weekend in the city, part 2

We started off day 2 in the city with a trip down to Thompkins Square Park for Finn to burn off some steam. I really love visiting all the kiddie parks in the city; they are so unique and beautifully set in the middle of green spaces. Thompkins Sq is no exception.

Along one side of Thompkins Square Park, we stumbled on a farmer's market full of fresh, local goods. Some delicious goat's milk soap and fresh-pressed raspberry-apple juice made their way into my bag.

A delicious brunch with Paul's family at Life Cafe, one of our favorite NYC spots, filled our tummies before a bit of shopping.

Purl Soho was at the top of my (very short) shopping list. I couldn't wait to see their new location with both yarn and fabric in the same space now. A feast for the eyes, for sure!

Finn diligently helped me pick out some vehicle fabrics for a project for him.

While I perused the yarn, he played on the stoop outside the shop which resulted in a very filthy little boy.

After cleaning Finn up, we left him napping at the hotel with Paul's sister, and we decided to head back out to the Strand Bookstore, always on our must-shop list.

As usual the Strand did not disappoint.

Following Finn's nap and dinner, we headed up to the Top of the Rock to see a view of the city at sundown.

By the end of that excursion, Finn was tuckered out. He had quite the day of sightseeing, shopping and eating delicious foods.

What a weekend! Thanks to Paul's family and friends for a wonderful time. :)

weekend in the city

We made a quick jaunt up to NYC for this holiday weekend. Finn doesn't remember coming here before (he was 9 months the last time) so it's been an all new experience for him.

He's completely mesmerized with all the taxicabs he sees everywhere. Isn't it always about the transportation with him?

We stumbled on a street fair earlier this morning, which was a huge hit. There's something festive about blocked off streets and all those tents full of goodies.

We ventured up a few blocks to Grand Central Station.

Then caught the subway to the toy shop Finn was eager to visit.

Toy shop might have been an understatement. Enchanted houses some of the most beautiful toys in all of NYC, in my humble opinion. They have a wonderful collection of wood, wool, and other natural toys.

We saw many toys that already grace our home, and a few to add to our collection. A fun trip to the toy shop, indeed!

After Finn's nap, we headed over to Columbus Circle where Finn was impressed with some of the statues.

We played at one of the amazing playgrounds in Central Park.

And climbed enormous rocks outside the playground.

We also met up with some of Paul's college friends who he reconnected with over Facebook that now live near the city (including Jodi, who sent us this wonderful gift back in January).

I had such a fun time meeting all the people who knew Paul "back when". We truly had a wonderful time hanging out with them this afternoon.

Then it was back to the hotel for dinner and bed. What a fun day in the city! We're very excited to see what tomorrow has in store for us.

Happy weekending!

{this moment} - with the fishes

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. See Soulemama to play along.

{Paulie's practice swim meet}

WIP Wednesday

It occurred to me mid-way through this morning that I'd let Wednesday sneak up on me this week with no WIP post. Maybe that's because almost every post I've shared over the last week has contained some sort of crafty thing I'm working on. Right now, I'm working on several different things at once, which seems to be the way things have gone for the last month.

At the top of my list is the Beach Blanket To Go from Soulemama's Handmade Home. I'm using mostly not repurposed fabrics, but I truly love all the fabrics in the top part of the blanket so I'm ok with that. I had 2 fabrics in my stash from the Storybook line at Superbuzzy that I found on sale last year. To those, I added a few Michael Miller kid-friendly fabrics and I really like how the combination turned out. So much that I only used 8 fabrics instead of the 10 called for in the book, and I added 4 inches to the width of each one.

I did find a thick, vintage thrifted sheet to use for backing, which isn't as heavy as the bedspread Soulemama recommends, but I think it will work nicely. I'm hoping this project will be finished soon since we'll be headed to the beach in just under a month.

Next, I've been working on some knitted squares for the Blanket Of Love project, in honor of Kelly, for her young son, Ari. I chose 2 very specific patterns for my squares. The first, from the spring edition of Living Crafts, is the mitered square. I really like the way the outer color envelopes the inner color in a hug, just like a mother's arms.

The second is a square, which desperately needs blocking, based on the All Over Eyelets pattern from Lace and Eyelets. The eyelets don't stand out very much, but I liked using eyelets to represent Ari's mother watching over him. I chose the rainbow as a symbol of hope.

Lastly, Finn has another pair of pj bottoms. More beloved cars, of course! These were made from a yard of inexpensive cotton knit I found on etsy. I think I'll end up with 2 pairs of shorts and a pair of pants all for $5 shipped. Can't beat that!

How Mother Duck Got Her Eggs

"I'm bored." Those dreaded words that no parent wants to hear when they are up to their eyeballs in a task of their own. But I do want my kids to feel the grasp of boredom occasionally, because without it, they might not become the creative people they could be. (You can read a fantastic article on Mothering.com about this very topic.) On Sunday, when most of the members of the family were otherwise engaged, Paulie and Elizabeth uttered this very phrase...more than once actually. Knowing they sometimes need a little push, I showed them a few pictures from Childhood Magic, and they immediately raced out to the garage looking for the perfect cardboard box, as I knew they would.

The result of boredom, on Sunday at least, was this:

How Mother Duck Got Her Eggs

Once upon a time there was a little island in the middle of a pond. There was a mother duck who lived on the island in the pond.

She had 3 eggs which she was trying to hatch in her little nest.

One day while she was sitting on her eggs waiting for them to hatch, a gnome riding a snail came along. The gnome said, "Are you waiting for your eggs to hatch?" The mother duck told him, "yes." The gnome told her that someone would come help her hatch her eggs.

A few hours later, an old lady came by and she was holding a plant. The old lady said, "Here. Take this plant. It will help your eggs hatch." The mother duck said, "Thank you!" She put the plant on her eggs and sat down again.

The next day, 2 of her eggs hatched. The third one rotted and rolled away. The mother duck said "hello, little babies!" And then she kicked her nest into the water. She would build a new one after the swimming lessons were over. Then she waded into the water and started teaching her ducklings to swim.

The End.

Credits:

1 wooden duck

2 wooden ducklings

1 wooden tree

1 felted nest with 3 wooden eggs

1 wooden gnome riding on a snail

1 wooden sprite

6 dvd cases

1 plastic lid from blank cds

1 flashlight

2 sharpies (for what, I'm not sure)

**story and shadow-puppetry by Paulie

**set design and decoration by Elizabeth

Thank you boredom for coming to visit. We truly enjoyed your inspiration.

::right now::

::nature table updates::

::favorite babysitter home from college::

::blackberries starting to appear::

::bedroom haunted house::

::including a head on a table::

::reading in the driveway::

::piecing a beach blanket::

What are you doing right now?

oh strawberries, how do I love thee!

Let me count the ways...

I love thee in flats straight from the market.

I love thee washed up and sparkling clean.

I love thee in freezer bags waiting for smoothies.

I love thee in quarts,

and pints,

and half-pints.

I love thee on bread with my Saturday dinner.

But best of all, I love thee in strawberry pie!

Our locavore meal today was at dinner since I was still up to my elbows in crushed strawberries at lunch. We ate tomato, mozzerella and basil salad (with basil from our backyard pots) and the first corn I've seen at the farmer's market, although it was brought up from SC, a little more than 100 miles away. The Challah bread was locally made from locally ground grains since I knew that baking bread would be too much of a stretch in a kitchen bursting with strawberries this morning.