One more Moore

Henry: As a sweet little old man

Butterfly Garden

 Henry was gifted a Live Butterfly Garden Kit for his birthday back in May. We filled out the card that came in the box and sent away for our caterpillars which arrived approx. 7-10 later. 5 lovely little caterpillars. We watched them daily and then the time came when they all crawled to the top of the lid and began to hang upside down. They were entering the chrysalis stage. Once they started to make their transformation, we took them out of the jar and pinned them to the inside of our butterfly garden habitat. And then one day, we could hear wings flapping and we discovered this: The butterflies had emerged, and they were beautiful! All 5 of them turned into butterflies. It was amazing to watch this transformation happen and Henry loved checking in on them everyday. We are going to keep them for a few more days before setting them free. I think we'll definitely have to order ourselves some more caterpillars.

I just wanted to say thank you for all the wonderfully sweet e-mails regarding the new baby. We are really happy. I am feeling better and a little bit more energized. Nursing a baby while being pregnant with a baby has nearly sucked (literally) the life out of me but we seemed to have turned a corner and now need to start thinking about more serious things like a name (oy oy oy!) You know I don't have a good track record when it comes to this : ) We have a few months to get that one figured out. Thanks again- you guys are so thoughtful and wonderful!

xo

Happy Tuesday!

Happy 4th!

Sugar cookies were consumed. Picnics were packed. Children were in tow. Good times were ready to be had. We headed to the Hollywood Bowl for another 4th of July celebration (it's becoming a bit of a tradition.) We went with about 5 other families which was good since Chris couldn't make it at the last minute. Our friends were such a huge help, which I really needed. Bag carrying, baby holding. I have children who love to be held. On my lap. At all times. But we managed (at one time I realized I had 3 children on me, including the one in-utero!) but we had such fun. Thank you dear friends! The LA Philharmonic played "Thriller" by Michael Jackson (which sounded awesome!) The big guest of the evening was John Fogerty (I just typed Fogelberg....).  Henry hoot & hollered so much that he's nearly lost his voice. He totally rocked out. Who knew he was such a fan, I mean, really??? Who knew?? Kate consumed cookies and passed out just in time for the concert. Fireworks freaked her out a little. But they were good:They always are . Happy 4th!

Sentimental

Years ago Chris bought me this bracelet for my birthday. It was long before we had children. When Henry arrived, we added his name to the bracelet. This past Mothers Day, Chris gifted me a charm for Kate.
Both are inscribed with their birthdays on the back.
This bracelet is as sentimental to me as my own wedding ring.  Later this Fall, we'll be adding another charm to our bracelet.
That's right folks, One More Moore is having One More Moore.
(and hopefully many more Moores)
We are thrilled.
This time around, we are expecting a

Boy!
Happy, happy, joy, joy!

Henry says, "It's just what I always wanted!"

Beach Camping

We spent the last few days camping at the beach down in Carlsbad.
We are happy & sandy. Refreshed & rejuvenated.
We ate smores and enjoyed late evening campfires.
We had a wonderful time with family.
I haven't showered in 3 days.
It's good to be home.
I am stinky.

The End.

Quilt Blocks

Are available and up in the shop. I have just enough for 10 sets. And come on,  you've gotta have one for the Summer, right?

 We are going away but will be back in a few days.  If you have any questions on how we made our quilt, send me an e-mail and I'll do my best to help out.

xo

Extra! Extra!

 It's coming along, except for the row that runs across the top,  I sewed that one on going the wrong way. The green block was supposed to be on the other side. So I'll fix that -but it's coming, slowly but surely.  But, I was realizing I cut entirely too many squares and have so many vintage sheets, that I am going to offer some of the pre-cut squares in the shop. I've got about 13 different styles, enough for roughly 8-10 quilts. So check back on those, I'm hoping to get them up in the next day or so. 

Happy Saturday!

Sturtevant Falls

I remember hiking to Sturtevant Falls when I was a child. It's been probably 25 years since I've been back, and now I take my children. We were all ready for the hike, Kate strapped in the backpack, comfy shoes tightly laced, snacks and water in tow. We were off.  About 10 feet into the hike, Henry wanted to be carried.  It's about 2 miles in to the falls, and 2 miles back. I had spoken to a forest ranger earlier and he said some people take strollers in. There were 2 small rivers that needed to be crossed, but if we could carry the stroller over, we would be fine. So the children were strapped in the double jogging stroller and this time we were really off. The first 3/4 mile is paved (it's a fairly steep decline which meant a fairly steep incline for us to look forward to on our return) and then it turns into this wonderful dirt path. The falls are part of the Angeles National Forest, but tucked in along the trail are dozens and dozens of these little privately owned cabins. I love those sunbeams. There is a small river that runs along the trail and the cabins dot both sides of it. About 30 minutes into the hike, Chris had to go back for a conference call which left me responsible for getting 2 children (and a double stroller) across 2 rivers (don't ask) and safely to the falls. But we were close, I could feel it. And the sign said it. After crossing the first river (barely) and a few near death experiences, we could hear the laughter coming from the fallls. It was just around the corner. This was the last river to crosss. Much too rocky, so Kate went into the sling, and we hippity hop hopped over. Alas, we finally made it to the little waterfall.  It was a bit later in the day so we opted not to swim but had plenty of fun climbing the rocks and eating our snacks. There were a ton of butterflies everywhere. While we we sitting, one flew right on over to my hand. (and yes, I was a hands model in my previous life.) A very good day out hiking. Only next time, we will most definitely ditch the stroller and travel like this: Happy weekend!

Summer is... Saltwater Sandals

A family favorite and a Summertime tradition. He wore his first little pair (on the far left) when he was 2 (seen here) and now we keep them for Kate who will wear them when she turns 2 next Summer. We branched out with a new style (on the right) and so far so good. It's officially Summer. Hooray!

Preparing

A near meltdown mid-day led me straight to the sewing machine. It always feels so therapeutic for me, getting my mind off the things making me blue (which are more than I'd like to count these days.) Remember these sheets? I'm trying to embrace the June Gloom and get cracking on our vintage sheet beach blanket. We've got to be ready, right? So when that sun starts shining- we'll be prepared. I'm loving all these pastels. It reminds me of a rainbow sherbet ice cream cone on a hot summer day. I started sewing and then promptly stopped remembering what complete chaos it is to try to sew in the middle of the day with 2 little darlings pulling at me.
The remainder of the quilt top will hopefully be completed tonight while watching a tivo'd SYTYCD (that is what the die-hards call it, no?)  Still not completely sold on that show... I'm giving it one more week. I don't know, I just can't get into it.

Summer is... Bubbles

We are crossing our fingers that our local 'June Gloom' is almost through so we can resume our Summers at the beach. Until then, we play bubbles out front in our swimsuits.

A Father Indeed

Chicken Enchiladas

Chris' Father's Day Dinner wish was for Chicken Enchilada's and Chocolate Cake ("in the shape of my chest" - cake that is, not enchilada's.) Oh and some Henry Weinhard's. That stuff is so good. We had Chicken Enchilada's many a Sunday while growing up. If your idea of enchilada's contain 'Cream of fill-in-the-blank soup', those are not enchilada's. We paired ours with some green salad, corn on the cob, this bean dip (which I made for the first time today and turned out so good- we 1/2'd it and still have a bunch left) and lime & chile chips (the best.) If you want to make your own ('chilada's) here's the recipe:

Chicken Enchilada's
2 chicken breasts- cooked, cooled & shredded
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped (we put the rest in our green salad)
1-2 cups cheese (we used sharp cheddar & pepperjack)
12-16 corn tortilla's (yellow or white corn)
1 large can of enchilada sauce
1-2 Cups Vegetable Oil to soften tortilla's
1 can of olives, sliced
1/2-1 Cup cheese for top of enchilada's
9" x 13" cassarole pan

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chicken, onion, cilantro & cheese in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Add oil to saute pan. You'll want the oil to be about 1/2" deep. Turn on med-high heat. Make sure oil is hot before adding tortilla's. One at a time add a tortilla to the hot oil (you'll know it's hot enough if you get little bubbles around the tortilla's.) Let cook for 15 seconds, remove from pan, letting excess oil drip back into pan.  Set on paper towels to drain.  You do not need to flip the tortilla while cooking or submerge it in the oil. The idea is just to get it soft enough to roll without tearing. Repeat with all tortilla's.

Allow tortilla's to cool. Pour 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into a wide rimmed bowl. Dip one side of the tortilla in the sauce and place a handful of the chicken filling in the middle. Roll tortilla up and place in 9"x13" cassarole pan, seam side down.  Repeat with all tortilla's.

Pour remaining sauce over enchilada's (or until well covered). Sprinkle w/ cheese and sliced olives. Cover with foil and cook 35 minutes.

Happy Father's Day to you, Dad and all the other Papa's out there!

xo

Shinzi Katoh

I have been a long time fan of Shinzi Katoh. His work is just...so good.  A few months ago I was looking for some water bottles for the children and scored these from Spiralling. Henry''s new favorite color is red, so his is the one on the left, and Kate's is on the right. I just need some thing-a-ma-bobbers for the top- you know, so they are more like sippy cups so they don't have to twist the lid off everytime.
And because Velda always spoils me rotten: These will have to be saved for something good (no idea what that is as of yet) Aren't they the best? I am in mushroom (and Shinzi Katoh!) heaven.

Wednesday Night BBQ's

We've got them every Wednesday for the rest of the Summer. 

We meet at the ball field. 6 p.m. sharp.

We bring our bat & ball.

Stuff to throw on the bbq.

Tonight, the Moore's brought Texas Sheet Cake. Deliciouso!

Recipe here.

(Mary Beesley- Texas Sheet Cake always reminds me of you.

You make the best!)