I definitely overwhelmed myself this year with all the projects I took on during the last few weeks of school. One of the bigger projects was my end of the year gift. I decided to make each of my students a little drawstring bag and fill it with goodies from the year.

Luckily, I found a very simple tutorial to use. Making 23 bags took a while, but I did it!


For a little bit of decoration I stitched the girls' first initial on their bag.


Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos, but I know the girls were happy to receive them!

Here's the gift I made my students last year.

When Julia designed my mom's birthday card this year, she requested "anything baby" in return. I was happy to oblige her.

Because I wanted to make something practical yet simple, I decided on bibs.


There are several patterns out there, but I selected the Best Bib pattern. The bibs were easy enough to sew up and the perfect way to use small amounts of the cute print fabrics I've been saving. I would have liked to try a more prominent quilting design, but I couldn't find batting anywhere. The flannel I used instead didn't do much to plump the bibs up enough. Oh well.


I wanted to throw in a little something extra for Julia's birthday so I sewed up a hobo sack. I had been wanting to try this project for a long time. I've since found a similar pattern with less steps to follow that I like a lot better.



Hope you like them, Julia!

Sometimes you just have to enjoy a special breakfast.

I made cinnamon rolls at midnight and Mike whipped up a delicious fruit salad in the morning.

I hosted Hump Day Dinner last night.

Here's what we ate:

Beverage: Mint Iced Tea with Agave Nectar


Starter: Homemade hummus with vegetables


Snack: Pappadum


Main: Red Lentil Dal with brown rice


Dessert: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups


It was a tasty dinner! Only a few more Hump Days left until summer break...

Last week Sarah came over for some crafting. I helped her make a few tokens and took up my own little project once she got the hang of it.

While in Sri Lanka Mike and I talked about making our own pappadums. (Pappadum is the crispy flatbread served with most meals from the Subcontinent.) The other night I prepared a delicious dal dish, and Mike helped me with the pappadum making.


It was so easy! And exciting! I loved watching the dough flare up into crazy bubbles and shapes.


These were delicious and didn't have the spicy aftertaste I dislike in most pappadums at Indian restaurants. Looks like I have a new carb to add to the rotation!

There hasn't been too much crafting happening around here lately. Hopefully that turns around soon. I had three sewing projects lined up but the time and motivation both disappeared somewhere. (But soon, I promise Julia!).

In lieu of sewing projects, I've decided to try to share my Hump Day dinners from here on out. (Only a few left this year, sad!).

Beverage: Lemon and cucumber water


Salad: Spring Salad with Radishes and Pumpkin Seeds


Main: Macaroni with Asparagus, Fava Beans, and Pesto


The recipe calls for arugula pesto but I used basil instead. I also had trouble finding fresh fava beans. The frozen broad beans passed but were not delicious when reheated the next day.

Dessert: Raspberry Sorbet with Cream and Fresh Berries


Each of these recipes I would recommend and make again.

And ever since I overhauled the look of my travel blog, I've been itching to clean this one up as well. These are just quick fixes until I have more time (probably this summer), but resurrecting this masthead from a few summers ago instantly cheered the place up.