.happy with less.

beautiful

useful

minimal

.happy with less.

come have a closer look

.here.

♥

:: pippa today ::

she seems stronger and more alert

her babies are getting really big 

she is so special to me

♥

an inspiration

have a little look

at what my amazing friend, nicole, is up to.

nicole is the healthiest kid on the block,

{i know this because we both lived on the same little street, villa way}

and was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

on may 15th,

just 26 days after her mastectomy, 

she began her bike ride from arcata

to the marin cancer institute

for her first chemotherapy treatment.

three hundred and twenty miles, ya'll.

6 days of pedaling.

with her super sweet husband, garrett,

and two precious kiddos {ages 2 & 5}
following in their VW bus.

as a testament to the amazing community

that is arcata, on the day of her departure,

she had dozens of friends

delivering jars of fresh juice
and broth for her ride.

many even rode part-way with her
as she pedaled out of town.

nicole is raising awareness and money

for 2 amazing organizations,

if you are inclined to make a donation:

the center for integrative health and wellness

and

the humboldt community breast health project

with her massive bike ride behind her,
she is setting a new goal 
of pedaling at least one mile every day
through her chemo and radiation treatments,
scheduled to be completed december 1, 2012.

i have known nicole & garrett for many years.

the loveliest folks you could ever hope to meet.

{they own a handmade organic ice cream shop: the arcata scoop}

please visit nicole's blog,
:: kicking my cancer ::

{i'm adding it to my sidebar}

and send her all the love & support

you can muster.

♥

vegan lettuce wraps {from the pioneer woman}

this recipe

is outrageously easy

and outrageously delicious. 

{and i think it's also gluten-free}

here's the gist:

pan-fry crumbled tofu with fresh corn

season with chili powder & tamari

add a little balsamic vinegar

serve on romaine lettuce leaves with avocado

{we squeezed a lime over the top, which i recommend}

it's our new favorite thing.

i am making this again today, because tofu

is traditionally served on memorial day.

{wait, isn't it?}

go check out the recipe

☼here☼

♥

p.s. having a little trouble with the links.
if the page doesn't load the first time, hit reload.

arrows for emphasis

i created something little.

really little.

did you see it at the bottom of yesterday's post?
it's just a little way to get my point across.

i have been using it when leave a comment

for something i love, like an etsy treasury.

here it is:

◄-l-o-v-e-►

do you ◄-l-o-v-e-► it?

it's a double-pointed-arrow-love-shish-kabob.

here's how you do it:

Alt + 17 = ◄

then, -l-o-v-e-

Alt + 16 = ►

you could also make one like this:

←l-o-v-e→

Alt + 27 = ←

Alt + 26 = →

more arrows?

Alt + 23 = ↨

Alt + 24 = ↑

Alt + 25 = ↓

Alt + 29 = ↔

♥

art-paper-scissors :: t-shirt fringe necklace

head over to everythingeagle.com,

for a project that will remind you of summer camp

:: t-shirt fringe necklace ::

does it seem that i'm obsessed with

using t-shirt fabric?

maybe it's because it is

so soft and forgiving and practically free.

no need to run out to the craft store.

{i'm not a fan of the craft store}

use what you've got!

turn your old t-shirts

into something fun & beautiful

☼right here☼

bonus:
try beading with strips of t-shirt fabric.
i made a ring, a bracelet, and a necklace.

♥

p.s.
today i'm wearing both necklaces layered together.
◄-l-o-v-e-►

:: earthly delights csa - week 2 ::

:: our share this week ::

forellenschüss lettuce
red oak leaf lettuce
mizuna
red giant west indian mustard greens
hakurei turnips
easter egg radishes
pac choi
lamb's quarters
sungold tomato plant
spring onion
green garlic

///////////////////////


please head over to northwest food news to read
:: love letter to a csa member ::
written by our ever-amazing farmer,
♥ casey o'leary ♥

here's an excerpt:

"Small scale farming is, if nothing else, a labor of love, and it’s love of food, above all, that joins us together in our seasonal adventure. Sure, there are other loves, other civic duties and economic responsibilities fulfilled by our unique arrangement with each other, and they shouldn’t be underestimated. Through your purchase of a CSA share, you become the banker, replacing the often predatory, impersonal cycle many farmers find themselves chained to in order to buy seeds, soil, and other farm necessities in the spring, long after their last paycheck from the previous season’s crops. You loan us money so we can plant our gardens year after year, rewarding your investment with a bounty of food."

be inspired
☼right here☼
{there's even a picture of me & marian}

♥

◄-superhero-►

today is

superhero day

at eagle middle school

{marian is wearing costume bits from halloween 2000,

when she was superbaby, emily was supergirl, i was supermom}

{superbaby}

who's your favorite superhero?

♥

pip & co.

the male next to her is her mild-mannered mate.

he does a mediocre job of running off the riff-raff.

do you see them swarming and heckling,

edging closer and closer to her sweet family?

she is getting ready to set them straight...

she does not mince words.

then, very gracefully unruffling her feathers.

i love her so.

♥

:: field day ::

like, real fun.

♥

ease my worried mind

tonight, my kids had 

eggs & toast for dinner at 9pm.

tonight was the last time

that we'll have baseball on a school night.

i'm extra glad.

so, how 'bout a video of

marcus miller, david sandborn, & eric clapton

with a really special version of layla?

hope you like it.

'night, now.

♥

now, there's no excuse

because you can buy a hammock

at the grocery store.

yes, we bought one.

and for eight bucks, it's a pretty good deal.

a little narrow, but still very hammock-y.

♥

p.s. thinking of buying an extra one to turn into pillows.

art-paper-scissors :: black & white drawing with colored tissue paper

today at everythingeagle.com,

i have a very open-ended art project.

it is a spin-off of another one

i did recently with ned's class.

{that post is coming next week}

black & white drawing

with colored tissue paper

this project will give kids a new way

to think about adding color to their work.

come check it out

☼right here☼

♥

:: earthly delights csa - week 1 ::

the farm season has begun!

we are so fortunate to be csa members
of earthly delights farm in boise.

csa stands for community supported agriculture.
if you click the csa link above, you can scroll down to
see a picture of me & ned & marian from a couple years ago,
and also sign up to receive the earthly delights email newsletter.

this will be our 4th year as members.

we pay for our share before the season starts

and it buys us 18 weeks of amazing

locally grown organic food.

casey is our farmer.

we love her very much.


casey runs the farm with several interns.
learn what it means to be an intern
and read about their experiences here.


:: our share this week ::

spinach
red giant west indian mustard greens
drunken woman frizzy headed lettuce
{and, no, i'm not making that up}
arugula
baby turnips {my favorite!}
french breakfast radishes
green garlic
brassica bouquet
spring onions
rhubarb
chives


thank you, casey!
thank you, brave interns!


►◄ ►◄ ►◄ ►◄ ►◄ ►◄


i made the most amazing salad,
adding roasted asparagus,
pan seared cauliflower,
cubed fancy cheeses,
and a fried egg.

►click here◄
for my very favorite salad dressing recipe.


♥

extraordinary

although i have known pip for her entire 2 years

and have come to expect this behavior,

it never fails to amaze me.

today was extra, extra sweet.

she was asleep with her babies

way across the pond.

hard to see, but she is just above the rocks, slightly left of center.

she's sleeping with her head tucked under her wing.

her babies are in a pile almost squarely in the center.

pippa! ............pippa!

still asleep.

c'mon, pippa!

then, she stretched her legs and wings,

stepped into the water,

and swam her babies over to my shore.

yes, my heart leaps out of my chest

every. single. time.

hello, pippa!

hello, babies!

she eats the whole corn i bring,

then settles down next to me.

her ducklings eat the same baby food

{chick starter} i fed pip as a baby.

she's teaching them to forage,

i'm just giving them a little nutritional bump.

the ducklings eat, drink, swim,

eat, drink, swim, and so on.

my sweet girl rests next to me

when i look at this photo, my eyes tear up.

she is extraordinary.

some duck

i want to spell in spider webs above her.

and her sweet babies...

i love them so much.

♥

~extra special thanks~

thank you,

mary, matt, and molly,

for keeping watch over pip & her pipsqueaks,

and feeding them breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

i know you love them as much as i do.

milestone

look what my 2000 chrysler voyager did today

i half expected confetti to fly out of the vents.

{instead, i think my a/c downgraded itself from really cold to sorta cool}

♥

p.s. and, yes, i have been driving this car since 2000.

that's TWELVE YEARS!

eagle magazine feature

i'm in this month's eagle magazine!

in this inspiring article

let's pretend that they included

these photos of me & my kids

who would ever have guessed

that i'd be in a magazine

with a rodeo picture on the cover?

you can read the online version

☼right here☼

{then turn to page 16}

i have always felt that being featured

in a magazine just isn't complete without

meatloaf and olivia newton-john

being mentioned somewhere in the magazine

{page 77}

thank you to two ambers:

to amber daley

for including me in your beautiful article,

to amber lawless

for suggesting me as someone worth including.

♥