today is saturday, tomorrow is december

a cold & rainy day.

perfect fort-building weather.

i am hitting my RESET button today.

drinking a big green smoothie.

cleaning, decluttering.

decorating a little.

making lists.

getting my head together

before i begin december.

♥

it's time...

my maxi van has a cassette player.

i have this album recorded to a cassette tape.

it is our soundtrack for the next two months.

there's an app, too:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a-charlie-brown-christmas/id476508724

♥

it's officially cheese ball season!

happy cheese ball to you!

you can read my original post here.

here's how to make it,

although i don't measure anything:

cheese ball

mix together

1 lb. grated cheddar cheese

3/4 cup minced onion

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup chopped pecans

shape into a ball

then roll in more chopped pecans to coat.

serve with wheat thins & a glass of chardonnay.

and just like last year, i'm making

janet's white bistro chili enchiladas.

happy thanksgiving, everyone!

♥

treasury

through the woods

to grandmother's house

☼we go☼

♥

making things

delicious cabbage slaw

{an anti-aging recipe - here}

lego truck

{birthday legos}

♥

happy birthday, ned!

nine candles

on that purple monster cake

with banana horns & tiny angel wings

earlier, at the aquarium...

i think it's fun having back-to-back

birthdays with ned.

do you know that he missed my birthday by six minutes?

he was born at 12:06 am.

♥

i'm {almost} fifty years old

okay, so maybe i'm not quite 50,

but 43 is the closest i've ever been.

happy birthday to me.

♥

favorite shampoo & conditioner

i have been searching for

for natural shampoo & conditioner

that works for me as well as my kids.

this is it:

griffin remedy

restorative shampoo & restorative conditioner

the scent is a gentle citrus/lavender.

these are available in bulk at the boise co-op.

look for it at whole foods, too.

we really liked these as well:

giovanni

50:50 shampoo & smooth as silk conditioner

these are available in bulk at rosauer's.

what are you washing your hair with?

♥

surprise corn dogs & a giveaway winner

giveaway!

the odds were pretty tough at 1:8

the winner is...

my dear friend, emily.

i'll put your tiny calendar in the mail tomorrow, em!

♥

five things to do today:

1. read anastasia's post

☼right here☼

thank you, anastasia! this is so, so sweet!

2. enter my giveaway {it's closed}

☼right here☼

i will randomly choose a winner tomorrow.

3. listen to these 2 songs

☼here & here☼

one from laurie & one from martha.

4. bake some pumpkin bread

☼right here☼

this is so delicious toasted for breakfast.

5. make a green smoothie

☼right here☼

you know, to help balance out the pumpkin bread.

♥

homemade sweet potato dog chews

i read about these dog treats over at 17 apart.

apparently, there is a storebought version.

start with big, fat slices of sweet potato.

{though, i think mine are actually yams}

it's pretty funny that i just automatically tossed on some

olive oil & salt & pepper. those things are not necessary.

bake at about 200°for many, many hours.

ours ended up in various states of chewy -

some were soft & some were quite tough.

our dogs loved them.

we want to try
the other dog treat recipes at 17 apart:
apple treats & carrot/banana treats.
maybe we'll make some of our
peanut butter treats, as well.

♥

p.s. have you entered my giveaway?

i'm picking a winner on friday.

as long as you are not my mom or my aunt,

you can enter.

someone thinks it might be a good idea

if one ear stands up & one ear folds down

someone also thinks it might be a good idea,

despite getting swatted repeatedly,

to be as close to the cat as possible.

someone thinks it might be a good idea

to be best friends.

♥

p.s. someone thinks it might be a good idea
for you to enter my giveaway.
just go here and leave a comment to enter.
the only people who should not enter
are my mom and my aunt anna.
{you two are getting mini calendars anyway - shhhhh}

new babies

have a little look
at some one-day-old babies
and their beautiful mothers.
a project by london photographer jenny lewis,
one day young 

she wanted to catch
"this moment of intimacy in the home,
where the outside world
has not burst the bubble."

mother & baby names
are listed under each photo,
making it that much sweeter.

♥

-giveaway-

i love this mini calendar from

the paris print shop.

they didn't make them last year, so i was

happy to see them back in their shop.

it is tiny

-the size of a business card-

perfect for propping on a stack of books.

snappy mailer

tiny calendar

beautiful paris photographs

to enter,

just leave a comment below.

{the giveaway is closed}
{the winner is emily}

i will choose a winner on friday, the 22nd.

if i don't already know your email address,

please leave it with your comment.

good luck!

♥

friends

i just talked to my friend, laurie,

for hours.

i wrote about laurie

and her cloth produce bags a few years ago.

we are friends because of missy.

{laurie is standing, second from the left, wearing a light blue camisole}

{i am right in front of her, wearing a light pink camisole}

{believe it or not, our coordinating camisoles were purely unplanned}

over the phone, we laughed, we cried.

there is just so much there.

so many memories, so much love.

laurie told me that she still

had not shared her song for missy.

so, here it is...

it's a good one.

♥

p.s.

i'm helping laurie

get her etsy shop up & running again.

i have been using her produce bags

every day for four years

{missy gave them to me in 2009}

and they are as good as new.

i have several different types of produce bags,

but hers are the very best.

i'll let you know when they are back in stock.

cozy stuff

cuddle-muppet

adorable hinge-roof houses

{source}

they make me want to buy these

these scrumptious cookies

{i'm baking a batch now}

dreamy linens

{source}

tomorrow is the first saturday in

TEN WEEKS

that we don't have morning sports.

thank heaven.

♥

the best pizza & beer in the treasure valley

guido's basil pie with fresh tomatoes

sockeye dagger falls ipa

♥

from pain to pearl

that's the name of this painting

{source}

when i'm in pain,

i look for a silver lining.

some sweet to balance the bitter.

here are some notable etsy pearls

to give or to wear with intention

 {source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

♥

tabletop

hand-dyed linen from georgia

french yogurt cups from pam

book from amber

burlap from anastasia

thank you, sweet friends.

♥