@#$@*&&**! tree

Welcome to my pity party! So glad you’re here.

So this morning our tree tried to poke my eye out! After several hours at the urgent care, they determined the diagnosis: corneal abrasions. Boo hoo. Have you ever cut your eye? It is very painful and what’s worse, you need your eyes for (almost) everything. Boo hoo again. Lest you think I’m going to continue complaining about my poor eye, I have some humor to share.

A woman (whom I shall call “Shannon” because I think that was really her name) with two small, sick children tried to pick me up. Or so I thought because she kept telling my how she thought I looked so smart and had such nice skin and I was wearing such cute boots, blah blah. I was sort of flattered and sort of weirded out until she told me that she is a Mary Kay rep and asked if I would like a free facial. Guffaw. I felt sorry for her so I gave her my phone number so I guess I have a looming date with a Mary Kay rep. Sigh. Do you think she just hangs out at the urgent care clinic, waiting for people who are sick, injured and otherwise incredibly distracted? Probably not, but it’s fun to wonder. Aaahhh, pain killers. You are so odd.

Click on

Happy Friday, lovelies. Have you had a good week? Here’s wishing you an adventure-filled or restful weekend: whatever blows your skirt up! A few clicks to get you through the weekend from my nest to yours:

Best!

water painting

One of Wren’s favorite activities is painting. She loves to paint when she’s at school and in the basement of our nest too. She refers to the entire basement experience as “weasel!” because of her easel. I don’t dare correct her because it makes me laugh every time she stands at the top of the stairs and yells, “weasel!”

But when we’re upstairs, away from the bottles and tubes of color, she loves to paint with water. My brother and his family gave this Japanese water painting set to the little birdie for Christmas and it’s proven to be quite a hit. It’s quite popular with this Mama too because all you need is water. Easy clean-up!

So how does it work? It’s simple. Just dip the brush into a small amount of water and paint a stroke on the “magical” surface. The brush strokes become black and then disappear within a few minutes, leaving the canvas clear for a new painting. Voila!

P.S. I’m amazed at the little birdie’s fine motor skills: the way she holds the brush? Wow. We have Montessori to thank for this.

Giveaway! Mocking birdies.

Hip hip hooray! I’m excited to have a children’s book giveaway for you, dear readers. The book is Mocking Birdies by Annette Simon and we are really enjoying it in our nest right now. To enter to win a free copy, please leave a comment on this post. The winner will be drawn on Monday, February 21 and then I’ll pop it into the mail to the lucky lovely. Please spread the word!

The simple yet wonderful visuals in this book make it a joy to read for this Mama and the timeless story of two birdies that copy each other’s whistles and songs is great for a range of ages. I’m not going to spoil the ending for you though – it gets interesting… meow!

Good luck! I’ll be crossing my fingers for you.

Child in Snow

Hey there, lovelies. I just had to share this image Child in Snow with you from Montana artist, Ria Cody de Neeve. I received a print of it for my birthday from my sister-in-law, Emily. Isn’t it wonderful? There is so much I love about it. The whimsy, the imagery, the mixed media technique, the ode to winter fun. Love love love.

The artist shares that she seeks “to create images which inspire hope and connection to ourselves, each other, and nature.” A girl after my own heart! Yes, I’m inspired.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day, lovelies! Have any love-filled plans for the day?

I wanted to share this last-minute dessert idea with you. An easy-peasy, yummy flourless chocolate cake. If you need a last-minute dessert idea, check it out. You probably have all the ingredients too: chocolate, cocoa powder, eggs, sugar, butter. It only takes about 45 minutes to make, including the 25 minutes of baking. What could be easier?! Make it a little fancier and sprinkle some powdered sugar or cocoa powder on top. mmmmm.

May your day be full of chocolate and time with people you love. XO XO