Today I'm boarding a flight to L.A. to meet my two sweet nieces Lily and Penny in Santa Monica. I'm so excited to hold them tight, snuggle them close and take in their sweet baby scents. Miss Hadley scored a solo trip this time (she'll have us all to herself!), but don't feel too bad for Carson – he has slumber parties scheduled with both local grandparents. With all the attention (and cookie making and special treats) I don't think we'll be missed.

I've put together a little package for each baby. I wanted something unique for these two so I contacted my talented friend Betsy who runs little bird apparel to design a couple of her custom pinafores. I asked for something retro and threw out turquoise and orange for possible color options (no matching pink ensembles for these two!) She emailed me fabric choices and three days later these beautiful creations were complete. Best part - this pinafore grows with them. Fits as a dress at six months and as a shirt through age three. Hadley has one and when she goobers up one side I just turn it inside out. That's right, it's reversible! And practical and adorable. 

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll be back on Monday.

photos by little bird apparel

Received the seeds at a birthday party last month. 

Can we plant them now? he asked when we got home.

Too cold, we'll need to wait until spring, I told him.

Is it spring today? he asked the next morning.

It'll be spring when the flowers are out. When it's warmer.

Yesterday he noticed the forsythia blooming from the porch. Look! It's spring now. At our house! It's time to plant my peas!

Today I dug a trench. He counted and placed. We covered them up and sprinkled water over them.

Once inside he sat by the window and looked out at the garden. I'm going to watch my peas grow from here.

That's a good idea. But it takes time. We can check on them next week to see if they've begun to sprout.

Okay, mama. But right now I'm watching them grow.

I spotted this DIY cheese kit during a recent shopping trip. Jason received a book on cheese making for Christmas and this seemed like the perfect gift to get him started as the official Cheesemaker of the house. Over the weekend we tried it out and made a fresh batch of goat cheese. It was much easier than expected and turned out creamy and delicious. Since it was our first time we played it safe making plain goat cheese, but next time we'll mix it up and get creative with herbs and peppercorns. One batch made three good sized wheels. Which in our house will last roughly three days.

I was happy to learn this is a Portland-based company and the owner of Urban Cheesecraft teaches these classes right down the street!

View their etsy shop to purchase a kit or check your local grocer.

Draining the curds and whey:


Setting in the cheese molds:


The perfect afternoon snack:

This week has been a bit of a whirlwind putting finishing touches on websites, meeting deadlines and just trying to stay afloat. Really happy this sunny weekend has finally arrived.  But the forecast for sun only spills into tomorrow when I plan to be outside soaking up every ray. With my hands in the earth. On Sunday the rain returns and we're hunkering down to start work on our taxes. Sigh. Did I mention tomorrow is going to be sunny? In the middle of March in the Northwest?  Enjoy the weekend everyone.

I was honored to be a guest blogger this week over at Tangled & True featuring Carson's 3rd birthday! {View the post here.}

I've been meaning to post this for awhile. My brother recently directed this music video of his band Noir City that's created some buzz. Filmed on location throughout Portland. I love the band shots taken in a vacant condo in the Pearl District. Did I mention he also wrote the song. Super proud of him:

Spent the last hour thoroughly enjoying this new blog. Adding satirical captions to the photographs of hip homeowners featured in Dwell (and one random pic from Portland Monthly). The magazine that always makes our house feel cluttered and cramped after reading. And leaves Jason pondering the possibilities of prefab.

Photos via Unhappy Hipsters

The rain returned today and put me in the mood to cook up something warm and comforting for dinner. Spotted this soup on Stephmodo this afternoon and was intrigued. Carson pushed over the yellow chair to watch and help. Mama, I'm the Potato Passer! As he eyed me chopping the kale I assured him it did not taste like spinach (which he's currently boycotting).

This soup was a hit with both kids and surprisingly fast and easy to make. Carson finished his bowl (kale included) and reminded me it's good to try new things. Plus, we have leftovers. And homemade soup for lunch the following day tastes so good.

Complete recipe here

With no commitments we decided to escape for a weekend excursion. The question at hand: mountains or beach. Even in February, there's something about the gray, dreary coast in the dead of winter I find appealing. Although when Friday arrived Mother Nature decided to fast forward the calendar to June. Not a cloud in sight and temperatures in the 60s.

We packed it in: beach combing, seashell collecting, Skuuting, sunset watching, dance parties, fresh crab cracking (we had to eat quickly before Hadley finished it all, butter dripping off her chin), and a trip to Mo's for their famous clam chowder.  I had the best intentions to make headway on my book club book, but with so many good magazines and other interesting books around  I was easily distracted.

Discovered a family-friendly cottage community we plan on returning to again. Love off-season rates in the wintertime. Only next time, it will be for longer than two short days.

Carson's favorite parts: Sleeping in a tent (canopy) bed. Dreamed about circuses and camping. And of course, riding his Skuut. And the park! Which was a stone's throw from our front porch and we went to four times in 36 hours. As we pulled away he lamented, I don't want to leave our blue beach house...can we just live here. 

We ended the trip with a stop off at the candy store for Seafoam and Beaver Claws. Seemed like a great idea at the time. To celebrate the end of such a fun-filled weekend. Until the relaxing drive home we envisioned while the kids napped turned into 20+ verses of Yankee! Doodle!, followed by hysterical laughing, followed by two hours of no actual napping:

I recently designed jewelry cards for one of my clients and love the inspirational quotes she chose. Among my favorites:

{friends}
Wherever we are, it is our friends who make our world. – Henry Drummond

{love}
Love generously. Praise loudly. Live fully. – Elias Porter

{family}
We must find the time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. – Robert Kennedy

{believe}
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. – Eleanor Roosevelt

{play}
The more I practice, the luckier I get. – Arnold Palmer

We've been spoiled with incredible weather this week in Portland. Clear blue skies, sunshine and temperatures in the 50s.

By one o'clock today I couldn't take it any longer. I wanted to be out in it. Ignoring email and work, I laced up my running shoes, booked out the front door and ran hard for about five blocks before my mind reminded my body, Hey hot shot, you're out of shape, remember? – you need to go back to your 11 minute mile before you hurt yourself.

I shuffled through the remainder of my three mile run down our neighborhood streets dreaming about getting back into shape and running another marathon. I haven't trained or ran in a race since before I was pregnant with Carson, and lately I've been thinking a lot about getting out there again.

I emailed my old running partner with much enthusiasm about running the Portland Marathon this fall and she suggested getting back in the saddle with something a little less ambitious. Like the Helvetia Half. Voice of reason. So I'm making my proclamation, blogland. On June 12th, I'm doing it! Maybe I can get Jason to join me. Eight years ago this was the first race we ran together. Plus, there's the promise of Helvetia Tavern Burgers at the finish line.

My last race: Photo taken after finishing the Mt Hood Pacific Crest Trail Ultramarathon, July 2005.

Still loves cars and dinosaurs and imitating pirates. But lately every bag becomes a purse, baskets turn into doll beds and there's been a lot of twirling. And oh my, don't get me started on her shoes. Still my daredevil, rough and tumble girl. Just prefers to do her climbing and make her messes donning a tutu.

Wishing you a Happy Valentine's weekend. Our plans include two birthday celebrations, a family dinner and Olympics watching. On Sunday I hope to only do things I love surrounded by the people I love most. Including eating food I love. Beginning with waffles.

{image via design*sponge}

My friend Jim loves this city and its people so much he built a website all about it. After years of really hard work his much anticipated PortlandOregon.com made its debut last week.

It's an amazing online community that keeps growing by the day. Learn about upcoming events, connect with friends, search for places of interest, talk about your favorite shop, or find out what other Portlanders think of that new restaurant down the street. Even promote your own business!

If you live in Portland ('burbs included) sign up, join your neighborhood page and get to know the people and this wonderful city we all call home a little better.

This has been a real grassroots effort, started from the vision of a single Portlander who believed that the best businesses enrich the communities around them. Check it out and sign up today!

{Quadrant stickers from PortlandOregon.com}

Carson's Valentine Exchange is this week at his school. I wanted to find a project we could do together and would hold his interest.  I did not want to be stuck gluing paper hearts together till the wee hours of the morning all by myself. Plus, if we were making 23 valentines it couldn't be too time consuming. I scoured the Internet and found this easy and fun paper airplane template. We took it for a test drive and found it flies incredibly well.

I simply printed out the template and instructions (standard printer paper works best for flight). I made up a sheet of red card stock with all of the kids' names printed on it. Supervising Carson with the paper cutter, he cut out each name and told me something unique about them. Ranging from Emmett likes the moon to Katrina turned me into a pretzel today!

He decided what to write on each plane. For the most part it was You Make My Heart Soar! for the girls and the boys got You're Plane Cool! with an occasional Fly High, Valentine! randomly thrown in.

We rolled up each plane with a set of instructions, secured with scotch tape and tied on the name tags with bakers twine and ribbon. The entire project took about an hour and a half.





{template and instructions found here}

Publish Post

After spending the last week on bed rest in a hospital in L.A., Jason's sister, Julie, welcomed her two sweet baby girls over the weekend. Arriving just in time to wish their daddy a happy birthday. Can't wait to hold these two bundles next month. Congratulations Julie and Aaron. Welcome to the world Lily and Penny!

Jason is the most difficult person to shop for. No article of clothing I buy ever fits him right. And he's pretty much content with all his current material possessions. Asking for a gift list from him is like pulling teeth. So with Christmastime and his B-day falling in the same week I need to get creative.

I can't remember where I first saw it, but when I discovered Bacon Jam I knew I had to click add to cart and wrap it up with a big red bow. Jason has introduced me to many things over the years including things I didn't think I would initially like. Okay, it's not like he introduced me to bacon. But he made me realize I was depriving myself of something I really liked. Because I was always stealing bites of his strips over brunch. Until one day he cut me off and told me to order my own. And like my college adviser taught me, if it makes you feel good, everything in moderation is probably okay.

I purchased a jar, dropped it in his stocking and couldn't wait for him to unwrap it so that I could have a taste. And it was in high demand. Word got out that this guy up in Seattle was making some seriously good grub out of his street cart. It was backordered and my jar made it just in time for Christmas morning.

And it really is super yummy. Spread on Dave's Killer Bread with slices of thick tomato makes the best grilled cheese sandwich you will ever experience. It's also delicious tossed in a pasta or on your morning bagel.

But we've come to the bottom of the jar and now I it's time to order more. I was thinking of giving it to Jason for Valentine's Day but to be honest, that would really just be a gift for myself.

Order your jar here

 {photo via foodzie}

These die cut jigsaw puzzle stools. Functional and versatile and simply stunning. Fit together for a coffee table, impromptu seating or just a place to toss your keys. I asked Jason if he could whip these out next weekend and he told me I'd have better luck asking that spazzy dude I had a crush on ten years ago from TLC.

During the event at the Glass Museum on Saturday night I had a wonderful conversation with the wife of one of Jason's coworkers about documenting your life. Keeping track of your memories. And making a conscious decision to live a memorable life. She shared an idea she's planning on doing to kick off turning the big 40: A Ten Year Journal. 365 pages, ten entries per page. Short and sweet. So with the passing of each year you look back and reflect on what was going on in your life on the same day the years prior. Then she talked about doing it with her oldest son who is about 10. I thought that was brilliant.

This led to a discussion about the the book I just finished reading for my bookclub. In it the author has a friend who writes down everything he ever remembered. I don't have the energy for that, but there were many things in the book that struck a chord with me. Creating a meaningful life. Living a good story.

Tonight I put this on backorder.

Off on a road trip. Headed north for an overnight with old friends who we haven't seen in far too long. Then on Saturday we're attending a fancy event here where I get to change out of my yoga pants for a night and attempt to apply eye shadow.

Snack bag packed with Veggie Booty and string cheese, fresh magazines stacked for reading, iPod loaded with the Road Trip Mix. Check, check, check. Look forward to kicking back, latte in hand and relaxing for the next three hours. After Carson gets Yankee Doodle! out of his system.

I hope Jason realizes he'll be doing the driving.

She can rev an engine like nobody's business and readily offers up the coveted Mcqueen when asked nicely. Plus she learns new tricks like retrieving cars from across the room. Baby sisters are cool.

On a recent rainy afternoon Carson, Hadley and I made a batch of granola. They helped measure and mix and by the time I placed the pans in the oven it was way past nap time.

After tucking them in with the promise of a bowl after they woke up, I went downstairs to work as the smell of baking oats, sunflower seeds and coconut wafted throughout the house.

They both took marathon naps and as it grew dark outside and dinnertime approached I decided to wake them up. Carson asked for granola the second his eyes popped open and with no plans for dinner I decided to make it a meal. I reached in the fridge for their favorite yogurt that we now purchase in 64oz. tubs.

"Breakfast for dinner! That's silly," said Carson as he asked for a second bowl.

Or brilliant, I thought as I rinsed out the bowls and cleanup was done.

Last week we had the opportunity to be included in a photo series by talented Portland photographer Amy Vining. She gave us a sneak peek of a few of the photos on her blog, and tomorrow we have a viewing to see the rest. She captured some great moments despite dealing with two very jet legged subjects. Hadley decided to greet the day on east coast time at 4am the morning of the shoot. Fortunately I fished a half empty bag of M&Ms leftover from the plane from the diaper bag and squeezed out a few tear-free shots. Then we all went home and took a long nap.

A few months ago a friend sent me a link to this tutorial. I immediately wanted to create one for Carson and Hadley's room.

Since I lack the crafty gene I asked my mother-in-law if she would be interested in helping me make it making it for the kids for Christmas. She graciously agreed and we headed out to my favorite fabric shop and found this adorable owl-themed corduroy.

For two kiddos who love to snuggle and cuddle up on big cushions with picture books, this shelf has been getting a lot of use.

We didn't have heat but oh how the sun did shine. A full week spent relaxing. Sleeping in and daily runs, catching up on reading and home-cooked family dinners. A lovely girls afternoon with Julie and Jen. Papa Ron and Grammy scooted Jason and I out the door to enjoy a few date nights while they bonded with the kids.
The day before we left it warmed up enough to feel the sand between our toes. Carson searched for seashells, while Hadley covered herself in sand. Wanting to stay all day. 

We're enjoying fresh local treats like orange ice cream this week as the temperatures dip into the 30s and 40s. Pretending this unseasonably cold weather doesn't bother us while we're vacationing. In Florida. While it's warmer back in Oregon in January.