I have more photos to share from Japan – the details. There is cute everywhere – even on serious security messages at train stations there are cute characters. Don't get your arm caught in the train door or you will be a sad bunny. Kitten delivery truck. Also, notice how clean and tidy that street…

For the second part of our trip we went west to a city called Kanazawa and gosh I took a lot of photos. Our ride on the high speed train was peaceful with a surprising amount of mountain views. Kanazawa gave us a chance to see traditional Japanese architecture and garden design which I was…

Somewhere along the line travel has became our family's thing. We had not taken the girls to Asia (other than Bea and Brian's trip to a wedding in Singapore). So somehow Japan was decided on for spring break. Now I feel really grateful that I got to know Japan a little bit. What a unique…

Recently I've been soaking in any bit of warm weather and early signs of spring. Two bunches of daffodils from Trader Joe's – only six bucks! I've been doing some sewing – you can tell by looking at my slippers. I tried a new pattern – the Honey Dress from Merchant and Mills. I found…

A couple weeks ago Bea had a long weekend so she and Brian headed off to Costa Rica. Claire and I didn't feel up for the long flights over just a few days. Anyway from what I gather their first day was a bit frustrating because they had a struggle getting to a hiking area…

I'm always making things or thinking of making things. Here's what I've been doing lately. In my never ending quest to use up fabric scraps I've been working on a quilt. Using mostly 2 inch squares that I've been cutting up – along with bands of dark turquoise fabric. At first I thought I was…

She's 18 now! Here are some smiling (or mostly smiling) snapshots. You'll notice that she smiles most when she is standing next to a fish or traveling or sitting across from her father while traveling. Happy Birthday Bea! She requested a coffee flavored cake so I ended up making tirimisu – a Claire Saffitz recipe…

This is the Isola blouse from Liesl + Co. It has fun full sleeves that are gathered at the wrist and a ruffled neckline. Whenever I've made peasant shaped blouses in the past they never fit quite right but his one has princess seams and I love the fit. The fabric is a quilting weight…

I did some sewing over the weekend. I made a new pattern from Liesl + Co. called the Laureles Square Neck Dress. I'm a broken record when I talk about Liesl's patterns but they are so reliable and pleasant to sew. This one is a simple, casual dress with no fasteners and princess seams. I…

Brian and I went for a Sunday walk and we saw all the variations of brown.