wonderland5

happy mother's day to all you mamas out there!

since we last talked: final wrap-up

alright already girl.  enough with drawing out the re-cap right?  I hear you.  No one is more sick of looking at pictures from the holidays than me.

however, the archivist in me just can't let the planned pics languish unrecorded.  Goddess forbid that my grandchildren look back some day and not know that their father was also once a whirling dervish of christmas fervor.

so this is it, the past month in one post.  Those with no interest, please move on.  I'll be back with creations and fresh news later this week.

 

Cookies were made...

 

and frosted.

 

Favorite decorations were arranged in new ways.  Sock monkey loves his minions!

 

I put my virgin of guadalupe collection out for the first time this year.  (everything else is put away now--except this shelf.  Somehow I can't stand to scatter all these goddesses again.)

Solstice was a welcome quiet moment, as always.

 

The stockings were hung with care and our hopes of St. Nicholas were indeed realized.

 

No such luck on my hopes of non-conspicuous consumption, however.

 

On New Year's Eve, Jack turned 3.  Terrible twos are over!  Terrible threes just beginning?

 

Four days later, Anna turned 1.  My sweet baby girl. this year has gone by SO FAST.

 

Today, we watched the television for hours.  At noon, we captured this photo for the kids to share with their grandchildren.  I had goosebumps.

whew.  all caught up.  I'm all about the present and the future now.

see you later, alligator: a true story

As I mentioned in the last post, we recently returned from a trip to the beach outside of Charleston, SC.  The island we were visiting is a fascinating eco-system with rivers, marshes, lagoons and of course, the ocean.  We have been visiting M's family there for many years and I always love to check out all the birds and dolphins and frogs and spiders (okay, maybe not so much the spiders.)  We also always like to see what the friendly (again, not so much) neighborhood alligators are up to. 

This year was the best one yet in terms of the alligators.  Here's a little scene we watched from the balcony of the condo where we were staying:

Crazy, right?  Someone commented that they must smell delicious toddler/baby/puppy--a thought which made my stomach flip flop and I had to retreat from the balcony a bit.  But then a naturalist nearby told us that it is mating season.  Looks like Jack almost got more of an education than we bargained for!

PS: extra points to those who can spot which of these guys is missing a limb!

eye candy for the holiday weekend

1. the craft room, 2. Pincushion, 3. orange burlap mushroom shaped pincushion w/felt flowers, 4. Who needs orange?, 5. Colours of Little India, 6. Orange with Leaf on Stalk, 7. thrifting finds 10.27.07, 8. orange, 9. the kewpettes, 10. the kewpettes, 11. 1960s mug, 12. tilly, 13. stencil- Gnome, 14. Blue window, 15. Bethlehem, PA, 16. putz 5, 17. Glitterboard Mansion for Kelsey and Neilio., 18. Carded, 19. tea lights, 20. houses2, 21. Christmas bliss!, 22. Salt & Pepper, 23. middle aged mom, 24. Bird Buds!, 25. Fairytale cottage

anniversary round-up

M. and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary--three years doesn't sound like that long but when you factor in two pregnancies and the raising of an almost two year old, we feel like we have done a lot with the time we have had so far.   A celebratory day-trip was in order!

First stop was an art/craft fair in Traveler's Rest, SC (dontcha just love that name?  oh these mountains, they are just brimming with folksy charm, I'm telling you.) where we purchased these two lovelies:

They are by a local artist named Deona Fish who has no current web presence.  I tried to sell her on opening an etsy shop b/c her stuff was really cute.  She probably thought I was some crazy ranting pregnant woman (wish I could deny it convincingly.)  These pieces are done on chunks of wood and the borders are modeling paste or something like that--encaustic-esque but thicker. 

We have decided to make this our new anniversary tradition--buying art together.  Mike sweats the gift buying something awful and usually ends up spending way too much on some piece of technology that is always appreciated but not especially 'romantic' and perhaps better saved for Christmas anyway.  He does pick out some killer flowers though:

The colors of these really remind me of our wedding, which I find *very* romantic.  I love to think back on that weekend, it makes me all teary and smiley.

After the art fair, we made our way further south to Greenville, SC.  Fun downtown to check out, they have all these bronze mouse statues  up and down their main street.  Here's one next to a bronze copy of "Goodnight, Moon" which of course is a big favorite around here  (although I haven't been able to read it at bedtime lately because it makes me all teary--anyone catching a crazy emotional pregnant woman theme here?? )

We had a great afternoon--eating lunch at a streetside cafe where we could easily admire all the trucks! cars!  motorcycles!  going by.  Jack was charmed by this urban adventure--chicken fingers *and* exhaust fumes??  delicious!  We also stopped in to the local toy store for some early Christmas shopping and then went to the park downtown, which is super neat-o.  It encompasses the Reedy River and has some great falls.

A very fun day.  Here's to many more anniversary day-trips!

In other news, I am leaving comments open again for awhile, due to peer pressure (I'm looking at you Leslie!  ;] )  No really, I am over myself and that particular freak-out.  Why worry about your internet popularity when there are so many other things to worry about? ( for example, the predictions of a variety of ancient cultures about the world ending on 12/21/2012.  I watched something about that on the history channel last week and then spent the next two days mulling over a plan to turn the garage into a fall-out shelter, complete with enough canned goods to last my loved ones until 2032.  That seems reasonable right???  I am a ball of crazy nerves these days, truly--it bugs.  )

And Sarah, if you email me your info at wonderland5(at)hotmail(dot)com, I will send the patchwork book your way.   Meg, I will keep my eyes peeled for another copy--I seem to have good luck finding this particular volume!

thinking spring

Pretty pencils from the dollar bin at Target.

flowers from a friend (thanks sarah!)

spring colors popping up all over the house.

back from the beach

before sunrise

photos courtesy of Mike.  You didn't think *I* would be up before dawn, taking pictures, did you?

He thinks this is merely out of focus but I think it is mysteriously blurry and lovely.

This is not where we stayed.

Winter in the south.

Somehow it always seems like the fewer the tourists, the more plentiful the wildlife.  5 baby alligators is a lot to see all at once.  Not knowing exactly where mama is increases the anxiety, I mean 'excitement'.

The early morning view that I did catch.  Don't babies ever take vacations?? It seems mommies don't.

Happy to be home now in the new year.  I usually reserve January for cleaning up, cleaning out and thinking over.  I hope to be a little more present around here.  Rediscovering the blogosphere was a highlight of 2006 and in thinking back, having my own tiny corner of that world has become important to me.  So here's to another year of blogging.

in-between period

Christmas invaded the house...

Santa has come and gone in a flash it seems.

Quiet house, for now.

Jack's first birthday is Sunday, New Year's Eve.  Then we head to the beach for more quiet: walks on the beach with no one else in sight, early bedtimes and early risings, peaceful times.  I'll be back around January 8th with more regular postings and new projects.

Happy New Year.