Roundup

Fall Mix

Fall in Utah is beautiful.  I didn't "get" fall until I moved to a place that actually had seasons.  I can see the mountains from the window in front of my kitchen sink, and I am continually surprised at how much more color I see every day. 

Tim has put together an amazing fall mix to get you in the mood for drives up the canyon, sweaters, hot drinks, and cold, dark mornings.

Now if only fall would last a little longer . . .

Ginger Banana Bread Recipe

Okay, I kind of obsessed with banana bread. I have sampled MANY different recipe's claiming to be the most moist, rich, delicious bread out there. Well they all had it wrong, this one is THE MOST delicious banana bread! And Ginger is the perfect complement! {there are also versions of this that include 1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate} I prefer mine without-  Download the Recipe Card HERE

Roundup

THE CLOCK. thoughts on. an art piece by Christian Marclay.

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This summer I was lucky to spend some time in New York City and I experienced a very profound work of art.  The Clock by Christian Marclay is a 24-hour film collage.  The artist was originally a collage artist who worked with huge collections of found materials, but as he moved into a small flat in London, took up the much more space-saving media - found video.  

           I found this piece to be quite incredible, and so much more thought provoking then other art that I've seen lately.  The piece is made up of clips taken from films all either referencing, overtly showing a clock or watch, or some mentioning of the time.  It is a mash-up montage merged together quite beautifully, complimented with overlaying music and dialogue.  The film runs in real time and continues for all 24 hours of the day.  A viewer can come and sit in a comfortable, dark room and view this alternate passing of time whenever they wish.  The time in the film directly and strangely reflects the viewers real life time, (the real life that they are passing up for this created time). 

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To me, experiencing this work was transformative and meditative.  The video clips created some narrative, despite the discursive nature of the compilation, (perhaps the narrative was something that a viewer needs or wants and so would just form for themselves).  It was quite mind-blowing to experience this passage of time taken in from experiences not your own, (or even anyone's own).   It really quickly places you into some alternative sense of reality, one that is culturally rooted and universal, yet feels very personal and visceral. 

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My colleague and I first experienced the piece for one hour (from noon till one).  We left wanting more and were filled with wonderings like How long has someone stayed in? What was it like at four in the morning? How could you go for very long without peeing? Is this reality better than the real one (maybe that's a bit of a stretch)?  And most important to us was how long could we potentially stay in this thing?

            We made plans and filled our pockets with licorice and tried not to drink anything beforehand.  We put off a perhaps otherwise eventful evening in the fine town to go and sit in this crazy thing for as long as we could, hoping slightly to ourselves that we would be led into some kind of beautiful madness.  Unfortunately that night the event only stayed open until ten o'clock and we were forced to leave after about four and a half interesting hours.  We had not found our psychedelic mad euphoria (or maybe it was there all along).  But there was such a beauty simplicity in this experience.  It was a transcendent and raw and soul-filling meditation.  I left, not knowing how long I could've really endured.  And I like that wondering….

Everyday Storytelling

     Storytelling is something that I am asked to do all day. Almost every time we are in the car for longer than 10 minutes, I hear 'moma, tell a story!' I make up all of our stories. They almost always involve a forest, any kind of animal, and something specific that happened in our day, or week even. Little foxes end up getting lost from their mother at the park, a bird hurts his wing and has to go to the doctor to get it checked out, three kittens have to learn to share a toy that they find in the sand. My stories are very simple, but can go on for 10 or more minutes. Even when driving with multiple children in my car, everyone stops to listen to the stories. It may be the different voices that I do, or the dramatic emphasis' that I put into the animals and their specific problems, or solutions. At any rate, story telling has saved our lives many-a-tired drive home from nana's house. My two year old likes to choose the animals for the stories, and from there we just improvise.

     A few months ago we bought Tell Me A Story cards from eeboo. We LOVE them. They give children the chance to tell their own story. Each card has different artwork on it, and in each pack all the cards have a similar theme. Kids who are not yet reading love the chance to 'read.' I highly recommend them, they make improvising a story very easy - with a photo to nudge the story along. The cards come in several different sets; Little Robot's Mission, Animal Village, Fairytale Mixup, Circus Animals Adventure, and the one that we have, Mystery in the Forest. 

Roundup

Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe

 

Now that I am working full time again, I find myself looking through my recipes for quick, delicious dinners.  Spaghetti Carbonara is one of my family’s favorite weeknight dishes.   It is so easy!  It reminds me of my childhood.  This is one of those recipes that was in heavy rotation at my house, the kind of thing that we requested for birthday dinners.  Enjoy!

download printable recipe here.

Summers Reverie

        It is inevitable that summer comes to an end, however it is always so bittersweet. I will miss the late nights with my sugar crazed toddler hanging around my neck asking for 'more songs, more songs, please, moma!' I will miss endless swings in the tree-covered hammock, long walks late at night through the neighborhood. The glow of the cozy houses and sleepy people pouring over their television sets late into the night. I will miss the draw of the mountains pulling us in -offering shade, a breezy place to nap, and running water begging to be jumped into. For these reasons and more all through winter I long for summer and the warmth of the sun on the back of my neck as we walk in the wild. I long for the nights spent tangled up in tents- all three of our bodies snuggled cozily together as the crickets sing us softly to sleep. I will miss this. Our greatest moment of this last summer was the solar eclipse. We were out in the open surrounded by fields of grass. With our family gathered all around us we sang and we danced and we ran wild through the fields. It was a moment I don't ever want to forget, and would trade any number of things for. This is what is important to our family -moments like this, spent together with the people we love- outside under the sun.           

Roundup

Easy DIY Bookshelf Makeover

 This was such a fun, cheap, easy way to make our space a little more fun. I visited a local wallpaper shop, where they sell left over rolls of wallpaper for $5!! So, needless to say, my mind has been reeling with possibility. I finally decided on adding the wallpaper the back of a hand-me-down bookshelf. The process was simple, once I had the wallpaper that I wanted;

1.   I choose a matching paint color (we went with black chalkboard- something a little funner to keep the 2 year old busy)
2.    I painted the shelf- we did about 2.5 coats (I used a mini-roller for a smoother finish, spraypaint also does the trick -find spray-painting tips here.
3.    I cut out wallpaper pieces (TRY TO BE VERY EXACT) -Using a measuring tape and a straight-edge for your cuts saves you lots of time and mess.
4.    Then once the paint is fully dry, I applyed a layer of glue to the back of the shelves, then press your wallpaper to the glue as carefully as you can. (Use wallpaper glue from home depot) It is helpful to have a wet rag to clean any excess glue.
5.    Then lay books on top of the wallpaper for a few hours so that it drys without too many bubbles. 

-and voila, you have a new bookshelf! It's amazing how such a small piece of furniture can make a space feel nice and new! It brings a smile to my face every time I come into Hazel's room.

A Welcome Post

       The original concept behind, wandering little braves, was to share the adventures of two eclectic, busy, start-up families. The entire family would participate and take part in recording our findings and sharing them with you (whomever you might be) . . . however, life has kicked in, and months have gone by since the concept was agreed to by skeptical husbands, and somewhat overwhelmed housewives. I have no idea what we will become but for now this is us;

THE HUISHS

       The Huishs are an adventure-seeking family of artists, who live at the bottom of a huge mountain. Where there is time to spare, they will either spend it at home creating, or out in the mountains exploring. Momma went to school studying photography and since then has not done much with her photo’s except to take photos of H. Momma spends her time sewing, bookmaking, knitting, jewelry-making, painting, and reading children’s fantasy books. Little H would like to spend all her time in the outdoors, or in a library. Papa is a wandering soul, he is still looking for the perfect solution to both his wanderlust, as well as a desire to help the misfortunate. Papa is a mixed-media artist, he loves painting and printmaking the most. Papa spends most of his time teaching eighth graders and bikes anywhere he goes. You will never find him without a book (or two) in his hands. He paints, crochets, reads, bikes, hikes, and climbs.

THE PEARSONS

    The Pearsons love spending time together on bike rides and walks around their city, eating yummy food raised in their garden, and watching more tv than is probably healthy.  We all are working on something right?  Momma is an aspiring Montessorian who has recently gone back to work full time, bringing little O and A along for a Montessori preschool experience.  She also dabbles in sewing, knitting, spinning, and many other artistic endeavors.  Papa is an engineer who loves modern design, music, vintage guitars, and MTG.  He also spends time daydreaming about building a family home a la Dwell. 

Welcome to our blog, Wandering Little Braves!