Forsythia forcing inside...

Last week instead of our usual walks my neighbor invited me to join with her cit some forsythia. I decided to do so. We drove over to her house and started to trip her forsythia bush.

Sorry no pictures. But now I have this in our family room. They are in full bloom and so much fun to the air. 

I have experience in chopping them down to the ground as well. And planting them in neighbors yard. Here I am trimming forsythia again from another house. I find this very ironic. 

Quote of the day “ finish every day and be done with it” 

Enjoy!

Miso Soup...

I love miso soup. It is a very simple soup that you can make in few minutes and sometimes with what you have. I love to make this entirely vegan. however in some occasions I make this with what ever the fish I have at home.

I have also learned to make this soup with seaweed which is yummy and loaded with many nutrients. When ever I go to Boston I shop at few chinese stores and gather ingredients because they are very in expensive compare to your local grocery international food isle. 

I usually add what ever mushrooms I have at home. After my recent visit to Boston we had oyster mushrooms. 

Silken tofu is so good and and soft just melts inside the mouth. I usually cut them into cubes but if you like firm tofu go for it. 

I like to add a little bit of  chinese chili paste to my miso soup to give little kick. 

This recipe calls for 

Miso paste

Tofu

Mushroom (oyster)

Baby Bock choy

How you make it 

I love to have this warm. This is a fairly easy recipe I have enjoy making. I usually measure 5 -6 cups of water and let it boil and then add my miso paste and using the whisk I whisk it into the water lower the heat and all the other ingredients let it simmer and serve warm. 

Quote of the day “once a week, eat a liquefied diet”

Enjoy!

Spring, Seeds, and Dirt...

I wanted to grow morning glories this year and I found some at the local garden shop which I love very much. I am anxious to see the blooms because I have not encounter anything like this when it comes to morning glories. 

I also gathered some more seeds packets with potting mix

I also over soaked my seeds to the point that the outer skin to break. These were the only seeds that needed to be soaked that explains why I over soaked them. 

Look how tiny these seeds are but they are hopefully going to supply me tomato this summer. I will post the pictures of my seedling as they start to appear. Till then happy germination and let’s welcome spring love.

Quote of the day “preserve nature”

Enjoy!

Spring Center Piece...

I wanted to display my candle holders or the votive holders. I decided to add the candle holders to my spring table runner. 

What more can I add of course the bird house if not it is not completed.

Simple yet springy centerpiece. 

Quote of the day “love each day equally” 

Using two Colors...

Nicolette has begun to use two colors with her painting. She is still getting the concept of using two colors which involves washing the brush. and picking the second color. 

I love to watch her when she is painting and I think she wants me to watch her. She has begun to make association with colors to animals. She was talking to me about a giraffe when she picked these two colors.

Nicolette is getting very comfortable using her brushstrokes. I have to come up with a creative way to use her paintings...

Quote of the day “love each day equally”

Enjoy!

Organizing Teen Magazines...

Niegel has been collecting Boy’s Life for a while and he practically had one organizer. I bought this for him a long time ago and it was black in color. See all these were fitting into this one magazine holder.

I have been slowly working in his room to add shelving, painting, and organizing as well. I bought him two magazine organizer but they were white and it was not working with the one he had,

I spray pain the black to off white. Now they all work together all his magazines are organized. This year we gave the subscription to TIMES and he loves it.

We organized them yearly, monthly and the types in different cases. They all look like this now. He loves how it turned out. Best thing was he can take them out easily for mid-afternoon quiet time during weekends. 

More reading, organizing, staying on top of the world news, and enjoying the ability to find magazines at his finger tips...

Quote of the day “invest your money”

Enjoy!

Sunshine and Outdoor

Nicolette was happy to enjoy her outside time. As you can see she has definitely grown taller since last summer. She was happy to run in circles on our lawn.

She enjoys every bit of outside time when ever we can get. 

She loves to make poses when I take pictures some are yoga poses and some mix with her newly acquired skill from her brother dancing. 

I am thrilled to watch her outside play.  She loves to chase squirles in our yard. 

Quote of the day “enjoy your garden”

Enjoy!

Surprises in my Garden..

I have been working really hard in my yard from late spring last year. Weeding, Pruning, Mowing, Mulching, and everything in between. I can see the pay off the rose garden and ever greens are so happy to feel the spring.

Last Fall I planted so many bulbs I am eager to seem this year. However, there is one kind of a bulb which I did not plant and they were tulips. I did a great job weeding las year and I know how to recognize tulip bulbs and plants. 

This year as I was waiting patiently my daffodils to come out and entertain me. Guess what surprise me. 

I have a patch of tulips just next to my kitchen window. I know I did not plant these beauties. I cannot wait to find what color they are. I am totally in love with these. I don not know who plant these. Who ever did it I am so thankful and grateful for that person.  I will be posting more about my garden happenings.

Hi I am linking this post with the blog bash anniversary for http://themomalog.com/

The reason I like this post is I am so excited to see my garden is growing  and Bring things that I did not expect. I guess that happens when you move to a new home. 

I have found therapy and love in my garden with my family. 

Quote of the day “inspire each other”

Enjoy!

Experimenting with Spring Onions

I have seen so many post about sprouting spring onions after it has been used. What basically was that you can sprout spring onions after you use them who knew. You learn something new everyday I guess. 

I used the green part and stick the white part in the water and this is what I have now. It is happy to sit next to my window and take sunbaths. 

I have used the ones that I grew and stick it back in water and it still grows pretty neat. 

Yummy with miso soup and as a simple garnish. 

Quote of the day “take care of plants”

Enjoy!

Coming Together...

We separated Nicolette’s room so it is organized. More shelving and baskets but totally worth the look. Toys are housed together because she loves to play with dinosaurs as well. Thanks to her older brother. 

We do have baby dolls as well. I need to finish the little cot that I have been working. So far we have had made progress. I donated bag of old toys to charity. 

Her coloring activities are going well still working with one color one of these days I am going offer two colors. She is excited to work with her activities. 

I love the space we created to her. Room still needs window treatments. I have to work on painting the night stand, and finally to add some art work. You will see the rest.

Quote of the day “ Give Great Hugs”

Enjoy!

Decorating with Moss...

I love to decorate with natural elements. I feel like it is fun to bring the outside world in side the dwelling. I add heaps of moss to terra cotta pots it adds a warmth and an earthy feeling to the house...

Spring is just around the corner I cannot wait to work in the yard. I have already started to take walks... There is so much to do during this season. 

Quote of the Day “ follow your bliss”

Enjoy!

How to de clutter your Entryway...

I had this issue of shoe problem as I enter the home but not any more. I was looking into so many ways to organize them since we do not have a coat closet in our little home. We would leave them on the side of the entry way. Matter of fact we would take turns to organize them in a row. 

I was not going for this look as you can see.

I cannot build a entryway cubby system in our narrow hallway and I knew it can go out of control. 

Thank you to IKEA. We used the shelving system to make a cubbies for our shoes. 

Our entryway is clutter free, fresh and inviting it even has a spot for dog treats! My next project is to add a stool to this corner. 

I really enjoy the space we created to take off our shoes. This shelf offers a great seating area for us put our shoes. We created an extra cubby for visitors as well. 

Quote of the day “ look for beauty in unexpected places”

Enjoy!

A Place for Painting...

I have to admit water colors are one of my favorite medium of color. I do love other mediums as well but water colors add so much and it has a wonderful calming sense to it. 

Nicolette has been busy panting we have been working on this everyday...

We were running out of space to store them most of all I love to see her paintings. Since we have this blank wall in her bedroom. I decided to add this curtain wire of course from IKEA. 

These little hooks allow me to hang her paintings to dry. I can pinch a very small corner of the painting. 

Like to see her paintings on the wall and I know she like them hung as well so she can enjoy them later...

Quote of the day “fill your house with equal parts of love, hope,and peace”

Enjoy!

IKEA inspired food at home...

Well, whenever we visit the IKEA store we sit town to enjoy a bit of Sweden. We love their food and members get a free cup of coffee. I love that. Usually I enjoy a cinnamon bun with my coffee. Recently I tried their potato, broccoli little cakes. 

loved the combination of broccoli, cheese, onions, potato, and eggs. It was almost green in color. 

I came home that day and was determined to make this treat mostly my son loved it. He is not a very cheese person. 

 had  some potatoes

Broccoli

Cheddar Cheese

This is what I was able to make... Yummy... we really liked it and made it twice already. 

Do you get inspired to make food... I do all the time. 

Quote of the day “ offer comfort”

Enjoy!