Commonplace

Colors of My Day

Yellow.

This vase was a wedding gift and it lives on our mantle. Niall put it there, on the end next to the window, because he said he likes how it catches the light.

Me too.

And yesterday's color:

Blue.

If the shot was a bit wider, you'd see all the toys that usually live in that bucket spilled all over the floor.

Things that are exciting me today:

Counting down to Inauguration Day.

Niall is taking the day off and we are attending brunch at friends'. Quinn is too young to appreciate it but Jake is pretty excited. (Nothing like inflicting one's views on our children.) He seems to understand the significance and we're hoping to be present in a moment that is certain to become something we look back upon.

In the evening I'm planning to attend the opening of The Obama Show at Eyebuzz in Tarrytown. I don't know whether I'm more excited to see these in person, or to meet Tara who is one of my favorite bloggers.

Watching Jake perform.

Any mother knows what it feels like to watch their child be happy. It's an indescribable feeling that affirms your entire being.

My son has struggled, more than any ten and a half year old should, to be happy. He continues to struggle still. But when he is playing the keyboard or singing on stage, he is as happy as I've ever seen him. I love to witness this and tonight and tomorrow I will.

If you missed any of my video posts of him, you can watch them here if you're so inclined (he's the little one).

Making new friends.

Kathleen at Mamas Always Write has an insightful and honest style that encourages me to write. I have been compelled by her 'prompts' since my first visit. It only solidified my interest in her when I found out that she lives in the city of my heart.

Stephanie at The Letter's Edge writes with a straightforward and quirky voice that is just a little self deprecating and I want to have a cup of coffee with her. She has has recently posed a question that's got me thinking: what would you do if you knew you couldn't fail? I'll be guest-posting on her blog and addressing that question later in the month.

Meeting both of these women and reading their accounts of motherhood, career decisions, marriage and creativity, further confirms my suspicions that I am not alone.

What is exciting you today?

Thanks for visiting.

Birthday Festivities

There were decorations

and fresh food.

Tomato, Corn, and Avocado Salad from Everyday Food.

There was family and friends (and some finished objects)

There were funny faces.

The cake was Lemon Buttermilk (recipe posted below) and Quinn found it to be a bit tart.

This mobile was Aunt Katha's clever contribution.

A good time was had by all.

Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake
(Adapted from Cooks Country)

Cake
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk

Glaze
3 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons buttermilk

1. For the cake: preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 13- by 9-inch baking pan. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.

2. Combine buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla in small bowl.

3. Beat granulated sugar and lemon zest until moist. Transfer 1/4 cup sugar mixture to small bowl, cover, and set aside. Add butter to remaining sugar mixture and beat until fluffy. Beat in eggs and yolk, just until incorporated. Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately. Mix until smooth.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Transfer cake to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes.

5. For the glaze: Meanwhile, whisk confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and buttermilk until smooth. Gently spread glaze over warm cake and sprinkle evenly with reserved sugar mixture. Cool completely before serving.

Happy Birthday Titi :: and a Photo Quilt

Kelly and I have been friends since we were in diapers. Literally.

(That's me with the curly hair.)

This year Kel turned forty. (Yes, mine is coming.) I needed a special gift.

I'm not usually a fan of the photo quilt. I like my photos on paper and my quilts made of fabric. I find there to be something almost creepy about wrapping yourself up with photos of, well, anyone. But just this once... and maybe it would be a wall hanging?

The walls of Kelly's house are covered with family photographs. Beautiful, antique, colorful, faded, sentimental, silly photographs. All over. One day I sneeked into her house (thank you Frank) while she was at work and scanned lots and lots of them. And here's what I made for her:

It was completely a stash-quilt. (I'm extremely proud of that fact.) I framed each photo or group of photos with 2" strips of this lovely brown fabric:

From there, I framed each block with varying widths of other fabrics:

I added a label-panel to even out the number of blocks:

I squared the blocks to the smallest one (which was about 14"), sewed, quilted and bound!

I really enjoyed making it and Titi Kel says that she snuggles under it every night and that it's not creepy at all!

Peaches and Yarn

This past weekend I visited our local farmer's market. I was in search of some rhubarb to make these. Instead I came home with these.

I admit it. I'm weak. I couldn't resist stopping at the Hudson Valley Wool stand.

The intensely colored skeins waiving to me and the smell of lanolin drew me in. I was only going to touch. Maybe just a sniff. But that blue... just the same color as Quinn's eyes. He could use a sweater for the fall. And this isn't just any yarn. This yarn is special. My purchase of this yarn would be supporting a local farmer.

I was convinced.

Then Shirley gave me the yarn. That's right. Gave me the yarn. The catch you ask? Well, I would knit something and blog about it. (As if I wasn't going to do that anyway.) Shirley just wants to get the word out about what she does. Which is what? She operates a fully organic farm which is part of a union of sustainable farmers who pride themselves in their ethical animal care, land stewardship and social responsibility. They "are committed to preserving our agricultural history ...(and to) preserving our land." She raises Merino and Shetland sheep and hand dyes the yarn in deep inviting colors. At $18 a skein she couldn't possibly be making any money from the sale of her yarns. She does this for the love of it. She is passionate. I love being around people who are passionate. I could hardly pull myself away from chatting with her.

But then the wind shifted and the scent of peaches caught my attention.

Vacation

We're home!

We went here.

It's an annual trip that we make with old friends. We did a lot of watching the kids do this

and this

Jake* learned how to do this

We saw one of these**

and some of these**

and these

We went here

and picked lots and lots of these

and ate them while sitting in these

and gazing at this

And drinking these

Frozen Strawberry Margaritas

Ingredients
4 cups frozen strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons frozen limeade
2 cups ice
2/3 cup tequila
2/3 cup orange juice

Instructions
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until desired consistancy

We hiked here

The kids got to play with fire in their pjs

I hardly did any of this

There was none of this

And Quinn* hardly wore clothes at all.

My favorite moment was in the car on the way home. I was feeling sad that vacation was over when I had a realization. Niall, Jake and Quinn were all coming home with me and we would  be together when we arrived home, when we went to bed in our own beds and when we woke up the next morning. Who needs vacation?

*I'm giving up on the 'website-safe' nicknames.
**Moose and Loon photos from nationalgeographic.com – I'm just not that fast with my camera.

Here's to You Natalie

I consider myself very lucky to have the friends that I do. It took some growing up to realize that there was (for me at least) no eighth-grade-girl version of a 'best friend'. It was some time after becoming a mother when it occurred to me that no one person could be all things to anyone (husband and mother included) and that this was okay.

I have my friends whom I call with mothering questions. I have some friends I call when I get a rare night out. I have a few friends with whom I speak only a few times a year. NQ and I have (some) 'couple' friends. I have neighbor-friends (I'm extremely lucky in this category considering how much of it is just plain chance). And of course, I have old friends. Naturally some friends cross categories and all are equally important to my feeling loved and fulfilled.

In this post, I'd like to raise my glass to my friend Natalie. Natalie has been in every friend category at one time or another in our relationship (which goes back some 25 years). When we met, we were hormonal and insecure teenage girls. We bonded over a connection we shared in our religion - a connection which has taken us in vastly different directions in our lives. We spent various summers together navigating the rough waters of adolescence and experimenting with becoming women. I remember a long distance friendship that waned some during college and was rekindled as young adults. We were at each other's weddings and we had our first babies together. We struggled through the first years of motherhood together, first in the same city, and later on the phone. When I was a lonely uprooted City Girl in the suburbs, our phone conversations cheered me. When I was going through my divorce, she was a daily source of comfort.

Natalie is one of the most competent chefs I know. Not because she can cook fussy or unusual dishes, rather because she can cook thoughtful daily meals and Shabbat dinners for her three children and various extended family members (who always seem to be visiting from 'away'). Her recipes tend to be hearty, flavorful and enduring. I find myself making them over and over. For years whenever I had a cooking question, it wasn't my mother I called, it was Natalie. If I am to consider myself a chef by any means, it is due in no small part to the mentoring of my friend Natalie.

When Little was born last summer, Natalie brought a care package of the following items: strong iced-coffee, plastic flatware and paper plates, Costco baby-wipes, homemade ginger snaps and some hand-me-downs. Plastic flatware! Genius. Did I really need to be doing dishes with a newborn in the house? I think not.

So, Natalie, I'm raising my glass of strong iced-coffee (and yes, of course, the ice cubes are frozen coffee) to you and thanking my lucky stars for our friendship.