From the first grey of morning . . .

From the first grey of morning until after the sun is well set, we have been busy. I feel like I am speeding through water only coming up for a breath at each last minute. 

Between regular work, daily everything, planning, building, directing, deciding, on occasion failing but quickly mending . . . I won't go on, but holy umbrellas, I've never been part of such a BIG project. 

We move out . . .

And in as of Sunday . . . 

And the toilet is not yet installed. 

Tomorrow is the word, but I'll pee in it once I see it. 

Scrubbing and scrubbing and painting and oh my gosh, I love this. 

 I built my first gate with a wheel and a side entrance all by my self. I love wood, it feels as satisfying as good run on the sewing machine but the end results can be so much larger . . .

I will continue to post pictures of the progress, but it might be a bit scattered due to so little time to leisure. Best Wishes to all of you ~ Marica

Giveaway!!! Something lovely . . .

As a special Mothers Day treat I am hosting a giveaway from this lovely shop Bori Dolls.  Borbala, the creator of Bori Dolls, is offering a yoga doll to the winner of this giveaway. . .

    

I also wanted to show some of my other favorites from this shop . . . 

I highly recommend browsing her work, it is beautiful!!!

         

Anyway, to enter please leave a comment on this post. 

The winner will be randomly chosen Sunday at sundown. 

                                                        Best Wishes and Happy Mothers Day ~ Marica

And the Winner Is Tea Photography!!!!

Please contact me by May 16th 2011 to receive a custom made yoga doll

by Bori Dolls. 

Still Busy and Tortilla Soup

Well busy hasn't wained yet . . . several more weeks before the sea calms is my expectation. I have barely been in my kitchen and I almost forgot I like to cook. Dishes keep piling in the sink and they are not even my second or third priority. . . I don't actually know where they fall. But here is just a tad of real dinner and my almost five-year-old cantaloupe helper . . .

Last minute tortilla soup . . . 

Tortilla Soup

Roughly what I did: Saute in olive oil: 1 onion, 2 large carrots, 2 stalks celery. Add: 1 can kidney beans, 1 can corn, 2 cans tomato paste or 1 large can of tomatoes, 4 cups water. Simmer 15-20 minutes then add tortilla chips. Salt and pepper to taste.

                    ~ Marica

Sooo Busy . . .

I have been so ridiculously busy over the last couple of weeks there has hardly been time to breath. I am flying between current house and house to be . . . making decision after decision . . . which is something exhilarating and tricky all at the same time. . . 

I love this. This is the largest art project I have ever put my hands into.  I am shaping and creating something so complex . . . my only frustration is that I can't do it all myself. I don't have enough know how or straight up physical strength, but heck, I sure have enough ideas.

                                                                                                   ~Marica

P.S. Pictures of the work to come soon . . .

Easter . . .

Well a few weeks ago I had big Easter plans . . . sweet fabric to make a dress for my daughter, wool for making needle felted rabbits, a brand new cookie cutter to make bunny shaped chocolates . . . the list may even go on, but alas, this last week has been a scurrying hurrying ball of new house fun/work and none of those things happened . . .  we only just barely scrapped together time to dye eggs . . .

 Last minute I resigned myself to bought bunnies and pastel wrapped Hershey kisses. I felt a mixed vigor of diapointment and odd enjoyment at how catalogue the table looked . . .

Today however I dove into Easter cooking and produced a very lovely brunch . . . With hot-cross-buns . . .

 And chocolate vanilla striped cake. . .

I made modeling chocolate for sculpting the bunnies, something I had never done before, but have been aching to try after watching way too many episodes of Cake Boss. 

The bunnies came out remotely acceptable, but I feel a few more tries are in order. . . 

The buns however were heavenly . . .

                             ~Marica

I'll come running . . . By Mr. Brian Eno

This has to be one of my all time favorite songs. It always makes me think of when I was pregnant with my first baby, and over the buttons of my cheesy denim jumper (one of my only ever pieces of actual maternity clothes) I would bend to try to reach my shoes. I don't even remember if I actually ever got help, but I have an image of being by our apartment door saying ~ I can't reach, will you help me tie my shoes. At this point, whether or not it happened is beside the point . . . only to say this song fills me with that first pregnancy and honestly, I think it is one of the sweetest songs ever.

                ~Marica

Plastic Bottle Houses . . .

I just saw this thing about building houses with plastic bottles. What an amazing idea!!! 

I am all into houses and building right now. I am looking up websites about painting, sinks, tubs, floors, property lines . . . you name it, I probably looked it up. I didn't however look up how to build houses with plastic bottles. When I saw a post about it however, it was right up my alley. Anyway, I thought it was something well worth passing along. Amazing website about building houses with plastic bottles!!!

                                                                                          Best wishes ~ Marica