birdsandtrees

Dear Spring,

I'm really glad you're here.
Your friend,
Stephanie

Ribbon Embroidery, Finale

While I was home last week, I realized that I never showed the finished ribbon embroidery project that I first wrote about here.  I made them for my mom and gave them to her for Christmas, so it was nice to see them hanging up in their house!
 Here are some pictures of each frame (I did three different frames with a different flower in each):

and some close-ups:







Yay for projects that I actually finish! 

Love!

I know they say not to judge a book by its cover, but I saw some really cool editions of classic children's books (published by puffin books) at the bookstore.  And, they're only 5 bucks each!  Score! 
Here are some of my favorites:

(I especially love this first one because it's illustrated by Lauren Child, who writes/illustrates the Charlie and Lola books!)

A Homemade Life

One of the books I read this past week was A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg, the author of my favorite food blog, Orangette.  Saying that I read this book seems a little like a lie...I didn't read it, I practically devoured that thing.  I read it cover to cover- I didn't miss a single word.  I savored every story (excuse the pun) and enjoyed every minute of it. 

If you've ever read her blog (and if you haven't, seriously shame on you), you know that she doesn't just post a recipe.  Every recipe comes with a story, a memory, an event in her life.  And she always manages to write them so beautifully.  In a way that I only wish I could write.  

It's like she invited you into her life, but she didn't just give you a quick tour of the house and ask you to politely leave- she made you a drink, fixed some dinner, and asked you to stay for hours.  And you didn't mind because you didn't want to leave.  Because she's that cool.  She tells you her life story(quite vulnerably, I might add) starting from memories of her parents and her childhood, to her various boyfriends and the love story of her and her husband (which is amazing).  And at the end of every story, there's a recipe that goes with it.   

I can't tell you how much I loved this book.  Because I wouldn't do it justice.  I found myself crying on a couple different occasions (no big shocker there), and then laughing in the next chapter.  The recipes she shares are ones that, for the most part, I've never tried or even heard of before.  But now I want to try them all. 

The only bad thing about it is that now I really want to know her personally and hang out with her.  My friend Azurae once saw her in Seattle and didn't quite have the courage to introduce herself. And I would have been the exact same way.  But now after reading her book, if I saw her, I feel like I would have to say something.  The way she opened up about her life and the recipes she shared with the world deserves at least a hug, or a high-five, or something.  So until I meet her and can do one of those things, I'll just give her the good 'ole A+ book review and share it with as many people as I can.   

---------------------------------------------------

P.S. - We made the Sliced Spring Salad with Avocado and Feta last night (one her recipes from the book) and it was SO good- you can find the recipe here.  It's a perfect light dinner for the start of spring!       

The facts:

I will purchase:

I will obsessively read:

 

Martha has pulled out all the stops.  She is not messing around.  She doesn't just come out with another book.  She comes out with an ENCYCLOPEDIA.  That word means business, and I'm taking it very seriously.  It comes out March 31st and I can't wait to get it! 

And not only does she have a new book about crafts, but she has a new craft blog, The Crafts Dept.  Be sure to check it out, and also some of the craft blogs/sites they have listed- several of the crafts dept. peeps have their own blogs as well (like Wren Handmade). 

Happy happy day! 

Home sweet home

After seeing one movie, reading three books, drinking 6 coffee beverages at 3 different coffee places, eating way too many sushi rolls to count, I'm home.  And it feels good, like it always does. 

I've got lots of posts coming, so get ready!

I'm heading to New Orleans today, then to St. Louis for my sister-in-law's baby shower, then back to New Orleans for some much needed time with my family.  So I'll be back in this space at the end of next week! 

Pavlova, Take Three

I think my cooking curse is officially over.  I made the Mixed Berry Pavlova for third time last night, and man is that thing good. 

"This is now."

Last Friday we finished reading Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I can't say enough about this book.  I hope it's one that the kids remember for a long time, and I think it will be.  Like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, it just sticks with you.  Parts of the book come popping up in my mind everyday. 
One part that I wanted to share was the very end of the book (don't worry, it doesn't give anything away!). 
But let me set the scene first: It was raining on Friday (with the back door open so we could hear it), the kids were snuggled under blankets, and we were all ready to listen and finish the story of this sweet family.  
So now to the end of the book...
Pa was playing his fiddle and singing "Auld Lang Syne" to Laura and Mary, which he did almost every night as they were laying in bed. So then...

"What are the days of auld lang syne, Pa?"

"They are the days of a long time ago, Laura," Pa said. "Go to sleep, now."

But Laura lay awake a little while, listening to Pa's fiddle softly playing and to the lonely sound of the wind in the Big Woods. She looked at Pa sitting on the bench by the hearth, the fire-light gleaming on his brown hair and beard and glistening on the honey-brown fiddle. She looked at Ma, gently rocking and knitting.

She thought to herself, "This is now."

She was glad that the cozy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

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"This is now."  That quote (and the lines after it) gave me chills.  Aren't there those moments in your life where you just want to savor every second?  Where you're so thankful and you feel a sense of contentment?  You're not thinking of the future, or things to look forward to, or things in the past,  but you're savoring the "now."  I feel like we had one of those moments just reading the passage- I think I will always remember that moment at school.  And I know there are more of those moments in life to come! 

A Walk in our Neighborhood

 




Yep.  It snowed.  In Alabama.  In March.