The Prettiest Teacup

It’s a good thing I need to stay home and clean today because this is at the end of my driveway, all the way down my side of the street in fact.  The city is replacing some pipes in the road.  They are also replacing the end of my driveway because they had to dig it up to get to the water main that lies beneath it.  Scott came home from work this morning and had to park across the street, so I do have an escape vehicle on the other  side if I need it.  But I have infant acetaminophen, diapers, milk, and a suture kit here if I get into trouble.  Tomorrow it’s a different story- I have a hair appointment so they had better be finished.

Mine seems to be doing quite well.

I did go all the way back for these stupid things.  Honeywort, Blue Shrimp plant, or if you are technical, Cerinthe major.  I don’t know why I needed them so bad but they look beautiful with my foxglove.

And here we have a lovely specimen of  Convallaria majalis Albostriata, or variegated Lily-of -the-Valley.  Notice the beautifully striped foliage and large white bell-shaped flowers.

Such a wonderful addition to my garden this year.

Last week was our now annual nursery tour.  Momma, Evelyn, and I packed ourselves up and headed eastward.  The first stop was Ebert’s Greenhouse Village.

Twenty- eight greenhouses plus areas for perennials and a gift shop make up this nursery. There are five greenhouses devoted to geraniums.  So many geraniums.  All of those I bought this year are hot pink, four different varieties of hot pink.

This is the 30,000 square foot greenhouse full of hanging baskets and tables and tables of coleus, begonias, and other annuals.

We moved on to another crappy place that was way off our path and not worth mentioning before heading to Monches Farm.

They have their perennials in the ground and you dig them up with the pitchforks provided at the end of each row.

The gift shop in the house is a great place, where French music plays and finches sing.  In the conservatory to the side of the house is a cage where turtledoves softly coo.

There is also an open chicken coop where the giant rooster patrols.  You can find a stray hen here and there scratching under the bluebells.

I got a little too close to the peacock, who was roosting on the coop door.  He jumped down and started dancing for me.

This little one is as pretty as a bluebell.  Maybe even cuter.

The next day we moved south to Shady Acres nursery.  This one was so quiet and peaceful.  They had a nice selection of perennials and I managed to fill a wagon with delphiniums, echincheas, herbs, and a new hosta (one called Wolverine, as I had just seen the new X-Men movie).  I topped it off with a squirrel sculpture.

Only a few more stops left because our vehicle was getting full.  We picked up some organic veggies at Yerke’s Greenhouses then continued on to Northwind Perennial Farm.

I really liked this place.  The prices of there plants were a good one to two dollars higher than the other nurseries ( we didn’t buy anything here- good thing it was our last stop), but the inspiration gained was worth the drive.

They have wonderful winding paths and a beautiful yellow magnolia tree.

Chickens and goats inhabit this farm.  There is also a cute cattle dog with the bluest eyes who drops sticks at your feet in hopes that you’ll throw them.

The barn has been unaltered (the cattle stalls till have the leads and ropes hanging by the feed troughs) and you can sit a spell in the silo.  Such a pretty place.  They had a particular annual That I didn’t buy and wished I had.  I may be driving the two hours down  just to get my hot little hands on it.  I better see if they have any left before I hit the road.

Evelyn is game for another road trip!

Okay, so these are not made out of the fabric that came in the mail.  Even better- they are made out of a vintage thrifted pillowcase.  I wanted to try out my template first on fabric that didn’t cost $9.50 a yard.

The waist came out a little small because I tapered it instead of going straight up.  And they are a tad too long.  The little Junebug had her first appointment since being five days old (oops, forgot about that two-week visit) and she is only in the 25th percentile for everything- length, weight, head circumference.  She is still wearing newborn size clothes.

She is mon petite chou-chou.

Whoa.  I ordered fabric from three different places on three different days and all three orders came today.  Hyperventalating now- I always love new fabric.

First to go into the sewing machine will be some new pants for Evelyn June so she can look cute while perennial shopping tomorrow at the Flower Factory.

Then maybe some bonnets because it is going to be 78 on Friday and we will surely be outside planting those perennials.  I will definitely make some bibs, too, because the sweet little miss is a projectile vomiter.  A light-weight blanket/nursing cover would also be nice.

I’d better get started!

I love pulling into my driveway and seeing that Amazon box on my doorstep.  This time I got four great books that I am looking forward to perusing when I get a moment.

The colors in Jane Brocket’s The Gentle Art of Domesticity are amazing and make me so excited for the warmth of summer.

From my Mother’s Kitchen is a collection of simple comfort foods that look so good, especially the smoky sausage and bean casserole.  I love a good hot dish.

Because I am so excited about getting back into sewing, I got Heather Ross’s Weekend Sewing. That and the fact that I have enough of the beautiful orange fabric on the front of the book to actually make the skirt.  There are lots of cute projects for little ones (bloomers!) and great patterns for momma clothes, especially the kimono dress which should be good for nursing a babe.

A Year of Mornings is for pure inspiration.  I love the calmness and simplicity of the images- they are little bits of breathing room and make me want to get better at photography.

Alas, no reading for me as this is what my kitchen table looks like at the moment and it is a good indicator of the state of the rest of my house.  I would like to clean and read but kissing baby toes always comes first.

How could you not , especially when one sock always seems to disappear leaving them ripe for the smooching?

Spring finally seems to be popping up around here. Green things that will soon be blooming are poking through the dirt. With the warming of the air and the lengthening of the days I wanted to make some equally light-hearted projects.

Paper butterflies are the answer. I’ve always wanted a collection but cutting them out of old books seemed less cruel (not to mention my real specimens from my entomology courses were stolen by a classmate). They are so pretty painted shades of green and mounted in a shadow box.

Or swarming together to make a lovely wreath. It feels good to be doing projects again. I have my sewing machine set up in the kitchen along with bins of fabric waiting for their chance. We’ll see what I can make.

Here she is, Evelyn June Olson.  She was born on February 28 at 3:56 in the afternoon and weighed 7 pounds and 6 ounces, 19 and 1/2 inches long.

I don’t know what to say about being a mom- it’s everything and nothing like I expected.  Getting to know this little one over the past month has been so trying and amazing at the same time.  We are both still learning about each other but the smiles I get each morning are well worth the tears of frustration I’ve cried.

On a different note the website will probably be changing a lot as I figure out exactly what look I’m going for.  I have so much I want to share with you all!

Look at what I made!  I know these little French beauties have been the obsession on blogs for a while now, but I didn’t have the courage to try making them.  So I sat and admired everyone else’s macarons.  The beautiful colors and the tempting fillings became too much.  I got tired of admiring and wanted to eat so in December I poured over recipes and found my courage by reading Tartlette’s instructions.  My macarons turned out perfectly.  The stack pictured are clementine with chocolate ganache filling.  I also made chocolate with salted butter caramel filling but those didn’t stick around long enough for pictures.

I must admit, macarons are a little fussy but if you stay calm they are very simple to make.  One of the things I would like to do this year is to try cooking or baking at least two new things a month.  Having accomplished making the fragile macaron has definitely set me off on the right foot.

I hope everyone’s new year is off to a good start.  This will be an exciting year at our house and I am definitely looking forward to new experiences and challenges.  I feel like I have been holding my breath for so long, waiting for a little one to come our way, and I keep forgetting to swim.  I’m still just waiting.  I have hardly done anything to prepare for this baby and now I’m starting to panic.  But how can you prepare for your first child?  How can you prepare your heart to be permanently tethered to this new life?  

I don’t think you can.

So I will busy my self with the little things- painting the room (no, this is not done yet), washing and putting away baby clothes, and knitting- anticipating the day when the dam breaks and I can breathe again.  Soon.