Soul Sprout

Spring craft collection

If you have some time to waste, try Stumble Upon.  Give the site a little info about your interests and it will randomly take you to links you might like.  I don't stumble often, but when I do, it seems I always find something interesting, enchanting or inspiring.

A recent trip kicked off a firestorm of creativity for me and my girls that hasn't stopped burning yet.  It started with this site, called Craft Gawker, that is a collection of photos and links to tons of crafty ideas.  I've been swimming in a world of colors and textures ever since.  The first thing I made was some paper origami stars. (See the tutorial here.)  They are simple and lovely.  And if you put a secret message inside, they can brighten up someone's day.  When Julia got home, she went to town and made many more than I did (and is better at it too!)

Next up was a tree.  (Instructions here.)  Natalie and I gathered branches from our yard, cut out leaves, and glued wire on each leaf.  Julia helped put all the leaves on the branches.  It's as nice as a bouquet of flowers, but lasts a lot longer!

Then all three of us created a little forest of toadstools.  (Animated instructions here.)  Now our table has the spirit of spring!

Happy crafting!

Loving a lawnmower

Disclaimer: If you are a lawn-o-phile who loves those diagonal mowing lines or you have a lawn big enough for one of those riding monsters, disregard the following information.

Since we moved south almost 3 years ago, I have not mowed the lawn.  I hate the gas powered mower and with our tiny yard, it just seemed ridiculous to me.  I wanted a push reel mower.

Enter the UNC MBA program. 

Between work and studying, my husband will not have time to mow this year.  We considered hiring a lawn service.  Then, on a recent Saturday, I heard this whirring noise and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but my neighbor pushing the mower of my desire. 

I asked to borrow it, and fell in love instantly.  I can pick the whole thing up with no trouble.  There's no fight to get it started.  I just push.  Sure there were spots I had to go over more than once and there were times I had to give it a good shove, but I still found it easier to maneuver and push than the old gas one. 

Just a few days later, I made the trek to Home Depot and bought a simple Scotts push reel mower and assembled it in no time.  I read the very short manual and laughed at the warning to walk, not run, while pushing.  I had actually been tempted to do that!  I also discovered that I can drink and mow.  And since it can't throw projectiles the way a gas mower can, my kids can actually be in the yard while I mow. 

The other reason I haven't mowed in NC is the heat and humidity. Since my new mower sounds like a giant pinwheel and not a jet, I can now mow at midnight when the temperature hits that nice 85 low.

Go green and love your lawn again.  Join the push revolution!

The world according to Natalie

This doll is not naked.  He is a superhero and he is wearing a cape.

Everything she owns that is a girl is named Ella.

Everything she owns that is a boy is named Mike.

God is as big as her dad. (Size is always based in comparison to her 5'8" dad.)

All her boy dolls and some of her stuffed animals are her brothers and she's going to marry them some day. (And if you were paying attention, they are all named Mike.)

Her dad, her mom and her cousin Nick are all kids- grown up kids. (I'll take it!)

Since she is 3, that means she is big and little.

She wishes that on her next birthday she could be 10 like her big sis.

Baby Elliott should live next door so she can see him anytime she wants.  (He is her 19-month-old cousin who lives in Colorado.  I'm not sure how much he's going to like her calling him Baby Elliott when he turns 2 or 3 or 4 or 37.)

She doesn't want to die and will be sad when the world "comes to the end of the days."  (Where did she get this?  I have no idea.)

She wants to learn to deer hunt. (When her dad and I informed her that she'd have to be older before she could learn to hunt and that she'd probably need to start with a smaller animal, she came up with the idea of hunting baby bunnies.  I've got to read her Watership Down!  I could never shoot Hazel!)

Her favorite song is The Birds Are Gone.  She wrote the song and it goes something like "The birds are gone they're not everywhere.  They're not at the beach."

She can't stop sucking her thumb, because she doesn't know how to big girl sleep. (After we tried the bad tasting polish she said, "That stuff didn't taste good, but I still sucked my thumb."  Yep, it's going to be a long battle.)

She wants to be an artist when she grows up.

Her favorite foods are green beans, waffles and macaroni and cheese.

When she puts on her Supergirl costume, she is Batman.

 

 

My best card trick

Pick a card.  Any card.  Ooooh!  That's the go potty card! 

Doesn't sound like your average card trick, but it does work wonders.  If you've spent any time around a toddler, you'll know they don't like to take direction.  They want to be in control.  This is only a problem when you want them to do what you want, in a timely manner.  In other words, most of the time.

Getting my little one ready for ballet every week was becoming a struggle.  I do my best to give her choices any time I can, because if she gets to choose the shirt, she doesn't mind putting it on.  Trouble is sometimes there aren't choices to be made.  So I came up with a card game.

Each card stands for an action (go potty, get dressed in dance clothes, put hair up, put shoes and coat on).  The first time I did it, I actually worked out exactly which card belonged to each action.  She chooses a card and I tell her what it stands for.  Getting ready became fun and easy.

I've branched out and sometimes use it at bedtime.  I've also discovered that I don't have to work out which card is which.  She pulls one and I announce what I want it to be.  I do mix things up and occasionally add something unexpected, like a piece of candy or a hug or an extra story.  This keeps her interested in the game, because she never knows what might happen. I'm also careful not to use it all the time, so it doesn't get old.  If she's in a great mood, I don't use it. 

I've also been somewhere without cards and needed it.  In that desperate situation, I put something in my hand (like a penny), put my hands behind my back and tell her if she picks the hand with the penny she brushes her teeth, and if she picks the one without, she puts on her pajamas. 

This trick has saved my sanity more times than I can count.  She feels like she's in control and loves it and I actually get what I want.  It's a win-win situation!

What kind of tricks do you have up your sleeve?

 

Digging and diving

 

Last August I had an eventful trip planned.  I put loads of time and effort into planning every detail.  I was all set to tape the first few episodes of Mad Good.  Then the curveball came.  My partner Lara and I both got sick the night before I was supposed to fly to Erie.  Really sick.  It was obvious the weekend was sunk.  I didn't mope about it, but a little part of me fell into a deep tar pit.

The tar immobilized my creative side and clouded my senses.  I questioned why I even attempt these projects.  What makes me think I can do these things? 

I threw myself into furthering my culinary education.  I cooked and baked.  I watched as much Julia Child as I could find.  I devoured books about and by real food people (from Brillat-Savarin to Ruth Reichl).  I learned how to bake bread, thanks to The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.

I started to tread in the tar, but I couldn't get out.

Then someone held out a stick.

My sister-in-law gave me a necklace for my birthday that said "Dream" on it.  She said she bought it for me because I was the only person she knew that followed her dreams.  I didn't take it off for a couple of weeks.  She got it.

I grabbed that stick and dug my way out.  

Now I'm diving back into the seas of creativity.  I'm planning a new Mad Good trip in June, I'm back to my blog, I'm taking an online art workshop by Misty Mawn, and I'm taking some classes at Ornamentea.

New year, new possibilites, new hope.

Happy New Year!

 

 

Tomato inspirations

I intended to buy a pint of grape tomatoes.  I ended up with three.  I just couldn't resist them.  They seduced me with their shades of ruby and tangerine. 

I was already drunk on peach samples and my defenses were down.  No matter the reason, I had to figure out how to use all three pints while they were at their peak.

I started with a cucumber and grape tomato salad dressed with a buttermilk dill dressing from the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook.  Then I created a main dish I'll call Summer Shrimp.  I used the tomatoes two ways for the dish and topped it all with goat cheese, fresh dill and basil.  I don't want to give away too much, because I'm including the recipe as part of the incentives for backers of Mad Good on kickstarter.

Mad Good, a foodie and her toadie, is the food show created by Lara and me.  We are taping our first two episodes in August and are raising the funds on kickstarter.  If you pledge to give us just $5 I will send you my special recipe collection including Summer Shrimp and the Red Pepper and Bacon Frittata with Tomato Feta Relish pictured below.  There are other rewards too, like a DVD with exclusive outtakes and your name in the credits.  You know you want it, so go to kickstarter, laugh your way through the trailer and secure a set of awesome recipes to impress your friends with.  

Oh yeah, and you'll get my buttermilk cobbler recipe too!!!

 

A light for a summer night or the food torch strikes again

I haven't used my dear little torch in a while, but today I returned it to service.  In the past, I have mainly used it for creme brulee.  I tend to forget that it's waiting up on the highest shelf to carmelize sugar on top of everything and anything.

I had a perfectly ripe nectarine sitting in my fruit bowl and when I cut it in half, inspiration struck.  I grabbed the brown sugar and sprinkled it over both halves.  I waved my torch over them and instantly I had warm, cripsy, caramel sugar.  The marriage of juicy, lusty nectarine and deep, dark sugar was divine.

If you don't have a kitchen torch, you can use your broiler instead.  Peaches would be just as lovely as nectarines here as well.  One of these gems makes the perfect ending to a summer meal.  If you want to take it a step further, top it with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.  Yes, freshly whipped, nothing else will do.

Enjoy!

Mad Good - A foodie and her toadie

It's official!  Mad Good is on its way to being a real show.  In case you haven't heard, Mad Good is a show hosted by Lara and me. 

Aiming to turn food television on its ear, we will inspire you to change the way you eat, cook and watch. The first time we cooked together, we knew we had to have a show.

On our show, we will cook, ask questions, eat, laugh, argue, drink, compete and talk to the real food people- cookbook authors, bakers, farmers, fish mongers, chefs, short order cooks, baristas, butchers and home cooks- to name a few.

Each webisode will contain a cooking segment and a challenge pitting Lara and me against each other. Lara isn't afraid to ask any question and I'm not afraid to reveal my inner nerd. 

We have launched our project on kickstarter, so you can check it out there right now.  We will be taping the show in late August and hope to have it online by October.  We will be posting the show on blip.tv and youtube.

Wish us luck and support us on kickstarter!

A new venture

Since I've come back from Erie, I've been seized by a need to create.  My goal is to have my own art show in Erie next year.  This picture is one panel of a triptych.  I don't want to show too much, because I do want the element of surprise at my opening, but I wanted to share a tidbit to let you know what's coming.

I'll keep you posted about dates and location.

Book Review- Gift From the Sea by, Anne Morrow Lindbergh

A friend recommended this book a few years ago and I never forgot the title.  A week ago, I was looking for something in the library in the theater section and there was this book.  I have no idea why it was there, but I took it as a sign that it was time to read it.

Boy was I right.  This is a gem of a little book.  It was just what I needed.  It's simple and lovely and comforting.  It began as the author's journal and blossomed into a book of metaphors and realizations.  It is written about and for women, but there are truths and insights in it that everyone can learn from.

 Gift From the Sea is also timeless.  The author was the wife of Charles Lindbergh.  Yes, THE Charles Lindbergh.  It could easily have been written today.  It resonates just as purely now as it did then.  I plan to put a copy of it in each of my girl's hands when they need it.

Beef stew- 9 (with a little foie gras on the side)