spring: porch

The first thing we did to spruce up the porch was create this container (metal pot from IKEA). Just three simple perennials make the plain space look so much better. My favorite is the Creeping Jenny ...

film: take two

I have so much to learn it is overwhelming. Every time I look into the view finder I'm reminded of this.

But it's so much fun walking around waiting for the film to develop -- wondering if any came out. 

1. The first photo is my friend's kid -- Wyatt. He's the sweetest and I pretty much begged him to lick my face. His sisters wouldn't stand around long enough for a picture.

2. The second photo was taken during a walk downtown. There's always tons of broken glass on the Schuylkill Bridge so Josh has been throwing Sauce over his shoulder. Sauce is oddly comfortable with this.

3. Random downtown.

4. The fourth has nothing "right" about it -- terrible focus and light. But I love the way they look. Also, this is my favorite road.

dessert: chocolate cake

I used to be a really bad baker ... I couldn't even make chocolate chip cookies. I would just get so nervous about making a mistake -- which would cause me to forget a major ingredient (ie. sugar). Over the past year something started clicking with me... a few recipes came out well and I started to get some confidence.

Even in the worst-baker-ever phase, this Barefoot Contessa cake always came out so great. It will be the only chocolate cake recipe I ever use -- seriously, it's that good. And lucky for me, fool proof.

spring break

We had big plans for spring break.

Big design plans for our bedroom that didn't (even close) happen. We had set aside days to help our parents move and fun-time for the weekend, but the remaining three days were going to be spent on our bedroom.

Then progress reports happened and other teacher-paperwork ... and we spent the entire time in front of our computer screens. And the house was a mess with papers and lists and binders and pens and dog toys.

So, as usual, our room gets put on the back burner. We're going to try to tackle it in some small weekend projects: paint, molding, figure out a wardrobe system, install closet door, buy rug, and paint the hallway.

We've realized that having an organized and beautiful space is a must. It needs to be somewhere we can go to at the end of the day and feel at peace. So this is next -- I'm putting it out there to the universe so it has to get done.

terrarium

Josh had been wanting a terrarium forever -- so for his birthday I just went for it. The plants are from Terrain and the vessel is from Target.

Let's see how long we can keep it alive!

To make:

1. Layer the bottom of the vessel with rocks

2. Top the rocks with a good layer of charcoal

3. Next comes the soil

4. Plant the plants! Choose plants that require the same soil and moisture levels.

*We are still on the lookout for small animal figures! It's kind of a must... Preferably something creepy.