hey, hey and happy friday!
loooooong week over here but i just wanted to pop up a little love and inspiration –
i'm having so much fun looking back through my 
old favs from childhood to show to to my little baby bear. 
thought i'd share with you, too. my all-time favorite two books...

• • • cranberry thanksgiving • • •






i just can't get enough of the illustration. 
the small hatching technique is so beautiful and just how i like it.
so delicate and magical.

 and

• • • thumbelina • • •






i mean, come on.
what little girl wouldn't love this book?
i would get lost in it and wish i was tiny every time i looked...

can't wait until lu loves them like i do.
xoxoxoxoxox



wow.
i am just blown away.
if you're interested in being totally inspired by a family – 
watch the crash reel...

i've been to the simon pearce mill near the quechee gorge 
on a trip a few years back and since then loved this man's style 
but nothing compares to how him and his wife raise their family and face adversity. 

warning: you will cry. 
but you will also come away feeling like anything is possible.

raising my own little family really brings all of this home 
and reminds me about what is really important.
your family (whatever that looks like) 
is what will be the best creation you can share with the world.
xoxoxoxoxo






pretty new logo i was hired to make 
for my lovely girlfriend and her new company – sweet dutchess!
(+ check out her facebook page here)

oh how wonderful it is to have a baker friend!
(although my jeans won't think so soon. yikes.)


{her blackberry curd cake, anyone? um yeah.}

so made her logo up in different ways so she can have it as 
labels on cake boxes, biz cards, web banners and even pretty invoices.
can't wait to see it in print!
xoxoxoxoxo
wheeeeeeeeeew!
i am so sorry for the long pause on posting.
other than my little Lu as a major excuse, 
i had a very unfortunate reason for not posting for the past month –
i left my beloved camera outside, overnight... in the rain.

ugh. i was heartbroken. 
i blamed it on my new found mommy brain, but it was no less painful. 
and i realized how much i absolutely NEED my camera! like, wow.
anyway, luckily nikon is radical and fixed it all up for me like new– so i'm back in action!

and since i'll be blending my creative and motherly methods into my new world of art-making i've decided to post about one of my newest creative outlets... making baby food!

yeah, yeah, making baby food sounds really fun, right?
booooo, says the crowd.
well, i'm having fun with it and if you're raising a wee one maybe you might be interested?

and if not, at least there are some healthy things
to make you wanna snack well or at least make a smoothie with the stuff below.

• • • how i make my little Lu's food in 10 easy steps • • •


{i've gathered in the photo above what Lu has been loving as of now}
although, i'm trying to now back away from the little poofs (seen in the top right) because i don't want to give her sugar until she's a little older. maybe after 1 year i'll reintroduce. 
(totally didn't read the ingredients until after she was enjoying them thoroughly – 
hmm i wonder why? who doesn't love sugar!? gah!)



so, get together your freshest veggies and fruit. for this session i used:
mango, pear, plum, and apricot plus sweet potato and squash. 
also there i have eggs to hard boil (i only serve the yolks) and oat bran for cereal. 
plus a turnip which i slice into large coins and let her gnaw on while i work...

 i start the oven, a large pot of boiling water and small pot for the eggs...


hard boil those home grown eggs!


roast the sweet potato and squash.


while the above are cooking and once the water is boiling 
i plop in the peeled & cut up mango and pear and add the plums 
and apricots so i can blanch off their skins...


after a bit you can scoop them out and pull off their skin 
and cut them up and plop them back in.
{i also add carrots and boil them until soft and let her eat them as finger food.}


also, i get out my oat bran and just add water to soak overnight.
(soaking overnight helps break down the cells and make for easy digestion!)


i like to do small servings every night so it's super fresh and not sitting in the fridge for days.
this is 2 tablespoons in about 3/4 cup of water.
{in the morning i pour off the soaking liquid and save it 
for adding to other cereals or in with fruit or veggies– since a lot of the good stuff is in the water!}


after the fruit has boiled for about 10 minutes 
i drain it and dump it into the ninja. 
you can use a regular blender but i highly recommend this bad boy 
because it blends everything super smooth and baby likes it that way.
(note: do what baby likes or pay the consequences.)

i do this again with the squash, sweet potato and add egg yolk – blend away!


then i portion it out in baggies and recycled food jars. 
(also you can see the juice there – i save and strain the boiled left over juice and use it in her cereals to add flavor and vitamins!)

and that's it. it's about a weeks food made all at once in about 2 hours!
i enjoy doing it and if you think you might – give it a whirl.

it's amazing to me how good it felt to make the food and see her eat it up with joy.
here's to doing what makes ya'll happy!


xoxoxoxoxox