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.

nine...

nine!! happy birthday to my beautiful spirited baby boy! the boy they nicknamed "the little old man" in the nursery because he was such an old soul. the boy who hated to lay down as newborn because he always wanted to see the world. the boy who crawled at 5 months, walked at 8 months, ran at 10 months and never looked back. the boy who has only two favorite "toys" that he ever "plays" with... his wooden sword and his dear "bear bear". the boy with the biggest heart and largest imagination. i wish i could take a trip inside that magic world in his head... and oh, boy when he's ready to share it you better sit down because he can go on for hours! these has been the best years of my life and I can't wait for the next nine!! love you Bubba!! you are an amazing friend to all, an amazing big brother, and an all around amazing person!

happy thanksgiving...

hello! happy (almost) thanksgiving to all my lovely blog readers. i know we will all be busy the next few days... at least many of us in the u.s. so i thought i'd post today to wish you all a lovely week with your family and friends. thank you all for being such good friends to me. remember this little tutorial that katy and i did oh so many years ago? well, etsy has it back up this week as part of their how-tuesday: thanksgiving roundup. it's a fun little needle felting project that is a good introduction for new needle felters, older children, or a sweet idea for decorating the children's place settings on thanksgiving day (plus, a cute take home gift for them).

also, to say thanks this year, i have lowered my prices in the shop. thanks to all my loyal customers and to everyone who shows me support throughout the year!

nativity...

just to let you know, there is a listing up in the shop now for custom nativity orders. they take two weeks for katy (winsome hollow) and i to complete. find out more information here.

today was the last week for our farmer's market... boo. it has become a favorite weekly ritual for us and april is seeming very far away! there were so many good vegetables today... we got a ton of greens, carrots, sweet potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, herbs, tomatoes, plus bread and more. we will really miss it. do you have a favorite farmer's market? we all love going. we always see people we know, the kids play the whole time, they have great chef demos from some of the best chefs in atlanta, lot's of goodies to eat while we are there, including delicious wood fired pizza, and plenty of doggies for charlie to say hello to (plus, lot's of goodies for him to try to steal). we were lucky that it started right after we moved to the neighborhood and was an instant success... thanks to all the hard work of those who run it and of course the farmers and bakers themselves! i can't wait until next year. i also can't wait to turn all that good food into a thanksgiving meal this weel. my kids, and husband have the whole week off, and i am lucky to be surrounded by my lovely little family!

a little donkey and a lost tooth...

a new little donkey friend finished today and going in the shop soon. sweet for christmas or anytime... the little baskets can be filled with whatever suits your fancy.

in other news, my little one lost her front tooth last night! adorableness all around. now she just needs to lose the other before christmas and then we can sing her the song... though she informed me today i was welcome to sing it to her anyway.

"see, no tooth!"