Monthly Archives: December 2011

resolve

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I really cherish this time of year, the week of relative quiet and calm between the busy holiday bookends. Well, as much quiet and calm as can be achieved with two small children in our midst. We get to have Chris home for most of the week, play with new puzzles and games, eat lots of Christmas cookies and drink from our newly-replenished tea and coffee supply, and share some lazy time with friends and family.

This time of year is also obviously filled with reflection on the past year’s highlights/failures and a renewed sense of hope that a new, blank calendar brings. 2012 already? How did THAT happen?! So I’ve been thinking about resolutions for the coming year. I do love to make a list of goals and it helps to share them; a sort of accountability that only comes when you reveal your wishes with others. Not that I really want people to say, “so Ash, how’s that weight loss coming along for ya now that it’s been a few months since you had Phoebe and you’re still lounging around in those maternity jeans?!” Yeah…

So onward to 2012 and my personal wishes:

  • create my own art (again)
  • consume more whole, clean foods (bye bye, Christmas cookies)
  • get rid of my credit card debt (inspired by And Then She Saved)
  • create a regular yoga practice (why hello there, yoga mat, it’s been a while)
  • take on a few more small-business clients
  • read more, surf less (like a real book with pages)
  • walk more, drive less
  • laugh more often
  • be a better friend (like pick up the phone and actually speak to a live person)
  • savor this fleeting caterpillar-time with my little birdies
  • plan more date nights with Chris
  • sweat (inspired by the Lululemon manifesto. I love this!)
  • unclutter

How ’bout you, lovelies? What’s in store for you in the coming year? Do you like to create resolutions every year? Feel free to leave a link here to yours…

Happy New Year! XO

seven weeks

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Holy smokes, lovelies, seven weeks already? Sweet Phoebe is beginning to find her voice and share her sparkling personality with us. She’s such a joy to all of us! Full of squeals and gummy smiles this morning although she cried through most of The Polar Express last night. Maybe too scary for a tiny baby? Hmmm.

It’s fun to take a peek back at Wren at this same age. She was rolling over because she hated to be on her tummy. Here’s a little video from that time. They definitely look like sisters to me…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb5pYP7dW2Y]

made by little hands

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We had a lot of fun last weekend making these pretty little tissue paper candle holders that we spotted over at The Artful Parent. It was a good project for chubby little hands and a fairly short attention span. And a very limited gift budget! Unlike a lot of toddler-made gifts, these are actually useful and beautiful. And not just beautiful in that awww, Wren made this so it’s beautiful kind of way. But really, truly lovely as the light flows through them during the day and filled with candlelight at night too.

Bonus: you’ve probably got (almost) everything you need to make these. I bought candle holders at the dollar store, but baby food jars or jelly jars would be great too. Tissue paper? Check. Mod Podge? Check. Supposedly watered-down Elmer’s glue would work too, but I love Mod Podge. It dries clear and is water-proof. Glitter? Check. Foam brushes? Check. Go!

Are you enjoying a hand-made Christmas? I had grand plans for a hand-made Christmas, but we’ve just dipped our toes in that proverbial water this season with a few small projects and lots of edibles. But with a long winter stretching out ahead of us, we’ve got ambitions for lots of creative pursuits. I would like to make some art of my own too. Someone asked Wren recently if she watches me paint and she said, “no, Mama doesn’t paint.” Boo hoo! It reminded me that I haven’t painted in way too long and it saddened me that she didn’t see me in my own creative work. Just washing the dishes, which she is proud to declare. Sigh. So there’s a good resolution for the coming year: make time for my own creative work. And a helluva lot more fun than the standard “lose thirty pounds! Work out every day! Stop eating sugar!”

What about you, parents. How do you find time for your own creative work? Is it important to you that your children see you creating as well?

fudge rum balls

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Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There’s no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com.

 

 

I mostly bake from scratch, but when scratch is in short supply as it has been lately with the new little birdie in our nest, I occasionally reach for a mix for a baking base. Especially for something as delicious as fudge rum balls.

You’ve got to try this one, lovelies. It’s really a good one to add to your arsenal of holiday treats. Because really, can you go wrong with chocolate, nuts, sugar and alcohol? Um, no. Especially when you double the rum in this Duncan Hines recipe for fudge rum balls that uses a fudge cake mix as a base. 2 T just didn’t do the trick so I increased it to about 4T and the balls came together a lot better. And with a more well-rounded flavor.

The danger in these little treats is that they’re too easy to just pop in your mouth when you’re having a sip of coffee, but they’re also great with a glass of shiraz or zinfandel or heck, a drip of milk would be great with them too. Before you know it, you’ll have consumed several. And because they’ve got nuts, they’re almost like a health food, right?

Now it’s your turn. What’s your philosophy on using a mix? Do you ever use them or do you pride yourself on from-scratch-only baking? Do you like to fill out your holiday dessert tray with a few store-bought goodies too? Do you make cookies ahead of time and keep them in the freezer for when a last-minute visitor pops in over the holidays? And one more question, do you “save your calories” for a favorite holiday treat or go hog wild?

Confession: I’m not thinking about calories right now, but I’m looking forward to a sugar-free January. My butt needs it, ha! But for now? Well, pass me another rum ball. It’s Christmas!

Remember to check out Duncan Hines’ website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

DIY turkish coffee

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So I’ve stumbled upon a great way to make your own Turkish-style coffee. In your own kitchen! Without any fancy equipment! The catch: you have to be sleep-deprived, one-armed, desperate for caffeine and short on time. What a delightful state in which to be. Ready? Go!

  1. Pour the remainder of yesterday’s coffee into a mug. This is important, lovelies. It has to be yesterday’s coffee. Today’s coffee is not an appropriate substitute.
  2. Place mug with coffee into microwave for about a minute. Walk away.
  3. Hear microwave go off, but leave it because you are likely unable to get to the microwave anyway.
  4. When you are able to get to the microwave again, press the timer for another minute.
  5. This time you are able to get to the microwave and take a sip. It’s getting there.
  6. You will only be able to take one sip before setting it down in an easily-forgotten place like the bathroom while changing someone’s diaper.
  7. Time goes by, but you realize you’re not caffeinated yet and must find that coffee. Aha! Found.
  8. Place mug with coffee into microwave for about a minute. Walk away. This is when it begins to really turn into Turkish coffee: thick with settling dregs…
  9. Take another sip.
  10. Repeat steps three through nine several times throughout the morning, possibly into the afternoon.
  11. By the time the mid-afternoon rolls around, that same cup of yesterday’s coffee is just about the perfect cup of Turkish coffee with the dregs perfectly settled at the bottom. Aaah.
  12. Happen to have some Turkish Delight on hand? Score!

 

6 weeks

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Here’s our Phoebe at six weeks, smiling up at her big sister right after Wren tried to “just a little bit wrestle” her. I try to protect Phoebe from Wren’s over-zealous snuggles, pokes, tugs and way too tight hugs, but I’m beginning to think that Phoebe likes it. I don’t know about you, but I needed to see this gummy smile today. Anyone else have a case of the Mondays? Geesh.

the tree

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For most of the past seven years of marriage, Chris and I have decorated our Norfolk Island pine tree with origami balloon-covered Christmas lights. Chris has been making origami balloon-covered lights for (at least) several decades. So yeah, it’s somewhat of a tradition. This is not one of those new, hipster, DIY projects. This is old school, baby! And now we’ve passed the tradition on to our little birdies. Wren has enjoyed “starting up Merry Christmas!!!” by replacing the balloons that get too smashed in the box and those that are necessitated by a growing tree and a new strand of lights.

Take a look at this Harrisburg tree service that really helped us that evening with the tree, we couldn’t do it without them and the right tools.

Fun fact: apparently having a Norfolk Island pine tree as your Christmas tree is considered “green,” as seen in several magazines lately, but for us, it’s mostly just practical and cheap. Where would we even put a Christmas tree with such a huge tree already living in the house? A couple years when we decided to cut down a $10 Charlie Brown-esque Christmas tree outside of Empire, I swear Norfolk (as we call him) was depressed about it. What’s wrong with me, he wilted. Sniff, sniff. So here’s Norfolk, proud in all his Christmas splendour! Isn’t he handsome?