holiday home made lovely tour

would you like to come on inside our casita for a little holiday home tour?

then pop on over to heather's place for a visit.

i'd love to have you over and share a hot drink next to the twinkle lights.

xoxo,

annalea

thanksgiving 2013

 

it has only been a week since thanksgiving, but we are in full advent mode at casita hart.  before beginning an influx of holiday/winter inspired posts, let me spend a moment on one of my favorite holidays of the year.

i think i love thanksgiving so much because it is the start to a sweet season of celebration that lasts through the new year.  also, i love to eat good food.  and to spend time with others.  and to pick out a christmas tree the next day. 

for our first new mexican thanksgiving, we hosted a friendsgiving feast for 18.  it was so so great.  lots of cooking, lots of eating, and lots of thankfulness for these new relationships.  it is still crazy to think how much has changed in the past year.  this holiday almost felt like the start to our rooted life in the southwest.

the brined roasted turkey was so pretty and even tastier.  so much yumminess was brought and enjoyed.  through the use of danielle walker's thankful i was able to make all of my dishes paleo or gluten-free, which was quite an undertaking, but not as difficult as i imagined.  i highly recommend the recipes in that ebook.  the smoky candied bacon sweet potatoes may be my favorite.  i could eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

thank you, friends, for sharing this meal with us.
and for humoring me with the chalk hand turkeys.

a home for the holidays and everyday

happy independence day to my fellow americans!

this long weekend has been about making new memories to fight off homesickness and getting more settled in claiming this rental as our home.

i was feeling blue going into this holiday as the 4th of july was the last major celebration in summer 2012 before moving from illinois. but we surrounded ourselves with friends and festivities.  a parade and a bbq.  fireworks and a thunderstorm.  it was a full and good day indeed.

  we are also working on turning the garage into a therapy room for the boys and getting other odds and ends done around the house.  i can not lie.  it has been nice not having projects and repairs as renters.  but as we look to staying in this place for several more years, i am learning to give myself permission to make it more and more our own.

and investing in my physical space, helps my heart get right.  it is okay to decorate the mantel or turn the chalkboard into seasonal art.  it is okay to change out the bathroom towel holders and add curtain rods.  these small things, they are part of the gift i've been given to provide for my family.  and while not my top priority as a wife and mama, i truly believe that they make a difference.

xoxo,
annalea

our first new mexico easter

happy easter from casita de hart!

i didn't feel particularly intentional about celebrating resurrection sunday this year.  a large part of it was due to the busy-ness of march.  but we are also still struggling with the newness of being here and not there, which creates an in between state of mind.  yes, these baby new mexican roots threaten to pull from the sandy soil. 

behind these smiles were some tender hearts.  at least for my older babes.  ongoing conversations about past years and missed family and our old church.

but they are still goofball kiddos.  and trying to get the right pic can be fun.  as long as i remember not to take it too seriously.  the first shot was fine, but didn't show as much true personality as i would like.  so we kept going.  enzo was our comic relief as usual.  but look at the smiles.  much more real.  below is the end result grabbed with my phone.  i love it. 

and yay!  a lovely family photo!  thank you camera timer.

our church had a fantastic service. the worship felt so celebratory!  i was so thankful for that time with new family.

and my dear friend and i showed up in coordinating flowy dresses.  easter twinsies for the win.

every year i make these cakes.  a lemon meringue and a chocolate nest both via nigella lawson.  yummy indulgences that are better shared with others.

new friends invited us to spend easter with them since we are both without local extended family.  not only did it ease some loneliness, but we are making new memories with new traditions.  plus you know you are with the right people when you are asked if you had a good cry about being away from the known and missed. 

quiche, pancakes, and mimosas made for an excellent brinner.  and then cake!  full hearts and full bellies by the end of the night.

can you guess which 3yo stuck his finger in that cream?

and so ended our first new mexico easter.
a celebration of the victory of the risen King.
bittersweet, but mostly sweet.
 

farewell 2012

hello there!

still here, with days full and bright. 

full making it hard to blog regularly.  bright because we live in new mexico, y'all. always sunny in albuquerque or something like that. and sometimes bright with sweetness and laughter. i think i'd like more of that in 2013.  yeah.

you can find me daily over on instagram though.  that has been such a treat since getting the new phone.  it is neat to have a more accessible way of chronicling our days and sharing them with others.  you can find me here or by searching for annalea hart.

i'll be back in the new year.  i am still thinking through what blogging will for me in 2013.  until then, have a new year full of joy and grace, friends.  i love you.

xoxo,

annalea

easter bits

just bits, because for the most part my camera sat on my dresser.

not enough hands to mama a rambunctious and adorable 2yo little.

not enough energy to chase said little.

um, can you tell i am tired?

it really is a theme in my life.

rather than baskets, we went the easter watering can route this year.

in addition to the jelly beans, i added a verse in an egg for each of the kiddos, inspired by this post.

and the chocolate bunnies for breakfast were a hit.

we also made resurrection rolls for the first time, so you know we were riding the sugar high all day.

i missed our church service on sunday morning in order to stay home with the goo.  we knew he wouldn't make it through the entire outdoor service without sustaining damage to himself or others.

when it was time to go to the backyard potluck afterwards, i just couldn't pull it together.  the fatigue from the week combined with the long morning enzo-wrangling on my own added up to a heart in the wrong place.

i needed some quiet.  jesse drove the littles on his own and i followed on foot.  walking through the neighborhood, taking deep breaths, and praying for peace and perseverance.  it was so good.  maybe the best decision i have made in the last month.

i arrived to a galloping 5yo princessa running into my arms.  then i spied my littlest facing off to a turtle.  

yummy food, great people, an egg hunt, gorgeous weather . . . a sweet afternoon among our other family.

i am a bit bummed by the lack of cute kiddo photos.  i might just need to stage a little shoot later this week.  it depends on that whole not enough hands and energy thing.  but the thing is, i am taking care of these babies everyday and that is what is important.  i know y'all are saying a big amen with me right here.

this weekend was one of reflection and celebration.

not the "happy, happy" kind.  more of the "gut wrenching, i am so broken yet so thankful for His great love and sacrifice" kind.  a somber and awestruck joy.

He is risen!

christmas 2011

sleepy heads taking their first look under the tree.  all of the sweet anticipation culminates to this morning.  the greatest Gift came in the form of a babe and we give in return.  our gifts are small, but full of love.  not rewards or entitlements.  just a way to celebrate the freely given and undeserved Love that came to earth.  that came to us.

gifts were carefully wrapped in fabric and ribbon.  the fraying scraps transformed into something magical under the glow of twinkling lights.

gifts from each other.  the secrets inside about to burst from little lips.
gifts from afar.  oh we miss them dearly.
gifts from us waiting for family to come later in the day.

he was pretty pumped about these throwing knives.

and a locket for the princessa.

with photos of mama and papi inside.  she gave each a kiss upon opening.

oh, he was a happy boy.

really happy.

an unexpected opportunity for a no-cost-to-us gaming system made this wii a huge surprise.  oh the look in luca's eyes!  we are not the parents who give things like this.

i might not have caught him opening anything with my camera - something about needing many hands available - but he was seriously focused on his french toast.

seriously serious.  "don't mess with my food, mama!"  his new bib is appropriate, right?

smile, annie!  caught by jesse while folding the fabric wrappings. 

a son on the phone with his mama.  it was a gift in itself to hear their voices across the miles.

the cradle ornaments we made earlier in the month now have a tiny Jesus-bead inside.

styling siblings sporting their new pjs from cece and grandpa.

and oh was this one excited to see his favorite visitor.  the feeling is mutual.

L O V E this capture.  gia is quite the comedienne when she has an audience.  who better than her papi?


last year it was a pygmy marmoset.  this year, two little hamsters.  a kiddo who adores snuggly soft animals.  they have been named stuart and despereaux.  :)

and the day ended with snuggle time on the couch.
 full hearts and full home, indeed.