with a little laughter.

the day is always just so much better when i make myself 

indulge in the happiness of my kids and soak up 

the laughter. i really do have some pretty amazing

little guys on my hands. 

i confess it has been challenging lately being pregnant, hot, 

and worn out  when you get to the end of a long day 

and little declan purposely does one more thing just to see

what will happen (ahem...dropping banana bread on ground

and smooshing with his foot...just when i was sure i was

about to sit down). 

but then there are moments. 

the best of moments that make my heart 

full and thankful that i am blessed to be a mom.

have a wonderful weekend and 

love those moments!

while they last.

crumbles.

i do love a good crumble. 

here are two i've tried lately. 

this strawberry one from this book

since i had a load of recently

 concocted strawberry jam the kids

helped me with.

and this one was new and interesting to me.  

using rye flour which i never had before and
your choice of jam...blackberry in this case;
you can find the recipe on orangette.

.strawberry jam bars.

adapted from loveless cafe dessert book

1 1/4 c. a.p. flour

1 c. rolled oats

3/4 c. light brown sugar

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. baking soda

1 1/2 sticks butter, cut into small cubes

1/2 c. slivered almonds

1 1/2 c. strawberry preserves

.method.

...preheat oven to 350. grease 9 x 13 baking pan.

...in mixer, combine all ingredients, excluding preserves.

...mix on low speed until butter is pea size and mixture resembles a crumble.

...remove a heaping cut of crumble, and reserve to the side.

...press remaining crumble into pan evenly and bake for 20 minutes.

...spread jam on crumble crust after taking out of oven and sprinkle with remaining crumble topping. 

...bake for about 20-25 minutes. let cool completely before cutting. 

Maybe serve with some vanilla ice cream or whip cream to make it special! enjoy!

happy 5 yrs.

and so this saturday we'll be turning five. 

it sure feels like we've been married a whole lot longer, 

in the best of ways. i am truly abundantly blessed. 

just looking back i really can not believe how much has 

happened in such a short amount of time. 

i mean, here we are upon our third child...

we began running a restaurant together, 

and now a little lady and wild man seem 

to be running our home. 

my oh my have things changed since the beginning of it all. 

lucky for me, i have a husband who puts up with 

all of my crazy ways! 

cheers to five years...love you husband.

skate boardin.

so we made a wild purchase while in ca on our 

recent vacay....a bright orange penny skateboard.

it was a good decision, just to see declan riding 

along the sidewalk with one knee on, or watching him

carry it around talking about 'my skateboard'. 

pretty darn cute stuff.

cheers!

splash of color.

for some reason, adding a few new pillows to the couch or the 

bed is always a bit of cheer; a quick sewing fix. 

my all white bed was feeling rather boring so

i threw a couple together the other morning. 

ruby joined in the photos by adding cinderella

and then herself...she was quite proud.

les pommettes du chat.

fell into a french blog trap last night and discovered too many

lovely things...

including this sweet shop and blog. enjoy!

happy easter.

we had a really lovely family filled easter this year...

beautiful weather, good food, and lots of cute kids. 

it was all i could ask for. we are truly blessed. 

hope your easter was simply beautiful!

oh, and the dress turned out pretty well. 

ruby loved it, so i guess that is a major plus!

peach + polka dots.

so i bought this dress forever ago

at a thrift shop in a very large size, to refashion.

lets just say it took me a rather long time to get to it. 

in need of easter clothes, i pulled it out 

and made it much much smaller for miss ruby.

we shall see how it all turns out. 

finished product pics soon!