The Storm in the Barn

If you live, or happen to be in the Portland area April 28th - May 20th, you should go see this play! The Storm in the Barn, adapted for the stage from the beautiful graphic novel by Matt Phelan. It's at the Oregon Children's Theatre!

Musical score written by friends, Black Prairie.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Bookish News

When I made my announcement about my book Simple Sewing with Lola Nova, I was remiss in mentioning that it is a title in Mitchell Beazley's new 'Creative Makers' series. I wanted to share with you the other title due to launch with mine!

Simple Crochet by Sara Sinaguglia! She writes the blog Number One Churchill's Green and you may have seen her crochet apple cozies in Issue one of Mollie Makes, or all over the internet as they were quite a sensation!

I can't wait to get my hands on it! It looks to be a winner! Her book is available for pre-order on Amazon UK

As a reminder, my book is also available for pre-order.

A little bit more bookish news; as Simple Sewing with Lola Nova comes out this Fall, I will be selling a limited number of signed copies. I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Oh how very exciting to be part of what promises to be a very lovely series!

Have a sweet and crafty day!

Hello Monday!

What a brilliant weekend we've had! After days of rain, the sun came out in all it's glory for a Summer like weekend. Of course we took full advantage.

There was a three cousin sleep-over at the little green cottage. A raucous mayhem ensued, followed by a wild rumpus!
There were grand sprinkler follies...

We got crafty with paper plate mask making...

There was dinner alfresco and fire roasted marshmallows and s'mores for dessert!

There was an evening movie in the living room theatre, then a lot of late night giggling, and two very tired adults come morning. Blueberry pancakes got the day started off nicely though.

Once the boys had gone, there was a bit of garden therapy for me and I spent the afternoon tucking little sprouts of veg into their beds.

Oh what a happy tired bunch and a brilliant weekend!

I would like to mention here that The Engineer is a super-hero! It was he who mowed the lawn and cleaned up the yard. It was he who planned the mask making, and the fire roasting. It was he who baked the mac & cheese from scratch, grilled the hot dogs and got up in the middle of the night with the littlest cousin (for this was his first sleep-over ever and it was all a bit disorienting to him). So 3 cheers to The Engineer, my hero!

Now what did you get up to this weekend?

Word To Your Mother

Happy Earth day!

This and That and a Brand New Hat

Oh my goodness, such a busy week! I haven't had much time for photo shoots or making, but that's ok. Life is moving along at a swift clip and I'm just going along with the ride. I thought I'd share a few of my happy snaps from the Instagram to show what's been going on 'round here.

Firstly, the Engineer and I had a real honest to goodness date night last weekend! Pony Girl was on a sleep-over at the cousins so we had the whole night. It all began with a trip to the haberdasher for a new "gentleman's" hat for the Mr. Oh and did he ever look handsome!
Later we met a couple of our friends for a feast at a Japanese Pub and enjoyed a most delicious cocktail called a "Twisted Kite". It was warm enough to sit on the patio so that our laughter floated out on the breeze. It was lovely!

Though our weather has been all over the place lately, I couldn't resist picking up some flowers for the garden. I love these English Daisies, such happy flowers...I imagine they are the sort of flowers that Muppets might plant.

As I was planting flowers I noticed the sale sign has gone up on the house across the street. For a moment I had a little daydream about buying this house, if only to save her. She was once most certainly a grand lady, but years of neglect and mistreatment have done her in I'm afraid.
In her large overgrown yard there is a magnificent Dogwood tree, one of the tallest I've ever seen, with fat butter-yellow blossoms. I do think given some serious TLC and a fresh coat of paint, she would make for the perfect Lola Nova headquarters, don't you?

And whenever I have a moment here and there, I've been slowly unpacking boxes from my grandfather's house. Finding pretty vintage treasures.

Well now, I see by the time that I must run; errands, chores, meetings and much to-doing!

I hope that all of you are having a swell week! Take care.

Hello Monday

Hello, hello!

I am so overwhelmed with the amazing response I received from my last post. Thank you all for the encouraging and lovely comments you left. I am very touched.

Thank you.

I will be providing updates on the release of the book; dates and foreign language editions as I get the news.

Rainy days and Mondays are good days to tidy and catch up on the laundry. That is my big exciting plan for the day.

What are you up to?

The Really Big News!

I wrote a book!
I sewed a book!

It is truly a most exciting moment for me to be able to finally share with you, my lovely readers, what I have been working on for over 6 months!

Simple Sewing with Lola Nova,to be published by Mitchell Beazley is a labor of love. I can honestly say that my heart and soul has gone into this book and I am positively giddy with the news!

It was awfully hard to keep it under wraps for so long, but now I can shout from the roof tops that little old me wrote a book!

Simple Sewing with Lola Nova by Alexandra Smith is scheduled to come out in the UK this coming September! The US edition will be published Spring 2013!

The book contains 25 step by step sewing projects for family, life and home. A handcrafted compendium sure to provide a little something for everyone, for all skill levels. This book truly celebrates a handmade life!

I will be certain to keep everyone updated on release and all the nitty gritty as we go along.

Oh, but wait! Looky here, it is available for pre-order on Amazon UK! Oh my goodness!

I want to thank you, yes you! my wonderful friends. My readers really are the best and without you, this book never would have been possible, so thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I wish you all a gorgeous weekend!

Another Good Thing

Yes it is time for...

Good Thing #4: Meeting a Friend

Last week I received a note from the very lovely Kate of Harmony and Rosie saying that she and her family would be traveling to my fair city and would I like to meet for a cuppa?

Well goodness yes!

Now, I have met only a very few of my bloggy friends face to face, and whilst it is exciting, one can never be sure just how it might turn out. So, a little cautious I arrived at the designated meeting spot realizing I wasn't completely certain of what she looked like. I did a quick think and recalled her build and hair style from photos on her blog (the ones where she shows off her beautifully made frocks) and settled in with my coffee to wait.

I suppose it is sort of like a blind date, with a little less pressure of course. For in some ways you do feel as if you know this person a little bit from the years of reading each other's blogs.

Well, I needn't have worried. From the moment Kate arrived with her gorgeous smile and big hugs, it was as if we had indeed known each other for ages. She is every bit as lovely in person as she is on her blog (even more so!). It was one of the most enjoyable cuppas I can recall. We sat and chatted for what seemed like only a short while, when her family arrived telling us what time it was. Lo and behold, we had been nattering on for 3 hours! She needed to tend to her family and I needed to go home to mine, we hugged goodbye. I felt so glad to have met and made a true friend; I also was a bit sad that we would not be able to meet up on the regular for weekly cups of coffee (in my case) and tea (in her case).

Both of us were so busy having a lovely chat that neither one of us remembered to get a photo!

It was really a wonderful meeting, and I am reminded of what an amazing community of "friends" I have made since I started my rambling ways here on this blog. I am so humbled and grateful for the world of like-minded souls that I have encountered.

Thank you Kate, our cuppa will be a well remembered highlight for a long time to come.

Please go visit Harmony and Rosie to see her beautifully made creations, from stunning jewelry to gorgeous bags and frocks! She's a mighty good read too!

This week of Good Things has made me very happy.

It has all been leading up to A Super Duper Good Thing...

...otherwise known as

The Really Big News!!!

Oh I am so excited to share it with you all, I can hardly stand it! I can hardly wait!
But wait I will. Until tomorrow my friends!

xo

More good things

Alright, continuing on with the good things...

You may recall that Good Thing #1 was The Weather.

Now on to Good Thing #2: A Bedroom Spruce Up

There has been much discussion of late regarding the painting of my girl's bedroom walls; let's just say that her vision and mine differ slightly. It's not that I have great objection to vivid pink, or scarlet red, or bright blue; it is rather the fickle nature of my girl's passion for color - by that I mean that she changes her mind every few minutes. My suggestion was to go with something in the white/cream range (which was met with a roll of the eyes and a "Booorring") so that whenever she felt the desire, she could change the color scheme with accessories. An impasse was reached and we both agreed to spend a little more time mulling it over before making any long-reaching decisions.

In the meantime, a shuffling and sprucing up seemed to be the order. With the removal of an armoire and the addition of a desk, she now has a creative space of her very own.

The bed was prettied with some quilty love along with twinkle lights. Oh yes, it is a dreamy spot for sure.

Good Thing #3: A Delivery

On Saturday a big truck pulled up in front of The Little Green Cottage to deliver 2 very large crates containing things from my grandparent's home. Family antiques, furniture and a few 'mystery boxes'! It was a little like Christmas. There was a beautiful old dresser, an antique steamer trunk painted by my grandmother, that was once in my childhood bedroom - now claimed by my girl as it is clearly a pirate's treasure trunk!

A deliciously green vintage metal shop cabinet that once held my grandfather's lapidary specimens and will now house my vintage kitchen ware and other doodads.

And of course, the Pièce de résistance!

Oh my yes, that is indeed a Hot Pink Velvet loveseat! I have had my heart set on this settee since I was 7 years old! Highly impractical? Yes! Totally nonfunctional for our space? Certainly! Is there room for it in the LITTLE green cottage? Heck No! None of this matters for swoon it is a hot pink velvet loveseat! 'Nuf said.

I'll be showing you more family treasures as I clear paths through the house; there are still those 'mystery boxes' to go through! It is interesting to have some of these items in my home after growing up with them in my grandparent's homes. It is nice to feel a connection to my family, my history. Now if only I can figure out where it is all going to fit.

Tomorrow I have even more good things to share.

What good things are going on with you?

Oh Hello!

Well hello you!
I do so hope that everyone had a lovely holiday weekend!
I have had a most refreshing and rather busy break, but I am back and full of big ideas. Spending time with family was so good, and so needed. There is quite a lot to tell and share with you, I will have to do so in snippets here and there. I do believe the best way to begin, is for me to tell one good thing at a time.

So, good thing #1: The Weather. You may not think that the weather is any sort of exciting news, but after so many dark days of rain trust me, the truly fantastic Spring weather we were granted over the weekend is very exciting indeed. I cannot imagine a better gift than a bit of sunshine. It has put a big smile on our faces and made for a frolicking good weekend!

Even my latest thrifty finds came in all sunshiney yellow!

And as a special bit of Spring happy, two new members of the flock came to stay. Meet Daisy and Chavez.

...and though these two have nothing to do with the weather, two fluffy baby chicks sure do make for a sunny feeling in one's heart.

The weather was so glorious that there were altogether 3 egg hunts to enjoy. Now that is one determined basket wielding girl!

I do believe that as I type this the sun is slipping behind some ominous clouds and the rain may be returning. No matter, I am simply grateful for the sun's visit and the time with my beautiful family.

I shall return soon with more good things to tell!