JC handmade

step back

what with this hot hot heat thing going on around here, we've been spending as much time as we can poolside.  octopus pool, that is.  and while i did wade a bit now and then, a majority of my time was spent in the shade witnessing pure glee brought about by the simple combination of water, garage sale slide and sunshine. 

yesterday seemed like the perfect time to (finally) experiment a bit with the new lens i received for Christmas which has been sitting in its original packaging all this time, waiting patiently for the right moment to make its entrance.  it's a whopper compared to my regular lens, and there's that whole VR clicking thing to get used to.  but it seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a try while the girls were splishing and splashing.  the beauty is in observing from a distance and capturing what's happening independent of me, instead of getting right in there and messing up their mojo.

 

but after about 15 minutes of zoomlens trial + error, the camera went away and it was back to our regularly scheduled program of fun in the sun, running from pool to sand to garden to try and sneak the first strawberries, which we did.  and then there's the amazingness of seeing your kids' eyes illuminate, pulling fresh arugula from the soil and gobbling it up after a quick rinse under the hose.  seriously, they were singing about the arugula.  who knew.  keep your fingers crossed for an equally warm welcome to the kale.

i hope you had an equally lovely weekend!  xoxo

may days ~ 2

on pink

it's funny, i never really thought too much about how much pink there is out there.  until my daughters came along.  while i was pregnant, we did not find out the babies' genders, so there was (and still is) a lot of white, yellow and green around.  and some blue for good measure.  but when my good friend gave them both their first pair of chuck taylors, she officially christened them with their own "signature colors", pink and purple.  and even though i sprinkle in as much chocolate brown, grey and other neutrals as i can, there sure is a lot of pink around here.

so i'm embracing it, or rather, i'm enjoying watching them embrace it, if that's what they want to embrace.  heaven knows, if they are anything like me, they'll change their preferences a gazillion times over.  and that's what makes it all so much fun.  so for now, we're all about the pink.  and princesses.  if you could have seen the absolute magic streaming from her when she picked out the princess trike, oh my.  and the princess helmet and gear. 

let it be known, however - i do draw the line at barbie.  no.  way.  xoxo

btw: her sister's new ride is only slightly less frilly, but she opted for a very rough and tumble blue helmet and elbow pads, all of which she kisses goodnight.

start here

when i first found out i'd be two days without a car, it was not pretty. seeing i am not the one who dinged the car (cough cough), i admit to being a bit miffed at the situation.  as for our routine, i just figured the girls and i would hang around here, sadly skip music class but play outside instead.

and then i thought about it.  really thought about what i was feeling, why i was feeling it, and honestly was a little grossed-out by my reaction.

we've gotten so attached to the car, thinking nothing of driving 15-20 even 30 minutes to anything.  and that is not necessarily something i am proud to admit.  driving regularly to an albeit amazing playground, when there is a beach and perfectly decent playground right here in our own neighborhood.  (which is one of the reasons we moved here in the first place.)  i know many people feel the same way, but that still doesn't make me proud of our choices.  but just because that's where we are in terms of car usage, does not by any means have to determine how we proceed from here.

all the times i've been/lived overseas, i never had a car and never missed one.  i opted instead for a combination of my own two feet, a bicycle and public transportation - it not only got me everywhere i wanted to go, but also put me in finer physical shape than any VW ever did.  granted, the public transit systems i've encountered overseas have been exceptional, and we don't even have a bus out where we live, nor is bicycling with the girls to the market an option due to the lack of bike paths and friendly traffic.  but that is still no reason to rely so heavily on the car.

this is the perfect place to start, so i decided we'd walk to music class.  it's just under 2 miles from our house, not far from our neighborhood, and only involves one (very busy) main road.  after scouting out the route ahead of time, i found out we could get there without crossing traffic.  imagine that.

up a bit earlier and with a spring in my step (a requirement to push the hefty 100 lb. combo of jogging stroller + twins), we headed out into the most glorious day on our adventure.  the girls were very excited by my suprise detour after music class to spend the better part of the day at the beach down by the lake, scooping sand to make "golden soup", collecting and sorting rocks, planning our first garden and having in depth conversations with the ducks.

it was a very good day.  without a car.  and we're going to do it again tomorrow.  and probably a lot this spring and summer, for that matter.  we'll still use the car, to be sure.  but i think i might be a bit more mindful of our usage from now on.  and that's from a one-car-family.  have a lovely weekend, friends.  xoxo

belated knitted gifts

it was my intention to knit my husband a hat before the holidays.  i bought two skeins of delicious blue sky alpacas worsted and even imagined us cozy all winter wearing our two knew handknit non-matching hats .  honestly, that was my intention.  by winter.  but somehow it got away from me.

indeed, i finished the first hat by december, but it was not quite what i had in mind.  not for us anyway, seeing as neither of us is enriqué iglesias.  thankfully, however, the ladies love wearing hats and happily adopted this one as their own.

no bother; i still had some time to get that black one done with a modified (as in "on the fly") version of the pattern for a tighter fit and more my guy kind of look.  that was my intention, anyway.  that skein sat there on the sidelines during the season that is baking, making, shopping, wrapping, family visits, double birthdays, holidays + subsequent holiday recovery, and then some.

after a reassessment, i decided his hat from last year would serve him well enough until valentine's day and so i cast on in early february planning a handknit hat from cupid.  well, that was my intention.  and yet somehow, even that got away from me.

and the funny thing is, when i did finally finish up the hat a couple of weeks ago, i just knew it wasn't going to work.  not unless my husband becomes an adult contemporary piano playing ballad crooner.  and in that case, i think the hat would be the least of our worries.  so yeah, the girls like their hats.  and there was even a bit left over for to knit baby a scarf.  it's as if that was my intention all along.

yeah, sounds good to me.  xoxo

table for four

playing together - as opposed to parallel play - has become more and more frequent around these parts in the past 6 months.  sure, we have our moments of frustration due to who possesses what at any particular moment.  so it is especially heartwarming to see my kiddos embrace the concept of sharing more and more.  sharing objects, sharing space, and sharing time.

take tuesday, for example.  nestled between a busy morning out of too many errands and our late afternoon library session, the girls enjoyed a leisurely lunch with a few special friends ~ a superhero and a rockstar, to be precise.

there was conversation of spaceships and wiggly squiggly garden creatures, and i believe i heard something about a dance party, as well.  they are really into the apples in stereo these days, so dancing ensued once we turned up "the ste-re-o-oh".  good times.

mama enjoyed taking it all in from the sidelines, unearthing the silky wool clapotis that has been at rest for over a year.  much to my disbelief and delight, the pattern picked up its quick pace right away and i actually completed an entire repeat, which is far more than has been knit on this piece in too too long.  it's a lovely pattern and a most seductive yarn, which both have me excited about finishing up so i can enjoy a daily embrace of its lofty warmth.

alas, clapotis was not completed before heading out for storytime and a subsequent half hour of hopscotch in the drive.  but the peaceful rhythm of knitting - even if for just a bit - allowed me to take in the magic of my girls playing peacefully.  together.  xoxo

the girl has a thing for windmills

the day before Easter - just in time to tuck into a yellow basket, as it were - another little outfit was finished up by a certain mama bunny.  *phew*

same concept as her sister's - skirt and appliquéd top - but this set featuring something she loves.  dare i say something with which she is more than a bit obsessed.

my girl can spot a windmill a mile away.  quite literally.  she knows every garden with a windmill we will pass on our lake walk and every downtown or shopping area with a windmill.  and when we went to the science center a few months ago, i couldn't figure out her shrieks from the backseat as we neared the city... until i saw the wind turbine out front.  from waaaay down the freeway.  it was a clear day and all, but still - that's pretty impressive.

so yeah, the formula of windmills + puppies = she's totally thrilled.  (me too.)  xoxo

a brown paper package

all tied up with string.  three bands of string, to be exact.

the quilt is now at home, and it was received in the spirit which was intended.  love.  love plus one, that is.

the sweet serendipity of three people brought together.  meant to be.  adding so much to one another's lives.  lives intersecting.  balance. support.  joining to create so much more than their sum.

the reverse continues the story.  simple, modern and with a touch of whimsy.

parents + child.

a child who loves cars + trains.  sized to keep him cozy on many journeys.

team casa loves you, joseph.  and those people you live with, too.  thanks for brightening our world - enjoy and happy birthday!

xoxo

a hunting we will go

saturday morning was our neighborhood's annual egg hunt - the girls have been so excited ever since our egg delivery to the bunny's house last week.  along with about about 40 other kiddos and families, we assembled down by the lake, little ones digging in the snow-covered sand without a care in the world.  most of the adults shivered while being put to work.  important work.

big fun. many thanks to the frostbitten-fingered folks who surreptitiously hid all those hundreds of eggs without leaving any tracks in the snow.  xoxo

makings

with spring right around the corner (yippee!), i figured it was about time to tackle a few garments for my girlies. 

as yet, i've not sewn all that many clothes for them - there have been a few sad attempts at patterns, as well as successful pieces made by instinct.  but it's something i've been wanting to do.  and do well.  i suppose it's a mama thing.

i'm typically not a girl to follow a sewing pattern* - my best assessment is that it's a combination of impatience and fear of my inabillity to produce the intended piece.  plus i really didn't understand about what to do with raw edges, so i always did either a double folded seam, or top-stitched wherever possible.  until now.  i learned something new with my machine - fancy that.

and all i had to do was look in the manual.  sweet.  granted, it was an easy project - i like to take baby steps.  and i love it.  LOVE it.  ready to join one of the funny bunnies in an Easter basket.

now to make a second set (where's my windmill fabric?) and then there may be an attempt at pants. *gasp*  i know.  i said "attempt".

have a wonderful weekend.  xoxo

* it must be said, however - liesl's new patterns have me singing a different tune.  she seems to have such an attention to detail and her designs are adorable, yet modern and customizeable - i may very well give them a go!