Sorry for the radio silence, folks. The sun has been peeking its nose out here in the great Pacific Northwest so we had to get out and soak up some of that Vitamin D (and work on some new projects to show all of you!).

But we’re back, and guess what? Its EASTER WEEK! Woohoo. Easter truly is a grand celebration of spring and all that comes with it: salvation and new beginnings. This week we want to share some of the inspiration we have found in this season as we lead up to this weekend’s celebration of faith.

First up: cuteness overload! I first read about Juniper Moon Fiber Farm over at Not Martha where she introduced their Yarn CSA (Kind of like the veggie delivery many people subscribe to, only with beautiful yarn!). Since then I’ve followed the Juniper Moon blog and their shepard, Susan. Its fascinating to see all that goes into the life of a Fiber Farm (their sheep and goats are raised for their fiber only and are never killed for food). I’ve also bought some of their product, its hand dyed and gorgeous. And better yet, some of their yarn will be commercially available later this year!

Its spring on the farm, and that means LAMBS. Juniper Moon has THREE (!) Lamb Cams so you can watch them being born and frolicking around with their mamas for a few days before they go out to pasture. So frickin adorable.

The farm also recently purchased some exotic chicken varieties that get shipped to them all the chickies all snuggled in a box. SO CUTE.

AND one of their farm dogs had puppies a couple months back. AND they have pot bellied pigs.

If you want year-round animal cuteness, follow Juniper Moon’s blog. However, it should be said that Susan is very open and frank about how hard it is to raise her flock. They are going through a particularly tough lambing season this year, due to a localized mineral deficiency, and not all the lambs always make it. Its a very real account of how hard small farmers work in this country, but I appreciate all that she shares. Check it out and show your support!

All photos are from Juniper Moon. I’ve selected my favorites, but there are MANY MANY more on their site to ooh and ahh over.

So many reasons why this urban art installation excites me, makes me jump up and down, brings a huge smile to my face.

This is pure genius.  Curbs grafitti, creates a statement, washes away with the rain with maintaince free evolution, creates conversations amongst neighbors, causes thought.

Neighbors, passerbys, visitors are all starting a dialogue with each other through responding to one simple question… What do you want to do before you die?

I love how some are serious, some sensitive, and some are just plain fun. 

To see more of  this project click here.

Well, what about you?  Imagine this building in your neighborhood, colorful chalk included?

What would you write? 

It’s okay to think of a few things… the rain keeps coming, so your list can get long!

{all images via candy chang}

Remember my rambling post about our plans for the garden? Yeah, we haven’t done any of it, ha! Well, we’ve been harvesting our cold weather crops that made it through the winter – there is still kale and collard greens to eat. The weather around here has been too dang wet and chilly to want to get out and do much, but hopefully that will all change this weekend.

Today I stumbled across a mention of this perpetual garden calendar at Heart of Light and immediately went to check it out. Not only are these krankpress calendars impeccably designed, i think they’d be helpful for work in the garden and for creativity in the kitchen. Sometimes I get all organized at the beginning of garden season, but as the weeks pass I get caught up in caring for the current plants and forget to look ahead to the rest of the season.

Each month has a list of fruits and vegetables to be planted as well as a list of whats in season for cooking. Theres also a blank area for notes on planting, cooking, birthdays, etc. They’re customized for region, and I’m seriously tempted to buy the “Pacific Northwest” version to hang in our kitchen. The Red would really pop off our aqua walls, don’t you think?

… and this time on a weekend! Although, I have to say it was hard for me to keep track of time and keep shooting. Today was a quiet day, full of some spring cleaning, a little sewing, and a bon voyage dinner at Delancey. I wish the sun had peeked out a bit more so i could have made some yard progress, but I’ll save my energy for a big garden hurrah next weekend!

See all the other ten on ten sets here, there are some great ones!

Its time for another round of Lemon House Loves, where we share products we couldn’t live without*.

This time, its the Ty Shower Curtain from Grain Design. When we moved from our rental into our beloved Lemon House, one of the things that needed replacing was our clear shower curtain liner. You know the sitch: clear plastic, used, cleaned, and reused for a few years. They get NASTY, right? So, we were getting ready to move and decided ours could use replacing.

In a bout of fortuitous timing, we went to a sustainability event at an artist studio and were introduced to the product designers from Grain, their studio located close to Seattle on Bainbridge Island. We found out about one of their first products (they now have a full sustainable product line!), a #2 plastic shower curtain. (Oh, and those are the designers in the cute photo below).

What does having a shower curtain made from #2 plastic (the same thing as milk bottles) mean? It means it doesn’t smell/off-gas, Its breathable so its less likely to grow mildew (and we already told you about our old house ventilation issues), and its recyclABLE in the case that you ever need a new one. Plus, since it has a light texture, you can run it through the wash instead of trying to steady it with one hand and scrub with the other.

Oh! And you can design your own just by drawing on it with Sharpie (they offer a DIY kit here).

At first we tried using just the grain curtain alone, since its more opaque than its old clear vinyl counterpart. Its private enough, but the lightweight material tends to blow around with pressure changes in the shower, so we chose to hang a white waffle weave curtain in front of it. Its a great, effective waterproof liner, though, and we’ve only had to wash it once in our 18 months in this house. For sure living up to its advertisement.

It also looks like they’ve made a great change since ours: adding metal grommets at the top. AND, they offer custom dimensioned orders if you like your shower curtains extra long or if you have an extra wide tub/shower.

All in all, this product is sustainable, good for the air quality of your house, and looks a heck of a lot nicer than icky vinyl due to its nice linen like texture. Its pricier than its typical big box counterpart, but in our opinion, worth every penny.

Try it out!

All Photos via Grain Design.

*Read our last Lemon House Love: Kitchen Gadgets. Just a reminder, we are not paid in any way for these posts, we just want to share some of our faves with you readers.