another big smile

i've been working like crazy trying to get my book done for the sketchbook project which is due in six days.  yes, six days lisa.  yikes.  so what a happy surprise and needed distraction to wake up this morning to find that i've been featured in another treasury that made the etsy front page!  i'm thrilled, excited, re-energized.  many thanks to joana at trincaruvas for creating another lovely treasury.  she makes brooches and pendants that may remind you of a game you played with as a kid.  i love her color combinations, some subtle and some graphic and vibrant.  i've been following her blog for awhile now and i was first drawn in by this poem, that resonated for me in that moment. then there are her photos... lovely. 

here is some of her work

mini breastplate necklace

spirography necklace

wrap around bracelet

and here is the treasury with my little sticks and stones shadow box

sticks and stones

could this possibly mean that some of my photos are getting better?  somehow i can't believe that.  taking photos still feels like a complete and utter crap shoot to me.  whatever it means, i'm happy!

thanks joana!

smile

i've been sick with a stupid cold (again!) for over a week now and i've just about had enough of it (she said with a stamp of her foot).  i mean i've really had enough of it.  so i thought i'd find some things to make me smile and hopefully you too.

this video of lisa hannigan makes me very happy.  i just love her voice.

art in red wagon's tutorial for making garden markers.  i think i might actually be able to make these!  and she takes some amazing sky photographs.

rose and honey marshmallows by sweetniks.  softly sweet pink smiles...

doesn't everybody need a pocket manfriend?  meet kenneth by MsSpanner

shabby chic summer pjs or french knickers by PeriDotbyDuni

and this, this is just the biggest smile for me.  a treasury with forgiveness from my inner constellations series made it to the etsy front page!  that's thrilling to me.  thanks so much to StoneTreeJewelry for making a treasury with just the right magic to make it to the front page and for including me in it!  

and here's some of StoneTreeJewelry's work

smile-worthy, right?

hmm.....

i was making some changes on my blog recently, like putting labels on posts, stuff like that and apparently my post from last mother's day somehow became my latest one.  it's just a little early and it is nice to be reminded of that lovely day but now i'm afraid to make any more changes.  who knows what will happen.

here's some beautiful things for this gray wednesday, at least in upstate ny.

GoingToSeed

domestikate

olechkodotorg

weathergirl

marina826

BeWakeful

andiespecialtysweets

mother's day

sleeping in, sun, spring, museum art, dinner not cooked by me, wine, olive oil, aged balsamic from Italy, kids, love

 

 the reasons I'm lucky enough to get to celebrate this day

music to cook by

thought i'd share part of my playlist for this easter's cooking marathon, really just an excuse to wish you happy easter, happy passover, happy spring...  

the house is warm and toasty and starting to smell good.   have a wonderful day filled with family and love and food and cadbury eggs

celiac disease and some work

gluten free chocolate banana bread

in our house, everything i cook and bake is gluten free.  my youngest son has celiac disease, which basically means that when he eats gluten it sets off an immune reaction that damages his small intestine and causes malabsorption among other things.  bad stuff.  the only cure is abstaining from any and all gluten.  gluten is the devil in our house.  the prevailing wisdom is that anything over 20 parts per million will cause the villi in the small intestine to begin to flatten interfering with the absorption of nutrients.  how much is 20 ppm?  how can we measure that?  i have no idea, so at least in our home, we try to minimize the risk.  i am allergic to wheat which is a completely different thing, but having a celiac in the house makes it easier to avoid it.

since this is a blog, i thought i'd share a couple of excellent blogs on how to live and cook gluten free.  some you may have heard of and some maybe not.  first is the gluten free goddess.  karina's blog is just a feast for the eyes, with so much information, beautiful photos (she's an artist) and equally beautiful stories to tell along with her recipes.  she's also dear to us because when middle son was starting a gluten free blog, he reached out to her and she reached back, emailing and helping him learn the ropes of blogdom.  next is another biggie, the gluten free girl.  recipes, photos, videos, and a love story are all here.  elana's pantry uses almond meal and flour for baking.  celiac chicks has restaurant and bakery reviews and more.  then there is book of yum for the vegetarian celiac.  one more and i'll stop, i promise.  i just found roost, a gorgeous blog about a young woman's quest to treat her husband's crohn's disease naturally by going gluten free among other things. 

here's some photos of the progression of one of the pages in the sketchbook project i'm working on.  i finally chose a theme for it from the provided list - learning how to spell and other lessons - something like that.  i'm liking parts of this page and i may make it into something more at some point.

so how's your week been?  passover starts on good friday and then easter sunday, what a weekend!  i haven't even decided what to make for easter dinner.  any ideas?