little glimpses

We've had even more change going on here than I anticipated, hence my absence for so long. We're nearly complete, and I'm hoping to show you more pictures in the next day or two. For now...little glimpses.

happy weekending!

big changes

I'm not one to embrace change. I know this about myself, and I'm ok with it. I look at people (like Soulemama) who rearrange their furniture on a regular basis and wonder how they don't bump into things in the night. I like my things where they are, thank you very much. It's likely to take me 6 months or more to even update the pictures on our "everything wall". Needless to say, we've been in this house for 5 years, and there are dents in the carpet from the furniture that has never been moved.

Alas, about 3 years ago we had a baby boy and now that baby is a preschooler who really should be in a big boy bed by now, so we will be making up for our lack of moving furniture by moving plenty of furniture and swapping kids' rooms around this weekend. Big changes. I think I'm ready.

In honor of Finn's new move to the big boy bed, I'm making him a little something special out of this super cute Japanese-import fabric from Superbuzzy. You'll have to tune back in to see how it goes!

And from Finn:

"Look, Mommy! My guys are holding hands...cause they're friends."

WIP Wednesday

I have quite a bit of knitting to share this week. Between 3-4 hours in the car on Saturday and staying home all day Sunday and Monday, the projects just seemed to fly together.

Elizabeth's birthday sweater came off the needles and looked just lovely on her, if I do say so myself. She was in a silly mood when I had her try it on (and she would only try it on the ONE time since she doesn't want to wear it at all until her birthday) so the pictures reflect the goofy poses she wouldn't stop making.

I also managed to quickly finish my first installment in the One-For-Me ravelry group that Hillary started. I procured this lovely yarn, Araucania Azapa in dusty rose (this photo doesn't remotely do it justice, in either softness or color), at the amazing yarn shop we found in Asheville. The pattern is Robin's Egg Blue Hat, and with the addition of the right button, which I finally found on etsy (from a relatively local etsian, no less!), I'm hoping it will become my new favorite hat! Hopefully I'll be able to post another photo when it's complete and warming my head.

As for that funky yarn, which was purchased months ago from Ozknits on etsy, Elizabeth requested an Elf Cap from Handknit Holidays as her "party elf cap" to wear on her birthday. I don't generally solicit help on their birthday presents, but I've made her so many hats that I thought she might want to pick the pattern for this hat. I love this quick knit of a hat. I think it took less than 3 hours total.

These two adorable waffle hats have been traveling with me for quite a while. I have somehow misplaced my size 8 DPNs so I'm at a bit of a stand-still with them for now. I have to finish them soon though because they're intended to be an end-of-the-month birthday gift. :)

I also just started this baby sweater for my cousin's new little one, due in late March. Knitting with yarn also purchased in Asheville, this organic cotton from Mirasol's Samp'a line is so delicate and beautiful. I'm hoping it makes a lovely baby sweater. This project is bittersweet for me as I'm knitting a sweater out of Natural Knits for Babies and Moms, which I bought when Finn was a baby intending to make something for him out of the book. Of course, I didn't know how to knit at all when I bought the book and learning a new skill with a newborn around isn't exactly an easy feat, so the book sat. I know I'll get plenty of use out of this book though, and I'll pour all the knitting-love into them that I couldn't pour into Finn's baby sweaters.

And waiting in the wings, because there's always something waiting in the wings, right?, this beautifully soft baby alpaca/silk blend from Knit Picks which will hopefully be my first cable and my first mittens all in the same package! We shall see how that goes!

Happy winter crafting!!

Here comes the sun.

We've had a streak of warm weather for the last several days. Very welcome after the streak of cold that lasted more than a month. After yesterday's rains, the kids couldn't wait to get out into the warm sunshine this morning. (Just look at those beautiful blue skies!)

And wear some mama-knits with no overcoat!

We spent much time out in the sun, soaking up as much as we could.

Trying to replenish our vitamin D stores the natural way. :)

And Paulie tried to teach his little brother how to ride the new Skuut bike he received for his birthday.

Crash!

And when we were all tuckered out, we returned inside for a relaxing afternoon.

As for me, I spent some time with this skein of funky wool while watching the kiddos outside and basking in the sun.

Sat - breakfast edition & a day trip

#36. Don't eat breakfast cereals
that change the color of your milk.

~ Michael Pollan, Food Rules

With a day trip to Charlotte planned for today, I knew that I wouldn't be cooking any big meals. I also knew that I needed a quick breakfast if we were going to make it out of the house at a decent hour. Enter Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies, recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, and fresh squeezed orange juice; your kids will feel like they are getting away with something, and you'll feel good that they are getting bananas, oatmeal, ground flaxseeds and other goodness on the go.

Our first stop on our whirlwind tour of Charlotte was the coffee shop where my brother has another photography exhibit this month. He, unfortunately, was unable to meet us there since both of my nephews currently have RSV. We missed him, for sure, and hope everyone feels better soon!

From the coffee shop, we headed downtown to our favorite science center. We ended up parking at one of the first garages we could find since several of the downtown streets were closed for a MLK day parade.

And we got to watch part of the parade. Not on our agenda, but a happy coincidence.

Then we hit the science center where we learned about:

the principles of distributed weight (over a bed of nails!)

different types of pulleys

transferred energy

gears (how strong is Finn, crushing this can!)

hurricane force winds

Whew! We had an action-packed day and now we're ready for a relaxing rest of our weekend. Thanks for joining me on this week through our meals. I've enjoyed documenting our food week and applying the rules from Michael Pollan's new book to the food we eat.

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Friday - dessert edition

#30. Eat all the junk food you want

as long as you cook it yourself.

~ Michael Pollan, Food Rules

This rule is, in my opinion, one of the best for our over-sugared society. We eat very little processed sweets in this house. There is something to be said for homemade desserts, and people don't take the time to make their own desserts too often anymore. If we only ate desserts that we made from scratch, think of how much less sugar and junk in general we'd consume! We were invited to dinner at a friend's house this evening so I don't have a meal to share with you, but I do have 2 desserts that I took for our little soiree.

Espresso Fudge Brownies, recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Winter Sunshine Bars, recipe from Dalai Mama Dishes

They're both so good you won't be able to resist having a little bit of each.

PS. If you think these hearts are as cute as I do, you can purchase your own AND help a great cause. Green Baboon Designs on etsy is offering these Valentine cuties with ALL proceeds going to the Red Cross to help the unfortunate victims of Haiti's earthquake earlier this week. Not only that, but the lovely creator of these Hearts for Haiti is matching the price dollar for dollar so the amount you spend will be doubled and sent to the Red Cross. You can find out more on the Homemade Serenity blog. Tell her that Joy sent you and lets buy up every last one of those beautiful hearts for a good cause. You can also use them, as I plan to, to remind to you think of and pray for Haiti months from now when you see these felted hearts and the media saturation has dissipated. **photo by Homemade Serenity

Thurs - conscious enjoyment

#51. Spend as much time enjoying the food

as it took to prepare it.

~ Michael Pollan, Food Rules

This rule is a hard one to teach kids, to really savor and to enjoy their food rather than wolfing it down and running off to play. One way we endeavor to impart this nugget of wisdom is by lighting candles and sharing our day during dinner time. The kids seem even more interested when they also have a part in making the candles.

Of course, all of the kids enjoy a pizza dinner and this is one of the best around. Flax meal crust (using this basic recipe, but with 1/2 cup flax meal, 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, and 1 cup unbleached white flour) with caramelized onions, olives, fresh tomato sauce extra oregano, mozzarella and parmesan.

To balance out our meal, we had yummy smoothies with our pizza. These smoothies had frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, frozen peaches, a banana, a carrot, 2 heaping scoops of Amazing Grass with cacao, and apple juice.

Wed - a dinner and a WIP

#14. Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture

in their raw state or growing in nature.

~ Michael Pollan, Food Rules

This evening, a meal that took only 30 min of prep time. You just let the soup simmer so the flavors meld and the gluten-free cornbread is a quick mix as well.

Gluten-free Vegan Corn Bread (from Babycakes Cookbook) glazed with honey butter (yes, I recognize the irony in glazing my vegan cornbread with honey butter, but it's SO yummy!)

Southwest Pumpkin and White Bean Soup, recipe on an earlier post, garnished with lime-soaked avocados

On the WIP front, I'm still working on Elizabeth's birthday sweater. It's coming along nicely and should be complete in the next day or two. It's always weird how variegated yarn manages to un-variegate sometimes and leave you with big chunks of color in a weird pattern. I would have preferred the body of the sweater to variegate more like the sleeves, but I know better than to try to control things like that!

Here's the WIP part...I'm working on the turtleneck. Gotta keep her skinny little neck warm. :) Hopefully next week I'll be able to show you my second completed sweater!

Tuesday - a simple meal

#19. If it came from a plant, eat it;
if it was made in a plant, don't.

~ Michael Pollan, Food Rules

There wasn't as much time to spend in the kitchen today, so it was a night for a simple meal. I spent only about 15 minutes of my lunch break mixing the batter for the bread, the rest was easily prepared in the hour before dinner. In pondering these rules over the last few days, I stumbled on a NY Times article asking for readers' food rules. Michael Pollan's favorites of the rules submitted can be found here. Another great list of rules.

Stewed Apples

Cranberry-Orange Bread

with edamame, corn, and Pan-fried Potatoes and Carrots

Stewed Apples

8 small-ish apples (or 4-5 large)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup water

Peel, core and slice apples and place in pan with cinnamon and water. Simmer for 30 min.

Cranberry-Orange Bread

2 cups flour (I used spelt)

2/3 cup turbinado sugar (or agave nectar)

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 small or 1 large orange

1/2 cup very warm water

1 egg

1/3 cup dried cranberries

Melt coconut oil in 350 degree oven, then mix with sugar. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix again. Zest orange then squeeze juice from orange. Add egg and warm water then mix well. Stir in cranberries then bake at 350 for 50 min or until center is set.

Pan-fried Potatoes and Carrots

5 med potatoes

5 med carrots

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dried rosemary (or 1 tbsp fresh)

1/2 cup water

Coarsely chop potatoes and carrots. Pan fry vegetables with rosemary in olive oil for 10 min, stirring frequently. Add water then cover and simmer for 20 additional minutes.