HiHoRosie's Place

Did you watch any of the Royal Wedding? A little too early for me but I hope to see some of it in reruns; I have seen many of the pictures, though. Kate’s dress is beeeyoooteeful! Perfect for her. And perfect for a royal wedding! Seeing her reminded me how I always wanted to be a princess. Well, a queen actually but then I thought it might be too much responsibility so I’d settle for princess. :) ~ It’s a good thing I wasn’t invited (believe me, I looked for that invite – must’ve gotten lost in the mail) because what sort of wedding gift do you give a royal couple??? I mean, seriously. This weekend for us will be pretty busy as we’ve got some big garden happenings tomorrow (time to get everything ready for planting and weather is supposed to be great - yay!) and maybe, just maybe , a trip to the zoo for YS2’s birthday, which isn’t until Tuesday. If not, then soon! He will *love* it there! But I’ve got other things I need to pick up for his b-day. We already got his “big” gift ...

I stalk many a blog. I’ve got my blog roll, but there are many others I visit that I don’t have listed or I’m subscribed to via email. Btw, to those who’ve added the email feature to their blogs, thanks! Love it! When there are recipes or ideas I want to keep, saving them in email is so much easier – plus I can keep up or catch up better this way than with google reader. IMO. Anyway…ramble ramble… One of those blogs I stalk is Sarah’s of My New Roots . I’ve caught myself on more than one occasion drooling over her various creations. Hmm…do I dare pass along a HiHoRosie Blog Fave badge to her even though she has no clue as to who I am or what the deal is about an HHR Blog Fave award anyway? Ah, sure, why not! It’s just a little token of appreciation or recognition to a blog I really enjoy. She, nor anyone else I’ve bestowed a badge to, is obligated to accept, display, or acknowledge this award in any way. I only share it right here with you. If she, or anyone else, happens to stu...

Hello guys! Hopefully, you all had a great Easter weekend. I know one person did (congrats!)! Can you believe it’s the last week of April?? Wow. You know what this means…it’s almost YS2’s second birthday! Next Tuesday. Sniff. My lil guy is becoming a BOY! Just prior to this past weekend, I started to get a cold. A slow-moving cold. It finally gained steam and presented itself on Sunday. Poo. I will say if you have to get a cold, this is the one to get (like we have a choice). It’s slow to take hold and the worst symptoms are lack of energy and nasal congestion/cough. No headaches, no grumpiness (not counting being annoyed), no sore throat, no feeling really bad. The end. I was still able to fix dinner (not raw, far from it except for salad). I really wanted what I had planned: vegan shepherd’s pie, salad with balsamic vinaigrette sprinkled with pistachios, and apple crisp for dessert. Um, hello! No pics. Nope, notta one! Lame huh? By the time it was all ready it was time to e...

I saw this video today and it just seemed so fitting for Easter. Even if you don't recognize Easter, this video is beautiful and spiritual in its own right. We truly live in a beautiful world. Enjoy! The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo .

I didn't forget about the dirt bags I was giving away...I just forgot to post the winners on my blog. Whoops. Thanks to everyone who entered. All the entries were placed in a bowl and hubby picked the two winners. They were:     1. simplydab     2. nanjhall Congrats! I already emailed them (on time - phew!) of their prize. Hope to do something like this again in the near future. Thanks again everyone!

Every day is Earth Day. ~Author Unknown We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb I love those quotes - two of my favorites fitting for Earth Day, which is tomorrow, April 22nd. I posted those and a bunch of others last Earth Day . This year I’d like to share a few links, a sampling of sorts, that might be helpful and even fun, in finding ways to be green all year long . I haven't tried all of these yet but I'm posting them merely as suggestions meant to inspire and motivate. I figure any way to reduce our carbon footprint is a good thing, right? Natural cleaning supplies you can make at home:     Hanna Kroeger blog     Care2 Make some eco-friendly kid toys:     Growing a Green Family Or buy some:     Ecoleeko esty     Little Alouette etsy Make some non-toxic bubbles for yourself the kiddies! Here’s a quick recipe:    Rec...

I was checking email last night when I looked over hubby's shoulder to see what movie he had just loaded up on Netflix. I soon forgot all about those emails... The movie we watched was an incredible and touching documentary called The Human Experience . It's about two brothers (and friends) who travel the world and experience (three experiences featured) first-hand some of the challenges others face - they gain a new perspective and answers to questions on being human and their purpose in life. I couldn't help but be drawn in by the stories and people and of course, the cinematography and musical score were absolutely beautiful. I will say it was hard to watch at times. I felt (and still feel) incredibly grateful for what I have. E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. I know we all have our challenges and rough patches and I certainly don't want to undermine any of those experiences and lessons, however, when I complain about trivial things or wish for this or that I'm reminded t...

Spring that is. My belly-achin' (as my mom would say) paid off. We had a gor-jus spring day today. YS2 and I took an extra long walk it was so nice. Keep 'em coming Mother Nature! A couple of beauty shots from our walk: I took more pics of different flowers but they're all blurry. It's hard taking pictures when holding a toddler! Where we were I couldn't put him down without fear of him running off. So two snapshots are all you get. I think they're pretty even if they're from the same type of plant (a holly-type bush). image source So the other day I received a case of POM Wonderful . Prior to now, I had never tried it; one of those I always passed by. I actually meant to make something that involved POM juice but never did as we just kept grabbing a new bottle to drink. Tasty! Its tartness reminds me of cranberry or lingonberry juice but it's sweet too. I like sweet-tart juices. I'd buy it again but it's not something I have to stock...

Hey! How was your weekend? As usual, mine was TOO SHORT! Weekends will always be too short. I’m wondering if my complaining of the cold, gross weather on Saturday was enough to turn things around on Sunday. Okay, it wasn’t exactly warm but it was warm er . I even saw the sun! Such a welcome sight. Because it was actually turning into a nice day we went for a family walk. Spotted some daffodils along the way which seem to epitomize spring dontchya think? YS2 got to kiss a friendly pug a few times too. Sorry no pic but it was super cute. If he could, he’d kiss every dog and cat he saw. I know I've said that before but I like to repeat myself sometimes. :) I finally worked on my herb garden. Got the planter box filled up and ready to go but haven't quite decided what to plant in it. Since I have planter bags I used those for some of my herbs and some of the starts I had picked up I think would be better at the garden so that leaves the cedar box. I might still do herbs b...

flickr - Fortnight@F8  Once again the weather here is frightful. I swear we’re having winter in the spring. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining but it was downright fuh-reezing! We stopped at the garden to drop off spent coffee grounds and believe it or not, there were quite a few [hard core] gardeners out there. I was impressed. YS2 didn’t seem to mind the chill but this mama did! I’m a wimp though - I don't like being cold. I did start out the day enjoying this smoothie . Maybe that wasn’t a good idea on such a cold day but in my defense, I didn’t realize it was so cold until we left the house. Sorry no pic. Imagine a brown (chocolate) shake or see Sarah’s pics. They look better than I could’ve captured. So check this out. YS2 loves wakame ! Is that amazing or what? Papa-YS picked up some dried wakame and little YS2, who’s always up for trying new things, loved it. Wow! I said he’s got a more advanced palate than me. Awhile ago, over the Holidays to be more precise, I won a jar...

Happy (?) Tax Day! ha ha! Even if you're getting a refund, I think we'd all agree we pay too much in taxes but it is what is, right? Hopefully, you are getting a refund anyway. I am - very little but still it's somethin'. Refunds are always nice. But did you know that taxes aren't technically due until Monday, April 18th ? Thanks Rawkin Mom for mentioning that. Here's an article about it if curious. Here's a little diddy in honor of those darn taxes!

Here it is April 14th, day before Tax Day (did you get yours in? I am today!) and it's cloudy, a little damp and a wee bit too cold. It's supposed to be a high of 49 degrees today. ?!?!?!?! When is spring going to show up? Seriously, this is annoying. I feel a little better when I hear some of you are still getting snow off and on but gee whiz Spring! We've been waiting ever-so patiently for your arrival here in the Pacific Northwest. We're ready. We will welcome you and cherish you. Promise. Please consider showing up to the party ASAP! Thanks. Now, onto announcing the winner of the Tropical Traditions Coconut Cream Concentrate . This winner proved you can win with only one entry ( randomly selected , of course). 17.  shannonmarie Mmmm ... I still have peanut butter on the brain. I want to dip one of those dark chocolate bars in it. Yum! Or maybe since I just ate, I'd like to try a non-food-related item, such as those coconut lip balms. Something tells me th...

I'm sure many are curious as to who won the Shabby Apple giveaway so let's get to it shall we? ...drum roll... 12. Ruri I'm following you via GFC! Ruri, I have sent you an email already. Please respond within 48 hours! Many thanks to everyone who entered and supported my giveaway. If still interested in a Shabby Apple dress (who wouldn't be?!) the 10% discount still stands for HiHoRosie readers. And if you're still in a wanting-to-win-a-giveaway mode, I have two going on still and have posted them under my giveaway tab . Both have low entries so your chances are good. Speaking of winners though, remember when I mentioned that Food Network was hosting their first donut championship and two Seattle donut shops were competing (along with two other donut shops from elsewhere in the country) annnnd that I was rootin' for my favorite, Mighty-O , an organic vegan shop? Well, take a guess at who won. :) Congrats to Sara Beth for kickin' ass over the com...

Howdy folks! Yesterday I had my first homemade chai tea. Yum! It was made with homemade rice milk too. So good! Thanks hubby! Do you like chai? To me, it’s such a cozy drink and obviously, one I enjoy. Some versions I’ve had weren’t that great and some, like yesterday’s, are great. After my cozy drink, I then took a delicious nap. ☺ Oh yeah, life is good. Now, forgive me in advance. This post might have a lot of YS2 in it so turn away now if too much cuteness is not on your agenda today. Also, some pics just aren't very flattering of me - a supermodel I am not. Call me vain but you know, it's the weekend and I don't really make much of an effort. Sorry. But the subject (YS2) is just too cute so I put vanity aside. YS2’s morning did start off a little rough. He had a Trader Joe’s balloon from a couple days ago (they weren’t giving them away but they’re part of their displays so we helped ourselves to one – have you ever been to store with a tot where they weren’t givin...

Howdy kids! Hopefully, you had a good weekend. As usual, it wasn’t long enough but my weekend was good. Not too busy which was nice. Saturday we had wacko typical spring weather where we had rain squalls throughout the day so in between we had some sun breaks and even hail. Sunday’s weather was better. Sorta. It didn’t rain, if that counts. It was cloudy, a little breezy at times, and cold. We spent a few hours at the community garden . I didn’t do much there other than get my ego stroked from people telling me how smart YS2 is and chase after him everywhere! He’s a quick one that little guy. We met hubby’s brother, Matt, there. Caleb is enamored with Matt. In fact, the day before all during dinner, he kept saying “Ma’h!” (said like Matt but without the T – a hard short H sound instead). We took this as a hint to call Matt and invite him out to the garden. I’m sure you wanted to know all that… Did you know that Sam is on the community garden board again? He took last ...