JCasa *handmade BLOG

10 minutes a day

i think that's a phrase i've heard a bazillion times in my life.  whether it be situps, meditation, practicing piano, whatever - there's something so approachable about 10 minutes.  not too much a time commitment, completely doable.  we can all squeeze in 10 minutes of something a day, right?  well, that's where i am with the weeding.  a simple walk around the house with a pickle bucket to collect weedy nuisances.  i can do that.

monday morning bright and early, the mister joined me for 3 hours of schlepping + spreading the remainder of mulch mountain in our front tree beds.  he was not happy about it and did not enjoy it in the slightest, but he joined me when i went out there - and i really appreciate it.

i think in a few years i may move some plants around and create a nice hosta garden in the big bed, but this year it had become a weedy mess with poison ivy and those prickly behemoths that you can't pull out without risk of injury.  i pulled what i could, and then used this method of laying newspaper under the mulch to kill off the weeds (the paper breaks down over time and the weed seeds shouldn't be able to spread).  i'll let you know how that works out.

my fingers are crossed.  and the weeding is done for today.  xoxo

you the greatest.

they told me i didn't have to lift a finger today.  and for a while this morning, i did not. then i got to prepping everything for dinner to celebrate our moms.  the girls reminded me i didn't have to work today.  i reminded them that i am not the only mama in the world.  and that today is for everyone.

and so, to all the moms, as well as to all the kids of moms - which pretty much includes everyone - wishing you all a happy mother's day.  eat cake.  xoxo

happiness is : collaborating

model + designer/stylist.  apparently if we go on to next week's challenge, they will switch roles.  i can only hope that it'll be warmer than 40 degrees by then.  they are such good sports.  xoxo

p.s.  girlygirl on the left recently donated a foot of her hair to locks of love.  holy cute bobness!

seven

the girls turned seven in December, at which time we enjoyed family celebrations with gifts of roller skates and books.  and two cakes, of course.  the holidays are a busy time for everyone, and so this year we embraced the season, and they chose to postpone a celebration with friends until after the first of the year.  fast forward to a few weeks ago to find a few dozen of their pals joining us for a fantastically fun morning at the roller rink, complete with hokey pokey, chicken dance, ghostbusters blaring with lights-out + a smoke machine and mama passing out glow stick necklaces + bracelets to giggling kiddos.  what an awesome step back in time that place is.

our girls are both big animal lovers, and mentioned hearing on the radio that our county's humane society needed donations for the animals.  so they requested that instead of bringing gifts, their friends could bring donations for the animals if they wanted.  (be still my heart.)  and what an outpouring of generosity they received!  after the party, we loaded everything into our car and headed to the animal shelter.  what a fun afternoon that was, visiting with all of the animals and making many (many) new furry friends.

it was hard to leave, but promises were made for a very special dog to join our family in the next year or two.  and as we walked out the doors, our hearts were warm.  theirs filled with love for the animals.  ours filled with love for them.  xoxo

2011 [summer highlights]

: J U L I :

many lunches were spent just as this:  wearing gingham, nibbling a salad in the quiet of the sunroom - a solo respite from work while the girls were off enjoying themselves at day camp.  i was beginning to wrap my head around what it would be like to be home alone all day come the beginning of the school year.

: A U G U S T :

we shared a most amazing week on cape cod with the dearest of friends.  there was lobster and swimming and music and scrabble and rocky shores and cocktail hour and a cruise to p-town and ice cream and lots of sillyness.  best family vacation ever.

: S E P T E M B E R :

mild mannered - my band with the hub and friends - released our new CD and labor of love, believeland.  and we still pinch ourselves everytime we hear a song of ours on the radio.  the little engine that could really can.  and did.  you can, too.

xoxo