Flor tiles

We have this long and wide hallway with ugly while ceramic tile (the worst possible kind), that is constantly cold.
And we happen to love walking barefoot. So we had to do something about it and fast. I wanted something sturdy and easy to clean and most of all something that our baby girl will not trip over. I looked at a million runners and carpet tiles and finally decided to try Flor. Is there anyone who did not hear of them? I've been getting their lovely catalogs for years, and never really had a need to use them. But this amazing mosaic that I was able to come up with together with one of their in store designers totally blew me away. It happens to be two tile wide and colorful tiles were cut on the diagonal, so we could create this fun pattern. I absolutely love it.

Long Winter

This winter was ridiculously long and I'm so glad it's over. I just found those cute pics of my daughter, all bundled up. We so deserve a long and sunny spring this year! 

Monika

I've been busy during the Holidays, but I found some time to draw a portrait of my childhood friend, Monika, who is, among other things,  a fashion blogger (check her out  here ). I used this luxurious Aqvarelle Arches paper and my new set of Dr. Ph. Martin's from Blick- I can't tell you how much I like these little guys.  Monika is going to use this image to decorate homemade wine bottles. I hope she saved me one!

Holiday baking

It's been a busy few weeks. We sold our condo in Hoboken  and found a temporary house in the burbs. Now that Christmas is fast approaching, I find myself scrambling for much needed time- unpacking after the move is not among my favorite things... But it's good to start fresh. I will miss Hoboken greatly, it has been a wonderful 6 years. I will certainly miss Manhattan skyline views! But hey, we are only 45 minutes away by car. Speaking of which, I need to start looking for one ASAP! It will be good to have my own after such a long time of not needing one.
My daughter had been sleeping so much better here. She now has her own room, than we are slowly furnishing- in Hoboken, we turned our open office into her little bedroom corner, but it was connected to our master bedroom- not a helpful layout when you try  sleep training. Plus, Hoboken rail station was so close and those 5 am trains would wake her up every time. Now, she sleeps from 7 pm to 7 am and is rested and happy trough the day.
Today we got busy creating our Christmas tree gingerbread cookies. I used this recipe  for old- school Polish gingerbread  cookies, but I subsidized real milk with almond milk, since I do not use cows milk and used Organic Earth's Best instead of lard. I adore recreating old recipes in a new, healthier way.  I made this ahead of time, and the dough was sitting on my Hoboken balcony for three weeks in winter temperatures, until all the flavors blended beautifully.
So today we cut them. So much fun. Lili was really helpful and had a great time helping me every step of the way. She ate few raw ones in the process, I remember doing the same as a child.

Trip to the mini zoo

My daughter loves animals, but that's probably true for most kids. We had a really great time in the mini zoo. Kids got to feed the animals and they had a blast. My friend joined me with her son, Peter, who was here before and knew everything about this place.

Trip to Poland

          With my neighbor's dog. I got this cute Old Navy coat (which they bring back every season) and H&M Hat for Lili right before we left. .

          Typical Polish Cemetery, beautifully decorated for All Saints Day.


Unexpected trip to Poland. I was planning to go in the spring, but unfortunately there was a death in a family. My Grandpa passed away, he was 95.
I certainly did not spend too much time with him in the last few years, I've been busy finishing grad school and staring a family. But I did have some good times with Grandpa growing up, especially during my high school years, when I spent my summers in the small town on the south of Poland where my Grandparents lived.

Times like that always make me wonder- what did I learn  from the person who just passed. With Grandpa Jan, it was simplicity. He lived his life in a very simple manner. He ate simple foods, mostly vegetables, lots of potatoes and fermented milk, home cooked soups and noodles. He rarely ate meet and totally lacked sweet tooth. Bust most importantly, he allowed very little stress in his reality, he simply went with the flow, trusting God and nature.

It was good to visit family and friends. Travelling overseas with a toddler has it's challenges, though. I was so grateful that United flight had interactive games on the little tv screens- a true life saver. Lili spend a lot of time sleeping on my lab on the way there, since the plane leaves Newark Airport at 5: PM , but not so much on the way back, when we left Berlin heading back to Jersey in the early morning.

Halloween

I know I am way late to the Instagram party, but better late than never!  Yay, it is actually a lot of fun. I am still learning. You can follow me here. These are some snaps I took of my baby girl on Halloween, we were walking along exquisitely decorated Bloomfield Avenue in Hoboken, on our way to Halloween Parade. She is currently really into spiders, so we had to stop and collect some.