Happy Saturday, friends! Yesterday found us up and out and busy all day, with appointments and errands and so much more. Today we were greeted by sheets of rain (and an overnight thunderstorm-delicious!), but decided to gear up and head out anyways. A trip to the farmer’s market provided such delicacies as mini tartlets with roasted radishes and leeks over arugula pesto, ramp-riddled goat cheese, currant croissants, local pork breakfast sausage, and crazy hot chocolate ghost peppers. Lunch was followed by toy and book store perusing. Everyone got something they wanted, including a cappuccino for mama.

In other news, here’s a smattering of this and that’s that caught my attention this week:
*Get your balcony gardening questions answered.
*Kids + germs=a very good thing.
*Kathryn and her husband relocated to France via his work; been really enjoying her gorgeous posts lately!
*You definitely want to enter this giveaway of 10 (!!!) Weck jars.
*How cool are these Kootsac reusable bulk bags?
*Expert transplanting tips.
*Tasha Tudor’s garden (it’s in Japanese, but it’s still gorgeous, via Imagine Childhood).
*Love the bubbles on this vintage pitcher.
*Looked at this at the bookstore today and now I’m dreaming of a trip to the U.K. (not to mention rambling flower gardens, ivy clad cottages, and hidden, secret gardens).
*This Japanese patisserie and ceramics studio just opened in Asheville’s River Arts District; can’t wait to check it out!

In just a bit, I plan to mix Glenn and I some gin & tonics, courtesy of a bottle of Barr Hill my friend (very, very good friend, yes?) Sharon sent me to try out. Then I think the rest of the weekend will involve a mix of gardening, snuggling, Sunday morning challah french toast, steak dinner, roast chicken Sunday lunch, and cuddling. Always with the cuddling.

Wherever you go this weekend, whatever you do, and whomever you do it with, may it be grand!

*I always post a photo of Huxley here each weekend because, truly, he’s what his Papa and I dig the most.

Happy Friday, friends! I’m writing this to you from my patio, where the sun is shining, the creeks on each sides of the house are flowing strongly enough for me to hear them both, various birds are cawing from the treetops, one of the hens is triumphantly announcing to the forest at large that she’s laid an egg, a carpenter bee is steadily at work nearby, and my son is doing *yard work* all around the knob the house sits on, using his assortment of play mowers, a weed eater, a wheel barrow, and our bike pump (which he’s decided is how he adds *gas* to the toys). In short, nothing could be finer than to be in (the mountains of) Carolina in the moooooooooorning.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, and I’ve got a Small Measures post up on Design Sponge with the hard-working mamas of the world in mind. I’m sharing three recipes for crafting the lady that cleaned your baby spit up and lovingly sang you lullabies (likely off key) some all-natural botanical bath salts. Floral, woodsy, or citrusy, there’s a scent for every mama. Bath time, take me away!!!

My friend Aimee of the Portland, Oregon-based blog Ecogrrl has an interview with me up today. Take a gander if you’re curious about why I do what I do.

In other news, here’s a smattering got this and that’s that caught my attention this week:
*Rosemary lemonade? I’m all over it.
*A wonderful Tea Collection giveaway is happening over at Design Mom.
*Lavender blueberry scones, for your mama or yourself.
*Baking soda=miracle powder.
*This spring greens frittata is speaking my language.
*Shhh, the plants are talking.
*Gardening ideas that screen out sound.
*Fleur Delacour and Bill Weasley’s home encapsulates all of my favorite things in one glorious abode.
*Make your own worm bin!
*This DIY polkadot table cloth uses potatoes to make the magic happen.
*Dr. Oz gets schooled by an 8 year-old.

Tomorrow I’m hosting the very last gathering for my book, Handmade Gatherings (which publishes from Roost Books Spring 2014). Since June 9th of last year, I’ve been regularly hosting gatherings for the book, and the fact that we’re all the way down to the last event is both a huge relief (since I’m actively in the midst of writing another book!) and sort of a shocker. Time really does go by so very quickly. I’m beyond thrilled to have been able to host all of these gatherings and, having seen a sneak peek of the book’s layout last week from my editor, I can assure you all of the hard work involved in making them happen will be very worth it come publishing time.

A quick special shout out to the mamas out there. I know how inextricably linked the bliss and blunders of motherhood are. It’s the job that never ends, but one that you don’t actually ever want to conclude. Our little people reintroduce us to the wonders of childhood, where imagination rules the roost, emotions are on constant display, and candor characterizes every interaction. Mamas, I salute you. It’s hard work and it’s so very, very worth the effort. On Sunday, my mom and grandmother are coming over to have a picnic and then hang with Huxley while I work in the garden (Mother’s Day is historically considered the “safe” day in these here hills for putting out tender annuals like tomatoes and peppers). I intend to shower them both with hugs and kisses and let them know just how much I appreciate all they did for me and my brother growing up.

Wherever you go this weekend, whatever you do, and whomever you do it with, may it be grand!

*Twice recently I noticed Huxley and I were wearing matching pants and footwear; in the first image, I discovered this while we were sitting in the grass outside of our house and in the second, while we were sitting in the children’s play area of a doctor’s office. I’ve come to realize that this doesn’t just *naturally* happen, that I unconsciously dress him like a little mini me. I’m cool with that. Oh, and do pardon the blurriness of the images; trying to quickly snap photos of a constantly moving toddler is like trying to shoot a moving target. 

 

 

 

Image by Tiffany Daudelin

Happy Friday, friends!I really don’t know what’s up with the weather lately. I suppose it’s just that it’s spring and it’s fickle and highly variable, and that’s about all there is to it. One day I’ve got the windows open, hoping for a breeze to cool us off, and the next I’m bundled again in fleece and flannel, eyeing the wood stove. It’s hard for me to ever want to gripe about the rain, though. It’s always such a gift, rain, so fussing about it is senseless. I just learn how to accommodate and move on.

I’ve got two posts up this month in Verve. In my English Lessons column, I’m chatting about the all-consuming nature of mama love. I’ve also profiled my buddy Janelle and the incredible Urban Farm School she’s about to launch.

In other news, here’s a smattering of this and that’s that caught my attention this week:

*This honey soap-making kit is too cute.

*Homemade gluten-free Ho-Hos!

*Twenty-two alternatives to punishment (this is how we do it with Huxley).

*Dandelions aren’t weeds!

*Maybe this primal fudge will turn out better than the traditional fudge I’ve always failed at making.

*How wonderful are these prints from Small Adventure?

*Camille’s honey-pickled beets sound amazing.

*Looking to buy some gorgeous land in nearby Madison County? Here you go!

*Baking these divine sounding cupcakes today.

*Rohan’s forest food is my kind of eats.

We’re hosting a baby shower here tomorrow for some dear friends. I’m super excited to enjoy good food, happy company, and the love that is palpable between these friends of ours and their imminent arrival! Sunday, despite a bit of a chilly, rainy forecast, we’re still planning to host the wild foods walk, chat, and lunch with herbalist and permaculture educator Keri Evjy. We’ll just don boots and raincoats and dodge the rain drops!

Wherever you go this weekend, whatever you do, and whomever you do it with, may it be grand!

*I always post a photo of Huxley here each Friday because, truly, he’s what his Papa and I dig the most. During our last visit to the Biltmore Estate, photographer Tiffanie Daudelin took some candid images of Huxley on a tractor (his very favorite thing on Earth, next to his toy lawn mower and weed eater). She sent Glenn the images this week, and I cannot tell you enough how very much I love them. 

 

 

 

Happy Friday, friends! Yesterday I travelled south to Charlotte with my Mom, Glenn, and Huxley. We went to visit my brother, his wife, their 2 year-old son, and their brand new baby, Mithcell Gray. Oh, what a sweet, soft, squishy, cuddle tiny guy. I still think of Huxley as our *baby* (and likely always will), but when I get a true baby in my arms, all just-shy-of-7-pounds of him, well, then I remember what a newborn actually feels like. Huxley was 5 pounds, 14 ounces when he was born, and 5 pounds, 5 ounces when we left the hospital 4 days later. Such a wee one! Congratulations to my brother and his family. Ain’t no love like baby love!

It’s Arbor Day today, one of my favorite holidays. Thank you, trees, for all you do! Treehugger, right here!!!! In honor and recognition of the occasion, I’ve got a Small Measures post up on Design Sponge, where I’m chatting about Tree Planting 101. Head over there, get schooled on what’s-what when it comes to planting trees, and get on out there and put down some roots!

In other news, here’s a smattering of this and that’s that caught my attention this week:

*Inspired by all the wild violets here in the cove, I’m working on my own version of this.

*DIY ceramic plant tags. Love it!

*Honey-sweetened sparkling lemonade.

*Jen has had some lovely little items in her three Spring Faves round-ups this week.

*Excellent post from Max on how to Recycle All The Things.

*Linda has updated her super popular Homemade Chicken Feed, now corn-free!

*Ramp pizza! Fist pumps!!!

*Watched SkyFall last weekend (That! House! In! Scotland!), and, inspired by Agent Q, am fairly certain that I *need* these glasses, or these.

*Homestead Act profiles my buddy Sharon!

*Sandor Katz and his work are spoiled rotten, and we’re all the better for it!

We’re off to some plant sales today. Growing In the Mountains is happening at the WNC Farmer’s Market and Kenny’s Perennials, located at Jack Young Greenhouses, is having a special $3.75 sale on perennials. I’m looking for bee balm, anise hyssop, and maybe some mints. Come Sunday, I’ll be hosting a party all about wild foods, which should be a delicious romp. Let the weekend commence!

Wherever you go this weekend, whatever you do, and whomever you do it with, may it be grand!

*I always post a photo of Huxley here because, truly, he’s what his Papa and I dig the most. Here he is in some photo outtakes for a post on building wild pollinator houses I’m working on for HGTV Gardens blog, part 1 of a five-part series I’m doing there on “Gardening With Children.”

 

Seems like I always want to chat about the weather here on Fridays. So, let’s just stick with that! It’s drizzling here, the skies look ominous, the winds keep whipping the trees into bent submission, the wind chimes are clanging fiercely, and Huxley insists on playing outside, in all of it. No fear, that sweet child of mine.

The thing about the rain is that I actually love it. I welcome it, always. Not just because I understand how valuable it is to all things green and growing, but because it truly feels, I don’t know, just sort of right to me. Chalk it up to genetic ancestral memory, I suppose. My people hail from the British Isles, so, water, rain, mist, fog, rocky coasts, and forests are just my jam. Bring it, rain!

In other news, here’s a smattering of this and that’s that caught my attention this week:

*Roadkill, the other white/dark meat.

*All things ramps!

*Sam Bean is bringing me joy.

*Really enjoying getting to know Gather and Grow.

*Constellation bracelets (plus other jewelry deliciousness).

*The Sun Hive is so very gorgeous.

*Rhubarb Almond Breakfast Cakes. YES!

*Eric Orchard’s illustrations are amazing.

*Tour a family home milking parlor.

*FOLK magazine is a stunner.

A Pie Dough 101 class I was slated to teach tomorrow at Dough has been postponed, so I’m thinking a day in the garden, perhaps followed up by a carnival (!!!) is in order.

Wherever you go this weekend, whatever you do, and whomever you do it with, may it be grand!

*I post a photo of Huxley here each Friday because, truly, he’s what his Papa and I dig the most. I gave him a bit of our honey to sample. Clearly, he’s a fan.