Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have a special day that we celebrate in the Simply June household on the day before Thanksgiving. Three years ago today, we first learned the name of our son Nikolai after months and months of the adoption process. His first Thanksgiving home, I wrote a special poem to share my thoughts with him and our families. I'm sure I've shared it here before, but I'll share it again because it is good to give thanks...

It was a year from today that we first heard your name
Saw your face
Heard your laugh
Allowed ourselves to dream...

In those days and weeks before we held you in our arms
Before we saw your face
Heard your laugh
Held you close and warm

We thanked God for His children
For the son he gave to us
Born half way around the world
Clearly meant for us

We thank God for you on this THANKSGIVING DAY
And we pray for the others that are still waiting today
That their forever families will soon hear their name,
See their face, hear their laugh and allow themselves to dream.



Also keep an eye out on the Simply June Etsy shop as I will be updating it in spurts throughout the weekend... there are already some new goodies in there now.

What Planet is Kolya from?


So, I was dropping Kolya off at school today and was chatting with one of the Moms from his class. She has a younger son "L" who is a year younger than Kolya and they are buds. The Mom shared the best story with me as we headed back to our cars... "L" has been really interested in planets lately and has been asking lots of questions about different planets and who lives on them... Here is their conversation:

"L": Who lives on Venus? "L's" Mom: Nobody honey. People only live on Earth. "L": We live on Earth? "L's" Mom: Yep.

"L" goes off to play for a while... pondering the information as little kids do. A bit later he goes back to his Mom...

"L": What planet does Kolya live on?

Yeah, Kolya's Mama wonders that sometimes too...

On Waking Up...



One of my favorite parts of parenting is the amazing conversations you get to have with your child...

On a recent morning while Jason and I were still sound asleep in bed...

Kolya: (whisper) Papa...good morning... Papa...wake up... Papa... Papa

Jason: (groggy) Good morning Kolya... (groan)... (mumble)... (stretch)

Kolya: Papa...get up... lets play

Papa: Give me a minute Kolya... its hard to wake up.

Kolya: Papa, its easy! Let me show you... (lies down in the bed)... (makes LOUD snoring noises)...ZZZZZ...Choooo....ZZZZZ....Choooo... (sits straight up with a big smile)... See! Its easy!

Mama: Chuckling... half asleep...

С днем рождения ...

Happy 4th Birthday Kolya! My little guy turned 4 today... here he is in one of the first pictures we ever saw of our son... So tiny...those same bright eyes and happy face. Because of delays in the adoption process we didn't even see these pictures until about 4 months after they were taken and we were able to travel to meet him a month after that. I always wonder what we were doing on that special day ... July 31st, 2004... the day our wonderful son was born. We are SO thankful for you! С днем рождения! (Happy Birthday!)

Happy Gotcha Day Kolya!



















Kolya, Jason and I became a family two years ago today... Happy Gotcha Day Kolya! We are so happy that we get to experience life with you.

Long, Lazy Days of Summer

We haven't gone anywhere...just enjoying some long, lazy days at the beach... It is hard to believe that summer is quickly coming to an end. I suppose I say this at the change of each season, but there is something about summer that makes you take one more glance back...to squeeze a few more sun-drenched days with nothing to do.

Around the house, we are preparing for the first day of pre-school! Nikolai has been strutting his stuff with his new backpack and school clothes. In celebration of being such a big boy, he also moved into his new bed. It is a flashy red fire truck complete with a light! Very cool in his 3 year old world!

I'll leave you with some pictures of Lucas basking in some beach sun. This dog KNOWS how to kick back...

Tea for Two

Nikolai and I are on a baking spree inspired by Jennifer Appel's Buttercup Bakes at Home. It includes over 75 recipes from Buttercup Bake Shop in Manhattan. I popped by the library the day after receiving some heavenly cookies from Levain and had to grab this book off the shelf. Below are pictured the Banana Blueberry Muffins...blueberries fresh from my parent's garden...featuring the subtle zing of lemon zest. Mmm. These are absolutely delectable served warm. (As a side note, I'm beginning to wonder if Nikolai things it is completely normal to take a picture of your food before you eat it. The little guy is always nipping at my heels waiting for a taste of something we have cooked up and I'm futzing with lighting, props, etc. I can just picture him at pre-school in the Fall waiting for his teacher to take a picture of his snack before he eats it... Oh, golly.)

We have also tried the Caramel-Topped Toffee Pecan Blondies...heavenly. With the smell emanating from the oven, these guys just didn't stand a chance of getting photographed. I'm thinking the almond extract stole the show with these.

Nikolai and I have also been working our way through Susan Spungen's Recipes, a collection for the modern cook. Tonight's dinner will be the Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri and Potato Tostones. I prepared the chimichurri last night so that some could be used as a marinade. However, when I took out the steak that I purchased on Sunday it had spoiled. So, I substituted it with some chicken breasts I had on hand. I think the flavors will still work with the chicken. Earlier this week, we made the Little Black Dress Cake shown in the second photograph. This cake features ground hazelnuts and a Sour Cream Ganache as well as a combined total of 18 oz. of bittersweet chocolate. It is decadent to say the least and worth the various steps to make.

Nikolai is 3!

Our son Nikolai turned 3 today! It has been so much fun to look back at last years birthday pictures and see how much he has grown...so many wonderful changes and events over the last year. We spent this Saturday at the beach house celebrating with family. Nikolai wanted a fire truck theme. I made each of us a t-shirt with a Dalmatian "3" on the back. We mugged for a few pictures, but this has to be my favorite.

Happy Birthday to my little man!

EI Goodbye

Today was Nikolai's last speech therapy meeting with Early Intervention. These amazing services are offered through the state until age 3 and my big boy celebrates on Tuesday! We had Nikolai assessed when he first came home from Russia, but decided to give him a little more time to acclimate before receiving services. I wasn't sure at first what it would be like to have someone come into our home weekly to work with Nikolai, but it has been an incredible experience for him and for me. His speech therapist, Kristin encouraged him and taught him many language skills, but also taught me how to best encourage him as well. She was also a great source of knowledge for a new Mom of a toddler! Her visits were really one of the highlights of our week.

We couldn't thank her enough, but part of her gift was a custom tote from some Amy Butler and Michael Miller fabrics. I love unexpected color and pattern combinations.

Red Paint

We are in the midst of renovating our 1st floor bathroom, which up until this point has consisted of just a toilet. I'm not sure why the previous owner did this, but we are finally getting around to adding a sink. The room is tiny and is tiled in a sky blue 3x3 with white accent tiles up to about 3.5'. I would never pick this color and have tried off and on to find a shade of brown paint for the walls to update it at bit, but always with no luck. So, the walls have remained white and have showcased a variety of miscellaneous framed prints over the past few years. I have just now taken everything down and want to add a few splashes of red including some hand towels with a fun retro cherry print. I couldn't decide what to do for the wall art and then spied my "Tiny Picasso" who is always begging to color the walls. We took a little outing to the art store and picked up a painting canvas and some red acrylic paint. Nikolai spent part of the morning channeling his inner artist while singing his mantra "train" over and over. Hey, whatever works to inspire...

Gotcha Day

Today is Nikolai's first Gotcha Day...One year since the day we picked Nikolai up from the orphanage in Moscow. Can you see that little eye peeking out from my coat? Jason and I had flown in from Boston the night before. Our driver and translator drove us around in the early morning to take care of some more paperwork and to start getting Nikolai's Russian Passport in motion. Around 11am, we were brought to his Baby Home with our trunk full of gifts for his caretakers and orphanage staff. I had made a purse for each of his 17 caretakers as well as the doctors. I wanted to give something of meaning, but how on earth do you thank the women who cared for your son? Many of the caretakers have little to nothing...they work double shifts to provide for their families. However, you can see clearly in their eyes that this is much more than a job to them. They love the children...they hug them...they kiss them...they do their best to meet their needs with very limited resources and not enough time to comfort these children who have already had such great loss in their lives. I had a small bag packed with Nikolai's clothes and two diapers. The bag was whisked away as we waited in a small room to see him again. It had been about two weeks since our last trip and we could barely wait to hold him in our arms again. Three caretakers brought him out...dressed in his new clothes...tears in their eyes as they handed him to us. It was such a solemn moment. The caretakers ducted back into the room to care for the many other children who weren't going home with families that day and many that likely never would. The second diaper was saved for another child. We met next with the orphanage director to thank her and say our goodbyes. Nikolai saw her in her white doctors coat...he cried and clung to me. We walked outside into the crisp Russian air and climbed into the car. Our translator ran back in to get one more piece of paperwork. Jason took this photo of Nikolai and me. We held each other tight. We were both scared...the most incredible day...the most life changing...new parents in a foreign country to a child that was 20 months old and was about to experience so many new things! Happy Gotcha Day Nikolai...we are so blessed to have you as our son!

Simply Newsworthy

I'm finally posting a photograph from my recent show at Alliance for Children's Multicultural Fair. This event is run annually by Nikolai's adoption agency. I was involved in the planning both last year and this, but this was my first year attending. During last year's fair, Jason and I were in a plane on our way to Russia to bring our Nikolai home. It was so wonderful to be able to go to this year's fair with our son! The fair features all types of multicultural performances...music...dancing, etc. as well as foods, crafts and a vendor area. Fox 25 news even came to film a segment and Nikolai and I were on the 10 o'clock news!

Postal Sunshine

"Brown paper packages tied up with string...these are a few of my favorite things." There is nothing I love more than a little postal sunshine. This little package of goodies is headed out to make someone's day...could it be yours? I really think there is nothing I like more than receiving a package in the mail...the surprise...the little thoughtful details...hmmm what could be inside!?! I even get excited when something I ordered has arrived! That is why I like to package up my SimplyJune orders like a gift...we all deserve some little presents even if we buy them for ourselves!

Well, Nikolai is currently obsessed with the mailman and his truck. Our postal carrier parks his truck in our large neighborhood (indicated by our "Thickly Settled" street signs...who came up with this one?) and delivers on foot from this central spot. Nikolai can literally watch the truck for hours if you would let him. When the truck finally takes off for its next destination, Nikolai calls out "Bye Bye Mail Man". Oh cuteness.

One of the goodies on its way is a book entitled "The Magic of Ordinary Days" by Ann Howard Creel. This is really a delightful novel if you haven't yet read it. Hallmark Hall of Fame has also produced the movie version which absolutely does the book justice and stars my beloved Skeet Ulrich. The story is based during WWII and follows a young woman who becomes pregnant out of wedlock and is sent to marry a farmer by her minister father. Her relationships with her new husband as well as two young Japanese women in an internment camp tell the story of this time in history in a very personable and poignant way.

Moscow Court Anniversary

Today is a special day...the first anniversary of our court date in Moscow to adopt Kolya. It is rather unbelievable to me that it has been a year, though it feels like we have always been a family of three. One year ago today we woke up in Moscow and dressed in our best clothes...we traveled through Moscow to the court house, a statuesque building that on that day controlled our very future. Our driver dropped us and our translator off in front of the building and wished us good luck...he held his hands together and shook them in the air to wish us well and touched his heart. Our translator briskly brought us into the building where we turned over any cameras, etc. and then checked our coats. We walked further into the building and showed our passports as identification. Then we took an elevator to an upper floor. We waited in a sitting area along with our court translator (who we had just met), the director of Nikolai's orphanage, our translator and two other families who were waiting for their appointments before the judge. Time seemed to stretch on infinitely as we waited for our moment. Our appointed translator for court asked a few questions and went over our file to familiarize herself with our story and Nikolai's.

When we were finally called, we entered a large courtroom. There were four benches at the back of the court room, a podium in the center of the room and the judge sat a the large bench at the head of the room. She sat in an enormous chair with a back that must have stood 6' tall. Two shorter chairs flanked her sides. On one side of the bench sat the prosecutor and on the other side sat the court secretary. We took our seats with our translator on the benches to the left and the orphanage director and city official sat on the benches to the right. Once the proceedings began, the director and city official each gave their testimony as to why they believed we should be allowed to adopt Nikolai. After that, I was called to the stand. I walked up to the podium...my entire being was nervous, scared, numb...our translator walked up with me and stood to my forward right. There were a few moments of discussion as she tried to decide where to stand so as to be able to see me and not disrespect the director and city official by facing her back to them. I was asked to state my name, address, etc. I made the huge mistake of answering this question while looking at the translator and not the judge. I had been quite aware to do this until everything in my brain and body had numbed to the point where I was walking and talking on sheer instinct. The judge corrected me on this and I answered the next few questions making absolutely sure to look at her. I was then asked when I was married. Well, one would think this would be an easy question. I could rattle that and many other personal statistics off to you in my sleep. Now, I'm told that my pause was not even notable, but I will tell you I was having a whole debate in my head. "I know its April...I'm sure of that...and I know it was 1999...but the date...the Date...the DATE...oh my gosh!...I'm going to die right here...the 17th...I'm pretty sure...it could be the 15th...oh my gosh!...o.k., so what if I say the 15th and it really is the 17th...the judge is looking right at our file...she knows the date...she is going to think I'm a liar...she is going to think I don't care about my husband, my marriage...am I still breathing?..." Well, it was the 17th of April and I actually said that! We moved onto a series of other questions and I tried to mentally slow the beating of my heart...the judge then started sternly telling me something...what now? The translator turned to me and I stared straight at the judge..."The microphone is not working...stop leaning into it..." (I had been prepped before hand to lean into the microphone as all court hearings are recorded.) O.k., so now I am standing stick straight, staring at the judge, smiling just enough to look pleasant but not enough to look culturally insincere. I was then asked how much money we make each year...this pause I am sure was actually tangible...again my brain began to converse with itself..."o.k. so Jason just got a new job...what was his salary exactly and I just started a new business...oh gosh how much did I make this year...if I get this wrong..." I gave my best estimate, finished my questioning and returned to my seat. Jason was now called to the bench and answered a shorter series of questions. I was so thankful knowing that he is always so calm and collected and even knows our wedding date!

The judge then returned to her chambers to make her decision. While we waited, our translator told me that she had our wedding date, finance information, etc. before her and was trained to read from that document rather than translate what we said! Apparently, I'm not the only parent-to-be with temporary memory loss. The judge returned after a short recess and gave a long speech in Russian. She didn't smile, but rather sounded as if she was reading to us from a telephone book. Our translator quickly told us we were parents! Every emotion swept through me and we thanked the judge for our son and the director and city official as well. Their jobs are so important and they want the best for each child that they can have a hand in helping. We are so thankful for them and especially for our son!

Nikolai and I were in a celebratory mood this morning and baked a Russian apple pie...yum...the recipe is extremely simple and tasty...



















Pirog (Apple Pie)

4 small apples
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup white sugar
butter to grease pan

Preheat the oven to 375.
Core, peel and cut apples into small pieces.
Mix eggs, flour and sugar in a bowl.
Grease an 8" round cake pan with butter.
Add the apples to the cake pan.
Pour egg mixture over apples.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Allow to cool and slice.

Nikolai 2.5

I've been wanting to do a silhouette of Nikolai for a while. I love when people have old family silhouettes hanging on their walls. A little research led me to the history of silhouettes...as far back as the early 1700's this was a popular form of art among the rich in Europe. In the 1760's, the Finance Minister of France - Etienne de Silhouette was known for his terrible tax policies...with disastrous effects on the financial well being of the average citizen. The art form of paper cutting was very popular at the time and a pass time of Silhouette himself. Many peasants of the time would dress only in black as a form of protest and would describe themselves as "Silhouettes". I love a little bit of history...

So, here is my dear Nikolai in silhouette. As it is quite difficult to get a 2.5 year old to stand still, I took a profile photograph and then traced his silhouette in Adobe Illustrator.

A Simple Day

Nikolai in Papa's shoes...East Mountain South in the CD player...Reading my favorite blogs...Shooting some photos...Sewing by hand...Whistle of the steam heaters...fuzzy socks...thrifted cashmere sweater...dog curled at my toes...

The Process, not the Product...

I just finished ready a book about a cross-country train ride. The book was a little fluff reading left over from the holidays, but the story reminded me that life is really about the journey and not the destination. Similarly, as a designer, my art/craft is about the process and not the product. I'm not talking about the end quality of a product because I believe things should be both beautiful and well made. But rather one should slow down and enjoy the process of creating, allowing one's personality and experiences to show through. When I purchase something from another artist or crafter, I am always intrigued by the hands that have made it. When you hold in your hands a handmade item that was passed down in your family, you feel a connection to it and to those before you. So, my challenge this year is to really enjoy that process and to allow myself to slow down and take the creative journey - less concerned about the destination than the journey itself.

The photograph is a piece I did a while back that we installed in our dining room. It seemed fitting with today's post as adopting Nikolai was really a test of enjoying the journey and not just the destination. I often hear adoption described as a journey - it is often a long slow one at that and the actually journey often begins long before you take that first step into an adoption agency. My journey began long ago, but this piece made from an old window chronicles just a part of it. The bottom photograph is of me and my son Nikolai on the day we drove away with him from his orphanage. It was such an anticlimactic day - our third trip to Russia and he was finally ours - in my arms - never to be handed back to his caretakers at the end of a short visit. I had imagined this day over and over in my mind. I lived, breathed, dreamt about this moment - it was full of smiles and laughter and celebration - theatrical crescendos in the soundtrack of my life. In contrast, the moment was small, sincere, sad, happy, quiet and still. I held Nikolai in my arms. He was so scared. This was the part of his journey that would lead to a better life, but journeys are full of change and he knew to hold on tight. I held him even tighter...

My Adoption Thanksgiving Prayer

It was a year from today that we we received our adoption referral for our son Nikolai. It was a special day that we will never forget and I have feebly tried to put in words some of my thoughts about it. Nikolai has been home for 7 months now and he is the reason for so many wonderful blessings in our lives. Nikolai we love you and give thanks for you this day!

It was a year from today that we first heard your name
Saw your face
Heard your laugh
Allowed ourselves to dream...

In those days and weeks before we held you in our arms
Before we saw your face
Heard your laugh
Held you close and warm

We thanked God for His children
For the son he gave to us
Born half way around the world
Clearly meant for us

We thank God for you on this THANKSGIVING DAY
And we pray for the others that are still waiting today
That their forever families will soon hear their name,
See their face, hear their laugh and allow themselves to dream.

Karen Grant 2006

Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving!

Children's Apron/Smock

I finished a handful of children's aprons/smocks for SimplyJune. As I mentioned yesterday, they are made of oilcloth and are easy to wipe clean - perfect for the aspiring painter, baker, playdough sculptor or current messy kid. I added cotton twill ties and the neck strap can be adjusted simply by tying a knot. The main color on each apron varies from orange, to pink, to lime green. I'm still editing some photographs, but check them out in the shop soon.

Nikolai and I had a nice visit this morning with the lovely ladies at our adoption agency. I love visiting and especially with Nikolai, but I had a quiet moment as I arrived remembering the dozens of times I drove there before Nikolai was ours.

A Sneak Peek

I'm busy in my studio working on quite a number of things this week. Here is a sneak peek at one project for Simply June - Oilcloth Children's Aprons/Smocks. I love this vibrant wipe-clean cloth and started by making one for my little tyke and now I'm going to share them with you. I hope to have these up in the shop by the end of the week, but I'm also working on Nikolai's 2nd Birthday Party coming up this weekend! We are going to celebrate with just our immediate families this year - our first birthday with Nikolai!