Friday Forum: Earth Day Resolutions

(Dr. Seuss's Lorax speaks the truth...)

Good morning. Happy Friday! Happy Earth Day!

Last year on Earth Day my s-i-l, Rebecca, made a resolution. No more plastic shopping bags. Now she brings her own bags to the grocery store, and hands the bag back to the cashier when she buys something new at the mall. One simple thing, just a new habit really. But it shows her dedication to being a better steward of the earth.

We love that.

And it got us thinking. What's one thing we could do better as stewards of the earth?

Give up plastic water bottles? Switch out all of our light bulbs for more efficient ones? Drive less?

We're still deciding...

What about you? Do you have an Earth Day resolution?

***Looking for some Earth Day activities? Check out our post from one year ago...

***We're still collecting essays, recipes, tutorials, etc. for Mothers' Day 2011. Email us at aplacetobloomATgmailDOTcom

Welcome Spring

Daffodowndilly

She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,
She wore her greenest gown;
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbour:
"Winter is dead."

- A.A. Milne

I used to be a tulip girl. No question. But this spring I'm totally smitten by the daffodils - so cheerful and unapologetic, bursting yellow and happy. Harbingers of warm, good things to come.

Sunday night we gathered, an even dozen of us. We welcomed Spring. We did it with daffodils, and sprays of spring blossoms gathered from neighborhood trees, maple glazed ham, potatoes swaddled in cream, butter and cheese, spinach salad, warm rolls, beautiful berries dolloped with cream, and lemon cake for dessert - it was all as delicious and fragrant and wonderful as Spring herself. I loved filling two tables with guests; I loved their contributions to the meal. We visited about sundry things as late afternoon sun poured in through the front windows. If it had been just our family I would have read something - a poem (Daffodowndilly, perhaps) or an excerpt of inspiration, but I felt a little sheepish in mixed company. Still, I like the idea of entering a new season with new purpose, and taking an evening to be deliberate about it.

Winter brought lots wonderful things for our family, plenty to rejoice in and be thankful for. But it also brought a lot of rain and low hanging clouds, the oppression of tax season (my husband is an accountant), and some doldrums (as can be expected when January fades bleakly into February with more damp grey and chill). In some ways, I feel like we need to shake off the winter stupor and rededicate ourselves to the life we imagined. So once April 15th is in our rear view, we're going to take some cues from Spring and have a family pow wow about renewal and fresh starts. I think I'd like to make it a tradition to welcome this lovely time of year with a proper dinner and an evening of discussion about beginning anew - heaven knows we've all forgotten about our New Year's Resolutions.

Welcome, Spring!

p.s. you want to make that lemon cake for your Welcome Spring dinner. Trust me. Recipe here.

Spring Fun Round-up

I've been searching the gazillions of blogs out there for Spring/Easter crafts and activities. It's easy to find scads of tutorials for decor or accessories that you can make when your littles are occupied elsewhere, but we wanted to highlight some that you can do with your children. Here are my favorites:

Every year I wish for more vibrant egg dye. HERE is the recipe!

There's nothing my Rog loves more than drawing on the sidewalk. I'm highly considering making this egg shaped sidewalk chalk with him.

I adore this simple (cheap!) paint chip garland. (If you have older kids, they could cut out the eggs.)

I love Dana's peeps garland and no sew flowers (also both for older kids to help, although your younger ones could help you with fabric/color selection).

I think we are definitely going to do this printing with leaves project.

This is my favorite of all the ideas I found: a letter recognition game with plastic eggs. Blaine is going to adore it.

More ideas or links? Do share!
xo
anne

Introducing!!

Friends,

We are so excited about today! We love the idea of Bloom being a place to share ideas of enriching things to do with your children. And we wanted to make it even easier for you to implement those ideas.

Introducing...the Bloom Shop!


The first items in the shop are for a St. Patrick's Day celebration.

Here's how it works. We have a St. Pat's scavenger hunt all ready for you. (And it's the cutest thing ever--did you know that Em has a gift for rhyming couplets?!) All you have to do is print out the clues and hide them in the designated areas around your home.

Next, prepare a treat for the scavenger hunt prize. We suggest our mint chocolate chip cupcakes with our St. Pat's cupcake toppers and wrappers.

Let's review:
1. Print out your clues (get them HERE).

2. Hide clues around your house.

3. Print out your cupcake toppers (get them HERE) and cupcake wrappers (get them HERE) for your mint chocolate chip cupcakes (recipe HERE).

4. Enjoy a St. Pat's scavenger hunt with your children!

{****Notes: We'd like to thank our designer, Emily Yates, for her beautiful work. She turns all of our ideas into reality! Also, we hope your jaws drop when you see our prices. We wanted to bring you quality design for a price everyone can afford. We love you and are so grateful for your support of Bloom. Cheers!****}

Remember, St. Patrick's day is this coming Thursday, the 17th! We hope it's magical!
xoxo
em and anne

Viva Mexico!

I hereby interrupt this Mothers Week to remind you that it's Cinco de Mayo tomorrow! Now's your chance to take Sarah's advice and make a celebration out of your dinner tomorrow night.

Here's what we'll be doing at our house:

1. Cutting out some papel picado to string as a banner in our home. I lived in Mexico for a short time, and seeing these colorful banners bring back the most delightful memories imaginable. To make them, all you need is colorful tissue paper, scissors (or an exacto knife), and string. Fold the rectangular tissue paper in fourths or eighths, then cut out whatever shapes you fancy, just like making snowflakes. You can scallop the edges if you like. Then, fold the top of each one over your string, and attach with glue or staples.

2. Eating tacos, tacos, and more tacos. Pictured is my favorite fish taco. Regardless of your choice of meat, I say all you need for delish tacos are warm corn tortillas, cabbage, and pico de gallo.

My pico recipe:
diced tomatoes (I usually go with Roma this time of year)
diced onion
cilantro
lime juice
salt
pepper
sugar

Honestly, only you know what portions to use. Start with about 25% as much onion as tomato, and then taste it. Add more onion if it's lacking bite. Use as much cilantro as tastes right to you. If it tastes bland, you need more lime and salt. A hefty pinch of sugar will be perfect. And, if you like it a bit more spicy, use a serrano pepper--just make sure to remove the seeds before you mince it up or it will be a lot more spicy! I like to mix the pico up with my hands, squeezing as I go. This helps release all the juices from the tomatoes, plus it's good, messy fun.

3. Teaching the boys a bit about the holiday and its significance, and helping them learn a few new words in Spanish.

How will you be celebrating?
xo
anne

Feedback

A Saturday post? Who would have thought?!

I have some feedback for you all.

First. Since writing this post I've had several people ask me for a report on how my early rising is going. I'm happy to say it's going quite well. Amazingly enough, my night owl body is changing. I'm tired at 10:30 p.m. and ready for bed. (I'm watching much less TV as a result!) It's still hard almost every day to get up, but for the first time in my life I'm really owning it. Every day is different. Some days it's 6:45 some day's it nearly 8:00. But I don't beat myself up about those days, because usually they're a result of a boy up in the middle of the night or some such nonsense, and I'll never win this battle if I'm too hard on myself. The biggest deal is that I have real time to read and ponder every morning. Having attended a wonderful, traditional Jewish Passover dinner the other night, I spend the next morning studying the Passover and was just thrilled with what I learned in the still of the morning. I've yet to fit my exercise in early, but still have high hopes. Some of you mentioned jumping on my bandwagon. How are you doing at it?

Next. Need some yummy cuppies for this weekend? These are our favorite. Any kind of cake and frosting will work, really. I usually do yellow cake and chocolate buttercream. Toasting the coconut (on a cookie sheet, oven set to broil--watch it like a hawk!) is the key. Any kind of candy eggs will do, I prefer the cadbury chocolate eggs myself. (Original idea belongs to Danielle, as she is the inspiration for at least 50% of my creative endeavors.)

Third. After posting this, I decided my Easter tree looked a little Tim Burton-ish (Nightmare Before Easter??!!), so I spray-painted my branches white and now I might never take my tree down, I love it so much.

Also. After Brooke wrote last week, many of you asked for her banana cookies recipe. She gave it in the comments section, but in case some of you didn't see it, the recipe is here.

And finally. After writing about egg cups, I received an email from a friend asking where to find egg cups. Here in Oregon, we always find cute ones at Fred Meyer (in some areas this is Smith's Marketplace or Kroger). TJ Maxx is a possibility, too. They can be hard to find, though. So, if you're dying for some (you all should be!), here are my favorite Amazon finds:







Happy Easter everyone!
xo
anne

More photo submissions--first installment

We told you it was difficult to choose finalists for the Spring photo contest. As we share all of the entries in a series of posts over the next few weeks, you'll see exactly how difficult.

A Day Like This by Mandi

"March is such a tease! That odd wintery fog crept up in the morning, but we've still got signs of spring on its way. Make up yer mind, March! ;) "

Spring by Stacy

"My little girl loves dogs. Spring has lured the neighbors into taking their dogs on walks oftener, and the minute she spots these dogs her face lights up with pure joy. She screams excitedly and stretches out her pudgy hand to them and it couldn't make either of us happier."

Windy Sunday by Sarah

"My son James is flying his kite at the end of our cul-de-sac on a windy Sunday afternoon, enjoying rare time with his Daddy. Audrey loves to be outside, and the cat likes to tag along too!"

Lilac Blooms by Dani

"I always look forward to lilac blooms. To me, these fragrant blossoms are the essence of spring. It makes my heart happy to see these lovely lavender blossoms, and my spirits soar when I get to enjoy their scent while watching my little ones frolic in the spring grass. Happy spring!"

Walks by Victoria

"Spring is walks. Sometimes 2-3 a day. I'm introducing my 5 month old to the outside world: sunshine, flowers and birds. When the sun was in his eyes, he pulled the draped blanket (used block the sun) inside so he could have more shade without missing beauty strolling past."

Bikes by Jenny

"Spring for the Hiett Family means the return of family bike rides."

Tiny Flowers by Jen

"These tiny, delicate flowers have suddenly appeared in our back yard, spreading across the lawn from under the bare fig tree. They've been a beautiful reminder to me that even the Phoenix desert (where winter just means you can't swim or wear flip flops every day) knows that spring is here."

Just Her Boots by Christina

"Spring to us means more sunshine and less clothing!"


P.S. Friends, we are guests of the Mother Huddle today! Come find our bullet list here!

And the winner is...

Congratulations, Darcy! You win!

Send us an email so we can get you your earrings and bobbies from Allora, your cards from Trestle, and your pillows from Ruby + Stella Home!

Thank you to all who participated by way of submitting photos and voting. What inspiring images of Spring!

Capturing Spring--Cast Your Vote!

There is just one bad thing about this Spring Photo Contest and it is this:
it is incredibly difficult to choose finalists. Oh, is it hard!

Please don't be sad if your submission isn't in line below; we think your kids are cute. We think your blossoms are magnificent. We think your moments are beautiful. It's just that we were trying to narrow it down to ten from an incredible collection of submissions. (And then, heaven help us, we couldn't quite do it-so we chose twelve finalists!) Thanks to all of you for your lovely submissions. What we especially loved, was the variety of photos we received--so many different takes on Spring. Through your photos, you represented the diversity of the United States and world and your own unique lives. So beautiful.

The process of choosing finalists has rendered us completely incapable of another round of judgment. So, we need your help. There's a poll on our sidebar right now which lists each of the following photos; it will stay up through the weekend. Please vote (just once) for your favorite photo.

Voting will end Sunday night at 10:00 pm PST.
Winner will be announced Monday morning.

Southern California Spring by Darcy

"Here in Southern California Spring may not arrive with such a dramatic entrance as it does in other parts of the country, but Spring is still alive and well here in Los Angeles! The rain falls and the flowers begin to bloom and we find ourselves surrounded by all the beauty of the season."

Potential by Jessica

"This cactus jumped out of nowhere from the side of a busy desert road--unintended, untended and beautiful. It made my day. To me, this image is a reminder that even under the prickliest of circumstances, all things--including cacti and people like you and like me--have BLOOM potential."


Spring by Kayli

"Spring-- finding water, throwing rocks, hunting frogs, building dams, being out again."



Flying Kites by Melissa

"In California, March brings the wind and clear, crisp, sunny days. Our Daddy is the kite flying master, and we love going to the park to fly our kites!"


Spring - The First Bits by Sabrina

"This photo was taken last week when the temperatures got warm for the first time this year here in Chicago. I was able to "air out" my kiddos and it was a glorious afternoon for all of us. My oldest (pictured) plopped down on the driveway, closed his eyes and said, 'This is the life!'"


Birdie eating tree by Annelise

"Spring comes late in Colorado. Just yesterday we got nearly two feet of snow. I love this tree! All winter long, when everything else was dreary gray, the pods(?) remained a gorgeous red. In the last two weeks, the birds have come out to enjoy what's left of winter."


Adelaide in Flowers by Heather

"We went to the park earlier this week so I brought the camera along. My daughter, Adelaide, was completely mesmerized by the wildflowers around her."


Playing in the Dirt by Kristy

"I went outside with my little boy to play in the yard. He loves dirt. I can't wait until it is a little warmer so I can strip him down and let him play in the mud :)"



Kids Reading by Katrina

"We've had a few warm days the past couple weeks, and this day all four kids sat outside on our front porch in the late afternoon sun to read. A true sign that Spring is here!"


Laundry on the Line by Kelly

"Spring means it's time to hang laundry outside again!"


Ginormous spider webs by Toria (taken in Dubai!)

"Pointing these out to my 5-year-old on our bike ride to school would likely mean being late (yet again). His fascination and excitement, as well as my own intrigue in the beauty of these little creatures was worth being a few minutes late."


Pikes Place by Sara

"I was at Pikes Place in Seattle last weekend. Stunning floral visuals!"


Time to cast your vote!

Easter Inspiration

Just like with Christmas, Easter is a bit of a tricky holiday for Emily and me to celebrate. We're really committed Mormons (i.e. Christians), who believe this time of year to be of critical importance to our entire existence. At the same time, we have young children, and we live in the real world. We walk through aisles and aisles of plasticky, sugary stuff at Target, and think hard about how to make Easter (/springtime) fun and magical for our kids, and teach them the deep importance of it at the same time.

This morning I'll show you some of my favorite ways to celebrate springtime and renewal in my home, and Emily will focus on the real stuff.

I like to bring natural elements in when I decorate. I feel like spring is the season I feel the most naturally happy--like I don't even have to try. It's the warmer, longer days. It's the pink trees, full of blossoms, and the bulbs popping up everywhere. It makes my soul want to sing!

So, on my mantle I have my Easter tree (more info and how-to here). I love it. The colorful eggs and cheerful birds make me smile all day.

And here is another tree I saw in BHG. My tree (also inspired by BHG) took a lot of time. This other one would be much simpler I think.

Speaking of trees, my mother let me lop a few branches off her blossoming plum tree to bring inside. I am crazy about it! The birdies have wire on their feet to wrap around the branches--I think you could find them at a craft store (my mother has a zillion of them--she liked birds before they were cool). Just make sure that you pull the blossoms off the part of the branch that's in the water so they don't get yucky.

The main other thing I decorate with is my candy jars (my children and I are eating way too much sugar so I am rethinking this for next year!) and my egg cup collection. You can read about our love for egg-in-an-eggcup (and get the how-to) here. We eat them almost every morning. Look for post-easter sales to find these darling cups on the super cheap!

And finally, the ongoing pre-Easter activity we do is a simple little advent with plastic eggs. It helps remind me to do something purposeful with my children each day, and adds to the excitement of the holiday. See here.

The bottom line though, is that if you have time for all the decor and it adds something to your life, then great. But for us, it should only be symbolic of why we have Easter in the first place.

I'll leave the rest to Emily...

As I searched the internet for pastel colored images and clever Easter crafts, I felt amiss. This is all fluff, I thought, as I clicked through slide-shows at marthastewart.com; what I really want to share, is that the real beauty in all these pastel adornments, lies in what they represent. Renewal. New life. Redemption. And the possibility of eternity.
Many times with Easter, the things that are supposed to be symbols and reminders, become the whole affair. And the real meaning, the actual miracle, is lost in a cheap, plastic charade. That is sad.
I was reading back through the archives of my personal blog tonight and I came across this bit from last April:

"I have never loved Easter so much as I loved it this year. One of the most poignant feelings I have felt recently is that I need to teach my children why we celebrate Easter. While I listened to Elder Holland's words, it came to my heart like bricks, "my children have to understand this." I thought of the cross and the garden and all the associated suffering, and couldn't abide the thought of my children thinking Easter is just about candy and bunnies and chicks."

So, to draw this all together into some kind of coherent conclusion, I hope you use these ideas we've shared. I hope you make an Easter tree and have an egg&spoon relay and deck your tabletops with cut branches and birds. But I hope that in each of those things, you are reminded of the most beautiful reality of this season. And the possibilities for renewal and redemption that are real to us because of what happened in the Spring time, 2000 years ago.

** Don't forget to submit your Spring Photos by this evening. We'll post finalists tomorrow! **