small style :: when big brother was small.

just a few more things that harper wore, mama loved and luca is now growing into.

 these pants with the butter-soft heather ross lily pad pockets. i made them for harper when he was nearly two but i am hopeful that they will fit over luca's cloth diapered bum this fall. 

 

harper's solstice sweater from a couple winters ago. i am positive it will look as amazingly adorable on luca as it did on harper.

and this little cassette tape jacket {target, i think} we still have this handknit pixie hat too.

have i mentioned how much fun i am having with another boy baby?... ♥

linking up with mama loves papa's small style post.

before you go...

honestly i am not too terribly sad to see summer go. today on our afternoon walk i spotted three bright red leaves on the virginia creeper that lines our small street. my heart fluttered. there is a chill in the evening air. an i-need-to-put-on-my-handknit-sweater kind of chill. i really wish i had knit myself a shawl this summer.

 

i am ready for change. i need change. new hair, new clothes. different food, different mood. i am ready.

 

meanwhile we are keeping busy soaking up every last lingering second that summer has left. 

the last wildflower bouquet.

one more pedicure.

 

a final day spent playing on the river.

until next time...

small style :: the striped romper

riley at a birthday party in the striped romper from the gap - summer 1995

harper just learning to walk in the striped romper - summer 2008

and luca running and playing in the striped romper - summer 2011

seriously, how sweet is that?!

i am linking up with mama loves papa (a day late, OOPS!) click over and visit her for more small style!

just now.

just now, on a whim, i decided to open my HP gallery and quickly choose a random photo to post. this was our last pumpkin harvest, three years ago. we haven't grown pumpkins since. i miss those crazy vines snaking around the garden and watching the pumpkins get bigger and bigger then slowly turn orange. i miss home grown jack-o-lanterns glowing on our front porch. i miss harper and esme being that tiny.

i still have those little brown corduroy pants and striped shirt that harper is wearing and i think they will fit luca this year. i just now decided that he will wear this very outfit to the pumpkin patch next month. yes, a pumpkin harvest photo of luca in his big brothers pumpkin harvest hand-me-downs will happen for sure.

we are also planning a big, crazy fun, backyard pumpkin carving party with all of our friends, something else we have not done for three, maybe even more, years. i can't wait. i love autumn. that is all for now.

for the LOVE of LONG hair!

alrighty, postpone the new edgy short hair that i have been day dreaming about for a just few more months because lookie what i just discovered!!

i know, too good, right? you can buy it here (only $4.99!) and there is a giveaway you can enter here.

i wear the waterfall braid (in fact i wore one last night, mom's night out mamas!) and the bohemian twist all the time but i simply cannot wait to try all of the others.

so, instead of chopping off my tresses in the near-ish future i think i will adopt a fun, new color for autumn. any suggestions for me? please share!

how to properly finish a handknit sweater.

alternately titled "oh hey, you finally finished that sweater of yours, now you get to spend three long days trying to decide which buttons are perfect for it!!"

i loved the gray buttons first, then i thought maybe i wanted wood buttons. but i add wood buttons to everything, i am kind of over it. the top-left button in the first photo, right next to the gray ones,  is actually a dark green. and the button right under it a dark brown.

once you sew on some darned buttons already you can then put your new wool sweater on even though it is nearly 90 degrees and go into the backyard and have your eight year old take some pictures of you looking all dorky as i have demonstrated below.

no make-up and a grundgy pony tail. but this post is all about the sweater, friends. i would seriously hate to take the spotlight.

now if it would just kindly get cool enough for me to wear this lovely i would be a very happy girl.

here are my yellow sweater's deets ::

pattern :: tea leaves cardigan

yarn :: cascade 220 in lemon ice

needles :: addi turbo circulars in sizes 6 and 7
buttons :: vintage from my button jar. and i really do think i made the perfect choice!



back to school :: make it fun!

super cute binder pouch!

FuN reusable lunch bag from bend the rules with fabric! tutorial includes instructions to print your own custom fabric!

lunch box love notes :: a free printable!

good morning and bedtime checklists to download from children inspired designs (we LOVE CID!!)
we printed these out and slipped them into plastic page protectors - the kind that slip into a binder. the morning checklist is on one side and the bedtime checklist is on the other and they can mark on them with dry erase markers then wipe them clean for the next day. i would prefer one with pictures for harper since he doesn't read just yet. i have plans to create one for him soon. and when i do i will be sure to come share it with all of you!

button flower headbands! adorable and so easy. go ahead, make one for every day of the week!

and lastly i stumbled across this flickr group with tons of photos and lunch box inspiration :: lunchbox recipes

so friends, what are some of your favorite back to school projects, ideas or websites? please share!

small style :: back to school edition

i can hardley believe that summer vacation is over. didn't it seem to last forever when we were kids. this year we sent two kids to high school (!!), one to third grade and still have two at home. since it is still super hot here we put off buying new clothes for a few more weeks when it will be cool enough to wear jeans.

'cept the big kids are already that cool and they wear jeans even when it is 100 degrees...

here is what they wore for their first day back ::

on esme ::

striped sweatshirt by old navy

polka dot gray tee by target

ruffled rainbow skirt by old navy, a hand-me-down from a special friend

and brand new, pink plaid NSS shoes with ribbon laces.

on riley and niko ::

they both wore old tee shirts and old jeans. they try to deny the fact that they are a bit alike but i think these photos say otherwise...



and here are the little cuties who stayed home with mama.

on harper ::

we are encouraging him to choose his own clothes and i pretty much just go with whatever he picks out as long as it is weather appropriate and fits him. this day it was a brown polo shirt and brown sweat shorts. his summer sandles are, you guessed it, brown. can't go wrong with all brown, i suppose.

on luca ::

short overalls by babyGAP

ooga booga tank top by mama ♥

laguna sandles by soft star shoes

today i am linking up with morgan at mama loves papa. if you love small style like i do be sure to pay her a visit!

the flip side

this is a follow up of sorts to sunday's happy little post. yesterday went a whole lot different. it did start with smiles and dancing and a yummy breakfast with my tots. but then it became one big ol' ball of crazy as the kids bickered and whined while mama tried to get not-so-fun chores done and baby luca went from one destructive activity to another right under my feet.

he ate one of esme's markers. the dark blue one. he also bit harper, hard, right on the cheek leaving a dandy bruise. i was stressed and so were my little people.

thank goodness for rescue remedy, coffee, leftover cake and popscicles. i was able to stop and take a deep breath {or two} and somewhat pick our day back up just before a gnarly crash landing.

today is the very last day of summer vacation. we went out earlier and picked up a couple last minute neccesities {like a new pack of markers for esme who simply cannot live without dark blue}

she told me she can't wait for today to be over so she can hurry up and sleep so it will be time to go to school already. she just really loves school, i guess. i've got mixed emotions - sweet summer, i am so sad but relieved at the same time to see you go so soon. oh hey, who is that next in line? ahhh, autumn ♥



sunday

good morning * hugs, kisses, big happy smiles * green juice and waffles * coffee, oh, glorious coffee * dining room clean up, round one * birthday cake baking * dancing in the kitchen * wildflower bouquets * hula hooping on the back porch, still in our jammies * more coffee... more dancing... more smiles and giggle, giggle, excited giggles...

there is nothing more i need.

happy sunday, friends!

small style :: summer repeat

at one point during my last pregnancy i thought that i wanted another little girl. how much fun would it be to sew sweet dresses and skirts and create tiny, frilly handknits. but as luca grows i realize how wonderful it worked out that we had another little boy.

i made a bunch of cute little tank tops for harper a couple summers ago. when he outgrew them they were carefully tucked away into luca's dresser. luca has been wearing them nearly every day the past couple months. the tanks are a perfect fit. luca is a perfect fit.

 

harper :: summer 2008



luca :: summer 2011



harper :: summer 2008



luca :: summer 2011

yes. this is just right.

i am linking up with morgan at mama loves papa today!

one of those days.

{image from pintrest.}

i woke up sick this morning. like throwing up, head pounding, everybody please just SHHHHH! kind of sick. 'cept i have a house full of kiddos so there is no quietly sleeping it off. i did nap on the couch in between getting up to attend to matters that simply could not be ignored.

{baby on the dining room table, he's a climber. harper swinging a golf club on the back porch right next to the sliding glass door. finally talking the kids into watching a movie only to realize 10 minutes later that they had the jersey shore on. you know, that kind of stuff.}

i was also jumped on, smacked in the head with the remote and completely soaked when the lid came off luca's sippy cup while he was jumping on me. my cozy couch bed was also very wet.

esme made breakfast {toaster waffles} and lunch {pb&j sandwiches} for herself and her brothers. when dinner time rolled around i actually thanked the universe for the two cans of spaghettio's hanging out in our pantry. two minutes in the microwave and dinner was on the table and mama was back on the towel covered couch.

after dinner luca had a horrible messy diaper. the kind of messy diaper that requires an immediate bath and an improptu laundry session. so i bathed the boys and got them into jammies. and i was starting to feel much, much better so after bath i loaded everyone into the car and drove them to the dairy queen drive-thru for sundaes. it was kind of a "yay! we all survived the day!" celebration.

now the kids are all in bed and i am eating a pear and blogging while trying to dismiss the current state of my house. like the spaghettio's stuck all over the dinner table and high chair, for example. 

being a mommy is such hard work. being a sick mama is even harder. but being nurtured back to health by the little people in your life is a magnificent thing. and i am going to tell them all just that first thing in the morning.

goodnight friends! 

happy world breastfeeding week

baby luca - august 2010



and little luca today - 15 months old and still loving mama's milk!



for more festivities visit the world alliance for breastfeeding action (WABA) here :: world breatfeeding week

lunch.

and we have a brand new favorite combination that we want to share. it goes like this ::

green smoothie

fresh spinach or kale (i pack my blender half full of green leaves. we are using spinach mostly but kale is yummy too)

1 heaping cup of fresh pineapple chunks

1 avocado

1 mango

1 frozen banana (i cut bananas into chunks and freeze them in zip lock bags)

1 tsp. spirulina

a dash of vanilla and cinnamon

2 tbsp ground flax seed

1 cup grapefruit juice

if i need more liquid to blend (i usually do) i add cold water.

blend, blend, blend and enjoy! we make 2 batches each morning and the kids drink 8 ounces each and i drink 2 mason jars full thoughout the day. 

do you have a favorite green juice recipe? please share!

vintage :: kitchen :: love

i spent the afternoon decluttering and organizing in my kitchen. except it turned out to be one of those projects where the room actually looks worse now than it did when i started. that means progress was made, yes?

i got rid of lots of stuff that i never use to free up space for all of the things that i love to use. i cleared a special shelf to hold my vintage pyrex collection. i parted with several cookbooks though i still feel that we own a few too many so that shelf will likely go through a second clean up round.

i got this set of treasure craft woodland canisters all cleaned up with the intention of finding them a new home. but in the process of spiffing them up i fell in love with them all over again. *sigh* so now i need to fill them up with goodies and find them a proper home on the counter top, not up in the dark cupboard from which they were rescued.

and do you remember this adorable birdie crock from a couple summers ago? it was also stashed on a shelf in the very, very back. not anymore, it has been dusted off and moved up front where it will surely get some loving.

this yellow tea pot is also a favorite vintage piece of mine. it belonged to tony's great grandmother. we use it occasionally in the winter months but i am terrified that it will get bumped off the table and broken. things like that happen in a house full of small people. a lot.

the little cozy that covers it is lined with gray wool felt. i love that part!

it is funny how happy these things made me today. had i only known i would have retrived them from their dark hiding places long ago.

what treasures have you discovered or rediscovered recently?

still weekending...

in my last post {nearly a month ago!!} i wrote about my love for summer break. even though it is only july i am starting to sense back to school lurking around, sneaking right up on us. i am just trying to soak up every single second of the carefree, never ending weekend that is summer vacation.

here is a sweet little video of my adorable little guy toddling around last night while we waited for the fireworks. he is in that clumsy and dangerous but super, super quick stage so i spend a whole lot of time chasing him around and trying to keep him from seriously injuring himself or destroying everything in his path. i am careful to not wish it away because i know one morning i will wake up and he will be big. just between breakfast and dinner each day he changes and grows. babies don't keep and never has time passed so quickly.

so dear friends, please excuse my absence from this space as i spend my days loving, protecting and nourishing my little people. i will return very soon, perhaps even tomorrow.  



love and blessings, erika

i live for weekends.

except now our summer vacation has officially started so the weekends seem to never end. i really am a no schedule, let's just see where the day takes us, laid back kind of gal. yes, this summer lifestyle suits me fine.

hope your weekend is treating you right, friends!

small style :: made from scratch

yet another mama made collaboration on little luca.

hand dyed hemp/cotton tee with owl applique.

reversible linen trousers - they are brown with mushrooms on one side and blue with owls on the other.

pediped sandles previously worn and loved by harper.

i always tell my husband that we made him from scratch. from his ginger curls to his tippy toes. and mama is busy covering everything in between!

i'm linking up with morgan at mama loves papa today!

take action!

you have all checked out the action packs from whip up, yes? if not what are you waiting for?!

  

Action Pack: A mini-mag for kids who want to do stuff!

Get your kids off the couch with this printable mini-mag for kids (aged 7+) priced at only $5.

Inspire them with 25+ pages of craft projects, outdoor activities, cooking, art and more, everything a kid needs for a weekend (or two) of activities.

Educate them through the six senses without them realising they are even learning.

and there is also an action pack flickr group where you can show and tell. i will be sure to share all of our action pack adventures with you here. looking forward...

HaPpY SUMMER!!