Shop Update...Embroidered Buttons

I will be slowly adding new items to the shop over the coming weeks in preparation for an upcoming show. New embroidered buttons have just been added to the shop. I take custom button orders as well. Each button is individually hand embroidered... perfect for adding a unique touch to your knitting projects, updating your favorite garment, or tied to elastic ties for a fun hair adornment.

Newsworthy Matryoshka

Simply June has been receiving some press lately... I was contacted a little while ago by Virginia M. Citrano of adoptionblogs.com 's Russian Adoption Blog. Citrano is also a Russian adoptive parent and wrote a really nice piece on us entitled "Russian Adoption Inspires A Business." Check it out to find out a little more about how Simply June came to be... Also, take a look at her follow up article "Russian Culture: Matryoshka Dolls" to learn some more about the history behind the Russian Matryoshka.

Vintage Button Swap Deux

My sweet swap partner Lori sent me all of these wonderful goodies. They arrived yesterday and I waited until nap time to be able to leisurely open my package and dote on each yummy item. Check out Lori's blog...she is quite the knitter. I am loving the buttons, the fun bits of funky yarn and some hand knit washcloths! Nikolai even got a little goodie and Jason and I had fun looking at the Milwaukee postcards...swiping the Calatrava designed art museum for himself...

Big thanks to Sally over at Shim+Sons for setting up this second wonderful button swap.

Flourish

I definitely flourish better in the sun...my creative energy is just totally zapped by rain and fog. We have been having our fair share of April showers here in Boston and the last two days of sunshine have ignited a frenzy of creativity and allowed for some product photography and shop updates as well. In addition to the new Matryoshka Onesies and Bibs, check out some new Magnet Tins...grab them now...these always go fast.


















And a little hit of what is to come for the Spring/Summer season...

Matryoshka Onesies and Bibs

3 Little Matryoshka Dolls all in a row...these cuties are now up in the Simply June Shop. The onesies are available in sizes 0-3 months, 3-9 mo., 12 mo., 18 mo. and 24 mo. The bibs feature a wipe-clean surface and the pair would make the perfect gift for a "little" in your life...

Spell with Flickr




I stumbled upon this website through another blog and it is just incredibly addictive. You can type in anything and it generates those words using Flickr images...then simply cut and paste the code onto your website...can you spell o-b-s-e-s-s-e-d?

Chandelier...Silhouette

Some wonderful being left me a note...they found that gorgeous silhouette chandelier that was shown on Thom Filicia's new show "Dress My Nest" on the Style Network. It can be found at Urban Outfitters for just $36 + $10 for the cord kit. Now for the big decision...ivory or black. I'm thinking of hanging it in my studio and the ivory is just calling to me for that space.

The Best Decision I Ever Made

I made the best decision of my life 8 years ago today...

I sometimes wonder how we knew at such a young age that our life could be this wonderful together. Though we all change over the years, I think there is that core part of us that doesn't...that grows yet somehow remains the same.

I love experiencing life with you... Happy Anniversary Jason!

Velvet Settees, Tufted Ottomans, Silhouette End Tables...These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

When my "lease" runs out for my little corner of Anthropology, I plan on moving into the Brocade Home catalog... Their catalog is so serene and their style captures my love of silhouettes. The wallpaper behind the settee is channeling the new fabric I just ordered from Reprodepot. I want to curl up on that tufted ottoman and read the stack of books on my end table in one sitting...

I recently watched an episode of Dress My Nest... Thom Filicia's new show on the Style Network. The basic format of the show is that he teams together with a fashion stylist to design a living space for someone based on their one perfect outfit that really speaks of their style. The episode I watched featured a soon-to-be 30 year old whose house just screamed Hello Kitty and a major pink overdose. Thom found a way to interpret her vintage, cute, eclectic outfit in a unique, stylish, more mature yet still eclectic way. I personally drooled over the wooden silhouette style chandelier which I am wearing out my fingers trying to Google....I very well might need that chandelier...

Hop on Over

We are hosting an Easter dinner party for a bunch of our friends this year and as usual, I am happily obsessing over the details. Cheers to Carey and Tim for the Baileys Bunnies idea. These little darlings have lost their ears and are now lined up in the freezer awaiting their Baileys on Sunday...Yum. (They look a little terrified eyeing the bowl of ears.) Happy Easter!

I want to LIVE in an Anthropologie store.

I've opened my mailbox twice within the last week to find an Anthropologie catalog and please tell me that I'm not the only one who wants to live in those pages or better yet the store! I only allow myself to visit my local Anthropologie a couple of times a year...major reason being a cash flow problem...the other being that they don't actually like when you show up with a Starbucks and curl up on one of their couches to read a book. I love every inch of their stores from the home decor to the clothing to all the kitchy details in between. I literally take notes in the store I am so filled with inspiration. I think I need to take a week off soon to sew just for myself and my home. I'm currently dying to paint my kitchen door red and refashioning my Roman shades with fabric from a vintage tablecloth...might have to talk Jason into this idea.

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!

neat Freak

Well, if you know me in the least bit, you know that this label does not fit me at all. (Stop laughing!) I try so very very hard to be organized and neat, but frankly I just think it is somehow genetically impossible for me. Now this is not to say that I have an incredibly messy house. I think it is quite clean and just accented by bits of eclectic clutter. Clutter of the moment mind you... I'm always working on something creative and frankly I like to spread out. One of my dear friends once said that creative people have more important things to focus on and should not have to be bothered with cleaning...I love her...

Well, my new favorite favorite show is called Neat. It is hosted by Hellen Buttigieg, a professional organizer (Canada) with a Certificate of Study in Chronic Disorganization from the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD). I was not aware such an organization even existed! In her show, she travels to the home of a habitual clutter bug and helps them purge their earthly treasures for a more serene and simple existence. Her patience and lack of judgement really help in this process and are really motivational. We have been purging massive amounts of "stuff" from our home in the past weeks and it is amazing the mental clarity that comes from this!

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.

SWAP

If you have never done a swap before, here is a heads up on a great one that has just been posted. I participated in Sally's first vintage button swap and this one is sure to be just as great! Visit Shim+Sons for more details...hurry up the deadline is this Friday! Swaps are a fun way to meet new people, send and receive some creative goodies around the country and world. My mind is already reeling with some ideas and I can't wait to get started!

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.

3 Little Matryoshka All in a Row

I have been working diligently in the studio to prepare for our upcoming show at the Alliance for Children Multicultural Fair. I will have many of my designs on hand, but will also feature some items from my upcoming SimplyBaby line with a multicultural theme. These little Matryoshka make me smile...sitting pretty...all in a row.

Mac n Cheese

Jason picked up a copy of Cooking Light's "best of" magazine last week and we have been cooking our way through some of the recipes this week.

As Kolya and I were in a cooking sort of mood today, we made the "Whole Wheat, Oatmeal, and Raisin Muffins" and the "Creamy Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese".

The muffins feature much more than their name...including wheat germ, wheat bran, chopped dates, cranberries and buttermilk (along with your more typical baking ingredients). An interesting step included adding a 1/2 cup of boiling water to the batter to cook the oats and saturate the germ and bran. They were surprisingly moist and delicious...even Kolya 2.5 scarfed one down. Although, I do attest to be raising a carb addict...

The Macaroni and Cheese was good. I substituted the cheddar cheese with a Provolone, Asiago and Fontaine mix to give it a sharper flavor. Tasty, but not exactly sure what I think about the Dijon mustard, Garlic and Worcestershire sauce blend... They added a distinct flavor, but I'm afraid my palate is a little less "gourmet" when it comes to Mac n Cheese...Mac in a box might be a little more my speed I'm afraid to admit. Still...a warm, yummy, wintry sort of meal...

Circle Applique Bag

First, a Very Very Happy 13th Birthday to dear Caroline! Her birthday present was inspired by my fabric stash, this photograph from a Japanese craft book, the colors of an upcoming Spring and by that youthful exuberance and energy that surrounds a very special 13 year old.

I started by sifting through my fabric scraps and used a 2" circle stencil to choose the placement of my circles on the fabric patterns. I marked the back side of the fabric with a dark marking pencil and then cut scraps of applique paper to iron on top of my marking. As the applique paper is opaque, I was still able to see my markings. You could certainly iron the paper on first, but I wanted to be picky about my circle placement and wanted to use as little applique paper as possible. After cutting the circles out, I touched up the edges with fray check to avoid fraying.

I then planned the layout of my circles anchoring the corners with darker colors and distributing my colors and duplicate patterns without appearing too contrived. I took a quick snapshot of this layout as I hadn't yet planned my bag design.

After designing the bag and cutting out the interior and exterior pieces, I peeled the backing off of the circles and ironed them onto the front bag piece. After that, I machine stitched each circle about 1/4" from the edges for added durability. I then assembled my bag which I designed as a cross shoulder tote. The straps tie at the top to allow for shortening and lengthening.