Paper Pie

Warming Up the House

The holiday baking has begun!

A Happy Wanderer

I am the guest blogger over at A Happy Wanderer today. Brew a cup of tea, head over for a giveaway, and to learn how to whip up these simple felt holiday cards.

I Love A Rainy Day

Most mornings, I wake several times before I actually get out of bed. Snoozing...lots of snoozing. In between snoozes, I always give a quick glance to the window to see if the sun is out, hoping that it isn't. I'm not a vampire or photosensitive, or anything like that at all, I just love mornings like today, when the sky is gray and I can hear the rain water gushing down the gutter on the other side of my bedroom wall. It grants me license to keep the rushing around to a minimum because rain in LA is like snow anyplace else - it stops everything. And when most everyday is sunny, a little fluctuation, even if it is just a slight sprinkle, is truly an occasion.

This morning it poured and poured. I could hear the heavy drops ricocheting off the windows all while I was getting ready to leave the house. Usually, on days like these, I would prefer to not leave the house even once. But today was not one of those days, there were appointments to be kept, errands to be run.

I thought for sure my workout class in the park would be cancelled, but alas, it seems I had underestimated the tenacity of our trainer, Farrah. She put out a text early to see if anyone was willing to offer up their house for an indoor workout. When I saw the text, I knew that Heather would be up for it. She is the type that wouldn't flinch at heavy sneakers jump jacking on her hardwoods, as busy toddlers weave in and out of bedrooms and bathrooms.  When I was working out next to Heather's Christmas tree, and my child was banging out tunes on her keyboard, as the rain dumped buckets, I had a flash of insight and realized how much becoming a mother has changed my life. It has opened me up and led me to places I would not have otherwise gone.

Before Rylie, I was content to workout in a room walled with mirrors, plugged into an ipod, head down, straining my neck to watch the tv screen high up on the wall in front of me. Or, I would take a yoga class and never so much as glance at another person. And I took long lonesome walks. But this group of moms, they motivate me and at the same time our children are slowly learning things like what it means to share and be gentle with one another.  So on the mornigs when I really feel like staying in my bed where it is warm and cozy, I think of the companionship and support I feel once I get to class.

On days such as today, when the rain is streaming down the windows and I am bumping into a Christmas tree while doing plié squats, and the kids have just found the Billy Joel button on the keyboard's muzak selection, and one mama is breastfeeding while another is changing a diaper, I am glad and grateful that I have found these like-minded, open-hearted women and I am not at the gym, plugged into my ipod, watching Wheel of Fortune on a screen without sound.

Hello From Sunday

What are you up to today?

Links To Share

A random assortment this weekend. I hope you find something new and interesting here.

* Dug this up this week and shared it with Rylie. She loves it

* A guilty pleasure, for sure

* If I have time (I hope I do.)

* This made me laugh out loud (Kalli, this is for you, girl)

* An interesting article about the side effects of overparenting

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. Amanda Soule 

Topanga

If you leave my house and head west on the 10 for about 6 miles it will come to an end at the Pacific Coast Highway, also known as the PCH or Route 1. If you follow it north up the coast through Santa Monica, and Pacific Palisades, you can look out the driver's window and see the ocean like glitter under the sun. You might think Mother Nature is winking at you as you spot a few dolphins traveling alongside you up the coast. As you continue north, gratitude in check, you come upon Topanga Canyon Blvd. You can hang a right on this road and it will wind you through the mountains. Suddenly you feel very small, like the earth is surrounding you on all sides. Things like cars, cell phones, and radio reception start to seem silly and inconsequential. It's a little eerie, like you are transversing boundaries. As you curve through the jutting rocks, you will eventually come to a village of sorts, a small town right in the heart of the canyon, it is called Topanga.

If you decide to stop and take a look around you will discover something special. It may inspire you to think that if this little gem has been hiding from your awareness for so long, there most be thousands (millions) of discoveries waiting for you. And as big as those mountains are, they shrink in comparison to the size of the world and all that it begs you to unearth, to find, to seek. The notion that you are 20 minutes from Santa Monica is confusing, how could that be? This is clearly a mountain community. We are far away. Remote. If you venture down skinny dirt roads you will find kind folks that are living all sorts of experiences and lifestyles and wear t-shirts that say Follow Your Heart. There are log cabins as big as mansions, with windows just as large, right next to inhabited teepees, buses, late model motorhomes & trailers. There are fences made from reclaimed wood, horseshoes as art, and new purposes assigned to old objects. And horses, lots and lots of horses. Neighbors chat with babies strapped to their bodies, while dogs romp nearby. And if you ask nicely, people in Topanga that will let you visit with their wonderful animals.

After your baby kisses the horse and you are positive that your heart is surrounding you on all sides, you may need a rest. In the middle of town, there are quaint cafés filled with antiques and warm light serving organic food and strong coffee. When your baby begs for the chocolate truffle at the counter, you'll be relieved to know it is made from dates and completely raw. At your table you'll find a basket filled with mysterious reading about faeries, oracles and of course, the tarot. On your way out the door, you can choose from a bunch of cards in a teacup, each one has a single word message.

My card said Purpose. Topanga, I will be back...

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Last Friday Ryan came home from work early with 2 banh mi sandwiches and a cup of roasted red pepper and gouda soup to share. The afternoon was cold and gray and his lunch offering hit the spot. Afterwards, we thought it the perfect time to go pick out our Christmas tree. So we three jumped in the car and were off. We had to stop to get cash to tip the nice men that would help us strap that 7-foot-tall, needle-y tree to our car. And of course we picked up some hot chocolate too.

The tree lot was quiet that time of day so early in the season. It was just us. What kind of tree should we get? Noble fir? Yes. Stiff braches and soft needles that is what we need. In years past we have had trees with softer branches that sink under the weight of our heaviest ornaments. We have effectively learned our lesson on that. It seems we get better at Christmas each year. Live. Learn. It is all a process, even for fun things like Christmas! Rylie stared up at those big trees with wide wondering eyes, just silent for a while. Studying them. And then, with a start, she tore through the aisles, tree after tree, and let us know her favorite.

Once home, the holiday play list was in full swing. Some of my favorite music this year has been mellow instrumentals. Think Vince Guaraldi on the Charlie Brown soundtrack. I've discovered the Eddie Higgins Trio thanks to Pandora. The holiday album from Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is so imaginative and playful, too. Ryan put togther a pretty ecclectic playlist that is old time-y and includes some organ tunes that remind me of going to candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve.

We pulled out the Christmas boxes, and though we have had this stuff for years now, it all seemed brand new after being away for so long. There are always a few surprises, isn't there? Like when you get all of the lights strung in the tree and then discover the whole string is not working. How could we have forgotten that after last year? And why did we put the lights back into storage if they were broken? Good questions, indeed. But there are also the tender, sweet moments like when I pull out the stockings that Ryan made for our first Christmas together. We were not living in the same state at the time and I was coming out to spend Christmas at his place. He went to Michael's and bought a couple of felt stockings and glitter puff paint and wrote our nicknames for each other at the top of each one. I will keep those forever. And then there are the ornaments. We pulled out Rylie's first Christmas ornaments from last year for the very first time and it choked me up a bit to think that this is already her second Christmas. It is sure to be a fun one if the advent hijinks are any indication. She just loves ripping that paper from the boxes.

Rylie helped us decorate the tree. She loves to take off the ornaments that she can reach and hand them to us, shouting "Ball! Ball!" We say, "Yes, ball. Thank you." as we place it back on the branch. This goes on for sometime. She never tires. The other morning she took off all of the ornaments that she could reach and lined them up in the windowsill.

My heart is in a constant swell over here. The white lights lend a warm, cozy glow and I am compelled to stay in my jammies and knit. Or at night, play board games and spike my hot chocolate with a bit of kaluha. That's what these lights do to me, I tell ya.

Moda Designer Holiday Blog Hop

This time of year the goodies and treats are out in staggering numbers. It's as if everywhere you go there is a cookie staring you in the face - the bank, the neighbor's, the grocery store. This, of course, is one of my favorite parts of the holidays. My mother-in-law makes chocolate chip cookies that are tiny and deliciously addictive. They are so small, that you don't feel terrible popping a large handful in a matter of minutes. They are deceiving that way, and with the slightest hint of sea salt at the end, they do not make your stomach feel as though it is candycoated when you are finished. If you make these cookies, you will eat way too many. The recipe calls for a dozen, but I make more like 2 dozen at a smaller size.

I was thinking of those little morsels when I designed this quilt block - deceptively simple, easy to whip up and won't have you feeling sluggish this Holiday season.

When I was putting this block together, I noticed the way that I work now that Rylie is 16 months old. She is growing more independent and is very happy to wander around and explore the entire house. Mother's intuition or sixth sense, is no fallacy. I know where she is even when I can't see her, and I immediately have a feeling if she is trying to open the cabinet under the sink or pulling all of the books of the bookshelf (which she does very often.)

Zipper is nearby most times, on the periphery quietly observing in his nonchalant way. He wants to know what is going on, but he does not want to be noticed and refuses anything that could be misconstrued as eye contact. When Rylie is more spirited and exclaiming "Mama! Mama! Mama!" he makes a dash for the nearest exit. He is not one for raised voices this cat of ours.

I work like this for a while, stopping to read Rylie a story or two or to sit down and draw with her. She spends a lot of time in my studio with me and loves to pull every last scrap of fabric from the bins. She has an obsession with yarn, always making me nervous with the yarn.

Alternatively, the block feels quite Christmas-y on the tangerine Mod Buds from Sugar Pop!

She gets sleepy and it is naptime. Once she is sleeping, I am a racehorse busting moves to finish my quilt block, blog post or whatever the task at hand. There are many days that I do not get dressed until 3 pm because that is the first time I've noticed that I am still wearing my pajamas. It is chaotic, but oh so wonderful, everyday, every moment really, a new adventure waiting to be experienced. That is how it was on the day that I put this little quilt block together. I hope you like it. 

Download the chocolate chip cookie recipe and instructions for the quilt block. Leave a comment on this post to win this very quilt block (a study in chaos) and a charm pack of my new line Domestic Bliss. I will close the comments on Friday at 5 pm PST and choose a winner via random number generator. Check back on this post on Saturday when I will announce the winner. Good luck!

Comments closed! The winner is:

Your block is really cute and the fabric colors really pop! Thanks for sharing!
Stacy Lindblom

Oh, and so you don't miss a single recipe or quilt block here is a line up of the entire Blog Hop.

12/5 - Minick & Simpson, Bunny Hill Designs, Me and My Sister,
Deb Strain

12/6 - Kansas Troubles, Fig Tree & Co., Cosmo Cricket, Lucie Summers

12/7 - Cottonway, French General, Oliver + s, Sweetwater,
The Long Thread

12/8 - Camille Roskelley, Kathy Schmitz, Laundry Basket Quilts,
Kate Spain, Primitive Gatherings

12/9 - Basic Grey, Jan Patek, American Jane, Pieces From My Heart

Advent Bonanza

Admittedly, this advent display for Rylie looks a little overblown and superfluous, I'm sure. As Ryan likes to point out, "Advent sure looks fun." But, I can explain. I'm inspired by all of the creative ideas that people do for advent calendars or vessels: this and this and this come to mind. I want to start the advent tradition for Rylie, but I don't want to give her small tokens or sweets just yet. She is still a baby and small things are always lost, not to mention, not so easily digested when they inevitably end up in her mouth. I love the idea of filling each day with a different activity or holiday outing, but feel she is still a bit young for that as well. Really, for her, it is all about sharpening up those fine motor skills and ripping paper off boxes. I also did not want to fill the house with more stuff. I've been trying to be very mindful of our stuff accumulation and being completely intentional about what surrounds us in our home. So, I was milling this all around in my head, sifting it through, not sure if I was committed to doing advent this year or not. 

One bright Saturday morning, I went to a mega-super-100-family garage sale fundraiser called Garage Palooza. With Rylie at home with daddy, I was able to roll up my sleeves and hunt for bargains. I ended up leaving with lots of clothes, shoes, toys and books for Rylie. I was contemplating whether I should just add these items to the mix or if I should save some of it for Christmas, when it dawned on me. This bounty could be the perfect solution for advent gifts. So here we are. I had seen this, oh how I would love to tie all of those packages end to end with string and hang them from the ceiling. Can you imagine what fun that would be to cut a new package off everyday until Christmas? But I thought that a string of presents hanging from the ceiling might be cumbersome for our limited space and I thought Rylie would be attracted to it far more often than would be convenient. We still have to eat, bathe and sleep around here, now don't we?

I wrapped them all up and turned them into a fun display on our shelving console. It works with the overall Christmas vibe we have going on and I like all of the colors and tags. Very festive. Advent, does indeed look fun. Rylie is loving it too and I have on more than one occasion glimpsed her using her drum as a stool so that she could reach those presents. I hope she can hold out for the whole month, because it is kind of thrilling to wake to a new present each day.

The only new purchases I made for this was a few ornaments for the tree. So, a lot of ceremony and fuss at very little cost. As Rylie grows, we will likely go down a more traditional route with small tokens: cookies, an eraser, an ice-skating afternoon, but until then I am totally digging the advent bonanza around here.