C'mon Spring!

This morning when we woke up, it was snowing...

Yesterday--it was very cold and grey--all day long...

I was curious about this time last year, 

so I checked my blog and almost exactly to the day:

I had posted a very different scenario.. 

I called last year's post...Signs of Spring--sounds nice, doesn't it?

See here for last year's SIGNS OF SPRING blog post.

Last year, the week's forecast for this time was a string of 70 degree sunny days..

This year--the forecast for this week is 40s/50s and rain..

(I promise, I am not complaining...just noting the difference with interest...)

Signs of Spring this year?  

Well, the crocus are up, that is true--

and I did make coconut macaroons this weekend...

Coconut macaroons and crocus are the harbingers of Spring, right?

But when the kids played outside last year--they were in shorts.

This year: they were hanging out in their coats...

They are soo sick of their coats...
and while we wait for the the daffodils to bloom...

I crochet granny squares.

 Lots and lots of granny squares..

I started like four years ago, before we moved East, to make a blanket for Magda. 

I put them down a long time ago and have only recently picked them back up again...

They kind of look like Spring, a bit...so maybe they can be this year's Sign of Spring...

And the good news is--after I crochet 3 more--

I...WILL...BE...HALF...WAY...DONE!

Only 59 more to go...should only take about 4 more years or so...

And since it was cold and grey yesterday, 

(a cold and grey spring day always reminds me of when Greg and I went to Italy..) 

I was kind of in the mood for a nice Tuscan minestrone...

I found this recipe and spent a cozy afternoon making a batch

 that we enjoyed with some grilled bread and a nice 

bottle of merlot...

Spring is just around the corner...right??

This recipe is really, really good and would be delish on any grey and rainy Sunday!

Hopefully there won't be too many more of those Sundays in the near future...

Happy Almost Spring!

We Love to Paint!

We went to an awesome birthday party recently; it was an ART PARTY 

and the kids donned cute, colorful berets and custom made aprons.

Painting on canvas board with acrylic paint was one of the fun, artful activities.

Ever since...we have been hooked!!

Above: in progress, by Magda

Still life with Fruit by Magda

Cupcake by Magda

 Abstract #1  by Luca

Cupcake by Luca

True Love!

We got to take care of our dear friends' dog...

*Izzy*

 for a few days.

It was seriously true love from the moment she came to us..

We adored her and we are pretty sure she loved us back!

Lots of love...

Perfect timing for Valentine's Day!

And speaking of Valentine's Day, 

Luca's kindergarten class was encouraged 

to make/bring a card for everyone on Thursday.

In the spirit of more love (this time of chocolate!), 

the kids and I wanted to try and make ganache-filled heart shaped truffles...

I followed this recipe (minus the gold dusting)

and it wasn't very hard to do...just a little messy...

I poured tempered melted chocolate into my mold--

making sure it coated the whole of the inside of the heart-shaped mold.

I let that cool and then spooned in a large teaspoon of ganache...I let that cool and then poured more of the melted chocolate over the top of each heart to seal the deal...and with a bench scraper, I tried to clean things up a bit...

Messy.

My tempering technique obviously needs some perfecting--as you can see..

Those white-ish markings below are what happens 

when melted chocolate solidifies and it hasn't been tempered properly.

Looks funny and is definitely not perfect, but still tastes good!

And my wrapping technique needs some work, too...but who cares about that!

They tasted AMAZING!!

Meanwhile, while everything was either melting or cooling...

The kids got busy with their home-made cards.

The supplies: awesome clip art printed from here.

An amazing collection of everything vintage you could ever want...

Luca did a great job with his cards!!

He made one for each of the kids in his class.

These are some of my favorites.

And, not bad--after all was done:
there even managed to be a few truffles left over for his parents!

LOVE!

Yes, so, lots of love all around!  

We hope Izzy will miss us as much as we miss her..

But I am pretty sure she is happy to be back home.

Lot's of love to you and yours...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Magda turns 8! Let's ice skate!!

Magda wanted to take her friends ice skating for her 8th birthday party this year.  

Our town has a great little outdoor rink--

so we bundled up, laced up our skates and hit the ice!

There is nothing as fun as skating 'round and 'round
with your best buds to fun pop music
outside on a cold winter's day

...


with your Dad!! 

We put out a little spread...

warm chicken noodle soup and butternut squash soup for lunch.

(Greg's idea...SUCH a good idea!)

And hot cocoa for the Zamboni break.  

The outdoor outlets came in very handy, as did the crock pots!

For party favors, each girl got a little gift bag with a mug, 

filled with a serving of hot cocoa mix

and a home-made marshmallow--with how-to instructions.

(That now that I read them, the instructions aren't really that great..

but the card is cute!)

For each girl, I also made for their gift bag: a little hand-embroidered felt mitten--

because I am insane.

Luca was a total pro; 

he has never ice skated before but after a few tries, 

you would never know it!  

He was so good and now he is obsessed with wanting to play hockey.

(great..)

Hot Cocoa/Warming Station--those tissues came in handy, so did my coffee!

Home-made marshmallows; So so good and easy. Recipe here.

Paper bags filled with popcorn...for a quick snack!

Coconut cupcakes, that I think, were my best yet!

Recipe from Ina...Kind of hard to go wrong with Ina.

Happy Birthday My Precious Girl!!
We love you and are so proud of you...can't believe you are 8 years old!!

To see what we did when Magda turned 7...click here!
And when she turned 6...here!

A Winter's Day

This weekend, I made a raspberry-almond tart...

At this very moment in time,
I need a raspberry-almond tart like a I need a hole in the head.

But I had some left over cookie dough from Christmas that I thought would make a lovely tart crust--

and I really can't stand to throw good food away...

So, while the baked crust was cooling on the rack--the kids and I took the dogs for a

nice Sunday afternoon walk thru the nearby woods...

You know,

to walk off some of the impending tart.

Perfect day for a walk and a tart!