Christmas Day!

We spent a leisurely day together as a wee family of four this Christmas.  Our morning began with stockings and gift giving.  

We gave Meredith an easel we salvaged and fixed up especially for her.

 Meredith's favorite part of her stocking was finding the lollypops - Trader Joe's Organic pops! :)

 Daddy and his girls :)

 Erik recently found an old cast iron skillet that needed to be restored and reseasoned...so, as a Christmas gift for me he did it!  It worked out beautifully and now we have a HUGE cast iron skillet - something that's been on my wishlist for some time now. :)  We christened it on Christmas morning with a batch of cinnamon rolls.

 Erik's brother, David, made us a delicious chai mix.  

Chai + cinnamon buns = a delicious breakfast for a winter's morning!

 Then, off on a family walk around our neighborhood in the brisk late morning.  

Do you see Eliza snuggled up?

 One of Erik's favorite gifts from me was a jar of marinated herring. :)  He enjoyed it as part his lunch.

 We finished the day with a lovely dinner with dear friends - the Nothackers.  Meredith is a big fan of their sweet girls and energetic puppy, Tucket. :)

Storm Day #2

Yesterday Erik was home again due to public transit still being down from the storm.  We miraculously made it through hurricane Sandy without loosing power!  Philly wasn't hit as hard as NJ and NYC, that's for sure.  We are thankful.

Peter Spier's Rain  is a current favorite of Meredith's - such great pictures!

...the balancing act...how many people can fit?!?

Meredith was a big helper to Daddy.

Mid-morning snack after Mama's nap #1 (yes, I was living it up having Erik home!)

A late afternoon grocery store shopping trip was made by Meredith - just in time for dinner!

'Twas the night before the move

'Twas the night before the move

When all through the new house

Three guys were stirring

Preparing the floor for the man and his spouse.

Yes, in a last minute effort, we decided to strip up the paint on the wood floors of our new apartment in Germantown.  Normally, we would not have undertaken this task, especially considering that we are renting.  But considering that the paint was gummy (not something we wanted with a toddler and new baby soon to be crawling all over) and peeling, we figured the effort of taking up the old paint would be easier than living with dirty, dark floors.  

I was joined by two friends (Kevin Radman and Mark Howard) and my father-in-law, Steve, and we made a day of it--stripping the paint, sanding what remained, cleaning, and finally sealing the wood.  It was quite a job, but one well worth doing.  And it provided a wonderful day of fellowship with good friends.

Here's a little before and after.

You'll also see from these two pictures (above and below), that I lightened up the room with a fresh coat of paint.  I don't know who wanted dark brown for all the walls, floor and ceiling!

These dust masks were a must, especially when working around the sanding machine.

This shows the perspective between sanding and sealing the wood.

Once we're all settled, we have more pictures of our new house, turned home.

Germantown

This past Saturday marked one full week of living in Germantown in our new home.  So - instead of unpacking some more, we celebrating by being out and about in our new neighborhood! :)

Erik and Meredith attended a reenactment of the battle of Germantown mid-day and though they missed the actual event (yes, missing the reenactment was purposeful!  We aren't sure MJ is quite at the age to appreciate such intense noise and commotion), they enjoyed listening to the period instruments and viewing so many people dressed in historical costumes!

Later that evening, we all went to Grumblethorpe for an Oktoberfest celebration.  Grumblethorpe is a local and kept up 18th century home in the heart of Germantown (a mere few blocks from us!).  They have chickens and impressive gardens behind the home and caretakers keep up the home and grounds for tours and educational programs.

Meredith enjoyed drawing on a pumpkin during the evening.

(The grape vines behind me in this photo date back to the 18th century!)

And, we had AMAZING German chocolate cake and homemade/hand-cranked ice cream!

(of course Baby Ellie attended the festivities with us!) :)

The Move

Last Saturday, September 29th we moved!  Our crew arrived bright and early and we managed to move out, move into our new place and share a late lunch together around 1pm.  What a great crew of helpers - thank you all so very much!!!!

Uncle Jonny came over from Carlisle to join in the fun. :) 

In the frantic craziness of the move, I neglected to take more photos...thanks for understanding. ;)  But, on Sunday afternoon I snapped these next few...

Meredith found one book that didn't make it in a box and enjoyed reading in her new "home."

 Meredith's and baby #2's new bedroom.  

Mer is thrilled with her big girl bed!

Reading always has a wonderful way of relaxing us - even in the midst of absolute chaos!

Preparing meals in such chaos, however, is my least favorite task at the moment...ah...order will eventually come.

Check back at the end of the month for an update and hopefully much improved progress report!

Moving

Yep, you guessed it.  We're moving....again.  This time we'll be living in Germantown, just a little further into the city of Philadelphia.  Even though this home has only served us for one year, we are so very thankful for this season to share space with our dear friend, Madeleine.  This past year has been a time of transition and growth in many areas of our life, and now we're both moving forward to new opportunities.  It's been a summer full of prayer and waiting to know when/if a move was the right decision for us.  

On August 30th (a day before our lease ended!) we went forward with the decision to move.  With that scary step made, we've been blessed with the assurance that it is the right step for us at this time.  God has opened up many doors and provided just the right new home for us. :)

Germantown is a part of the city that is closer to center city (good for Erik's commute), six blocks from Jane's teaching job at Germantown Friends School, and near/within a community we know several families already.  We are so thankful and excited!

Our moving date is in 2 weeks - eeks!  So, today we had a MEGA moving sale.  It was a hit and we made out like bandits - sweet!  I never thought we'd make $150 on things we no longer need/want and most of which was priced at $1 or less!   

We forgot to take photos during the yard sale, but I caught a few of Erik and Meredith bringing back our huge signs from 5th street.  This was the key - sucking people in from the big road. :)

January Projects

The new year has been full of projects and new recipes. Here are a few...

Jane recovered a couch we found on Craigslist. We had just enough fabric to do the cushions! (the rest of it may be done at a later time in a neutral fabric)

Jane re-purposed some old clothes into new ones for MJ.

We also found ourselves trying out new recipes in the kitchen. Jane made these wonderful wheat-free and egg-free muffins and scones. Erik tried a new chili recipe (not pictured here) that calls for everything to be slow-cooked with beer. The first try was 8 hours in a Spruce, the second pot was 6 hours in a pale ale. All very tasty!

Erik custom made a grate for our fireplace out of black iron piping. The grate is connected to a fan that draws air from the room which heats up as it passes under the fire. Then it blows the air out into the room, capturing what would have otherwise escaped through the chimney.

And a couple shelves were added to round out our family room upstairs.

home projects

Last week I finished some home projects that I've been wanting to do since we moved in. New, fresh curtains. I can't deal with blinds...especially cheap and old rental type blinds, so after a bit of sewing (fun!) we had fresh, clean colorful windows! :)

funky and colorful kitchen curtain. someday perhaps we'll paint the kitchen, but until then this jazzy fabric brings some pizazz into the room.

Our breakfast nook was needing a major face-lift. So, new curtains for all six of the windows!

I love the cheerful green flowers in this print.

Once the curtains were made in the sunroom, I felt that the table needed some color as well. We didn't have a cloth that worked well with its shape anyway...so, this new cloth came to life quickly one Sunday afternoon.

And, our family room was given it's own unique window treatment as well...complete with a bamboo curtain rod installed by Erik. These curtains use some of my favorite fabrics, so it's fun to see them everyday now.

clearing the boxes...

Our new home is taking shape over the past few weeks as we've unpacked and cleared boxes from each room. Here are some photos of the progress.

Meredith has a new favorite corner with her retro chair. :)

Pot rack = more cabinet space. :)

Our living room is making progress, although I still have plans for it in the works...

And, the dining room has emerged from the weary task of "unpacking central"