warming up!

our poor staircase needed a major face lift, and i really wanted to take it from the cool clay color to a warm sunny yellow. on my second coat of paint i realized it just wasn't the right shade, and i mixed in a bit of stockamar red in and voila! warmed right up.

one of the many

...home improvement projects i have yet to share with you all here. this one was kind of a last minute one that we knew just had to be completed. we have always wanted to "extend" the pantry and kitchen in some way...think "wish we had a root cellar" meets "summer kitchen"...
i popped over to chase's daily to see old friends and pick up a favorite lil basil plant of mine. mudroom complete and all are merry!

{this momentt}

little one goes to art camp with mama!

with all the hustle and bustle of moving
and renovating that has been our summer so far
little bits, who has done wonderfully with all the transitions,
has been a trooper.
but finally, finally the other night i unpacked all her books and put them neatly on the shelves.
when she was a baby this used to be a kind of meditation for me, organizing books by kind, favorites, type, size...and finally here i was in our new (old) house organizing her books at the end of the day. i had some time to think back on the last 2 1/2 years and all the changes and growing our lil' family has done, and i felt so thankful....
as you can see from the above photos the little one was pretty thankful too. to finally have her room all set up and her beloved books ready for picking.
she spent the better part of the evening pulling out old favorites and new books too and reading out loud to herself.
such a sweet little whisper or a *reading voice*.
oh love that little voice.

OPEN HOUSE IS ALMOST HERE!

Join us Sunday July 31st
from 11:30 until 3:30
for an informational gathering and tour of our new space!
Yummy food and homemade popsicles on the house!
Special guests The Big Dipper String Band!

releasing the hens!

{photos by stella photography}

what if everything you needed was only 2 blocks away?

we used to say this about belfast, if only... and then we moved away- and woot woo while we were gone, pretty much EVERYTHING IS ONLY TWO BLOCKS AWAY now! that is to say some really exciting new businesses have cropped up here while we were away.
today i want to share with you my most favorite so far! my beloved got me a gift certificate to fiddlehead artisan supply right after we got here, but i hadn't had a chance to go myself. today on a break from painting i wandered in...
i actually stood without moving for about a minute staring a one wall that has everything you need for waldorf doll making and another with all the EXACT FELT I USE EVERYDAY in all my work and then some.
i really, finally felt like i was home. i know i've been home for about 2 1/2 weeks but i have been so busy -- today time stopped for a second and i remembered that i am currently living my dream: the dream where my beloved works at the waldorf school, and that means my little bits can go there too someday--the dream where i am starting my own school in MY community, the dream where i can craft and teach crafting to like minded people and even long lost friends, the dream where i can walk TWO blocks from my house and bring home everything i need.
this includes but is not limited to:
chase's produce and baked goods
yo' mama's fun and funky things for the house
bulk items or* let them eat cake* goodies from the coop
fancy handmade underwear from the new fancy handmade underwear store (true, all true!), city drawers
the list goes on and on and it is a love letter to the lil shops in belfast that make our town that much more special!
not to mentions the free things too like:
sea glass and smooth stones, shells and flowers- all right out my door.
oh to love the town you live in!

a few scenes from around the cottage, getting all ready for our morning glory garden playschool.
spent the other night dying some silks, and then when the results we not to my liking i overdyed them..and suddenly i was in love! hanging them over the deep brown curtain rods with acorn finials -- i just LOVE IT! perfect match of warm and breezy...

imbuing spaces}

{peach blossom}
i woke early over the weekend, i had a project that needed doing. despite family colds and lack of sleep...this one was at the top of the list. little bits slept in as she often does curled up next to papa and i centered myself for some peaceful painting, with a side of *strong arms*. it was a wonderful quiet time in all this busy-ness around us which is getting the house ready for playschool, ready for us to live in it, the yard work and the stress that has crept up on us in these past few weeks.
i didn't think of any of that, i washed it away with thoughtful brushstrokes. i thought only of the children who might come to my house to be looked after and to just be. it felt like sacred work, and a slice of secret time carved out in the early morning was just the thing i needed.
at the risk of sounding overly silly, it was a wonderful way to start out the next chapter, the one where we settle in, have some summer fun and look forward to the fall with much excitement!