creating space for beauty & simplicity
We had a lovely holiday weekend at home full of festivities, food, fireworks and an outdoor cinema all right in our own backyard.
Not a day goes by where I don’t appreciate our community, our town, our neighborhood and the wonderful traditions we have created around them.
If I won the lottery I wouldn’t change a thing.
I would stay put right where we have so luckily landed.
Life is good.
Our weekend has been full of family, friends, food and fun.
On Friday night we hosted our annual Media Five Miler Party. We had loads of fun as usual, so much I didn’t take the time to snap a single photo!
Last night we hosted family to celebrate Father’s day and my Nana’s 91st birthday. The evening ended outdoors with card games on the patio and then down to the ball field to release sky lanterns!
As you can see Chris has been busy building us a new back porch. It is not quite finished so stay tuned for an entire post on that project. We are excited to share with you the many details involved.
In the mean time check out the beautiful Kentucky Coffee Tree table he made for our patio, perfect for card games and a cold G&T! He’s thinking of burning a chess board into it!
I have been sharing my egg dying adventures on instagram and thought it might be fun to share my process of making cyanotype eggs. Don’t worry though these prints are made with only natural ingredients!
I used a purple cabbage dye bath which makes the most perfect blue and gives a sun print effect on the egg.
I clipped leaves and flowers from my backyard and houseplants such as snowdrops, juniper leaf, oxalis, fern, begonia and ranunculus leaf.
You can use hard boiled eggs or dye raw ones to be blown out after they have dried.
It really is a simple process with a gorgeous result.
Cyanotype Eggs
~White hard boiled or raw eggs
~Nude pantyhose cut into small pieces (I may have just pocketed a few of those throw away peds at the shoe store. Shhhh… but they do work perfectly!)
~Leaf and flower cuttings from your backyard or houseplants
~1 whole purple cabbage
~White vinegar
~Pint size ball jars
In a large pot, mix 2 quarts of water and 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar. Add 1 head of chopped purple cabbage. Bring water to a boil and simmer for 1-2 hours.
Turn off heat and let cool. While cooling, position leaf/flower cutting on egg and hold in place by encasing the whole egg with pantyhose. Tie tightly in a knot or secure with a rubber band or twist tie.
Fill individual ball jars with dye bath and place each egg into it’s own cup. You could also submerge all of your eggs at once into the large pot of dye. Let sit overnight or for several hours to get a deep blue. The longer it sits the deeper the hue. Keep checking to get your desired shade.
Pull egg from dye bath and place on paper towel or rag to drain a bit. Allowing it to dry as long as possible makes for a crisper silhouette.
Remove pantyhose and allow it to dry some more.
Gently peel off leaf and voila!
Last weekend it was Chris’s turn to be celebrated so we hosted our favorite friends for desserts and drinks.
I made this chocolate almond torte that I now make for almost every party. People of all ages love it. I asked Chris to cut out a design from card stock for the top of the cake. I said maybe a “C” for Chris? But he had other plans in mind.
I also served my mom’s baked brie recipe which I had forgotten all about. It was a huge hit. I plan on making it more often.
While all of the kids were upstairs watching a movie our friends had us participate in a mad lib they created all about Chris. It was a hoot!
Mimi’s Baked Brie
1 large brie wheel
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup of pecan pieces
Melt butter. Turn off heat and mix in brown sugar and pecan halves.
Pour over brie and refrigerate.
Close to serving time bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Let set for 15 minutes before serving.
You can half or quarter this recipe for a smaller wheel or slice of brie.
Well I officially am the mama of a teenager. How can that be? Time really has flown by but I can honestly say I have cherished every moment. It is a complete honor and joy to be Hannah’s mama. She is such a sweet soul who embodies a great sense of self and style, a gentle leader who stays true to who she is.
She got to celebrate the beginning of teen-hood with her favorite friends last Friday night. She wanted to include art making (collages, self portraits and silhouettes), dancing, a photo booth and movie.
Her best friend slept over the night before and they spent the day of the party decorating with handmade tissue pom poms and a paper banner. They set up the photo booth and even made goodie bags labeled with each person’s name cut out from magazines. The bags were filled with fun art supplies and chocolates.
The girls did what most pre-teen and teens do- hang out, giggle, sing, dance, squeal and chatter.
Hannah ran the show and there wasn’t much needed from me other than to snap a few photos.
As much as I love entertaining and putting on a party, it was fun this year sitting back and watching Hannah create her own party.
Happy new year my friends! 2015 is going to be a good one. Although I am allowing the holiday season to linger just a bit longer than I normally do, I am always ready for a fresh start.
We took the tree down a few days ago but I left all other decorations up. I like that much of my Christmas decor reflects the winter season so it feels ok to leave it all up just a bit longer.
I hardly took a photograph this holiday but did manage to take a few shots of our winter solstice celebration and a few on Christmas morning. We hosted a caroling party the week before Christmas as well as a new years eve party which were both loads of fun. We are enjoying these last few slow days filled with daily fires in the fireplace, welcoming visitors for dinner and tea parties, the last of the baked goods, and loads of board games (the girls have a new found love for chess!). Today we are venturing out for a train ride into the city down to the Reading Terminal.
I look forward to visiting this space more regularly. I have made resolutions for 2015 many of which include a bit more rhythm. One of my top goals is to use my camera daily.
Thank you for continuing to visit me here in this space and for all of your kind words.
Here’s to a happy and healthy new year.
Cheers!
fa la la la la, la la la la!
Yes it’s merry making time over here. Our house was on the holiday house tour again on Saturday so our home feels spruced up, festive and bright!
On Sunday we celebrated St. Lucia and had breakfast by the fire. We kept the flames going all day while we made cookie dough to be baked later this week along with chocolate covered apricots, a Christmas tradition since I was a girl. We also made beeswax dipped pine cone ornaments. The house smelled divine!
What a beautiful, unseasonal cool and windy day we had on the 4th of July.
I can’t remember the last time we donned sweaters on what is usually one of the hottest days of the year.
It rained all morning but luckily cleared up in time for our annual festivities.
.
When I first moved in there was a cyclone fence dividing our yard from our next door neighbor’s yard and then another fence diving her yard from her next door neighbor’s. We decided a while back to take those fences down as a neighborly and friendly gesture. Although we each have our own gardens and spaces to tend taking those fences down has opened things up and given such a warm and welcoming vibe especially when we throw our neighborhood gatherings and parties.
We set the food up in the paper street/alley that runs behind our garages and everyone mingles throughout the three yards. We get a permit to close the street each year where the kids romp around with sparklers and play four square. When the sun sets everyone gathers around for the show.
Folks from around the corner and several streets down walk down to sneak a peek. Even one of the police officers on duty showed up to watch (luckily everything was legal).
Have I mentioned how much I love my town? There is always some sort of event or celebration to look forward to throughout the year, one of our favorites being the Media 5 Mile Run.
Since our home sits right on the course with over 1600 runners racing by twice, we make sure to throw a big soiree each year. We aren’t the only ones who celebrate though. The whole town is like one big party!
Some years I have run and some Hannah has too. But this year we sat back and cheered until we were hoarse.
To keep the dishes to a minimum we served mostly finger snacky foods. And with an over abundance of mint growing in the garden, Mojitos were the featured drink of the evening. Our muddler got a workout!
But maybe not as much of a workout as those runners. Especially the hamburger and hotdog.
We can’t wait for next year already.