weirdest teacher gift ever?

well, technically, these were for the class. a mrs. field and mrs. morales doll. i thought they'd be strange and entertaining for the classroom's dramatic play area. after all, what student doesn't want a chance to be in charge of the teacher for once? 

it seemed like the perfect idea in the wee hours of the morning while chip and i were working on them, but when school time came i was a bit nervous that the teachers would not only have no idea what to make of them, but would think they were a serious gift. a very weird and slightly disturbing serious gift. but, happily, mrs. field received them with a big laugh and the two teachers immediately began concocting plans for the many jokes and fun to be had with the crazy little dolls. 

the bubble jet set and rinse that i have stored for the last two years were finally put to use and totally worked. after a wash and a dry, the image was holding fast. eve and ruth have begun making demands for their own dolls, so naturally we will have a little family soon. perhaps even an extended family in doll form, a la angrychicken. and maybe we'll throw in some animals too, a la salvor. . . yes, we'll definitely need some animals. . . the bad luck continues around here. after a break of several months we decided to surprise the girls with a new fish for christmas. in the middle of stuffing stockings chip called my name, i looked over to see him holding the pitcher with our beautiful new goldfish. . . belly-up. at least the girls never saw it during the five hours it was alive. 

more to come on the christmas festivities and a few other last minute projects. . .  happy holidays!

deck the halls..

 

.. with boughs of various discarded tree clippings collected from a nearby park. i wish i could capture the true loveliness on camera, it really feels like a stark winter wood in our little place. chip is the visionary. in fact, i had nothing to do with it- while i was at the grocery store he and the girls gathered, carried and hung the branches with ribbon. lovely. and free. and earth-friendly.

the girls are very happy with all the "holiday and christmas day decorations" they begin each morning by turning on every strand of lights and then choosing two ornaments each to hang around their ears as earrings, as any and every super fancy christmas lady should. then, after the earring play is through, eve asks (about sixty times) how many days and sleeps are left until the big day. now that the counting is down to one hand the excitement is palpable. even little charlie is feeling it, there is nothing he wants more than to get his hands- and mouth- all over the christmas gifts under the tree.

this gingerbread house is a product of the enviable talent of our good friend, abby. two years ago she mailed out a modern gingerbread house kit as her christmas card, complete with pattern pieces and recipes. so smart and so very fun. 

also, if you don't have a wonderful aunt ann of your own to send you beautiful candy horses replete with childhood memories and christmas nostalgia, you can order your own from startup candies. 

++

a christmas miracle may occur this week; i may get all the gifts finished and express mailed by tuesday and i may come back to report a little bit more about a few projects and happenings. but i may not. if i don't (and sadly, i probably won't) merry christmas! hope your halls are decked and you enjoy your holiday every bit as much as we plan to enjoy ours! 

happy halloween!

a full day already, and the fun has just begun. while the biggest bat plays at school, her bat sister colors spooky portraits (and sings a song to herself whose only lyrics are "poopy mommy". . . she really loves me), and the little bat baby rests up for the second round, which is set to begin in just over an hour.

hope your halloween is as full of as much sugar as ours! (yikes).  

++

update: a local kids shop was offering "professional polaroids" today. strait after school i took my bats in. i could not be happier. aren't these great? now i feel like i need a professional photographer to follow us around every day, preferably with a wagon-full of polaroid film.

after our very long and very festive day, the littles are in bed and i'm thinking the only right thing to do is to throw in the watcher in the woods. if you are not lucky enough to own the dvd, borrow it from someone (i can't be the only one that owns it. . ). the alternative endings are insane and so awesome. 

shortcake and bloomers

happy belated mother's day to all of you. i hope you got a chance to relax and enjoy your families.

in an apartment filled with the smell of lilacs and lilies i was fed a delicious meal prepared by chip, presented with cards, a pasta necklace and a "talking butterfly" from the girls and entertained as we all joined in on making strawberry shortcake; a favorite dessert for as long as i can remember. i went to the new sweet melissa baking book (thank you mim!) for the shortcake recipe and am happy i did. a great biscuit-y texture and with the lemon zest, a perfect foundation to the strawberries and whipped cream. i'm excited to try out more of the recipes- especially the baked donut things- and soon, before i feel obligated to monitor what i shove into my mouth.

before mother's day with its flowers and naps i went to an amazing baby shower for my ridiculously talented friend abby. the woman has some creative and talented friends and the result was a perfectly executed "pop" theme shower. i couldn't stop staring at the giant balloons suspended from the ceiling, the sensation of pop rocks in my mouth (used to sprinkle the cupcakes) was one i hadn't felt in at least 12 years, and solely because of visual appeal i was suckered into drinking a bottle of soda, which neither i nor my stomach like, but just couldn't resist. i'll make the same excuse for the obscene amount of the adorable mini pop burgers i consumed. . .

due with a girl in june, a tiny and cheery summer outfit was in order. smocked short dress with bloomers. no pattern for the dress (just a rectangle) but the the bloomers are a slightly modified version of the makie pattern (great japanese craft book, isbn# 4-579-10996-1). here's to the flourishing parks and gardens of brooklyn, the outfit that was inspired by their beauty and the new little baby girl who will soon be here to take it all in.

mish-mash of lately

happy may day!

it is official, spring is here and summer is right around the corner. i know because last week i got the very beginnings of what is, three years running, my summer trademark: massive saltwater sandal tan. feels good. i also have the beginnings of a nice farmer's tan which doesn't feel so good but until i start remembering my sunblock is also kind of inevitable. does anyone else have arms that tan at a rate five times faster than the rest of their body?. . . but, i can't complain when i am able to spend hours of my day sitting on a playground bench surrounded by great friends watching the kids run and play. new york in spring is amazing. if you've never been, come at this time. everyone and everything is emerging from their winter gloom and reveling in the glory of renewal.

and, i'm 29. (i know. only 29 and almost three kids- yikes.) tuesday was my birthday and with great friends all around, a brother and sister-in-law in town (who woke up to make me crepes in the morning!), and time alone with chip, it was a really great day. chip and i went to freemans on the lower east side and other than the somewhat irrational fear that one of the taxidermied animals was going to fall on me and cause serious bodily harm (i was most concerned about my eyes), the place was really great. watching the parade of hipsters walk down the alley to the restaurant was entertaining and, once, inspiring. i love the lower east side. after dinner chip and i made our way uptown in a cab, a rare treat for us- we're cheap like that, to see macbeth. such an intense and gruesome production. not going to help my creepy dreams at all. the art direction was beautifully modern and the acting was stunning. . . i always wonder whether my opinions are completely skewed because i'm just so happy to be kid-free for a night. i might consider anything a work of genius because i don't have two little girls shouting "i'm never playing with you again!" or "more didi boots! i want food! no, mean mommy!" at me every thirty seconds. but this time i'm certain it was the production and not the euphoria of being away that won me over.

here's yesterday photo of baby boy, who, it turns out, is not breech at all! good baby. i'm hopeful this is the last time we need an ultrasound with this baby. i'm tired of hospitals.

our may day will be filled with joy school for eve, some grocery shopping (or maybe napping instead?) and folding of the laundry neglected yesterday while at the hospital and then preparing for last night's book club i hosted. we read crossing to safety by wallace stegner. one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors. i love his depiction of relationships in all their quiet tragedy and glory. it was so great to be in my home, kids in bed and surrounded by good people and good discussion.

++ update: my hero brother-in-law and sister-in-law who live in manhattan just swooped in and took my children for the afternoon/evening. looks like i'll be getting that nap afterall, once i waste more of my time watching the most recent episode of the hills. i already stayed up until 2am last night catching up on the bachelor. gross reality tv confessions. . .

easter dresses

inspiration struck late saturday night and the girls were outfitted in their easter best by the time church rolled around sunday morning. i didn't give myself time for the little easter coats as i had secretly hoped to make (oh the plans i make in my head with no time to actually execute them) but i'm hoping the next time around things will be different. because maybe at that point i'll miraculously become a different person who has the ability to manage her time and children effectively. . .

i was going for a little bit of sophistication and maybe a hint of "grandma in her glory days" to come through in the dresses and i think i got it. now these two are ready to go hang out with the italian ladies in brooklyn's carroll gardens, reminisce about the old neighborhood, hit the bakery for some pane dolce and then maybe make their way to marco polo ristorante for a nice lunch.

eggs and cabbage

for the last six years i've been dyeing my eggs with vegetables and spices. i continue to love the process and the results. aren't those colors amazing? totally worth the combined stink of boiled cabbage, turmeric and beets looming in my apartment for a day or so. . . and apparently filling the hallways of our building, based on the amount of air freshener that a neighbor sprayed outside my door yesterday. sorry neighbors. i'm just here to spread easter cheer.

there are two ways to dye your eggs. the first is boiling/simmering your eggs in the dye. this generally results in really saturated, even colors for 30 minutes. the second is "cold-dipping" them in strained very warm to room temperature dye, anywhere from 5 seconds to hours depending on the desired color. this results in more translucence and subtlety and also requires regular rotation of the eggs if you want even coloring.

the general ratio for making the dye is 1 cup of vegetable (chopped if necessary) to 1 cup of water. for turmeric, add 3Tbs to every quart of water. bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. add about 2tsp (i never measure) vinegar in the dye after about 20 minutes.

this is what can result- with a billion variations in between.

onion skins. (from left to right) first egg cold-dipped for about 30 minutes. second boiled in dye for 30 minutes. third rubbed with vinegar, wrapped in onion skins (while raw) then wrapped and tied in cheesecloth and boiled for 30 minutes. i love the marbling. the colors that come just from onion skins always surprise me.

red cabbage. first egg cold dipped in warm dye for 20 minutes. royal blue left in dye for an hour or so. marbly egg boiled with the cabbage leaves in the pot for 30 minutes.

turmeric. middle egg boiled for 30 minutes. other two left in warm/hot dye for about 15 minutes. i had some lovely and subtle yellow shades that i had just cold dipped, but ended up dipping them into other colors.

turmeric and cabbage. various combinations, various lengths. since these two dyes are the quickest and most obvious, i played a lot with them last night as i was teaching some ladies at church the glory of natural dyeing.

beets. first cold dipped for about two hours. second boiled in beet dye for about 40 minutes. third cold dipped for about an hour. beets are always a little disappointing, but i like having some sort of pink-ish in the mix.

coffee. first time using coffee and probably my last. i was hoping for a really dark brown but ended up with this after nearly an hour of simmering and another hour sitting in the dye. the lighter was about 40 minutes in the hot dye. perhaps the coffee i made was too weak? it looked really really dark to me but i have no idea what i'm doing with coffee. chip had to ask the editing studio he was working at that day for the stuff i used. . .

so now we have a lot of beautiful colors to look at, some dye i'm considering using for fabric and two dozen hard boiled eggs i'm hoping to find a use for.

happy presidents day

in honor of the presidents we've spent this three-day weekend completing all the tiny jobs around the apartment that have been neglected for the past two years. i think we can almost officially say our renovation is complete. i've also been eating. roughly estimating, i'd say 60% of my diet this week has been of "sugar and oils; consume sparingly" variety. a cheesecake left over from valentine's day, chocolate chips hanging around as rewards for ruth's continued potty training (no diaper all day sunday, including church!), chocolate peanut butter by the spoonful, and as of last night; mary todd lincoln's white cake.

the recipe is from chip's mother, who used to make this cake for her kids growing up. i love tradition and it turns out i love the cake. it tastes old fashioned in the best way possible. a nice subtle flavor thanks to the almonds and a really nice consistency. i used martha stewart's seven minute frosting, but whipped cream would also be pretty and delicious.

i skipped mixing chopped candied pineapple and cherries into the frosting, which i almost regret- it would have been so old-fashioney then. but, i didn't have any and thought the plain white frosting would make a better home for my log cabin addition. we were really close to sticking pennies all over the cake but the idea of that dirty money all over was just too gross.

we're now off to take advantage of the few daylight hours we have left. eve's begging for the museum, chip's pushing the aquarium and ruth just wants more treats. i kind of feel like a nap, but i think that is all the sugar talking. or the baby. . . tough to say at this point.

Mary Todd Lincoln's White Cake

1c butter, softened
2c sugar
     -cream together
1c milk
     -add alternately with stirred together mixture of:
3c flour, sifted
3tsp baking powder
     -add and mix well:
1c finely chopped blanched almonds
     -fold in:
6 egg white, beaten stiff
1tsp vanilla

-bake 60 minutes in well greased and floured 9x13 pan (don't over bake), cut in half lengthwise and layer. frost with any white boiled frosting or whipped cream, optionally adding 1/2c chopped candied pineapple and cherries. i'm now thinking that adding the pineapple/cherries to the frosting for the layer between the cakes would be perfect. still white and smooth but a little more exciting and appropriate for something with mary todd lincoln's name attached to it.

v is for

happy valentine's day.

today

watching the rain melt yesterday's snow.

putting together valentines for school tomorrow.

playing house in the closeted hamper. sporadically shouting (at me), "hey! you! get out of our backyard!"

making plans for the next quilt. this one will take awhile.

relaxing on the pillows i finished up on monday, courtesy of some sukie tea towels bought for cheap over a year ago.

completing final stages of potty training.