Hiatus

I am taking a hiatus from this blog for the next week. I am preparing for a craft fair that is next week-end, and need to concentrate on that. There is also big news as I am changing my entire blog around, Very soon I will be moving websites and concentrating on making this blog a little more "work" oriented (sorry mom) and a little less about showing cute pictures (I think) of my daughter! 

I am very excited to show all of you these developments but for the time being we are off making things!

This Moment-At the fountain

{this moment}- A Friday ritual. A single photo- no words -capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. (Inspired by Amanda Soule of Soule Mama)

Hearty Strawberry/Peach Muffins

I was trying to come up with a somewhat healthy but fun breakfast item to send off with my friends who are going camping this week. I was fully planning on going with them but decided at the last minute that I simply couldn't add one more commitment to my over flowing agenda.

I certainly hope that I will be able to participate in another bout of camping once I am not on a deadline for an art show, but for now a tiny bit of baking to send off to the woods was all I could manage.

Here is the recipe:

Strawberry/Peach Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

10 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 banana (as egg substitute, one of the families cannot eat eggs)

2 containers of peach flavored yogurt (about 1 1/4 cup)

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup or more (I always add a lot more berries than called for in recipes) of fresh strawberries. The ones I used in this recipe were "Fraises des Bois" from my local farmer's market, and they are delicious! Tart yet still sweet, they complimented the banana and peach flavor of these muffins really well.

These are really easy to customize to your liking... with blueberries or raspberries instead of strawberries, vanilla or greek yogurt instead of peach, etc, etc... Hope you enjoy!

PS: I was about to take some pictures this morning before sending the muffins off, but completely forgot! Next time I make these again I will be sure to snap some pictures and add them to this post.

Thrifty Tuesday-Push Toys

I love thrift stores and finding that special little treasure that did not fit into somebody's life, but is absolutely perfect for my house. I decided I wanted to share with everyone some of my wonderful thrift store finds, thus started Thrifty Tuesdays! Feel free to join in and share a link to your own find in the comments section of this post.


Ever since having Victoria I am absolutely fascinated by push toys... I think part of it stems from not having any when I was a kid. I remember having pull toys and liking those, but I only discovered those push toys when I was older... I was hooked! They are so much fun! Whenever I see one at a thrift store or a garage sale I can seldom resist bringing it home. Here is the trio that I found so far, the bicycle wire sculpture being my favorite.

Playground Fun

For the longest time Victoria has been sticking to me like glue at the different playgrounds we have been to. She would walk around with me but not really play on any of the structures unless I put her there myself. I kept being patient and waited to see what would happen. I figured at some point or another she would let me know when she was ready to explore finally.
Sure enough, last week-end we went to a new playground and she finally got her wings. She walked everywhere on her own, barely caring if I was keeping up or not. Of course she also climbed everywhere and went down the slide by herself... not the small slide... no, the biggest one she could find!
It really was the greatest thing to see.

What did you guys do this week-end for fun?

This Moment- Baby Sparrow

{this moment}- A Friday ritual. A single photo- no words -capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. (Inspired by Amanda Soule of Soule Mama)

Going with the flow...

These past few weeks I have had to really learn over and over again what it means to go with the flow. I am getting ready for a craft fair at the end of the month and I am running far behind on making everything that I need to make to have enough stock. However between work and taking care of Victoria I have to set my priorities straight, and obviously taking care of the children and making sure they are happy comes before anything else.
I have been able to sneak in a few hours of crafting here and there at very odd times, and I am slowly but surely building stock. And every day I am reminded to go with the flow and accept to be lead through life by Victoria. Exploring the car and learning how to "drive", instead of walking around the park to get some fresh air comes to mind!

We Went Bowling...

I am lucky enough to be part of a group of amazing moms who organize activities for both mothers and children to experience. One of them coming up, for instance, is a camping trip.
But the one we just went to this week was bowling. It was a great idea that I would not have thought of had someone else not suggested it.
Victoria was at first upset about having to wear her first pair of bowling shoes, but once we slipped them off and she got a chance to bowl without them she warmed up to the game very quickly! I think we might have to go back more often.

I think for a little one like Victoria, the abundance of colors at the Bowling Alley was a lot of fun. She could have spent hours just looking through all of the different bowling balls.

Thrifty Tuesday

I love thrift stores and finding that special little treasure that did not fit into somebody's life but is absolutely perfect for my house. I decided I wanted to share with everyone some of my wonderful thrift store finds, thus started Thrifty Tuesdays! Feel free to join in and share a link to your own find in the comments section of this post.

This week's find is a set of metal trays that I am going to use as kitchen decor once I figure out how to remove the permanent marker off of it.

I absolutely love this gorgeous art deco parrot! Can't wait to have them on my wall.

Catching up

I missed This Moment this week because of work and emergencies...
On Friday night I had to take Edgar, our cat, to the emergency vet... we feared a kidney failure as I realized he had ingested some daffodil plants that I am growing inside, and had not eaten for two days. He looked miserable and I was really worried about him. Turns out he is perfectly fine. The plants probably did affect his stomach for a few days, but the rest of his body fought the toxins well and he is back to being a healthy, happy cat.

This week-end has been filled with work and fun. We have been enjoying the lovely weather and getting used to a new job and the different rhythm that goes along with it. The transition is going well though and we are having a great time.

I leave you with pictures of Victoria enjoying the first mulberries of the year!

She can eat a full bowl of those in a minute flat (probably even less)! Thank goodness we have several mulberry trees around!

Tractor Fun

We went to a great little fair last week and Victoria loved all the attractions. She had a lot of firsts that day!
She explored a huge tractor, went on a hay ride, bounced on a giant bouncing bubble, and rode her first pony ride with me tagging along with her. It was quite the day!
Here are the few pictures I managed to take in the middle of all the fun.

Victoria could have spent hours exploring this tractor and trying to get it to move. She absolutely adored that huge steering wheel.

She was excited to meet the horse... not as excited once the ride started moving though, but she enjoyed petting this little guy's mane. Please notice me sporting the latest fashion in babywear: The Ergo skirt!

Thrifty Tuesday

I love thrift stores and finding that special little treasure that did not fit in someone's life but is absolutely perfect for my house. I decided I wanted to share with everyone some of my wonderful thrift store finds, thus started Thrifty Tuesdays!

Feel free to join in and share a link to your own find in the comments section of this post.

Today's treasure is an adorable vintage romper that I found for Victoria. The details are a bit difficult to see, but it has waist ties to make to cute bows at the waist, a Peter Pan collar, and ric-rac trimmed pockets.

Victoria was not really into this whole "photoshoot" idea... so the pictures are a bit blurry, but bear with me, you can still see how cute this is:

She was in running mode the entire time I tried to take pictures!

Come on Mom! We are done!

One last try at capturing the details... Those gingham pockets are just so cute!

Another new friend...? Really?!

I have always been known amongst my friends as the pet lover... the one who has had a "zoo" most of her life. Not only have I had my dog Lucy, for the last 10 years, but I have had cats, flying squirrels, rats, hedgehogs and all sorts of other animals including snakes in that time as well.
When I got pregnant with Victoria I told myself that I should probably keep to having Lucy since Victoria would be a lot of work in itself. However it seems that she and I share the same love of animals, and that people can see that... And so we are building our zoo again.

Last week a young man was walking down the street with a huge puppy, we stopped to pet him and compliment him, and next thing I knew he was asking me if I wanted to keep the dog as he was trying to find a new home for him. (It is a HUGE dog). This was pretty much the way in which I was given Lucy 10 years ago when she became a part of my life, so I decided to give this puppy a week-end try-out knowing it wouldn't be hard to find this gorgeous guy a home if things did not work out... well the week-end was not even ended before I had fallen in love with this little (giant) guy.
He is very similar to how Lucy was when I first got her, at only 5 months he is mostly potty trained, placid when it's inside time and goofy when it's time to go for a walk and play. He lets Victoria pull on his ears and sit on him, they both roll on the floor while she laughs hysterically, and really... I can't give him up. He is also great with the cat and absolutely loves trying to box with him which is hilarious to watch.

So now not only do we have a new cat, Edgar... but we also have this new puppy whose name I believe will be Wyatt (since it's the only one he has responded to so far). And of course Lucy, my sweet old lady.

Here is our new pup:

We are very lucky to have been gifted such a sweet and precious pup. Look at those eyes! 

This Moment-Discovering Ketchup!

{this moment}- A Friday ritual. A single photo- no words -capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. (Inspired by Amanda Soule of Soule Mama)

Thrifty Tuesday (First One!)

I am a huge fan of thrift stores and finding amazing little treasures there. It often makes me sad to think of what people are getting rid of, but I am more than happy to bring home those things that just didn't fit into someone's life but that fit perfectly in mine.
I don't go to the thrift store every week, but I go often enough that I decided I wanted to share with everyone some of my finds, and in that spirit will be having Thrifty Tuesday posts every Tuesday. Feel free to join and link if you want to share your wonderful treasures that you have found at the Thrift store! (I think yard sales would fit in this category as well!)
This week's treasure is a small one, but one that I was glad to add to Victoria's playroom as I am trying to get more of a Waldorf approach to it, and rainbows are a big part of Waldorf. It is a chunky painted wooden rainbow puzzle that looks completely handmade to me... how delightful!

So cute!

And it fits perfectly with the room.

Sweetheart Dress-My version!

I saw a post from luvinthemommyhood quite a while ago showing how she made an absolutely adorable dress with a heart cut out in the back. I was inspired to make my own and here it is, finally!
I made the dress a bit differently with pleats in the front and back instead of being ruffled, and with a big ruffle at the bottom that is asymmetrical on one side.
Of course my model was not exactly cooperating, so here are a few pictures to give you an idea!

The shoes are the only ones she will wear! Straight from the runway of course.

A good view of the back and the back pleats

She got happy because a dog was walking by.

A better view of the back and the bottom asymmetrical ruffle

Trying for the pretty in the garden shot, but she was not having it so this is the only one we could take before she left. Models!

I'm already working on version 2.0 and I'm really excited about the dress. That heart back is just the cutest thing to me and Victoria likes the dress, she even wore it while bouncing and it wasn't in her way and stood up great to rough play!

This Moment-Cuddled Close Before Sleep

{this moment} - A Friday ritual started by Soulemama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

Water "Bubble" Fun!

I saw a post a while ago about a mom who had made what basically amounted to a water mattress for her kids to play with outside. I cannot for the life of me remember where I saw it at this moment, but if I find the link I will post it asap. (In turn, if you know who I am talking about, please share).

We have had a heat wave here with temperatures in the 80s so I decided it would be a good time to try this out!
And so... we set out with these tools... believe me the "who are we burying in the backyard" jokes were pretty relentless.

After folding the huge plastic sheet in half, I did a fancy "double fold" and duct taped each of the sides one after the other, leaving a small opening for the water hose of course. Taping that corner was a bit more difficult, but we just added a lot more duct tape to that corner and managed to keep it from leaking.

It was a success! Victoria loves stepping on the water bubble, and playing on it. And it's lasted the past 4 days! I thought for sure it would pop within the first hour of play, but this has been out in the backyard for a while, even the dogs stepped on it, and it is still standing. 

Testing the bounce!

I was making waves by lifting a corner up and Victoria loved it

Serious business this water bubble...

Victoria signing "More", she was asking for more waves.

Happy little hands.

Can't resist those little hands and feet.