Wednesday, May 27, 2009

a new sandbox

our former sandbox was nasty. we had built it out of cheap lumber and also put a wood base on it(no drainage). so this weekend our kids were treated to a new sandbox! yay! we also relocated it to a shadier area of the yard. it is bigger than the last one, we will need more sand. and a cover - there are a couple neighborhood cats around, we don't want to find any 'surprises' in there!
my strong, willing hubby working to finish previously mentioned 'fun project'.

an already bathed and pajamaed willing helper.

finished.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

a busy weekend

we did so much this weekend, let's re-cap:

friday night was mommy night at gems, a carnival and plenty of embarrassing games for us mom's to participate in-potato sack races, high-heeled running races...

saturday-graham worked/interviewed/went to his brother's place to watch a 'fight'?, so me and the kids packed up early in the morning to go garage saleing and to old navy's $1 flip flop sale(did you go? NUTTY!)

some old suitcases, perfect for storing toys and dress-up clothing, and candlesticks for $.50? yes please.

lovely vintage trims

we waited in line outside the store, fought our way in, rummaged for our sizes, waited in a line to pay that wrapped around to the back of the store and came out with this! we're set for summer.
sunday began with starbucks and continued with lot's of yard work - it is really coming along, I'll have to start taking some after photo's, since I avoided the before shots! - and a fun project for the kids. a bbq and going our for ice cream was a fun way to end a busy weekend! what did you do?

Friday, May 15, 2009

delicious amy butler bedding

Have you seen this new organic bedding line from Amy Butler? It's not available for purchase yet, just for drooling. The print in the top photo is my favorite!










Wednesday, May 13, 2009

key lime cupcakes

These are delicious! Limey and dense and moist. Don't be cheap with the lime zest or juice, they really need that much!

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
1/4 teaspoon neon-green food coloring(I omit this, kinda creepy)
3/4 cup buttermilk
Frosting:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Whisk both flours in medium bowl. Beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then next 3 ingredients (batter may look curdled). Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Spoon scant 1/3 cup batter into each liner.
Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool.
Frosting:
Beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Spread over cupcakes.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

happy mother's day

I was wondering around and thinking about the perfect mother's day post/photo and came across this(you'll need to scroll down a bit) http://jodified.typepad.com/a_mom_and_her_camera/2009/05/we-wake-up-every-morning-to-little-girl-giggles.html and smiled. For me, dandelions are a big part of mothering in the spring and summer. My kids love giving them to me, constantly, like a few times a day. In fact, it was just this week that the first of the season appeared for us, just beside O's school. Yay! Luckily, I mean too bad a bunch hasen't made it onto my windowsill yet :) Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in my life, especially the one who gave birth to me!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

thinking gardening

For some reason I cannot stop thinking about the fabulous garden I will have this year. I am not a gardener, but my inner green thumb seems to be causing me to want to grow things. Vegetables in particular. I have grand ideas of providing my family with vegetables for all of next winter! I can't help it. If you could see my back yard/mini garden right now, you would laugh. Heartily. There are some big changes that need to happen before said garden happens! Right now I am particularly interested in small space gardening and finding some great ideas of how to maximise my mini plot of land. Here are a few articles I have found useful. Any other ideas?