So perfect.

My camera wasn't by my side the whole time, but enough to capture some very pretty highlights.

:: The weekend felt long and full with the right amounts of up-time and down-time. There was swimming and picnics... ice cream and beeswax candles... early morning eggs benedict and sunset blueberry picking... attic cleaning and porch lounging...

:: My goal is to have the house on the market by mid-September at the latest, but before then... there is a major house clean-out going on. Want some stuff???? Why do we store so many things? If we aren't using it - it's gone! I love a good purge!

:: How fantastic that so many of us are on the same page with the Cash Budget Pouches, thank you for your orders over the weekend! I am a stamping machine right now and hope to have everything in the mail by tomorrow - some of the later orders may go out on Thursday. Thanks again, I want to say your support means more than you know... but I think you do know so I won't say that. But my goodness it does mean a great deal more than I could ever express, thank you. ;)

:: The week ahead looks full - a tag sale planned for Saturday... Farmers Market on Sunday... I'll be out of state for the early part of next week for another Montessori Assistant Teacher Workshop... but I will still stop by here and say hello as I can.

Hope your week is rolling along just fine!

Recently, I wrote a post at the Co-op about a set of cash budget pouches I had made for myself. They are based on the Envelope System of budgeting. I've been using them for over a month or so now and am already wondering how I made it so many years without them! The organization totally appeals to my Virgo self, they are super cute, the zipper keeps all of my money nice and secure, and the whole package keeps me honest and aware of where I'm at cash-wise. You can read more about the system in the Co-op post.

I've been getting a lot of emails asking if I'd put some into the shop... well sure! I've made several sets in two colorways, they'll be arriving in the shop over the weekend (update :: they're in the shop now!) if you'd like to take a peek. I also have another small line of goodies that I'm really excited about showing you next week. I've been tweaking the design and am completely pleased with the practical and earth friendly finished product. Stay tuned for that...

Meanwhile, have a sneak peek at the Cash Budget Pouches!

The words/categories will be custom stamped with fabric ink just for you! Instructions will be in the listings to leave me a note with your word choices as you check out. Simple!

Need ideas?

:: clothing :: threads :: digs :: farmers market :: market :: groceries :: co-op :: good times :: entertainment :: fun :: gas :: petro :: fuel :: kids :: savings :: mad money :: thrifting :: yoga :: lunches :: lattes :: pets :: dogs :: slush fund :: the unexpected :: gifts :: good will :: charity :: cafe :: beer :: wine :: dining out :: movies :: books :: shoes :: salon :: music :: shows :: sushi :: church :: christmas :: garden center ::fabric shop :: ice cream :: homeschool ::

Anything you can dream up - just let it be no more than 15 characters, spaces included! I actually brought a bunch of these sets to the Farmers' Market last weekend and came home with only one set, they were so well received! I think they really speak to where people are at these days... keeping things simple.

Lately I can't seem to get enough of sweet, tiny, floral patterns. So pretty.

I hope your weekend is wonderful, we have more blueberry picking in the plans.

:: sewing like crazy :: made fourteen bags, one dozen dog collars, forty (40!) zipper pouches :: got up before the birds three times (still can't believe how much I accomplish during these early hours) ::

:: finished soccer camp, which turned out to be very intense :: rescued, nursed back to health, and released a baby mouse :: retired one eight year old iron (it died in the middle of a sewing marathon which was as inconvenient as you might imagine), said hello to a new one :: had an entirely local, simple weeknight meal - pictured above -  (beer, olive oil and balsamic aside), and didn't even realize it until the very end... made me happy that local was just how dinner was made without any thought to it being a planned local meal :: had sushi which was entirely non-local :: saw the new Harry Potter movie, which has prompted another re-read of book six ::

:: traveled to New York for a Montessori Assistant Teachers workshop :: on the way home while stuck in traffic on Rt 95 in Greenwich, thought about how there are never as many cars on the road in Vermont... ever... which made me smile and breathe easy through the intensity of the moment :: declared the summer sandwich of 2009 to be sliced avocado, sliced ripe tomato, thinly shaved fresh parmesan, horseradish mustard, sea salt, cracked black pepper, a little sprinkled dried oregano, all piled onto toasted homemade bread (make this!) :: listened to the guy I love happily talk about his work :: laughed as David Sedaris talked about being a 33 year old elf working at Macy's :: watched my girl's art take on another dimension after the purchase of a few "real" drawing pens :: managed to get rid of (hopefully) every slug in our garden ::

:: realized that for the life of me I cannot make an omelet in a cast-iron pan... still, tomato, feta, fresh chives and garlic with eggs and a touch of cream do make for a perfectly tasty (if not pretty) simple summer meal :: had a busy and fantastic time at the Farmers Market :: welcomed home friends :: picked two quarts of raspberries from our own bushes with more to come still :: felt grateful for downward dog, child's pose and forward folds as they have been a lifesaver for this overworked crafter's body :: finding it funny that I can't find the perfect "pose" to release the tension in my hands from excessive rotary cutting, needle threading, and scissor using, hmmm :: did i mention all the sewing? lots and lots of sewing...

It's been a full five days, I'm sure the list could go on and on... but I'm going to sign off now. I just got an email from a local farm notifying us that the blueberries are ready and super-plump due to all the rain during strawberry season. So for today, I just want to pick blueberries, put my feet up, finish my book, and see if I can get a little art lesson from a certain girl with some fancy new pens.

After a month of rain, a moment like this is all a girl needs.

Honey Nutters

• 1 1/2 cups all natural creamy peanut butter

• 1 cup honey or maple syrup

• 1/2 cup milk powder

• 2 sleeves graham crackers

• coconut for rolling them in

Roll the graham crackers into crumbs, or if you have one, use a food processor. Melt the sweetener and peanut butter on the stove in a sauce pan until warm and runny. Add all the ingredients to a bowl (minus the coconut) and stir. Roll (gently press and squeeze) mixture into balls (smaller than golf balls), then roll in coconut. Not a whole lot of coconut will stick, but it's still nice to do. I hold the ball in my hand with some coconut and try to press it in. That's it! These could be kept in the fridge or on the counter, covered.

I think 3 Honey Nutters and a piece of fruit makes a really great summertime (or anytime) breakfast for the kiddos. It's the little things... take care.

A while back I greatly reduced the size of my sewing space. It occurred to me that I was monopolizing 400 square feet of our home (the part which happens to be the best, most private, opens to the deck kind of space...) and it would probably be a nice thing to share it a little more with my family. So we turned it into our everything room; in addition to a very scaled down sewing space, it now houses our library, family computer, a few video games and our movie watching set-up, it also has lots of comfy seating for hanging out with friends. We were sure to leave plenty of wide open space too - for goofing around.

Anyway, a great deal of my fabric and supplies was packed up and moved to the basement. The intention was to set up a storage system down there that I would pull from while working on a certain project or new design. I have a small shelf near my sewing table for storing the materials for current work, everything else stays downstairs.

In theory it seems like a good plan, but here's the thing... I have yet to develop a good system of storage in the basement, and I am busy! I have the market, custom orders and a little shop that needs sprucing up once again, yet I've been having a difficult time finding inspiration when my entire fabric pallet is boxed up downstairs. I just needed something to get the ball rolling again...  maybe a little of this and that to be exact.

Well, alrighty then! We are back at it, through the process of being busy, getting lost in the beauty of great fabric design, ideas are flowing once again. I am remembering certain prints I have downstairs, and I am even locating them! This little Etsy shopping trip really got the wheels turning (and stocked my market booth while I was having trouble locating the best of my own fabric supply). Sometimes I get so lost in the delicious world of vintage/thrifted fabrics that I don't try out enough of the offerings by the current designers out there. It was inspiring to treat myself (and my work) to a taste of this, maybe I should try it again sometime. It was good fun! ;)

A few things will be going into the shop later today...!