Matchy-matchy

I remember my mom & Gram sewing matching outfits for my sisters & I to wear. I am the oldest, and there are 18 months between me & my next sister, then there are 2+ years between her & the next sister. I mean, I don't specifically remember anything say, before I turned 4 or so, but around 6-7, I do, and I began to not be impressed. I didn't want to match babies. I didn't like the 'homemade' clothes, either- I do specifically remember that.
Fast forward twenty-some years, and I've sewn clothes for my niece. My sister & I buy matching and coordinating clothes for the babies, and occasionally, we call my daughter & my nephew the twin cousins, as they were due 13 days apart- spoiler- they were born 27 days apart. Still in the same month, but one will be celebrating their second Christmas this year and the other, his first. :)
So what is this sickness? Is it some momma rite of passage? Is it just innate to match young children?

I made these brownies last night, so I thought I'd repost this recipe from my now defunct blog, moxiemandie. Winter always brings out the baker in me!


Welp, it's Monday again already. I didn't intend to write exclusively on Mondays, but that's my rhythm these days, I guess.
I've been fighting the cold from you know where for a week now and I'm so over it. Well, you know, not exactly, but in my mind, I've prevailed. I think I'm beginning to feel better, though, because yesterday I not only made a double batch of this soup, but I made a pan of our favorite brownies, too, with a little extra sunthin-sunthin.*
Want the recipe? I thought so.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

1/2 cup premium cocoa

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)


Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8x2-inch pan. In a medium saucepan melt butter or margarine. Remove melted butter or margarine from heat, add cocoa, and stir until well blended. Add sugar and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Stir in vanilla, flour, and salt. Don't over beat. Fold in nuts. Spread in prepared pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.




*we happened to have some extra dark chocolate chips on hand, so I threw a couple on top of the batter before plopping it into the oven.

Just Do.

  I'm not entirely sure where to start: I used to write. For many years, actually, I posted several times a week on a blog. Then I got pregnant, had a baby, and quit. I felt everything so much more than my already previously sensitive self, and I was too worried that I'd write too much, share too much, be too much, not that I had the time. I still doubt that I'll share here more than a few times a month, but it's time for me to get back to my writing, to sharing, expressing, and just being.
  I love beginnings. The hope, the aspiration, the no-baggage-from-yesterdays. I love the idea of bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils, new notebooks, stacks of crisp, unwashed fabrics. Those things can hinder, though, and if I've learned anything this last year, it's this: you need to just do. Start. Be. Jump in. Don't wait for the right moment because you might miss the best one. I'm done saving my best fabrics for when I actually have time to make an exquisite, time-consuming quilt. I'll be 70 and the fabric will be 40 years old and I'll have stored it way past it's prime. Make something now, something you'll enjoy- even though it's not perfect and you have to stay up late to work on it. Work with your hands on what makes you happy now.