inspired to roam

our bags are packed. the car is full of fuel and ready to go. we have all of our favorite traveling snacks on hand. so off we go for a fun filled family adventure. we will visit loved ones, find pretty rocks by the river, pick cherries, sing in the car, soak our bones at the hot springs and whatever else we fancy.

also, i have a guest post up at living senses today about local living. please check it out!

see you next week, friends!

july, so far

july has been keeping us busy! here is a brief run down on what we've been up to.

i received a wonderful seasonal celebrations swap package from my partner. poems, photos, recipes (ginger beer! YUM!) and sweet little books of blank writing and coloring paper which the kids happily collected right away.

she also sent this adorable fabric neck tie for harper and a wool felt crown for esme'.

and look, harper says, reversible!
(truth be told, this photo shoot required us to play a beloved kid songs video to keep 2 year old boy stationary for a few seconds. see the hypnotic look on his face? sigh, whatever works, i guess.)

we have been visiting the BUGS produce stand every wednesday, for both the fresh veggies and the ambiance. it has become a favorite outing, for sure!

and, big, huge news in our home - this little girl lost her very first tooth on the 4th of july! she told me it was loose at the picnic we attended that afternoon, and by dinner time she emerged from the bathroom with a teeny, tiny tooth in her palm. i had these grand ideas of sewing a little pillow with a tooth pocket a few weeks ago but never did make one. so her first tooth went into a small drawstring bag under her pillow and hopefully i will have a few weeks before the next loss to make a super-special pillow/pocket/pouch.

today i am washing fabric so i can sew tank tops for the kids. we are taking a little road trip next week to camp, swim, visit family and friends, and whatever else falls in our path. of course such a trip requires new mama made clothes for the littles, no?

yours on the run,
erika

season

currently loving ::

organically grown produce from the small farm stand ran by kids up the road from us. i got the last bunch of garlic scapes! hooray! and esme' got a new painted gourd for her backyard friends.

bundles of herbs and wildflowers in jars throughout the house. i do wish we had sunflowers or daisies though. and more lavender. next year...

fresh basil for our pasta

picnic lunches made especially lovely by our new, red picnic basket and our picnic place mats and cloth napkins.

my new hat

painted faces

free concerts and movies in the park
{if you look really close you can see inspired daddy kicking back on our blanket in the center of the photo. i think you can see our bright red picnic basket in action too!}

sa-tur-day!!

today ::
diapers drying in the sun, shopping the farmer's market for local goodies for our picnic dinner at the park tonight, knitting in the shade while the littles run in the sprinklers, and a bike ride to the library to pick up the book i placed on hold.

and speaking of pedal power, look what i stumbled upon this afternoon ::

a cargo bike giveaway!! i am feeling a wee bit lucky...

summer swap swag

to my seasonal celebrations swap partner i sent a felted wool vase, a patchwork potholder, 2 organic cotton produce bags, my favorite smoothie recipes, and a little note about how my family celebrates the season. i wish i could have sent her the pretty wildflower and herb bouquet that little esme' assembled for these photos, but that stayed home with us.
the swap packages are rolling in - we are only waiting for a couple more! check out the flickr group to see more summer celebration photos!

i dig onions

my kids however, not so much. i have tried to grow onions in the past with little or no success. we planted a few sets of red onions last year and got nothing. then, just as soon as the weather warmed and it was time to plant this year's garden the onions from last year started to grow. when big blooms formed at the top of their stalks and they were ready to bolt we harvested them. here is what we got - several red onions about the size of golf balls. by far, our best onion harvest to date!

yesterday tony pulled some organic, local ground beef from the freezer. we rarely eat ground beef, so i wasn't even sure what to do with it. after doing a quick inventory of our kitchen cupboards i found some rice and a couple cans of cream of mushroom soup. these ingredients plus some frozen peas from our garden last year, baby carrots, and our tiny red onions became dinner. we also had a delicious loaf of potato-rosemary bread from a local bakery.

it was a great one skillet meal and everyone happily gobbled it down. towards the end of the meal esme' discovered a chunk of onion in her nearly empty bowl. "is this a tooth?!" she exclaimed. "no, it is one of the onions from our garden" i said. she looked it over, she hesitated, but then quickly finished her dinner, onion teeth and all! 'cause everything tastes good when it is grown in your very own dirt!

visit my friend heather at living senses for more stories about eating and living locally!

make good :: crafts+ life

the day went a little like this ::

we left the house to run a quick errand and made an impromptu stop at the bookstore to take a peek. i lifted this book off of the shelf and couldn't put it down. once it was in my hands i knew i had to have it. from the bookstore we walked to the fabric store so i could buy insul bright and twill tape.

we then headed home (after a small detour for iced coffee) where i immediately dove into my bag of fabric scraps and carefully created the patchwork pot holder from the book. it will go into my seasonal celebrations swap package.

ah yes, monday was good!