2/52 Found This Week

Spring must be coming soon because I gathered so many amazing things from the web this week, I can hardly contain myself! It was a great week. So great that this list only contains half of what I found, I'll have to share the rest with you next week.

Artifactuprising Inspired by the disappearing beauty of the tangible. You can print your photos (from your camera, your phone, or your instagram feed into a beautiful book. It's a beautiful site.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc2ygv4dWRw&w=560&h=315] Renee and Jeremy sought to make children's music that didn't annoy parents. This track, Night Mantra is an instant favorite in our house. It soothes both my boys and myself when it's 2am and Owen has just spit up on me, twice. Brendan and I have been singing it before bed. It brings a tear.

Modcloth inexpensive and fun with free shipping and returns. An online shoppers happy place especially if you are shopping dresses. Both quirky and classic. It also has a great blog.

Stickygram More fun with instagram. Turn your instagrams into magnets, iPhone/iPad overs, and more.

[vimeo 65688873 w=500 h=281] <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/65688873">Izola Father's Day</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/izola">Izola</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> Izola Candles Long burning candles plus other cool vintage-y things. Great style. Gift-tastic. I bought a candle for my brother and sister-in-law this week.

A recipe for Coq au Resiling which I translated to english and modified to incorporate the wild chukar and pheasant that my brother brought to my house.  This was so good that we had it twice in the same week. I'll tell the tale in a later post.

And finally, emails from friends. Nate and I observed a Facebook Free February. We wanted to see if Facebook helped or hindered our connections. One of the lovely things that happened was an increase in personal emails from friends. And they weren't short either. It was so nice to have  deeper interactions and really check in. It was time well spent.

Pickle in a Jar

The word pickle is one of my favorite. In a pickle, my little pickle - phrases I love.

I decided I'd try an experiment. Make some. I I took a look round the world wide web and happened upon a few interesting and fun websites. I opened up Wild Fermentation but I'm not ready for lacto-fermentation yet. (If you are and/or have, please share your wisdom and experience!) I found a simple recipe here and modified it.

Here is what happened, follow along if you'd like.

Take a nice fresh cuke. Slice it up. Take 2 tbs salt. I like the pink kind. Mix it with a cup of apple cider vinegar. [wpvideo 9qiQEf2d] Until the salt dissolves. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, mix up seasoning. I used a tsp each of whole mustard seed, peppercorn, and fennel, plus a big pinch of red chili flakes. Slide the cucumber slices into a mason jar, because sliding then in while the jar is laying on its side is easier. Take some garlic. Smash it up. Put the spices and garlic in the jar. Pour the brine over the pickles to be. Seal the jar.

Place in the fridge and enjoy this week!

1/52 Found This Week

A Lazy (aka BusyMama) Girls Guide to Heat Styling from Refinery29.comI think I'm going to go shopping for some new heat styling tools - mine are broken.

Bleubird Blog a really lovely blog on style, family life, and weekly cake.

Learning about Bow-hunting. Perhaps its because I am currently reading Hunger Games and I think Katniss is cool, but bow-hunting is something that Nate and I are getting excited about. Bow-hunting? Yes, it's survival skill and it's the skill that intrigues me. Something we can do with the boys that gets us outside and intimate with Nature. Plus, in the case of a zombie apocalypse (or a reaping) you want to have some skills. A great article from one of Nate's favorite sites, the Art of Manliness

[wpvideo 6dmiQg2b] More from Nate, this article on the Family Meeting based on the book The Secret to Happy Families which we have in our library. Here Owen is about a week old and Brendan two and a half. We LOVE the Family Meeting (and dancing and coffee shops)at our house.

I love Brene Brown. Her work has truly given voice and inspiration to the deep longings of my soul for a life well-lived. Through the Daring Interview Series, I found out about Jennifer Louden's The Life Organizer and I now subscribe to the weekly emails. It has been a excellent way for me to sit and listen.

What have I been pinning? Check it out.

Morning Routine

Good Morning!

Make bed later.

Brendan's been up for a while.

Chicken, Piggy, and Frog want to shower too.

Light a candle.

Hi Owen!

 Hi Brendan!

Heat some water. Slice up a lemon and add it to a big glass of warm water. Sip until its gone.

Meanwhile Make oatmeal. 2/3 cups, let soak for at least 10 minutes. You can also do this the night before, but who as the foresight, really?

Feed the LOVE jar.

While the oatmeal is soaking, make eggs. Heat butter over medium-high heat - use a lot. Crack two eggs. Let cook for 2 minutes, then turn down the heat. After about 5 minutes, flip. This technique takes about 7-8 minutes for the eggs to be ready, but they taste like eggs from heaven. Slow cooking seems to have that effect, yes?

[wpvideo 3sqtdMgU] Add seed mix, ghee and/or coconut oil, and turmeric. Bring to a boil. Cover. Turn the heat to low and let cook for 20-30 minutes.

Love on the boys.

Honor the sacred in your home.

Make the bed. Ah, better.

Enjoy!

Alternative Blueberry Muffins

Nothing gets me serious about eating like nursing a child. I am hungry all the time, like all the time. I wanted to make something that would get more nutrients into myself and my 2 year old. Brendan and I had a lot of fun making these the other morning and Owen ate really well that day too. They are tasty, healthy and nourishing.

Seed Mix: In a food processor, 1 parts each sunflower, almond, 2 parts each gogi berry, flax seed.

Laugh. Look at the colors.

Process.

Process again.

Try not to get flax seeds in your eye.

Decantor

Muffin mix: Add seed mix.

Add blueberries.

Add kale, because kale is king.

Add a 2 year old.

Mix.

Bake.

Can't wait until they've cooled.

[wpvideo iWvgxcv0]