We picked strawberries this week. We took a friend of Claire’s and it was a drippy hot day. It seems less common for people around my town to go picking strawberries or blueberries or anything like that. So it’s happened a few times now that I’ve taken a little friend of Bea or Claire and it…

Is there any moment happier than when you walk out of school and you have your whole summer ahead of you. Ahh, to be a kid. For this happiest moment I made the happiest cookies. The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen and I completely copied her when I took the photo below. A jar of…

We are just a few short days away from the end of the school year. Claire will finish kindergarten and Bea will finish third grade. I think often of how my days will very soon be different because Claire will be in school for a full day.  The girls seem particularly happy lately. They are…

Oh what a perfect Memorial Day weekend! We had Beautiful weather, we watched our town’s little parade and we went to the pool. I was feeling patriotic, appropriately, on Memorial Day and I wanted to do some painting. I remember seeing Barn quilts all around Tillamook, Oregon a couple summers ago. I love that they are…

I’ve finally finished our bedroom painting project. No more nightmares from this strange lady peering at us you from all around the room. I did want to preserve the interesting wallpaper so I had a bit of it framed. I researched the wallpaper company and found it was a popular company in the 50s and 60s and it was…

I love the May Apples that come up between our house and the neighbor’s house. You have to get under them to see the flowers.  In other news – I am getting close to being done with my bedroom painting project. Can’t wait to get the room put back together and make my bed and…

Over the weekend we went to The Grove. It’s a nature and history center in the city of Glenview – not too far from our house. We intended to mostly go for a picnic and a walk in the woods, but then we discovered their cool log interpretive center (log building, not interpreting logs). Somehow we missed…

It’s the time of year that smells so good. I’ve been breathing deeply every time I pass these lily of the valley flowers on my window sill. It’s also the time of year to start eating outside and going for after dinner walks. For me, this year, it’s a dusty time of year. I’m still working…

The previous owners of our house just passed along these photos.  They were taken in 1940 – I love seeing them. A couple interior shots – this is the room that we use as our TV room now. And here’s a little look at our living room through the ages. Interesting to see that the blue…