October 12, 2009 by sparrowhopes
There is just something about this time of year that leaves me feeling inspired and all aglow with love for creation. Lucky for me PBS recently released an amazing series by Ken Burns documenting some of America’s most beautiful bits of creation called, “The National Parks, America’s Best Idea”. You can check it out here. It’s really an amazing documentary, and one of my favorite parts was the portion that highlighted John Muir. My fascination with John Muir started years ago in a sophomore geology course I took in college, but was recently rekindled during our trip to Scotland, (he was born just 30 miles from Edinburgh) and then quickly affirmed by the National Parks documentary that was released shortly after we got home. So, to honor this amazing naturalist, and continue my ongoing celebration of autumn I thought I’d share one of his poems with you all today. I hope you enjoy it and that any cares you have really will drift away like the autumn leaves.
Autumn days are here again!
In autumn when the trees are brown
The little leaves come tumbling down
They do not make the slightest sound
But lie so quietly on the ground
Until the wind comes puffing by
And blows them off towards the sky.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you,
and the storms their energy,
while cares will drop away from you
like the leaves of Autumn.
-John Muir
Posted in musings, poetry | 3 Comments »
October 9, 2009 by sparrowhopes
One of the most unexpected gifts during my grandpa’s memorial was getting to reconnect with family I haven’t seen for years. This was especially true of my cousins as my sister and I both looked up to them so much when we were younger, but sadly as we got older we all lost touch. While I was visiting with them one of my cousins asked me to make a bed organizer for her daughter’s bunk bed. It was such a fun idea that I had to share the completed project and also link to some other tutorials with ideas for making your own bed organizer. There’s nothing I hate more at night than to be fumbling around in the dark looking for my water bottle or a book to wind down with. Hopefully with this cute little organizer that will no longer be a problem for my adorable second cousin E. My cousin requested that there be pockets for papers, pens/pencils, a spot for a water bottle, and a place to hold some lip balm. This organizer has all that and more with lots of fun pockets and places to stash all those necessities that you don’t want to have to get out of bed again (especially from the top bunk!) to find. Now I think I need to make one of these for J and me… but maybe with a little less pink!
Want to make your own bed organizer? Click here, here, here, or here for some fun ideas!
Posted in Crafty goodness, tutorial | 1 Comment »
October 6, 2009 by sparrowhopes
Fall has long been my absolute favorite time of year, and in my opinion Boise in the fall is one of the best places you can be. Beautiful crisp mornings, tons of trees changing colors, and just warm enough that you can still be outside and enjoy all the beauty around you.
So, in honor of my most beloved season, I thought I’d share with you a quick fall craft that will bring all the great smells of the season into your home. All you need is a small pie pumpkin, apple corer, knife, spoon, tea light and some common household spices.
Ready? Good! Let’s make some pumpkin luminaries!
Step one: Cut off the pumpkin’s top and scrape out all the innards. (You can save the seeds for roasting, click here for some yummy recipes.)
Step two: Carve out holes all around the pumpkin with the apple corer.
Step three: Rub cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and nutmeg onto the lid. You can also push whole cloves into the lid if you have them.
Step four: Place a tea light in the bottom of the pumpkin, light it, put on the lid and sit back and enjoy that lovely “pumpkin-pie-just-out-of-the-oven” scent for up to six hours. Preferably with a cup of warm apple cider in hand!
Posted in Crafty goodness, tutorial | 4 Comments »
October 4, 2009 by sparrowhopes
What a whirlwind the past month has been! I can’t believe we’ve already been to Edinburgh and back and are now launched fully into preparation for our big move in January. Time is going so quickly! But, before I get too far ahead of myself I wanted to share some more pics from our time in Scotland – and share some great news, we found a flat! J and I weren’t really expecting to find a place to live during our trip, mostly we were just hoping to find some neighborhoods that we liked. But, with the help of our gracious hosts (Katie and Derek also went to Regent, but we only overlapped one year. We’re so excited to get to know them better as we had such a GREAT time hanging out with them!) and an awesome email full of great tips from one of their friends we were able to find a home! It’s located at 9 Comely Bank Row and is in the heart of our favorite neighborhood in Edinburgh. I still have to pinch myself to make sure this really happened! Just to give you a taste of the neighborhood, within 1 block of our home is a wonderful organic, local grocer, a bead shop, an art store and a fair-trade tea house. Within 3 blocks of our new home is a great pub with food that actually tastes good, a beautiful park with a pond and walking paths, and the local football (soccer) stadium. Awesome. I am so excited to move in and really get to know the area! Unfortunately, J and I didn’t take any photos of our new flat, so you’ll just have to wait for those until January. But for now, here are some more pics from our time in Edinburgh and our new neighborhood.
Edinburgh castle, right in the middle of the city.
Here's a clear shot of J's school. It's just up the path from the National Gallery and some beautiful gardens.
Edinburgh at night.
The Water of Leith Walkway is a beautiful walking path that runs for 12 miles along the river. It's just a block or so from our home and so gorgeous. One day J and I took it to the Museum of Modern Art. It's a great museum, with a fun cafe, but the best part? It's free!
This is the pub near our home that serves great seasonal food and has a HUGE variety of beers on tap.
Inverleith Park is just a few minutes walk from our new flat, and promises to be a favorite spot on those rare sunny days in Edinburgh. The park also connects with the Royal Botanic Gardens, but I think we'll save those for when it warms up a bit next summer!
Here's our flat! It's the second set of four windows from the left on the second floor. (Acutually that is called the first floor as the Bristish call our first floor the ground floor. Confusing, I know!)
Posted in musings, travel | 6 Comments »
September 12, 2009 by sparrowhopes
J and I are off on a little reconnaissance mission to our soon-to-be home of Edinburgh for the next two weeks. As I write this we are sitting in a quaint little hotel that sits just beneath Edinburgh castle… every time I look out the window I have to pinch myself to make sure that I’m not dreaming, and that we do, in fact, get to live here. Wow. Life always seems to hold surprises for J and I, but I can tell already that this unexpected twist is going to be amazing!
I have two pictures to share with you, (lots more to come, I’m sure)… First is an overview of our new city – isn’t it beautiful?
The second is a picture of J’s new school, New College. I seriously did not believe him when he told me this is where he would be studying. It is absolutely incredible and I felt smarter just standing in the courtyard of the beautiful old building. Also, I like that this is New College, it was built in 1846.
I’ll post again if I get the chance, otherwise cheerio the nou! (This is how Scotts say good-bye to one another… isn’t that great?)
Posted in travel | 6 Comments »
There is just something about this time of year that leaves me feeling inspired and all aglow with love for creation. Lucky for me PBS recently released an amazing series by Ken Burns documenting some of America’s most beautiful bits of creation called, “The National Parks, America’s Best Idea”. You can check it out here. It’s really an amazing documentary, and one of my favorite parts was the portion that highlighted John Muir. My fascination with John Muir started years ago in a sophomore geology course I took in college, but was recently rekindled during our trip to Scotland, (he was born just 30 miles from Edinburgh) and then quickly affirmed by the National Parks documentary that was released shortly after we got home. So, to honor this amazing naturalist, and continue my ongoing celebration of autumn I thought I’d share one of his poems with you all today. I hope you enjoy it and that any cares you have really will drift away like the autumn leaves.
