on a rainy thundering morning like today and instead all three of us snuggle in the big bed, go to CC's music class and then get pastries at the nearby bakery ... a fresh box of sidewalk chalk ... doing yoga in our livingroom with the help of these new DVDs ... a special sculpture at the library that CC calls Beana and CC Reading Book ... this idea for summer

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-88655272720027616232009-06-06T13:33:00.001-04:002009-06-11T13:43:32.432-04:002009-06-11T13:43:32.432-04:00

Sabrina's ballet recital was a success in all the ways that matter. She was in love with her costume, knew the choregraphy to Over the Rainbow by heart, was thrilled to be on stage, enjoyed her time in the green room with the other dancers, tried her best to dance well, was excited to get flowers and lollipops from her Daddy and had a big smile on her face the whole time. The sweetie was

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-19283238909506134192009-06-05T13:35:00.009-04:002009-06-05T16:03:13.392-04:002009-06-05T16:03:13.392-04:00

I love ... these abstract prints and cards by meander ... The color grey ... This print from the Feed Your Soul: the Free Art Project. What an inspiring idea, art for free ... Giving up and settling into the rhythm of rainy days without end. Who needs to go out anyway? ... Rachel Bone's dreamy and mysterious work (found via Design*Sponge) and knowing we're almost neighbors (okay, Baltimore is

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-30518395476195576602009-06-04T07:40:00.003-04:002009-06-04T08:21:50.586-04:002009-06-04T08:21:50.586-04:00

Sabrina and an artistic friend worked on these mixed media collages for a good hour. The inspiration were blue scraps of paper we had left over from birthday garlands. The children used tissue paper, construction paper, watercolors, tempera paints and crayons and glue to make these. It was wonderful to witness!

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-26187437556823296382009-06-03T07:03:00.003-04:002009-06-03T07:11:13.028-04:002009-06-03T07:11:13.028-04:00

At Longbranch Nature center, one of our favorite places. Scooters, cousins, nature treasure, snacks, stones plopping into the creek. A wonderful relaxing time that suddenly, inexplicably, turned whiny. But my brilliant sister, who is very very good at turning children's moods around, decided we really couldn't leave before everyone picked a favorite tree. The very idea of having their own

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-19338833177162571202009-05-29T07:47:00.002-04:002009-05-29T07:58:01.410-04:002009-05-29T07:58:01.410-04:00

Sabrina had this idea that we could make and mix our own watercolors instead of using the ones in little dry cakes. It was somewhat of an experiment but worked out nicely. We just mixed a drop or two of tempera paint with a little warm water. Sabrina got quite ambitious making a lime green, her own pink, a nice lilac, a bright green, and different shades of blue. With large sheets of paper

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-79784947624423151182009-05-27T13:43:00.001-04:002009-05-28T06:38:34.981-04:002009-05-28T06:38:34.981-04:00

CC and I are signed up for yoga at YogaChai and it's been such a joy to spend this special time together. We both love the space, the teacher (a good friend and very inspiring Mommy), the other children and families, the books and songs we discover.More and more I find myself hungry for little moments of inspiration throughout the day when time stands still and I can clearly see and understand

Good + Happy Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06117531915501460550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023336997112185897.post-21387683424800196642009-05-14T21:45:00.007-04:002009-05-14T22:13:37.243-04:002009-05-14T22:13:37.243-04:00

Our dining room was transformed today into a print studio. Inspired by this post Sabrina and I worked on prints all afternoon. Oh, it was fun. My young artist is bold and inspired as ever.It's been too long since I planned afternoon "while CC naps" activities. Sabrina is often at friends' homes for playdates or has friends over to our home. And when she's home without a friend over she seems

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