Friday Favorite: Sipping Chocolat from Love Abounds

Two of my favorite things? Chocolate and hot beverages. So when Katherine at Love Abounds started carrying her sipping chocolat, I knew I had to try it. Every time I went to order, it was either out of stock or I was out of funds ... then last week a friend sent me a package of the mocha. I was in heaven! Rich and creamy, nothing like the little packets with the tiny hard marshmallows that my kids adore. I just ordered a single serve sampler pack - can't wait to get it! I am picturing the perfect end to a day next week - a mug of steaming sipping chocolat, a chocolate covered strawberry, snow falling outside my window, watching the newest episode of LOST :) Perfection!

We can now add a 3rd to my favorite things list ... Sipping Chocolat!

One Fish, Two Fish ...

A new design for a LoveScape - the ocean! Made to coordinate with the Underwater Dreams LoveScape Blanket. Lots of little fishies, jellies, crabs, a sea turtle, shark, etc. I have to say, the LoveScapes are one of my favorite things to make!

Together Tuesday - Mini Greenhouses

Can you feel it? The air is getting warmer - it was 50 degrees here in Connecticut yesterday! Have you noticed the days getting just a little longer? I am itching for spring - and hoping to have some sort of garden this year. My kids have been planting herb seeds for the past few days to grow on our windowsill.

If your little garden gnomes are like mine, they will be itching to start their gardens long before the weather is warm enough to start them outside. The solution? Mini make-shift greenhouses that take up no extra room in your house!

To make each mini greenhouse you will need soil, seeds, masking tape or packing tape, and a ziplock baggie. Fill the bottom of the baggie with soil (not too much or the greenhouse will be too heavy), plant a seed or 2, mist with a plant mister, tape the top portion of the baggie to a sunny window (be sure that the bag can still be opened and closed when you are taping the top, only tape the back of the bag to the window), and zip it closed. Beans are a great choice for this greenhouse, because they grow quickly and they will grow up and out of the bag very nicely. Your child will be able to watch as the seed sprouts, see the root system and the shoot and watch it grow quickly. You will be able to observe the water cycle as well … the wet soil causes condensation on the baggie which will “rain” down back onto the soil. If the soils starts to dry out, mist again with the plant mister. Once the plant starts bumping against the bag closure, unzip it and let the plant grow up and out of its greenhouse!

From Earth*School, Gnomes in the Garden
Copyright 2004-2010, Bonnie Elizabeth Vontz/Earth*School

Wrapped in bamboo!

Not me, but one day I will make myself one of these! First of the four 60"x60" organic bamboo velour blankets that I am finishing up this week. This is the first that I have done in this size with the satin trim. I usually only do the satin trim on the smaller blankets.

6

In four weeks, my baby will be turning 6. I laid in bed this morning with him pulling my hair in his sleep (he had a nightmare last night and climbed into my bed to go back to sleep) wondering how this happened. Where did 6 years go? When he was born, I never thought that he might be my last baby; I always wanted at least 4 children. Then I got divorced and everything was crazy and upside down ... and then he was no longer a baby. I wish I savored those moments more, just in case. Those moments of baby-ness - watching him sleep, his little fists curled up next to his face; those first baby smiles; the baby gazes into my eyes. If I am lucky enough to have another baby some day, I hope that I remember to enjoy all those moments, rather than let the craziness of life take over and get in the way. Babyhood is such a special time and it is over so quickly. In the blink of an eye, he is turning 6.

Together Tuesday - Snow painting

If you get a lot of snow where you are, chances are, by mid-January, everyone is, well, a little tired of it. Grab some squirt bottles, fill them with water and a little food coloring, and hit the backyard snowpile for an outdoor art project! Let your children loose with the squirt bottles, creating pictures, squiggles, letters, etc. in the snow. Create hopscotch boards, 4 square, goals for a game of snowball toss ... draw snowmen instead of rolling up snowballs. Then come inside and put some ice in your food processor/blender to "shave", scoop it into a bowl and squirt it with some fruit juice for an icy, snowy treat!

Together Tuesdays are back! Look for a fun way to spend time together with your children every Tuesday.