friday with friends

playgroup has been such a highlight for tristan and i, an opportunity for us both to play with others, share food, crafts, and conversation. every friday we meet in the warm home of our friend, and the hours unfold. we have open play. circle time. snack. a craft or activity. and lunch. 

in celebration of autumn eve, we made thumbprint trees today. the crafty crow leads the way again!

the food, oh the food! when you get a bunch of health conscious mamas together 

you can bet the food will be good. 

i contributed this tasty very green avocado tahini dip, a recipe i found on my friend britt's 

have fun do good blog.

the cat even came out of hiding today. i think she's getting used to our raucous playgroup crowd.

tristan took a nice nap when we got home, and i spent a good chunk of time searching for recipes that used poblanos and ground beef, since i had both on hand. i found this recipe video for making poblano beef ricotta lasagna. i had ricotta left over from the skillet lasagna i made the other day, so went right to work on this one. tristan woke up mid way, but was happy to stir the bechamel sauce and munch on some spare lasagna noodles. it was delicious, if i must say so!

tristan wasn't a big fan of the mildly hot poblanos though.

once i separated them out from his serving he remained skeptical, but in better spirits.

wishing you a happy friday and a very joyful weekend welcoming autumn.

thing thursday

it's a two post day. tristan is taking a bath and told me he wanted some privacy. he said, mama, will you go in the bedroom and do your work folding some sheets or something? and so here i am, "folding sheets." he is right next door, babbling to himself, and asking me a question every other sentence.

with regard to themes, on the thursdays i don't actually have something thrifty to share, i think it will simply by "thing thursday," where i talk about things in our world: crafty things, food things, household things, and so on.

so let me begin with the little acorn craft we did this morning:

sweet, no? i found a link to a picture on the crafty crow. no instructions really, but fairly self explanatory. the glue was a little messy, but tristan had fun pressing the acorn caps to the paper.

i'd also like to mention that we are enjoying stromboli lately. i used to make this fairly often when tashi was younger, and somehow fell off of it. but it's back. soooo good. tristan didn't even complain.

and a few pics of tristan sporting yia yia's latest sweater for him. very handsome, yes?

well that was just enough time to fold up a few fine "sheets." the little mister is calling me now.

until next time!

thrift thursday

we had about ten minutes before library story time to do a quick walk through my least favorite goodwill, located across the street from the library. this small haul is not particularly remarkable, but also not bad for ten minutes. the thing that gets me is the unintentional color theme. 

little pyrex baking dishes are always a good find, especially when they are under $1.

cords & a stripey shirt for the tot as autumn approaches, why yes!

i rarely pass up a mushroom. there was only one of these sweet bowl sized cups.

cute comfy skirt. and a brand new kinda cool dave matthews t-shirt. the hubs, not being a huge fan, will be appalled i'm guessing. but i don't mind me a little local dave, and frankly, quite enjoy his work. and this crafty t-shirt? love! it's kind of freaky that it even matches the skirt.

a decent ten minutes of orangey delights. i'd call that visit a win!

where i am wednesday

it's amazing that i can live out here in the beautiful countryside, with woods and creek and decks and hammock, and sometimes not go out into our yard for days. tristan and i are still trying to find our rhythm at home in the new season, and sometimes we spend huge chunks of our time hanging around inside, lining up cars, playmobil characters, and blocks, eating snacks, reading books, and sneaking peeks at the internets way too often.





sometimes i'll say, tristan, let's go outside, and he'll say, no, i don't want to, and i'll say, well, ok, in an effort to spare one more battle. but then there is usually a battle of some sort anyway, because, let's face it, we drive each other nuts when we are inside too much.



so today i said, we're going outside, and i walked out there. he followed. the autumnal light filtering through the leaves was exquisite. we collected fallen leaves, twigs, and acorns. he silently made mudpies for a good half hour. he rolled a brick around. i hula hooped.









we walked down into the woods, collected tree-stuff in a bucket, waded in the creek, observed the changes in the forest, and felt, quite simply, at peace and in bliss.

autumn equinox really speaks to me, the oppressive heat and humidity of summer mostly gone. the beautiful quality of light pooling on surfaces covered in leaf and nut. warmth appreciated, punctuated by breeze and rustle. and a great sense of transition into a time of reflection, rhythm, and survival. sometimes the summers around here are so intense, that the call to nature is strongest in the autumn and the spring.



i'm looking forward to spending more time really appreciating where i am. i hope to share some of that reverence with you!

owl in a day's work

just a little note to say, i really haven't abandoned blogging! i am trying to think of ways to be more consistent about posting. i will probably go back to matching days with themes, so stay tuned. there will surely be a handmade monday and a thrift thursday. . .

in the mean time, autumn is slowly making it's way back into our world. the days have been blissfully comfortable, with perfect light and a sweet breeze. i am settling back into routine. tristan has playgroup three times a week. there is story time at the library. there are crafts to be made and acorns to be collected. and there is sewing to do. 

my machine was broken for quite some time and the expense of fixing it was unfortunately way low on the ladder of immediate concerns. but for my birthday dan sprung to have it repaired and i can now sink into those meditative and sometimes maddening moments of stitching. i plan to sell my wares at the holiday market again this year, and so must begin to rebuild my stock. i am so very behind schedule! i finally had some time alone today to sew up this sweet set:

those owls are pretty silly and remind us of one of our favorite books, little owl lost, by chris haughton.

during one break or another today, i enjoyed this salad. i'm loving salads these days. have i mentioned that i've lost 10-15 pounds? i'm never quite sure because our scale is very wonky. but i know for certain that i can fit back into things that have been too snug for a couple of years. i have a long way to go yet. i would love to lose another 15. that is where the real challenge will come in! portion control seems to work best for me. i love to cook and i love to eat what i cook. but that is not always a good thing. portion control paired with exercise usually have immediate results for me. hula hooping has done wonders. but with the onset of autumn and all that warm winter baking to come, i need to definitely add in some more exercise.

speaking of clothes, or dryer is currently broken. and so another part of my day was spent hanging laundry, another task that is meditative, and perhaps a bit maddening!

wishing you a wonderful week filled with opportunity to hang around in the fresh air!

vineyard bliss

we enjoyed a free concert at jefferson vineyards on sunday afternoon. we brought a picnic snack, sipped pinot gris, basked in sun, shade, ladybugs and relaxation. i am constantly astonished by the beauty and history that surrounds us in this magestic part of virginia.