Click on, lovelies

Posted on March 25, 2011 by BeSquirrely

22 months old already, wow.

Truth be told, I’m a bit bummed. 12 and snowy is not exactly what I had in mind for Spring Break. Apparently I cursed myself by washing the little birdie’s snowsuit last week AND washing my car. I knew it was too good to be true. Sigh. I know, I know. We live in northern Michigan and furthermore, it’s incredibly boring to complain about the weather, no? Soooooo… how ’bout we get lost in the Interwebs for a while instead, lovelies?

Tweet tweet. Super cute birdie mobile kit.
DIY Kindereier. Ridiculously cute.
More egg love.
One of my favorite new blogs. Can you say eye candy? Ooh la la.
Finally! Easy & lovely DIY party decorations for the rest of us.
Follow along on the adventures of a couple bicycling with their young children across the continent & beyond for an entire year. Truly amazing.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends. XO

remains of winter

Posted on March 16, 2011 by BeSquirrely

{this moment}

Posted on March 11, 2011 by BeSquirrely

{this moment} Just a moment in time I want to remember, inspired by Soule Mama. Feeling very grateful today. Have a good weekend, lovelies.

just wait a few minutes

Posted on March 10, 2011 by BeSquirrely

Oh, March, you never fail to break my heart. The old adage about Michigan weather is so painfully true: if you don’t like the weather, just wait a few minutes. It will change. Oof. One day we’re joyfully jumping through puddles and the next? Building a snowman and throwing snowballs. What might today bring?

So yeah, I admit that even this winter-lover is a bit grumpy about it and so are just about all the adults I know. But the kiddos? No big deal. Seize the day! “Play, Mamma, play!”

still winter here

Posted on March 2, 2011 by BeSquirrely

Child in Snow

Posted on February 15, 2011 by BeSquirrely

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.

winter survival 101

Posted on February 9, 2011 by BeSquirrely

I’m often asked by people who don’t live in the frozen north country how we “survive” winter here. People, this isn’t the tundra. We have Target after all. That being said (err, written), it IS cold, snowy and dark in northern Michigan. Some say winter lasts about six months. I got to thinking about this winter and what’s helped me “survive.” A few things come to mind, not to mention the obvious: butter, sugar, caffeine and alcohol. Most of the day I wear several layers and am often seen sipping hot beverages, wearing these ultra warm and cozy LL Bean slippers, knee-high Smartwool socks and slathered with my favorite Weleda face and lip balms. It’s not the prettiest picture, but it works. For fun, I’ve been meeting up with a group of ladies about once a week for a ski (peppermint schnapps, anyone?) on some local trails. Truth be told, at the end of each winter (April?!) I get a bit sad to put my skis and heavy sweaters away. Plus, our main source of common bellyaching will have vanished in a big rainy, muddy onslaught of spring. Whatever will we talk about in the check-out aisles?! Oh yeah, the heat of summer and the tourists.

just plain weird

Posted on February 8, 2011 by BeSquirrely

How are things in your nests today, lovelies? Cold and snowy here at 605, big surprise. It was actually blindingly bright and sunny earlier today when Wren and I were on our way across town. Every time I turned a corner, the sun seemed to blast her in the back seat and she would scream, “sun, all done! Sun, all done!” Of course, I too was caught off-guard as I had no idea where my sunglasses were hiding because I didn’t think I’d really need them for at least another three months. And this is being optimistic. Don’t laugh.

So in an effort to transport ourselves someplace warm and sunny without slathering on the white goopy stuff, we tried another tropical fruit in our mini-series: Kiwano Melon, say what? We also tried some starfruit the other day with mixed reviews.

You know you live in the midwest US when this looks very alien to you. But wait, it gets weirder.

The weird oozing fruit reminded me a bit of a cucumber, except more expensive and I wouldn’t dare pickle it. Hmmpph. Chris and I didn’t really enjoy it (at all), but someone else seemed to be very intrigued. She loved it and hated it at the same time… that funny little birdie!

Beating Snowmaggedon

Posted on February 1, 2011 by BeSquirrely

Happy February, lovelies! Is today a snow day in your nest? “Snowmageddon” stayed south of us, which is just fine because I really didn’t want Chris to spend another evening shoveling off our roof. Oof.

Although our local big-box stores are already pushing Easter candy, bikinis and grass fertilizer, it’s still very much the heart of winter here in northern Michigan. A friend told me once that we gain two hours of sunlight in the short month of February and this always perks me up a bit. Have you been struggling with the winter blahs in your nest? Cabin fever mixed with a bit of happy-to-wear-a-heavy-sweater feelings around here.

That leads me to the point of this whole post (finally, geesh!). No foreseeable plans to head somewhere tropical this winter?Bring a tiny taste of someplace warm to your nest in the form of exotic fruits! I bought starfruit the other day and for about a dollar-ish, we took a short trip to the tropics. Although this clearly flies in the face of my quest to eat local/seasonal/sustainable, I figured that the investment in our mental health was worth the food miles the starfruit traveled.

Lovelies, how do you like to stay bright and cheerful this time of year? Or do you resign yourself to being a grumpy pants for several months? Do you embrace it or try to escape? A bit of both? I’d love to hear your ideas. Please and thank you.

for the love of compost

Posted on January 26, 2011 by BeSquirrely

Trudging through deep snow to dump some egg shells, vegetable scraps and coffee grounds into the compost bin seems like an awfully silly activity when the needle hovers under freezing. But it pains me to throw vegetable scraps in the garbage even when I know it’s too cold for them to break down in the bin. So I ignore my brain and listen to my heart, which is fueled on hope. Depositing the rotting remains is a hopeful task, unlike sweeping the floor or cleaning the dishes. Hopeless drudgery. As soon as I finish, they need to be done again. And then again. And again. Sigh. I am trying to work on my attitude toward cleaning, but I’m not making much progress, can you tell? But! Taking care of the compost? A bit of work now for a luscious garden later. So worth it, don’t you think?

A pile of stinky garbage to some and the ingredients for something fantastic to another. There is beauty in these remains, no?

Be Squirrely

creating a nest worth sharing

Tag Archives: winter