Something New # 2

Here it is, blog recommendation # 2: design*sponge

If you haven't read design *sponge, you must start now. You must, I tell you. It is so full of fabulous ideas and inspiration.

Like this. Don't you just love all the color in this house? The mix of modern and funky pieces is right up my alley.

This is from their sneak peek category. Whenever I am feeling uninspired to work on my house, this section always makes me energized. In fact, I need to hurry up and finish this blog so I can paint a frame for a picture I am hanging up in the bathroom.

Another favorite category is made with love. I have been wanting to make terrariums with the boys and this tutorial just made it easier. Peruse this section anytime you are looking for a great do it yourself craft project.

Oh, and there are recipes. (this red velvet cupcake looks divine)

And before and after projects.

It is great.

Just great!

One of the best things about design*sponge is there is always new content. There are lots of contributing editors (LOTS) so, there is always something new to see. Be forewarned. You can get lost there. Take it slow.

Hope you stop by design*sponge and get inspired to try a new recipe, paint a shelf, or make a terrarium. I'd love to hear about your favorite things over there.

Something New

So, I've decided to add something new to my blog here. I am going to share some other blogs with you. These are the ones I read often, the ones that inspire me and excite me and make me so happy that I discovered this place called blogland. It's a bit of a departure from my photos and writing, but there are people out there with photos and writing that far surpasses mine, so you should know about them.

Hope you like them as much as I do.

Blog # 1:

Nie Nie Dialogues

I was sick this week. I had the flu. I've been sicker, but for 3 days, I was feeling pretty poorly. Wednesday was the hardest day. I ached. I was cold, even though it was blazing outside. My head hurt so much that even my hair hurt. It was the pits.

The worst thing about being sick though is that life sort of stops. When I hobbled into the kitchen to get a drink, I noticed the floor was covered in crumbs. And walking on them made me crazy, but I just couldn't get the broom and sweep them up. The kids needed tending too, but they just watched movies while I laid on the couch and tried to sleep. Even 1 day of this leaves me feeling frustrated and irritable. My house feels like it is in shambles, and much worse, I feel like a terrible mother.

All this made me think about Stephanie Nielson, author of the Nie Nie Dialogues. Stephanie is a mother of 4 kids and wife to Mr. Nielson. It is obvious that she loves being a wife and mother. Her children are adorable and you can't help feeling like Stephanie and her clan would be wonderful friends to have.

But the thing that makes this blog stand out is Stephanie's amazing story. Just a year ago, Stephanie and her husband were in a plane crash. The other man on the plane with them, a friend, did not survive. Stephanie's husband pulled her from the burning plane. Both of them sustained severe burns and were in a coma. Mr. Nielson was out of the hospital long before Stephanie. It was 4 months before she even saw her children.

When I first began to read her blog, she often wrote of her struggle to walk, move without pain, of eating cupcakes to put on weight and the tears that she might have shed that day. You could tell that she was struggling. But I had no idea how much of a struggle she was dealing with. I had no idea how much of a fighter she is.

Then I saw this.

On the one year anniversary of her accident, she posted a picture of herself on her blog. The first one since the accident. I cried. I don't know if I would have the courage to fight that hard. To come back from that. To push through the pain of those injuries.

All I can say is that Stephanie is truly an inspiring woman. She is a fighter. She is an encouragement to me; a real reminder of living for what matters, and focusing on those things, instead of crumbs on the floor.

So, check out her blog. The most amazing thing about it? It is not a tale of woe, or sorrow. It is a tale of joy and laughter and loving life. I know you'll like it.

Treasure Hunting

I went treasure hunting last week. Just me, 2 little boys, a stroller with a baby girl in it, and a bag full of crackers. It reminded me of when I went to India. Greta of the blond hair, the blue eyes, the pale skin. Everyone else of the brown hair, browner eyes and not so pale skin.

Let's just say I stood out.

The line to get into the house was 60 people deep. 60 people!!! I had to ask myself, "am I insane?" When I finally made it to the front door, the lady running the sale informed me, "we don't have room for a stroller. If you want to leave it outside, you can come in."

I really wanted to come back with some cutting remark, but I thought I'd be a good example to my children instead. So I hefted Lils onto my hip, told the boys to look with their eyes and not their hands, and in we went. Oh yeah, and how was I supposed to hold any treasures that might be found with my arms full of baby girl?

I made do.

It helped to find small things. Like those sweet little girls up there. They are actually salt and pepper shakers, but I have them out in the living room. Cause they are just that cute.

And these buttons? They came in that great jar, and I think they were a pretty good find. Lots of people saw them in my hands and said something like, "oh! You found the buttons."

Apparently buttons are a hot commodity.

Of course, my favorites were the books. They were languishing away in the garage. Which, I might add, was so stuffed with stuff, and people, I really couldn't dive in too deep. These books were laying right out on top of a table, bypassed by many who just didn't know what they were missing.

I hit the jackpot.

This one is my favorite.

Take a look.

It has everything in it you can imagine about the natural world. In these days of any fruit available at any time, it is nice to know where they all come from. Look at that diagram.

And given my love for birds, I fell hard for the bird pages.

James loved the pages about space. I love these vintage graphics.

This one discusses gravity and other such weighty matters.

James studied it at length.

This book is certainly a treasure found on our treasure hunt.

For a great while now, I have assumed the Friday morning estate sales were out for me. How could I possibly shop an estate sale with 1, 2 or 3 little kids in tow?

But there comes a time when a Mom must decide to do something, or do nothing. I decided to do something.

And it worked! People looked askance at me. I am sure they were wondering what in the world I was doing there. I am certain that I could have found more if I wasn't watching 3 kids. I could have dug through that garage. It's OK. At this stage, I am just glad I went.

And the kids were angels. The boys each picked a "treasure" of their own when I was done. The thing they wanted most, an old Tonka truck was $20 and out of our price range. It was a hard, but valuable lesson to learn. "Sometimes I can't get the things I want either. We can save our money and try again."

There was one last treasure to be found.

I can't wait to make tiny little bunt cakes and personal pot pies. Oh yum. All these baking goodies for $ 4. Perhaps that's not a steal, but I feel pretty good about it.

Oh, and to see the first thing we did with them, check out Lilly and the Brothers.

I can't wait until next Friday. There are more treasures to be found!

Simple is Beautiful

My friend, Tammy, gave me this book for my birthday. A Year of Mornings. It's a book of photos, really. Photos taken by two women, who each took a photo every morning and posted it on their blog. Their images are quiet and tranquil. They are photos of the simple and beautiful things that make up a year of mornings. Toast, a coffee cup, flowers, a gray sky, a puddle, a little girl's braids. Their blog soon had a worldwide following.

Seems a lot of us find simple things beautiful.

I think that is what I love best about this book. By stopping to take note of the loveliness that is around us all the time, we can celebrate the humble things and find beauty in them.

I made muffins for breakfast last Saturday morning. The boys helped Aaron pick oranges and then we squeezed them for juice. We ate outside. It was lovely.

We also had to get up a million times because someone needed more juice, or another egg, or, or, or. We couldn't get Lilly's food to her fast enough and she kept yelling. It wasn't perfect.

But it was still nice.

A Year of Mornings is like that. When I first read the book, I couldn't help thinking, "I'd love to have quiet mornings like that to take pictures. But at my house it is too hectic. Too rushed. Too loud. It just isn't like this." And it is all those things. But there are also moments of beauty. As long as we look for it, we can always find something lovely to celebrate. The writers of A Year of Mornings focused the camera on one beautiful thing amidst the morning chaos. We can do the same thing, camera or not.

We can say, "My, what nice manners you have with your napkin on your lap!"

Or we can say, "Why don't you put on some pants! We don't eat in our underwear." (Although if you say that you've never eaten at my house. Be sure to wear cute underwear if you come over for dinner.)

It's all about perspective isn't it.

And to make that point just a bit more pointed, here is the mess that I had to clean up after breakfast.

But it is kind of beautiful, isn't it?

Oh, here it the recipe I used for the muffins. It is actually a zucchini bread recipe, but the muffins work just as well. It is from Martha. I made it more healthy for the little people in my life by using half the sugar (half white, half brown) whole wheat flour, heaping cups of zucchini, and replacing half the oil with applesauce. They were good. Not so sweet as quick breads or muffins usually are. Still moist. The kids loved them. That matters the most.

I made them again yesterday to take to a meeting. This time I used 3/4 the sugar, instead of the whole 2 cups. Still used whole wheat flour and half apple sauce. They tasted more deserty. Good either way, I'd say.

Hope you have a beautiful morning tomorrow.

The Norge Sign

If you live in Long Beach, there is a great likely hood that you know the Norge Cleaners sign. You've seen it a hundred times as you walk or drive down 2nd St, on your way to one of the 14 coffee shops or to Taco Surf.

Your interaction with the sign though could have taken a couple different directions. I think a lot of people just walk right by the sign. They see it, but they don't see it. Others, might think, "that is a really weird sign. Why haven't they changed it?" They like improvement. Fake California craftsman and stacked rock or whatever is the current building trend in strip mall development.

But me? Me?

I love this sign.

Those polka dots. Red. Yellow. Turquoise. My favorite colors.

I hope they never take it down.

Photo Booth Love

Photo booth strip, photo booth strip,

O how I love you, little photo booth strip.

As promised, here is photo booth session 2009.

We have to work on a better arrangement. And maybe getting Lilly to look at the camera.

But I still love it.

(In case you didn't know (Mom) you can click on the photo to make it bigger. I had to download these pretty small)

To see the strips from years past, go visit Lilly and the Brothers.

And please, next time you see a photo booth--put in your quarters and take a picture will ya?

A Poem For You Today

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

By William Carlos Williams

One of my favorite lit professors in college often had us memorize poems. One day, while studying Williams, we had to memorize either this poem, or The Red Wagon. I chose this one. Every single person in the class had to stand up and recite the poem aloud. It was really fun, but then, I am not shy. Every one's version was a little different, emphasis placed on different words, or stanzas.

I think of this poem still, every time I eat plums. Plums are one of my most favorite summer fruits. And they are delicious. Especially when they are so sweet and so cold.

Hope you are enjoying the fruits of summer!

The Fair

We went to the Orange County Fair today. I love the fair. When I was a little girl, we went to the Del Mar Fair every summer. I remember those days in vivid detail. The heat, the noise, the livestock barns, riding the Scrambler with my Dad, or my favorite, the swings. I remember getting fudge, getting tired, getting wet on the log ride. I remember wanting a spa like those on display in the garden exhibit hall, wanting every kind of fried potato product, wanting to win a ribbon in the art show. One year I even showed my rabbit. Another year I worked with my Dad in his art booth.

The fair is in my blood.

And now, after our 4th summer going to the fair, it's in my kids' blood too. James declared that today was the best day of the summer. And he's already planning next year's visit.

I took a zillion pictures. Next year I think I'll have to go by myself for a day just to take photos. I could have taken a zillion more. Here are a few.

Of course, my favorite part of the fair is housed in a little booth. It costs 5 dollars to get in and it is worth every penny. I'm talking photo booth here. The first time we took the kids to the fair, 4 years ago, William was a few months old. We did our first family photo booth shot. We've done it every year since. We really had to squeeze in this year. 5 will fill up a photo booth.

And these photo booth strips are not only my way to bribe Aaron to go to the fair with us (he's not the big fair fan that I am), they are also some of my most treasured possessions. They're on my fridge and I look at them every day. I'm sure there will come a day when someone will be missing from our family photo booth shoot, off on a summer adventure. Until then I will make sure that we squeeze into that booth every year.

If you want to see a photo booth family shot retrospective, I am posting them tomorrow over at Lilly and the Brothers. They are pretty much a whole lot of fun.

And I can't do a post about photo booths without mentioning one of my blogging inspirations, Girl Hula. That girl really loves her photo booths.

And also, Inchmark Square Space, whose most recent post is eerily similar to this one. In fact, I commented that I felt as if Ms. Inchmark had written my blog for me. Check her out; her craft projects make me giddy.

As to the zillion photos, well, I will be posting more on Flikr. Now I've got to sleep off that funnel cake.

A Taste of Summer

There are a lot of things I love about summer. Eating summer produce is very high on the list. Eating summer tomatoes is even higher on the list. Everyone has their favorite: an heirloom, Brandywine, Green Zebra, Yellow Pear, Roma, Beefsteak and more. But in my mind, you can't beat the cherry tomato. A good cherry tomato is as sweet as candy. They are wonderful with just about everything or with nothing. They are perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Or for a snack right from the garden. I can't get enough of cherry tomatoes. They are one of my tastes of summer.

So what do you do with a whole bowl full of cherry tomatoes, fresh picked from your mother's garden? You make the simplest and best tasting marinara sauce you've ever had. If the sun had a taste, this would be it. It is fresh, and light and my favorite pasta sauce of all time. I love it. You will too.

I make this sauce every summer and it couldn't be easier. It freezes well too. You'll want to make extra. Here's what you do:

Warm some olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot.

Dice a couple cloves of garlic--more if you want it extra garlicky.

Saute the garlic in the olive oil until it softens. Do not burn it.

You can add some red peeper flakes to the garlic for a little spice. I used 1/2 a teaspoon.

Toss in the tomatoes. You do not need to do anything with them other than take the stem off.

Stir the tomatoes a bit and then let them sit in the pan until they start to split.

Once they begin splitting, use a potato masher to crush the tomatoes. Careful, the juice will go flying!

You don't have to pulverize them. Just release the juices.

Once you've mashed most of them, let them cook down at a simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

Taste to see if you want to add salt and pepper. I also add a touch of sugar. I find it cuts the acidity.

Once it is done cooking, you can add fresh basil.

Spoon it over hot pasta and enjoy!

(This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found in Martha Stewart Living magazine about 9 or 10 years ago)

The sauce is a bit thin. I use a wide noodle, or even orrechetti, to catch all the delicious juices. I also like to add sauteed summer squash. Of course, I like to add squash to just about everything. Just ask my kids. I torment them.

But this sauce is so good that even William, my very skeptical eater, enjoyed it. Seeds, skins and all. He said it was good. And so do I.

Birthday Cupcakes

Yep, it's my birthday today.

I would have made myself a cake, but it was 94 degrees this afternoon and all 3 kids were decidedly cantankerous. So I bought some cupcakes instead.

My, they were yummy.

James and William picked out chocolate and vanilla. I chose lemon. It was very hard to make them wait until Daddy came home to eat them with us. But we did. We were out of candles, so we used a match and they sang Happy Birthday. It was nice.

I'm 33 today.

As an homage to one of my favorite bloggers, Girl Hula, I will make a birthday list. That is, 33 things to do before I turn 34.

But I am awfully tired right now, (I am getting older) so I'll just start with 3.

Here goes.

1. Paint my front door orange

2. Make a really good pie

3. Hike to a waterfall

The list will grow......

Enjoy the cupcakes. Happy Birthday to me!