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!