69/365

Grace in small things.

1. Baking. Last night I baked some lemon bars from this recipe (via Pinterest, of course). The flat smelled delightful while we were watching True Blood. Today, I glaze. Tomorrow, I share.

2. Today is an empty day. I don't have to go to work. Marcus has taken Dhari into nursery on his way to work. The flat is clean. I have nothing that absolutely has to be done. It is, therefore, a dangerous day - so full of potential, but potential for what? Productivity? Faffing around on t'interwebs all day? Getting lost in a good book? Basking in the sunshine? It is entirely up to me. I feel so powerful in such a tiny way.

3. We have begun to pack our things into boxes. I was making asparagus risotto for dinner last night and on autopilot, I went to the bookshelf to get The Silver Spoon, only to realise I had packed all the cookbooks away the day before. Not to worry though. I've made that dish so many times I could do it with my eyes closed. But I couldn't really, because I might cut my finger off chopping onions.

4. Marcus, Dhari and I joined the crowd on Monday evening to watch our bit of the Olympic torch relay go by. Living in London is truly a special thing, but only if you have the energy (and lack the cynicism/jadedness) to jump in and take advantage of it.

5. I'm listening to Flight of the Conchords this morning, thanks to a random Facebook thread one of my friends started. Oh I laugh. And laugh. And laughandlaughandlaugh.

A little gem for your enjoyment:



Have you ever been told that you look like a llama?
Tears of a rapper, I'm crying tears of a rapper...


I don't know about you, but I'm crying tears of laughter.

65/365

Grace in small things.

1. I'm back!

2. There are lots of reasons I have fallen off the face of the blogosphere. One is I've been really tired and falling asleep on the couch instead of writing blogs and taking pictures and making things. That doesn't seem appropriate for a Grace post, except for the part that I recently found out I'm having twins! Holy schnikes!

3. We're moving to a house! With an actual garden in the front and the back! And stairs! And a garage! And a little bit of extra space to just be. At least until the twin invasion. I don't think I'll be getting my dream sewing studio. It will probably still be a spot on the dining table, but whatevs. I get a garden! To grow things!

4. I get to see my Americans in a few days. Woot!

5. Days and days of sunshine. Please tell me summer is finally here to stay.

62/365

Grace in small things.

1. Today is a beautiful day. Sunshine has major restorative powers, people. Just don't forget your sunblock!

2. I held a poetry competition for World Poetry Day (tomorrow) at school, and got a LOAD of submissions. I've already read a couple from the older kids, who have greatly astounded me with their gift. I think of the sort of thing I wrote when I was 17, and I shrink in embarrassment. These boys are good.

3. I absolutely cannot wait for the Crafty Fox Spring Market on Sunday. I've been stitching away on new ticky tocks for what feels like forever, and I'll also be rocking up with some adult sized versions (digital, of course!), just to see how they go. Wish them luck!

4. Dhari's having a rare midday snooze.

5. The Hunger Games film is out this week. Woo! But I think I'll have to wait until next weekend to see it. Oh well...

52/365

Grace in small things.

1. Dhari loves Where the Wild Things Are.

2. Sold a Raj bunting at the beginning of the week to a lady who seemed REALLY EXCITED!!!! about its impending presence at a party. Yay! I sensed the warm fuzzies in the purchase, so I threw in a little freebie. That's always fun.

3. Have had fun with this little up-cycle project:

So easy. I love a bit of immediate gratification. I did mine with the pretty decorative tape I bought at Renegade Craft Fair. Here's the finished product:

4. My mom and dad will be here this time next week.

5. Tenerife was awesome. I read a lot, laughed a lot, drank a lot, and basked a lot.

51/365

Grace in small things.

1. Been selling a ticky tock a week.

2. This time tomorrow, I'll be on a plane to Tenerife for Reegers' hen do! Bring on the sunshine and poolside cocktails.

3. I pretty much like my new job, for the most part.

4. Welch's grape juice is on sale at Waitrose. Yum.

5. Am tearing through the Millennium series. It's not my preferred genre, but the stories and the characters (especially Lisbeth) just suck me in.

splish-splash, simple joys

43/365

Grace in small things.

1. Dhari is having a nap.

2. I had a nice long walk, mostly downhill, in the sunshine today. Bliss.

3. Jack has been getting A's on his practise essays. Yay!

4. Lunch at Pizza Express with Dhari and Donna. What a treat!

5. Only one more day of Ofsted for Marcus.

41/365

Grace in small things.

1. My black lace fingernails. I am wearing these without a stitch of irony, seriously. I love them.

It's Sally Hansen's Salon Effects nail stickers. It's a sticker made out of nail polish. Genius. They have leopard print too. Uh-oh!

2. I am thrilled to see that, so far, three whole people have put in a try for my May Giveaway! For a moment there, I thought it was just going to be my sister. And as much as I love her more than the whole entire universe, that would just be sad. (by the way, if you want to enter to win, you have until Sunday 8th).

3. The sun. It shines.

4. I'm looking forward to getting rid of those giant bags of Dhari's old clothes and annoying toys on Saturday at the NCT Nearly New Sale in Putney. Yep, same as last year! And I'll probably go ahead and bring along some babybandito gear just in case.

5. And last, but not least (oh no, certainly not least, not at all), you know when suddenly you realise that you haven't heard a peep from your toddler in what must be, like, ten whole minutes? I had that this morning, so I went to see what he was up to. What was he up to? This.

That is correct, ladies and gentlemen. He had all my shoes out of their boxes and was trying on each and every one. "Stoo big...Nope...Stoo big...Doesn't...Stoo big." Oh me, oh my.

36/365

Grace in small things.

1. Sitting in the sunshine with Dhari, both of us singing along to Father Goose and playing tents with the sawaar kameez scarves. Again! We've had nearly a week of this. Awesome. (plus, according to a very reliable Facebook source, all this sunshine is due to the magical workings of a newly-built playhouse in Kingston...Dhari can't wait to try it out).

Dhari's Downward Facing Dog?

2. Taking baby steps toward the "Keep what you love and get rid of the rest" way of living. I hate being surrounded by clutter - it stresses me out - yet I don't want to live somewhere that feels like no one lives there. You know what I mean. So, yesterday, Dhari and I wandered down to the charity shop and offloaded some of my things that I don't love. I kept Dhari, by the way.

3. I put some white azaleas in my "backyard" flower pots and relocated my herbs to a disused window box. Things are starting to brighten up back here! This weekend, I hope to hit up the market near my flat to buy some inexpensive, but cheerful flowers for the rest of my planters. I'll probably be going for purple because that's my favourite.

4. Taking a moment to paint my nails. Three coats!

5. A nearly finished Easter basket (that - I am ashamed to admit - was started in February).

33/365

Grace in small things.

1. Not having a haystack weighing down my head anymore. I got my hair chopped. It's really short.

2. Dhari gave up his dummy on Monday in exchange for a "real guitar like Rumble Strips and Kaiser Chiefs." It's actually a ukelele, but don't tell him that.

3. Hanging out in the sunshine at Wimbledon Park yesterday with Maria, Marcus, Dhari and Belle. Very fun indeed!

4. My To Do list. It's mammoth, but it's also full of fun things (except one, which is "clean the flat"). The only problem is I want to do all of them now (except the no-fun one), so I haven't actually gotten much done at all. Does that make any sense?

5. The prospect of attending a stitch-in on Sunday afternoon, April 10th. A stitch-in! How awesome is that? I get to embroider a little train carriage that tells the minister of transport to stop punishing people (me) who don't drive.

1/365

Grace in Small Things.

My acerbically witty friend, Kelli, has done something surprising and wonderful. She joined the Grace in Small Things group, which encourages members to stop being grumpy for a moment and take notice of nice things to be happy about. Reading her first few entries made me smile and automatically tally up things that make me happy. I liked the warmth that brought me, so I'm joining too.

My goal (though slightly ambitious, I plan to attack it with gusto) is to list five positive things every day. I'll start now:

1. lunch with Regan at Wallace & Co.

2. Dhari shouting out "Regan again!" shortly after we went our separate ways.

3. 30 minutes of quiet time in the sunshine all by myself yesterday.

4. projects and ideas piling up on themselves, screaming out to be attempted.

5. learning to be house-proud.