A Succulent Summer

If your schedule is anything like mine, a whole host of events and celebrations crop up in the summertime.  Baby showers, weddings, house-warming parties, birthdays, backyard barbeques, and the list goes on.  By nature I'm a giver, but I often feel like I don't have time to put enough attentiveness into gifts for my gal pals and am left spending more money than my budget allows and feeling guilty for not being more thoughtful. 

Enter the succulent garden, a wonderful little container of color, beauty, and best of all, easy maintenance.  Who wouldn't enjoy one of these in the kitchen window, as a centerpiece for a dining table, or on a summer porch?  Virtually impossible to kill (they won't die while you're on your beach vacation-yay!), these little beauties can put a smile on any recipient's face.  Instead of buying the overpriced, already assembled versions in the garden shop, choose to plant your own and save your pennies.  Just find your favorite galvanized container or ceramic pot, add potting soil and your preferred  combination of sedum, cacti, and aloe and in less than 5 minutes you have a perfect gift that spans a whole variety of occasions. 

I made this garden as an end-of-year class gift for Maddox's teachers.  Both ladies have reported that their plants are thriving and being enjoyed.

By copying dictionary pages with words like educate, teach, mentor, and instruct, I mod podged the pages onto galvanized pails for an extra bit of thoughtfulness.  Think of special words to describe the occasion for your gift and consider doing this too!

Mid-Summer's Eve

Many full moons ago, my very fanciful kindergartner checked out a book about fairies from her school library.  Mind you, this was no Tinkerbell fluff.  This sophisticated chronicle of fairy research and sightings in England during the summer of 1920 has been the object of Maddy's interest and imagination all year.  According to researcher Cicely Mary Barker, the best day to see a fairy is Mid-Summer's Eve, June 23rd.  Thus, before the snow was even off the ground, my little event planner began dreaming up a summer soiree of all things fairy.  Luckily, her classmates shared her enthusiasm.  Mid-Summer's Eve (held last night under a large holly tree in the backyard), did not disappoint.  And although Maddox and her gal pals couldn't definitively say that they had seen a magical winged creature, they sure had fun trying.  

A magical evening, many months in the making.

Baking the day away.

Bite-size woodland fairy treats.

Dedicated fairy researchers.

Craft time.

Wand making is serious business.

Planning their fairy spotting strategy.

Fairy doors

A new use for popsicle sticks

One guest brought a very sophisticated fairy terrarium.

Just when we thought we'd missed them, the camera caught this light on her necklace and on the ground. . .They do exist.

    

I'll Never be a Cowgirl

In high school, I had two dear friends that went through a country western phase.  They attended Clay Walker concerts, bought Wrangler jeans, and marched their cowboy boots down the hallways of Harrison County High School almost everyday.  I never really understood this part of their lives, but adored them anyway, and still do to this day.  Still, I remained cowboy boot free. . . until this weekend in Nashville.

On my flight into the country music capital, I realized that (no wonder my bag was so light!) I had left my riding boots at home.  I planned to wear them over the weekend and really had no good alternate shoes packed.  Okay, I thought, I will buy my first ever cowgirl boots today.  My friend and I had flown in from Virginia for a work conference, so as soon as we checked into the hotel, we ventured out to do some shopping.  I realized quickly that boots are no cheap thing.  Everywhere we went, each pair was several hundred dollars.  Finally, I found- I've been told miraculously- a pair of Frye boots for half off.  They came in my size, fit when I tried them on, and came home with me.

The next morning, it was time to put on my new beauties.  A few minutes before my conference started, I slipped the left boot on but as I began pulling on the right boot, my foot would not fit down into the shoe.  I changed socks.  Nothing.  Sat down on the floor to pull.  Notta.  Took the boot off and tried to loosen up the leather.  Nothin' doin'.  Finally, I sent my roommate down to the meeting and told her I would meet her there, and for the next five minutes, I pulled and tugged and kicked and screamed until the boot was forcefully yanked onto my foot.  (I have sore arms and bruises on my hands to vouch for my efforts).  Those boots were on, dang it, and they weren't coming off.  Wait.  My boots weren't coming off.  We had to get on a flight home that night and my boots weren't coming off!

All day long, I agonized about what I would do when I got to the airport.  How would I get through security with boots that wouldn't come off?  I imagined TSA agents taking me into a back room to try their hand at my boot removal.  It wasn't going to be pretty.  Finally, our time to go to the airport arrived.  When I presented my boarding pass and license to the sweet grandmotherly agent, I whispered my dilemma in her ear.  "Tell 'em it's a medical issue," she said, "but don't tell 'em I told you that."  At that moment I did what any right-minded person would do, I began limping over to the security check.

"Sir, I'm nursing a sprained ankle and my foot has swollen in my boot.  I don't think I can get it off."  Which of course, wasn't a complete lie!  Because of my cowgirl boots, I endured a full body pat down last night, which I can assure everyone was not as bad as it sounds.  My liberties were not violated.  And my new boots finally did come off at 1:30 this morning when I got home, after lots of pulling and tugging from my good-natured husband.

I'll never be a cowgirl, friends.  But I did give it a heck of a try in Nashville.

3-1= 2

We're missing a child this week.  After a fabulous Christmas in Kentucky, we headed home with only two carseats in the middle row, instead of three.  Maddox was invited to stay a few extra days with GranJan, Papa, and Auntie Jourdan and she heartily accepted.  I haven't even caught her on the phone for more than a few seconds these past few days; she's been having the time of her life!  I have to say, it is odd without one of your children around even though having Henry and Harper here leaves plenty to do!  I miss my little helper and all of her funny faces and quirky sayings.  The upside of the situation is that I have found time to do some major cleaning and purging of a few rooms in our house.  Over the last few nights, I have cleaned out Maddy's closet, under her bed (ugh) and re-organized the play room.  Let's see what the big girl says when she gets home this afternoon.  Can't wait to see her!

 The play room shelves were a complete disaster when we left for Christmas.  Now, there is a sense of organization!

 I created a little office space for myself on the opposite side of the play room for my new Matilda Jane Clothing business.  Sent a few emails down here today while the babies played contently.  Genius!

. . 

To-Die-For Tiramisu

I'm going to go ahead and make a big statement here.  This is quite possibly the best tiramisu you'll ever have and I will also predict it is the easiest you'll ever whip up.  No ladyfingers to find (or make, ugh), no baking in the oven.  Just a coffee pot and a mixer is all you'll need.  Perfect for a small holiday gathering.  I made mine this morning and will savor it with my husband tonight after the kiddos hit the hay.  Enjoy!

 You'll need:
3/4 cup of egg substitute (I researched this the safety of uncooked egg substitute here and found it to be perfectly safe (unless you're pregnant- sorry friends!).
1 cup espresso or strong coffee, cooled 
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp Kahlua (could also use brandy or cognac or you could eliminate alcohol entirely)
8 oz Mascarpone cheese Mascarpone is an Italian sweet cream cheese that you can usually find this time of year with other hard and soft cheeses in your local deli.  It is oh-so-yummy.
2 tbsp cocoa 
1 package Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies (I use these instead of ladyfingers and think they're the best!)

 

Step 1:  Combine eggs, 1 tbsp espresso, sugar, and Kahlua into large bowl and beat 2-3 minutes.  Add Mascarpone and beat 3-5 minutes more.  (Should look like the picture above when it's done).

 Step 2:  Quickly dip each Milano cookie into remaining coffee and layer on the bottom of a small serving dish.  I use three cookies per ramekin.

 

Step 3: Spread Mascarpone mixture on top of cookies and sprinkle with cocoa.  Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving. Serves 6. 

A New Spin on Christmas

I love decorating for any season or holiday but inevitably, decking the halls for Christmas is a bit different when there are two 13 month-old children in the house. I began thinking about these must-do changes a few months ago when my best friend and I took a trip to the Country Living Fair in Atlanta and saw dozens of vendor booths with amazing holiday ideas. Oh, that gorgeous Christmas pillow with hand-sewn ribbons and jewels? Yeah, that would be destroyed in five minutes in my house. Those glass ornaments? Shattered. That one-of-a-kind ribbon? Torn right off the tree. I began to regain hope when I stopped at a vendor who sold mostly vintage paper products and suddenly the ideas began to flow. What if I could substitute paper for glass this year? Between that and the conviction that decorating could be done on the cheap and with existing items and outdoor flora and fauna, I have to say I am pretty pleased with how it all turned out. (My wallet is happy too).


Our mantle all decorated for Christmas. I lieu of typical greenery, I chose a neutral color scheme.


Right next to some old skates I picked up at the thrift store a few years ago, I added some season
appropriate vintage flash cards.



This one helped mommy decorate the Christmas tree last week. Since we went to all paper, I let her choose ten of her favorite Christmas ornaments to adorn her own small tree in her bedroom.



Found old-fashioned word and trivia cards at The Fair. In case you're interested, rococo means fancy style of ornamentation with curves and shell work. Who knew?

Couldn't pass these up!



I've been putting magazines in this old tool box for the past few years, but decided that it would look nice as my table centerpiece this Christmas.



Had to have this ornament, circa 1985, out somewhere in the house. Actually a real flip book, I used to look at this for hours as a kid.



Didn't want to pack away all the "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments either, so I rounded them all up into a vase.


Gained some further holiday inspiration with two friends, Stephanie and Serrine, on a Historic Inns Tour a few days ago and had fun too!


Came home from the tour and made this. My dying mums were replaced with greenery found in my own backyard. Pine, boxwood, holly, and magnolia leaves (okay, I had to ask the neighbors for those) are all arranged right in the dirt. Serrine promises they'll stay fresh for weeks!


What new ideas are you incorporating in your holiday decorating this year?

The M Cafe

While driving away from the drive-thru coffee shop earlier this week, my daughter sighed and said longingly, "I really want to do that one day." 'That' in which she is referring to is being the barista, the maker of all things delicious in this world. Becoming a barista when she grows up has replaced Maddox's old dreams of being a waitress. And she has determined that her coffee shop will be called The M Cafe. These are big dreams, folks.

While this mom can't visit coffee shops as often as I used to, I am a paying customer of The M Cafe at least twice a day in our house. The service is bad, the drinks are inadequate, and many times I am forced to sit in a child size chair, yet The M Cafe is one of my favorite places to hang out. Just yesterday, I ordered a tall dry cappuccino and received a venti mocha with cream and cinnamon. Talk about miscommunication! And should I try to let Henry or Harper sip my special treat, Miss M herself screams, "Don't let the babies drink that latte! It's not good for them!" You'd think the surgeon general was giving orders or something.

Here are a few other problems with said cafe. Sometimes I wait for hours to receive my drink. If daddy is around, my order is forgotten entirely. Also, the espresso machine is broken far too often and I have to settle for tea. Cleanliness of The M Cafe leaves a little to be desired. M reuses cups without washing them out and I've personally watched her sneeze into the creamer. Finally, acceptable currency leaves a little to be desired. Some days I can pay her in play money. Other days, she will only accept candy. The best is when she pays me for my patronage.

For now, The M Cafe lives on in Maddy's imagination. But today, we went to a real coffee shop in town and watched intently as the barista made my pumpkin pie latte. M and I drew a diagram of the experience then talked about it all the way home. The dream lives on. . .