new baby quilt

I've been having a lot of fun with baby quilts.  They're small and attainable projects that I can do while Reid naps.  This one is for some friends who are having a baby girl in September.  I want it to be feminine without being too girly.  I'm also in love with purple, turquoise and gray colors lately. I'm really thrilled with how this one came out as I made the pattern myself!

summer projects

This summer I've been working on a few little things.

JAM- Went ollallieberry picking with Dan and Emily at Swanton Berry Farm in Pescadero. They're berries are always plentiful, pesticide free and delicious. Rian and I picked somewhere around 30 pounds of berries... whew! Emily came over on Tuesday and I taught her how to make jam. At the end of the day I'd made 7 batches of jam and felt completely sugar coated.

Emily and I also made our own labels using the end of a cork (which I carved out a bit) as the berry. I think they turned out really cute.



SEWING- I've been wanting to sew a bit but don't feel real confident with real-big-girl patterns. I found the patterns for this dress and skirt for free on Oliver+S. For all three I used fabric I'd collected over recent years and I think they came out really cute. I hope Sophia likes them! If you'd like me to sew something for you, I'll take your orders!


























GARDEN- Our summer garden is coming in nicely. I planted 4 artichokes in the yard this year and they've absolutely taken off. I love the richer, greener taste of homegrown artichokes. Soon we'll be swimming in tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, pole beans, carrots, peppers, and herbs. yum.

What's next....?

determined cyclist

These pictures are of Sophia on a two wheeler bike for the first time WITHOUT training wheels. She was so proud and wanted me to take a picture of her.

While we were in Tahoe, Nona was great and took her on a practice bike ride every day.

4th of july in tahoe

For the Fourth of July long weekend this year, we joined my parents and Sophia in Tahoe. The incredible snow pack hasn't much melted and we got to have a second spring with snow fields, wild flowers and over flowing rivers and streams.

These pictures are from a hike we all took around Echo Lake and then gratefully were able to take the boat taxi back to where we started from. Sophia wasn't too sure about the boat taxi but by the time we were done, she'd forgotten all about the hike and jabbered on, and on, and on about the boat trip.

Tahoe as always is just beautiful.

local adventures

My friend Heather had a great summer resolution. We being teachers, make summer resolutions because it's the only time we have to stop and take a deep enough breath to think about such things. Anyway, her resolution was to do something new and local ever week during the summer break. I thought it was such a great idea that I'm borrowing it (again a classic teacher trait... borrow what you can and claim it as your own).

Rian and I went for a great bike ride along the trails at Shoreline in the Palo Alto (sort of) area. Some trails were paved and others were gravel but they were no match for our go-everywhere-beach-crusiers. We had so much fun getting lost in the maze of trails and we even happened upon a sailing lagoon... maybe sailing lessons with Emily will be my next adventure. If you're interested in a fun bike adventure in the Bay Area there are great maps to be found at: http://baytrail.abag.ca.gov/

We round out the afternoon with a late lunch at Sprout in Palo Alto which is a fantastic (and healthy) restaurant that even has gluten free options!

Super fun.

kauai (again)

After graduation we took a quick trip to Kauai for the week. We were fortunate enough to stay in the same condo we did when we were here 3 years ago and the view of sunset from the back deck still didn't disappoint. We had a relaxing week where we snorkeled, swam, hiked to secluded beaches and ate tropical food.

I got stung by a jellyfish at the first beach we went to on the first day. Rian was so gracious as to offer to pee on me but I declined the offer and opted for ice. It's amazing how such a small little creature can hurt soooo much. Good thing, I survived.

I love this picture of Rian becuase I think vacation looks good on him. Alooooooha.

graduation!

Wahooo! I graduated! I finished my Masters in Interdisciplinary Education with and emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction... whew! I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to study with such amazing professors and fellow students and that I got it done in a year. wahoo

winter projects

This is a baby quilt I'm calling: bird walk.

I love this little hat...

I beg to introduce orange as a new addition to gender neutral baby colors. I love the vibrancy of this particular hue.

I love what happens when I misjudge and run out of a color (off white in this case). I really like the added splash of color from the pink and then the flowers were just a logical frosting on the cake.

winter projects II

I made this little lap quilt for the living room. I really like how it turned out... imperfections and all.