GIVEAWAY - Manzanita Kids !!!!!

Oh how I love this shop! David and his family are so sweet and put so much love and thought into their line of toys. If you have not checked out Manzanita Kids on etsy, go go GO now! Go ahead. I'll wait.

See, I told you! Let me share what I love about their toys. They are natural, original, and the very definition of open ended. In other words - classic. Their latest offerings are high on my favorite list, like this Modular Vehicle. It's a plane, it's a truck, it's a sub -- it's just pure awesome!! You get all of the components and the wheel base and all you need is imagination.

And along the lines of open ended awesomeness check out these modular building sets. So many possibilities, I love it!

Aside from this classic building set they have themed ones too. Not surprising our crew totally covets the Atlantis set, check this out.

And the best part, they come apart and store flat and easy, which is super not just for a boat but for any parents trying to keep the clutter and mess to a minimum.

Of course Manzanita Kids also makes classic toys for wee ones that are developmentally appropriate and beautiful too. This Owl, Stars, Moon puzzle is a great example...

Or this fun stacking animal puzzle set.

All of the toys are designed and made by David and his wife Adrienne in their cottage in Seattle under the loving supervision of their 1 year old son and newborn daughter. And each one is finished
 with a homemade beeswax/ organic safflower oil mix for a lovely shine.

David is generously offering one reader a $35 gift certificate to Manzanita Kids. All you need to do to enter is click on over to the shop and leave a comment here telling what you like! For an extra entry please click over to their Facebook page and become a fan. It's a great way to be updated about their sales, giveaways, and new toys. This giveaway will be open until Friday at 8pm eastern and then I will post a winner here. PLEASE register with an email address or blog address so I can get in touch if you win :)

Also for this week you can shop Manzanita Kids and get 10% off by using the code BOATBABY -- perfect for holiday shopping!

Thank you Manzanita Kids!

COMMENTS CLOSED. THE WINNER IS... Mama Forestdweller!!! 
thank you everyone and thank you Manzanita Kids!

~this moment~ birthday sweetness

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama. 

one

My sweet baby girl is one. Oh my. I know writing an open letter to your babe is the thing to do these days, but I am going to keep my words to her just between she and I. She is amazing. Period. And I am so lucky to get to be with her every minute of every single day to soak up all that wonder and beauty.

I am so grateful to my tribe of friends and neighbors who share in the joy of seeing her grow each day. Without family around to dote on her, it's nice to have dockside aunties and uncles who take notice of her little milestones. New words, new expressions, new hairs on that crazy blonde head. But today we celebrate the big one, the Big One! Happy Birthday to my sweet, strong, funny Naia! I love you so.

boat show

This week was that time we anticipate all year long. Boat Show time is play time, meet & greet time, geek out time, savor the beautiful last gasps of lovely weather time, it's just a really fun time of year.

This year as with all boat show years past we got to hang out with all kinds of like minded sailors who made their way here from near and far for the show. Our RV traveling pals from Puzzled rolled into town and will be hanging with us all month long (hooray!). And the sweet and lovely Tig & Serena came down from Boston to take in some seminars at the show and visit with us. Their kids are so mellow and sweet and it was fun getting to meet part of our very small east coast posse of liveaboard families with little kids. And of course my pal Cidnie gets the Bold Mama award for jumping into her car with her 17 month old and driving out from Texas - just the two of them. Go Cid!

Kitty is scrumptious and Naia was completely fascinated by her and equally adored Cidnie, so much so she let her adorn her cherubic face with these awesome Jackie-O shades. Cid did a whirlwind tour of Annapolis but we loved having her in person for the short while we got to hang out and catch up.

Boat Show get togethers are fast and fun filled, but my real wish is to be sharing a slow sunset and a cold drink in a warm anchorage somewhere with these folks someday.

getting ready

I will catch up on all of the fun we've had this past week with the Boat Show and visitors from near and far, but first I need to recover from all that fun. We've been in work hard play hard mode over here!

The last few night though I have been burning the midnight oil making a few little gifts for my sweet girl who I can  not BELIEVE is going to be 1 in a few days!

The greatest thing about crafting things for 1 year olds is that you can do it in the day time too if you catch a moment because there's no need to hide it from them! Zach stayed so sweetly naive to gift making for such a long time (probably until about 5) I hope she's the same way for at least a few years.

I hand sewed the ball using left over 100% wool felt from the stash I got when she was born and I made that soft block. (It's the Summer Spark collection from A Child's Dream Come True).

And I bought a few extra sheets of wool felt in larger sizes to attempt my first try at a birthday crown. I bought Zach's crown on etsy, and it SEEMS like an easy enough project so I am going for it. I used this pattern from Juicy Bits and searched all over etsy and blogs for inspiration. So far it seems to be coming along easy enough, but I still haven't attempted the dolphin yet (all of my dolphin cut outs last night looks like ink blots) and I am worried about machine sewing it all together (that machine doesn't like me!) and getting the elastic band right. Wish me luck!

catching up (or ohnoit'soctoberalreadyahhhhhhhh!)

Sorry for the quiet weeks around here. I have been overloaded with work, tending to a baby who is not feeling great, and madly preparing for the Boat Show, out of town guests, Naia's 1st birthday (already!), and even looking ahead to our upcoming Halloween bash.

(Even our nature table is getting spooky!)

I did want to share a few odds and ends. First if you are GINNY and you left a comment on the Alford Designs giveaway, please drop me an email (check the contact tab above) so I can send you your prize. If I don't hear from Ginny by Friday I will go ahead and use random.org to pick a new winner. Ginny - I hope you're out there!

Next - please surf on over to Soul Flower to check out my latest review of their delicious Little Flowers dress. If only this dress came in mama sizes!

(Hey Zach what are you doing? - taking my bucket for a walk - oh, ok)

I also want to share a wonderful online magazine that sassy, thoughtful, and just plain fun. Modern Ink was kind enough to interview me and publish a piece I wrote about living aboard. If you click here and punch in page 193 you'll find me, but don't miss the 192 pages before that and those after. It's a gorgeous magazine and the ladies who put it together really work their tails off so give them a shout out and enjoy the read.
                                                            

I also still write just about every month for Spinsheet, our wonderful Chesapeake Bay sailing magazine. Mt latest article about planning to go south can be found here (search for pg 115 "Southbound: Listing To Port"). I am bad about keeping the sidebars of the blog updated with my latest writing assignments, but that's a good winter project.

I am also pleased once again to be a part of The Rhythm Of The Home and their delicious Fall Issue. Grab a cuppa tea and check it out, so much good stuff!

And of course my everyday gig that keeps me busy at the moment is writing for Run My Renovation. It's such a fun show with such a wonderful group of people putting it together (many of whom I used to travel with all the time pre-Zach when I was on the road producing). It's great fun to vote online deciding how the renovations go even if you don't get the show, be sure to click over and check it out.

Phew -- now I need some chocolate. I told ya I was busy :)

~this moment~

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

i hate apple pie

He has been begging us, and I mean BEGGING us to go apple picking again this year. Not next week, not when his friends can go along, I want to go... now. So we went.

And he didn't just want to pick a basket of apples, he wanted to pick them all. "Just a few more Dada, just a few more."  He skipped along the rows of trees chirping about all the things we would make with our apples.  Apple sauce, apple pie, apple pancakes.

And we got home with our pounds and pounds of apples, and Dada made crust from scratch (a big deal by the way for the cooking impaired). And Zach made whipped cream from scratch. And he picked all of the ingredients and chriped and skipped about the boat as the apple pie was baking. And then the moment of truth came... and he didn't eat his pie. He sheepishly picked at the whipped cream and moved it around his plate the way kids do to make it seem as though they have eaten something.

"Buddy, what's wrong?"

"I hate apple pie."

It wasn't that he did't like THIS apple pie, he doesn't like any apple pie. Or apple sauce. Or apple pancakes. You see where I'm going here? Flabbergasted I asked why on earth he asked, no INSISTED we pick all those apples if he wasn't going to eat any of the things we could make from them?

"I love being out in the trees picking stuff .And I love reading the apple pie book. I just love it all... except the eating part. But you love apple pie and I love baking with you, so it's all good. I just like that we do this every year together. And now Naia gets to do it too. I didn't want her to miss it."

And there it is. In a family where we've given up on daily rhythm, and struggle through with a loose weekly rhythm, I guess through the years we have managed to nail the seasonal rhythm thing. Apples are part of his September. And part of hers too... for now.

And now my heart is filled with his words. And my belly stuffed with apple pie.

right here

Today Zach and I were taking photos of things that are right outside our door (so to speak)... noticing the everyday bits of our world.

:: bits of summer resting by our dock box ::

:: Naia makes sure to point out every plane that passes over our mast ::

:: improperly tied off cleats all over the place ::

:: Zach's cabin from the outside if you were walking by on the dock ::

:: I always wonder whether this mildewing marina life ring would really float after all these years waiting on the dock. I hope never to find out ::

:: Phragmites. Invasive but darn beautiful especially at sunset ::

It was an interesting exercise noticing the little things that caught our eye within a few feet of our front door. It really made me appreciate the everyday beauty and quirkiness of this life we live.

~this moment~ perch

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

on the cusp

This is by far my favorite time of year as far as weather goes. It's the time when we can spend one day at the beach in our bare feet and the next sipping hot coco in the cockpit in our woolens. Everything seems golden. The wind is beckoning. Critters are busy. The scenery is slowly changing.

Things may be a little slow here as we enjoy the season and repair the computer. My tech help desk (a..k.a. the husband) tells me we should be in full tilt functioning mode again by the end of the week. Here's hoping!

~this moment~ for you mama

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You have until tonight to enter the giveaway!

boat lingerie

There is an inside joke among boating geeks about how couples who sail together end up spending their alone time pouring through marina catalogs and oogling anchors. Pillow talk turns to shackles and ropes - ahem - for the boat. Anniversary gifts become waterproof handheld VHF radios. We call it boat porn. So you can imagine the palpable excitement when we got our new lines from Dyneema earlier this month. Ooooo, ahhhhhh, yeah baby! Since it will take us quite a while to install and use these fancy pants ropes, I thought I would just do a fashion shoot with them in the mean time. Boat geeks, get ready to drool. The rest of you, just know these ropes are strong, long lasting, safe not to mention easy on the eye, just like a good mate ;)

(cue the mood music)

p.s. There is still time to enter the giveaway here!

11 months

How is it that my wee, brand new, little baby daughter is going to be a one year old in just a month? Slow down universe!

 She is a strong, determined person who is still all cheeks. She is an avid explorer and climber and loves nothing more than getting flipped around upside down and spun around. She's a flirt and a people-person who waves and says "hi" to every person whose gaze she catches, as well as to the wind, reflections, dogs, and airplanes.

The "Queen's Gaze" is still with her, often looking out on us commoners with a regal stare that catches everyone off guard. She's still not quite eating, but has agreed to bird seed sized tastes of this and that once in a blue moon. She crawls at the speed of light, falls all the time in the name of adventure, and thankfully almost never puts the little odds and ends her brother leaves around in her mouth.

She loves her books, her brother's cars, his stuffed dog, and playing with bottle caps. Every time she nurses she strokes her own hair, but first carefully removes her wee hair clip and hands it to me first. Nothing makes her light up like daddy and big brother. And by the way burps are hilarious.

My sweet baby girl.

GIVEAWAY - Alford Designs

I am all kinds of excited to introduce you all to Kari Alford of Alford Designs. Her new shop on etsy caught my eye as I was looking for snack bags to replace using disposable plastic baggies. We have a few of the standard cotton ones on board but they get kind of funky with fruit inside. Kari's wet bags are lined making them fabulous for all kinds of things from fruit to PB & J.

The larger ones are handy for cloth diapering, wet swim suits, or soiled baby clothes. And I use mine for things like sunscreen and lotions that more often than not explode in my purse. The baggies keep these items neatly contained and if they open the liner keeps the mess away from the rest of my bag. They're green and clean, brilliant!

I asked Kari why she decided to start making these wet bags:

I used to use hard plastic containers, but would get frustrated when I needed to pack several items in a lunch container.  I saw a small wet bag at a store once and my first thought was, 'I can make that!'  I've found so many uses for them and I'm still creating different sizes that work for different things.

I hope that it gets people thinking that they can live their lives a little greener.  My personal goal is to live a greener life, and if I can help people accomplish that by providing the tools, then that's a great feeling.  

She also makes these cup cords which I am finding extremely useful at this particular stage in Naia's life. Just in case she throws accidentally knocks over a toy or sippy cup from the table this handy leash keeps it from hitting the floor and making a mess or turning it into a game of mama fetch.

(looks more like a game of baby keep away here, i think a certain big brother rigged this up)

Kari is generously offering this wet bag and cup cord set pictured below to one lucky person.

All you need to do is leave a comment here. For an extra entry please click on over to her Facebook page and give her a like. Come on back and tell us you did for another chance to win. And for anyone who buys something at Alford Designs from now until this Sunday September 18 use the code BOAT15 when you check out for 15% off your purchase. Comments will close Friday night and we'll pick a random number winner at that time. Thank you Kari!

COMMENTS CLOSED. THE RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR PICKED GINNY! PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH ME GINNY BY CLICKING THE ABOUT TAB AT THE TOP AND DROP ME AN EMAIL WITH YOUR MAILING ADDRESS. THANK YOU EVERYONE AND THANK YOU KARI!