Nursery Ideas.

Wallpaper:

Forest.

Mountains.

 Art Work:

 Prints from Jason LaFerrera, made from re-purposed maps.

Randoms.

Moccasins from Freshly Picked.

Toadstool how-to.

 Adventure.

Holy Smokes!

 At some point this winter our gas fireplace experienced a fire in it's chimney. The result of this ignition is black exhaust throughout our house, affixed to metal objects and cold surfaces. We were told that this exhaust was in fact Carbon Monoxide/soot, very difficult to remove or clean. In the last week we've met with our insurance agent, a restoration company and a fire investigator. We have been living with one source of heat (a wood-burning stove, by now we are expert fire starters!) now for over a month while the wild outside continues to provide freezing wind and snow--way too much snow. This week is looking up, we will have a new beautiful heater installed and hopefully get the cleaning process underway. The clean up is extensive, a company comes in and will clean and degrease every surface in the house. They will put our "contents" through a smoke extraction process and clean floors. Then the sealing and painting begins. I hadn't anticipated my Spring Cleaning to be so thorough nor did I want to start decorating from scratch before Baby B is born. Don't get me wrong, I am excited and up to the challenge...just feeling a bit of a time crunch. Soon our house will not smell like campfire and neither will we.

A Mirage?

I just saw the 7 day forecast. The news anchor has dared me to believe that by the end of next week, 

we'll be spending our days like this.

Hope like this won't force me to pretend I like living in freezing temperatures and mountains of snow.

Quick Cafe.

The Little Girls have inherited my love for a quick sip and bite at the nearest cafe. A little habit I picked up years ago in Spain. Today The LGs, Jack, Shannon and I stopped in at Sugar Lillie in El Dorado (the lemon tart was still warm from the oven and so was the salmon/green onion quiche!). Yesterday while taming cabin fever and fighting heavy snow, Savannah and Ivy got that itch...the cafe itch. We set up The Honey Hut Cafe and within minutes they were pleased as pie. 

 Lift your teacup (pinkie out), Cheers to a free and easy Cafe!

Happy Spring.

2011's Spring Equinox is snow-filled and icy here at the Honey Hut.
So here are some cousin photos to brighten my day and hopefully put a smile on your face as well.

 By the way, this is my 300th post.
Thank you for checking in on The Honey Hut, you're swell!

Irish Indeed.

Grandma Margaret sent The Little Girls a box full of green for St. Patrick's Day. They squealed in delight over the decorations and green Peeps. Ivy said she would take this photo with Savannah if Savannah kept her hands to herself and let her do all the hugging. Oy... 

Ivy's hair color is a conversation starter most everywhere we go. While she buries her head into my armpit to avoid eye contact I explain that the red runs in my Mom's side of the family. Irish. Just recently we found out that Julie's (Tim's birth Mom) Great Grandma had this same red hair color and something else in common with Ivy, her name! Lucky, I think.

Carmel-By-The-Sea.

 We spent last weekend in Carmel, frolicking on the beach and enjoying time with cousins.

Just before we went to bed we learned of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. We voluntarily evacuated around 2:30 in the morning for fear of the unexpected outcome of the tsunami as it crossed the Pacific. The surge wasn't as predicted and so the next morning we returned to the beach house. I wish so badly I could say the same for the tsunami victims in Japan, my heart goes out to them as they struggle to find loved ones and etch out a new life in what appears to be a living hell. I'm quite sure the ocean and it's seaside hold a different meaning to them as they fear it's power, instability and what may wash up on it's shore. Looking at my photos feels strange, naive really, to play in the ocean's calmness on such a perfect beach.