For those of you who think I never quilt anymore! This quilt has been three years coming. I bought the RJR Farmer's Market Fabric when I first moved to Madison with the intention of making a picnic blanket. I got so far as designing the blanket and even began to cut the fabric. And then... the first winter came. and the next summer and the next. Finally this summer I was determined to get this project off the ground. I scrapped the original quilt design and started by making disappearing 9 patch blocks. I love how easy they are ...

We took our annual trip to the East Coast to visit family. As always it was very rushed and hectic but the kids were incredibly well behaved and flexible. Shayna was great on her first plane trip. We had a vacation within a vacation when we spent two days in New York City. The highlight of that trip was definitely our time at the High Line (a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park built on old elevated freight tracks. It features an integrated landscape, combining meandering concrete pathways with naturalistic plantings, fixed and movable seating, lighting, and special features.) We had a nice ...

My neighbor had a baby a few weeks ago and I wanted to make her something filling and warming and full of nutrients. I picked out this recipe for Black Bean Chilaquile from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. I'm not exactly sure what was "low-fat" about it but it was DAMN GOOD. The only CSA ingredient I used was spinach but later in the summer you could use local corn, tomatoes and onions as well. This meal could be made very easily and quickly using canned and store-bought ingredients or more slowly with fresh. I opted for canned tomatoes ...

Shayna is now big enough for the exersaucer, the high chair, and toys! My house is being overrun by baby gear.

My almost first grader! Talia has grown up so much this year. Well, in most ways...! Today is a very special day for her class. Not only is it the last day of school, it is also her teacher's last day. Everyone seemed to be weepy-- especially the teacher-- when I dropped her off. I'm so proud of Talia and all her accomplishments this year. The skill I was most excited for her to acquire was learning to read and she totally did. I love reading with her each night and watching her brain work it all out ...

Talia's kindergarten teacher is retiring after almost 30 years. A parent of one of her classmates wanted to make a quilt as a gift for the teacher. She had each child paint on fabric and then... she got stuck. She hasn't ever quilted before. I took over the job and decided to make the pieces into flowers and added stems, leaves, butterflies, the school photo and a colorful binding. It's a challenge to take over a project that wasn't your own idea. The only thing I would change would be the fabric she chose for the ...

I've never been much of a collector. While my home is filled overfilled with stuff (and I hoard fabric of course), I consider myself a minimalist when it comes to decorative display items. I have beautiful built in glass display cabinets and yet I have no idea what to put in them. Recently, however, I've started collecting unique measuring spoons and measuring cups. There are some really cute ones out there and it's been lots of fun trying to find them.

I think collecting in this day and age is actually way too easy. Assuming the items ...

One of the things I like so much about getting a CSA share is that it forces me to discover new recipes that become family favorites (and by family I mean only Ron and me). For example, Lentil-Rhubarb Soup has become a monthly staple in our house and I only discovered it because I wanted to use rhubarb without making dessert. Soy-Roasted Radishes, Grilled eggplant salad and Green Beans Gremolata all came out of necessity. This year we opted for a Spring CSA share as well as the summer share. The spring share has a lot of greens. A lot ...

This is the third year in a row that we have joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture- a co-op where you but into a farm for the year and you receive a box of their produce each week during the growing season). I like the challenge of tackling the box each week, trying to use the produce up before the week is through and another box comes our way. I've discovered new vegetables and new recipes that have ...

We had sushi and ice cream cake with Alex's best friend Penny and her family. Compared with Talia at age three or just two months ago when she turned 6, Alex really got the shaft. I did not fill his room with balloons as I did for Talia. His presents were not wrapped, there was no card. He did not have a party with 20 friends. I didn't even make his "3" shirt until the day of his actual birthday. I did make him two "3" shirts though. And, truthfully, while Talia's "big present" was an American ...

I'm just going to yada yada over the last month. Yes, I had (have?) postpartum depression. Yes, I'm doing much much (MUCH) better. So, yada yada yada, Shayna is almost three months old, Alex turned 3 and spring is here. I missed out on some things over the last month but I'm not going to dwell on any of it. We have made some positive changes in our household; namely we hired a nanny to help out three days a week. She hasn't started yet but I have such high hopes! The kids became a tiny ...

So Shayna is six weeks old tonight. Have we really made it this far? Is time flying so fast or crawling-- I can't tell? In some ways I feel like I can't remember what life was like without her. In other ways I feel like, "So this is my life now?" as in, I'm never going to have time to myself ever again, I'm always going to feel like I'm shortchanging at least one of the kids (not to mention my husband), I'm still not sure how I'm going to manage to run ...

Talia's 6th birthday party was at Beansprouts, a hip little kids' cafe in our neighborhood. It was a "pj party" (all the kids came in their pajamas and it was held in the evening) and a cooking class. The kids seemed to have a good time and, more importantly, it was relatively stress free for me. All I had to do was get some goody bags together. I went with the pajama party theme and bought washcloths and pillowcases onto which I appliqued the kids' initial and a rocketship or flowers, respectively. I also gave out toothbrushes and toothpaste ...

We are doing quite well, considering. Shayna is a very good baby. She has her own surprisingly predictable schedule that is conducive to the family's needs. Let's just put it plainly-- she sleeps a lot. Now that she's almost 5 weeks we're all smiling at her like crazy, hoping we will be the one on whom she bestows her first social smile. Her sleepy, unintentional smiles are a ray of sunshine on my day.

This is what 6 looks like! Talia turned 6 yesterday. I wish I had more time to reflect-- but with a new baby I haven't had time to reflect on ANYTHING!

It looks like I'm still finding time to craft with a new baby in the house. Honestly I just don't feel good if I can't make something with my hands every single day. Of course there are many days I don't get to be creative in that way but I try not to let more than a few days slip by. I'm still working on Shayna's baby quilt (top is completely done, back is about 2/6 done, then there is the basting... and the quilting... and the binding...) and today I spent at ...

I'm just proud of myself for trying the family photo shoot at all. To my surprise, everyone cooperated- if only for a short time. And I got that one great shot of just Shayna (see previous post). The kids seems to go back and forth between wanting to hold the baby and wanting to watch tv. They definitely don't want to change diapers or be anywhere near her if she's crying. I thought it would be fun for the kids to help with her bath. The first time they were so freaked out by her belly button ...

Just a taste to whet your appetite! Here is baby Shayna, 1 week old.