Sturdy for Common Things

Pea and Poo

My baby bird.

Every time she sees a spoon her tilts her head up and opens her mouth. Wide. Except if there happens to be peas on the end of the spoon. Then she suddenly develops lockjaw.

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Old School

I had to drive to Manistee (only 35 minutes north of Ludington) on Wednesday and this old schoolhouse-turned-antique-shop-now-vacant-building caught my eye. And then when I was driving back down the same road to go home I noticed the FOR SALE sign on the steps. Yes, please! Will and I always talk about turning an old school house into a home someday. Read More

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos

I saw this vegetarian burrito recipe a couple weeks ago and thought the sweet potato and black bean duo would make a delicious dinner. I didn’t make it sooner because the recipe noted that it takes a total of 80 minutes to make. This wouldn’t have been a problem pre-baby,  but these days by the time it’s 7pm our house is already slowing down for bedtime which is why I don’t like dedicate to much time in the kitchen for dinner. When she is finally asleep for the night Will and I revel in the glorious peace of doing absolutely nothing. That said, I wasn’t thrilled about the time commitment so I cooked the sweet potatoes the night before and was able to make them start to finish in 40 minutes. A much more appealing time commitment.

The only part of the recipe I changed was the addition of shredded cheese, which was added to the gooey sweet potato black bean goodness before baking.

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Moi?

He always looks so innocent….

And then you turn around. Crash! Bang! Boom!

Good As New: Serving Trays

The lease on our house is up in April, so we will be moving. Again. Which means no projects for me for awhile. But even though I don’t have any future home improvement tasks, I’m always on the hunt for ideas when we eventually settle down in a home. I’m hoping this will be sooner rather than later, because my binders and web bookmarks are overcrowded as is, which is why they have a new residence on this blog.

Upcycled concepts especially catch my eye, so when I saw these vintage trays used as magnet boards or wall decor I thought they would make a great first addition to my new inspiration filing cabinet. Read More

Family Excursion

Over the weekend, we made the trip from Ludington to Chicago (a 5-6 hour drive with baby) to visit a few of my relatives. Most of whom I’ve seen recently and a few I haven’t seen in 6 years plus.

Oh, and the fun we had!

We stayed at my Aunt Carol (my mom’s sister) and Uncle Norm’s house. A place where a many, many family gatherings have taken place over the years and so I return with a family of my own.

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On The Road

Will, Lorelei, and I are going on a little road trip this weekend to visit my relatives in Chicago. We’re leaving this evening and coming back Sunday afternoon. Short trip, right? Well, someone (I’m not going to name any names) regardless of how small she is, and the brevity of the excursion, has packed what looks like a month’s worth of stuff. It never fails to surprise me how much a wee baby needs…

(By the way, those dinosaur pajamas are Will’s.)

South By Southwest

This is my “just because” present from Will, a southwest, vintage-inspired cuff.

Love that man of mine!

When I was younger, I lived in Paradise Valley, Arizona and thus my interest in Native American culture was born. This cuff reminds me of reading Chief Seattle’s famous letter to the United States Government for the first time.

*top image from Earthhart Jewelry

Lesson In Monkey Jumping On The Bed

I did a stupid, stupid thing on Monday. I sat my 7-month old on the bed, turned for one second to hear a heart-stopping BAM followed by a scream. My baby girl had fallen from the bed and bumped her head.  I write this utterly embarrassed of myself.

Of course you hear stories of this happening all the time, but I was smug and thought, “I’d never, ever be so dumb as to let something like that happen.” What had possessed me to put her on the bed? What was so important that I had to advert my eyes from her for a moment? Clearly, I wasn’t thinking.

The good news is LBD is fine. I called the doctor hysterically crying, at that point more than the baby, and was told to take to the ER to be on the safe side. After the fall, she screamed for 2 minutes and then was giggling at our kitty before I even managed to get her in her car seat to go to the hospital. She checked out great at the hospital and was her normal, energetic self the rest of the day and night. The only remnants of the trauma, a small purple bruise in the corner of her eye.

I, on the other hand, was not okay. And I don’t think I’ll be okay for a while. Even though the doctors and nurses at the hospital offered relief with personal accounts of similar happening to their own children, I remained sick with guilt. Humbled by the experience as a first time mom.

As parents, we try so hard to protect our children from harms way, but even the paramount of parents, without fail, have human moments. Mistakes are inevitable. That same day, my husband (my darling husband!) came home from work in the evening with a card in which he wrote, “Just remember, what sticks is all of the positive ways you impact her. Nothing else.”

All we can do is learn from mistakes made.

All we can do is our best.

Spring Soon

When you live in a small town that hails as a summertime vacation destination, winter can be a downer.  After months of gray skies and snow and snow and more snow, I now understand why my husband, who grew up in Ludington, laughed when I told him a few months back that snow doesn’t bother me. Well, as a newbie small-towner, a new stay-at-home mom, and the whole weather factor, I had my first experience with the cabin fever. 3-4 day stretches of never leaving the house can drive anyone stir crazy.

But this week the sun has returned to us. Like taking off a pair of sunglasses, pupils naked to the brilliant light. The temperature has been above 20 degrees and the large accumulation of snow is finally melting. The homecoming of spring-like symptoms brings a welcomed change of pace.  Locals emerge from hibernation and the town slowly comes alive again. One of the best parts about springtime in Ludington is businesses that are only open seasonally dust off their counters and unlock their doors. “Nice to see you again!”

Chef John’s is one of those places. I’ve been craving Chef John’s Dill Havarti Soup since it’s autumn close. I’m salivating just thinking about it. And since Will and I are vegetarians, this opening gives us one more option in the nominal restaurant department. Ode to spring!

On a side note, this picture of Chef John’s reminds me of another newity.  I’ve never seen a snow plow attached to a standard vehicle. Being from large cities with efficient street maintenance departments, I thought it looked silly at first until I started seeing them on almost every truck in town after the first snow. Then I knew I was in for it.  I suppose small-town cars will have their seasonal transformations too.