17/52

Oliver has been obsessed with my guitar. He makes lovely music?! But he is having fun. 

Oliver was back to school at the start of this week and he was over the moon excited to see his buddies. I hope getting back into a routine will offset the entrance of the 15 year old moods masquerading around as my 3 1/2 year old. Although from friends who have kids a bit older they say it gets worse before it gets better. Once you feel like you've hit your stride with kids they throw you a curve ball, hits true every time. I also don't think the bloody weather is doing us any favors. After a long, drawn out winter we seem to be experiencing more fall-like temperatures than spring. Today's high was 43. Enough said.  So other than pining for some sunshine and feeling a bit stumped as to what to cook for dinner, things are good and moving along as they should. Just beware of the mini-moody man! click through for more pictures.

Taste it: New England Burgah

Here is a tasty burger with an homage to some tasty New England ingredients: apples, maple syrup and Vermont cheddar. 

  

Gather:

1 lb. of 90/10 ground beef

1/4 cup of maple syrup

4 slices of applewood smoked bacon

apple, sliced

Vermont cheddar, sliced

1 onion, sliced

burger buns, 4

Do:

In a medium bowl combine the ground beef with the maple syrup, mix well, season with salt and pepper. Form into 4 patties. 

Saute the onion in olive oil until golden brown.  

Grill burgers over high heat. Toast buns. Melt cheese and top with the bacon. Slice the apple. Assemble your burgers with all of the tasty toppings. 

We served these yummy burgers with sweet potato fries. 

Recipe adapted from Food52

 

16/52

Oliver just wrapped up school break so I was busy running around with him all last week. These shots are from the Easter "Eggstravaganza" at North Point Park in Cambridge. There were a lot of eggs and a lot of children running around. Had a bit of a Hunger Games for the start of the hunt but overall it was a lot of fun.

Make it: put a pocket on it!

First of all! Happy Marathon Monday to all Bostonians aka Patriot's Day. When I was a kid I thought everyone knew that the Boston Marathon was a holiday, nope turns out just us lucky folks here in Beantown. It was a beautiful day here for all of the runners and I admire their strength and tenacity. Oliver and I rode our bike to a parade in Arlington and then continued on to lunch in Harvard Sq. It really feels like Spring here today, I may even have to bust out the sunscreen for our park play time this afternoon.  

But I thought I would post this cute and easy craft to jazz up a plain t-shirt. Put a pocket on it! It really is that simple. I started with some cute polka dotted scrap fabric and a white Target t-shirt. Stitch a square and then pin it to your shirt and finally stitch the pocket to the shirt and presto-chango you have gone from ordinary to unique! I did this craft while Ollie napped and I have not taken it off yet...I may just wear the shirt for the rest of the day! 

So grab your plain t-shirts and fabric scraps or buy some fat quarters and get stitching! Enjoy. 

see super easy to do! and so cute!

Link it: Zoey and Jasper

Have you seen the adorable pictures of a sweet little boy (Jasper) and rescue dog (Zoey)? Dressed alike and staring in to the camera they are true besties. I love this idea of capturing these fun and sweet picture of a boy and his dog. And it will be such fun to see how they grow and change as Japer get older. Check out their Tumblr feed. 

all images via

Love it: Otomi fabric

via

Otomi fabric is a beautiful traditional Mexican textile that has an innate graphic quality. Traditional Otomi fabric is quite expensive because it is embroidered and very labor intensive but I have found that Spoonflower carries a printed fabric of amazing colors in the Otomi style. I feel like this fabric is a bold addition to a couch or even as a coverlet on a kid's bed for a bright pop of color. 

via

via 

15/52

off to school. ready to rock.

Boston. Love.

Thoughts for all of the victims of last year's Boston Marathon bombing. Boston Strong. Runners will take to the streets again on Marathon Monday. 

print via One Heart Boston by Aaron Bouvier (no longer available).

Taste it: Zaftigs

Zaftigs Delicatessen is a place that we have been visiting since we lived just down the way in Allston during College summers, in Brighton before we got married and before jetting off to London and San Francisco. So now it is a fun spot to bring Oliver and sit and eat and enjoy brunch. We headed over this past weekend and tucked into challah french toast, omelette and potato pancakes with apple sauce and sour cream, of course. It is a colorful, crowded spot on the weekends and even though we had to entertain Oliver for a bit before sitting down, it is always a great spot to spend a morning. 

yummy food.

There are amazing, large scale multi-media paintings by Daniel O'Connor all over the restaurant. 

overall it is a happy spot to spend a morning and enjoy some family time and people watching plus you must walk down the road to go to Brookline Booksmith.

Make it: Sweet Paul

Over the weekend we went out to a favourite brunch spot in Brookline called Zaftig's (more on that tomorrow) and of course because it was a Sunday there was a line. So we meandered down to another well loved and less often visited spot seeing as we now reside in Cambridge, The Brookline Booksmith. I adore this bookstore. It is small enough to be well curated and yet I always find something new and exciting and in addition to new books they have a used book cellar.  So anyways as we were perusing the racks and Matt was reading a plethora of Thomas books to Oliver I came across the new (and signed!) copy of Eat & Make by Paul Lowe otherwise known as Sweet Paul. I just recently started to read the magazine Sweet Paul and I love his simple recipes and style ideas. So what did I do? Purchase the book, of course. Really it was a bit of a pity prize because I tried to see him at the Brookline Booksmith on April 10th (hence the signed copy in store) but the tickets were all sold out. Bummer.  It is a beautiful book filled with amazing sweet and savory recipes plus some wonderful craft ideas which may be popping up on this blog in the future! So if you are in the market for a lovely book to keep or to give, I highly recommend Paul Lowe's Eat & Make.  

yummy treat with berries for the summer!

I love this idea of transfering photos onto napkins, perhaps trying something other than portraits? 

Always looking for a better and more flavorful creamy polenta recipe!

I love the trivet idea but I adore the teapot even more!

happy recipe hunting and crafty reading!

all images via

Link it: Beautiful Video: FLOURISH

I love this video by Dana Tanamachi. And it makes me want to doodle all over my walls! Maybe in Oliver's room when he gets a little bigger. What a wonderful, unique way to make a bold statement. Watch and be amazed. Happy Friday. Have a lovely weekend.

FLOURISH from Dana Tanamachi on Vimeo.

14/52

doing his best James Dean at the park.

keep reading for a smorgasbord of pictures.

Taste it: White Chocolate Cranberry Crunchy Mix

Here is a super quick snack that can be mixed up and kept in an airtight container for about a week or so, that is if it lasts that long. I like this with cranberries but you could use any dried fruit. 

Gather:

5 cups of chex cereal, I used Cascadian Farms multi-grain 

2/3 cup of white chocolate chips

1 cup dried cranberries or another dried fruit

1 Tablespoon of powdered sugar

Do:

Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave and pour over the cereal stir to incorporate. Next sprinkle the powdered sugar and stir to coat. Finally add in the cranberries and mix in. Then pour onto a sheet pan and cool at room temp until set, then store in an air tight container for about a week.

via recipe 

Make it: Fun with Washi Tape

Oh washi tape. Cute, fun whimsical and when you find it in the $1 bin at Target, cheap too! Using washi tape is fun to update mason jars or plain thank you notes or in this case sweet, little bud vases. 

Basically all you have to do is wash and dry your vases then apply the tape to the vases. These would be cute on a side table with petite flowers but I think I may put them in my bathroom and store makeup brushes. The options are open...buy washi tape and have fun.

Link it: We are going to Amsterdam!

I am very excited to say that we are taking a family trip to Amsterdam at the end of May! Since having Oliver we have taken trips to weddings and see family and friends but I have been itching to get abroad and start getting more stamps in all of our passports. I have been reading a bit about Amsterdam and we are using Airbnb so we will have a "home base" which will be amazing. If there are any tips or things that we must see or do, especially with a toddler, please drop me a note!

images via google

Love it: Elise Wehle, artist

"Interiors, 2013"

Elise Wehle is an artist who combines collage and paper cutting to create these beautiful prints. One of her goals as an artist was to step away from the computer and create a tactile pieces of work created with her hands. Her paper cut remind me of Moroccan tiles and I love the contrast of the painting getting cut to create and even more interesting and beautiful piece of work. Her work is available on her Etsy shop where you can buy prints or original works.

"The Ocean's Firmament, 2013" 

"Where the Land Ends, 2013"

"Down in the Valley, 2014"

"The Building on the Corner, 2013"

13/52

Bubbles at the park. Even though we are still a bit chilly if the sun does not come out, it is still so nice to spend time outside.

Click through for a medley of pictures.

Taste it: The Ever Adaptable Quiche

Ah yes, the humble quiche. This is an easy dinner to pull together although it does require a bit of time in the oven so there are times that I have thought to throw together a quiche and then realize I do not have an 1 1/2 to let it cook in the oven. But other than that this recipe it great with leeks, onion, ham, sausage, loads of veggies, or just a few herbs. It is easily adaptable and it works wonderfully for breakfast, lunch or dinner! 

Continue reading for the recipe.