Adorably Green

Hand-made and crafted of wool felt--doesn't get much cuter than this! Click here for more info.

Nesting

I've been fantasizing about wearing this necklace for over a year.

(I love Sudlow's jewelry--can't you tell?)

It reminds me of our Little Mockingbird,

which would make the kids smile.

Do I need it?

Absolutely not.

Nope.

photo credit: Etsy

Pests welcome!

Attention all cabbage loopers, army worms, webworms, diamond back moths, grasshoppers, slugs, aphids, fungal gnats, and all other damaging insects! Available vacancy at The Fox Den Garden; dining accommodations included.

I don't know which got here first (us or them), but anything chewing up our garden will either be food for praying mantises and ladybugs, or disposed of organically. Also, my 4-year old son, Rigel, likes adding new caterpillars to his bug jar...he's got quite the collection of cabbage worms and loopers.

When I think about it, nearly each and every plant in our vegetable garden was selected by myself or the kids for its enticing seed packet, then nurtured, obsessed over and observed every day since. We deserve to be a bit overprotective, right?

In other words, bring it on, bugs and worms.

Exception: Monarch caterpillars. Ever since our milkweed has bloomed, we've been keeping an eye out for those tiny monarch caterpillar eggs found hidden on the bottom of of the leaves. We finally found a few this morning! Last year we raised about 15 monarchs from caterpillar to butterfly outside our kid's window, and it was fascinating.

Adult caterpillars left behind only the stems of each plant--I had to buy more milkweed just to accommodate their voracious appetite!

This year we'll just be observers

(and hope we planted enough milkweed).
The best part of the project was releasing the butterflies...after their wings dried out (and after Mommy put down the camera).

I tried not to pay attention to the lovely black swallowtail butterfly that was laying eggs in our carrot greens this month, but of course--our carrot bed has now become a swallowtail butterfly habitat. I've counted 2 caterpillars, so far.

P.S. check out this charming Monarch butterfly on Etsy... it's handmade wool felt and can be a pin or a hair clip. I'm trying hard not to buy it, but I don't know how long that's going to last.

photo of felt butterfly credit: Etsy

Sweet Peas

I am loving our sweet peas, especially our 'High Scent' variety, which smells divine. I thought gardenia was my favorite floral fragrance, but these intoxicating blooms have won me over. I'm definitely smitten with these creamy, lavender-tinged blossoms--wish I could bottle up their scent and wear it. Sweet Pea 'High Scent' (Lathyrus odoratus) seed packets are available here.

Another favorite sweet pea is the pink-and-purple-clad one (above right)--not the blossoms, but my baby girl! She's peeking through our flower tee pee while I'm admiring our 'Perfume Delight' variety sweet peas... lovely fragrance and colors, but 'High Scent' still takes the cake.

Speaking of sweet peas, I'm also loving my hand-made pea pod necklace... one pea for each of my kiddos. Choose pendants with one to seven peas in a variety of colors from Rachel Sudlow.

jewelry photo credit: Etsy

Mommy Daughter Aprons

These reversible aprons have pockets on both sides, adjustable straps, adorable patterns (including organic fabric selections), and are available in Mommy as well as Tot sizes. An optional "Mommy apron" doubles as a nursing cover. Pretty darn cute. Created by a mother, these aprons are available from amusemebaby.com.

photo from amusemebaby

Crack open this Mother's Day gift!

"Crack open these ceramic eggs to reveal organic soil and ready-to-sprout seeds for wild strawberry, mint and petunia—a fitting surprise to discover inside the symbol of life. After they set down roots, the trio can be replanted outdoors, biodegradable shell and all."

Rather than the conventional Mother's Day flowers, I got my mom these Egglings, in spirit of her new baby chickens (all 5 of them!)... Mom's got 2 yellow chicks, 1 black chick, and 2 brown chicks that lay blue eggs. I don't remember the official names of the breeds she selected, but they sure are cute!

Love these toys...

The best toys are the ones that are in someone else's hands, room, toybox, etc., or those that have been stored away long enough to have been forgotten. At least, that seems to be the case with my kids, who had a blast today at Maz and Ava's house. Playdates at another family's house means Mom gets to test new toys out for upcoming birthdays and holidays. Here's some of the toys we love at Maz and Ava's house:

This portable fort (called a fortamajig) is the equivalent to a set of huge fabric blocks: you can build and rebuild forts of all shapes and sizes in just about any space

These magnetic shapes are great for all aspiring engineers and architects--check out Maziar's impressive design!

TAG is a great toy company, with lots of hands-on educational wood toys. Pull the lever on the number toy below, and the pegs roll out the bottom (like a register, almost). The rainbow gear puzzle is re-arrangeable and stack-able, with a removable lever that turns all the gears on the puzzle.

We didn't get to test this one out at Maz and Ava's house, but it looks fun: kids can trace each letter with its attached moving knob thing-y.

photo credits: TAG, Magna-Tiles, & The Happy Kid Company

Naturally Convenient

Currently, I dispose of all my kitchen scraps in a covered ceramic bowl, but this bamboo compost pail looks a lot more convenient. It comes with charcoal filters to eliminate odors, and there is an inner liner that is removable and dishwasher-safe.

P.S. Bamboo is a sustainable resource (and can grow up to 4 feet per day!)

photo courtesy of amazon.com

Laundry List

photo credit: positively feminine

Being that I'm a stay-at-home-mom, it would seem that I have tons of time on my hands and should be ready and willing to take on all domestic responsibilities. BUT....if I could take one thing off my daily "To Do" list, it would be laundry. It's time consuming and never ending, and maybe if the clocks were turned back to the fifties and clotheslines were still relied upon (and if we had a sprawling lawn with lots of trees like the above sunshine-y picture), laundry wouldn't be so bad. Or, maybe I'm just a tad lazy and should face the facts: laundry is the bane of my existence and it is not going to go away!

Now, of course there are more worldly concerns than this mommy's laundry woes: our weak economy... water shortages... global warming... BUT, lets just say I could spoil myself every now and then... here's what I would do (hint, hint): hire this local home laundry service to pick up our family's laundry any time I felt a break was in order, or if, say, Mother's Day was approaching. Said service picks up your laundry, inspects each individual garment for stains, cleans it with Eco-friendly detergents and softeners, professionally folds it, then delivers it all to your door step within 24 hours of pick up (click here for pricing, which is pretty good, if you ask me). So, doesn't it make sense for all interested parties to unite and support our local businesses, conserve water (sort of), and go green by hiring this local home laundry service?

Rigel and Iz are keeping an eye on our "strawberry patch"; they know exactly where our first two baby green strawberries are ripening. Therefore, how could this cute little pouch necklace not catch my eye?

The wings are a pouch, and the doll is a removable caterpillar... too cute.

doll necklace photos from Etsy

Get a Can-O-Worms

I am loving our worm farm. Stumbled upon at the Mission Hills nursery, this contraption can hold up to 20,000 worms. Nutrient-rich "worm tea" pours out a spigot at the bottom after filtering through 3 levels of worm castings. It's a neat-and-clean-hands-free method of worm farming. Old paper, kitchen scraps and coffee grinds get recycled into "vermicompost" by redworms (similar to earthworms). The sole purpose of these worms is to eat, poop, and reproduce whilst compost and worm tea is harvested from this container. I dispose of my vegetable and fruit scraps into a covered ceramic pot on my kitchen counter, which I dump into the Can-O-Worms at the end of each day. Some people keep this worm farm inside (yuck!)--in their kitchens (double yuck!)--but our worms are doing just fine outside, thank you.

Cute.

My kids have developed a fascination for fairies. The presence of this moss terrarium in our house would induce endless stories and discussion on the fairies that live in our garden. I love how innocently gullible kids are at this age; we grown-ups can spin tales of Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and so on-- all to the delight of our little ones' imaginations. For partly selfish reasons, I say lets encourage this sense of wonder in our children for as long as possible. As it is, life passes us by fast enough.

terrarium habitat and photos found on Etsy

Cold Feet

Now that it finally feels like winter, the hardwood floors throughout our house make for icy feet in the mornings and evenings. Slippers don't stay on my kids' feet for long, but these cozy moccasin-style socks outlast many laps around the bedrooms and kitchen. (Plus, there are a lot of different colors and patterns to choose from.)

photo credit: http://www.nowali.com/default.asp

I dream of libraries...

I've always loved my grandmother's (I know I mention her a lot) floor-to-ceiling library in her dining room...One of these days, I'd love to have a wall lined with bookshelves, complete with shelves protruding out from over and around door frames and such. Space is limited for us right now, so why not wall paper? Though we could recreate the visual, it just wouldn't be the same without that "old book" smell.

If we ever get around to installing real shelves, it'll be time to make things official: emboss all the "keeper" books (you know, the ones you want to re-read or pass on to your kids) with a subtle, yet permanent, inkless stamp. And, what would our stamp say? ..."from the library of The Fox Den," of course.

Photo credits: Expressionary.com and Deborahbowness.com

Fairy Fun

Felt fairies and fairy houses

Aren't these cute? Now, I'm not sure I would have played with them when I was a girl, but something tells me my daughter would love them. She's always carrying a doll around while talking in what Dan refers to as a "Minnie Mouse" voice. Plus, she and her brother just discovered the new Disney movie Tinkerbell. I'm not a big fan of kids and TV, but every now and then we allow a movie. Tinkerbell is very imaginative, and best of all, there are no villainous "bad guys." Just innocent fairies providing "nauture-ly" assistance... like painting the spots on ladybugs and pollinating flowers.

photos courtesy of imaginechildhood.com

Gnome Homes

Am I the only one who thinks this is adorable, or do I have to test these felt dolls out on my kids? It is a gnome house from A Toy Garden, and BEWARE...there are a lot of enticing things on this site.

Blog it... Don't Buy it!

The small amount of free time that I have should not be spent "window" shopping online (so my conscience tells me). And yet, I cannot seem to pry my fingers off the mouse as I click and scroll through the handmade jewelry on Etsy. Perhaps if I blog these items I'll get them out of my system, and since blogging is cheaper than buying, my conscience will be happy.
P.S. Click on image for link to name of seller / artist...

All these book lockets are fascinating... some are even antiques from the early 1900s... If I ever fulfill my goal of learning how to make my own silver jewelry, then these would be on my "to do" list. Wouldn't it be great if book locket pendants with 8 picture fold-outs could be customized with images of your family?

Tree pendants (pretty to look at, too flashy to wear?) by Starsb117

Sustainable, eco-friendly cork necklace packaged in test tube, by Uncorked

Hippy-style ring by Valentino Ink Jewelry

Beach comber pendant and vintage style locket by Out of the Blue

Bird's nest necklace by Sudlow

sea urchin ring by Star of the East

Love the simple intricacies of these cicada wings by Sudlow

cranberry earings are simple and cute, also by Sudlow
Love those owls... Ring is by Dillon Designs