spring things...

Recently I made a couple new garlands...one, the butterfly one directly above, was requested by mum for her birthday (similar to the Valentine ones I made here.) I never did take a proper photo of it before giving it to her so this is a snippet of a photo she sent me to show how she hung it above her kitchen table. Also, for fun I got inspired one night to make a very springy, floral and birdy, garland/banner. For this one I used only old vintage cards and some vintage polka dot paper to break it up a bit. And those white branches I spray-painted last fall have become my interchangeable seasonal display. Ornaments were hung from them at Christmas. In February, they held a little red paper heart garland. And now for Spring, I twisted on a few pretty pink paper flowers to mimic some blossoming branches. Its amazing how something so simple can make such a big difference to me!

pickles and potato salad...

This weekend we made some quick sweet pickles. I'm not a canned/grocery store jar "sweet pickle" person but I do like fresh ones. Last year we had some delicious ones atop salads (sounds strange but was surprising really good!) at a favorite restaurant of ours and we've always been wanting to try and make our own. So when I saw this recipe in Country Living we decided to give them a go. They turned out pretty tasty...a little sweet and still very crunchy! And because I had fresh dill and red onions and potatoes that needed using up, I made some potato salad too. April seems a little early for potato salad but it was good and fresh too!

peanut butter cookies...

After a string of many sleepless (up with little baby Bub) nights, I decided to make cookies yesterday. It was the sort of day when I wouldn't even trust myself to drive. And now I'm not really sure how or when I made them? It seemed to take all day: mix the dry ingredients together, go change a diaper...crack an egg, feed baby some lunch...scoop out peanut butter, chop some nuts, and play with baby a little while...get baby down for nap, start baking them and baby wakes up 20 minutes later...get baby back to sleep and bake some more...etc, etc and on it went! Needless to say I didn't make a good home-cooked dinner. But cookies are important. And I wanted to make them mainly to please Hub. I heard him rummaging in the freezer the other night in search of some homemade cookies, a place where we often keep extras...but we'd been out for quite awhile. I decided I wanted to make peanut butter cookies and surprisingly realized I've never baked this basic cookie before. So in search of a good recipe (I wanted them chewy and thick, not thin and crispy) I scanned many of my cookbooks/test kitchen magazines but couldn't come up with one good basic recipe. So I turned to the google and my search led me to this wonderfully written, make-me-hungry food blog. I pretty closely followed the recipe except I omitted the peanut butter chips (didn't have any) and the chocolate chips (because I just wanted a straight up pb cookie). I did add a 1/2 cup or so chopped peanuts too because I wanted some chunks (I used a creamy pb). So there you have it. And in the midst of all this very slow/scattered cookie-making, I decided to pretend I was an amateur food-stylist as well. I had to have a little fun too, oui?

P.S. Oh, and the cookies are delicious too. I lost count of how many I alone consumed. But they were little...tiny in fact! ;)
P.P.S. And I don't know why you are supposed to flatten them a bit with a fork? Anyone? I only remembered to do this about 50% of the time and I think I actually like the fluffier, un-flattened versions better. :)

in the studio {jarring order}

Lately my desk has become a total disaster. After completing some recent projects I decided I better get some order to things again. So I stayed up ridiculously late (ridiculous when you have a baby who doesn't sleep much or very well, I should say) working on the frivolous (yet fun to me) task of organizing my "studio". I already had many things in old apothecary jars but I decided to jar up some more things and do a little cleaning/rearranging/labeling. Besides having an abundance of baby food jars now, I also realized that many of the cute open dishes and such that I had things housed in were getting very dusty, very quickly since they are not in use as often any more. Plus, I like being able to easily see what's what in glass jars. I also did some organizing in my cubby cabinet too and made some little labels for boxes full of things. There now! That feels a little better!

P.S. It's a very foggy, gray day here (see?) so my untouched pictures are gray and a bit dreary as well!

mishmash lunch...

Last week I had lunch at my house for mum and a friend who were up for a little visit. It was a little bit impromptu (which is actually how I operate best anyways) and I thought it would be rather uncomplicated. We had chicken salad on croissants with some mixed greens and an asparagus jarlsberg tart (inspired by this gorgeous one...but with jarlsberg instead of ricotta) and lemon bars from the bakery for dessert. I thought I was giving myself a break by buying the dessert...but I'm slowly learning that what I once could do without a whole lot of effort now takes a TON of effort for me with a little nine-month old baby hanging on my leg (who is also going through a little bit of the stranger/separation anxiety stage too). It was fun to be with them and enjoy some adult conversation. And I loved using some of my vintage flowery dishes and girly things like teacups and doilies that haven't made it out of the cupboard in awhile lately...but I think my brain is finally starting to connect that things I used to do pre-baby are just not going to be same right now...which is all good and fine...I just need to learn that...and I think I finally am!

Spring dreams...

Just using the word "Spring" in my post title makes me a little happy! It has been warm and pleasant here lately and all the things that go along with Spring are surging through my head...warmer & longer days, flowers budding, grass greening up, birds chirping away, eating al fresco... The other day when it was sunny and 65 degrees out, I brought little baby bub outside and set him down on the grass for the very first time. He seemed so content, so happy, so calm and a little uncertain! He very gently pulled at the still brownish-green grass and held tightly to a rock I had given him, flipping it over and over in his hands...examining it as if he were on a new planet. I'm so excited for a whole spring (and then summer) ahead of us with new little outdoor discoveries like this with my new little explorer. Especially after being cooped up in the house during the long winter months...one can't help but be a bit antsy and excited. Yet in the meantime, I'm still conjuring up Spring inside...like this new pair of foxes I just recently completed for a wedding cake topper order. They feel very spring-like and cheerful to me. She requested teal blue and yellow details...I'm always surprised at all the different color combinations brides choose for their weddings...I don't think I've ever had the same 2 or 3 color combinations requested...the possibilities are almost infinite! Just like my dreams about a new Spring with my still-new baby...infinite possibilities!

peppermint and buttercream birds...

Some new birdies, now in the shop...
It's been awhile since I've made any bird toppers and its been fun to work with some pretty Spring colors while Winter white is all I'm seeing outside lately!

leap day blizzard...

Yesterday we had a big snowstorm here. The wind was rattling the house and swirling up drifts of snow everywhere...one of our upstairs windows is almost completely covered by a snowdrift now. Hub worked from home which was nice yet a little bit of a tease...I so wanted to ask him to help change some diapers but I knew I shouldn't. ;) I did wait until 5:00 pm to ask him and I did perhaps maybe save one diaper that had been verging on quite wet for just a bit...no harm done to baby, I assure you! My orchids (above) are crying out to be re-potted and I'm wishing I could drop them off at the greenhouse for them to properly do this for me...oh well! I will get around to it one of these days I'm sure.
So long February!