birdsandtrees

Currently loving...

- Nigella's Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins, found in her new cookbook.  I've already made them twice and will definitely be making them again. 

- This AWESOME idea for kids at Thanksgiving time...I'm making it for our Thanksgiving party at school tomorrow.  I can't wait to see how it comes out!

- This beautiful Thanksgiving paper chain (via Twig & Thistle).  We had the kids fill them out at school today.  They should make a lovely decoration in the classroom, or in any place for that matter. 

- Advent Calendars - I want to make one for our house someday.  In a lot of the ones I see online, you can't fit much in the box (other than a peppermint candy or extra small trinket)...so when I saw this Advent Calendar, I was really inspired.  I love the fabric cones! 

- fort & field's Etsy shop.  So much goodness in one place. 

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James and I are headed to St.Louis for Thanksgiving tomorrow, so I'll be back here next week. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone! 

The Courage of Sarah Noble

   

We recently just finished this book at school - The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh, and I had to share it with you.  I had never read it before, but had seen it on many book lists (and on the Newbery Honor Book list as well, so you know it's going to be a quality book).  We've been studying the genre of historical fiction at school, and this book fit perfectly.  Combine that with the fact that it goes nicely with Thanksgiving, we had ourselves a winner!  It would be a great read-aloud to ones as young as 3 or 4.  And it's short, so it's a book that you could finish reading in a week or two - just right for now until Thanksgiving.

    It's the story of Sarah Noble and her father, trying to find a place for thier family to live.  They begin building their home and have adventures with the Indians and wildlife that surround them.  It's such a sweet story, and one I'm glad to have found. 

    Here's a passage that I loved...

    "That night Sarah slept warm under the quilts.  On a peg near by hung her cloak-and she did not need it.  She had kept up her courage and it was something that would always be with her.  Always - even when the cloak was all worn out. 

    Tonight the pictures in her mind were comfortable ones - home- family - the fireside and a door securely fastened.  The light from the fire made pleasant patterns in the darkness.  Sarah lay quietly, and the wind in the trees sang her to sleep." 

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We're now reading The Cabin That Faced West by Jean Fritz - another lovely book to add to your collection!

Penguin does it again...

Penguin Books has come out with another set of beautifully covered books, and this time they're right up my alley because they're children's books! You can find them at Anthropologie, of course.  These just got added to my Christmas list.

Here are some of the individual books:

  
(images found via Twig & Thistle)

A Basement Turned Schoolroom

When we were thinking about buying this house, the basement was a huge selling point for me.  There aren't many houses where you could imagine using one of the rooms as a school.  But this basement had potential, and I could see it.  And it was huge.  But it took some work.  A lot of work.  And it's still not done - but I thought I'd go ahead and share what we've done so far!

Here are some of the before pictures:

The basement is broken down into three different levels, with a bottom level that you can enter from the backyard.  It has the laundry area and a bathroom area.  Then it has a middle level and then a level in towards the back, with a storage room in the back as well. 

We took up the carpet, added some half-walls to the middle level, made walls to go around the bathroom (including a curved wall that you will see in the afters), and also added walls around the heater/AC unit.  We also enclosed the stairs to make them a bit safer for everyone! 

Here's some in progress shots:

You can see the very back level of the room to the left of these new walls. 

After all the "construction" stuff was done, James painted the walls (he wouldn't let me include that picture), our handy neighbor sprayed the ceiling so that all the duct work and everything just blended in together, and my awesome sister-in-law helped us paint the floors.  We had lots of friends, family, and neighbors help us and we couldn't have done it without them! 

Now keep in mind that we're still working on it and it's REALLY hard to get some good pictures down there - let's pretend you came in from the backyard, to the lowest level:

We put in a new door and then added this curved wall, with a bathroom inside. I'm not sure how many people include pictures of bathrooms on their blogs, but I want this forever documented!  This bathroom has come a looong way, my friends. 

The laundry area is on the other side of the bathroom...I'm not done with that part so I am leaving that out.  Too messy and not photo-worthy.

Here's the middle level - the main gathering place for school and my craft area:

See those books on the wall?  They're  in rain gutters!  $5 for that and they work perfectly.  I love having the books face out - kids are always more apt to choose them.  I would put them on every wall if I could.  Here's where I got the idea.  Closer look:

And my craft/desk area:

And then some of the middle-to-back area:

And to the back! 

 
I have a table around the corner there where we do a lot of our studies. I couldn't get a good picture of it though!

   So there you have it.  Our schoolroom/laundry room/craft room.  We've come a long way, baby.