Tuesday, November 24, 2009

A Very Long Post

Wow, has it really been a month since my last post? So sorry about that! I've been meaning to write some posts, and even made a list of topics! But actually getting around to doing it, now that's another story. So to make up for it, here is a really long post!

Let's start with my birthday and Halloween, since they were so long ago. For my birthday John surprised me with a concert and my cousin Jessie watched the babe, it was pretty awesome. Let's just say Julliette rocks! For Halloween we didn't do much, but it was fun dressing little Lukas up in his costume and we did take a walk with some neighbors. No trick or treating yet, he is still way too young for candy so guess who'd get to eat it all. I'm sure most of you have already seen the pics but for those who missed them here's a little sample:



Cute hunh? He was a Misfit Fiend, for those not in the know :)



Let's see, some other things I've had on my mind... oh, I attempted to make some kiwi bread with a bag of kiwis I bought for some unknown reason. Why would anyone buy a bag of kiwis? Well I did, and of course they started going bad so I decided to try and use my banana bread recipe but with kiwis instead. Well, it didn't go so well. It tasted all right but the bread just crumbled to bits if you tried to slice it, causing one to eat it with a spoon. Not the best outcome. Oh well. Here are some shots of the experiment. (Sorry about the poor pictures, there isn't much sun to be had these days, so I had to make do with the the kitchen lighting.)




 


Oh, and as I was making my kiwi bread I was wearing my new favorite apron. Yep, I wear aprons. I happened upon this one at Ross of all places and scored it for only 8 bucks!! Don't you love it when that happens? I loved it so much I bought another one :) But look how cute it is!


Again, I apologize for the poor lighting. I think I might try and use this apron as a pattern and make my own with some neato fabrics or something... just another project to add to my wish list. Speaking of which, another thing that has been on my mind is a wall. Literally. We've lived in our house for about four years now and the wall behind our sofa is still empty. I had plans to hang a painting I was working on, but lets face it, that painting isn't getting finished anytime soon. Plus John hates it. So here I am stuck with a huge blank wall. I saw this article in one of my magazines and thought it was a great idea!


 
 
I have all types of sketches that I was thinking of using, not to mention sconces and such. Here is the before picture of the wall, now let's see how long it takes me to post an after :)



See what I mean? Blank, blah! I'll have to get back to work on this ASAP!

Hmmm, what else can I bore you with. Oh! My husband and his brother have these amazing hand appliqued felt Christmas stockings that their grandma made for them when they were babes and I've always coveted them. Well, now that I have my own babe, I did some research and found that they sell kits to make these awesome things and I have since purchased one! I haven't gotten too far yet but it's actually quite fun! I've never done any hand embroidery before so I'm kinda learning as I go. I just hope I'm able to finish it before Christmas! And I finished the EDI Cowl, very very cute! New favorite for sure. I'm also working on a couple of other projects, but they are Christmas gifts for someone who reads this blog on occasion, so we won't be discussing those here.

Well, I think that's about it for now. Told you it was going to be a really long post! Thanksgiving is coming up in a couple of days and so I'm off with Jessie to get some delicious foods to prepare! I hope everyone has a wonderful one!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Hats!

Well I did knit Lukas up a couple of hats, but I'm forgoing the whole pattern deal. I've found that it would be like reinventing the wheel what with all the hat patterns out there already. So... anywho, I have a pic of one of the hats and the yummy yarn I used to make it. I used Malabrigo worsted, hand painted of course! So pretty! I have plenty of yarn left so I'm going to make John a matching hat, thought that would be cute.




I know, nothing spectacular about it, just a hat. But I do love the colors in the yarn all knitted up, kinda reminds me of the ocean. I'm also knitting myself a cowl using Presents Knits EDI Cowl pattern. Again, nothing fancy but it does look warm and cozy! I'm using Malabrigo for that one too, and I think I'm even using the same color she did! Oh well, here's the yummy yarn I'm using for that...





Well, that's about it for now. I know, not too exciting hunh? Well maybe after this weekend I'll have something interesting to post about, it is my birthday after all! Ok, well I'll leave you with a picture of some pretty flowers :)


Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Garage Sales

Sorry it's been so long, keeping up with this blog is going to be harder than I thought! Anywho... last weekend we went to our neighborhood's annual collaborative garage sale. We went with a neighbor and her 7 month old and another friend and her 9 month old. We had a great time, did a little shopping, but mostly walked and talked, trading stories and experiences about our kids. It was really great to have other new moms with babies Lukas' age to talk with, makes you feel like you aren't alone and what you have been struggling with others have also.

As far as the shopping I did nab a couple of great deals. Turns out there is a sunglass designer living among us here and he was selling some samples he had and I landed an awesome pair for only 20 bucks! Can't beat that! Then I found some great children books for Lukas, some classics like the Peter Rabbit stories and Curious George, for only a quarter each! We eventually made our way to the park in the neighborhood to take care of some baby maintenance and to rest, we have a lot of hills in this area. So while we were there I put Lukas in the swings and he had a blast...



It is getting pretty chilly in these parts, so I've decided I better knit up some hats and mittens for the little one ASAP. Hats I've learned are pretty standard and so I'm not using a pattern, just kinda winging it, let's keep our fingers crossed! But as soon as I get a couple finished I'll post some pics and maybe even [gasp!] a pattern.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Pumpkin Fun!






We had such a lovely day today! It started out looking a bit cloudy but luckily it cleared and there was plenty of sunshine for our trip to the pumpkin patch. It was our first time visiting a pumpkin patch since moving to Oregon, you aren't likely to find them in the south! And it was a lot of fun! The farm was gorgeous with not only fields of pumpkins but lovely flower gardens all around. Here are some of the sights to be had...
 




 

 

 

 

Even the little one enjoyed the day. He looked so darn cute in his pumpkin hat! I had been planning on making him one since before he was born and I figured a visit to the pumpkin patch was a good excuse to finally do it. I found the free pattern here. It was a pretty easy pattern and looks rather cute if I should say so myself!



 

 

Isn't he the cutest? We bought a HUGE pumpkin just for fun, they were cheap! We also got a couple of normal sized pumpkins for carving, as well as some gourds and mini pumpkins for display.  Did I mention gourds? Boy did they have gourds!!





This was just a small sampling of the different types that they had, it was pretty cool to see all the different shapes and colors and sizes these things come in.

After we left the patch we drove through the country side a bit, not totally on purpose, but it was so beautiful we didn't care and it was sooo relaxing! We finally stopped at a restaurant we've been wanting to try for awhile and we will definitley be back... the atmosphere was great and the food was better. So we had wonderful weather and new awesome experiences, can't beat a day like that!




Friday, October 2, 2009

Booo!

Well, Halloween has definitely arrived in my abode! There are little spooks hiding all around. I absolutely love this time of year. I have tons of decorations that I've collected over the years and I take the time to display them every year. This year I didn't go all out, due to the new addition to our family of course. Here is a sampler of the festive sights in our home...



Have I mentioned I love this time of year? Tomorrow we will be heading out to a pumpkin patch for the first time. I'm so excited! I even made a pumpkin hat for the little one to wear, I'll post some pics of him wearing it and of our day in the patch. Ohhhh, I'm so excited!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Ummm...

I've been contemplating starting a new blog for some time, so here goes! I also started a similar blog on Typepad, just to see what the differences are seeing that Typepad charges a monthly fee. I'll use them both and then cancel the other when I decide which one to keep.

Here's a pic to get things started...