NEW BLOG

Hello my friends.  I am so NOT tech savvy, that I cannot figure out how to close this blog down!  So I will simply redirect you to my new one at thefloweringtree.tumblr.com

Much love!

Things that make me happy

I looked out my back door yesterday and saw my beautiful potted coral bark maple.  I bought this tree the day I moved back to Portland almost 2 years ago.  We had been in the desert in California, much to my dismay, and these trees will not even grow there.  This one in particular is my favorite...it turns brilliant shades of yellow and orange in the fall.  It is my first sign that autumn is officially arriving.  And then, in the winter, all the leaves fall and the trunk and branches are a beautiful coral.  It makes me very happy.  In the last few days, I've been sick and it has become a little colder - that gives Hattie Star and I free reign to stay in our jammies all day and sit on the sofa as much as we like.  Yesterday, I walked into the living room and she was snuggled up with all of her babies on the couch.  This also made me happy and realize that I need to cherish these silly quiet moments with her.  And then, after being housebound for a few days, I went grocery shopping....the ever dangerous New Seasons.  Is it odd that I was so pleased with my stocked pantry and fresh veggies and fruit that I felt compelled to take a picture?  There is something for me about being in the kitchen by myself, burning candles, listening to my Nick Drake/Vashti Bunyan/Neko Case mix on www.pandora.com and having a fully stocked kitchen.  This also makes me happy.  Now I can look forward to making homemade vegan pizza tonight on my new Pampered Chef pizza stone with fresh heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, spinach, basil and red sauce.  (A little gorgonzola on the side to pacify my sweet husband).  I am not normally a pampered chef girl, but I scored about 4 major pieces of brand new Pampered Chef stoneware on Craig's List for $50...right on!  This made me very happy as well.  One more kitchen related tidbit, you know when you want to whip up a really yummy salad and don't have time to make homemade dressing?  Well, for 40 (well maybe 20) years I have been in search of a healthy, non-cheesy store-bought bottled dressing that I would feel comfortable serving guests on a tossed salad.  Friends, I have found it:  Annie's Naturals Balsamic Vinaigrette.  Low in sugar!  Use mixed organic baby greens or baby spinach, some carmelized walnuts or chopped roasted hazelnuts and a little crumbled gorgonzola if you're a dairy person and toss with some of this dressing and it's magic!  This made me very, very happy as well.

Daily Life

As I've been sick and on the sofa for a couple of days now, I have been "wasting" time pouring over some really interesting blogs.  I am realizing I am not alone in my love of the simple things in daily homelife.  So many times throughout the day, I see something or someone in my home in a particular setting and it just warms my heart.  I love predictability in my house.  I love knowing that each morning when I rise for coffee, I can look out at this jungle above my kitchen sink - knowing that my "stained glass shrinky dink" from Henry, my favorite owl toothpick holder, a yummy smelling candle and my flailing rubber tree plant in the brown elephant will be sitting there waiting for me.  I love it that when we go to cook that everything is in its spot....and of course, it's not just the utilitarian aspect of it, but that it is also appealing to my eye.  I love all of my "goods" on my shelf above my stove.  I was inspired to create such a shelf by this great book I recently purchased called Recycled Home.  My sweet husband went to the hardware store for brackets and a thick chunk of wood for a shelf and there you go...my vision was accomplished.  When I want my agave syrup or my coconut butter or my tea tin or my french press, I know they will always be in their little spot.  Is it odd that I find this comforting?  Is it odd that I look at these pictures and feel happy?  Well, weird or not, this is me.  These things make me happy.  I like creating this sort of environment for my kids too.  We move ALOT, yet each "house" feels like "home" to them, because everything is always in its "spot" regardless of what "shell" we are in.  I loved this picture in my dining room this morning...a branch and a rose from my yard - a sign that fall is upon us - dew still on the leaves. Pears from a friend's house and signs of life from my creative little ones.  It's important to me that these things are available to them at all times - Hattie's "cutters" as she likes to call them, a journal, coloring books, paints.  I love it when they get the "urge" to create and everything they need is at their fingertips.  Anyway, random thoughts, but as I pour over certain blogs and see the sweet pictures posted - scenes from everyday life, whether it is a messy breakfast table or a seasonal shelf a family creates with carefully placed leaves, branches, shells and stones - I see that I am not alone in loving the beauty of daily life with my family.

Back to school

There is something so cozy about school starting back up.  I love the look of the pile of shoes & rubber boots by the door and the kids jackets and backpacks on the peg rack...it just feels like home to me.  I love the days getting shorter and the warm glow of the lamps in the evening that just invite you to snuggle in for the night.  I am also loving my visits to our local bakery, Baker & Spice, in the late afternoon with Miss Hattie...on our way to pick up brother from school.   And then there are the sweet moments after school...snacks and hugs...so happy to have brother home.

my sweet babies

Henry Joe Carlow...our beautiful boy

Hattie Star...our little impish girl

my first blog posting

on a whim, i started a blog.  i named it "the flowering tree."  very symbolic of our family.  

henry and i are snuggled up watching the discovery channel....i think i will enjoy my boy and write more later.

sleep tight