Bluebirdbaby

Feet First Session 2010 :: NYC

Oh my. NYC was amazing, unbelievable, and oh so incredible. I can't wait to go back. It was beyond thrilling and my time there was way too limited. I'm planning another trip and bringing Sasa with me for sure. We're gonna shop and eat and walk and take in all the sights.

The reason for my short trip? The first Feet First Session. I signed up because I have been following OLOL and Max for a while now. It is so refreshing to see someone else in the wedding business capturing things in a unique and creative way. They are my inspiration and I felt like I couldn't pass this opportunity up. AND...it was on my birthday, which I felt was a sign from above. And a big thanks to Sasa who really urged me to do this. He is my biggest supporter and my business just wouldn't be my business without him.

We met at the Impossible Project (I have so many Polaroids from the day that I will share tomorrow...). I can't say enough about Jesse, Whitney, Max, and Margaux. They are the sweetest, most generous peeps ever. It was a pleasure meeting them and they were so inspiring.

I got so much inspiration from the session, so much knowledge, and so much motivation. I have so many new ideas and know exactly where I want to take my business. I'm beyond excited. I can't wait to get working. I can't wait to be behind my camera. I love it!

Here are some photos I captured from my brief visit. I'm planning on going back for some more photo shoots soon!

 

A Fall Hike

I love this weather. I love hats and hot tea. I love the smell of leaves turning and falling to the ground. I love the delicious sights and sounds. I love being with the ones I love in the midst of all this beauty. We are lucky. Very, very lucky to have all this.

Today we took the little one on a hike that my father used to take me when I was her age. We went on a wild mushroom hunt, told fairy stories, spotted and heard many fairies, breathed in that wonderful fall air, and had a sweet little picnic at the very top. I tried to capture some images like the ones my father took way back when. It's nice to see some place that hasn't changed at all in many years. I'm loving showing you my photos straight out of the camera...no editing. It feels good.

Me. At age 4.

 

Me. At the top

Our plans for the week have shifted a bit. Life has a funny way of surprising you when you least expect it. But I'm headed out on my own to NYC for just a day and two nights. The reason, I will reveal when I get back. It's a good one...I promise!

See you all then! Be well, friends.

One for Purple Violet

Purple Violet has been going with us everywhere lately. The little one seems to have formed a strong bond with her over the past few weeks. When her birthday started to approach, she asked me about a crown for Purple Violet (because apparently Purple Violet turned four on the same day as the little one!) and how could I say no?! Notice Purple Violet's tie dyed shirt? That was done at the little one's party. So fun.

So we set to work making Purple Violet a lovely little crown. As I was putting this wee crown together, I started realizing how much I missed making these. The little one ironed and pretended to sew right along side me, and she picked out the wool felt and ribbon for her sweet little friend.

I've been thinking about taking some custom orders this late fall/winter for things like crowns and matching doll crowns, pants for little ones, and some Waldorf goodies. If there is interest, please send me a message through my Etsy shop and we'll see if I can get some things ready in time for the holidays!

And...I've got an exciting adventure planned for next week which I'll share more about later. We'll be heading to New York City (my first time ever!) for a few days and would love to know if you have any suggestions on things to do or see with little ones. I told Sasa tonight that I wish someone would write "A Hippie's Guide to NYC." Oh yes...that would be nice.

Happy Equinox to you all! I'll share a fall post tomorrow in the spirit of Equinox, although I hear we're supposed to reach 80 degrees. Oh my!

 

After Birthday Fun

We are still recovering from the 4th birthday bash. It was one of the best nights ever. But Sasa and I are still catching up on sleep. So in an attempt to keep this short and sweet, but to let you all know I'm still here, I would like to share some sweet moments from the last few days..

Applesaucing! We love this tradition. We sat on the porch washing, peeling, chopping, and ended up with a huge pot full of applesauce that we devoured in a single day. Yum! The little one is so helpful. I can't get over it.

Speaking of helpful, she cleaned half of the chicken barn all by herself. We spent one morning last week getting it ready for the winter. She was beyond thrilled to be helping out. She kept setting aside hay for the "goats" (we'll hopefully be getting some soon!). We've come to the conclusion that we need some barn cats. We have mice eating up our chicken feed and we're not too thrilled with that. So we're on the hunt for a couple of barn cats and think we found a source. Yay!

Not only has my girl been washing apples and cleaning barns, but she loves to mop. Loves, loves, loves it. She was so excited when I got the mop out. I may make this a weekly activity instead of monthly, because she just loves it so.

She was so lucky to receive so many thoughtful and handmade gifts. She was playing with this little basket of garlic, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg, along with a miniature grater. It kept her busy for so long. Another favorite was the gluten-free play clay. Hours of entertainment with that (thanks Maria!).

And she got a sweet little tree fort just in time for her birthday! Sasa's sister and her husband have been working on it and it was almost finished over the weekend. The little one and I primed it today to get it ready for our funky colors. I can't wait to show more!

What have you all been up to?! I hope to have a link list tomorrow.

My Girl is 4

Four. Four! I can't believe it. I really can't. Four seems like we've entered the big kid stage. She's grown, matured, and blossomed so much in the last few weeks. It's like she was gearing up for four, knowing exactly what it meant.

She was surprised by a visit from the birthday fairies this morning. Her birthday ring (with a new ornament and the number 4) was shining with four bright candles and the birthday fairies left some sweet little gifts. A card, illustrated with all the things she's done as a three year old accompanied her mama made gifts. She just adored the card and loved looking at all the amazing things she'd done.

I had been secretly knitting her this Milo Vest for the past month. I'll post more about it later, but I'll just say that I knit the size 6, hoping it would fit for a few years. Well, it will! It's much too big now. But maybe when she's five she can make it work. For now, I'll start knitting a smaller one...

Then it was the birthday pants. A yearly tradition! The fit of these was so right on. I was very excited. However, tights and leggings seem to be in the spotlight right now, so I'll have to wait for the day she decides corduroy is back on her list!

And her most beloved gift...the camera. She was over the moon. And I made a strap so it matched mine. She's my new little assistant for sure. Her love of photography has not quit and I so hope this gives her the opportunity to be just as creative as mama! She's already taken some great ones!

 

 

I'm the mama of a 4 year old! A 4 year old who seems to be a great joy in our wee town. This girl had happy birthday songs and cards and flowers and balloons and "Happy Birthday" chalk drawings and gifts everywhere she went. It was amazing. She is loved by so many.

Her birthday night ended with a serenade by a professional guitar player and a whole restaurant full of people. What a lucky girl. She was beaming all day long, and I was too. I am one lucky mama to have such a wonderful wee person in my life.

I love you, baby girl. Happy birthday!

Learning the Leaves

We've been taking daily nature walks every morning before Sasa heads off to work. Yesterday morning we collected leaves from all different kinds of trees and vines. We also spent the day collecting berries to bring home and identify in our books that we recently got at the library.

I picked up a small drawing journal recently for her to keep throughout the year. I like the idea of having one each year, so when she's older she can look back at how she developed and changed. We started out doing leaf rubbings in this journal. We identified each leaf, wrote the tree it was from, and used our beeswax block crayons to rub over the leaf.

We ended up making lots of pretty prints. Some ended up hanging on the walls around our nature table and others were given to friends. Others stayed in her little book. She loves flipping through it and naming all the leaves.

It's a sweet thing to hear her excitedly point out grape vines growing amongst lilacs, and maple trees that "we will tap in the spring." She's learning so much, so quickly. It's an amazing thing to witness.

And we spent the afternoon out in the yard. Belina (our friendliest chicken) escaped to join us in our play. We ate smiley face toast and played hide and seek with Belina. There was jumping like a monkey and swinging high enough to reach the clothes on the line.

I was really looking at her while editing these pictures tonight and realized she has grown and matured so much in the last six months. It blows my mind!

This is the last day my baby will be three. It's amazing how time flies. It's amazing that only four years on this Earth can result in such a bright, capable, extraordinary being. She rocks my world. I couldn't be more blessed. And now I'm off to finish some birthday gifts that the birthday fairies will leave tomorrow. Happy Wednesday!

A Fall Morning Walk

We decided to take advantage of the cool morning and bundle up in our sweaters and hats. The balance bike is still getting a tremendous amount of use, even though she rides a "big girl bike" now. Purple Violet had to come, so mama rigged up a little baby seat in the front. It worked perfectly.

The little one was so happy about having a passenger. We ended up taking a nice long walk through town (on top of three others today) and ended it with a hot cocoa date with some friends. I can't tell you how excited she was about the whip cream. Mama is usually a tad careful about the sugar consumption. But it was quite a treat.

We spent the afternoon collecting acorns and chestnuts. The little one wants to make chestnut horses, but we need a few more before that. So we're keeping an eye on the tree next door, waiting for some to fall. Although we've talked about saving lots of chestnuts and acorns for the squirrels who need them for the winter.

We also got out some of our fall reads. I've updated the list to the side with some of our favorites. I think I've read "Woody, Hazel, and Little Pip" dozens of times these past few days. She just adores that book, and I do too. I  love how she is pulling all the Elsa Beskow books off the shelves these days. They are such gentle reads inspiring lots of imaginative play long after they've been read.

And, of course, our nature table needed a little lift! What are some fall reads you are loving? Also, I'm craving a good novel about farming. Any ideas? I just can't wait to get some goats (and bees!).

Happy almost Fall!!

Fall is Coming

It was another weekend of apple picking, sweater weather, applesauce making and apple pie baking. We took a stroll through a favorite orchard and picked up bags and bags of "drops." We get them for free and bring them home to make applesauce....jars and jars of sauce to be canned. The little one had her wee basket of apples she picked from the trees :: the "very special" ones.

We had company over on Saturday night and spent the evening in the brisk air, wrapped in sweaters, eating apple pie and staring up into the clear sky where the bright stars seemed to dance. It was a cozy evening.

The little one got out her winter jammies and we cuddled in bed together to stay warm. I woke up to a puppet show this morning. While drinking my tea I looked at her and thought, "she'll be four in four days." It's insane how quickly these little guys grow. They are amazing at it too.

For now we're shifting gears a bit, getting used to this colder weather. It's nice to slow down and feel the peace that fall brings after a busy summer. All I want to do is curl up on the couch with some knitting and tea. I just love that.

Happy almost fall! I hope your weekend was a fine one!

Flowers for Sale

There's a wee bit of changes going on with the exterior of our house. Some simple landscaping was one, but with it came the horrible news that our beloved hydrangea tree was much too big for the front and needed to be pulled out. The little one used it as a fort for many months and the bees and butterflies just adored it. It was a sad, sad morning when we had to see it go.

In honor of the beautiful tree, we decided to clip some blossoms from it and load up our wagon. We took them into town, tied them into bunches and set up on the sidewalk selling. Within an hour we were sold out and had some extra cash in our pockets.

The little one learned so much about selling, a wee bit about business (no sweetie, you can't just take all the money and buy stickers), and about dealing with customers. She had her "thank you for your business" and "enjoy your flowers!" down by the last 30 minutes. 

We can't wait to be spreading our Happy Eggs all over town again. Once we get those "blue egg chickens" laying, we'll be back walking through town with our wagon! (We still get inquiries about the eggs...) And it's nice to know that our beloved hydrangea will be adding some beauty to homes all over.

Happy Weekend!

Making

There has been lots of making going on here lately. Knitting, sewing, canning, cooking...it's all about creating. I love it. I got to thinking today how my personality seems to shift quite dramatically throughout the year. I am greatly affected by the moon's patterns, the seasons, and life around me. The seasonal change gets me every time. When I settle into fall (which is typically a good 3-4 weeks before fall is actually here...), I become more of a home body. I love being domestic. I love hanging laundry, cleaning up the dishes after lunch, and tending to the garden. It makes me feel so connected to myself. I also love to spend more time in the woods. The summer is all about the beach, but come fall I have a craving to get out into the woods and hike and explore. The little one seems to do this naturally too.

In addition to all these autumnal cravings, I also start creating more with my hands. I'm working on a secret present for the little one's birthday coming up next week (she'll be four...oh my!) and have settled into a nice rhythm of knitting after breakfast on the back porch, during quiet time after lunch, and after dinner with a glass of wine. I love it. I'm hooked on knitting and can't believe I only learned last winter. I was missing so much!

I've also gotten some sewing in lately. Two more pants for the little one and matching pants for Alex. I love, love, love this pattern I made up a couple of years ago. They are 3/4 length pants now, but will fit for a full three years and turn into shorts as she gets bigger. And Alex is pretty thrilled with his "new threads", as the little one likes to say.

And the skirts. Well, there's no denying that my girl loves layers. She definitely gets it from her mama. As it's getting cooler, she's adding more and more layers to her outfits. Undershirts, long-sleeved shirts, then a short-sleeved shirt over that. When she put on a pair of wide-legged jeans the other day, I thought she was all ready to go. But she quickly corrected me and said, "Mama...I haven't put my layer over my pants yet!" I tried to explain to her that teensy tiny skirts with shorts attached underneath were going to be very hard to put over wide leg jeans, but she managed somehow. We decided that morning to make a trip to my favorite little fabric shop to see Rhea-Rhea, and the little one got to pick out her own fabric for some skirts. So she did, then we came home and made them. They are long enough to fit for a few years. And they are much easier to put over jeans! Purple Violet got a skirt too, because I couldn't leave her out.

We've also been making pickles (14 jars of dill and confetti pickles) and pasta sauce for the winter. Yum! Between our jam, frozen berries, pickles, frozen zucchini, and pasta sauce, we are gearing up for a long winter ahead. I feel good about all the work we've done, both in the garden and in the kitchen. Next on the list is freezing some of the delicata squash we've been getting. Our kale and rainbow chard are still going strong and we're enjoying those daily. I can't wait until our winter lettuce comes up!

So...what are you making these days? Do you find that your intentions and attitude shift seasonally as well? I'd love to hear more about what you all think!

The Loot

My, oh my. We're due for a super storm tomorrow (hurricane Earl) and I decided to go out to the gardens to see what needed picking. Well, I found tons. And tons and tons. It was so much fun. The little one and I carried our big wooden bowl around and our basket to fill with tomatoes, delicata squash, cucumbers, and zucchini. It was like a treasure hunt!

Since the start of our garden, we've put in four more beds. They are growing beets, Asian greens, chard, kale, carrots, and some winter lettuce. Our garden is literally overflowing and it's so wonderful to see! Tomorrow we'll spend the day pickling and canning tomato sauce for the winter!

And we followed up our morning of gardening with wash day. So fun!

What did you do today?!