Something Pretty, Something Smart

How is it Friday already??
I'm stunned. And also happy. Friday nights are Family Nights here at the ranch, and I have some tricks up my sleeve... 


So, without any more ado, here's this week's picks, because every week should contain:

Something Pretty,

Something Smart,

Something to Do,

and A bit of Art.

... and maybe one or two things Just for Fun. 

Something Pretty:


## i really love paintings done over text. something about the dual forms of art coexisting so beautifully.... 
and these ones from Coco de Paris are a perfect example of how that's done. 

Something Smart:


## watch this wowwing video of the milky way.


The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

## Check this post from Black Eiffel for inspiration to read more classics. (and then spend some time walking through the rest of the blog.. its tip top) love the visuals.

Something to Do:


## loving these DIY Rope Bracelets from Honestly WTF, via Poppytalk. Aren't they the nifty-est! 

## and could someone please bring me one of these Five Minute Chocolate Mug Cakes... pleeeeeaaaaseeee!!??

can that be for real? five minutes? ... seems too good to be true.


A Bit of Art:


## Hop over and read this super-cute and sweet Book called Extraordinary by Sarah Mensinga. 

## and how about this art made out of STAPLES!! Yes, thank you. 

 

Just for Fun: 


## i'm not sure if i should thank my friend Tina, or shoot her for sending me here. Awkward family photos. i'm not even remotely kidding when i confess to you that i spent way too many minutes convulsed with laughter ... i nearly gave myself a concussion, when - in one badly timed convulsion - i hit my head on the corner of the desk... you might want to consider grabbing a helmet before you open the link... don't say i didn't warn you. 

you know you just real-life laughed. :)

Frolicking Ferrets,

-shawnacy

Family Dinners

So. We're still without a functional camera. (*snarl) 
But, as with so many things we can't do anything about, it looks like I'm just going to have to suck it up and make the most of what I have at hand.


And I've been intending to do this post for a while anyway.






Today's topic: Family Dinners.

which, at our house are actually something more like this:

As you may have gathered from reading one or two posts, we have quite a large family. Large and kind of insanely busy. But we do the very best we can to make dinner time a family event. I sometimes wonder if it's really all that important (especially when they race through their food and ask to be excused about 14 seconds after I'm finally able to sit down...), but time and time again, I've heard from them that dinner time is the best part of their day. And so... I keep it up. Even on those days when all I have time to do is re-heat some leftovers and slap a jug of milk on the table. 


Here are some of the tricks I've crammed up my sleeve to make it both manageable and fun:


## 1. Thoughtful Preparation. 
This does not by any means imply that every meal has to be a Thanksgiving kind of spread, complete with soup course and cut-glass bowls of olives. However, I have learned that a small amount of preparation goes a LONG way. I have made a habit (by sheer force of necessity) of planning out menus a week in advance. I write down the weekly meals on a cute little chalkboard thingy we have hanging in the kitchen, and keep to it... loosely. Switching tuesdays meal to saturday if it's a better fit, or if I'm simply NOT in the mood to roast a duck. (<--- something I have yet to try)

image

(this one is much cuter and fancier than ours) Mostly, it's for my benefit, to remind me WHY in the great big world I bought three packages of frozen spinach, and not one can of tomato sauce. 
Along with the menu preparation, I also have the kids help set the table, and if time allows, create some kind of fun centerpiece. It's hilarious sometimes, the things with which they choose to 'decorate' our table.


## 2. I usually have some topics of conversation picked out.

We run the orbit of the table first, always, to find out everyone's 'high point' of the day (I honestly never cease to be shocked at how often the kids say that 'right now' is the brightest part of their day), but I've found that, sometimes after that, if there isn't some kind of stimulating conversation to ground us all, things can easily crumble into 

'stop kicking me!' 

'I'm not!'

'yes you are, I can FEEL IT!'

... and etc. ad infinitum. 

so. to avoid such algonquin round-table fare, I usually have some kind of conversation game ready at hand. Sometimes we play round-robin story, where one person starts telling a tale, and then breaks off in the middle and the next person takes up the thread. Or any of those alphabet games that start, 'i'm going on a camping trip and i'm taking with me...' 
Lately, though, we've been on a pirate joke kick. This game started with the eye-rollingly pun-ful joke, 'Did you hear about the new pirate movie?... it's rated Arrrr.' (admit it, you just giggled a little.. and THEN rolled your eyes) But this game is super easy for little kids. They just think of any word that contains the phoneme 'ar' in it, and build their own joke around it. 
some good ones from our family this past week have been: 
'what is a pirate's favorite body part? ... his ARRRm'
and, from the slightly older kids: 'what is a pirate's favorite civil war cemetary? ... ARRlington.' 
It's good silly fun, and at least a few rungs above the endless bickering. 
There are tons of products out there that you can buy - like this table topics game - or make - here are some great ideas from rex and regina - to liven up (or maybe just focus) your dinnertime discussions. 

##3. Manners.
I am attempting to instill some primitive kind of politeness in my children. Using silverware, sitting rather than standing at the table, once in a while employing a napkin... to this end, we do a few different things to encourage rudimentary manners. First, those who have managed to get through dinner with a modicum of decency will receive a manners marble (which I talked about a little bit HERE). 

Sometimes, though the thought of a little blue marble just isn't enough to motivate. These are the days we pull out the pennies. I give each person at the table 5 pennies at the beginning of dinner. When they catch someone talking with their mouth full or eating with their fingers, the offender has to pony up one of his or her pennies, giving it to the one who caught them. At the end of dinner, they get to keep however many pennies they have remaining. 


## 4. And lastly, sometimes you gotta break the rules.
Dinner can't always be a thing of white napkins and polite observations about the weather (or pirates...) 
So every once in a while I'll mix it up, and throw everyone a crazy kind of curveball. Like the other day when we played this great little camp game. 
We have 7 people around our table, so I chose seven kitchen utensils - I mean the weird ones, no 'big spoon' business. We had the beaters from the mixer, a whisk, a garlic press, and a lemon squeezer among others. 
I laid out each utensil in the center of the table and had a set of dice ready to go. Each kid got a roll, and whatever number he landed on, that was the utensil he had to use to eat his dinner. (i got the leftover. It was a pair of BBQ tongs.)
It was a mess, and a hoot, and nobody's manners were going to win any awards, but it was a fun, memorable night. And sometimes, I think that's even more important. 




What about you? How do you survive dinnertime?
Whatever your solution, make family time something special tonight.

Violas and Veggies,

-shawnacy

Easter Ideas

Easter is fast approaching, and there are SO many cute ideas floating around this year. Wanted to get a few up early to give you time to try them out. I'll have to restrain myself to only 3 or 4, if I ever want to get anything else done... 


And a quick 'hi' to all the newcomers. We're glad to have you here at the ranch! (which, on a side note, has nothing to do with an actual ranch. we have no horses, no chickens ((though that might be cool))... narry a goat. We don't even live in a ranch-style house. We do, however, enjoy ranch dressing, if that counts.) Glad to have you aboard!


Now for the good stuff: 




## The always inspiring poppytalk has a quick tutorial on surprisingly easy-to-make easter egg fortune cookie thingies. I can't wait to try this!

## Need a perfect easter outfit for your little one? (it's sick how much we love dressing them up, isn't it...) check out the adorable vintage kids clothes at 3 ring circus.

or these from kid wonder.

## Or Make a Cute Skirt of your own with this easy tutorial from Made. I have some great fabric just waiting to be cute matching skirts for the girlys.  

## And who wouldn't love a pretty chocolate treat in their basket? Try out this Colorful Easter Chocolate Bark how-to from World Eats, via Li'l Magoolie. 

those look sooo yummy.

## Make these Easter Egg Hunt Bags with The Purl Bee (and then follow her, because her blog is loveliness)

## Make a Marshmallow Peep Softie with Dandelions and Lace 

## Grab the kids and whip up some of these Easy Yarn Easter Eggs from El Hada de Papel. (check out some of her other crafts too, the Myatrushka doll painted rocks are so cute!)

## Or for another kid-friendly craft, try A construction paper bird's nest from We Know Stuff

## And Lastly, Embroidered Easter Eggs!!?? What!?  It's for real and it's crazy! Head over to Needle and Thread to oogle. My mind is already working out the sickeningly cute possibilities. 

may your day be fabulous, and punctured by at least five moments of unexpected delight... and cookies. 

lemon drops and lemurs,

-shawnacy

Friday Finds

Happy Friday (and happy foolish fun day, as well!) 


Sooo, I'm too excited to show you the finds for this week to engage in any lame small talk. Here goes:




I HAVE to share some of the gorgeous and fun creations of Tuckoo and Moo Cow!
Such as... the Killer Bunny Necklace!

And this adorable hedgehog... and SO MANY MORE! Seriously, check these out. I am completely smitten with every single one. 

or check out this lovely brooch from Kiamichi7

alright, enough jewels. 

Tale a moment to fall in love with Kusmi Teas. They are one of my favorite brands, organic and delicious. 

And pop over here to watch focused sunlight melt rock. For reals. 

Lastly, I love this idea for a vertical pallet garden from life on the balcony. I happen to have two perfect pallets in the backyard that would be perfect for this project. Expect to see this coming ... eventually. 

and now, we're off to go hiking (it's finally SUNNY!!!) and then home for an awesome April Fool's dinner! 

Have a great one, folks,

-shawnacy

april fools food ideas

So.... tomorrow is April fool's day. Another fun holiday to exploit here at the ranch. (Muahaha) 


I remember when i was about five or so, my mom helped me concoct this amazing plan (It was amazing to a 5 year old. Trust me.) to 'fool' my dad at dinner time. If you were born a million years ago, as i was, you'll probably remember this commercial for imperial butter:

It was the bee's knees to a kindergartner. So. I spent all day making my dad an awe-inspiring crown, and the BIG PLAN was to jump behind him and put it on his head when he buttered his roll. The joke went off without a hitch. And thus began my love of playing (harmless, fun - because the other kind are just mean) pranks. 


(This whole paragraph is going to be in parentheses because I think some of the things I am about to mention might qualify as being mean... also, because if I mention anyone's real name, something bad might happen to me tomorrow....  ahem. That being said, there's this delightful and sweet older lady at the church where I grew up who ((I only found this out later)) LOVES April Fool's Day. She goes FAR out of her way to prank people. And not just her family. Even people she only kind of knows. They NEVER suspect her. And she ((I am convinced)) sits at home and giggles to herself... perhaps while watching the pranks unfold on state-of-the-art surveillance equipment cleverly hidden in a china hutch. She has been known to deliver cookies baked with cups of cayenne pepper, to switch the sugar and salt dispensers at the table, to cellophane the toilet seats... the list is long and inventive. Her husband long ago discovered 'urgent business' that always seemed to take him away from home on the first of April. Needless to say, she is a dear friend and true inspiration. :) 


so, if you're thinking that pranks are dumb and immature... well, you're right. But done in the right spirit, they can also be Super FUN! And one of many ways to spice up your family's day-to-day. Here are some great April Fool's Recipes to try out.


april fool's dirt salad from The Polka-Dot Umbrella.

Kibble Candy (can you imagine your kid's faces when you serve them some of this for snack?!)

and THIS POST from Family Fun has SO MANY ideas for Food-pranks. Such as: 

Faux Fish Sticks

Chicken Not-Pie

and Mock Sushi

or try This Family's April Fools Table Game

Whatever you do, don't let tomorrow go by un-funned. Be silly with your kids, and don't forget to act surprised (you might want to practice your AHH! face in the mirror tonight) when the little ones spring a prank or two on you! 

makin'stuff

this has been one of those weeks. in the middle of one of those months. 
one of the ones where there is JUST. TOO. MUCH. of everything. and nowhere near enough of the stuff you need in order to balance out all the rest of it. 


my solution?


make stuff. 


usually, i'd write, but since, at the moment, that's technically 'work' my brain tells me to shut that off and go cut and glue and sew and 'knid' and draw. 


so here's a little peek at what i've been doing when i'm putting off doing all the other stuff.




Repurposed Leg Warmers for Baby. 


i have had this blue turtleneck that i liked for the color and the softness, but HATED PAST THE POINT OF REASON for the turtleneck. i hate wearing turtlenecks. i feel like i'm being slowly asphyxiated all day long. sometimes i have trouble swallowing. or smiling. it's weird. but there you have it. turtlenecks are not for me. 


so, in a fit of frustration the other night, i decided to cut the turtleneck off and see how the shirt worked without it. 


it worked fine. :) 


i was about to toss the loathsome neck-piece into the trash with relish, when the crafty part of me whispered... why don't you make something out of that?


that whisper is hard to resist. 


so i've been wanting to make some leg warmers for Naomi for a while. "it's been a long, cold, lonely winter" as the song goes, and Namoi's poor little legs are chilly when she wears skirts or dresses. 


that ugly neck was destined to be cute legwarmers. 


so i cut the circle, so it formed a rectangle, and then cut the rectangle down the center, giving me two longer rectangles. (i wasn't sure how it would turn out, so i didn't take any pics of that part...)


but when i saw those two empty rectangles, i thought what a perfect opportunity this would be to jump into the lovely world of embroidery. 


not that i had any embroidery floss. or a proper needle. or a hoop... 
but it was just for practice anyway...


so i took out a sharpie and drew a little owl on one rectangle, and a teacup on the other. 


i'm not sure why owls and teacups should go together. but it seemed right at the time. 


the knit material was really thin and stretchy and hard to keep straight. 


this was how things looked at that point. 

also.. did i mention i don't have a sewing machine yet? well, it's coming, hopefully soon. but the lack of machine meant hand stitching the wrong sides together. 

i'm not the world's worst hand-stitcher... but i could be her understudy. 

this is how they looked after i'd stitched them up.

and because i like crocheting a whole lot more than i like hand-hemming, i decided these needed some crochet lace trim to finish off the bottoms. 

so i blanket stitched around the edges with the yarn, and connected the trim to the blanket stitch.

this is the ... 'finished' product. 

and here they are on the kiddo.

sorry for the horrible pics but it was a wiggly morning. she kept pulling them on and off and calling them her 'sockie-pants'

:)

they reach all the way up to her undies when they're pulled up, or can scrunch agreeably to any other size. i'll probably end up taking them in a little, as they tend to slip down after a while. she was asleep when i was making them, so i had to guesstimate on the size. 

but all in all, not a terrible project. probably a number of things i'd do differently for next time (like, use the right materials for the embroidery, have a sewing machine and measurements... etc) but for a throw-it-together-on-the-spur-of-the-moment project... well, Namo's legs are warm and cozy, so... mission... decently done. 

and because i got bitten by the embroidery bug, i decided to repurpose an old crib sheet that wasn't being used into some handkerchiefs for the kiddos. 

and homemade handkerchiefs just scream out to be embroidered. 

the first one i did, ... i used regular worsted weight yarn that i pulled apart to make a thinner string. it didn't work well. the threads kept ... just disintegrating. 

this was the first one, for Max. (he was the most keen on having his own hanky) 

still no sewing machine, so the edges are all unfinished. i was going to run around them with some pinking shears, but then i remembered, i don't have any of those either... grrr... i need a serious trip to the craft store. STAT!

i made annika's in the same way. she wanted a little kitty in the corner. 

and then i said, forget this, and sprang for a few bundles of embroidery floss, and a real needle. 

an owl and an octopus followed the cat.

and lastly, a little pink monkey, commissioned by Naomi. this one's not quite finished yet. 

oh, and i've been making these. 

56 delicious chocolate bomb cupcakes for Max's birthday tomorrow. they'll get decorated in the morning. 

these aren't shop-worthy, but the embroidery practice has been good, and so far the kids are pleased to get the results of my practicing. (especially with the cupcakes!)

what about you? 

what are you working on?

how do you drown your frustrations?

what new skill are you learning?