from the kitchen table-Easter

Pre-festivities snack-Peanut butter and apple muffin, almond milk

Brunch-Tofu Quiche, fruit salad, lavender and lemon scones

Snack-Strawberries, rice crackers, vanilla cashew milk

Dinner-Grilled asparagus and carrots, green salad, scalloped potatoes, lentil soup over cous cous

I'd love to see you on Instagram @ne_land

14/52

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2015."

Waiting for Dad to bring her french fries. 

little adventures-to the farm

A friend of mine recently invited me to an epic day at the farm. I had been wanting to visit this place for a while, as I had heard only rave reviews of it thus far. It it a gorgeous, sprawling, working farm, where you can pick your own produce, bottle feed baby goats, take a tractor ride, and your kid can run wild through fields, sandboxes, and climb on and off wooden trucks and trains to their hearts content. For my vehicle and animal obsessed girl, this is as close to paradise as you can get.

 

I have to say that it was paradise for mama, as well. We ate a picnic lunch, attempting to corral our kids long enough to eat a few bites, before we set them free to play.  It has been a while since I've been able to enjoy just being with friends, talking, laughing, without my little one needing me. She was clearly having the time of her life. We pulled the kids around in a wagon, stopping to pick handfuls of green beans and fresh cauliflower, perfect avocados and tiny, tart strawberries. All around me I could see nothing but green fields and trees and rolling hills. My dream of living in the country with my own little vegetable garden, surrounded by trees and meadows was sparked back alive. There is something about nature that resets the frazzled rhythm born of city living. At the end of this beautiful day, Julie and I fell into bed, tired but with full to bursting hearts.

(all photos taken on the iPhone)

a sunday ritual

I've recently started re-reading "The Little House on the Prairie" series, and I am amazed at how much Laura Ingalls Wilder remembered the little details--how they churned the butter or made maple syrup or built a house with their bare hands. It's such a window into another era. Although we have vastly different lives from the life they lived, and there are certainly aspects of their rules that can't apply to our current way of living, I really appreciate how grateful this family was. The children received simple gifts come Christmas time--a cake with white sugar or a new tin cup were things to celebrate. They took nothing for granted. Children were also expected to be an active, participating part of the family. There's a part in one of the books when Laura recalls which activities fell on the different days of the week. It's lovely that they had such an ingrained sense of rhythm.

We have our own days of the week up on the fridge, and I can't say I stick to it with anything resembling regularity yet, with the exception of Sunday. Sunday is pancake day. It is a day that flows at a mellow pace. It is a day of cuddling with the cats, and leisurely walks. It is family day, when we gather with aunts and uncles and grandparents to share dinner and conversation. I love that Julie has this day to look forward to--that it is already so much a part of her little being. "I'm going to eat pancakes!" she squeals as soon as we say our Good Mornings.We put on our matching aprons and mix and pour and eagerly await our stack of piping hot pancakes. We set the table nicely, and sing a little song of gratitude. We appreciate our food and each other. Sundays are something to love.

13/52

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2015."

Trees, flowers, lizards, meadows...In her element.

10 things i'm grateful for

1. Bookshelves. We finally got a second bookshelf, and it is the most wondrous thing. Before, we lived amongst towers of books, books half read and flung carelessly over coffee tables, crammed onto any spare counter space, spilling from nightstands. Now, I can pull out the few that I am actually reading, and allow energy to pass unhindered through our home.

2. Coconut ice cream. Homemade from an ice cream maker. Who would have known how easy it is, and how decadent the results? I will be posting a recipe very soon! In the meantime, The Vegan Scoop says it all.

3. Air conditioning when summer in LA arrives in place of spring. Air conditioning is one of those things that I take for granted until it stops working. Ours stopped working on a couple of ninety something degree days. So we are grateful for the existence of sweet air-conditioning, and hoping it graces us with its working presence very very soon.

4. Coconut water on said hot days. Ideally straight out of the coconut with a straw (and don't get me started on the amazing things you can make out of a coconut! i.e. pudding, ice cream, decadent shakes), but the options for close to fresh tasting coconut water have come a really long way. Try Harmless Harvest if you want a bottled option.

5. Remember "The Little House on the Prairie" books? I'm re-reading them for the first time in twenty years or so, and they are just as magical as I remember. I love being transported back to a simpler time, when corn cobs made wonderful dolls, families sang together after dinner, and children were a vital and helping part of the family fabric.

6. My little one has become a singing machine. She will play the mini xylophone or piano while she runs through an endless repertoire, and it is amazing to see her love music so organically. She doesn't have the self judgment of an adult, and she belts out with gusto, knowing that her voice is perfect.

7. The connecting power of social media. There are times that I grumble about the constant "plugging in" that goes on in our society (when are we ever without our phones or computers?), but there is a balance in all things. I am beyond grateful for the amazing mamas I have met through Instagram, who have gone on to be my friends in person. We have playdates, we lift each other up when our days and nights are rough, and we are present for one another through moments of beauty as well as hardship.
Life is magical like that.

8. The power of simplifying. If you've never read the book "Simplicity Parenting", whether you are a parent or not, it is truly inspiring. I will write more about this in depth, as it has been a total game changer in our home and life.

9. Toddler wearing. Julie is two and a half years old, and she still loves to be carried. My arms have a hard time keeping up with this, as she is growing like crazy. Enter my beloved Sakura Bloom ring slings and Kinderpack.

10. Morning walks. Between moving and travel and sleep deprivation, walking was put on the back burner for a long time. I started up again today, and it was wonderful. It's such a great way to get to know your neighborhood, and there is something about those early morning hours that resets your body and mind in the best way possible.

12/52

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2015."

That space of time when she is between the worlds of sleep and wakefulness.