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thanks to everyone who participated in the mini mailbox giveaway. and now for the winners! m'girls and i put all the entries in a basket and drew out 2 names:
kim + michal
you are the lucky ones this time!
i hope you enjoy your mailboxes as much as we do. i'll be in touch soon to get your addresses.
and to everyone else--thanks again for reading, commenting, and just generally supporting me in this space. you all are great. xoxo.
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i'm sure like me you've read/heard a lot of very nice tributes to fathers this weekend. but c'mon. he's wearing a tie + riding a bike with a small person on the back.
i totally win, right?
[grin]
happy father's day to all the good men who've made a difference in my life.
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ohdeedoh did a roundup of mailboxes in kid rooms recently, including ours. you might remember it from this old post.
i actually have two just like it to give away! one red and one white (with a red flag). interested? leave a comment on this post (up to one per day if you'd like) and i'll pick a couple of winners later in the month.
thanks. and i hope you win. :)
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[update 6.27.11] comments are now closed. i'm announcing two winners today!
[update 6.28.11] did you win? click here to find out.
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peoples. i have to tell you about two discoveries this week--both made while exploring the neighborhood on foot (or bicycle) rather than by car.
one, john's space age donuts. i'd begun to think this place was mere myth, but it's literally just around the corner. (and it only took me 7 years of driving right by to notice.) teal-colored everything, swivel barstools, formica counter tops--this place is straight up 1960s original awesomeness. yes, the donuts are good. some might even say really good. but it's the free ride in a time machine (and the possibility of running into marty mcfly?) that's the real draw here--at least for me. i'm going back saturday with my camera.
two, you are never going to believe this, but yesterday on my morning run, i saw--get this--a squirrel swing. you know, a swing built for a squirrel. the fact that such a thing exists is, well, a tribute to american ingenuity. but it isn't even the best part. no, the best part is that i'll be darned if there wasn't a squirrel actually kicking back and swinging in it. he (she?) was smoking a cigarette. and i think it might have winked at me. okay, maybe i kid about the smoking. and the winking. but the rest is true. really.
wishing you happy discoveries in your own neighborhood this weekend!
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hi, all. thanks so much for your comments on scout's photo last week. she makes me happy, that girl. and so do your kind words. by the way, my mom sent me an email (from peru!) asking about an error she kept getting when she tried to leave a comment. is this happening for anyone else? just curious. i guess you can't leave a comment to tell me if you are. drop me an email? there's a link in the sidebar.
anyway. i'm busy this week trying to distract asher from missing his big sister at girl scout camp. we saw a movie and hit panera for a cookie yesterday, but he said no thanks to the pool, which would be "no fun at all" without olivia. co-dependent much? maybe. but kinda sweet.
re: the photo. my friend joelle made asher this awesome pirate gear for his birthday. i need to talk her into doing a tutorial. don't you love the treasure chest? it even has his name on it.
i made a batch of this lemon broccoli pasta for olivia's sack dinners at camp. she's getting the same thing every night, which i guess is probably boring, but it's easy and she likes it. it can be served hot, cold, or at room temperature--perfect this summer for a picnic. try it?
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must. document. curls.
three other things you should know about her--
1) this is the age--we both admit--she's cute enough to pretty much get whatever she wants
2) she's a tiny thing but she rocks a mean fake belch
3) her favorite joke (aside from the aforementioned fake belch):
"knock-knock."
"who's there?"
"bacon!"
"bacon who?"
blank stare.
(what--you don't get it?)
have a great weekend!
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it's the rare craft that is mutually satisfying for both the adult and child to make--which, if you're reading between the lines, you probably know is just a prettier way of saying hey, here's a kid craft i didn't totally hate making.
more than likely, you are not in need of 70 homemade "swaps" (i.e. tokens on a safety pin) to trade with other girl scouts at camp next week. but maybe you will appreciate the pretty pictures?
one thing i learned from making these is that working in an assembly line is not only very efficient (yup, engineer's wife speaking) but it's also a great way to craft with kids. give each person a task based on his/her interests and abilities--she places the stencils and does the painting, he rips off the stickers and the tape, mom does the drilling and cutting--and the result is one happy afternoon o' crafting.
materials needed:
- 3/4"-wide wooden craft sticks (note: 1 stick yields 2 finished "swaps" so buy accordingly)
-a handsaw or small pruning shears (or whatever you have on hand to trim the sticks to size)
-your choice of stickers in a simple shape
-masking tape
-acrylic paint
-sponge brush
-wax paper (to protect your work surface)
-drill
-safety pins
instructions:
measure about 2 inches from the rounded ends of each craft stick and cut to size. (discard the excess middle pieces or save them for another project.) when you are finished cutting, you will be left with a stack of wood pieces that are flat on one end and rounded on the other. the flat end is the top. apply a sticker to each piece as shown in the photos.
tape down some wax paper. tape off the top of each swap. leave the ends of the tape long so you can tape the swaps to the wax paper. paint each swap and allow to dry. once the paint is dry, drill a hole through the middle of the top of each swap. do it while the masking tape is still on, to help prevent the wood from chipping when you drill. remove tape and stickers. admire your stenciled image. thread swaps onto safety pins. have fun pinning + swapping with other girl scouts.
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