new blog love & inspiration

Sarah’s Fab Day is a new find and I’m loving what I’m seeing & reading (found her via la dolce vita).

Sarah has a ton of great stuff on her blog – do go check it out. One of my favorites is when she showed this photo:

(here originally from mary ruffle’s tumblr).

Just looking at this photo calms me. It makes me feel like I’m sitting in that room with the wind blowing through my hair and eating something super yummy.  The ceiling fan gently blowing down on me.  The sun warming my skin.  My breath calms.  My shoulders drop.  I relax.  And Mary Ruffle’s Tumblr? Perfection. Do take the time to check out these two places!

the simple things

I found Christina at Soul Aperature from a post on Liz’s blog at be present, be here. And I instantly knew I wanted to ‘play’ along with her simple things that make me smile series. The first post was back here and I love the idea of a bunch of blogs coming together and doing this.  Maybe if enough people participate we can send a simple shock through the world.  A bit of peace to be thrown out there.  Christina’s writing is pure poetry and magic.  If you don’t want to play along with the simple things, then do at least check out her blog.

Simple things that make me happy:

:long & flowy dresses to cool the summer heat:

:the cool cotton on my pillow against my tired face:

:the gorgeous smile of my girls as they say ‘mama’ to me:

:cold beer and hot summer nights:

:my husband’s reassuring hand:

:books, books, books. i never tire of the magic within:

:glossy new magazines, full of possibility:

:stove top popped popcorn:

:campfires & s’mores:

:records slowly turning:

:chocolate, all kinds but especially good dark chocolate:

new bikes

The Kelly & Kelly household acquired two ‘new’ bikes this weekend.  I say acquired because one was given to us by the husband’s father.  The other was purchased.

First the one given to us:

It looks like a great, solid old bike.  It’s obviously missing the seat but also the chain is missing.  It needs to be painted.  It needs brake work and something needs to be done to make the gears shift easier.  But the husband couldn’t pass it up and is calling it his new project.

The second bike is one we purchased:

It was a difficult one to bring home.  These bikes are expensive (to me, a non-bike person).  We found it used, and for a great price, but it still seemed like a lot of money to me.  I didn’t even want to go look at it but the husband kept talking about it and finding reviews online. He knew what would be good for me (more than I knew myself). One time riding it gave me all the information I needed though.  It is so, so comfortable!  The more upright riding position feels so good that I don’t ever want to go back to being hunched over a bike.  It shifts and I can’t even tell it is happening because it is so smooth.

I used to insist that we only had 4 bikes in the garage.  Now we have 6 (seven including Cora’s)!  And since two are mine it doesn’t look like any are going anywhere soon.  Oh well, we’ll soon have to park both cars outside and make it a bike only garage.

Monday best of last week: link style

we aren’t newlyweds, but I still love this newlywed map idea.

Ali Edward’s has a great post full of great links.

a truly beautiful post on getting older.

the simple things in life

Christina at Soul Aperture is celebrating the joy in the simple things in life this Wednesday. Won’t you play along?

bad mommy moment

Maybe it’s still too fresh in my mind?  Maybe it will always be fresh?

I had a bad mommy moment this weekend.  Terrible mommy.  Our Cora, the three (and a half) year old, got a sparkler burn on her cheek.

I’ve gone over the whole day again and again since.  Nothing makes sense.  So many areas where we went wrong.  Why did we give a three year old a sparkler in the first place?  Why did we keep giving her more and more?  Why weren’t we watching more carefully?

I was only an arm’s length away from her and I still couldn’t stop it.  The whole thing happened so fast.

Why do we give the most nervous child a firework?  Why do we ‘do’ fireworks anyway?

A spark flew up and hit her in the face I think.  One tiny spark.  She, totally understandably, freaked out and took her hand to her face to say “ouch” and hold the spot that hurt.  Only the hand that she took to her face held the rest of the burning sparkler.

Why didn’t we leave after supper like I kept thinking we should?  Why were we so lazy and laid back about it all?

Her right cheek, burned and blistered within seconds.  Within less than a second maybe?  I tried to grab it from her.  She was all over the place, screaming, me screaming, her screaming.  Blisters.  On my baby girl’s cheek.  I tried to put something cold on it.  We got the first aid kit out of the car.  No burn cream.  Down to the urgent care we trekked.

Why did we even do sparklers?  What kid ‘needs’ them?

They were very helpful.  All their check-in/check-out processes were a bit much.  I understand, things they need to do.  But checking her blood pressure?  Checking her pulse?  With machines.  She was scared.  And not happy about it.  But so brave.  So, so brave.  No tears at the hospital.  No screaming.

She got some salve and a bandage.  I got a handshake from the town Doc.  We left and finally, finally decided to go home.  It was way past the time we should have left.  Beyond.  The kids were passed out before we got out of town (and this is a small town, 1000 people?, it doesn’t take long to get out of town).

But my mommy guilt remains.  I can ask myself why a million times.  Over and over again.  There were many places in our day that could have changed the outcome.  But now it is what it is.  So I will hold her and tell her everything is going to be okay.  And I’m sure this is one of many times I will continue to do this throughout her life.

There is one thing for certain – we are done with sparklers for many, many years.

sewing survey – Molly of A Foothill Home Companion

I’m going to leave you with some reading for your long holiday weekend.  Molly from A Foothill Home Companion has a way with words.  Her blog always leaves me nodding my head yes, wishing and hoping that in a few more years my husband and I will stay up all night talking, and she always leaves me inspired craft-wise.

1. At what age did you start sewing?  And for how long have you been sewing?

I probably started sewing around the age of 7 or 8.  My mom sewed – she made a lot of our clothes when we were little.  I remember taking fabric scraps out of the trash and making a little tank top for myself by stapling the seams – with my Hello Kitty stapler.

I had a lot of help from my mom when I learned how to sew.  I don’t remember having free reign of the sewing machine or really knowing how to use the sewing machine until I took a home economics class in high school.

2 : Did it come ‘naturally’ to you or did you have to work hard at it?

I’d say that sewing seemed natural to me, especially since I had seen my mom sewing.  Following sewing patterns never seemed natural to me though.  I find the directions quite confusing in many patterns.  When sewing something, I try to wrap my mind around the whole concept of how the pattern goes together, going through the process from beginning to end in my head, before I start sewing.

I often think that it might be easier to just read the pattern and follow the directions, but I can’t help it – I’m a rebellious seamstress.

3 : Did you have a mentor to help you get started and help you throughout the learning process or did you teach yourself?

Besides my mom, I’ve had several sewing mentors.  My home ec teacher in high school, the wonderful seamstresses in a clothing construction course at a community college, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law (who have kindly provided me hand-me-down sewing machines over the years).  All these women have inspired me to sew, and to learn as I go.  It’s quite helpful to have someone to call and ask for help when I get into a sewing pinch.

4 : What is your favorite book or website about sewing?

I can’t say that I have any particular favorites.  I look anywhere and everywhere for sewing inspiration and advice.  There are so many incredible seamstresses out there publishing books and writing blogs right now, but even old sewing books and patterns can be inspiring.  There are quite a few tutorials I’d like to try from Sew, Mama, Sew.  I also love Purl Bee.

5 : Do you follow patterns or do you prefer to make it up as you go?

A little bit of both.  As I mentioned, I’m horrible at reading patterns and can get very frustrated and discouraged.  When I see a project I like, I like to put my own spin on it and modify it as I go along.  My favorite completed projects, though, are the ones I make up.  It’s very satisfying to make an idea come to life.

6 : What tips do you have for the beginning sewer?

Start simple.  Straight lines are easy to sew.  Think pillows, baby blankets, potholders, aprons, market bags.  Think about the whole project, start to finish, before starting.  Visualize the process and don’t get to hung up on the outcome.  Don’t be surprised if things turn out differently from what you envisioned – different can be good.  Don’t spend a lot of money on fabric at first.  It’s much easier to take risks with $1 a yard fabric than $10 a yard fabric.

And like my father-in-law and husband always say when they start a carpentry project, “Measure twice and cut once.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I love the “measure twice and cut once” advice.  Also, straight lines are for sure easier and I need to start with that!

Thank you so much Molly! Go visit her at A Foothill Home Companion today!

happy weekend

The husband is off today for the fourth of July weekend so I’m keeping things light on here.  We are headed to his father’s house with the tent to camp in their backyard.  Should be fun.

I wrote before that I am in the middle of a bunch of books right now. And I thought I’d list them out for others to see and get ideas too.

I love to read. I get an Amazon order every few months and we go to our library on a very regular basis. I should add that I use ‘read’ loosely in some cases. Some I am looking at for craft inspiration, some I keep on hand to read little parts of, some I am reading cover to cover. But all are part of my rotation at the moment.

Here they are:

Bird by Bird.

Non-Violent Communication.

The Shyness Breakthrough.

Peace Is Every Step.

Our Appointment with Life.

Woman of Grace – A Bible Study for Married Women.

Life as a Daymaker.

The G Free Diet: A Gluten Free Survival Guide.

Made From Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life.

The Sugar City Quarterly (which is sold out unfortunately).

The Simple Living Guide – A Sourcebook for Less Stressful, More Joyful Living.

Summer Crafts.

Linen, Wool, Cotton.

Stitched in Time.

Heaven on Earth: A Handbook for Parents of Young Children.

Work and Play in Early Childhood.

Childhood Treasures: Handmade Gifts for Babies and Children.

Mindfulness.

Living Simply With Children.

Toymaking With Children.

Plus three current magazines and two more books for book club that I haven’t started. Whew.

What are you reading?

new poster

I ordered this poster last week and it came and I love it:

(here and it’s cheap)

I bought a frame at Hobby Lobby and had them cut a mat for it. We are trying to decide where to put it. I will post a picture once it is up.  I love the poster but I also love that the colors match our house.

weekending

We had a fabulous weekend.  The family came up to celebrate Father’s Day a week late and we ate at Big Mama’s Kitchen. Have any of you local readers ever been? I have to admit that I wasn’t looking forward to it.  We were doing it for my father because we thought he would love the southern food. But everything was good, really good. I’m dreaming of the sweet potato pudding right now. So, go! And tell me what you think.

We also ate pancakes (gluten free, more on that later). Took a bike ride to the park. Had bangs trimmed. Bought a camp stove. And had a million other tiny moments all tangled together that equal joy and happiness and fun.