Flower Arranging

We're spending some time with Anouk's cousin KK this week, and it's been a little bit of a challenge to think of crafts and activities that will appeal to both a toddler and a thirteen-year-old. Finally, after a lot of thinking, we decided that we would pay a visit to Norfolk Wholesale Florist, to get some supplies to make flower arrangements.

Norfolk Wholesale Florist is kind of paradise if you're a flower lover. There are blossoms everywhere -- from exotic orchids to delicate baby's breath, PLUS all of the accoutrements you  need to tie them all together (including very realistic stuffed parrots, below). We gathered our blooms (fawning over some of the more exotic ones like protea and star of Bethlehem), browsed the selection of vases, and then stopped by the ribbon room (truly a crafty mom's delight).

I gave each of the girls some cash and then stepped back to see what they would choose to buy with it. KK got her hands on some beautiful gerbera daisies and bright carnations, while Anouk chose a handful of lime green mums and some sunflowers. I of course couldn't leave myself out, so I picked up some safflowers and tall purple liatris. I can't say enough about how helpful the NWF staff were -- they helped us find everything we needed and gave us lots of hints about how to make the best-looking, longest-lasting bouquets.

At home, we set to it and arranged our dozens of flowers as artistically as we could. Altogether, $30 got us enough flowers and filler for six small bouquets! I think they turned out to be pretty amazing.

Here are some links on flower arranging that we found helpful when putting our bouquets together:

• Martha
• More Martha
• GOOP (yes, GOOP)
• Montessori Primary Guide

Elizabethan Gardens (Manteo, NC)

It seems like we can't get enough of the Outer Banks this summer. A few weeks ago, James, Anne and I went back -- this time, to Roanoke Island, to explore the little town of Manteo, which is one of the most charming spots I've ever visited. There was so much to see and do, but our favorite part of the day was spending time at the Elizabethan Gardens on the grounds of old Fort Raleigh.

Roanoke Island is the site of the first English colony in America. It was founded by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1587; by the time he returned from a voyage to England in 1590, all of the 115 Roanoke colonists had disappeared without a trace.

The Elizabethan Gardens were designed as a living memorial to this Lost Colony. Spanning 10 acres, the gardens were laid out to resemble a traditional 17th century English pleasure garden but also includes native plants and a few modern-day flourishes. There's a rhododendron garden, a tobacco walk, and rose and herb gardens, all extending from the Gate House, which houses a mysterious portrait of Queen Elizabeth I.

We enjoyed so much about the day, but I think Anne's favorite part of the gardens was the larger-than-life statue of Queen Elizabeth I. We had a hard time explaining to her that what she was seeing was a princess, since she's used to them being a little more sparkly. But I think Elizabeth serves as a better role model than any of those Disney waifs, for sure.

We're having a ridiculous week, thanks to some unexpected home repairs (long story), so things might be a little slower around here than usual. We'll be back in full force ASAP. Happy Monday!

Horchata

This drink was a staple in the Peruvian restaurants in our old neighborhood in Arlington. At first I looked at it kind of askance, but it turns out that cold, sweetened rice milk and cinnamon is actually the perfect thirst quencher on a hot day. I always forget about horchata in the cooler months, but when the temperature climbs into the nineties, I remember and check to see whether we have all of the ingredients to mix up a pitcher. Our favorite recipe is adapted from this one.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked white rice 

3 cups warm water

1 cinnamon stick

2 cups rice milk 

2/3 cup agave nectar 

ground cinnamon 

Directions:

Grind the rice in a blender or food processor until it looks like fine-ground polenta. In a bowl, combine the ground rice, cinnamon stick, and warm water. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, remove the cinnamon stick, and puree the rice/water mixture. Strain through a sieve, pressing to get as much liquid out as possible. Add the rice milk and agave, and stir well. Serve over ice with a little ground cinnamon sprinkled on top. 

Just like being back in the old neighborhood. Happy weekend! 

The Beach at First Landing State Park

I realized a short while ago that although I lived in the area for the first 17 years of my life, I'd never before gone to the beach at First Landing State Park (though I have spent quite a bit of time on the park's hiking and biking trails). A few weekends ago, we met up with a group of friends -- and their kids of varying ages -- to rectify this oversight. We spent the day getting mildly sunburned and extremely sandy and overall wondering -- what took us so long?

The beach at First Landing is located between the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and Cape Henry, which marks the start of the Atlantic beaches of Virginia Beach. However, the First Landing beach is a quintessential bay beach -- sheltered, protected, with very little surf and almost no waves. This makes it a great place to launch kayaks and also pretty much perfect for little kids (and also for floating in the shallows in a giant inflatable raft, which I mean to do a lot of the next time we go).

Still, the waves that were there were enough to deter Anouk from going near the water -- we're working on undoing some of the trauma that was inflicted from a rogue swell in the face during our Hatteras trip. Her friend A., though, was more than happy to spend as much time as possible wading and watching schools of tiny fish near the shore. Luckily there was more than enough sand to keep our A. occupied, and she enjoyed watching the ships waiting to go through the shipping lanes so much that she did consent (verrrrry warily) to going out for a brief jaunt in Dada's boat.

Best of all from a parent's perspective, First Landing has SHOWERS and RESTROOMS, which bumped it up into the #1 Kid-Friendly Beach Spot in the area in my opinion, surpassing East Beach (which has neither). There's also a wheelchair ramp that goes right down onto the sand, great for strollers, beach carts, or wheelchair-bound beachgoers. A few things to keep in mind if you go -- parking costs $5 on Saturday and Sunday ($4 on the weekdays), and I'm pretty-but-not-totally sure they want that in cash. Also, the lot fills up quickly on the weekends -- we arrived at 11 and got the last parking spot. So get there early or else you'll have to hike over to the beach from across the street.

Seriously -- what did take us so long?

A Virginia Zoo Membership Review

Over at My Active Child today, I'm sharing some thoughts on our year with a Virginia Zoo membership. Have you thought about joining the Zoo but aren't quite sure whether it's worth it? I hope this can help give you an idea.

(P.S. -- that picture of Anouk is from this time last summer! Look how little!)

Happy Wednesday!

Washer Necklaces

We have been having really bad luck with Pinterest finds lately. The Listerine manicure and pedicure soak did nothing more than turn my hands and feet slightly green. The vegetable oil I put on a vintage bowl to remove the sales sticker ended up taking off a good chunk of paint (but left sticker remnants behind). And the baking soda clay that we tried last week crumbled apart and cracked as it dried.

Luckily, this washer necklace project went well enough to get the memory of the other failed projects out of our heads. Probably because it was so so simple. We picked up different-sized washers from the hardware store and painted them with nail polish. When they dried, we added a coat of clear polish, and then strung them on some bakers twine and pretty crochet thread. It all worked just as it should, hurrah!

I am a big fan of vintage enameled jewelry, so I love how the nail polish gives the washers an enameled look. We used clear glitter polish to go over some of our designs for added sparkle, and then A. and I made coordinating beads with Sculpy to enhance our designs.

We've been doing so many jewelry crafts lately that the next thing we DIY is going to have to be something to put it all in. Any ideas?

Pork, Peanut, and Pine Festival

J., A., and I were out of town for the majority of the weekend for a wedding (in which A. fulfilled all of her flower girl duties with aplomb, we are so proud). On the way home Sunday, we decided to be crazy and take a pretty significant detour so that we could stop by the annual Pork, Peanut, and Pine Festival at Chippokes Plantation State Park in Surry. We just weren't ready for the fun to be over, I guess.

For 38 years, the festival has been put on to celebrate the Southeastern VA region's natural resources. When you first come across it, the combination of pork, peanut, and pine sounds a little strange but after a little while it starts to make perfect sense. It turns out there is nothing quite like eating a BBQ sandwich after a handful of freshly-roasted peanuts while the sun glints on the carved wood crafts in the nearby booths. It all works together.

Besides the three main attractions, we also visited blacksmith and turner demonstrations, examined some antique farm equipment, made friends at a petting zoo, and danced to the Hard Knox bluegrass band.  We toured the antebellum mansion that gives the park its name and found some handmade art to take home. And maybe the highlight of it all, we had our very first taste of peanut pie.

It was a really fun end to a special weekend. I think the PP&P festival might become a family tradition.

Rosewell Plantation

Molly and I have been talking about taking the kids on a few day trips this summer, to get away from our comfort zone of library and splashpad and park, to explore some destinations a little further afield from Hampton Roads. Our first trip was to Rosewell, an 18th century plantation house in Gloucester, Virginia.

At one point in time, Rosewell was known as the most beautiful house in the American colonies. Built by the Page family in 1725, it encompassed over 12,000 square feet of living space plus several outbuildings. For almost 200 years, Rosewell hosted some of the country's most elaborate and luxurious parties and balls. Thomas Jefferson was a frequent guest, and actually wrote a draft of the Declaration of Independence while staying there.

The house burned down in 1916, and today, only ruins remain. Not much besides the four corner chimneys and some of the exterior walls are left standing, but we still found plenty to see while we were there. Unbeknownst to us, the ruins themselves are off-limits (there were no signs posted, so we just waltzed up the stairs and poked around inside -- oops), but two walking trails leading through the woods to nearby Carter Creek and to the old ice house are perfect for a kid-sized hike.

After exploring, we had a picnic lunch under the trees. The kids ran out some energy and had a mock swordfight or two on the grounds of the old Page family cemetery (nobody's buried there now -- the graves have been moved to a nearby churchyard). On the way out, we stopped by the small gift store and museum, which features artifacts found in and around the house during a recent archeological dig.

Bring boots (the grass isn't mowed), bring bug spray (ouch, is all I'll say), and watch out for poison ivy. But make the trip, it's worth it.

Happy weekend!