winter's way

the winter wags on. i find this time of year, for myself, to be very introspective and i yearn to create. maybe it is the time spent indoors or the lack of color outdoors. maybe it is the new year or the passing of another birthday for me. i see the annual trend. i feel the cocoon wrapped around me. my layered cocoon. i'm thinking, i'm dreaming, i'm searching... i have ideas. i have big ideas but my wings are only waiting to spread. and the spring will come. as fast as it can, it will come and each unique bloom will take it's turn. one after the other. while the butterfly breaks open it's cozy cocoon, makes it's way into the warm breeze and ultimately takes flight. i hope to be the butterfly.

i am working through the artist's way once again. i have a few times in the past but have never gotten through the first few chapters due to lack of discipline i believe. this time though, i am blessed to be part of a group of four women who are dedicated to this journey. we meet once a week to discuss our progress and we do a little project the second half of the meeting. i am truly enjoying it and highly recommend forming a small group if you are thinking about doing the artist's way for yourself. i got past the first 4 chapters and this week i feel as though i have turned a corner for sure! if you are not familiar with the artist's way, by julia cameron, check out this link. basically, it's a step-by-step path of discovering or rediscovering your creative self and getting "un-stuck." this process has worked wonders for many, many people. 

EVERYONE is an artist...

in the artist's way there is what you call an "artist date." once a week you are to go on an outing of sorts that inspires you. it's only for you. i have been having fun with this. my first big artist date coincided with my annual trip to the city for my birthday. during the month of january, i choose a day where i go into the city early to walk around, take it some art and design, snap some inspiring photos as my souvenirs and then i meet my mom and we go to some museum or gallery and get a yummy dinner. the fact that it is annual i now know is sad. only once a year i spend a few ours by myself to get inspired??? wow. at first i thought a once a week alone-date was pushing it but now i can see it is so necessary. anyway! once off the train, i headed to my favorite window and display inspiration - anthropologie. not only do i want to own every piece in there but i dream about being their display artist. it's like candy for me. i can't get enough of it. uber creative and always green, these displays or shall i say sculptures take on a shape and space of their own. there has been a curious amount of synchronicity going on lately in my life in many ways which i won't get into today but one small coincidence was that there was a feature in wholeliving this month highlighting two chicago based display artists who came together to call themselves indo. i came across it after i came home that day. their work is absolutely beautiful.

farmer's market cartons fused together in a vertical display with lush plants growing from the center. beautiful.

this year we headed to the american museum of natural history. dioramas galore! oh joy! speaking of diaramas, that reminds me that i have to make one tonight with eden... always fun for me, and i don't hear eden complaining about her grade!

the color and texture in the geology section was interesting as well.

a great birthday month was had. lots of celebrating with friends and family. i feel blessed to be 35! 

woo-hoo!

one gift that i received (and asked for!) was the tribest mason jar mini blender. it makes great smoothies like the magic bullet (which finally lost it's mojo, so i retired it to only grinding coarse coffee beans) but unlike the magic bullet it uses standard glass mason jars as the blending cup. mind blowing, i know. but that means bpa-free blending and storing! the things i get excited about...

 i also got a shiny happy new juicer!!! a breville - oo-la-la. i haven't been using it as much as the mini blender just yet because i am still chilly during the day and juicing tends to cool me down. for whatever reason, smoothies don't have the same effect on me. the other reason why i tend to blend in the winter is because there is a lack of fresh organic produce for juicing but for blending i use frozen organic fruit which is available all year round. anyway, i'm sure i will be juicing away in a few weeks when it starts to get warmer (hooray!) and because kris carr just came out with a brand spanking new juicing ebook, crazy sexy juices & succulent smoothies! i can't wait to give these a try.


my integrative nutrition studies have been truly amazing. i am loving the classes and material. i feel so sorry for the person who brings up nutrition or natural food around me. i never shut up! i guess that's a good sign. i have been mulling around ideas in my cocoon for my holistic health counseling business name and logo. to come...


well, as you all know, the giants won the superbowl which was such an event in my house. i have a happy husband. i still feel the effects. i kept the superbowl fare on the healthy side of course. grass fed, natural burgers with sauteed mushrooms and onions on ezekial buns anyone? bbq kale chips (using smoked paprika)? sweet potato fries? yum. 

february brings hearts and chocolate... 

Valentine Sensory Box


and the birthday of the sweet girl who is always in my heart. my edie bella turned 10! yes, i have a ten year old!?! and she is amazing and smart and talented and funny and beautiful and....well i just love her beyond measure.

a unique autumn

hello all! (i'm not sure how many is 'all' so if you read my blog, let me know! i bet it would inspire me to post more often ;) anyway, this crazy fall is flying by me. i have been super busy with my nutrition studies and design work and kids! it's interesting sometimes but i am loving it actually.

for us, this fall has been filled with the old familiar activities. harvest festivals, apple picking, haunted hayrides, pumpkin carving, halloween costume planning... but oh my, this fall seemed so strange! first of all, hurricane irene kind of wiped out our little harvest but we did seem to get some goodness out of our efforts (see pics above), then we found ourselves apple picking in almost 90 degrees! wha? there was a bunch of wining as you can imagine. october came with a boat load of rain which seemed to make the pumpkins mushy and then as you know, halloween weekend got topped off with a crazy insane snow storm that wreaked havoc on our trees and subsequently most of the power in the tristate area. a snow day on halloween! weird i tell you. global warming issues anyone?

ANYway, we always seem to have fun nonetheless.


a few weeks back, we visited a farm that i grew up around the block from - benner's farm in east setauket, long island. it was so nice to bring the girls there. it's a quaint little farm run by the nicest of families. we fed the animals, got a peck from a rooster, and the most fun was swinging on the big swing! we might go back later in the winter to witness the tapping of the maple trees.

i've been kind of slacking in the crafting area due to the lack of time on my part. (feeling a bit guilty) but we did make some playdoh monsters. easy + simple. pull out the playdoh (we used halloweenie colors) and random craft supplies - googly eyes, buttons, etc. then, create your monsters. you can let them dry out over a few days if you wish. here's ours:

i also came across this AWESOME idea. sensory boxes! hours of play that stimulate the senses (not really taste though). i got the idea, here, from pinkandgreenmama as well. i LOVE this idea. basically, you fill a small scale bin with filler of your choice. dried beans, fish tank gravel, cotton balls, popcorn kernels, rice, easter grass....whatever! then coordinate everything to a theme. i started with a fall/halloween theme. i used dried green peas, fake pumpkins, fake leaves, halloween trinkets and some real cinnamin sticks. my three year old truly enjoys playing with her sensory box (and so does my 9 year old - shhh). she brings her other little toys into it like her littlest pet shop animals and she pretends this is their habitat. and i give her spoons and cups, too. it's a tad messy sometimes (my husband took one look at it and rolled his eyes at me) but i keep it in the kitchen only (which really helps keep her occupied while i am cooking dinner) and she is responsible for cleaning any beans off the floor which she has really been good about. she gets out her little broom. i can't wait until we change it to a holiday theme and then winter wonderland! i know, i am enjoying this way too much...but don't you just love it?!

i've been reading a lot these days. mainly nutrition subjects. the first book that i actually bought is "the family dinner" by laurie david. 

this cookbook slash encyclopedia of why and how to bring back the family meal is jam packed with anecdotes and recipes. i am obsessed with this book. i love just flipping through it for ideas. in a society where things just seem to be going faster and faster, the family meal is taking the back seat and we are losing those precious moments of connecting with each other. after school activities, work and overscheduling is a reality and laurie david lends sweet ideas and reasons why we should bring the sit down family dinner back. it's so so so important! check it out!

the other book i am reading is "lunch wars: how to start a school food revolution and win the battle for our children's health," by amy kalafa from angrymoms.org and the documentary, two angry moms. I am starting to try to get involved with school food so that by the time my three year old is at the elementary school that my nine year old is now, i can help make real positive changes. my goodness, the area of school food reform is insane. there is sooo much bureaucracy and politics involved that it really requires some serious study to even present ideas to any such authority. i understand the basics but boy, are we all in the dark. don't even get me started!!!! anyway, if you are interested in changing things at your child's school, i think start with this book. i am only in the beginning chapters but it is looking like the bible of school food reform (especially in ny state). other authors to check out if you are interested in this subject is alice waters - theedibleschoolyard.org and ann cooper - the renegade lunch lady at chefann.com. 

my other pursuit this spring is bringing back the school garden to my daughter's elementary school. hopefully, cornell cooperative extension can help us out. i'm sure i will be blogging away about this adventure to come. wish me luck!

i have been trying tons of new recipes. i am currently in love with cooking. although, i'm going to save them up for my 2011 holiday cookbook - recipes & tidbits vol. 6! - which will be posted around the december holidays with all the past cookbooks i put together, to the right. check back for that. for now, why not try a smoothie for lunch? i am one of those people who reserve smoothies for the summer months because i am chronically cold but about once a week it's a great way to get your daily fruits or veggies when produce is sparse in the cold months. i buy a lot of frozen organic berries for this purpose. they are picked and immediately froze which means they still have all of that yummy nutrition. my girls and i like the standard blueberry smoothie:

frozen organic blueberries

rice or coconut milk

plain yogurt

flax meal (optional)

blueberry whey protein powder (optional)

another one they slurp up and is a great source of protein is the monkey smoothie:

nut butter

frozen or not organic banana

milk

plain or vanilla yogurt

flax meal (optional)

vanilla whey protein powder (optional)

of course, you don't need a recipe for smoothies, anything you feel like putting in works, but i just included this in my post as a reminder that smoothies are "ok" to drink in the colder months! you'll be surprised at the burst of energy this will give you mid day. and let's not forget juicing - just make sure you are getting your fresh organic produce from somewhere you can trust.

until next time! ciao!

chickies & eggs

there's something about little chicks and colorful eggs that just makes me happy! lots of rainy days and sick kids this vacation week yielded a ton of pretty easter eggs. we had so much fun making them. 

we tried the rubber band technique...

we tried the crayon on hot eggs technique but i think we did something wrong...

we decoupaged tissue paper onto large plastic eggs (these came out so nice and we can keep them forever)...

and in honor of earth day, we repurposed old magazine covers and weaved them into little egg baskets. so cute!

i really really wanted to do the natural egg dyes this year. i had all of the ingredients (beets, red cabbage, tumeric, grape juice...) but tired at 9pm on the night before easter, when I went to open the white eggs i asked my husband to buy, every egg had red 'eggland's best' logos stamped on them. booo and i was just too tired to go back out just for more eggs, so there's always next year, right?

so i think the easter bunny's sugar high has finally come down (can i really be sick of sugar?) and so i have been in need of some healthy eating again. bunnies love carrots and so i searched for a yummy carrot recipe, because carrots can be so ho-hum, and i definitely found one that i will make again and again. it's sooo good. i remembered that art cafe released one in the hook magazine this current issue (if only they would give out their hummus recipe...). here it is. you gotta try it!:


mid-eastern carrot salad


8 carrots
3 T fresh lemon juice
2 T olive oil
1/2 t paprika
2 garlic cloves
1/2 t cumin
1/4 chopped cilantro (or parsley)
salt & pepper to taste


wash and peel carrots. bring two quarts water (several pinches of salt) to boil and add carrots. cook for up to 8 minutes, but do not let carrots get soft or tender. remove carrots from heat and rinse under cold water and let cool completely. slice carrots in approx. 1/4 inch round slices. mix by hand as a dressing in a separate bowl the lemon juice, olive oil, paprika, mashed garlic and cumin. in a serving bowl, mix the sliced carrots and dressing lightly. add salt and pepper to taste and add the cilantro. serve chilled. enjoy!

welcoming the fall

as the summer comes to a close i find myself in the kitchen more, relishing in the tastes of this year's local harvest. from tomatoes to apples i can't help but celebrate with yummy recipes. our new favorite (well the grown-ups) is a simple pico de gallo that can be whipped up in no time. every thursday, i head to the farmer's market (or i try to run into my garden guru neighbor for some extras) for a bag full of red and yellow tomatoes, a small bunch of cilantro and a red onion. the only things i need to buy somewhere else are 2 limes. then, as the kids play on the back porch, i chop chop away while listening to them laughing and pretend cooking themselves (and please let me be honest, bickering, too but then i just turn up wfuv...) this recipe need not be precise. these 4 ingredients just work. i start by chopping and seeding the tomatoes - pretty small pieces - and placing in a large mixing bowl. 

then, comes the chopped red onion and cilantro. i mix these together to blend the flavors and add salt & pepper o taste. then about 10 minutes later i squeeze the juice of 2 limes into the bowl, mix and let sit until dinner. of course, a mexican meal would be the best route with the pico de gallo but it really can be added to so many things. i'm thinking eggs, small pasta or even just pita chips. the last few times i made it, i just served with plain old rice and beans. always a winner and so easy. 

my secret mission is to somehow find or emulate the recipe for 'green cactus grill's' (my hometown fav) salsa. i've been trying for years. no success yet...


the end of our summer was a busy one yet we still found some simple moments and for the girls, simple play - which always warms my soul :) the simplest of objects seem to be the most intriguing, especially for my two year old. she will play for hours with shells, driftwood, acorns, beach glass, dried beans, pom poms, pieces of moss, wood chips, flower petals..... 

i love watching her arrange these objects, put in and take out, stack, pretend cook, draw on... inspiring. what was even more magical was my eight year old's fairy village that she created and set up in our side yard. it makes me smile when her playing does not involve a nickelodeon pop star or batteries. it's like i want to take her imagination and protect it in a box so that she never loses it.


eden, my older girlie, has taken an interest in fairies and building fairy villages. she spent a lot of the summer creating her very own in our yard. one day i joined her in her efforts. so fun! ah, to be eight again! here are some pics of the tiny village.

the season has changed and with that always comes yet another home project... shall i say more. it's exciting and grueling all at the same time. i'm in the midst of making over our bedroom. that's right, my college dormlike, shoebox sized master suite (i know, i'm the one who insisted on the 100 year old house with "character" - over it). my hand me down ikea 'messer' has been broken for over a year so i figured it was time to get it together and get organized like a grownup. the plaster ceiling that was sagging was also a good reason to get this project going. so far the ceiling is replaced and the next step is painting. i wish i had taken a photo of this room before it was emptied into the rest of the house (it's actually fun having our bed in the livingroom though - it's like camping!). it was a sight for sure. but a shot of the empty room 'before' will have to do.

i am thinking very light and airy yet comfortable for our new room. cream or very light neutral with white trim. white curtains, pull shade. the previous curtains were very, very dark, a dark quilt, dark wood dresser, stuff everywhere. i want this new space to be a breathe of fresh air and a blank palette for the beginning and the end of each day. a book shelf would be nice. well, the 'after' pic, i am sure will not be posted for months as we piece together our new room but i will be posting updates and items worth sharing. can't wait to open and close my dresser drawers!