cool like that. in iceland.

I can't get enough of this song.  

It gets played over and over on my runs.  I play it loudly in the kitchen when I'm making dinner (mainly to drown out the kids yelling - it works!). I listen to it on repeat in my tiny little studio.  

Heart, heart.  Love, love.

Don't you just adore it?  Happiness should now be oozing through your fingertips - hey!

I'm off to toss some clothes in a bag for a sweet little weekend away with some old, dear friends....right after I listen to this song.  Again.

good morning, good friday

I thought I'd try my hand at Hot Cross Buns.  It seems a fitting food for this time of year.  When making them I couldn't help but want to sing the Mother Goose rhyme, "Hot cross buns; hot cross buns; one a penny, two a penny...."

Traditionally I realize that they're supposed to contain currants.  But, out of my household of five, I'm the only one who likes raisins/currants in my food.  So, for these little buns I left out the currants.  I did, however, add a healthy dose of orange zest instead.  

They turned out alright for my first go at them.  Excuse the messy frosting crosses.  I am not too skilled at frosting yet.

The recipe is here - making it even easier with a bread machine!

bedtime story

I happened to pick up Rabbit Hill, by Robert Lawson, at the library last week and I'm so glad I did.  It is the perfect read-aloud bedtime story for the kids.  I'm not sure who enjoys it more - the grown-ups or the kids.  There are words like 'dingblastit' and 'tarnation' in it.  I ask you, when is the last time those words have crossed your lips?  

Besides, it seems a perfect read for this time of year. All spring like and such. 

I highly recommend it as a family reading book.  And, it won a Newberry award so I know I'm not making it up.  

cafe au lait bowls

I still remember one of the best cafe au laits I've ever had.  It was in Berlin at an outdoor cafe.  My dear sweet friend and I were in the middle of our backpacking trip through Europe.  I remember ordering and savoring a big bowl full of warm, frothy goodness.

It made all the difference drinking the liquid out of a bowl.  Don't get me wrong.  I love my mugs of coffee.  Turning on the coffee pot and waiting, mug in hand, for my hot coffee is one of the first things I do in the morning.  But, there is something cozy, and European, about drinking my cafe au lait and hot chocolate out of a bowl.

{Image from Simon Food Favorites}

This fascination with drinking from bowls got me to thinking about when I was younger.  I remember staying with one of my aunts and uncles when I was little, and they served us our hot chocolate in a bowl with toast for dipping.  For breakfast!

You know where I'm going with this....ta da!  Guess what we've been doing here lately?  Yep.  Drinking our [homemade] hot cocoa from bowls for breakfast...with cinnamon toast for dipping.  Makes breakfast before school a little more enjoyable.

Check out these cute vintage cafe au lait bowls.  Or these.  Or what about these for the smaller set?

{Image from Northern Light}

I love (and want) this collection of cafe au lait bowls.  Until then, our little bowls at home will have to do.  Off to enjoy one now!

hand sewn

The night before we headed out of town for our trip to the desert, I quickly threw in some fabric and notions. We were going to be traveling for 10 hours in a car (both directions), plus the quiet hours of monitoring nap time in a hotel room, so I needed some things to keep my hands busy.

It was a good thing that I threw in some fabric scraps and the like.  Once we got settled in our place, we found that the hotel didn't have wi-fi.  What?!  All my well-laid plans to catch up on computer-y things went out the window.

And, look.  I was so well-prepared that I was able to whip out my crafting bag and get busy.  

Some new little spots to hold my pins during sewing.  So cute.  They remind me of traditional Japanese toys that I discovered when I lived there.  

Little fabric flowers.  What to do with them all?  Some have found their way on to hair clips for my seven year old.  One even made it's way as a package topper on a recently sold pillow.  

Both little items are so fun to make and super cute when finished.

weather warm up

We survived the road trip.  

The drive turned out to be more like 10 hours instead of the planned upon nine.  We somehow forgot to pack the cables to make our portable DVD player work, and still the kids did great.  Remember the days of looking out the window and seeing the scenery during road trips?  Or, playing alphabet games?  Or, spotting cars with different license plates?  That was how we filled the hours.  And, really the kids did super.  

We made it to the desert!  We made it to warm weather!  We made it to swimming pools!

It was so great to be warm.

And, now we're home with swim suits and shorts tucked away for another two months.

It makes the forecast of snow showers tomorrow seem all the more miserable.