A Yummy, Treaty Recipe

Last night we were all wanting something "treaty" after dinner.

This has become my go-to, ready-in-a-moment treat over the last couple months.

Adapted from the Happy Herbivore's Instant Cookie Dough recipe, it is just that perfect combination:

1 cup rolled oats
2 T cocoa powder
2 T almond butter (or any other nut butter)
2 T maple syrup (even better with the dark Grade B)
1 cup frozen berries (blueberries or raspberries are our favorites - the photos are of a batch with crushed up
 raspberries)

Mix the oats, cocoa, almond butter, and maple syrup together until fully blended.  Then stir in the frozen berries.  Great both right away and later after sitting in the fridge.  The kids like it as a treat in their lunchboxes, too.

Yum.

December 1

Tomorrow is December 1st.

The Dad reminds me, on a somewhat regular basis, that it has been scientifically proven that writing down your goals increases your chances of accomplishing them.

I don't think he means the multitude of To-Do Lists that I create, scatter, replicate, and misplace every day.

Tomorrow I am beginning a 6-month experiment project. I am thinking of it as 6 months of homemaking.  Of domestication.  But really?  6 months of trying to make the life that I really want to be living.  A lot of it has to do with the state of our house, but it also is about how I spend my time, how I feed my family, and how I create the home that I really want to be raising my children in.

For my own sake, I am breaking it into monthly chunks.  With goals for each month. And writing those goals down here - since that make me more likely to accomplish them, right?

1. Go room by room through our house and get rid of anything that is extraneous - the clutter, the things we don't use or need anymore (and maybe never did).  For this I am inspired by William Morris - "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." and Kim John Payne's Simplicity Parenting.  The organizing and decorating will come later - for starters I just need to purge.

2. Eat a 100% plant-based diet for 30 days.  After reading some great books like this and this, I have been eating this way 80-90% of the time for the last eight months.  I'd like to go all the way for the next 30 days and see if it is something that is truly sustainable (and helpful) for me.

3. Sew at least one thing for Ella and Ollie for Christmas.  I spent September through mid-November cramming for the Art Star Craft Bazaar.  I am really looking forward to doing some sewing for my family.  I've got a gazillion patterns I want to try.  And a request for a giant (!) stuffed sheep pillow from the little boy who thinks I can make anything.

4. Spend at least one hour every day doing something for eieio. It could be sewing. It could be photographing or posting in my shop.  I have the habit of just feeling burnt out after a big show, letting my shop fall to the wayside and not capitalizing on the momentum and publicity.  I don't want to let that happen again.

I think that's enough.  Wish me luck!

Recovering

I think we are all recovering from the last couple days right now.

Art Star was a great success and a really fun weekend.  I met some cool people, purchased a fabulous set of prints, saw some repeat customers, and was reminded repeatedly why I do this.  And then I got home to face the aftermath.  Hmmm... 

Next up, Thanksgiving.  And my 20th (Eek!) High School Reunion.  And lots of thought and discussion about balance and benefit.  While I will keep sewing, I will also be starting on a new project when we return home: Six Months of Homemaking.

One of the things I love about reading some of the crafty/family/lifestyle blogs out there is the inspiration.  They help me clarify how I really want to be living my life.  I've been doing a lot of soul searching (while sewing, mostly) since the kids went back to school and I've found some focus lately.  And some motivation.

About eight months ago, I totally changed the way I eat.  Cold Turkey.  And it has had amazing effects on all of us.  Monday, I am changing the way I spend my days.  And I am hoping it will have an even greater effect.  There are multiple pieces to the equation.  I'm guessing they will be factored in slowly.  But it will happen.  And life will change.  And really, I'm so excited.

I figure the more I write about it here, the more likely I am to stick with it.  Some come visit!  Leave a comment!  Suggestions, questions, all are welcome.  I'm diving in.

habit

She turned seven and a half today.  Which means I have been home for seven and a half years.  Sometimes I worry I've forgotten how to hold a grown-up conversation...

Inspired by habit.

Holiday Art Star Craft Bazaar - This Weekend!

Down to the wire, as usual, I am still making just a couple more things.  And awaiting the arrival of the rest of my hangtags...  that are supposed to arrive on Thursday, just in time to price and attach for Friday.  No, I've never been a procrastinator...

I'm so excited for this show, though.  I've had so much fun at the Spring shows that I've done.  They do such a good job and draw such an eclectic group of people.  If you are anywhere near Philly this weekend, definitely come and check it out!  The very first Holiday Art Star Craft Bazaar at the 23rd St. Armory.  Parking may be difficult, but it is just a couple blocks from 30th St. Station - I, personally, will opt for Septa Saturday and Sunday mornings.

If you go, make sure you come say Hi!  I will be at Booth #16 along the back wall.  Can't Wait!

As excited as I am, though, I may be even more excited about what will come after Art Star.  Things are going to change around here, with a shift of focus.  And no, I'm not pregnant.  I just feel like I spent the last two months cramming, to the detriment of the rest of my home, and am excited about some solutions I'm planning to remedy that.  6 months of solutions.  Stay Tuned...

Business - Busyness

This is one of those weeks where there just doesn't seem to be enough time to stop (or even slow down) and play.  I am in full swing gearing up for the Holiday Art Star Craft Bazaar and a smaller local fundraiser the weekend before.

The kids are out of sorts - Ella yearning for a pet (more about that later) and Ollie just soaking up all Kindergarten has to offer faster than his little brain can handle.

So I have to remind myself to slow down.  To slow everybody down.

I get carried away at this point in the process.  Where it feels all about production - I think it carries over from the studio into the flow of our days, which really isn't much fun for anyone.

This afternoon we will play, read, and do a little bit of homework.  With my undivided attention, which is really what they want need.

A Smile in My Latte

Happy Friday!

One Last Weekend of Summer

Somehow, on our fall trip to New England, we encountered one last weekend of summer.

 

While mornings had a chill, the days were clear, blue, and hot.

Perfect for a walk to the beach, dipping hands (and feet) into the water, collecting shells, and finding their first live spitting clams.

We ate ice cream and found ourselves sunburned at the end of the day.

 

We fell into bed salty and exhausted, just as it should be.

Today

Today...

We are heading up to New England for a weekend with family and friends.

There are pumpkin muffins in the oven - the first of the season.

I am re-reading Simplicity Parenting, ready for a re-boot.

I am happy to realize that I can pack for all four of us to go on a 3 night trip (including 14 hours in the car) in under an hour.  It tells me that my house isn't quite as chaotic as it feels sometimes.

I am still wondering how I woke up in Ollie's bed this morning having no recollection of getting there in the middle of the night...

I am fighting the desire to spend just 5 more minutes here.

I am drooling over the new Mini Boden catalog and wondering if I should really just try to make some of the things I am looking at since I know I am not going to buy anything.

I am feeling good about being ready for the Holiday Art Star Craft Bazaar just 5 short weeks away.  Or...  I was until I just typed that it was only 5 short weeks away... 

I am wishing for a Kindle Fire or an iPad for my birthday but knowing that I will genuinely be happy just with cake!

And I am loving the quote I just found by William Morris: Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.

Have a great holiday weekend.  Enjoy.

Back to Where It All Began

A week and a half ago, The Dad and I finally took the kids up to the camp where we met.  I think it has been 11 years since we've been back. 

An amazing place, it has definitely changed.  There's a giant gym now and a large swimming pool, more new buildings here and there.  Even the remaining cabins are in some ways unrecognizable - winterized with added decking and new entrances, I had to look twice at some of them to orient myself.

Yet the feel of the place is the same.  You can close your eyes and breathe the air and know where you are.  For a moment on the trail between areas of camp, it is exactly the same as it used to be.

The kids, of course, were more interested in the playground and the farm animals (a pig!) than the front steps of Cabin 19 where we had our first kiss.  Ella, though, asked if she could go to camp there in the summer - so I think she caught at least a little of the vibe.  We explained that the camp wasn't appropriate for her but that if she wanted to work there some day she could.  I would love for them to work there.  Those were some of the most valuable, enriching summers of my life.

It's been 14 years since that first kiss.  And like camp, we have changed and grown.  But I like to think that when we close our eyes and breathe, we are still the same.  Just a lot older, a little wiser, and with two monkeys pulling at our shirt telling us to open our eyes and pay attention...