Harper in Hanoi

Here are the most recent photos of my niece Harper who lives in Hanoi. I can't tell you how much it kills me that I haven't met her yet, not even her Mother. sigh....
I hope that it will happen this year ~ hopefully this spring.

I just think it's amazing, I see so much in her, she favors my mother's side of the family.

And there she is riding in her rickshaw... I am simply tickled by the diversity of our family, I love it.
It makes me proud.









Her expressions in these just crack me up.
This one is such a Matt expression.

Here she is saying, Ok enough with the paparazzi....

My Worst Nightmare

has come true.
I am utterly dumbfounded.
I have to take my drivers license test again. Written and driving.
I looked at my drivers license and noticed that it has been expired for over a year. Great. Just great. I never got a notice in the mail? Jerry B., a co-worker of mine got his notice... I didn't get mine? What the?

What do I need? Marriage License, Social Security Card, Two proofs of residency (sheesh)
How long is the test? 25 questions, you gotta get 19 right
How long is the driving test? 10 minutes

I'm not gonna sit on it, I'm going to just go do it, I'm not gonna read the book, just go in and do it.
First thing tomorrow morning 8:30, yours truly will be standing outside the DMV in Bardane, WV waiting to be the first to be in to take her exams. Meanwhile, my husband and child will be waiting for me outside.

And I thought I left the DMV nightmare 20 years ago.

If you want to amuse yourself with the current Division of Motor Vehicles Driver Licensing Handbook, perhaps give yourself a refresher, you can view it here.

Wish me luck.

Taste Spotting is YUM

My boss recently suggested that I check out TasteSpotting.com. Now I highly recommend that you check it out. It's a place where you can go to see fabulous pictures of food with recipes that link you directly to their food blogs. Ironically, a lot of the blogs featured are ones that I go to to read about food and get recipes anyway. The pictures are great, like a taste-test of high-def polaroids.
If you want some inspiration on what to cook or bake, I suggest you go there.

So what have I been inspired to make this week?
Lentil, carrot, and kale soup with creme fraiche and dill.
(only because I happen to have the ingredients in my cubbard)

Going Dutch

If I were a millionare, I would live in a concrete modern home with big windows nessled within thick Juniper trees. An orange countertop in the kitchen (see picture below), lots of space, minimal Dansk furniture... something very Dwell -like. 
Today, I found this article in the New York Times and I almost fell back in my chair. I got excited, overwhelmed and then irritated.

This lady just screams "I'm Dutch"... I love it. I have Dutch blood and therefore dig and get excited about Dutchness. She is like the modern version of Vermeer's masterwork, The Milkmaid. ~Simply beautiful. In the article she talks of orange being her color. Damn her, that's my color too. Fortunately for her she was able to be a millionare to have her orange counter by age 40, she also is married to the architect, so I guess that helps.

But as I viewed the rooms of their 5,300 square foot concrete block, I didn't like what they did. Like I really love this fireplace, but the trendy wooden moose head? Blech. I would of gone with the real thing. Being married to an expert hunter, I would have to have the real thing. ha!

Anyway, if you're interested you can view the rest of the interior pictures here. I was disappointed in their choices of furniture... not what I would go with. I feel bad for the dreamy little boy on his semi-comfortable bit of chair. (seems like he has no other choices really, the poor guy). Looks a bit too minimal, kinda sad.

 

And so, my excitement dwindled after seeing the Modern Milkmaid pouring her tea on the lovely orange countertop. The excitement stopped there.

Love is in the Air

I've never been a real big fan of Valentines Day ~ I was the girl that never got anything, so from an early age I decided that I hated it and rebelled against the whole idea. It's another time to 'have to buy' or 'expect' something on another holiday, blah blah blah. Well, now that I have a lovely little family (hee-hee), I don't mind it so much. I still would never expect a gift from Brendan or anyone, no flowers, chocolate or card.... But I am warming up to the idea now of making and/or appreciating pretty things that are Valentines Day-related.
I have found some nice things while perusing my favorite sites and of course the Valentines Day theme kept coming up, and well, I liked some of it. I found myself saying... woah, I love that... awww, that is so sweet...
So here are the things that make me think that, the things that I love:

I love anything lemon. And these lemon bars look so freaking good.

I am on a tea-kick at the moment. This is such a good idea from Bird and Banner! (Amy if you see this, you should print some of these~ hmm, I could collaborate with you on this idea :) Oh and here is where we could get the cheesecloth drawstring bags from... ok, now my mind is whirling with ideas....



And I really love printmaking, something I haven't done in so long and I miss and appreciate it. Now I just gawk and sigh when I see great designs. Lovely Design is one of my favorite blogs, she makes pretty things. Here is her recent pattern she designed for the month of February.

And these salt & pepper hug shakers by Scott Henderson are so freaking cute.

Guess What? It's Still Snowing

As I write this, we are getting more snow. The weather people have predicted up to 20 more inches. It started today and will continue into tomorrow. It's like a snow-epidemic of snow-proportions, I'm snow-not-kidding.

Brendan is working again today. I'm home with Konrad (no babysitter)... and we are having a jolly time being inside again. Let's see, we watched Cinderella and I made pecan snow ball cookies. (I'm still using up those Georgia pecans!) We played a lot, cooked a lot and gawked at all the big trackers and snow trucks beep their way by our little house. I do think Norman has aged a little more and Konrad's teeth grew. But who snows, I mean, knows... it could be just me.

On Sunday Brendan fought a fire in Charles Town. A picture of him even made the front of the local newspaper which cracks us up. If you haven't seen it yet, you can see it here. The photo that they used is the third one down... that is Brendan crawling out of the window.

Brendan made a cute video of the big snow, here it is!

How High is the Snow Mama?

Three feet and risin'!

Ok, I am having flashbacks to 1983, when it snowed 3 feet...I was in third grade then and it was very memorable. We all knew we were past due for one of these storms! Finally it came this weekend.

We were well prepared for the perfect storm and hunkered down good. Brendan worked on Friday and I was surprised that he even made it home when he did. Got to love our trusty little VW!
So, what did we do? I Martha-ed-up in the kitchen, made a hearty winter beef stew and also tried out my new ice cream maker that my parents got me for my birthday ~ I made butter pecan, which was pretty darn good I have to admit.
We ventured out to the post office (which was closed), it was a beautiful walk. Everyone was on foot, walking with shovels and dogs, it was so nice. It was a very cozy and neighborly time.

Here are some pictures from our day...

and I hear we are getting more snow on Tuesday!

Couch Surfin'

We have been talking back and forth lately on buying a new couch. Our current one (from IKEA) is leather and very practical especially for having a kid in the house, but unfortunately the leather has worn thin and in many places has split open. I've also grown to not like leather couches, they're so cold and not-so-cozy. Carrot Top is such a tiny house isn't very practical for over-night guests, so we will have to get another couch and preferbly a sleeper sofa for guests of course :) But we'll need to find one that is small so it's not taking up 3/4 of our tiny living room. And has enough space underneath it that we can sweep up dog hair and reach random toys. The catcher is we will need to get the couch by next week when Aunt Anna comes to visit!!! YAY Anna!

So here are the ones we have been pondering over...

This one from Room & Board is my favorite, but of course it's not available for another 6 weeks.

And here is my second choice (from Design Within Reach), is available now but $450 more.... ha, I love it, but yeah right..

And the next two are so lovely, but we'd need a Crate & Barrel of money to afford them.

Ride-n-Style

I found this really clever bike decor...vintage upholstery and vinyl fabric made into bike seats and handlebar bags ... Made by Beatrice Holiday. Seeing this made me miss my bike really really bad!! I really dig the seat, not so much the handlebar bag.

That's My Boy

Here are more pictures (extras) that Miriam took of Konrad when she watched him the other week. They are so wonderful, I stare at them a good bit.

And here he is at the library. So adorable.

He was a big fan of the fish as you may of remembered.

And one of my all-time favorites...