i like

hope you are all are doing great! the girls have off from school this week so i will be spending some quality time with them and won't be posting as much. above are some things that are making me happy.

image sources:

1. such beautiful artwork lined up so neatly. photo by jared fowler, styling/production by lucy feagins for the design files.

2. i like every piece from emerson fry's spring preview. cool and classic.

3. would love to make this cardboard mobile for the girls room. from little helsinki.

4. the texture and design of this rug have me swooning. found via style carrot's pin. handmade rug from mehraban rugs.

5. like the placement of this collection of silver jewelry from sophie buhai's home featured in refinery 29. photo by luke wooden.

6. the simplicity of the wrapping and font is soothing to my eyes. via lau de casalil's pin.

7. artwork by jan willem van welzenis found via karina bania's pin. karina has such a great eye and i love her blog, curate the day. 

8. olia lamar's stoneware platter .  you don't need to put anything on this tray. it makes a statement all on it's own.

valentine's day around the house

some images in our home that signify that valentine's day is around the corner.

blizzard and bonding

it's a funny thing. you brace yourself for the worst on a friday around noon. a new england blizzard named nemo. high winds. lots of snow and ice. and indeed electricty is taken away. but, some good things come to. like no distractions. internet i'm talking to you. no dishes to wash because there is no hot water. just a family of four cuddling on the couch to stay warm. bundled together in love. i could do this no electricity thing more often. 

as a side note- the girls tried canned sardines and actually liked them. what?!? we had cashew butter on crackers with honey for dinner on saturday night. our no electricity meal. and then we pulled out the sardines to see if they would go for it. and they did. i was shocked. kids are funny. they are so picky about some things and then they pull a move like this and they surprise you. 

p.s. here's the yogurt banana muffin recipe we used on friday before we lost power. 

this weekend

when the parents are sick, the kids will paint. on paper. and on their bodies. this is how  most painting projects end at our house. full on war paint.

moroccan chicken with couscous

tumeric is what gives this dish a yellowy orange hue. so pretty in the middle of winter. this is a recipe in which you combine all the ingredients in a dutch oven and let it simmer. your kitchen smells fabulous from all the spices and you get to enjoy it in less than 45 minutes. this is a family favorite. and if you are a vegetarian you could surely omit the chicken and get your protein from the chick peas. the recipe is from martha stewart. bon appetit.

watercolor painting with brushes found in nature

it was cold outside this weekend. both josh and i had a head cold that we were trying to fight off. and the kid's were craving some creative fun. so we bundled them up and then sent them outside to play (in a fenced in yard of course). 

some may say this is bad parenting. pawning them off to find their own fun in nature. but it proved to be beneficial. they actually had a ball (looking out the window i saw a lot of smiling and heard singing going on). they collected some evergreen branches and dried black-eyed susan buds. when they came inside they conjured the idea to paint with them. so we pulled out the watercolor paint and went to town. josh even joined in because the textures, the colors, and the girls' giggling were way too tempting.