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i will no longer be adding to this blog, i've created a new one called be & co.! please follow me there!
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Spreading Toy Joy!

A few weeks ago I discovered a fantastic blog and idea: The Toy Society. I shared it with my friend Emily and we decided to do a coordinated toy drop! What fun!
Emily dropped her adorable ladybug on a bench in front of a used book shop and I dropped mine on a sign for a restoration project of TrICA.

Above photo taken by Emily.

February: Boy Month

I just learned from my friend, Erika, the Inspired Mama that February is BOY month!

This interests me since I recently gave birth to my first son! Erika has links to other blogs celebrating BOY month, and this Flikr group: celebrate the boy. That prompted me to join Flikr so here is my page(there's nothing on it yet but check back!).

Hurray for BOYS!

watercolor

i haven't watercolored in quite some time but i decided to break out the brush yesterday. here are the results. 4 small paintings.
1. a representation of family.2. an apple tree.

3. tea and chocolate.

4. springtime! a butterfly and flowers.

a box of happiness

a few years ago i got a job at joann fabrics. i was excited, being that i am a crafty girl. unbeknownst to me, though, my life was about to be altered by a fabulous, one of a kind girl: emily.
we started work on the same day, january 23. we both support causes like veganism, environmentalism. we both love knitting and reading and writing. we're like, crafty-soul mates or something! it's awesome.
i moved away about a year or so after we met and we didn't stay in touch as well as either of us would have liked so we recently decided to swap packages. thus the box of happiness!
here are the goodies!
first, a simple, beautiful handmade card with two matching bookmarks for me and my daughter. including tags with our first initial on them.

i had a sock monkey once, when i was quite young. i think my mom made it. this is the cutest one i've seen! my daughter and i named her matilda. her soft scarf is to die for!!
what fabulous pink art on a recycled seven. its such an adorable thing!
emily's articles were certainly the height of each of these magazines! everything i've ever read that she's written has been enjoyable.
it's almost springtime!! small critters are sure to be found! meanwhile, the baby is using it for a purse.
ah, fun little things: beads, seeds and lipgloss. all indispensible items for a girl like me!
i am admittedly a yarnaholic. emily knows this and kindly contributed to my addiction with my favorite color: pink. oh, and black.
more with the pink. i can't wait to get my sewing machine area cleared out so i can make some little summery things for my child!

speaking of my child, emily made her a customized coloring book using some pictures of us and also some other cute little pages. it's tied with fabulous purple yarn. markers are now the baby's favorite. she colors everything. including her nails. 'sparkle polish' she says. i say good thing emily picked washable! art is so good for toddlers, i really think it helps their brains develop.

i remember getting packages when i was little from friends or relatives and it was always so fun! like little christmases all year. i think we, as people are so used to the instant-ness of our society, and all the technology that makes everything so much faster. to me it seems less full. less real? there's literally less substance.
i intend to write more real paper letters and send more real cardboard boxes this year and every year from now on. that's my new year's 'resolution'. haha.

friends who bring treats

today has been exciting so far! i've been cleaning up the clutter around my house and it's going well. i think i will get my new craft area set up today. i hope anyways.

two dear friends just dropped by for a few minutes and they brought freshly made hummus and almond roca made from scratch! i'm so thankful for my friends:)

i also just cooked some pasta i've been meaning to try. it's elbow shapes made from corn and quinoa. it's actually quite good. i like it better than whole wheat and what's nice is that it's still a whole grain.

lupercalia

lupercalia is the name of the pagan festival from which originates our overly commercialized holiday, valentine's day. i found a very informative and entertaining article on it from national geographic. american consumers spend a seriously ridiculous amount of money on trying to prove their love with cards, candy and other mass produced objects. think of all the starving people we could feed! now that would be something inspired by love!

pink tulips are my super favorite flower as noted in a previous blog. well, some appeared on my counter this evening and i felt compelled to post a pic. here they are! someone has improved greatly in the romantic department. ;) and, at least they will bloom many times and contribute to the air quality! hehe!

i also want to share a quote that was thought provoking to me:

he who knows nothing, loves nothing. he who can do nothing understands nothing. he who understands nothing is worthless. but he whounderstands aslo loves, notices, sees. ...the more knowledge is inherent in a thing, the greater the love. ...anyone who imagines that all fruits ripen at the same time as strawberries knows nothing about grapes. -paracelsus

happy 'day of love'! let us all cultivate some of the unconditional variety. <3