A Buddleja lace knit /#IPPP

How often are you lucky to find such royal, rich colors out your window that inspire you to create?
How often are you lucky to weave those same colors through your fingers ?

Buddleja Attraction "Butterfly Bush"from my garden

 I was lucky enough to find it. Not only in my favorite local shop but in my favorite yarn to work with.
This is no yarn to just be play with. It is so special it needed the right piece to show off its colors... lace.

Just like the Buddleaja is known for attracting the butterflies ...I wanted to create a piece that would be as equally ostentatious and flamboyant in nature for the person wearing it.
Can you just imagine walking in the park and the butterflies dancing around you...

photos on Instagram

Yesterday,  my heart swelled when I got so many compliments on it... I will be posting it in the shop soon. Also, my scrap wood hearts from the shop were quite popular and will be sending some out soon. Thank you all for your lovely words and compliments. 

My sweet neighbor have kept my heart hung all year on their front door.

Hope this week surrounds you with inspiration to create....

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Linking with Ginny for the Yarn Along.

If you have a post with camera phone photos link up with #IPPP

Share and link up with with Greta and Sarah !

Link up with Greta !

The Happiness of the bee is to exist. For man it is to know that and wonder at it. ~ Jacques Yves Cousteau

Feeling creatively dry and uninspired I took to my camera to the closest place of inspiration...my garden. In it I found an Apis Mellifera, a worker bee, digging away at my peony.

I could have watched him all day struggling to peel the petals of my peony using his all of his six little feet. This peony just planted days before did not stand a chance. I thought. With his exceptional olfactory abilities I imagined he must of traveled miles to get here just for this purpose.

I could almost hear his struggle and smell his desperation.

It must have smelled so sweet to him... but the petals would not budge. Yet, there he was, not wavering or resting i thought then he might have a chance. He could not wait to get to its core and get the sweet juices encased inside.

Watching him I heard him buzz to me : Alma you will no longer wait for inspiration to hit you but rather go after it with the same fervor and zeal as I.

It goes to show with enough moxie and passion you can get the sweetness life has to offer.
and if you pay close attention you can hear it whisper too

And now you ask in your heart, 
"How shall we distinguish that which is good in pleasure from that which is not good?" 
Go to your fields and your gardens, and you shall learn that it is the pleasure of the bee to gather honey of the flower, 
But it is also the pleasure of the flower to yield its honey to the bee. 
For to the bee a flower is a fountain of life, 
And to the flower a bee is a messenger of love, 
And to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an ecstasy. 
...be in your pleasures like the flowers and the bees. 
~Extract from Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet

Instant Summer

Ever snap a picture and later realize what moment you captured?

The king managed to take this pic when the little one blurted a "bad word"...

and there I am trying not to laugh as to not encourage any more to spill out.

A rare moment caught in the act.

Shortly after this an ice cream truck jingle played in the distance.

Here, you gotta keep your ears peeled, the jingle is not like the loud ones back in NY that  you can hear 4 blocks away. We sprinted out from the backyard ...we were desperate now missing it twice before. In NY, the trucks linger on your block for awhile, makes sense if you think about it ... for those that live in a 5 floor walk up apartment.  All the same, we felt victorious and triumphant with our frozen trophies. Popsicle cheers!

In an instant it took me back to those sweltering, sticky summer days in the 80's in NY looking out the fire escape just waiting for a hint of a breeze for relief. The ice cream trucks were truly sent from heaven when they came around, which was not often.
The typical NY summer was ... Fire hydrants were open cooling off the street, shiny cars blasting "summer summer summer time...", neighbors screaming "voy pa la bodega!".... kids playing football during the day and the old men at night playing dominoes. I found these great pictures of Brooklyn back in the day.

What makes you think of summer when you were young?

Link up with Jana

Link up with Greta here

Saving Time and #IPPP

Maybe its my age, or the recent tragedies or the weather but all I want to do is stop time. More like pause it at certain moments. I feel like there is much time I have missed and need to make up for. I was a working mom most of my kids' life. Its been two years since I was working up to 12 hours daily and I am still adjusting to the change. 

I wonder if my little one will remember our walks from school together and any of our conversations. Every step she takes has a purpose and does not miss a beat. Yesterday she avoided stepping on all the anthills in her path as to not disturb them eating lunch (she would say).

Today she looked at all the patterns the trees shadows made on the ground. She said "look momma the trees made lace today". Then as we passed by the local farm on the way and saw a peacock walking in the shadows. (how i wish my camera would have captured it). Her eyes widened her little body froze... (not every day you see a peacock roaming about ). Her little voice whispered "wow".
  
Oh how I wish I could bottle these moments...
Savor it 

the king at his writing space

I remember when I was younger and a good friend had passed away I wanted to do something so our friendship could be remembered. I had a tin box that I kept things that were special to us ... small diary, pictures, jewelry I made, candy and some other trinkets. I buried this box in a park in her memory. I am in the process of making a sort of memory box for my kids... because its not really possible to stop time but I can pause it in a box. I thought it would be cool years later for them to find it and experience me at a time when they were little and find out what they were like.

I am also taking time to garden which I have never really done before. The captain is the gardener.
Learning for him to enjoy the seeds we sow.

Amaryllis derived from the Greek word (amarysso) "to sparkle". This was the name of a heroine in Virgil's epic poem "Eclogues" ..." let us go singing as far as we go, the road will be less tedious"  

Hostas have beautiful big leaves in a shady spot

Salvia( aka "red sage" and "the lady in red" ) from the Latin word "to save or to cure" it was believed that growing Saliva could enable a human being to attain immortality. They are a favorite for hummingbirds.

So excited to show you what else we have planted.

Speaking of memory boxes... This box of old photos, films and negatives was sold at an auction.
This is the incredible story of Vivian Maier who took tons of amazing photographs of people but no one who knew her knew her talent till now. Her work is in museums and this is a clip of the upcoming film about her. Its worth a mention. Found the post about it here.

When you do something for the pure love of it without any need for validation is a true artist.
Makes me wonder how we choose to document our time on this earth...

How do you "save time"?
Have you ever made a memory box?

Link up with Greta here!

Spring Festival and Mother's Day Sale

A lot of hard work lead up to this moment.

I had the honor of selling my handmade items at my very first event at the 3rd generation family owned Ottawa Farms. It was a great new learning experience, met some great people, and the kids enjoyed themselves. It was a great event with a great turnout and a great success!

Can't wait to do it again!

the king took these photos while I was setting up

There was so much fun for the little one to keep busy while I was tending the shop. There was pony rides, the corn house, face painting, strawberry picking, pig races cow milking and live music playing.

Strawberry picking

The bags , the dishcloths and these were among the favorite items

This opportunity had not been possible if not invited by my talented friend April.
She makes these unique handmade baby blankets (with pockets!), organic baby teethers, washcloths and wipes. She is a busy mom of 4 (including twins!) and 100% of the profits are to fund the adoption of a girl from Bulgaria! Check out her Facebook page and her shop.

In celebration of Mother's Day I will be having a sale at my 
shop for 20% off till Mother's Day!
Just enter the Coupon Code SPRINGMOM20 at checkout
You will also get an additional coupon with your purchase to share with a friend.

In the meantime I will be busy finishing a custom order of a baby blanket

And the captain will be finishing up his wall mural at the pre-school
for more updates follow me on Instagram

What is keeping you busy this spring?

school days

A first timer at Old School Blogging/ #IPPP

I was just invited to participate in Old School Blogging!
I have always seen this passed around but never had the chance to play.
Thanks to my girl Alison who has tagged me in the link and I gladly joined in the fun. This was a great way for me to open up more and for you to get to know me . I have a hard time opening up.

This month is all about marriage, babies and bliss.

1. How did your husband pop the big question?
He invited our close family and friends out to eat for my birthday. At El Figaro Cafe in the Village in New York( now closed)  is where we had our first date and basically hung out in a lot. Since he proposed on my birthday he chose a gorgeous opal ring (my birthstone and my favorite stone) and was stunned and weepy. He had the cafe play our song as he proposed. He has made everyday and birthday special since then. It was simple, sweet and so perfect.

2. What are the most surprising things about married life?
How we balance each other from day to day. If he cooks, I clean. If I'm having a bad day he makes it better. After 13 years we make a great team. Also, like Alison mentioned "the little things mean a lot".

3. How did you find out you were pregnant for the first time?
It was bitter-sweet. The same day my great grandmother died in my native island of Puerto Rico I got the positive results that I was pregnant.

4. How did you choose your baby's first name?
He was named after my husband's late grandfather who was the most important person in his life growing up. His middle name was after my father. They fit well together and so it stuck.
I refer to him as "king" since he was born and here as well. He always had a wise look to him and always loved the book "Where the Wild Things Are"and that nickname stuck.

5. Describe where you see yourself 10 years from now...
I hope to be successful in doing what I love creatively... and watching my husband and kids do the same. And by "successful" I don't mean in money, but riches in other forms.

6. Describe how you find bliss either by using words or images...
Either busy creating with my hands, having silly laughs with my kids before bed, a day spent exploring in nature without a destination, a cup of wine with the captain in the porch at night or engrossed in a good book.

This gave a little break from dealing with a pesty cold I got and also busy making projects for my upcoming event this saturday. I will be selling my handmade items a this festival.
So excited! If you can't be there you can follow me on Instagram.

Link up here with Elaine

Now tag 5 bloggy friends or anyone who wants to play:
Mami Dearest...Kelli...Margo...Nina....and Quiet Rabbit :)

Link up with Greta here! #IPPP