a lovely weekend at Lake Michigan aka the big lake

A gorgeous weekend at the big lake. Waves on the shore, sand in our toes and the sun setting across the horizon.

If you seek a peaceful peninsula, look around you!

{this moment) bare feet

One extraordinary moment from this week that I want to savor and remember.

What inspired you this week? Share your link in the comments.

Inspired by Amanda Blake Soule at soulemama.

hope you have a wonderful weekend outdoors!

{this moment} climbing the fence

One extraordinary moment from this week that I want to savor and remember.

What inspired you this week? Share your link in the comments.

Inspired by Amanda Blake Soule at soulemama.

art party - paper nests

It was another fun day for the girls and me at art party! Marcy planned the craft and brought all the materials. We made paper nests using recycled paper and white glue.

The instructions suggested using a bowl covered with plastic wrap as a form, but I tried this one using a paper bowl, and covered both sides with paper. It did get a big soggy from the glue/water mixture, but it turned out all right in the end. I'm hoping to grow some grass in it using wheatberries.

First we did a test run using some pre-made paper shreds. They worked pretty well, and the small ones I made were the best, made on a sauce cup and embellished with some glitter.

It's a bit gooey, but it was fun to get our hands messy! We put a big bowl of water and a towel on the table for wiping our hands. In retrospect, the flannel backed vinyl tablecloth my gram used to put on the table for crafting would have been ideal. We used newspaper, which worked pretty well, but took a little scrubbing to get the newsprint off the painted surface of the table!

All in all, it was a very successful day!

{this moment}

a wonderful wordless tradition inspired by soulemama:

One image of a lovely moment to remember from our week.

{this moment}

a wordless ritual inspired by soulemama:

one photo capturing a lovely moment to remember.

{this moment}

Inspired by Amanda Blake Soule at Soulemama:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

inspired by Amanda Blake Soule at Soulemama

spring break in grand rapids

We had a great time on our spring break this year. It involved a family birthday party, a great yoga class, playground time with grandma and grandpa, playing trucks with grandma, and a hike with "unty" to hear the spring peepers! Here are a few photos of our trip to the Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids to see the butterfly exhibit.

One of the butterflies landed on little f's head while he was entranced with the cocoons!

Some of the highlights were this tiny gate in the children's garden and sniffing the spring flowers!

and little f hanging out with his cousin...

and grammy... (thanks for taking us on this fun adventure!) We spent the rest of our break enjoying home in the springtime with our kitties!

monday - getting grounded

This week I have been rooting down... inspired by healinghillary...

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Inspired, once again, by Amanda Blake Soule.

{this moment}

New bags in progress...

Here's a glimpse of what is on the cutting table in my studio. These are bags all cut out and ready to be sewn, folded neatly with all the pieces inside. Large, reversible bags with key hooks give you two bags in one!
It's time to make changes, and I feel like having one thing that serves two purposes is a good change, a practice in doing more with less and loving it.