let's talk about lunch, baby. let's talk about you and me.

owl moon bento. i entered this lunch into a contest to win a new stainless steel planetbox lunch box yesterday. sadly, i didn't win, but i did have quite a few people on the 100 DAYS OF REAL FOOD blog and facebook page ask lots of questions about this lunch, so i thought i'd answer them all in one place.

1. how do you get everything to stay in place?

easy! i just fold a cloth napkin right over the top of the owl sandwich press the lid on. my daughter rides her bike to school (a little over 2 miles with her lunch bouncing around in her backpack and turned sideways) and then her lunch gets thrown in a giant bin with all her classmates. after quite a bit of jostling and shaking, she reported back to me that it looked exactly the same when she opened it up on the lunch table. good to know! another trick i sometimes pull out of my lunch-making hat is to use cream cheese or peanut butter as glue. 

2. the feathers? are those almonds? how do they stay in place? what about nut allergies!?

yes. i used sliced almonds. it took about 33 seconds to place them all on the bread. about one second per almond slice. whew! if you have a nut-free school, i think it'd be cute to use some fruit leather cut in the shape of wings. at our school, there is a table in the lunchroom designated as the nut-free zone.

3. how much time did this take?

less than 3 minutes. it took about the same amount of time it would have if i was making most of the other lunches in the contest and here's why: packing the lunches is one of the jobs i give my kids. (i have four minions to do my bidding). 

how i did it:

1. placed leftover kale salad and blueberries into the lunch boxes

2. sliced the radishes.

3. assembled the sandwich, using leftover herbed turkey from the night before and cut it with a round cookie cutter (cutting the sandwich takes less than 5 seconds and i save the bread scraps to make croutons for chef salad, which i burned tonight and then threw in the garbage).

4. MEANWHILE (and here's the secret to my success) my daughter cut the radishes into stars and used different sizes of round cookie cutters to make the moon and eyes.

5. i was going to use sliced olives for the pupils but realized we were out so i cut a sheet of nori seaweed with scissors.

6. i didn't want to do the almond feathers, but she really wanted to, so i let her lay them onto the sandwich while i filled up 4 water bottles.

honestly it took about 10 times MORE time to shoot the picture, upload it, edit it and post it to the contest than it did to make the lunch.

4. wow. you must have a lot of fancy gadgets to put this lunch together.

they are fancy! and you can be fancy too! i got the lunch box at target. it's ziploc brand, called the divided rectangle, and it's sold in pairs for about $3. the cheese was cut using a set of circle cutters i bought on amazon. and the stars were cut with a play-do cutter that came in a set i got about 9 years ago when my oldest daughter still played with play-do. 

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and that wraps up our FAQ on the owl moon bento. but you know me. there's a few more things we should discuss. but i'll kindly pepper the rest of my post with pictures of past lunches, in the hopes that it will inspire you and distract you from the ranty tone of the rest of this post.

i occasionally post pictures on facebook and instagram of the lunches i make. and i haven't ever said anything, but i get REALLY BOTHERED by some of the comments.

this lunch looks great, but what does it look like by lunch time?

so glad you asked. i'll answer that by asking a question: you know i'm making these lunches to be eaten, right? ALL THE LUNCHES ARE DESTROYED BY THE TIME LUNCH IS OVER ANYWAY. regardless, i am pretty good at packing things tightly so that they are still presentable at lunch time any way.

but this brings up a second issue. i'd make lunches like these anyway even if they were destroyed by lunch time, because for me, i find joy in the process of creation. packing lunches used to be something i hated like i hate laundry and scrubbing toilets. now it's one of my favorite parts of the day. and it's even better because i get to share that time with my kids and they're part of the process as well.

which brings me to my third issue with this comment. i don't think the value of any type of art diminishes based on the permanence of the artwork. in other words, it's the process of creation that gives art value, not how long the art lasts. i have a favorite quote by picasso: "art washes from the soul the dust of every day life." for me, i find an incredible amount of joy working with my kids in the morning and making something beautiful and healthy. i'm nourishing bodies and souls.

i don't have time to do decorative/elaborate lunches like that.

oh really? last time i checked, we all lived on the same planet, which means we all have 24 hours in a day. what i hear when someone makes a comment like that is really: "you should have better/more important things to do with your time like i do." what we do with our time is a CHOICE. we're not victims, locked into a set schedule everyday. and i like to remember that saying "yes" to one thing means saying "no" to something else. maybe i get up earlier than you. maybe i watch less tv than you. maybe my house is messier than yours. maybe my clothes are more wrinkled than yours because i let them sit in the dryer for 5 days. maybe i'm smellier because i skipped showering to have time to make these lunches. i am busy all day long just like most of you. i have four busy kids. i write novels. i design. i make 3 meals a day for 6 people. i volunteer at my church. i wash about 17 loads of laundry a week. i make my own bread and yogurt. i coach my son's soccer team. i take meals to my friends when they're sick. we all have to prioritize based on what we think is most important. for me, creating is important so i prioritize it. even if i'm doing it with school lunches. and i think it's fine if that's not one of your things, too. i'm sure you're saying yes to something really valuable when you say no to spending time making a lunch like mine.

you're so lucky that your kids aren't picky

i don't think i'm lucky so much as persistent and vigilant. i'm the parent. i'm the lioness at the gate. i buy the food in the house. if the kids haven't finished something in their lunch, they eat it for a snack when they get home. hungry kids just might surprise you with what they'll eat. 

be happy. a good note to end on.

feed sack shenanigans

oh friends. did you know i'm a bit crazy? in the midst of tax season, i have sewed two quilts. both with the same carefully-curated collection of fabric. the first quilt: FEED SACK PINWHEEL was for olivia. olivia is one of the kindest, most tender souls i know. and the best part is she's in my writer's group with me so i get to soak her up once a week. her new baby lincoln is sweetly handsome and i hope he loves his quilt. it was dark and raining the entire week i worked on this, so i never got a great picture of it, or of the back, which is a dark gray minky dot, but here it is.

 

now onto the next quilt: SPECTRUM PICNIC. this was sewn for my sister angela's new baby, who should be arriving ANY MINUTE OR HOUR TODAY (not that i'm excited or anything). angela wanted something a little more organic and less pattern-y. i hope both her and baby girl like it. as usual, i like the back more than the front.

have you ever thought about sewing a quilt but thought it sounded too overwhelming? well, you know i have a bad habit of getting myself into things that spiral out of control, but i love, love LOVE sorting through fabric, cutting into it, deciding what colors and patterns to mix. i do tend to lose steam after that, but so far i've finished every quilt i've started.

everything i learned about quilting, i learned from the internet.

everything! just one more reason i am in love/obsessed with the internet.

the best binding tutorial here.

most everything else about quilting here.

and i sew at my kitchen table on my mother-in-law's old bernina sewing machine. my only tip is: YOU HAVE TO SEW WITH A WALKING FOOT. if you don't know if you have one or not, you probably don't have one. mine cost $180. 

yeah.

but you really can't quilt or sew on a binding without it, and if you plan on doing more than one quilt in your lifetime, it will pay for itself. the price of quilting a crib quilt starts at around $100.

and i now use it for all my other sewing projects as well.

well, i'm off to scrub toilets and mop kitchen floors. hope you're having a wonderful day.

lepidoptera love

there are one hundred things i should be doing right now besides blogging, but you know me: play first, work [harder/faster] later.

we finally photographed the makeover of emma's room, in which she requested butterflies. take a peek!

close-up of the butterfly migration. emma painted the flowers in the polkadot pot. tempra on canvas.

emma helped me design the artwork below [and seen framed in her room], including colors and her favorite saying from a children's song. if you'd like to make your own print , click on the image below, then print on 8 1/2x11 textured paper. we love arches drawing paper. trim down to 8x10 if desired.

if i have time, i'll post some before pictures and some more details.

the reason my sewing machine + i are on a break

two more quilts. given as christmas gifts.

the first, sewn for my sister angela and her husband clint, i have titled: angelateral {or, alternately: why i will never hand-sew a binding again}

the back:

the hand-sewn binding in all its glory:

the second quilt i almost decided to just store in the closet, unfinished. i had run out of sewing enthusiasm, plus it's crooked, so i was embarrassed to gift it, but in the end, i sucked it up and sewed a binding on it. my kids were sad to give it away. they love that soft minky fabric on the back. i hope my sister-in-law loves it like they do.

i have entitled this quilt: charity {for private reasons, which some may understand}

clara's bunting quilt

this really is a recap of my vacation. for the first week i was in arizona, the only thing i did was quilt and eat. (possibly there was a small amount of swinging and playing at the park. more on that later.).

here's the first quilt i finished while i was down there, for my niece clara. i'm already missing all that green grass.

the front:

the back:

details:

i love you, clara jane. i hope you are enjoying your brand new baby sister.

ta da! my first quilt

say hello to my first quilt ever—pieced, sandwiched, basted, quilted, trimmed and bound all by me. far easier than i thought it would be with some online advice by redpepperquilts.

the back.

all shipped off to my lovely sister anna. my only regret is that i didn't wait for a day with better lighting, or for my kids to get home from school, to help photograph it. oh well. if i was a perfectionist i would have never started the quilt in the first place.

{anna, maybe you could take some pictures of it when it's up in the nursery? or have angela do it ;-).}

next project: a twin-sized quilt for my sassy niece clara...maybe...or another baby quilt.

eta: i'm not sure if you see the same thing i do, but it looks like my quilt is glowing in these pictures. dirty lens or a sign? what do you think?

notes for you

notes for you.

print, cut on trim marks, stick in your kids' lunches, or slip them in your spouse's car or pocket.

love, me.

forgiveness flour

i'm a cryer.

and this poem, this poem. it moves me every time. i'm sharing a png of the print i made for my mom for her late, late, embarrassingly late birthday gift. you can download it and print it on your own beautiful paper, if you wish. just click on the picture to enlarge. trim on the thin gray line for an 8x10 final size.

love to you all.

manifesto on choice

Moon Lake by Betsy Walton

my amazing sister (she's even better in real life) just published a blog post about commitment and it got me thinking. when i hear the word commitment, i think of Wanting something with a capital "W". do you really Want it? then make a choice and go for it.

so often we play the victim. we say:

i can't afford that. i don't have time for that. i wish i had a happy, easy life like her.

when what we don't realize is that so much in life is really a choice. what we really are saying is:

i choose not to spend my money on that so that i won't have debt (or, so that i can buy groceries, rent a cello for my daughter, etc.). i choose to wake up at 5 am to make time for the temple. i choose to read instead of fold laundry or watch t.v. i choose to be happy.

let me repeat that. i CHOOSE to be happy. i choose to make my life what i want.

our life is a series of choices. the choices we make let us know what really matters to us and what we really Want in our life. many things we do not have control over. but the great news is this: we are in control of our own choices. the only true control is self-control.

want to be a stay-at-home mom? live in a small house, plant a garden, cook meals from scratch, spend less and work hard.

want to be fit? prepare your own healthy food and sweat every day. then stop complaining that your body isn't perfect. nobody's is.

want to be a published author? put your bum in your chair and write while your friends meet for lunch and clean their houses and your husband relaxes in front of the t.v.

so many things in life are available to us if we choose them—if we choose to take the fork in the road that will lead us there and then keep on walking, regardless of the opposition that will surely come our way. all it takes is for us to make a commitment, and then remember that we Want it.

we are all powerful. we have the ability to make miracles happen.

what do you Want? stop making excuses and make things happen instead.

amen.

quilting on the brain

added to the bucket list: sew a quilt or two or four.

and an update. i have failed on all of my new years resolutions but two (still no soda and no new clothes). but i am still trying my best. i always aim high and shoot low. what can i say?

Choeronycteris Colemanus

Want an idea for a cheap Halloween decoration? Make a bat tree. This cost me nothing, since we already had about 9 cans of black spray paint hanging out in the shop.

1. Gather twigs.

2. Cut out bats from junk mail paper [use a whole punch for the eyes].

3. [optional] Buy birds in assorted colors from your local craft store. I already had these.

4. Spray paint everything black [outside, on the grass].

5. Apologize to your husband for the black spots on the grass and convince him it adds to the "spooky Halloween ambience" of your exterior. Offer to mow the grass if that doesn't work.

6. Fill a container [I used a vase] with something heavy i.e. rocks or sand.

7. Add your twigs.

8. Tie your bats on with black thread through the eye holes.

9. Attach your birds. I left some orange.

10. Ta da!

Keeping the Channel Open

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.    ~Martha Graham

I love this quote. I'm setting aside some time in the hereafter to have a chat with this Martha. I just think we could be friends. Must be the dancer in us both.

Say hello to all my budding creative geniuses in this silly photo. Here are most of my piano students at our Master Class the week before the recital.

Series Completion

Huzzah! It's done and I am really pleased. I'm working on something with these for my Mother's Day present to my own mom. [Think coasters.]

And welcome back world. I hope to be here more often. I'm just now feeling like there is time for blogging again. It's great to be back.