An Oldest, Dearest Friend Moment

It's Friday already? Where did the week go? Just a moment from our week, time to pause, remember, and savor always...inspired by the beautiful Amanda Soule!

Hope you all had just as fast a week as I did!

Happy Weekending!

A Crown for the Boy of Honor

Someone is turning two very soon! TWO! Can you believe it? Where have the last two years gone? I swear, it was just yesterday that I brought my eensy baby home from the hospital! Of course, it's reason for us to celebrate! Last year, I made him a Happy Birthday Banner in between afternoons of reboarding the deck. I pulled it together just in the nick of time for my guy.



This year, I made him a crown! I didn't get to make one last year because his godmother had gotten him a crown specifically for his first birthday and it was perfectly fitting for the occasion, but somehow, "Baby's First Birthday" isn't really working now! Patrick has been really into the moon lately, so when I was looking at my colors, his favorite color, "lellow" seemed perfectly fitting for the accents!



It pulled together rather quickly and I'm in love with it!



Patrick isn't the biggest fan of hats of any sort right now, but just as the banner is set to come out again, I'm excited for him to have this crown every year for his birthday!

Little Songwriters

I can see them now...


20 years from today...

Sitting at the piano, oldest and dearest of friends...



Working out a melody, making sense of all the good tunes their parents have instilled in them...



"I'm in a band!" They'll tell their friends..



Perhaps they may even play out...



Look at them now..so innocent..with so much friendship ahead of them...

A Kazoo Moment

Trying something different today! Hope you enjoy this little video!




{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Choo! Choo!

Having a little boy comes with all things boy. It's not that I haven't exposed him to other things. He's got a kitchen and a baby stroller, but he seems to flock to the trucks and trains! So of course, we've capitalized on what he loves! He often hears the train nearby from the light rail and wants to go see it, so we walk down the street and make a big deal of the train...so much, that if we are even on a bike, he still points and wants to wait for it! So you can imagine getting to ride on a train, albeit a small one, was quite a thrill for him!



Over the weekend, we headed to the WXPN Xponential Music Festival. In conjunction, they had the Camden Children's Garden open to us, where we played for a bit in the water before heading over to the train. Boy did his eyes light up! I don't think he knew what hit him! The train! Right there! And oh wait? I'm going to RIDE IT?! He was in shock, I'm sure!



It was so worth the cost of the ride, that we paid for it twice...and had to pull a crying boy off the train when all was said and done! I'm thinking, perhaps, finding a real big train in Colorado will certainly be in order! Patrick would love it!

The Bench by the Door

Every summer, I attempt to find interesting projects around the house to take up my time. Of course, this year, it's getting harder with a toddler who only naps once a day. Last summer, I reboarded our deck. A few years back, I tiled the bathroom floor and put up wainscotting..some years, it's been painting..and although the projects are a bit smaller now than they used to be, I still look forward to them. The agenda for this year hopefully includes:

- powerwashing and staining the deck (because we couldn't do it last year, the wood needed to dry!)

- painting the bench on my front sidewalk

- making curtains for the bedroom

- perhaps tiling the backsplash in the kitchen with Armstrongs Metalaire tiles (have you seen these? They look like TIN! So very cool!)

- painting the bench in the kitchen

- glueing everything in need with carpenter's glue to repair...


I started with painting the bench in the kitchen. It's really just a nice garbage find. It holds all of our coats through the year and bags and stuff.



We store all our hats, mittens, gloves, and scarves inside, along with a few extraneous things, like Joe's life preserver for kayaking....but since I literally hauled it down the street several years ago on a skateboard, it has been in disrepair in one spot, a piece of the side was broken off (and I kept it all this time!) and I always felt that it would look much nicer black rather than the honey color it came to us as.



Of course, picking one of the most humid days of summer was not exactly a smart choice, but I did it! I used Martha Stewart's Francesca black from the Home Depot. It came out looking spectacular! Unfortunately, the humidity was not on my side, and a few places chipped..I suspect I'll be doing some touchups to this piece in the future. But at least for now, I'm really happy with how it came out!

A Baby Possum Moment!

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Amanda Soule

What special moments have you had in your own week?

Radiator Organizer

This little idea has been brewing in my head for quite some time. A place for Patrick to keep some toys/books, and something to make use of the radiator as well! I was going to use some corduroy on it, but the second I saw Castle Peeps by Lizzy House, I knew that was the right choice, and it was time to make my radiator organizer!



It all came together rather quickly. The larger background piece has a layer of quilt batting inside of it. It measures about 24 inches across and has two ties at either corner. I flipped over the top of it to create a sleeve for a dowel to prevent sagging.

The hardest part was deciding which of the Castle Peeps fabric I was going to use! They are all so amazingly fun!



If I had to do it again, I would make the ties a bit longer. I had only enough room to knot the around the radiator top..I would have preferred a bow...Ahh well...there are many many more radiators in this house that could use some love :)

Busy Summer So Far

We headed to the beach again the other day! It was more than 100 degrees here, but alas, I just couldn't stand to be at home! I knew that once we crossed over the dunes, it would be spectacular!




And it was! It started out rather cautious for Patrick. I brought all the amenities knowing full and well that my boy is far from daring...plenty of snacks and drinks...toys...even the blow up pool! But it wasn't long before he moved in with the neighbors because they had the "cool toys" and the most awesome shovels!



They had the sweetest little boy who was happy to amuse Patrick for a while...



It even made my little man braver than usual!

A First Kiss Moment!!!!

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Amanda Soule

What special moments have you had in your own week?

Wrapping in a Pinch

Over the weekend, we were lucky enough to see some friends of ours who have a new baby. I've had a gift all lined up for this sweet little one, but when I went to find wrapping paper that was just right, I had absolutely none!



Of course, I always keep a roll of plain brown paper on hand. And of course, I've got lots of stamps! So I decided to make my own! The process is really simple actually.

1. Lay out your paper flat.

2. Stamp away, making a random design on your paper. Be sure to turn your shapes every so often.

3. Wrap that gift! You might even want to make a matching gift tag for it.



When we arrived at the BBQ, the presentation alone was a big hit! I was very excited about it!

A Quilt for the Bed - Summer Studio

I've been looking at the bed lately, feeling like it needs something....I'd been eyeing the pickstitch quilt over at Pottery Barn, but why? I kept asking myself why I'd spend so much on a quilt from a box store when I could just make something myself!



When my Happy Garden Fat Quarters arrived, I knew exactly what I was going to do with them...it took me some thought in laying them out, with all the beautiful colorways and all. But I finally got it just how I wanted it, and it's all pieced together and currently on my machine getting freemotion quilted..



No one told me how HARD it is to push a quilt through a machine! Gah! My hands get tired! None the less, I imagine it will take me a few days to get it done before I bind it up and put it on my bed!



For the reverse, I used a sheet I picked up from Goodwill! Nothing like repurposing a good thing! It was so unbelievably soft, I can just imagine the quilt itself! So excited to have this done and on my bed!

Biking in New Jersey

The weather here has been absolutely spectacular! You'd never imagine it is really as beautiful as it is considering just last week, I felt like I had to peel the clothes from my sweaty damp skin! We've really been enjoying it, although it leaves little room for swimming!

We've been out on our bikes a bunch. Patrick loves the bike. He stands at the shed door and cries, "Bike! Bike!" So of course, we oblige!

I know many people have this set image of what New Jersey is, but I'm here to show you differently! Here are a few pictures from our ride today. It really did seem to be all about the hay bailing, which was fascinating to watch! There are also a few other fun things in this mix! What have you been up to lately? (and I know your out there! So don't be shy! Leave a comment!)

A Baby Bunny (in the grass!) moment

Just a picture, no words, a moment to cherish always and remember. Inspired by the wonderful and beautiful Amanda Soule.

Gardening for Summer

The summer heat this year has killed my pansies. It's really fair to tell you that I never really plant pansies, except this year, the brutal winter made me year for color earlier than usual, so pansies it was! Unfortunately, they needed replacing badly. I'd walk up on my deck after work and just wince when I'd pass them by.




"When school gets out..." I'd remind myself. And I certainly didn't waste any time in getting started! Patrick and I headed out to the nursery the other day to pick up some new flowers. At the point, the choices are different than early spring, but still nice. I had a few spots in mind that needed filling. Filling them we did! Patrick, of course, was willing to help me out with the planting.



This box was given to me by a neighbor. I had originally intended to bring it inside and make it into a "shoe" box. Unfortunately, when it made it's way across the street, we'd realized that it absolutely reeked of oil! As it sat on the side of my house for a few weeks, I could smell it through the window when it got hot. I figured it wouldn't be healthy to plant herbs in it, so I decided on a mixed variety of flowers. I'm happy with the way it came out!



Now, I can walk onto my deck, morning, noon, and night, and certainly not wince at my flowerpots any longer!