got milk

I have a real affection for my local organic dairy. In fact, we have a lovely relationship. I bring empty glass bottles and I leave with full ones, along with delicious yogurt and fresh eggs. Swoon.

birds in the bedroom

I'm finally getting around to sprucing up and organizing our bedroom a mere ten months after moving in. The bed now has a cozy new duvet, a handy bulletin board hangs over the desk, we can see the tops of the dressers (look, so clean!), and lovely birds now help cover the big bare wall.

Enter Exhibit A: our 'london frame' got a paint job and new fabric.

I love *love* this bird fabric from Ikea and can think of a million uses for it. Staring at it each morning and night will make me one happy camper.

I am liking a lot of the Ikea fabrics these days -- mountain scenes and doors, in particular.

summer bean salad

Whenever I see beans in a salad, I fear that they've been drowned in vinegar, like all of the poor beans in three-bean salads everywhere. You know the salad I'm talking about? It's been on American picnic tables for decades. The one made with canned green beans, canned wax beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, raw onion, and usually raw green pepper, all soaked in vinegar and sugar. Need I say, its appeal is lost on me.

This, however, is just a very simple, very summer, bean salad. Vinegar not included.

summer bean salad

serves 4

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half

a handful of fresh dill, roughly chopped

juice from 1/2 lemon

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

olive oil

In serving bowl, stir together the beans, tomatoes, and dill. In small bowl, whisk togthether a couple swigs of olive oil and the lemon juice (and come to think of it, 1/2 teas of dijon mustard would've been good whisked in as well.) Season with salt and pepper, and adjust lemon juice/olive oil to taste. Pour dressing over bean mixture and stir. Enjoy on the patio with a glass of iced tea.

talented ladies

I've been adding a few blogs to the side bar -- sites I find myself wandering back to in order to get inspired to make something, or to be reminded to slow down and appreciate the beauty of the everyday.

buttons magee: A lovely web journal. She's got mad photo skills.

design sponge: Eye candy, diy ideas, and other odds and ends of "home and product design."

made: This mama definitely has more hours in the day than the rest of us! So many fantastic free tutorials and also patterns for sale.

noodlehead: Tutorials and other craftiness.

prudent baby: Lots of craft ideas for home and family (not just babies!)

trula kids: The description of why she blogs is awesome: "In this space I disconnect and pretend I've got all the time in the world to make clothes, take pictures and admire the little details of everyday life." You said it, sista. I love playing pretend too.

tea postcards

I'm a tea drinker -- orange pekoe or earl gray in the mornings, pure peppermint in the evenings.

For the record, all of the above just taste better while on vacation...

log cabin play mat

We've been without internet for several days. Annoying. But look what I got done! A play mat.

It feels like ages ago since I finished this quilt top. Probably because, well, it's been over two years. I swear the gravity is stronger in the box for half-finished projects than anywhere else in the house.

I used two layers of high-loft batting and a fuzzy fleece back so it's extra cozy on hardwood.

This play mat's days, however, are numbered -- the babe is on the move and she doesn't stay on anything we put her on for long. C'est la vie.

new little duds

Did you see this already? Meg of Elsie Marley had a kids clothes week challenge recently. There's lots of great inspiration and tutorials for outfitting the babes and kids in your life.

A few projects caught my eye -- the 90 minute shirt, adorable tea towel pants, and a smocket (via Mayfly.) Oh, and this itty bitty baby dress.

And this isn't something that a kid can wear exactly, but check out the how-to for a neck pillow softie. Brilliant!

salmon chowder

What's the weather like where you are? We've been dripping with rain for what feels like weeks. So even though it's almost June, we're still in soup, stew, and chowder mode around here.

I threw a bunch of stuff in the pot the other night and it turned out pretty tasty, so I thought I'd share...

salmon chowder

serves 3-4

1/4 onion, finely diced

extra virgin olive oil

2 celery stalks, diced

2 red potatoes, diced

2 cobs sweet corn, kernels removed

1 213g (7.5oz) can wild Alaskan pink salmon, broken up with a fork

2 C milk

1 - 1 1/4 C water

handful of fresh dill, roughly chopped

a little bit (1-2 Tbs) fresh chives, finely chopped

salt and fresh pepper to taste

In large pot, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion until soft. Add celery, potatoes, a bit of salt, and saute a few more minutes. Add corn and water. (The water will not cover all the veggies.) Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and turn down heat to low. Simmer until potatoes are done, stirring every so often to keep any potatoes from sticking to the bottom (about 15 mins.) Add salmon and milk and bring back to simmer. Turn off heat, stir in fresh herbs, season to taste, and serve.

kitchen towelettes

I had one of those 'duh' moments the other day. Why do I buy paper towels? I could make my own!

And so, a metre of 50:50 cotton/linen ended up as more than a dozen small towels. I've been happily grabbing them whenever I need a quick wipe, each time thinking, why didn't I do this before?

I won't say 'epiphany' because that's, of course, way too strong of a word for something involving paper towels. But seriously, why can't simple ideas for improvement hit you before you've spent years doing things one way, all the while wasting resources and money?

Well, anyway, I probably won't go so far as to use my cute kitchen towelettes on raw meat, but I can't imagine needing to buy paper towels hardly at all any more -- and that's good news for forests and landfills. Bonus.

birthday gifts

My friend Kim has a 10:10:10 rule for her birthday gifts. It should take ten minutes to put together, cost less than ten dollars, and be used within ten months.

She doesn't abide by the guidelines for her gifts to others, mind you -- her creative gifts must take her hours, if not days, and definitely set her back more than $10 bucks. But I like the idea: simple gifts that don't end up taking space, but still say 'I love you, Happy Birthday.'

If I were to revise her rule though, I think I'd end up changing all the clauses so they couldn't be taken literally. I'd get rid of the 10 dollar clause, because I think it could indirectly encourage the buying of cheap crap, when someone could make it or buy a quality version for a bit more dough. I'd drop the 'minimal time to make' clause, because many of the best gifts I've ever given or gotten have been labours of love. And I'd add a caveat on a gift's lifetime to allow for homemade goods, because so many of those are meant to be enjoyed and loved for a long time.

I guess my only guideline would be 'make it yourself or buy handmade!' And I'd hope that someone wouldn't use too many of their resources to give me something that just sits on a shelf for years.

Who knew I could rattle on so much about presents! Without further ado, I'll show you the birthday gift for my mother-in-law: fine wrapping papers and two homemade tags for each.