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!"

bear with me...

a little bear i made special order last week

i am afraid to admit that i was listening to christmas music today while i cleaned the kitchen... the new she & him christmas album on spotify. i'm kinda falling hard for spotify. do you use it? i'm so in the mood for christmas this year. it seems a lot of us are feeling this way... i keep seeing people guiltily admitting to already listening to christmas music as well. i do find it helps put me in the mood for making things for the shop though. i won't have a huge update, as my poor little shop has been so neglected that i feel like i can't really compete up with all the vast amount of choices that are on etsy these days. i think it's cool, but also a little overwhelming! i will have some more animals... including a really cute (if i do say so myself) donkey, that i can't wait to share. i hope to have it finished tomorrow. also, i have a couple of other new ideas i'm excited to work on! i have reminded myself that sometimes i need to splurge on new fabrics to work with in order to feel inspired. i am not good at doing the same things over and over! i also plan to make some gifties for our prairie seed shop. have you checked it out lately? katy has added some really delicious aprons and other goodies!!

sweet pocket apron

black and white gingham apron

three lovely linen tea towels

little views from around the house (fall edition)...

my daughter decided she wanted to make a little centerpiece for the table after collection the eggs yesterday and this is what she came up with... i guess she does pay attention to what i do around the house

lemons finally turning yellow... but after nine months of watching them grow how could i ever eat them?

berries from the yard

chicken corner, for after chicken "doody" (sorry couldn't resist)

view of the coop from outside my kitchen window when i look out in the morning

new sign

i painted the hallway white last week, and i love the light now. i need a new rug and some art on the wall

library, a major work in progress

hall light. i'd like to replace this when i find something right but i'm thinking of replacing the shades for now

i can't wait to decorate the stairs for christmas (and the whole house too!!)

new little sheep...

a new little sheep in the shop in time for the holidays! i have a lot more holiday goodies coming this month, so keep an eye out!

faber castell...

                                 
                                 Faber Castell from eric yeo on Vimeo.


have you seen this amazing video? it is an ad for faber castell, which shows the artist chan hwee chong in action... recreating a famous work of art through one long continuous spiral line that varies in width and pressure! it doesn't even seem possible to me, but it is quite beautiful and inspiring! thanks so much ez at creature comforts for sharing this, it totally made my day!

also, i love faber castell. their products are amazing and i love that they make high quality items for children. we always buy these for our kids. (that's just my own opinion:)