Life With The Crew

Fall Trip - Part 2

We are coming home from our New England Fall trip.  As much as I love traveling, I am always ready to head home and get back to the routine (even though one of the reasons that I love traveling is to get out of the routine!)  I think my little babe is ready too - she needs to get back to more naps and having more freedom to roam around and get her rammies out.  

On Sunday we ran in the White Mountain Milers Half Marathon in North Conway, New Hampshire.  It was a fantastic day for a race.  Cool weather in the 40's, which made for great running conditions, on a flat course that went through the gorgeous Mt. Washington Valley.  Liam and I ran with my daughter in her jogging stroller.  She slept through the first hour and then said "Hi" to everyone we passed, which probably encouraged some and annoyed others.  After the race we had lunch at our favorite restaurant, Flatbread Pizza.  When we're in New Hampshire and Maine, we always go at least once.  Good, simple food made with local ingredients in a low key, hippie environment, its a great restaurant for kids.  My daughter crawled around on the low sofas that they have and older kids can design menus.  

For the weekend we rented a house through Airbnb that was right outside of North Conway.  It was a cute, brighty decorated little house.   It had an adorable sunroom that we didn't get to use because of the cool temps, so we'll have to go back when it is warmer.  It was called Chateau Beata and we're really glad we found it.  My husband's parents joined us for the weekend and it was a great place for all of us to relax.

On Monday we headed back to Portland and made some stops along the way.  We drove through the picturesque town of Jackson, NH and started our day off right with a Mexican Hot Chocolate from Backcountry Bakery and Cafe.  I am definitely going to try and recreate the recipe at home!

 Then we stopped at Weston's Farm to peruse the local produce and goodies.  They had a large assortment of gourds, squash, and pumpkins.  We bought a Tondo Pumpkin, which I'd never heard of before.

They had fresh cranberries, something we don't see at home (the plastic bags in the grocery store don't count).  The woman working there said she makes fresh apple and cranberry pie, so our next stop was at Pietree Orchards to pick some Maine apples.  We had been there in July to pick blueberries and knew we wanted to come back in Fall for the apples.  Since it was a Monday morning, we were the only ones there.  It sits up on a hill with a fantastic view and has a farm store with local food and crafts and of course we had to get some of the mini apple cider donuts.

 Then we headed into Portland for lunch at the Flatbread restaurant there (yes, we're addicts) and then wondered around town a little bit more.  Then we headed to our place to stay for the night, a farm near Portsmouth called Spirit Wind Farm that we found through Farm Stay US.  We were the only guests staying there, which was nice since we didn't have to worry about keeping the baby quiet.  There are two large Shire horses, some pigs, chickens, and goats.  We got to see the evening and morning feedings, which included a mini goat stampede as they ran from their pen to the barn.  It was great!

In the morning we got to try our hand (literally) at milking the goats, which neither my husband or I were successful at.  

We tried some super fresh goat's milk, which was not at all "goaty" like I expected.  The owner of the farm makes goat's milk soap and cheese.  The farmhouse was beautiful, with old original doors, wide plank pine floors, and a unique "beehive" brick oven.  

We then hit the road and swung into Portsmouth for a pick me up before hitting the road.  I was pleasantly surprised by downtown Portsmouth.  They have some interesting stores and restaurants.  We bought a couple gifts in a stationary store, Gus & Ruby Letterpress, that has beautiful paper products such as calendars, hand printed wrapping paper, and invitations.

My babe was such a great little traveler.  She has either inherited an extroverted gene from somewhere or I have trained her well, because she says "Hi" to everyone and loves getting attention.  Since I'm supposed to be doing my Thankful Tuesday post today, I am thankful that we had a safe and fun trip with family.  We are fortunate to be able to take a trip like this.  We have a car packed to the gills with food, gifts, and dirty laundry, so I'll be busy for the next couple of days!  Have a great rest of the week!

 

Fall Trip - Part 1

My husband and I try to take a trip each Fall up to New England.  It didn't happen last year because we were expecting the birth of my daughter in October, so we were really excited to take a trip this year.  We found a half-marathon in North Conway, NH that allows strollers, so we decided to head up for that.

We started our trip in Hollis Center, ME at Lily Brook Farm, in a cute apartment on a farm that we rented through airbnb.com.  We arrived after dark and so couldn't see anything until morning, when we were delighted to wake up to find a donkey outside our window!  The farm has a donkey and a mule, pygmy goats, chickens, and Scottish Blackface sheep.

It was a beautiful crisp New England morning and we were given a wonderful tour of the farm and had the chance to pet the animals.  While my daughter loves reading all about farm animals in her  books, she was a little intimidated by the real thing!  

The apartment was so bright and sunny in the morning.  We had hot tea for me, coffee for my husband, and some breakfast goodies.  There was even real Maine maple syrup to mix in with my daughter's pumpkin and peach breakfast.  Even though they are drafty and totally not energy efficient, I love those original old farmhouse windows.  (I have two in my house that I will have to part with eventually.)  They just have so much character.

After leaving the farm, we spent the day in Portland.  We love that city - such a great city for foodies like us!  We stopped at Hilltop Coffee to get a quick pick-me-up and walked around a neighborhood that we hadn't been in before.  Thought I'd take a peek into the famous KnitWit Yarn Shop and so glad we did because we discovered the lovely little shop next door, Circa Home and Vintage.  There is a lot of goodies packed into this small unassuming shop!  We found some hand printed tea towels for a Christmas gift and a really cool idea called a Cuppow, for those lacking in the open container-moving car drinking skill department (yes, that's for me!)  I was delighted to find a kids section full of quality toys, mainly wooden, and dolls made by Camden Rose, which is a company that uses natural materials and supports two fair trade, non-profits in Lima, Peru.  A fun store and definitely worth stopping in if you're in town!

After some lunch, we then headed over to North Conway, NH, which is also a fun town that we visit at least once a year.  Since it was Halloween weekend, there was a children's trick-or-treating event at the outlet store plaza that sounded low key and a good first time for our daughter.  I didn't want to spend the money on a costume for a 1 year old, so I thought that we could buy her a cute animal hat which she could then wear the rest of the winter.  I was getting overwhelmed on Etsy by all of the choices, when I realized that she loves monkeys (or the noises that I tell her they make), so a monkey she would be!  That evolved into a family costume, so can you guess what we are?

"Caps for Sale" by Esphyr Slobodkina!  If you aren't familiar with this book, find a copy to read to your child.  Its a lot of fun to act out the parts of the frustrated peddler and the monkeys.  That wonderful mustache that my husband has is real and is only for the costume.  It will be morphing back into a full beard very soon!

In the afternoon we took a nice drive in the hills around town and I played a little with the camera and tried to capture the New England scenery.

Hope you enjoyed these pictures from the first half of our trip.  More to come!

 

Thankful Tuesday - 10.22.13

I KNOW I have a lot to be thankful for, but I am having a hard time feeling it today.  Its just one of those days when the house is a pig sty, the dogs got in a fight and are being a pain in the butt, the rabbit is peeing all over the laundry room, the cats continue to lay on the changing table and make me use brute force to push them off, and the little babe is not being the best napper, which leads to not being in the best mood.  

So what am I thankful for today?  Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chunk Cookies!

I am supposed to be eating healthy this week because my husband and I are running a half marathon this weekend and we were going to cut out alcohol and sugar beforehand.  It was supposed to be a MONTH before, but that certainly didn't happen.  

This is a good recipe, not to special, just a simple seasonal cookie.  A little different than the normal chocolate chip.  And if you're trying to eat healthy like me, you can push any guilt aside because it has high fiber pumpkin in it.  Enjoy!

Oh, and hot apple cider!  I am thankful for that too.  Just hits the spot.  (And that is healthy too!)

Flower Power Pants

Okay, okay, last sewing project for a while, I promise!  My brother remarked recently that a friend of his has "a case of the new girlfriends" - where all he wants to do is be with the girl and he is grumpy when he's not.  Well, I guess I have a slight "case of the new sewing machines".  I'm not grumpy, but I do have all of these ideas that I want to make and I actually sewed instead of cleaning today.  When I was lying in bed this morning I came up with an idea to use the remainder of the cashmere scarf that I used for the vest.  I had bought this adorable flower fabric from Monaluna and wanted to use it, but it is really too thin to be practical now.  I remembered that my grandpa used to wear flannel lined jeans, so now my babe has cashmere lined flower power pants!  She is all set for winter! 

They were actually pretty simple to make.  The hardest part was the elastic, which took me way longer than it should have, but with each project I am learning something new each time.  

So here's some flower power to get you through the week!

Sunday Sewing

A neighbor knitted the most beautiful pink alpaca sweater vest for my babe when she was first born.  She can actually still wear it a year later, but it is very tight!  I like sweater vests and I thought they seemed pretty simple to sew, so I was trying to think of what scrap material I have to make one.  I remembered that I had this cream cashmere fringed scarf  in the scrap bin because I knew that one day I could make something out of it.  As is, it just isn't my style.

So I used the knitted vest as a template and cut mine just a bit bigger.  Since the fringe was on both ends of the scarf, I didn't have to cut a bottom edge.  I sewed the one side and neck piece shut and then put buttons on the other side and neck piece, following the other vest's pattern.  I had to sew the button holes by hand since I don't know how to do that on the sewing machine yet and I didn't want to fart around with figuring it out.  (I am an impatient crafter.  If I want to do something, I want to do it NOW.  I am aware this tendency can cause things to look half-assed.)

I had just received some cute buttons as a gift and had 4 matching ones - just what I needed!  It is not the cleanest or most attractive sewing job, but it fits, a button hasn't popped off yet, it will help keep my babe warm, and I LOVE the fringe on my little hippie babe!  

And the best part is that it was FREE!  

Recipe for the Weekend - Romanian Apple Cake

I had a wonderful visit with my mom yesterday and we went to the local orchard and picked up some Golden Delicious apples.  It was a dreary Fall day and I decided to make a chunky apple cake for dessert.  There are a gazillion apple cake recipes on the web and they all basically use the same ingredients.  I decided to use this one because it sounded simple and because I have a link to Romania (my dog Wallace is adopted from there).  

Of course I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it a little healthier.  These are the changes I made:

-For the 1 1/2 c. of white sugar, I used 3/4 c. white sugar and about a 1/3 c. maple syrup

-For the 3/4 c. of veggie oil, I used 2/4 c. olive oil and 1/4 c. coconut oil (which stayed in little chunks while mixing, but then melted when it baked)

-I sprinkled some ground flax seeds, shredded coconut, and cinnamon on top of the cake before baking.

It smelled great baking and was yummy warm.  It is super moist, so I am keeping the leftovers in the fridge.

This Moment - Mornings in the Stroller

*This Moment*

Joining the SouleMama club.  A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.

On My Soapbox

This week was Bulk Waste Week in my township.  What does this mean?  It means that you can put on the curb whatever junk you have been collecting in your garages, sheds, attics, and basements and the garbage truck will come and smash it before hauling it off to a landfill.

Let me share with you some pictures of things that my husband and I saw on our morning run today. 

I'm going to paint and try to reupholster the chair.

We will use the cooler - it is in perfect condition.

My daughter won't be ready for a bike for several years, so I'm going to sell this on Craiglist.

By next summer, my daughter will be old enough to play in the sand, so we'll be all set.  Or the dogs will enjoy lying in the "pool".

 

We also saw lots of mattresses (one house had 4!), tires, electronic equipment including working televisions, luggage, a pair of roller blades, several shelving units, and miscellaneous other items that were actually junk.  When there are so many options for people to dispose of what they do not want anymore, it disgusts me that people just consider this stuff trash and do not think about the unsustainability of their actions.  In our town in Pennsylvania, there are the following ways that you can dispose of your unwanted items.

-Goodwill  Accepts household items and clothes.

-Habitat for Humanity  Accepts household applicances and construction materials.

-Craiglist  You can either list items for "free" or sell them.

-We also have several other organizations in our area that are similar to Goodwill, like Pete's Used Furniture that will haul away your item for you.  We also have a cool store in town called Freeze Thaw that takes old bikes and uses the parts to build new bikes.   And there is always the good old yard sale/garage sale/boot sale where you can make a couple dollars.  

I just wish that people would think a little more about the end destination of their unwanted items.  I'm going to twist the old cliche "you better eat that because there are starving children in Africa" - there are also millions of people who do not have a bed to sleep on, so please reconsider putting four mattresses into the landfill to sit there forever.  Yes, you can't ship them to Africa, but you can donate them so that they can continue to be of use to someone.

When I was running by all of these unwanted items destined for the landfill, I was thinking about a book I read recently called Visit Sunny Chernobyl by Andrew Blackwell.  The author narrarates his visits to places such as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the "electronics-recycling wonderland" in China.  Quirky title, serious topics, with a humorous slant.  Otherwise who would want to read about these depressing places?  

So I am now stepping off my soapbox.  What is one of your creative ways of reusing/repurposing an item?

 

Thankful Tuesday - 10.15.13

 

I am thankful for my healthy, happy, smart, and beautiful one year old daughter.  Let the festivities begin!

I am thankful for all of the thoughtful presents that she received, even though she would have been happy with just the tissue paper and envelopes.  Some of the gifts came from NovaNatural, which has great eco-friendly toys.

 

I am thankful for the yummy and healthy food that everyone contributed.  (Yes, that chocolate cake is included because it is Chocolate Beet Cake with Red Raspberries.  Full of antioxidants and iron.)

 

I am thankful that you can still buy quality products made by small companies in the USA.  These shoes from Soft Star Shoes are super cute and will be great for my almost walking girl.  They are also vegan, so I can tell her no moo-cows were killed.  

 

I am begrudingly thankful that we live near a big box store so that I could run out last minute to get the supplies to make my girl a birthday crown.  I guess for next year I'll start felting my own wool a month ahead of time.  Not sure how I'm going to make the shiny sequins though.  I borrowed the felt birthday crown idea from Mosey, which was featured on the SouleMama blog several months ago.  They are creative and crafty ladies!

I am thankful that it was a beautiful autumn day and we had friends and family who wanted to celebrate the occasion with us.  I am thankful that my husband and I made it through our first year of being parents and now the fun times can begin!  I am hopeful that as my daughter gets older she will learn that she receives gifts on her birthday to celebrate her life and because people are happy that she is a part of their lives, not just because it is expected.  

Does your family have a birthday tradition that you would like to share?

What are you thankful for today?

Recipe for the Weekend - Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with...

Maple Syrup Frosting!  Just right for a cool October weekend.  I made them for my daughter's 1st birthday and we had to have a lot of self control to not eat them all before the big day.

 

I can't claim the whoopie pie recipe as my own, they are from the Rachel Ray magazine website, but I did make my own icing.  My husband found this recipe a couple of years ago and made them as a surprise for me.  They were totally yummy and I've been wanting to make them again.  Making them in a mini size seemed like the perfect finger food dessert for a birthday party.  Instead of just spooning them onto the baking sheet, I used a cake decorating bag to pipe them onto parchment papered cookie sheets.

I didn't want to buy cream cheese, so I used the following recipe, which is not really an exact recipe.  I creamed 1 stick of softened butter with about 1/3 cup of real maple syrup.  Then I added some powdered sugar and enough milk (I used whole raw milk) to get it to the consistency and volume that I needed.  I tasted it and added some more maple syrup.  Then I piped it onto the whoopie pies with an icing bag.

Try to have just one!  Totally scrumptious.  My husband pops a whole one into his mouth; I savor mine in two bites.

Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe?  Please share!