jeanne and the moon.

and speaking of sewing...

i found this lady's sewing projects incredibly inspirational.

unfortunately its all in french, no tutorials, and the books 

are on french amazon, but it is tempting to order one...

i think i still know enough french, with pattern perhaps?

sew lately.

up to any fun sewing projects lately? 

this spring throw was relatively easy...

a few smoothing out difficulties but still happy.

and ps. if you live in phx, sas is full of beautiful thick velvet

ribbon trims perfect for this project. 

 i also picked up some skirt making materials

for post baby wear in a fun stripe and floral. 

for some fun skirt tutorials see here and here.

and then i also realized the blanket was 

also a pretty trusty backdrop for photos.

happy mom's day.

happy mothers day to all of you wonderful

mom's out there! 

most esp. my most amazing mother!

here's some smiles to bring you cheer. 

feeling pretty blessed here with these two sillies. 

being a mom is simply the best. 

can't wait for number three to arrive.

i hope your day is full of quiet, relaxation and blessings. 

paris vs. ny

i found these prints a while back and found them very 

amusing. you should go check them out and have a 

good laugh...pretty impressive work. 

anyhow here they are. 

hope your weekend is lovely!

that time again.

to sit by the pool, sip on popsicles, and soak up the warmth.

some fun ideas for warm weather:

something to sip....

a new fun salad to munch on...

and perhaps a craft to make with the kids...

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!