i have to say...

shop notes: jennifer paganelli's flower power!

Jennifer's amazing Flower Power line is in my shop. All I can say is color, color, color. This line is truly scrumptious!

Have a great day!

this is what boredom looks like in my house:

Most bored kids probably go find something like Legos or roller blades to keep themselves busy, but not mine.  They locate the clothespins and have contests to see who can keep them on longer and who can put the most on at one time.  

They tried to talk me into playing along, but no way!  I wouldn't want to steal any glory from the winner of the nose-pinning contest!  Ouch!:

Have a great weekend!

this makes me oh-so-happy!

Needless to say, I am getting a bit tired of winter. 

Yesterday we opened the windows and played outside for a while and discovered that the tulips are starting to make an appearance.

I am smiling!

my hubs shares his secret recipe for sweet potato pancakes

My guys cooks.

Not often, but when he does the food is always good good good!  He is one of those "just toss it in and see how it turns out" types, unlike me who follows the recipe exactly.

When he first suggested sweet potatoes I was scared.  All I could think of was that marshmallow, pineapple covered stuff of childhood Thanksgivings, and I didn't want to relive that.  I was pleasantly surprised by his interpretation of potato pancakes and I think you might be too!

Toss all of this into a big bowl:  3 grated sweet potatoes, 1 chopped red onion, 1 chopped bunch of cilantro, 1 chopped red bell pepper, 1 cup flour, 2 eggs, 2 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. pepper, 1/2 to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (believe it or not, adding the full teaspoon does not make the dish too hot)

Mush all of this together in a bowl with your hands.  Messy, messy!

Shape approximately 1/2 cup of the mixture into a patty 1/2" think and cook in a small amount of oil until browned.

This is what you end up with:

Delicious! Even your kids will like this!

Have a great Tuesday!

it's a giveaway!

I am co-hosting a giveaway with Melanie of The Fabric Shopper blog!

What's up for grabs?  First off, there is an Amy Butler pattern for the super-cute Frenchy Bag (courtesy of Melanie and Amy Butler):

Although I have never used an Amy Butler pattern myself, I have heard that they come with easy to follow instructions and are good for those just staring out in their sewing efforts.  Beginners, this one is for you too!

My part of the give-away is, of course, fabric!  A $25.00 gift certificate for my shop will allow the winner to pick out the fabric of their choice for the Frenchy bag or another project.  It's all up to you!

How do you join in?

Simply click over to Melanie's blog and leave a comment.  She will accept comments through March 1st at midnight.

Have fun!

***To be part of the giveaway, your comments must be left on Melanie's blog.***

shop notes: metro market

Metro Market prints are now in my shop! I am just lovin' those brown beaters and the blue-green apples. And the cherries. My kitchen needs something made with these fabrics, I am sure of it!

Have a great weekend!

it's hard to get a good picture of a boy...

...even if he is showing off his car. 

Josiah and I came up with a fun project for our co-op class tomorrow (from this excellent book) and I am crossing my fingers that this one will be a hit.  Our last two classes have been OK, but I don't think I have captured their scientific-attention as of yet.  With 15 rowdy boys to keep busy, I get a little nervous.

We will be building our cars and souping them up (Josiah said it is not called "decorating" a car) for the car race at the next co-op.  We will be learning about potential and kinetic energy, as well as friction and motion.  Since I know NOTHING about those topics, I am glad for the book's overview.  Maybe I will appear to know what I am talking about!

Personally, I think these cars are rather cool:

The fact that they actually move will be a plus with the boys!  ;)

Here is my other boy trying to duck away from my camera:

I caught him just before he turned away!  Please excuse his messy look, but he just got home from work with dad.

Wish me luck at co-op tomorrow. I need it!

when she's in trouble...

...she fashions shoes for herself.

Ah, my girl is growing up and getting attitude-y.  She had to spend the afternoon in her room the other day because she just couldn't get control of it.  After a couple of hours I told her she could come downstairs as long as she was kind, and down she came with these little pink slippers. 

During her "alone-time" she had raided her craft box and used wool felt and warm and natural batting to make these.  My favorite part is that they are both for right-feet.  Too cute!

If only her attitude were so cute.

Sigh...

fabric and books---two of my favorites things!

I love fabric, books and the library, so a book bag for my library trips made out of awesome fabric was necessary.  Sure, I can carry my backpack,  but why not look well-read AND fashionable at the same time.  Any one who sees me on a regular basis is probably laughing right now because my typical fashion consists of  jeans and a gray hoodie sweatshirt.  I am a creature of comfort, all the way!

Lately my book choices have been disappointing and I keep getting halfway through a book only to put it down and start over with another one.  I like to read thoughtful books, but I wish that more authors didn't feel the need to add so much garbage to their books.  I can be an open-minded, intelligent reader, but I still don't understand how adding a bunch of sex to a book makes it better.  Some things should be left to the imagination, if you ask me.

Yes, I am rather old-fashioned about those things.

Are you reading any good books lately?  I would love some recommendations!

lots of love around here

We had a surprise visit from our daughter this weekend and it was great!  She moved out a little over a month ago and I have been itching to see her, but she lives 5 hours away.  When she left last month things were not on the best terms, and in fact they were pretty bad.  This weekend was  a great time of healing and restoration and I couldn't be happier with how our time together went.  My thankfulness meter is high and I feel very hopeful for the our relationship in the future.   Cutting the strings can be a difficult and painful process, but my heart is ready for what is ahead for us.

My sweet hubs wrote me a song for Valentine's Day.  He was a bit shy about singing it to me, but I loved it.  I wish I could put it on my IPod for those times when I need to be reminded of how important he is to me.  Unfortunately I take him for granted sometimes.

We watched Fireproof this weekend and loved it. I wasn't sure what to expect and I wasn't in the mood for a cheesy, sappy movie, but this one was great and so full of encouragement for marriages.  Whether your marriage is going great right now or whether you are struggling, I highly recommend this movie.  Watch it with your spouse and talk about it when it is over.  We even bought the Love Dare book and will go through the 40 days together.  It has been a while since we have done a marriage study and I think this one will be quite helpful.

I feel very strongly that marriage is something that needs to be worked at consistently.  It is too easy to let things slide and it is surprising how out of whack the relationship can become.  Craig and I have had our share of problems--big ones--and we both know that hanging tightly to each other is the only way to make it through.  Often we back away from one another when things feel tense or uncomfortable and we get busy with life.  This is a terrible thing to do and we would both like to work on doing it differently.  That was the gist of the movie--never leave you partner behind--and it hit close to home.  In a good way. 

Lots of good stuff around here this weekend. 

I like when life plays out like that!