Curious Bird

from start to finish

Hello there,

Hope your weekend was nice. I did a bit of baking, with D's help, of course. I made fruit galettes from a recipe in the lovely Tartine cookbook, which in my opinion is a must-have if you like to bake.  They turned out quite delicious, pretty much justifying all the drama that took place to make them happen. The short version of the story goes like this: We couldn't find our rolling pin {tried to borrow one, but friends weren't home}. After going to three places to purchase a new one, still no rolling pin and close to giving up. Then, I discovered I had left my credit card at store number two. I had to go all the back to retrieve it and by then I was really close to giving up. But finally I found and purchased a rolling pin at store number four, and a bit of work later {thank goodness for store number four) we had twelve flaky, blackberry and pear galettes...and a spiffy new rolling pin. Told you there was a lot of drama. 

It's going to be a little quiet around here this week.  We have visitors arriving very soon.

So long,
Leya

p.s. Thanks to each of you for all the kindness about my new quilt. Your words mean a lot to me.

 

there's a first time for everything

After a few days of hunched shoulders (binding can be a little tedious), I finally completed my first quilt. It's really special for several reasons, primarily because it's created from fabric left over from our big day back in September.

As with any first time project, there was a learning curve and some uncertainty at times. This book and this tutorial were both very helpful when it came time to do the binding. There is definitely a bit of wonkiness here and there, but I actually really love those parts.  The best part though is completing a project I've been thinking about since last Fall -- that and knowing we now have a comfy quilt that will always remind us of our wedding day.

More soon,
leya

Hello there,

Don't really know how it came to be Wednesday so quickly. Either way, I'm still here,  just very involved in a big project soon to be completed. I'll definitely show you when it's done.

Not much else to report, well, besides being currently obsessed with the following:

greek yogurt with honey
playing around with my old nikon slr (see above)
destroyer and sera cahoone
hyacinths
recovering my furniture or day-dreaming about doing so
a camping trip. as soon as it gets a little warmer.

Bye for now,
L.

Spring Fashion Loveliness From Church and State

Some dynamite pieces (I'm kinda freaking out about) from Portland based Church and State. Talk about lovely.

More Soon,
Leya

tea time

Hello and Happy Friday to you,

Today has been full and it's only the early afternoon.
I'm a big fan of days like today -- lots to do and lots being accomplished. A nice way to end the week if you ask me. Oh, before I forget, all Built By Wendy patterns (actually all Simplicity patterns) here are 99 cents. Yep, 99 pennies. *do call before you head out the door because I can't promise every store is running the same sale, I mean, heck, I go to one in Jersey, it could be doing its own thing, who knows?*

On a different subject entirely, I can't resist posting a photo of our new tea set that arrived yesterday -- a lovely handmade wedding gift from our talented friend, Ariel. We love it. The little tea cups are so perfect, I'm positive they will be put to almost daily use.

Hope you have a great weekend.
I'm going to sew and drink tea and make a big salad with pesto toast on the side.
At least those are a few things I hope to do.

Be Well,
Leya

Not much time for words today, but I can show a new(ish) shadowbox and some gratuitous cat photos.

A Good Hiding Place
Mixed Media Shadowbox
6x9
*hand drawn and printed birch tree fabric background.

Snowcat likes to give kisses. It melts my heart.

More soon,
L.

p.s. Thanks so much for all the juicer advice. You guys are a big help. The quest continues...

sluggish start.

(the kitchen window)

Woke up super groggy this morning. My yoga practice was harder than its been in a while -- even simple stretching was a challenge. I think I dreamed that I slept in this bed,  (found via Design Sponge) which is most likely why it was so difficult to get going.

On a totally different subject, I'm considering purchasing a juicer. Do any of you have one? If so, how do you like it? Any brand recommendations? Oh, and a big consideration for me is whether or not I will have to use tons of veggies/fruit to get a decent amount of juice. I don't want to carry a fifty pound bag of carrots home from Whole Foods every time I want to make juice. I do love the idea of fresh apple, carrot, ginger, though. Or beet, celery, cucumber, parsley, lemon....yum.  Think of all the possibilities.  I would love any advice you might have.

Take it easy,
L.

It was a colorful weekend. We dyed eggs, something I haven't done in at least a few years. A big mess was made. Good times.

The quince is blooming.

Oh, and a small pack of raccoons were created. Yep, that's right. Raccoons. They're cute and soft and full of personality.
Available now in the shop.

Have a good monday.
l.

***update*** A group of Raccoons is called a nursery, not a pack. I learn something new every day.

happy first day of spring

and Happy Easter weekend.
I have fully recovered (thanks for all the sweet healing comments) and today was spent catching up on all the things I needed/wanted to do.

Work was done
Lemon bars were baked
Photos were taken
Hair was cut
House was cleaned (a bit of an exaggeration)
and now I'm off to a little dinner party.

Have a lovely weekend, friends
L.

sick days

hello there.  I don't know how I managed to get sick (again), but I am and all I can hope for is to be healthy and back to normal pronto. being sick and stuck inside is not my idea of a good way to spend the exciting first days of spring.  no sir.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my self-prescribed combination of kombucha, movies (thank you netflix) and many long naps taken with mortimer and motown will contribute to a speedy recovery.  because just like everyone, I have things to do -- things I need to do (laundry, work, bills, haircut, oil change) and things I want to do (visit the new fabric store, take some photos, have a beer on a patio, ride my bike to the soft pretzel place), none of which can be done until I pull myself together. healing thoughts are greatly appreciated.

-leya