Chirp Chirp

Boy, you take one week off from posting and then it becomes another and then another and here it has been more than a month since I posted anything in this little space.  Sorry friends and family!  I didn't make a New Year's resolution, so I hereby resolve to be better about posting (course, we all know what happens to resolutions...but I'll make a good effort!).

Christmas is over but I am still going to post some pictures of some of the craft projects the girls and I created over the holiday break.  Love the handmade touch on our holiday mantel!

Decorating the Christmas tree.

The tree themed mantel this year.    I saw the tree branch with hanging ornaments idea in a magazine and wanted to try making one here.  I love it so much that I am working on some non-Christmasy decorations to hang on it for the rest of the year!

Another use for the girls' watercolor paintings.  This time I cut trees out of the paintings and the girls added glitter to them, and to the toilet paper roll tree trunks.  I am keeping these up a while longer too.  I am such a sucker for watercolor paintings (especially ones done by such talented artists :-)

The tree on the left was made by hot gluing multicolored yarn to a cardboard cone from Michaels.  The middle tree was sewn together out of an old, felted sweater.  No idea where the wooden tree came from!

Another cardboard cone at center that the kids painted.  Willow used a snowflake punch and then glued the snowflakes around the "tree".  This one is a keeper!  Two more poorly sewn felted trees in front.

Willow-- always funky.  I swear she is going to be a fashion stylist some day....

Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our holiday weekend here in New England has been just amazing! Sunshine and highs in the 60s have made the days feel more like September than late November.  We took advantage of the lovely weather to head outside!  On Friday, we headed up to Worcester check out the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store-- a warehouse full of surplus and donated building supplies.  We left empty handed, but found a pretty park where the kids ran around and climbed the absurdly tall bridges.

Pretty bridge in the park

Watching the geese swim by under yet another interesting bridge.

The next day, we headed down to Sharon, Ma to visit one of the many great Audubon wildlife sanctuaries in Massachusetts-- Moose Hill. In weather warm enough to wear short sleeves (!!) we wandered the hilly trails.  Eventually, we arrived at a rocky outcropping, overlooking a pretty valley.  A great end to a great November day!

This may be when the tick hitched a ride on Willow's back :(

Looking out to the valley below.

Resting after e great hike.

Blue Hills Reservation

Today we headed out for a hike up to the top of the Great Blue Hill in the Blue Hills Reservation in Canton, MA.  There were big crowds-- probably due to the close proximity of the trail to Boston-- but the views made it all worthwhile.  Jay and I were so impressed by how well the girls did on the steep, rocky trail.  They are going to be great little hikers next summer!

View from the top-- Looking East

Looking North, to Boston

The weather observatory on top

Girls' Room Makeover

We have done so much work to the house since we moved in three years ago, but the bedrooms have always fallen to the bottom of the priority list.  Now that Willow is in Kindergarten and starting to have more playdates, I wanted to give her ( and Julia) a room she could be proud of, with lots of handmade touches.

Here is what Willow's side of  the very long room looked like before:

And here is what it looks like now:

I made the duvet cover by sewing together squares of different blue fabrics to line the edges of a red polka dot fabric.  I am so happy with the way it turned out!  I also made the pillow case and throw pillow for her bed, in Willow's favorite colors of turquoise and red.

 Julia's side before:

Indigo sleeps in the (former) book nook!

And after:

I made a "J" pillow for Julia Indigo, along with a pillow sham in her favorite colors-- red and blue.

I added pom pom fringe (can you tell I love that stuff?) and stamped the shade with a feather motif.  I think it adds a little funk to the room.

I printed out the partial lyrics to the song "Julia", by the Beatles, which Julia was named after (along with activist Julia Butterfly Hill).  I added a little ocean themed watercolor at the bottom.  The frame was an ugly faux wood, until I spray painted it turquoise.

Willow's "artwork" is a horse portrait I traced from a coloring page and she then painted.  Love how she happened to choose the colors I am using in her room!

Above Willow's bed is lyrics to Scarlet Begonias, by the Grateful Dead.  We often sing this verse to Willow because her name pops up in it (and it is one of her Dad and I's favorite songs).  To make this I just painted an oval canvas turquoise, added sparkly letters, and painted a little Willow tree along the edge.

I love to make buntings!  I couldn't resist adding one above the dresser.

More projects and pictures to come!!!

Horses

Willow loves horses....

She also loves her new boots....

Boots that she thinks would be perfect for riding horses.  Maybe it is time for her Daddy and I to look more seriously in to riding lessons.

Crane Beach in Autumn

Today our little family headed to Crane Beach, in Ipswich, MA.  It was a beautiful, summer-like autumn day in the 80's-- warm enough that we could even wade in the ocean!  The day felt like such a bonus so late in the year, sand I am so happy that we took advantage of the long weekend and sunshine to enjoy one last beach day before the cold sets in.

Looking over the dunes toward the crowded beach

Shallow waters allowed Indigo to wade far from the shoreline.

Maine

This weekend we took a little mini trip to Portland, Maine-- our first, despite living only 2 1/2 hours away. Friday was an absolutely gorgeous fall day, with a high around 80 degrees and plenty of sunshine. We worked our way up the coast, stopping at beaches in Ogunquit and Kennebunkport.  The architecture and scenery were stunning!  At dusk, we arrived at our hotel in Portland and went for a warm evening walk along the harbor.  The next day we woke to fog and a drizzly rain, but the temperature was still comfortable, so we headed out to walk to check out the city.  We popped in to a few of the awesome little shops and had lunch at a cafe before heading to the Children's Museum while the rain fell.  On our drive home, we stopped by Portland Head Light-- the oldest lighthouse in the United States.  It was a wonderful little weekend trip that left us wanting to see more of beautiful Maine!

A beautiful day on the beach.

The Bush estate in Kennebunkport.  See the Texas flag?

Cobblestone streets on a rainy morning in beautiful downtown Portland.

One of the many lobster shacks in Maine.  I'm not sure why they are all called "lobster pounds"

Love the phonetic spelling of "chowdah"!

Willow in front of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland.  Apparently "cryptozoology" refers to unproven creatures. We didn't pay to enter,  but did enjoy the entrance display, which included a "jackalope", yeti model and this awesome cardboard cutout of President Obama wearing a yeti t-shirt.

Indigo adding her graffiti to the chalkboard in the bathroom in the delicious Local Sprouts cafe in Portland.  The food here was locally sourced, with lots of vegetarian and vegan options.  Plus, they have a great kids' play area and this entertaining bathroom!

Portland Head Light-- commissioned by George Washington in 1787!