back again

hello there!

i am slowly starting to return to my little "b hive". it has been a nice break since the winter holidays, but now it's time to start printing again. i have been working on a new website, something simpler & easier to maintain. i'm really excited about how it looks. so, to kick off my return to work and the start of spring i am offering 20% off of my remaining winter items. there's not much in the store, but it's enough to open my little shop & introduce my new website. just visit www.bhivedesigns.com, and use the discount code SPRING2010 to receive 20% off of your purchase during the month of march. stay tuned for some new designs that will be introduced in april!!

in honor of spring i give you this lovely photograph that i took a couple of days ago in my front yard. beautiful cherry blossoms blooming in winter....a little global warming maybe?

hooray for summer......

there is nothing better than summer. i can't think of anything better than a carefree summer day....really. the family and i kicked things off right with a camping trip near mt. hood this last weekend. it was such a beautiful location, filled with our friends, their children, and simple pleasures. my boys were busy the entire weekend exploring the woods, balancing on log bridges, making boats to float down a small stream, hiking, laughing, and roasting marshmallows.

the best part about camping is that very little parenting is required. my children rarely asked for anything, including food. they were very content to play, and explore the freedom of the outdoors. they made boats and played on a small bridge for hours at a time. the bridge was just far enough away from camp for the boys to feel a bit of independence, and it was just near enough to camp to keep an eye on them. of course this did not prevent the little one from falling head first into the stream.

this small business of mine keeps my weekends very busy. as you can see from my list of events in a previous post, i am working most weekends during the summer. family time on the weekends is a luxury for me during the warm months. but this year you might find someone else working for me at some of these events, so that i can cherish a few more moments like this with my family.

a sign of spring......maybe

this morning on my way to pick up miles from his play group i witnessed my first sign that winter is waning. not only have our days been sunshiny, it has been getting dark later, and now there are blossoms on the trees too! yay!

what to do on a snow day

the past week has been the snowiest week in portland since i've lived here. luckily i'm not a complete stranger to snow. even though i grew up in southern california, husband and i lived in the mountains in new mexico and in colorado for a bit, so i've lived in snow and more importantly driven in snow. but when you live in a city that doesn't normally see snow, you get a little trapped. portland is just not equipped to deal with the snow. we have a lot of hills, very few snow plows, no salt trucks, freezing rain, and a lot of inexperienced drivers on the road. so to say the least we're getting a bit of the cabin fever.




so what do you do when you're not sledding in a canoe in the snow....

....you eat, cook, bake, and create indoors. here is what i decided to create today.







chocolate-pecan toffee. i have made this little treat to give as gifts to friends and family for christmas the past few years. this candy is a personal favorite of mine and my family. every year husband gives me a hard time about giving away all of the candy. i have actually made him his own special batch in years past, but it usually disappears in one evening......obviously a case of selective memory. so try a batch for yourself, and see if you can manage to keep them in the house.

chocolate-pecan toffee
2 sticks of room temperature butter (unsalted)
+ a little more to butter the pan
1/3 c. water
1 c. sugar
2 c. chopped pecans
a handful of halved pecans
8 oz semisweet chocolate
2 tbsp corn syrup

butter a 9-inch pan. line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper (butter paper too). heat the butter and water until the butter is melted, then add the sugar. stir constantly on med-high heat until it turns a med-dark amber color. (you can use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush away sugar crystals that form on the sides of the pan). remove from heat and add the chopped pecans. pour into the 9-inch pan & spread across the bottom of the pan. let cool.

warm the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan with simmering water. you can add the corn syrup to the chocolate at this point (optional). once the chocolate has melted, spread it over the pecan toffee. arrange the halved pecans on top of the chocolate.

once the chocolate is cool, you can cut into small squares.....then eat.....enjoy!

did i say "snow day is over...."

i should know better....not 15 minutes after i posted about the snow melting and school being open again it starts to snow again. and, of course school is closed for the fourth day this week. thanks to very good and generous friends i do have a few hours of childcare. no matter how much we love those little guys, my husband and i definitely need a few hours without them. especially to do a little shopping. we tried shopping with them a couple of days ago....big mistake. there is nothing like chasing after a two year old in a store, who is screaming, laughing, slamming dressing room doors, and crawling under clothing racks. so we are off to shop for a couple of hours, and to have an adult conversation at lunch (in other words we won't be saying, "....please take another bite" and "....sit down in your seat"). happy snow day.....again!