just work pottery...

rustic honey pot in ivory and brown, by justwork

when i saw this photo by sharolyn joy newington on design sponge i was immediately smitten. i love the mood the photographer creates but i also loved the beautiful pottery itself. i was curious what the "intention" of the photo was... meaning was it to highlight the pottery, create a lovely home decor or home enteraining setting or perhaps an image to simply go a long with a recipe. i was happy to see it was to showcase the beautiful pottery itself and even happier when i found the story behind the pottery. it comes from justpotters at justwork. according to their blog, the goal...

is a unique social enterprise that employs individuals with barriers to the traditional workforce, ranging from: physical disabilities, mental illness, homelessness and addiction. JustWork provides its employees with flexible work schedules and job expectations, through this many employees are eventually able to return to the traditional workforce.


they have two other divisions as well, including justrenos and justcatering, but justpottery started as an idea... "that it would use the existing studio at Grandview Calvary and people would get paid for their pottery work. This would bring in an income as well as foster community and dignity." 

i really love this idea and i love the beautiful pottery. you can check out more of the pieces available at their etsy store!

rustic juicer

rustic cream pitcher

rustic 2 dinner plate set

spring color...

Source: minlillaveranda.blogspot.com via Cary on Pinterest

                             

i'm so affected by color. in my home, i always tend to go for more neutral colors, with little pops of brighter color here and there. this is especially true with our current home. i like browns, blacks, whites and greys for the most part. most of the time these colors suit me and express who i am and who the house is, so to speak. on days when the world outside reflects these colors too, i can feel a bit overwhelmed by them though. we have had such a mild winter here, really i can't complain. already many flowers are starting to bloom. today i woke up to grey overcast skies and when i look out my window i see mostly neutrals reflected back... then i catch a few glimpses of those flowers. little pops of yellow daffodils, pink and purple magnolias. i also see the beautiful tulips my mother-in-law gave me sitting on my counter and the red roses my husband brought for valentines. there is the little pot of purple flowers my daughter gave me for my birthday on the dining table too. i guess my natural tendency is to be a bit moody and grey and sometimes i can get overwhelmed by that. i guess the people around me can see my need for little pops of color too. we all need that. luckily, even in the worst winters we can usually find nature provides us with these little unexpected pops of colors that let us know spring will eventually come. in our home we can create these for ourselves too.

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do you pinterest?...

little love blue on pinterest

do you pinterest? it seems to be the latest craze. i'm always super behind on these things but i am in love with pinterest. i have just started but i'm already hooked (obviously my ryan gosling picture in the post below attests to that). it's like free access to a design magazine anytime.  i am also a collector of images. my desktop is full of design idea folders, and keeping track of everything is kind of ridiculous. this is a great way to do that. you can add a "pin it" button to your tool bar and when you are browsing online and see something you like, simply click the button and you can add it to a board. it then keeps track of the images and where it came from. come check me out and i would love to see what you have too! fun!

happy valentine's day...

happy valentine's day to my loves... especially you babe. i can't imagine sharing my love with anyone else and i am so thankful for the beautiful babies that are the result of it. you are awesome in everyway!!

even better than this guy, because you really do put up with this from me;)

happy valentine's day to everyone else! here's a link to the cookie recipe i made to surprise my kids this morning. very cute! i had only natural peanut butter though so they kind of fall of part as you eat them and you have to shove them into your mouth quickly... not really a problem at all!

pb&j valentine cookies at ben&birdy

grey cabinets...

kitchen of photographer helen norman

i saw this photo today and i'm in love. i have really decided i want to paint my cabinets grey (a little more of a true grey and less green grey than these). after only a year the white on the base cabinets looks so dingy and needs repainting. i like the idea of keeping the upper cabinets white though (i'm loving this creamy white). someday, of course, we would love to redo the kitchen and take it back to more of a farm house look. but i think updating the cabinet paint and hardware will go a long way. i recently bought one of these plate shelves from ikea to hang up as well.

i have it all put together, i just need to get some help hanging it. i was cleaning up my office this morning and looking at my growing pile of house projects, realizing i need to get to work. i have various things i have been collecting, just waiting to be hung or finished sewing, etc. sometimes i get so overwhelmed that i just do nothing at all. seriously, last week i broke a lamp in office and glass was everywhere! i just looked at it in despair and shut the door. i may have never returned if my husband hadn't discovered it and bravely cleaned it up for me. his little act of kindness inspired me to get in there and start organizing for a new year!

prairie seed...

my sister, katy, and i are back to business in our prairie seed shop and blog (well, to be honest, katy is so far). we have some great new items in both the shop and blog. we are also having having a very cool snow days sale in the shop... 15% off everything in the shop until the 21st! just enter in the code SNOWDAYS when you check out to receive the discount. so be sure check out our selection of vintage and handmade goods before the sale ends!

cabin retreat...

i have always wanted to stay in a cabin the week after christmas, and this year we finally did it! we went up to the mountains of asheville and had such a lovely time. we found a little cabin from the 1800's that had been lovingly renovated... it had lots of beautiful land, outbuildings and a creek. we also ventured often into asheville and the surrounding area, including the arboretum which was lovely even in winter. my husband and i actually were married in asheville nearly 10 years ago but haven't been back since then! we were able to take the kids to see the inn where we were married and it was amazing to be back there with them! we hope to visit asheville again sooner and not wait another ten years... hopefully in warmer months because we have only been there in the cold. it is only about 4 hours from us now, so i am sure we will be back again soon.

p.s. from the pictures of the kids half dressed it may not look that cold but it was, it even snowed while we were there! they are just crazy.

tree of life...

wow, how is it the 12th of january already? getting the kids back into the routine of school has been difficult. we even needed a day off yesterday! i guess we got use to being all together again and going back was hard. this weekend is a long one though, so that should be helpful. i am trying to get back into the swing of normal life myself. it ws nice to sort of take a break from heavy shop updates and orders this christmas. it is the first i have really been able to enjoy for a long time. i need to be better about filling my shop up early so i can always do that. i also got to make some of my presents this year, which i rarely have had time for in the past. i enjoyed making three of these tree of life embroidery pieces (i only got pictures of two, one was already mailed off). it was fun spending time making each one unique and i'm pleased how they came out. i would like to keep working on the idea in the future and see of i can improve on the design. i am in love with the symbolism of the shaker tree of life, and used that for my inspiration.

i will be back soon to share some photos of the beautiful mountain cabin we stayed in after chrsitmas as well!

happy new year...

xoxoxo cary

christmas lemons...

they took nine months to grow. nine months! that is like making a baby. i got two. on ei made into my favorite lemon muffins. i guess that is liking eating your own baby but damn, they were delicious! i have one more lemon left and have to find something else good to do with it. my son is hoping for more muffins. they are really good. so here is the recipe i use. a little holiday gift to you. i wish i could give you all some homemade muffins!

Mani's Real Lemon Muffins

Muffin Ingredients:

1/2 cup oats
1 1/4 cup yogurt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup WS Fair Trade organic sugar plus 2 Tbsp. divided
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. lemon zest

Method: Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line a muffin pan with muffin cups or brush with oil. Stir together the oats and yogurt. Set aside for at least 20 minutes or up to one hour, at room temperature. Mix together the flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the oat and yogurt mixture, eggs, vegetable oil, lemon juice and lemon zest. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and stir with a wooden spoon just until blended. Divide evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon sugar.

Bake for 18 minutes or until the muffins spring back when pressed lightly with your finger. Cool on rack. Makes one dozen muffins.

besides muffin making, i am finishing up some last minute gifts. they look really nice and i will share some photos after they are given. i will be back with some other fun tings after the holidays. i hope you all are having a lovely december, and enjoying whatever holidays you may celebrate. the winter solstice was dark and rainy all day and we enjoyed staying in our pj's all day and watching christmas movies and appreciating the christmas cheer in our home.