Simplifying

Last night I decided to suspend my work on this blog until I have more time to devote to making it as fabulous as I had originally envisioned it. With an increasingly active Munchkin and lots of activity in our home right now, I'm working on streamlining my commitments so that I can stay engaged in the things that matter most. This doesn't mean a halt in our creativity. Indeed, I'm hoping it means more doing, just a little less recording (although once I get this camera fixed, we'll still be taking plenty of photos!). I'm looking forward to starting fresh here when our lifestyle allows more free time.

In the meantime, I'm so happy to have discovered flickr for sharing our favorite projects. I'm also exploring memberships with Library Thing and Good Reads (still weighing which is best) to record and review our favorite books. Finally, this little foray into blogging has exposed me to the many individuals and families who are sharing their stories, experiences, opinions, and beautiful projects online. What an amazing time we live in to have all these ways to share in the lives of our neighbors near and far. I will continue to be an avid reader in the blogosphere!


Oh, and for those of you who follow EmersonLouWho, worry not. Maintaining that blog is a priority!

East Coast Adventure

To my five or six loyal readers :) -- Sorry to have been out of touch! We've been traveling and now readjusting to West Coast time.

Here are a couple photos from of our beautiful East Coast adventure. There is no place I'd rather be in September than New England!

These two pics were taken at the Parker River Refuge on Plum Island. I've posted a few more on flickr. I'm hoping to work on fixing up the layout of the blog and to add some new features over the next week or so. As always, thanks for reading!

Sonoma Valley retreat

I almost forgot to post these pictures from our anniversary getaway...

Our one-night anniversary getaway in Sonoma Valley.

View from the Inn

Glen Ellen. Dinner at The Fig was delicious.

Chardonnay Grapes from our visit to Kunde. They had a pleasant tasting room, some very nice, reasonably priced wines, and pretty picnic grounds. After a full tasting, we had just enough of a buzz to succumb to their membership pitch, so we'll be receiving a couple bottles from Kunde every two months. I'll post reviews when they arrive and have been consumed.

Kunde picnic grounds

We arrived home to find our happy little girl with her Grandma on our back porch enjoying a lime Popsicle in all its sticky goodness as well as this abundant harvest from our garden.

Crafting priorities and more elegant poop disposal

Hundreds of cosmos are blooming in our garden. I think these orange ones nicely evoke the feeling of this period between summer and fall (although today's triple digit temps didn't make it feel like September here!)

The other day I found myself getting wound up about all the things I want to sew compared with the very little time I have to execute a full project. At the same time, almost 2 year old Noodle is becoming very interested in paints, crayons, markers, glue and the like. So, rather than losing sleep over learning new sewing techniques, I've been trying to make nurturing her interest my priority. I recently discovered The Crafty Crow ,a blog with lots of creative ideas and resources. Although trying out new projects will be much fun, just a few crayons, some newsprint, and mumma's undivided attention seem to bring out our little Picasso.

Meanwhile, there's the less romantic side of parenting a toddler and two dogs: a considerable amount of time collecting and disposing of poop. We recycle lots of plastic bags around here for the this purpose. Tired of the old Huggies box that used to hold our bag stash, I decided to stitch up a couple of these bag holders/dispensers. This project was simple, even for this beginner. But if you're looking for a tutorial, Sew Mama Sew has one posted as part of their Sewing for the Home month.


Here's a closeup of the remnant I used.

And here's the full project. (Obviously this jasmine plant will not be its permanent home, but the light was much better here on the deck!) How elegant! (sort of.)