20 minutes from our front door...

the shell-y beaches of west haven. Beautiful on a free Monday.

Gotta love being fair skinned. Sunburn still hurts.

Ta Da!

So, do you remember ages ago when I posted some pics of things I had sewn and there was a teaser pic? Well, I wanted to make sure that it got to the right people first, and now I am sure. Geoff and Gena welcomed a tiny new person into the world this week and I hope she will be sporting some of the goodies I sent.

 I think this is my favorite baby pattern. It's easy to make in all sorts of fun fabrics, easy to get on and off baby, and should be good for some growing. Also...

...it is super easy to make reversible!

Don't forget the baby legwarmies in non-girly colors. I think I need to make an extra pair for my arms in New England winter!

Anyways, best of luck to a fabulous couple of people as they embark on the journey of being mama and daddy.

Glimpse of New Haven

So, I went on this tour of Yale with my folks while they were still here in New Haven, and yes, it was a bit reminiscent of looking for a college to attend. More importantly, it was an easy way to see some of the iconic architecture of New Haven all in one morning. Most people go for the Gothic building which are so very "ivy league", or even the early colonial building which honestly just look like big rectangles, but the building which most caught my attention was sort of alien/insect hive-ish.
The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Check here for a picture from the outside. I was too hot to think about taking one from the outside.
Maybe I like it so much because it resembles waffles...?



And then we walked inside.
Remember, I already liked the outside, but the inside just... glows.

The walls are made of marble so thin that the sun filters through the grain of the stone and the building seems like it is on fire.

I could stare at these walls forever, or try to read the titles of rare books placed just on the other side of a six-story glass box, but since it was a college tour, we briskly walked past the Gutenberg Bible (yes, an actual Gutenberg), stopped briefly at the Audubon Birds of America, and continued back out into the blazing sun and wilting humidity. I am going to have to go back on my own time.

Did I mention it was hot?

Impossible

Every night, as I drive away, my heart breaks a little bit more. I don't know how to do this.

Weekend sewing

I took advantage of the long weekend and did a bunch of sewing. 

Mostly I made some goodies for the wonderful women who have been working with me at the preschool.

These two bags are for the director of my school and the teacher I have worked with for the last 3 years, both who were extremely supportive in my jump into teaching by myself. Hopefully the bags are big enough to hold some books and planning materials. They have little pockets on the side for keys and phones. My keys and phone always instantly make their way to the bottom of any bag hiding under whatever is in there.

These little triangle bags are for the assistants in my class. The zipper is 7 inches long and the idea came from a bag my friend Karen had made.

The inside has contrasting fabric cuz I think it's fun.

I was also working on this, but you guys are gonna have to wait to hear about it!

Shocking!

Is it possible? Could it be true?

I think my hydrangea might actually bloom this year. We put it in maybe 4 years ago and it has never flowered. I thought it was a boy plant, but...

photographic evidence that something might be happening! This was taken on May 13 and...

this was taken today!
All the other hydrangeas have been in full bloom for weeks, but mine is taking it's own sweet time. It is totally gonna be worth the wait. 

Gelato makin'

Flavor of the week?
Creamy strawberry
Yummy, but odd (although not unpleasant) texture due to whipping the cream then folding it in right before freezing.

The beginning of the goodbyes

Today was the last day with my class. It was also school picnic day and stretch & grow . I planned nothing and just hung out with my little guys on the floor with the toys until the busyness began. I held it together and there were no tears in front of the little ones, although there was a close call when one of them walked back through the school to find me and give me a hug. The end of the year has been hard for me every year, but especially this year as they were "mine". Also, this is just the beginning of last days for me. I will have lots of lovely memories of the sweet little ones that will always be my first class.

Eating locally

For a long time I have been reading the blogs of many ladies who believe strongly in in sustainable local farming and coop farming. It was always one of those things that sounded lovely, like "It's time to go to the co-op and do some weeding so I can earn my share of cage free eggs", or "I'm just gonna take a trip down to the farm and pick up my veggies". It also seemed sorta unobtainable here. I'm not sure why, I mean, there is nothing if not agriculture here in NC. Then last summer a local coffee joint called Krankies started up a farmer's market. There were so many yummies there, including fresh lamb! Within a week I had also taken a trip to a downtown farmer's market and found some beautiful produce and homemade goodies. It felt so nice to be walking among food that was grown by the people I was buying it from. I could talk to them about any aspect of my produce and they would know the answer!
Of course, the summer came and went, and every so often I took a trip downtown to get some goodies, and then I forgot all about it. Then, last week I was sitting at dance and a friend was telling me about how she was going to take her girls out the the farm the next day and pick up her veggies for the week. Turns out there are these wonderful things called CSA's (community supported agriculture) and you can financially support a local farm and in return, gather your lovely local produce every week. Sounds great! Now, all I have to do is find one of these programs in Connecticut!

Check out this site to find local farming opportunities in your area : http://www.localharvest.org/

There is an alpaca CSA only 173 miles away from New Haven!!!!!

Gelato makin'

For Christmas I got this wonderful new kitchen gadget. I have a very nice sister. It almost eliminates the need to leave the house ever. It was an ice cream maker. For us, that means one thing: Gelato!!! We LOVE gelato. It is better than ice cream in so many ways, and now, we can make up our own flavors. Since the gelato maker came to live at my house we have put together some pretty yummy combos. We started with nutella gelato, of course, I mean who doesn't love nutella everything? Being that we didn't plan ahead, we did not have enough nutella...new plan: nutella and peanut butter gelato! It was tasty, but the natural self-ground peanut butter we use left a bit too much texture. Next, we tried chocolate, of course. In my quest to make it dark and rich, I might have over done it. It was really rich and almost too chocolaty. Next, nutella again, this time I bought the big jug of nutella (so what if there is some left over, I spoonful of nutella in the morning never hurt anyone).
My dream flavor, since we got the machine was fig and orange. Well, dreams do come true!

All of the other gelato attempt came from recipes online (thank you Giada). Surprisingly enough, there is no recipe out there for fig (from preserves) and orange gelato! Necessity is the mother of invention! With the lovely gelato machine also came a book of recipes. I took a very basic recipe and bent it to my whims, worrying the whole time that it would mean major destruction. It worked out beautifully and I think this has been my favorite flavor yet!

Fig and Orange Gelato
Adapted from Stracciatella in Gelato! by Pamela Sheldon Johns

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk (it calls for whole milk but I use either 1% or fat free lactose free organic milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 jar fig preserves
juice and zest from 1/2 cara cara orange

In saucepan combine milk, cream and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. When bubbles begin to form around edge of pan remove from heat and whisk in fig, orange juice and zest. Let stand for 30 minutes. Cover and refridgerate at least 2 hours (or until you can't stand it anymore and it feels basically coolish to the touch). Stick in ice cream maker and follow manufacture's instructions. Makes about 1 quart.

Happy Mother's Day

This is not my first try at blogging. I have tried before and failed. I am trying again.

Here's the motivation:

I am moving. I have moved before, but never did it seem to matter so much. Leaving my parent's home was very hard, but I was going to college and like all teenagers, I thought I was so ready to leave. When I left college I was following a path I needed to walk. I left very little behind, emotionally or otherwise. That is not the case this time. There will be much left behind this time and I can't think of an easier way to share my new adventures with those I love.

Also, I need a place to vent a bit. Selling you home while finding a new job hundreds of miles away while closing many chapters of your life is tough. It's just not fair to pile it all on my very patient man as he is also dealing with all these things.

Also, I am attempting to grow in my art. I am hoping that I will be inspired to put more thought into my photography if I am putting them out there for all to enjoy (and criticize), and what a better scrapbook for all the new things I attempt.

 Also(!) my mom wants to know what is going on with my life. We talk often, although not often enough for either of us. This is a place for my mom to go and get a fuller picture of my life (it is very hard to share pictures over the phone).

So, Happy Mother's day, to a very lovely, extremely supportive lady. I am finding more and more of you in me as the days go by.