little house

Me, dirty.  House, not so much.

Are you into March Madness?  I love me some college basketball, and the ride my team (the U of A Wildcats) took to the Sweet 16 was wild.  Even wilder - they crushed Duke on their way to the Elite Eight!  Can you say "upset"?

I use this bread recipe a couple times a week.  Everybody's into quick and easy artisan bread these days and it's my favorite recipe and method.  I bake ours in a cast-iron dutch oven. (Jim Lahey is my hero.)

I'm planning on making these with M. and her best friend today.  Cute, easy, casual, fun.  I think we'll cut up  some old t-shirts to use for fabric.  And while we're at it, maybe we'll do these?  Only if I'm feeling ambitious.

I've been looking at these comforters for the boys room for 5 months now.  They were as low as $13 in January, but now they've increased in price.  Still, they're the cheapest bedding option I've found, and surprisingly good-looking, considering the source.

I think this is a genius lighting idea.  Beautiful, easy, cheap (relatively), current.

Ever since reading the Little House books as a child (surprise, surprise!), I've been so fascinated with the process of turning maple sap into syrup and sugar and candy.  I've always wanted to try it!  But, we live in the sunny southwest, not the frozen northeast.

I was thinking of gathering items together for some 72-hour kits when the earthquake hit Japan (so heartbreaking).  With the wars and natural disasters and instabilities around the world, it's easy to see how valuable simple preparations can be in difficult times.  I'm taking some ideas from this picture, for sure.


P.S.  I'm Spring Cleaning around here (see photo).  If you're lacking motivation, I like this series - she doesn't tiptoe around, and I agree with all of her ideas and tips.