Beachy Love

Haven't done this in a while. Seems like a good time to Embrace the Camera with the Anderson Crew.

October was beach month. The fella was there the first two weeks by himself working tirelessly on the dissertation. Then we crashed his party for a family beach week. And then, THEN!, Eric took the boys home leaving Hazel and me for a week with my gal Selena. Holla!

And a good time was had by all.

Hey, in case you missed it, this crafty blog's last two posts were about actual crafting. Check it out.

Timer Time

I'm going to visit my sistas in Seattle next week and I will be hitting up my photog sista for a shutter remote for my sweet camera (and to fix the filter thing that I cracked into shards and now can't get off the lens - but that's another story) but until then the 10 second timer will have to do. 

We snapped these wandering on campus the other day. I'm in love. And they are perfect for Embracing the Camera with the Anderson Crew today. 

This one was my favorite until my sister pointed out that Amos' head looks like it fell off backwards and now I can't unsee it that way.  Now you won't be able to either. Whoops. 

And in other news. Hazel is cute.

Six Silhouettes - Inspired by Emily

My buddy Courtney and I scheduled a crafty playdate this week to work on a little project I pinned from wait a minute...

yes...from The Anderson Crew, where I'm linking this post to today for Embrace the Camera.

Man I love it when things work out like that.

So, anyway, Courtney and I had the very ambitious plan to make silhouettes of our six kiddos, whilst also watching the aforementioned children.

But hey, if Emily Anderson can do it with her six, so can we with ours.

So Courtney purchased the supplies and I showed up with starbucks.

And viola!

 Six. Count 'em six.

I really want to know what Amos is telling Elsa and how Hazel's silhouette tastes. 
Kinda easy to tell which kids belong to who. DNA is strong stuff.

Woopeee! Fun!

Thanks for the great idea Emily! And the place to show it off!

Wow. Haven't linked up in a while. It feels good. Another way Happily Home Sewn is coming out of new-baby-hibernation. Don't forget that to wake things up we're having the Welcome Fall Sale for Facebook Friends! So, go find us on facebook...become a fan (you might win a giveaway!)...and go shopping at Happily Home Sewn with the coupon code NEWFBFRIEND for 20% off your whole order!

Embrace the Past

Lemme walk you through it...
This weekend we're having a yard sale. While going through all our junk we came across an old desktop computer. Eric cleaned it off to recycle and put all sorts of photos from our pre-kiddo life onto my current computer. I've been through all 8 zillion of them and here's apparently all our pre-kiddo life entailed:
1) lounging. There are like 79 pictures of me lounging on couches covered in blankets. I miss lounging.
2) cats. We're like an old couple who has 9 cats and takes like 100 photos of them a day except we're not old (debatable) and there were only 5 cats. As many pictures as I take of our 3 children, I took at least that many of the cats. Freakish.
3) lounging with cats. In all the lounging photos one or more cats is always snuggled up with me.
4) lots and lots of pottery.

So, for today's Embrace the Camera I'd like to take a walk down pottery memory lane. The above shot was taken at the Buyer's Market for American Craft in Philadelphia in early 2007. I was like a minute pregnant with Eli and we had just found out like 2 days before this show - the biggest of my career. During that show I booked orders for more than a year. It was intense. My woodworker friend Marc made those awesome shelves. You can put them together in all different ways. They're beautiful.

I'm not gonna lie. I was a pretty dope potter. See?

Pots.
Dear Pots.
I love you.
I miss making you.
I'll be back with you someday...


And locals will have one last shot to score some pottery at said yardsale. There's one wee bin left and its mostly plates and seconds. But sometimes you gotta take what you can get.

I'll be back pottery. I'll be back.

Embrace the Glider

Looking for us? Well these days you'll find us out in the yard, gliding on the new old glider. 

We've had a string of gorgeous days and I've got one gorgeous baby who loves to get her glide on. The boys play happily in the yard and a good time is had by all.

 

See you there!

And OH MY WORD - check back tomorrow for a very exciting announcement!!!

Linking up to the Anderson Crew today as is our Thursday tradition. Cheers!

Happiness Is...

Happiness is a sweet snuggle with this little chickadee as recorded by budding photographer, Dizzy. 

That's all.

Linking up with the Anderson Crew for Embrace the Camera. Yay!

Embracing Amos

Or should I call it...Amos Embracing Me?

I am the one he loves the best. I hope I keep that title for all time because it comes with some pretty sweet perks.

For one, he's a really good kisser.

Also...a great conversationalist. 

Best snuggler ever. 

I am one lucky Mama.

Oh! - and if you didn't see yesterday's 

post about Happily Home Sewn's

 VERY. EXCITING. NEWS. - click here! 

I'm still kvetching! (I love that word)

Embracing the Camera with the Anderson Crew today.

Easter Snuggles

 Let's have a little Easter Embrace the Camera, shall we?




Yaya made Hazey the sweetest Easter outfit! It's seersucker. It's lavender. It has leggy bloomers. I mean come on.
Hazey's been a little puny lately, which means extra snuggles with Mama. I'll take it.
She's feeling better today thankfully.

 

Look at my wee sweeties. It's suuuuuper hard to get a decent photo of the whole brood, but this'll do just fine. I am totally smitten with this little crew. We have one huckuva good time. 

Hope all had a happy Easter.

Embrace the Fab Five

The other morning I was unpacking some new IKEA mirrors to get them put up on the walls and I perched sweet Hazey on one to get to peek at her sweet self.

She thought that was pretty fun. 
And then whadya know, without any herding, bribery, or cajoling of any kind, we were all there, gathered together, gazing upon each other with, serendipitously, camera in hand.

Don't you love how Hazel's the only one of us not still in her jammies and she's all decked out in 50's vintage? I do. Girl knows how to dress for an impromptu photo op.

This smacks of Embrace the Camera, don't you think?

Embrace the Embarrassment

I don't know how this happened. I take no responsibility for this embarrassing scene. 

Except that I sewed our little frocks and dressed us both that day. 

So, a little responsibility.

My intention was to just step out into the yard and have the fella snap a few shots...

...but somehow we ended up at a 5 year old's birthday party in matching outfits.

In public.

And, in hopes of airing my dirty laundry so I'm shamed out of ever trying such a stunt again, I'm posting this up with the Anderson Crew for Embrace the Camera today. That'll teach me.

Embrace Reflections

Remember back when you started participating in Embrace the Camera and you had to really work to get in photos or you had to dig to find one with you in it? 

Well I think I can expect to receive in the mail any day now, my Embrace the Camera diploma. Surely I have graduated. I excel at embracing. 

A few months back the fella made some fun of me when he came home and I had installed a mirror on our living room wall about chest height. On him.

It's just right for us 5'1" gals in the crowd.

And all our chillens too. 

So for the past couple of weeks we've found ourselves cheesing it up in that shorty mirror.

Each in turn. 

And a peeper pops in from time to time. 

Aside! I am in love with Hazel's New Party Pinny and Bloomers. I whipped up this delightful balloon covered pinny with ironed-on Suki butterflies on the front bottom trim and one on the butt. Clearly. She wore it to a birthday on Saturday and she was belle of the ball.

 Just plain yum.

This is such a sweet little brood and ever little grin in the mirror has brought me so much joy. 

 Oh. So. Sweet. 

Consider my tassel turned.