party prep...

It all began innocently enough with a moose stamp I happened to come across online one day several months back when I was looking for something else...and before I knew it I found myself painting plastic moose entirely a solid blue color and others light brown, painting baby food jars the same color (original idea here...although I didn't dip mine), sewing paper garlands, making moose invitations, sawing & sanding branches, making cake flags, and more!  When I first saw this adorable moose stamp I immediately thought it'd be a neat theme to springboard from for little Bub's first birthday party...it was so cute and boy-ish and being that we live "up north" and all I thought it'd be fun and inspire me...and it did!  So that's the kind of crafting I've been up to for the past several weeks.  And now that the party has come and gone, I'll have a few party photos to come too!  Phew!!!  No one told me a 1st birthday party was so much work!  ;)

twinflowers

 It was a truly wonderful summer weekend...complete with little Bub's 1st birthday bash, some fun Father's day badminton, late Sunday evening strawberry jam-making, and snapping a few photos of the sweet and dainty Twinflowers (Linnaea) now blooming in my garden.

lazy deer...

I sort of wish I could be a little bit lazy like this deer that was lounging leisurely under the birdhouse this morning.  It's such a rainy, stormy day here and curling up with a book and some tea sounds really nice.  But we have a little baby who is turning one (ONE already, I can't believe it!) and there is SO very much to do.  We're having a big party for him this weekend and I've been having fun planning and making things for it...it's just that actual execution of it all that makes me fret a little bit!  Hopefully the weather will be sunny & lovely and I'll be back with a few photos from the party to share next week!

mini fairy gardens...

 A cluster of some tiny fairy gardens I put together this weekend using 3 lovely painted pots.  The two bird planters were hand-painted by Mum...featuring a Ruby-throated Hummingbird and a Golden Crowned Kinglet...so sweet and dear to me!  I dug up the moss from our woods for the oblong planter and the other two are filled with my ever-expanding Irish Moss that I bought a few summers back. Hopefully the little white flowers it gets later in the summer will bloom here too!  Then I of course had to run to the nursery the next day to find a cute little gnome (not pictured) to add to the fairy mix...no fairies have been spotted yet!

strawberry muffins...

I think strawberry muffins may be one of my favorite kind of muffins.  The strawberries taste so good smothered within a sweet, cake-y muffin...almost like it is filled with jam.  I made these ones earlier this week and even little baby Bub couldn't resist gobbling some of one up, still warm from the oven, as I held him in my lap.

P.S.  That little pink bowl with handles (I think originally a sugar bowl?) is one of my latest thrift store finds!  I looove little bowls and cups (and things that hold things I guess). This pink one (Fire King) with swirls was calling my name.  After about a year long thrifting/antiquing dry spell, I finally found some lovely things last week!  That is what makes the thrill of the hunt all the more exciting!

wild asparagus hunting

I get a little crazy this time of year about finding things to eat in the wild.  I don't know what it is?  So I took little Bub on his first "wild asparagus hunt" to my secret spot that I found a few years back.  We had some success...if you consider 2 stalks success. Not very much to sustain us but still exciting anyhow.  There were more coming up...just too little to pick yet...and some that were just past their picking prime.  Maybe in a few days we'll check back for more!

to catch a butterfly...

 We've been noticing lots of pretty butterflies around lately...like this big Monarch one that's been frequenting our plum tree blossoms.  On Saturday, the sky was so blue, the clouds sparse, and I hopped and danced my way around the tree to catch this one on my camera...it was so lightning fast, flitting around...and I'm sure the neighbors were wondering about me...just a bit.

mixed berry galette

While there are heaping piles of laundry to do and much other housework to be done, errands to be run, stacks of mail, paper, and other randomness covering the table/counter/dresser/desk/most any flat surface really, and a yard being overtaken by an astounding number of dandelions (yes, this is what coming home from a long vacation looks like), I found myself in the kitchen throwing together a galette.  I'm trying to tackle all that other stuff in bits and pieces.  I know it'll all get done eventually.  But I'm really craving some homemade food after being away from home for so long.  We did have a kitchen where we stayed while on vacation and we did mostly eat in (just easier with a little one), and we also had some amazing food (will share in a later post), but I still feel like churning out my own home-cooking now that we're back.  I've seen various galette recipes in magazines and cookbooks and they always look so effortless.  (I very loosely followed the peach-blackberry recipe in Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.)  Also, I've been trying to clean out the freezer and noticed I still have quite a few frozen berries from last season.  So with a new berry season on the horizon, I decided to use most of my old ones up.  This galette is filled with black raspberries, blueberries, a few red raspberries, and a few gooseberries...all wild or from the garden!  And now I can't wait for more berry goodness soon to come!