learning something new

One of my New Years resolutions was to learn to bake a boule. I'm happy to report that I promptly got started on that one. After trying a couple different recipes I decided I personally like {this} one best. The only difference is I use an electric mixer with a dough hook attachment but the rest of the ingredients and methods are the same. There's something really relaxing about the whole process for me. I wake up early to mix up the dough, it rises on the counter all day. This afternoon after I formed it into a ball and I was waiting the last half hour before putting it in the oven I just sat in the quiet house and had some tea- the kids were still napping. Then of course the most rewarding moment is when it's finished baking and you lift the lid off to reveal something truly beautiful!  

I was pleasantly surprised at how simple it was to do and I've been baking them once or twice a week. They go great with soup and you haven't lived until you've sliced into one of these babies fresh out of the oven, the amazing aroma wafting through the air. We prefer ours with a big ol' smattering of butter and sometimes some strawberry preserves too.  

cabin fever preventer

So we don't risk going completely stir crazy this winter I've been trying to come up with a fun new activity for the kids to do nearly every day. Last week I set up no-mess finger painting on the floor. It's super easy just squirt a few different paint colors in a large ziploc bag (and glitter too if you have some!) and make sure it's tightly closed and there's no trapped air. Place a piece of white paper on the floor and lay the bag of paint on top then use masking tape to secure it down. That's it! 

Both kids loved it, Lucy and I talked about color mixing on hers for a while and then she danced on top of it, then she mixed some more. We've tried it the past by taping the bag to a window instead of the floor and that was fun too. 

i miss the smell of dirt

Thursday was a busy morning- the fun kind of busy. We made a good breakfast and baked a chocolate birthday cake for Mimi. I also got the bread rising to go with our soup at dinner and I finished off a new hat all before lunch. The kids happily played in their own kitchen, drew on the chalkboard and caught an episode of Sesame Street. There were beautiful giant snow globe like flakes floating through the air outside our window and its a day that just feels so perfectly cozy and heart filling.

For some reason for the past couple of days or so though I've had the smell of dirt on my mind. Is that weird? Maybe its because the spring seed catalogue arrived the other day but all of a sudden I find myself dreaming of the warm sun on my back and the kids playing in their little pool. The smell of fresh cut grass and the thought of picking our tomatoes fresh from the garden instead of the grocery store. I suppose the best way to cope is to throw a couple more logs on the fire and make some coco because soon enough I'm sure I'll long for our cozy cold days back again. 

happy birthday mimi

Today we celebrated my sweet momma's birthday. The kids were so excited for her to get here. We baked her {this cake} and draped the customary family birthday banner on the window. After we finished off our usual grill cheese and mater soup we dug into the delectable cake. Mimi likes hers topped with walnuts so that's just what we did. 

Happy Birthday Mimi we love you to the moon and back!

our new obsession: kinetic sand

Perhaps we're late to this party but we just recently discovered this amazing thing called kinetic sand. What makes it so different you ask? Well plenty. It's got this neat pliable feel but it's not wet. The sand holds together and doesn't produce the mess of regular sand. It's sort of like "sand play dough" of sorts but it doesn't ever dry out no matter how long it's left sitting on the table waiting for mom or dad to clean it up. Lucy played with it all morning yesterday first making "dinosaur islands" and then she moved on to baking birthday cakes. 

We found ours at the Indianapolis Children's Museum Gift Shop but you can find it online {here} too. 

Snowpocalypse

1. Gray's favorite place to play lately is under the table.

2. Lucy has been keeping us entertained with lots of puppet shows and concerts.

3. The new bookcase we added to Gray's room is really helping to keep things more tidy with his growing book collection.

4. He's beginning to talk so much now!

5. The snow has covered all the skylights in the house and made things feel so dark yet cozy.

6. Open that front door and this is what you'll see.

7. Our coffee filter snowflakes on the windows now fade into the outdoor landscapes. 

8. Even the pup has given up and decided to just hibernate. 

9. Out back the heavy snow has weighed down the bows of the pines trees to the ground.

10. Truth be told I haven't bothered changing into anything besides fresh pajamas every day since Saturday. 

11. I have been getting quite a few little projects done here and there like adding a new pompom to the top of the hat I knit last year. 

We've been home for a couple days straight now. The weather app on my phone says it's -11 outside and the weatherman tells me with the windchill factored in it actually feels like -40. With no end in site this definitely seems unprecedented at least in my lifetime. I'm glad we had some time outside yesterday playing in the snow before the temps took the huge plunge. For now we'll enjoy some more family time and maybe do a little summertime daydreaming too. 

evidence of winter

1. lingering mornings in jammies dancing on the beds.

2. messy beds.

3. hats, coats, and scarves galore.

4. a cozy pup and her beloved stuffed dragon.

5. we've been coloring in the new coloring books santa brought non-stop.

6. exciting projects to finish.

7. i finally got to break out my new calendar i bought at the santa monica paper source store.

8. a pile of good books to tempt us- i got nick the dennis hopper book for christmas and i've been waiting for a quiet moment to crack it open myself.

9. lingering christmas houses i just can't bring myself to put away yet.

10. a well lived in playroom.

11. a friend of mine gave me the idea of turning our yearly christmas card into an ornament so i've been gathering up our past few years of cards and making them. i love the idea of having a big collection like that and preserving them in such a special way. 

We got a beautiful fresh 5 inches of snow yesterday and we're expecting a bunch more this weekend. I sent Nick to the store for comfort food supplies as we plan to stay in and hibernate. I absolutely love this time of year. We'll have a couple days full of good food, good movies, fires in the fireplace and plenty of hot coco and board games to keep us more than happy.