lady cordelia

weekend at the farm(ish).

ok.  my home...it's not really a farm.  i know it.  you know it.  but it's a quarter acre of small farmy-ness. it's farm-ish
can we leave it at that?  excellent.  let's move on then.

this weekend there was the normal tending of gardens and animals, gathering eggs and figuring how many different things you can do with romaine lettuce.  i say: if you want to have a little farm, nothing to it.  all you gotta do is diddley do it.  but you will be stinky sometimes and if it's hot your hair will stick to your face along with some straw and maybe you'll get chicken poop on your shoes.  ya.  or duck poop.  still wanna do it?  thought not.  but you should.  it would be really good for you.  

also: the very normal visiting with my lovely sweet girlfriend and her daughter -as both our hubby's work a lot and so on weekends we get together and have lots of fun and eat yummy food that we make.  (i am featuring her home this coming Thrifty Thursday and it will ROCK YOUR SOCKS so you need to check in with me on thurs. K?  K.)

I made more strawberry compote and started another funky quilt for daughters new beds (see last weeks Thrifty Thursday.) 
 
there were also sweet comments from some of you on my music post from last friday. (thank you.) 

many hugs to you and I hope your week gets off to a dreamy, wonderful start. 

XO

weekending with Amanda.

 

"only child"

Hello,

Today I present you with a song.  It's not a "final mix", as we say in the music business, but it's fine to share here.  This song, written and performed by me (vocal, guitar, piano)- is being given to a music library.  I will always be the writer however, and I do get compensated for that when songs such as this get used (usually.)   I hope you enjoy this little slice of my person. 

 

Only Child 2

 

XO

C

photo source:  kiyoaki

Thrifty Thursday

Oh.  Gosh.  I have a few special posts happening today and tomorrow.

First things are first. I didn't know when I would be able to post these most magnificent finds as they have been getting worked on for a number of weeks.....  I have been looking for matching vintage twin headboards (for the girls) for well over a year.  I've looked on Etsy, Ebay and in stores.  One consignment store had the most wonderful vintage frames now and again, but they were so expensive.  It hurt to pass them up.  I knew I had to hang in there.

About three weeks ago, The Brad came home telling me he had stumbled upon a warehouse downtown in which a young couple was refinishing furniture.   Because he loves me, he sent me down there even though he knew it would cost him.  As I looked around at all the lovely tables, nightstands and chairs, my eyes fell upon a twin headboard leaning up against a corner.   Upon inquiry, I learned there were two.   And goodness gracious...they were not expensive as the couple had found these two (possibly 100 year old) frames (headboard and footboard) in a dumpster.   They re-finished them and sold them to me and here they are.

It is very hard to get a good photo of the whole room, it's tiny.   And I'm sorry but I can't be bothered to starighten up too much for you.  I love you.  But I didn't tidy the piles of books.  Tough nuggies.  See that last photo?  See the sheet sticking out the bottom?  Ya.  Didn't  tidy it.  Too tired, actually. But,  you get the picture, right? Darling beds!  Vintage.  Wood.  Sweet.  Beautiful!   Now I want to repaint the whole room a bright white.  Alas, the thought of painting it myself sounds very daunting.  Ew. 

Also, notice the granny square quilt?  $7.  YES!  People, I know how to SHOP SECONDHAND!  The trick?  Find your favorite thrift store and give them lots of good stuff you don't want anymore.

I like lot of mismatching bedding.  Funky quilts (that I usually make with second-hand material) and vintage pillowcases.  Curtains were a $2 sheet.  Just wash it all in hot water first!  It's all good! Yes, my kids sleep in second-hand sheet sets.  Why?  Cause they cost $3 and they are perfect with no stains or holes (duh.)  Have you ever slept in a hotel?  K.  Then what's the difference? The difference is my sheets are always pink and prolly an old grandma or little girl slept in them previously where as WHO KNOWS who slept in those hotel sheets the night previous!!!!!! EWWWW!  (I don't sleep in hotel sheets unless I'm fully clothed, with socks on and my own pillow. My husband thinks I'm crazy.)

Anyway.  Good tidings you and your thrfiting dreams.  They will come true.  Be patient.

Please come back tomorrow for another special treat!

 

XO

C

hello weekend.

We took it easy this weekend.  Very warm weather.  The girls and I napped and went to bed early and woke up later than usual.  I made cornbread, strawberry compote and homemade laundry detergent (which works amazingly well.) At the farmers market, I bought the last bit of lettuce I can squeeze in the garden.  The Brad will look at me with "that" look cause he thinks there is no more room in the garden. (He is wrong. He does not tend the garden.  Love the guy, but he does not really know.)    

If you're interested, here is how to make your own detergent.  It's really quite simple and it's by far my favorite homemade cleaning supply.  Oh- by the way, Brad is really over the homemade vinegar cleansers.  He actually looked at me in a very serious way and said "Stop It" the last time I was spraying some on the stove. I continued on just to bother him.  But the smell is a little much for me too, truth be known.  The Brad is into the detergent because it works and smells good.  (Guys are so weird that way. They always need something to "work."  Whatever!) By the way, this recipe is all over the web and I'm probably the last blogging mom to get around to posting it.  I'm a late bloomer.

Homemade Laundry Powder
2 cups finely grated castile soap (I use Dr. Bronner's peppermint)
1 cup borax
1 cup baking soda
1 cup washing soda

Mix everything together, and store in a wide mouth Mason Jar.  I use 1/8 cup per load.  

Laundry comes out so clean and soft!  I am excited to do laundry now!  Ad that is saying something!  (Sidenote: I just love mason jars by the way.  I really love them.  I store everything in them and use one for water by my bedside.)

 A busy week ahead, I will be checking in as time permits and, if everything goes as planned, a really cool Thrifty Thursday in store. 

xoxox

tagging along for weekending with Amanda.

thrifty thursday

 


it's my style. scarves for curtains and vintage muffin tins for art (a work in progress on a kitchen wall.)  an antique gravy server to hold the little bit of makeup I wear (found and free object.)  what do you call it? bohemain thrift? flea market flair? whatever you call it, i like it.  every picture frame, little figurines that sit on the dresser.  also: plates.  so many! all mismatching.  so many plates and so mismatching. so wonderful! if one breaks, who cares. I can get another one for less than a buck.  none of what I'm sharing here costs more than a few bucks here or there. but it's more than that.  to me, it makes my home feel homey and loved.  i'm happy to give these little worn treasures another life in a happy little house- where nothing is too precious and everything is comfy.  I'm working on buying less and showing you more of what I already have in the next few weeks. fun!  my house was just not at all tidy when I went to snap pics, so we're staying minimalistic this week.

and what do you have to share this week?

xoxo

(p.s. please do leave a comment if you are linking today with thrifty thursday so my readers can find your post! thanks!)

homey mama

 

 
Darlings!  I didn't think I'd have time yesterday.  But things got shifted around and I had time to do nothing but take care of kids and be in the kitchen!! Last week was a "bad food week."  Have you had one?  You know, life is moving too fast and your kids end up with too many servings of cheese and crackers and not enough of the good stuff.  Well that makes me very depressed. So,  I was on a mission today to re-stock cupboards and fridge with goodness and make some healthy whole food.  Plus I splurged on good balsamic vinegar.  That was so exciting.  Really.  I just love that bottle (in the first picture) because Heidi Swanson has one like that in her cookbook and I want to be Just. Like. Her. 

Get this: my neighbor and friend (also a healthy food goddess) was talking about Crock Pots the other day and something called Perpetual Soup where you take a chicken carcass and let it sit in the crock for about a week and just keep eating from it and adding veggie "scraps" from the kitchen and replenishing water for the broth.  Well.  I get the nutritional aspect, but the smell of a chicken cooking in my house for a week isn't my thang.  BUT I am so happy that my friend DID inspire me to take out my Crock Pot which I have never cooked with!  I used it yesterday to make a delicious Lentil Soup. Or rather, it made itself as I went about my day.  How cool is that?  I am fully Rocking and Crockin! Crock Pots are very darn cool and you KNOW it!  What do you make in yours?

Then, I made nummy for your tummy granola.  I made up my own recipe cause, well, I don't want to brag, but I know what I am doing in the granola dept. these days.  It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears.  But, people, I am now solid making granola without a cookbook.  ( Rough estimations are as follows:  3.5 cups Oats, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup shredded coconut, 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup coconut oil.  A little Vanilla and Almond extract.  Melt together butter, coco oil and syrup.  Add extracts.  Pour into Dry Ingredients.  Stir.  Spread on baking sheet.  25-25 mins.  Make sure to stir occasionally.) What's your favorite granola recipe?

After that, I made crepe batter to have on hand for today so that at 6:30 a.m. this morning I could do the following for my kindergartner:  Make a crepe, take it out of the pan, scramble an egg, throw it in the pan, and put the crepe back over the egg as it is cooking.  Flip.  Fold. Eat. Nummy nummy for tummy.  I do my crepe batter with eggs from our ducks.  (By the way, I saw duck eggs for $9/doz. at farmers market last weekend!!!! I was very impressed with my ducks after that.) To the crepe you can also add cheese or even some sauteed veggies.  But you knew that.  I am not a great crepe maker, but...come to think of it... I'm not too bad either!  Got a favorite crepe batter?  Mine is from Heidi, of course.

THEN, I made clarified butter to have on hand.  So good on popcorn! And I also used a little in the pan when browning some sunflower seeds...delicious! 

THEN I tried out a crispy asian type salad I found in this cookbook.   It was delicious. It's a great family cookbook, by the way.  Lots of quick & easy whole food recipes. 

I'm full.  

Luckily I had help loading the dishwaher from my cute little puppy.  She doesn't photograph well, but she licks plates wonderfully. 

XO

C

 

 

 

monday.

 

Wrote a post and it got erased.  That's how my day is going.  But hey...I harvested 15 snap peas today.  Whooo hoo!!!!  Also, a whole heap of beautiful lettuce.  So...I'm pretty happy about that.   Plus I had a great little someone who was helping me water.  She likes to water the concrete.  Very helpful. 

 I'm tired.  The Brad is working well over 40 hours a week right now.  Three chickens got into my chard and spinach bed.  Our senior dog is incontinent.  (I finally got a full blood panel done on him because I wanted to make sure he wasn't dying of a horrible disease.  Nope! $200 later he's perfectly healthy, just incontinent!)  Oh, and my younger kid just bit my older kid.   Cool.  That's sooooo cool to bite. I didn't have a sibling (still don't, as a matter of fact) and so I just don't get it.  Can't ya'll just talk it out?  Punch a pillow?  Deep breathe?

Dang it.

I want more time to bake and sew and pick out the perfect yarn for O's shell.  (I call it a shawl, she calls it a shell.)  But do I really want to make a shell for a biter?  Do biters need shells?  Hell Ya they do! Everyone needs a shell. 

Sorry for the bad word n' stuff.  Is "hell" a bad word?  I guess if you don't want your kids to say it, it's a baddy. 

I'm also trying to write a song for a company.  I have only til Friday to get it written so that I can go into the studio and record it.  I've put it off until now, of course.  Should creativity be under pressure?  Nope.  C'est la vie.

I hope to see you before Thirfty Thurs (but if I don't, you'll know why.)  I have a great $2 item for Thrifty Thurs!  Ya'll will love it.

XO

C

 

 

this moment(s)

She says things like: mush-tash (mustache) & meshmarlows (marshmallows). She really likes Jur and Marfa (George and Martha, her favorite book) Also: Lady and The Shrimp (Lady and The Tramp).  She likes salad, which I adore about her.  Also vanilla cake (of course) and most all food.  She loves food. A lot. She always wears her shoes on the wrong feet, no matter what. She has an imaginary friend named Addie.   Addie has died a few times. (Once from poisonous snake, another time it was a black widow.)   Addie usually does yucky stuff, such as eating rotten food.  Addie had ducks but sold them for $83/each. 

This little girl is my youngest and every bit as cute and fun and sweet as she looks.  I wished for her on a star. She turned four yesterday.

::: ::: ::: :::

Since my girls are getting older I decided to take them on some trails a little more.  We didn't go to far cause the now-4-year-old gets tired but I can't pick her up anymore. There is so much I could say about these days, being a parent, knowing it's moving along so quickly...anyway, I know This Moment is not supposed to have words with it and I've already written far too many.

 

Thrifty Thursday (and a giveaway)

Giving.  It's such a nice thing to do.  Especially when you're giving in a way that benefits the earth- by giving second-hand treasures!

I've been blessed the past few weeks with some lovely gifts. 

The vintage plates are from my mom.  6 of them.  I love the pink!  My first impulse was to save them for special occasions, but my mom said I should enjoy them everyday.  And I'm going to!  She found them at her local Saturday Flea Market.  See, the apple just doesn't fall far from the tree.

The wall hook is from a family friend who reads my blog and evidently, got a read on my style.  This hangs in my kitchen where I can see it every single day.

The Forget-Me-Not plant is from another family friend who read my gardening post the other day and felt like sharing some starters with me that she dug from her daughters ranch.   How beautiful is that?  Talk about all being connected.

And...dun DA dunnnn..... I am hosting my very first giveaway!  This is little precious something I picked up this week for my lucky winner.  It's a simple bud vase made from milk glass (or something similar to it. ) As you know, I love little vases and pick them up whenever I see a cute one.  I have a good plenty displayed here and there in my home with Spring flowers.

You don't need to post a Thrifty Thursday pic to enter the giveaway.  Just throwing me a comment saying how much you love me is fine too.

Much love to all and have a wonderful rest of your week.

XO

Contest is closed: Tracey from Clover is the winner!  I'll have more giveaways in the weeks and months to come!  Thank you so much for joining. XO

 

every morning

Every morning I open my eyes and think about my passions. It's an automatic response to waking.  If I feel good, have had enough sleep, etc... then I'm a powerhouse.  I want to do everything at once, and that is my downfall.  I'm not a great organizer or planner, but I'm often energetic and usually a good learner, sometimes quick and sometimes not.  I don't tend to master things per se, but where there is passion, there is feeling and unique expression. 

I was so excited to finally order and receive the three books you'll find in my side bar.  One is about landscaping for free-range chickens. Meaning, how to have beautiful gardens with chickens abound.  I love this book!  Another is on on making natural body care products.  Believe it or not, The Brad is really excited about this too and we plan to do some creating together.  I can't wait to stay up late and make tangerine lip balm with The Brad!  I mean, who wouldn't??  The last one is a cookbook of  Soul Food desserts; recipes that have been handed down for generations.  Mouth drooling excitement.  These are some of my passions right now.   Other passions include: making little dresses for my sweet daughters since they are actually wearing what I have sewed them so far!  YAY!  Also..I'm going to read up on urban beekeeping, even though The Brad says you can't have a hive downtown. (Luckily he is into tangerine lip balm or I'd be calling him a full downer!) 

Even 4 years ago I would have never guessed that making a southern pound cake would be of even mild interest to me.  Or figuring out what plants would be perfect for my free-range chicken garden.  
And I've told you all this before.
So you might just be waiting for me to get to the point of all this.
If I had a point, I would share it.  And I kind of wish there was a point.  But there doesn't seem to be.
So I just keep on.