Spring...

is here.

The boys couldn't be happier.

Neither could their mamma.

Sigh.

Easy Like...

Sunday Morning...

This Pretty Much Sums It Up...

Thanksgiving jig. from savymanda on Vimeo.

Some Tea...

We are all in this odd state of wonky-ness.

You know how a family falls in and out of their rhythm from time to time? We have fallen out a bit over here. Veered away from an easy stride and begun to overshoot in every direction.

The kids are behaving erratically. I am overreacting. Stuff is piling up around the perimeters. The giggles just don't seem to come as easy.

I feel that it is somehow my responsibility to get us back in the flow...although I can never remember how I did it the time before. Is it something I can control or is it just a mix of time and a bit of surrender that corrects everything?
Is it my efforts to control things too much that cause the whole wonky thing to begin in the first place? Either way I end up accepting much of the responsibility. Too much.

My plan this time...more surrender, more tea, less fretting.

I guess, on the upside, this means we will once again find a comfortable balance between all that we try to squeeze into and out of our days....and with that will come the easy smile of realizing we've done it yet again.

Finaly Complete...

(That's one of Chris's hand turned Christmas ornaments in his hand there.)

I have been working on this shop apron for Chris since, well, I can't even remember... He's been very patiently waiting while I managed to complete every other project under the sun and his poor half finished apron sat waiting.

Well, no more!

Here it is in all it's woody-ness.

So, since he's a woodworker, this fabric was the obvious choice. Clever, no? Chris chose it himself.
I didn't use a commercial pattern...as usual I just did some sketches, took some measurements, and made my own. Since I am sure this apron will see it's share of heavy use the straps in the back are heavy duty brown nylon with adjustable latches. I used a total of three layers of canvas to make it super heavy duty...Gotta protect from those flying wood bits. The pocket flap is extra big to keep sawdust from finding it's way into the pockets.

Overall, we are both really happy with it. It was fun to intermingle our crafty worlds and collaborate on something not related to home improvement or parenting.

Happy Birthday Babe...

Yesterday Chris turned 31...no longer is he teetering on the precipice of the 30's. He's officially in and I'm only 6 months behind him. All in all we're pretty comfortable with this whole aging thing, me a bit more than Chris it seems... (well, we'll see once my 31st rolls around)

We had homemade 'decorate your own' pizza's for dinner, presents over breakfast, and this heart shaped brownie cake surprised Daddy when came home for lunch (and again after dinner).

A great day of celebrating our amazing hubby and daddy.

Pumpkins and Not So Scary Crows...

We had a delightful weekend doing all things Halloween-y around here. What a truly Californian Halloween...carving pumpkins barefoot and shirtless.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Our Morning Walk...

Here are some photo's from this morning's walk.


We live in your average 1950's California Ranch style suburban neighborhood, which I adore...but just across a little stream about a block from here you enter this etherial neighborhood that seems like it was carefully relocated from elsewhere. Like a movie set depicting someplace much more rural than this little city we spend most of our days in. I feel like I am walking across a bridge exiting Northern California and entering Vermont or Connecticut (I've never been, but this is what I imagine it's like). Like popping through the Wardrobe to Narnia. It takes my breath away every time and makes me feel so grateful.

The funny thing is that when we bought this house we didn't have a clue this little haven existed. Imagine our surprise when we took our first walk not long after moving in and stumbled on our little passageway. It was like discovering a buried treasure in the backyard.

Needless to say most of our walks take us across the little bridge.

The Bounty...

As promised..photo's of our Pumpkin Patch Bounty.
The 2 huge pumpkins are actually compliments of Nona and Grandpa's Garden.
I have the great fortune of having a father-in-law who is an amazing gardener
and a Mother-in-law who always thinks of her kids and grandkids when planting time rolls around. We also have a sweet collection of mini-pumpkins Nona thoughtfully planted so there would be enough for everyone she loves. They also keep us stocked up on all sizes of tomatoes and zucchini all summer long. We are a lucky bunch!
I appreciate these gifts of fresh, healthy food more and more every year. When I first met my Hubs I had never experienced the joy of a fat, red, juicy tomato fresh from the garden. Let alone chard, broccolli, zucchini, corn, squash and pumpkins. Ever since that first bite I have been a believer. I look forward to that first basket of tomatoes every year and kick off the season the same way each time...The first tomato is sliced into generous sized slices, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper, then devoured.

On the topic of fresh, homegrown food I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I adored the book and highly recommend it. I think it is the perfect read for this time of year as we all prepare to celebrate the harvest bounty with our families.