Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You

This weekend was really tough. I lost someone very special to me. My nana passed away after a chronic illness. We were very close and she really helped to shape me into the person I am today.

It is times like these that make me want to hold my family just a little tighter and longer and let them know just how much I love them.

Tonight I read one of my favorite books to my son, "Wherever you Are: My Love Will Find You" by Nancy Tillman. This book always makes me cry, but this time it felt even more emotional. 

It is the perfect snuggly book to read right before bed. It helps to convey the love a parent can have for a child. The illustrations are beautiful, serene scenes of animals and children together and the sweet rhyming words have a beautiful song-like quality. 

One of my favorite lines is:  

"You are my angel, my darling, my star...and my love will find you wherever you are." 

And tonight the book spoke to me a little differently, I just couldn't help but think about my wonderful nana and how much she loved me. I feel I can take comfort in knowing that wherever I am her love will find me. 

In honor of St. Patrick's Day

There's gotta be a shamrock in here somewhere, right?

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I baked Irish Soda Bread for the family. The combination of butter, buttermilk, raisins and caraway seeds makes a delicious flavor combination. Tart, spicy, buttery and sweet -- what else could you ask for??!! I always wonder why I save this recipe for March, it really would be great all year long. A little Irish Soda Bread and a cup of Irish Breakfast tea, what a delicious breakfast!

I adapted my recipe from Ina Garten's. I used low-fat buttermilk, more flour, and added caraway seeds. I also skipped the rolling out part, just kneaded in a bowl, which made it a little less messy.  I baked it in an Emile Henry Artisan Ruffled Pie Dish from William Sonoma which was the perfect container to assure that the bread baked evenly. I'm now only wishing I had one in green! 

Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day? If so, how?

I'm Back!

I'm back after a very, very, very long absence.I started Fork Fabrikationz a few years ago after I graduated from graduate school and my husband started law school. He was taking classes at night and studying on the weekends, so I was looking for something I could focus on to keep me busy.  A lot has happened since my last post. Some of the highlights were:

• Purchasing and renovating a mid-century ranch
• Supported husband while he completed his advanced degree
• The birth of our beautiful baby boy

I work full time, but continue to have the desire to explore writing and to develop my creative side. Things have settled down a little, so I feel I can spend some time developing my writing and working towards finding my purpose.

I plan to post more regularly about my life as a working mom, parenting, my favorite baby/toddler products, crafts and recipes, as well as book recommendations for babies and mommas. I hope you will spend some time on my blog. I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences with writing and/or your own path to finding your purpose.

Paint Colors Selected

The painter is set to arrive in the next couple of days, so I had to finally settle on color selections this weekend. Exciting, but stressful!  I highly recommend using a color fan when selecting colors. Using the fan saved me from buying a million samples! Here's the palette I have settled. 

Benjamin Moore In Your Eyes

Benjamin Moore Winter Wheat

Benjamin Moore Silver Mist

Benjamin Moore Antiquity

What are your favorite paint colors?