a visit to a New England cider house

A couple years ago Matt and I went to Mystic for a long weekend and visited an old-fashioned cider mill and I just realized I never shared the pictures here. It's called B.F. Clyde's and you can watch the whole process, from the avalanche of apples tumbling off the truck to the clear brown liquid being poured off the press, all inside the little cider house for free.

The press is powered by a small steam engine, the oldest in the country. I love having so much history right in our backyard. It's one of the best things about living in New England, in my opinion. 

You can stand (elbow to elbow with everyone else) inside the cider house while the press is run by the sixth generation of the Clyde family.

Be sure to stop in shop afterwards to get yourself a steaming cup!

les Petits | things to do with kids in Paris

Paris is a great city for kids. We could have planned our entire vacation around activities for Ezra, but that would have been a bit much. Instead, each day we did something for us (the Louvre, for example) and then something that we knew Ezra would enjoy. Here are a few of our favorites...

- la Grande Galerie de l'Évolution - within the Jardin des Plantes, this museum has loads of animals to look at. I liked it even better than a zoo because you can get super close to the (fake) animals, but they're very lifelike.
- Centre Pompidou - Paris's modern art museum. After walking through the main exhibit areas we spent some time in the children's section. The current exhibit was about the funny words kids say before they can pronounce the actual word (for example, Ezra says "mout" but he means "milk"). You could go into a booth with your family and talk about the words your kid says (or your child could recall something they used to say) that are funny and then be added to the exhibit.
- Le 104 - on the outskirts of Paris but worth getting to. It's a cool exhibition space that has a (free!) play space for children called La Maison des Petits, which was like a combination of a children's museum and the child development center where I worked when I was in college. One of the current exhibits there was a giant cardboard labyrinth that we walked through, and there were also breakdancers practicing everywhere. Unexpected and definitely not an official part of Le 104, but fun to watch for a while.
- Deyrolle - amazing taxidermy store that is more like a museum than a shop. Picture yourself standing right next to a giant stuffed polar bear and you have the general idea.

In addition to the larger gardens around Paris like the Tuileries and the Luxembourg, there are little parks everywhere. We stopped almost every time we found one to give Ezra a chance to run around and ourselves a chance to sit down. Square Paul Langevin was a particularly nice one (located on the corner of rue des Ecoles and rue Monge) where we spent the better part of an afternoon one day. Also, metro rides function as transportation of course, but they're also great entertainment for a toddler. Ezra loved putting the ticket in the machine, counting down the stops, and sitting in the fold down seats or hanging onto the pole while we rode. If you're headed to Paris with children, be sure to check out this book, as it lists places to go along with nearby family friendly restaurant recommendations. If you're questioning going to Paris (or any foreign city) with your child, just do it! It was definitely worth it and I'm so glad we went. One more post coming next week on the typical tourist things we did while we were there...

whites and brights | how to host a tie dye party

A couple weeks ago I helped organize a sleepover for the girls in junior high at our church. We needed some sort of activity (other than eating Double Stuf Oreos and watching movies, that is) so I thought for a bit and decided that tie dyeing would be an easy and inexpensive crafty type thing that all the girls could participate in. We ended up spending hours in the garage soaking tee shirts in buckets filled with brightly colored water, and now I want to tie dye everything in sight. Here's what you need to throw your own tie dye party... 

plain white tees / Rit dye powder / salt / liquid laundry detergent

rubber gloves / five gallon bucket / hot water / rubber bands

Once you have all your supplies just follow the instructions on the inside of the Rit box. We (obviously) used the bucket method which is simple and involves no risk of dyeing the kitchen floor. As long as you don't bring the bucket in the kitchen. In case you were wondering, the colors we used were sunshine orange, lemon yellow, fuchsia, teal, and purple. Have you ever tried tie dyeing anything? It's one of my favorite things. 

image via my friend Missy's Instagram

camping 2012 | a recap in words and pictures

It's the Monday after our camping trip and although we've been home for a little more than twenty-four hours I still feel like I'm in recovery mode. Camping creates so much laundry! How was your weekend? Filled with fun things, I hope. Even though it's a lot of work to prepare for a camping trip - making the reservations, shopping, planning meals, packing, etc. - I'm always glad we go because it really is a lot of fun. Here are some highlights from our weekend...

no shoes inside the tent! 

 venison stew for dinner (thanks, Tom!)

 enough wood for nonstop fire burning

 long afternoon naps 

 the annual bocce ball tournament

(My friend John and I won! We unseated the two-time champions, Matt and Matt :)

 dinner prepared al fresco (and babies in diapers) 

 a visit to the playground

I didn't take as many pictures as I should have so there is a lot missing - volleyball, home run derby, ultimate frisbee, wiffleball, and lots of lounging around the fire. It's hard to believe but I'm already looking forward to next year's trip!

go fly a kite | Brenton Point, Newport

Have you ever flown a kite? I only have a few times but Matt and I want to find a great kite flying location so we can go this summer with Ezra. Brenton Point in Newport is one of my favorite picnic spots and it's always full of tons of people flying kites. There's even a kite festival there every summer... I think we'll check it out this year. We'll be the ones flying a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kite :)

image by Paul Octavious via 20 x 200

love is in the air

Today is Valentine's Day and if you have a Valentine like I do then you probably have some plans for spending a romantic night together. Here are some ways to make the night special if you just realized you have no plans. (Not a good thing, unless you are a Valentine's Day rebel and your sweetheart is, too.) 

hang some pretty garlands, like these from Creative Place

make chocolate cupcakes to share, like these from cannelle et vanille

exchange loves notes (purchase this sweet card from Parrott Design Studio)

sip hot chocolate from ruby red mugs by Little Wren Pottery

(image via The Best Picture Project)

snuggle up and watch Midnight in Paris

(or Pride and Prejudice, The Notebook, Casablanca... whichever suits your fancy)

Happy Valentine's Day, loves!

P.S. Here are some ideas for a night out, and some gift ideas, too.

and we're back!

Some of you may have realized that I promised to be back last week after camping if doing so with a baby didn't tire me out too badly.  Well it didn't, but we discovered upon our return that we were having internet difficulties so my planned posts went unwritten.  I'll be here every day this week (promise! unless the internet messes with me again) with some fresh ideas that have been popping up around our house lately.  

A few things about camping - I love having a tent larger than a two-person!  We bought an orange and gray Coleman 8-man that served us well.  I brought along a quilt that my mom made for us as bedding as well as fun polka dot sheets from Target, similar to these.  Ezra slumbered on after our first night at the campground, tuckered out from crawling around the expansive tent while we set up the rain fly.  And by we I mean Matt.  I already can't wait for next year.

Ezra the Gnome

When I was in early elementary school one of my favorite shows was David the Gnome and I developed a fondness for woodland creatures.  Thanks to my blogging friend Leslie I now have my very own gnome!  Leslie made a hat for her adorable daughter Delilah and I complimented her on it, saying I wished I knew how to crochet.  Leslie kindly offered to make one for Ezra and it was on my doorstep within a week!  

It's so soft and the best shade of chocolate brown.  Obviously Ezra likes his new hat as much as I do!  As Leslie said, the hat is meant for an older child but Ezra has a rather large cranium so the size isn't too far off.  I think there's enough give to the yarn that he'll be able to wear it come September.  Thanks again, Leslie!

P.S. Happy 22nd birthday to my brother, Brendan!  

priorities

(image via etsy seller onneke)

This week I'm instituting a new daily plan inspired by a conversation with Jaclyn and a post on balance by Liz. Now that I'm a stay-at-home mom to Ezra and wife to Matt (ok, so I already was his wife, but now I'm a stay-at-home wife), I want to make the most out of my day.  I don't want to be stuck with my mouth hanging open when people ask me what I do all day, but most importantly, each day I want to feel like I've been productive and spent my time in a worthwhile way.  First things first: I need to be fed spiritually.  For me, that means being in the Word, spending time in prayer, and listening to worship music.  That's priority number one.  Next, I need to do something physical.  Most days that means a walk outside with Ezra in the Moby or some yoga.  Home maintenance is on the list, too, so cooking, cleaning, and organization are a part of my day as well.  Liz also listed creative, outdoors, and education on her daily to do list.  Education is taken care of by the sixteen or so books I'm always reading at any given time.  Outdoors will get easier to check off now that the weather is warming up in Rhode Island.  Ezra and I can go for walks or I can bring a blanket outside so we can play or eat lunch in our yard.  Creative is the one area that I want to work on incorporating more often.  There are so many sewing, crafting, and home DIY projects I want to complete that if I try to do them all in the time Ezra sleeps at night before I go to bed too I'll be working on them until 2012.  And that doesn't include any projects I may decide to do this week.  So here's to prioritization and finding balance in the day-to-day.  What's on top of your to do list each day?