Happiness Project Inspiration

I am reading this, recommended by my friend, Sophie.

It is pretty good. It is about a woman who makes a list of small things that she can do each month to make a positive change in her life. She is a bit intense about how she goes about it, but the general point is a great idea.

My 2 things for the month are:

1. Go to bed earlier/get more sleep.

2. Write more letters to friends. (One letter for

one friend per week.)

I LOVE anything mail/post related. I love sending and receiving letters and even playing mail/post man with Tate.

pretty mail calligraphy

Felt Mailbox Pattern

Found a scrapbook store in France. :) Love the postcard stamp.And totally unrelated, another friend of mine and I went to Trowbridge today. We found this excellent Italian cafe that had amazing antipasti. When I went to the toilet.... It made my day.

Rocker for Summer

In the back of the great British magazine, Country Living (VERY different from the US version...) there was a little ad.

I'm in love with their rockers!!!

How pretty would this be in a secret garden? (Funny enough, I think that is the name of this model.)
And as a snuggly place for a book? Tate would LOVE it.

Easter Break 2011

Ever head to Ikea, just to eat the meatballs (or 99p breakfast in our case) and to be inspired?? Seriously, we got out of there spending less than a tenner. It was the first day of Easter Break, and the weather wasn't great, so we just let the boy run around the place, took lots of pictures, ate cheap food, and thought about ideas for the next house.

Later in the week, we made marbled Easter Eggs with Shaving Cream painting. I got the idea from smilemonsters Linky Party (on my sidebar). She has a post most Fridays with lots of things to do with kids.

Since Paul was home for the 2 weeks, I was able to escape to The Makery and FINALLY learn how to sew on a zipper!! (It is much easier than it seems, now that I have had a formal lesson.)

And I got to help my friend, Kirsty, make this amazing looking Hello Kitty cake. So fun!

Nope. I don't want to leave Bath. I was able to spend some good time with friends and will be savoring every moment with them in the weeks to come. I really wish the UK and the US were closer....

And on a totally unrelated note, I am sooo making this for my chihuahua loving dad.

(He has 4 of them.)

Let Me Eat Cake

Reading this, that I found at the library...

The cover isn't that cute, but the book is really good!

When I was googling the cover, I found another book with the same name. And I will be reading it, too when I can:)

And it doesn't stop there....apparently, this is the hot shirt of the moment because Beyonce wore it. (It IS cute.) However, it is $45.50. MARKED DOWN FROM $70! FOR A TSHIRT!!!

So then I looked further, and this one was much more affordable, at Dylan's Candy Bar for $15.

And lastly, found this great foodie blog, which I have bookmarked already.

http://theletmeeatcake.com/

Savoring the Simple

Tea with friends.

A smiley babe.

Our dining table. (Paul sold our real table in preparation for our move to the US.)

Cute little boys who love to do photo shoots.

Stamped tags, available at The Makery.

Today I showed the house (to sell) to a Lady. As in "married-to-a-Lord". To me, being American, it sounded all fancy, which made me go into overdrive cleaning the house. I might be in bed before 9pm tonight! She was lovely, and actually a completely down to earth grandma who was super sweet to the baby.

Party Planning

from one charming party.

We are moving, so the last thing I need to obsess about is party planning. There are so many great sites with beautiful tablescapes and decorations, that it makes me want to plan and have a party. I get so excited to see coordinated colors and yummy food, all organized and pretty.

Here are a few other sites that I found.

from glorioustreats.

From Craftydog.com.

from bird's party.

Now, doesn't that make you want to have a party? Which is your favorite? What is the best themed party that you have ever been to?

Finding Fabric for Free

I stumbled upon this amazing organization:

Intro to FabMo from FabMo on Vimeo.

FabMo--Our volunteer organization diverts discontinued high quality designer materials from the waste stream. Our local FabMo effort is currently redirecting at least 25 tons or 300 cubic yards per year. These exquisite textiles are generally not available anywhere else and are well appreciated by teachers, students, artisans and craftspeople. There are many colors, patterns, weights and sizes (majority are a yard or less), plus trims, leathers & carpet samples. We also frequently have wallpapers, sample books, hardware, tassels, and more.

If you don't live in N CA, maybe you can ask local designers, fabric companies, furniture stores for scraps that they are throwing away for your next project!!

And if you live in Bath, UK....you might want to check out the Scrap Store. (Great for home projects, however, they do not allow the use of their materials for making things you might sell.)

Great Kids Music

I have been really enjoying singing lots of kids songs while Soleil is playing about. We have been playing Tate's songs that we listened to when he was home all day, and he has been enjoying hearing them again.

This is Tate's favorite.

Everything Laurie Berkner does is cute! This is really good for dancing to, and when you want something up beat.And this is new one that we bought this week. It might be my favorite!!!! It is so good musically and soft and serene.
Another favorite. This is another calm and sweet one.

Yard Sale/Boot Sale/Table Top Sale... we love them all.

We found this really cool marble run for 4.50. It made for a great Sunday afternoon!
And later on Tate's whiteboard....

Reverse Applique Onesie

This was sooo easy. I found a tutorial for it here.

I got the long sleeved onesie/babygro at M&S here in England. They are thicker than other onesies so they can be worn as part of an outfit, rather than just under things.

1. Draw a design in light pencil, chalk, disappearing ink, or anything that can be washed out easily.

2. Turn your onesie inside out. Take a pretty piece of fabric and place it with the right side against the onesie front (wrong side up). Pin into place.

3. Stitch around design using embroidery thread. It doesn't have to be perfect, just follow your drawing and knot off at the end.

4. Take little, sharp scissors and cut the tshirt on the inside line of the stitching, but leave pretty fabric underneath.

You are done!!

This is a great project to make while you are watching the last episode of LOST that your husband refuses to delete off the DVR.

My Desk

This is the pile next to my bedside. I was updating an inspiration notebook that I started Spring 2009. It has pics from magazines of:

Fashion

Home Decor

Gift Ideas

Color Combinations

I was using my japanese masking tape (which I LOVE!) to tape stuff in.

And yes, to the left is my High School Musical Notebook that I have been using to take notes about schools and houses for the move. I have to re-cover it before I head into a real estate/principal's office!!

Currently, I am obsessing about the move.

Smaller, older house with lots of character closer to the artsy, urban center and the schools (Spanish Immersion or Open schools) I want for Tate.

OR

Big huge house in the suburbs with neighborhood schools where Tate is 1.5 yrs ahead his grade due to the UK starting school early.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO CHOOSE!! What would you pick?

Easy Egg Casserole

I found this is in a magazine and altered it to make it more kid friendly.

Easy Egg Casserole

adapted from Meredith Deeds--Cookingclub.com

2 1/2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled

1 TBS unsalted butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

12 oz ham, chopped or torn into pieces

8 oz shredded cheddar

2 TBS flour

8 eggs

3 cups milk

salt and pepper

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Boil potatoes over med-high, then reduce heat to med and simmer for 15-20 min until potatoes are tender. Drain and cool.

2. Melt butter over medium heat and cook onion until soft. (you can also add red bell pepper.)

3. Heat oven to 350F/180C. Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. With pairing knife, remove skin from potatoes and slice 1/4 inch thick.

4. Toss cheese in flour.

5. Layer twice in this order: potatoes, cheese, onion (optional), ham.

6. Whisk eggs and add in milk and salt and pepper. Pour over potatoes and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

7. Bake 50-55 minutes until browned and bubbly. Center will set as casserole cools. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

V Day and Quick Baby Lunch

Preferably the night before, take butternut squash and cut it into 1 inch cubes. Add olive oil and salt and pepper and brown sugar and put in a container like this. Shake up. Either bake on a baking dish right then, OR you have it ready to go to bake later in the week. I roasted the squash and Soleil ate the soft little chunks and I had it as a side dish with my lunch. Easy!
Satisfied customer.
The night before Valentine's day, we decorated for Tate when he woke up.
And when he returned from school, we had this waiting for him! (Paul had to try it out while watching some kind of sports on TV.)

Some Hearts from Scupley

Can you see the flower texture? This is a little pendant I made from bakeable clay. It turned out pretty cute, though it flips around on my neck. I may have to add proper jump rings and use a necklace rather than embroidery thread.
It made me happy, though.And here is Soleil "helping" with making a quilt.