Summer Salads

Check out this article in the New York Times. 101 Simple Salad Recipe's for your summer veggies and greens. The possibilities are endless !

The Tee Pee's

Chloe's school has an annual Art Night celebration & auction, it took place in May. Each classroom works to make a auction item and this year the kids were studying the art and life of Georgia O'Keeffe. So, we thought it would be cool to make a tee pee and have the kids paint their version of an O'Keeffe flower. We gave them some different silk flowers as inspiration and laid out the tee pee fabric flat on the floor for the kids to work on. I love their work !



The tee pee construction turned out to be more work than I thought, and with most big projects I take on, there is usually some mistake I make that puts me in a panic, but thankfully, in the end turns out to be much better than I could ever imagine. I used this tutorial. I wanted to save some money on the fabric, so I bought pre-made painters cotton drop cloth from Home Depot. I thought the finished measurements met the required one's that the tutorial called for, but after I cut it, it turned up really short on the bottom and very uneven. So I had to wing it on piecing together extra fabric to add all around the bottom, after it was all painted. With the help of some other Mom's in the class we pulled it off, and it turned out really cute. There is a little girl out there right now who's Mommy purchased the tee pee and I am sure she is having a ball in it.



I had extra fabric left, so I made another one for Miss Olivia, & The Circle of Friends preschool. It was our parting gift to the school, Blake graduated and starts Kindergarten in September. We have been with Olivia for 6 years between Chloe & Blake. On this one, we put the tee pee together and let the kids paint on it standing up, it went much quicker and we let the kids paint whatever their hearts desired. It turned out just as sweet.




Now, if I can just pull another one off, Chloe & Blake could have their own. I will add it to the summer project list !

The Blog Slacker is Back!

Alright, I know I have been neglecting this space for way to long. Instead I have spent quite a bit of time outside in the dirt, cultivating & growing as much food as I possibly can. If I am not in my garden then I have been in someone else's. I have to say, I would rather be away from the computer than on it, dirt or clay under my finger tips is much more satisfying then keyboard induced carpal tunnel.

I have however, been taking lots of photo's so I will attempt to catch up in my next posts. For now, I will share with you some of my favorite images that have come from my newest I-photo application that I am loving these days, thanks to my friend Emil who turned me onto it. Its called Shake It Photo, it simulates the polaroid experience I can't believe how well it takes pictures and how beautiful the colors are. If you have an i-phone its a must have app !

What's been growing at my house...

Beets



Green Onions





A salad every night



Green Beans




Our first cucumber



The Beach






The Del Mar Fair









Alan's newest growth... love it



The ultimate kid summer pastime, The Lemonade Stand





Alright then, back outside, hope your summer is great !