A Girl Party!

O, it was a lot of fun to have a girl party! People say that a child's 1st birthday party is for the parents as if there is something wrong with that. I love birthday parties. The making, the baking, the decorating; it is all delightful to me. More than anything, I love my babies and I love celebrating the day they came into the world. Birthdays are special.

Here are some of the details from Lilly's 1st birthday party.

The invites I made. I used different pieces of paper to make the design I wanted and stamps. I made 1 original and color copied it. The details were printed on the back.

Aren't these adorable? I got these little beauties at Bake It Pretty. They have these cupcake liners in every color and print imaginable.

I also bought my first pastry bag and tip. I don't know why I ever tried frosting a cupcake with anything else. This way is much more fun. Sadly, cream cheese frosting does not hold up well in 85 degree heat. So, my first attempt at fancy decorating really looked like my first attempt.

The treat bags had the bird crayons, of course, and these cute little bird whistles, also from Bake It Pretty.
For every party I have to make a garland. I love garlands. This one was made from pink, orange, red and polka dot papers. I cut the paper into flags and strung them on orange string. 3 went on the back of Lil's high chair. The rest hung from the patio cover.
And even though the cupcakes didn't look the best, they still tasted fabulous. These strawberry cupcakes are my absolute favorite. I will post the recipe here, because I think they will be a part of many more celebrations. Happy Birthday, sweet one.
Strawberry Cupcakes

(from Martha Stewart Living magazine)

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour ( I always forget to buy this and so always use regular flour. Sometime I will remember and note the difference it makes in the cupcakes)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

8 ounces (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 1/4 cups sugar

3 large eggs plus 1 large egg white

1 cup whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups finely chopped strawberries

1. Pre-heat oven to 350. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients in large bowl. Cream butter and sugar in mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

2. Reduce speed to low. Mix milk and vanilla in a bowl. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the wet ingredients and ending with the dry. (I am always making these cupcakes with 3 little helpers and I often forget, or do this step incorrectly. They still taste good) Stir chopped strawberries into bowl. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.

3. Bake cupcakes until testers inserted in center come out clean, about 20 minutes, Let cool on wire racks before frosting. (They taste amazing when they are still warm and they don't even need frosting) Enjoy!

Bird Shaped Crayons

Lilly turns 1 next week. We are having a little party for her. This is my first girl party. I am going for cute! cute! cute! Long before I had Lilly, I was in love with birds for my little girl's room. Finally, along came Lilly, and she got birds. Hot pink, orange and birds. With a little red thrown in there because there must always be red.

But you were wondering about the crayons.

So for this little party, I am making some very cute little party favors. Birds, of course. I did not come up with the idea, but I am happy to give credit to the creative girl who did. I found the idea here (click for simple directions) She used materials from this online shop, Bake It Pretty. It is one of my new favorite places. Check back here to see more of their stuff that I used for Lilly's party. For now, here is how our crayons came about and came out. It was lots of fun!

You need an old can, some unwrapped crayon pieces and a candy mold. I got mine from Bake It Pretty. Isn't it adorable?
Melt the crayons in a double boiler. Don't have one? Neither do I. Improvise.

It takes about 8-10 minutes fro the crayons to melt. When they do, pour the wax carefully into the mold. This part is more of a watching part, but the kids still like it.
Let them sit on the counter for a minute or 2 and then pop them into the freezer. In 10 minutes, pop them out of the mold and voila! You have bird shaped crayons!
A couple of notes: we attempted yellow birds after doing orange and red first. Instead of yellow, we got muddy orange. Still cute, but do the lighter colors first, or use one can per color. We also added glitter to the 3rd batch. (Trying to pretty up the mud) I would use more glitter next time. Use a lot more than you think you need. You really can't go wrong with glitter. The hardest part of this craft was waiting for the crayons to come out of the freezer. I will be making these again. And again. And again. In fact, your child may be getting some for his birthday. Happy crafting!

The New Lamp

"Mommy, it looks like we have a space ship in our house."

"No it looks like the sun. See how it is glowing."

Yes, we got a glowing spaceship lamp for the dining room. We think it's pretty cool.

One room is almost done.

Every Day

Every day there are a myriad of things to get done.

Every day feels too short.

Every day there are little moments that can slip by unnoticed.  

Every day I loose sight of what matters.

Every day new discoveries are made.

Every day there is beauty.

Every day there is joy.

I am glad I am here everyday.

 

To my dear Aaron,

Without you this wouldn't be possible. (for lots of reasons!)

Thank you for being the kind of man who wants me to be here everyday.  

You are the best.

You are one of the things that makes me happiest.

Love,

Greta

Sweet Anticipation

My parents are fortunate enough to have fruit trees.  Lots of them.  They've always had fruit trees. When we were little it was always a race to see who got the fruit first: the birds, the bees, us or Ben.  My brother would wake early when the peaches, plums or apricots were ripe and head out to the trees.  There he would partake in so much ripe fruit loveliness that he would sometimes get a tummy ache.  And, by the time I headed out for a juicy peach to top my cereal, there would be no ripe fruit left.

He made me so mad.

Nowadays it is still a race.  My Mom calls and says the plums are ripe, and I know I have to load the kids in the car and head down there.  Right away.  Because there is nothing quite so delightful as a just picked from the tree plum.  Apricot.  Peach.  Nectarine.  

Just seeing these babies makes my mouth water.    

Hope you get some good fruit pickin in this season.

A Dining Room Table

We got a dining room table a couple of weeks ago. We still don't have chairs, but we hope to take care of that this weekend when we go here. I can't wait.

Even without chairs, I am in love with my dining room. Especially my table. You see, I lived without a dining room, and more importantly, a dining room table for 8 years. What's the big deal about having a table? Well, we couldn't have people over for dinner during the cold months. When it was warm we used the picnic table in the front yard. Any more than 4 people in out living room along with a tiny, drop leaf table in it was too crowded to move. Even with only 4 people it was too cramped to be very comfortable. Before James, Aaron and I just sat on the floor and held out plates in our laps. When James began eating in the high chair, we carried our table out of the kitchen (the only place there was room for it, leaves down of course) for every meal. We put a vinyl table cloth on the floor to protect the carpet from spills, opened up the table, pulled out the folding chairs and voila! a dining room.

It wasn't too bad. We made it work. But by the time we had James in a regular chair, William in the high chair and my 8 month pregnant belly trying to squeeze through the doorway into the living room with the table, I was more than done with the whole makeshift dining room thing. It became almost comical.

When we moved to the Grand house, my favorite thing was having a dining room. It was heaven. A table at the ready at all times. I didn't have to set it up fro crafts or games. We could fit a table and guests in the room comfortable. It was wonderful.

Now I have the added luxury of a dining room table and a kitchen table. O sweet bliss. Since we were using our kitchen table as the dining room table at the old house, it was finally time to get a proper table.

It is quite nice. We found it at the Long Beach flea market and scored a sweet deal. I've always wanted a Heywood Wakefield table. But this one is a style I haven't seen before. I like the angular lines of it. It looks more 50s modern and less art deco. The color is darker than any HW piece I've seen before. It looks nice with our floors. It has 2 leaves. We feel very adult.
Before we moved into the house, Aaron was concerned that everything was not done. I reminded him of the place we lived for so many years. It was tiny and in such disrepair. Even though we tried to keep it nice, many of its real problems we couldn't do anything about. So this, baseboards not finished, door knobs not on, an ugly counter top, this is nothing. I have a dining room. And a real table. I am in heaven.

The Clothesline

I don't like doing the laundry. Of all the chores I do, it is my least favorite. I would rather clean the toilet than do the laundry.

It's just takes so long. First you have to sort it. Then you have to decided, "is it really worth it to wash those 5 white things by themselves, or should I just throw them in with the lightish darks?" Then you wash it, put it in the dryer, fold it all, and you still have to put it away. And by this time there is a whole new pile and you start all over again. It is quite maddening.

But now I have this clothesline. And I could look at it as one more thing added to the laundry list (ha!) but I don't. Because I am in love with my clothes line. I like taking the break to go outside to hang my clothes. I like the way they smell and the act of pinning them with the clothes pin. I confess, I feel quite virtuous as I do it. It is kind of meditative. Calming.

A friend of mine told me I was born in the wrong era. This was after I told her I can't wait to learn how to can and to try making my own pickles. She said I should have been born in the 50s. That is where she is wrong. My grandma was a housewife in the 50s. When her twins were in diapers, as well as her not quite 2 year old, she said she once looked out the window and saw more than 80 diapers on the line. I don't think she would describe the experience as calming. I am quite sure she would have gladly given up hanging clothes on the line and used my washer and dryer. I am the lucky one. I have a choice.

And right now I am choosing crunchy towels. James doesn't like it. He says the towels hurt his skin, and his clothes feel hard. But I like them warm from the sun, with bits of grass and leaves stuck to them. One more thing to love here at the homestead.

Spray Paint Love

I have found a new love.  Spray paint.  In fact, I love it so much I might be looking at a new career as a tagger.  I used to shy away from spray paint.  I was  brush and roller kind of girl.  Let me tell you, I was missing out.  Spray paint is fast, spray paint is easy, spray paint doesn't leave brush marks, spray paint can paint anything, but best of all, spray paint is almost instant gratification.

Take this lamp here for an example.  It was hanging in the kids' room.  I was going to chuck it and put up a newer, less hideous light fixture.  But then I got to thinking.  Could this lamp be salvaged?  Could it be saved?  Could it be cute?  I believed that it could be.  A little paint works wonders.  And I'd much rather reuse than rebuy.  With prodding from my friend, Alicia, I decided to go for it. 

The first order of business was, obviously, to clean it.  It was hanging in the house like this for a looong time.  Those light bulbs used to be white.  Ewwww.  (The whole house was pretty much that dirty.  That is why EVERYTHING got repainted.)  I actually thought the middle glass globe had turned brown over time as glass sometimes does.  Nope.  It was just disgustingly dirty. But, after a few minutes of rubbing and scrubbing, the lamp was far more presentable.  A little cleaning goes a long way.

Now for the fun part.  The helpful sales associate at Loews counseled me to use a gray primer under the yellow.  He said otherwise the brass would bleed through.  So I covered it in gray, just one coat, and then hit it with the first coat of yellow.  It looked great!  It only took a few more coats to finish it.  William, whose favorite color is yellow, loved it.  Even Aaron and James, who are harder to please loved it.

The next day we hung it in the kids' room.  I was so jazzed by the finished product that I bought a few more cans of spray paint and began painting everything in sight.  Well, actually I just painted the mailbox, a terracotta pot, a pair of beat up wooden clogs from Holland, and the picnic table.  I still have another lamp to do.  At $3.95 a can, it is an economical way to go.  And like I said, the results are fabulous!

I am sure there is something in your house you can spray.  Give it a try.  I am certain you will be delighted.  Share with me when you do.  Have fun spraying!

Farmer Girl

These days, growing things is all the rage.  Everyone wants to get in on the green thing by growing some green things.  Every magazine I read has some article about growing your own food.  I've even seen articles, yes that's plural!, on being an urban chicken farmer.  That's sure to please your neighbors.  Although, I admit, I kind of want to have my own chickens.  Can you imagine going out to get fresh eggs for breakfast?  

I've always been an admirer of farming.  Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, was one of my favorites in the Little House series.  Going out to the back yard, or field if you live on a farm, to pick corn, tomatoes or peas for dinner seems like a lovely thing to do.  Another one of my favorite books, Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes, makes me jealous every time I read it. My mouth waters over recipes full of fruits and veggies harvested from her own land.  Francis doesn't just have her own farm, though, she has an olive grove, and presses her own oil.  In Italy.  Where she lives for part of every year.  Oh bliss. 

I meanwhile, have to settle for living in southern California.  Not such a bad place to be, I guess. And while I may not have an orchard, a field, or even a chicken coop, I do have my own little piece of land.  And I have growing things.  And I love it.  

 

We have blackberries.  The boys and I tasted the first ripe one yesterday.  Split it 3 ways.  It was warm and sweet and good.

There is a blood orange tree.  Aren't they beautiful?  

We planted squash: yellow crookneck and green zucchini.  I wonder if the boys will eat squash they grew themselves?

And tomatoes.  How I have longed for tomatoes.  Although I have tried, I have had no success with tomatoes grown in a pot.  2 factors have conspired against me every season.  1, the tomato never makes it into the pot.  Or 2, I am gone for an extended period of time and someone doesn't do the watering.  This year I have 4 in the ground already.  I'm planting 2 cherry tomatoes tomorrow.  I can't wait to make some sauce!

I could always relate to Virginia Wolf's wish for a room of her own.  Except I didn't want a room, I wanted some land.  After years of renting houses without the proper place to grow anything, I now have my own little farm.  Look out, I may be a farmer girl yet.

Poppies Past and Present

Oh how nice it is to be back here again. I missed writing. I missed photography. I missed this part of my life. I have lots of new things to share on this blog, projects, crafts, gardening, our new house, you know, the things that make me smile. But while I was away for almost 2 months, I took a lot of pictures. So interspersed with the new stuff will be some of the photos and musings from April and May. Hope you like it.

Across the street from the house I grew up in was a big, empty field. My brother and I spent countless hours playing in that field. There was no indication that anyone cared about it, and so we considered it ours. It was where my brother Ben and his buddies built their BMX track. It was where we played hide and seek, went exploring, and made secret forts. It was where I went to day dream.

Every season the field was different. In the summer it was dry, hot and burnt golden from the sun. I have since learned to appreciate the beauty of golden fields, but back then, the field in summer held little appeal for me. Fall was much the same, only cooler. It was after the rains of winter that I loved the field again. The grass would grow tall and green. It was like we had our own emerald hills of Ireland right there in Fallbrook. In the distance, the mountains were covered in snow and in between was the blue, blue sky. It was really lovely.

The best though, was spring time. The field was still green, and the grass was still long. But now the field held more loveliness. The poppies were blooming. Sprinkled across the field were golden California poppies. They were orange really, but golden sounds prettier. My most favorite days of all were the windy spring days where the grass and poppies bent and swayed in the wind. Those were the days when I would wander into the field by myself with a basket to fill with flowers and a head full of day dreams.

I spent a lot of time reading as kid. Some of my favorite memories of childhood are of the books I read. I still have many of them and have begun sharing some of them with James. I enjoy reading them now. They are like old friends. I often identified with characters in the books that I read. I wanted to be like these girls. Laura Ingalls, Caddie Woodlawn and Anne of Green Gables. Especially Anne. She loved beautiful things, She was spirited. She was romantic. She wanted to be a writer.

When I was out in that field, the wind whipping my hair around my face and the grass around my ankles, I could imagine I was somewhere else than my boring old reality. I wanted to be somewhere else, and for a few short weeks every April, that field was my somewhere else. It was easy to pretend I was Anne when I was up on that hill. Everything was as fresh and green as I imagined Green Gables and Avonlea to be. My romantic heart was filled by the beauty of those flowers, that sunshine, those moments.

I can't see a California Poppy now without remembering those days. They are some of my favorite flowers. They help me remember the sweetness of my childhood, and the value of simple things like books, a place for imagining and the joy of being outdoors. I am doing my best to share these things with my own kids. So if they want to build a tepee out of sticks and an old sheet I'm all for it. A pile of logs becomes the campfire and sticks become spears to keep the bears and wolves away.

One of my favorite poems is William Wordsworths', I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud. If you replace poppies with daffodils, I think William and I are saying pretty much the same thing.

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hill,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way

They stretched in never ending line,

Along a margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance

The waves beside them danced, but they

Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company.

I gazed--and gazed--but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought.

For oft, when on my couch I lie,

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon the inward eye,

Which is the bliss of solitude.

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

and dances with the daffodils.