Hipster Haiku

So I've been checking things off my list like cleaning is going out of style. I even fit in a big gentle 1/2 hour brushin' for my shedding puppy--he looks 5 lbs skinnier now! :)

Lukka's down for a nap and all I have left on my cleaning list is:

• mop floors
• vacuum couches
• 3 loads of laundry
• and...packing!

Hipster Haiku, by Siobhan Adcock is a small little pocket book with one haiku per page, making this an easy 30 minute read. A little chuckle before bedtime, really. I wouldn't buy this book for the $9.95 Amazon has it listed for, but her website is pretty funny, and the poems are ironic. A good book for my ILL.

A few haiku for you, dear readers:

Sometimes I worry

I'll be the only grandma

With no bicep tat

* * *

While he sleeps, I spy

Ann Coulter on his bookshelf

Slip out quietly

Last 2 Projects Finished!

Phew! I'm wiping my brow as I've just finished the last two things on my craft list (sorry, no picture of friend's nursing cover--I forgot to snap one, dangit! The fabric she picked out was beautiful, and it (thankfully) turned out WAY better than mine did. I think I overheated my machine...)

I picked out a cream and violet small floral print for mine, reminiscent of my favorite all time print for fabric: toile . Because it's a busy pattern, you can't see through the other side, it's lightweight, and it will work well for both boy and girl.

My favorite project of the last few weeks was this adorable "elf" bonnet with I-cord ties.

I can't wait to give it to my friend! However, I made the XS (newborn) and this baby will easily wear it this winter when she's over 6+ months old!

For the rest of the week, I've canceled all "play dates" and Lukka and I will relax together going on walks with the dogs (before they get kenneled for the first time ever (tear)) , finish cleaning for the Open House our realtor will do next Sunday, do all laundry and dishes, and finally pack for our 9 day vacation! Have a great week, I'll do a review of my next ILL book, Hipster Hiaku, when I get back from California on May 26th! I will have loads of pictures upon my return! Beware of cute hubby and baby pics by the beach!

Kirtsy

Ever heard of Design Mom? (Hopefully you haven't been living under a rock) She's an awesome designer in New York that has superb taste. She and two other bloggy moms started up this website Skirt--design and blog mesh with motherhood and style. Only now they've changed their name (internet drama) to Kirtsy, and they have a whopping good giveaway. Why don't you enter?!

3 Projects, 2 More for this Week

I am feeling the need to be done with projects before our California trip (we head out early Sunday morning!). This recycled tote with an embroidered nest on it will go to my friend out in Cali who just had a baby.

This next thing was hardly a "project" but I ran out of time last night (when you start sewing upside down, it's time to go to bed!) An added strap to my favorite bucket hat will make it a little harder for the Bug to pull it off--keeping that protection from the sun on!

Yikes. Sorry for the bad picture quality, this will be for another friend who just had a baby (Congrats!) from our church. It will look like this.
PS--Thanks J for the suggestion for wooden circular needles--they have revolutionized my knitting--I can't stop know!

Next on my list is a Nursing Cover for me, and one for a friend!

Crafternoon With E: Soap for Mother's Day

This is so easy to make, and was a big hit with grandma's, moms, and aunts for Mother's Day.
Step 1: block of glycerin, "Chunked" and put into pot to melt

Stir every so often (so it won't harden in the pot), get ready your dishes/pans/molds for the soap to be pored into with either scents, food coloring, or pieces of nature (grass, flowers, etc).

Wait 40 min to harden, cut into desired shapes. We took an old grocery bag, cut it into strips and put them around 2-3 bars.

Attach with a homemade sticker and watch the ladies swoon!

Busy Bug

Uh-Oh! Mum found me in her paints!! Come over here to see what other mischief I've been in!

Happy Mothers Day

COOLEST WEBSITE EVER

Okay, I Stink at cooking. I'm just gonna' put it out there. I don't like to take the time to make a meal, set it on the table, chop it up for little one, and then wash everything 35 minutes later. I would rather eat out every night. Maybe I'd order in on Fridays. This got noticeably worse when I got pregnant. I did not want to wait 30 minutes, I wanted food NOW. Yikes.

However, being as we're trying to get outta debt (fully funded emergency savings after today!!) , I have a budget to stick with, which means maybe eating out once a month and eating...from scratch...every other day. Which means I sorta' hafta' kinda' cook already!

During the last six months or so--when we really got gung-ho about the budget/debt free thing, I started to take more time to think about what was going to be for dinner. Just last month I took the leap to look at the adds and make a grocery list. I kid you not people, I never thought I'd spend enjoyable time doing this. I joined CVS (I can't remember life without this!). And with the encouragement of a fellow mom...I started (Gasp) planning out meals a week or two in advance. This has taken a lot of discipline, but we actually had money left over at the end of this month! A first in a LONG time, we also sold a car (which reduces money on gas, insurance, and fix-its) so that helped, but I think with doing these few things, one can literally strip $100/month off their budget :

• Plan meals, (don't forget to include ingredients on shopping list if you don't have them!)
• Go to CVS for all toiletries/Rx
• Write out a detailed shopping list, often substituting what's on sale (of said product you need) to what you would have originally bought
• STICK to your list! Ever heard of the "outer limits"? The most expensive places in the grocery stores are the produce, dairy, and meat sections--fresh foods, the best for you, are in the outer part of the store--don't even go to that middle, prepackaged place!
• Get someone (hubs) to watch the kiddos while you make dinner (or vice versa if you're husbands a chef!)--this won't save you money, but it sure makes me happy and more in-tune to what I'm doing. I enjoy the meal and time with family more if I slow down, relax, and concentrate on the food I'm preparing.

Oh yeah, the REASON I started writing this post was to share with you an awesome website: Supercook.com

This is an "intelligent website" that all you have to do (keep an account for easy access--free) is type in what you have on hand and it will tell you what you can make with your ingredients! I always look in our pantry (that has staples, but nothing "good I can use") and with 8 ingredients I could make over 300+ recipes!! How cool is that? Now...if hubbs reads this, he'll never leave me off the hook when I whine, "But we don't havvvve anything!"

Printing

I am slowly learning to print. I have had the desire for a number of years, love stamps, and have done the whole potato thing before.

I have secretly pined for this book by this lady for awhile now....so, when I needed to get some things off amazon, I "discretely" slipped it in. LOVED IT!
This small, swedish lady has given simple directions on a number of ways to print on paper or fabric in easy language! I can't wait to start!

Book Junkie--Linky Love

So...I went to the library today to pick up an inter library loan book, which I will find very helpful (girl has over 15 new embroidery stitches!) in the next week or so. It is more advanced than last week's book, but that lady has Awesome Patterns (I'm biding my time before I can buy:Forrest Friends, Bon Voyage,Unicorn Believer, Craftopia, Mermaids, and Krazy Kitchen ((okay, I seriously didn't know I wanted alllllll of those!)) !)

Anyway, enough about that!
I have my great finds to tell y'all about (uh-oh, when I get into southern slang, it's all downhill from there!).
I picked up several more books...and (cringing) not one is on my "2008 Book List". Oops. But I really want to read them, and I'm going to! Then...then, I'll get back to that darn list. Here they are:
1) Letter To a Christian Nation: Sam Harris--yes, I'm a Christian, and no, he's not. This is his small book that is written for Christians by an atheist. We can't beat them at their own game unless we're informed on why atheists have the opinions they do. I am all for engaging culture on it's own terms to bring those terms to Christ's standard. We should not be of the world, but it's very important for us to engage culture to bring a sick world Christ's healing message--the Gospel.
2) Tipperary: Frank Delaney--- For actual Tipperary (lovelies) go here. From the author of Ireland, which is one of the most creative (but huge) fiction books I've read in the past 10 years, this is his next book about one county (instead of the whole Island). From backpacking all around Ireland a few years ago, I couldn't pass it up!
3) Halleujah! The Welcome Table: Maya Angelou-- one great poet, some of her own great southern food, some sweet stories in between!
4) Mere Christianity: C.S. Lewis--can you believe I've never actually read his most famous book but have read everything else? I can't wait to read #1 first and then this!
5) Stiff: Mary Roach--so, I'm a hardcore lover of Readers' Digest, and she is the quirky columnist who writes about her and hubby's squabbles. She is leaving RD, however, to write her 4th book, as her third has just come out (looks interesting) and Stiff was recommended to me years ago...I just never put the two together that it was her book!
So other than sewing up a quick bag for a friend who just had a baby, and my nursing cover that I have to finish (and start....)before vacation on the 18th (!!!)...I am gonna be sitting on the couch a LOT!

PS--hop over to skeeter bug's blog for some cute pics and my reviews of Drybees Cloth Diapers!

Long Week...half way...

Now that Maria's baby quilt is finished and ready to be given, I can relax...a little. Did I mention the yard sale I'm having at my house tomorrow? No? Maybe you heard about the baby shower Saturday? You must have heard about our open house on Sunday! I'm pooped just telling y'all about it. Here's to being thankful my vacation starts in 17 days!

Baby Girl Quilt

This is by far my favorite creation ever. My friend (who I don't think reads this blog :) is having her first child in June and her baby shower is Saturday. I love working with cuddly flannel, as it is very soft and easy on the machine! The cutout leaves were just some scraps I had lying around ( I LOVE scraps...do not throw them away, give them to me!) and the nest and eggs were embroidered and sewn on.

The idea of the tree/ nest was from my friend's nursery. She is an interior designer, so I knew she would decorate that baby's room exquisitely! She has this covering one of the walls in the nursery(it is vintage wallpaper in decal form!), this is her mobile (!) and squares with small, flying animals are part of the theme. Can you guess? Birds! What better idea for a blanket than where the birds came from! I hope she likes it!

New Library Finds

Alright, I know this is a bit ridiculous, but I will actually look at all of these....even if my mission to the library this morning was for one book (see below). Once again, InterLibraryLoan gets it right!

My first baby quilt

This is the first baby blanket/quilt I have ever made, and although I feel the design and prints on the front are a little "eh", I really like the ties and "sleeping bag" roll I included.

Gender-neutral makes brown and red an easy choice for colors! The inspiration was a patch of brown fabric with yellow/orange pears and red apples, which I had two small scraps of (see cut-outs). I have never hand sewn anything and found it very tedious, and it was too hard on the machine because of how small the individual prints were. So as you can see (bottom), after awhile, it got a little sloppy! Add a few embroidered fruit "patches", and that is the theme! I used fusible batting (a cinch to use!) which I would buy again, but because I am a self-taught sewer, I had no idea what I was getting into with the brown side coverings. Those were the most challenging thing to do! I think my next idea (baby quilt #2) will be so much better. I have had the idea for a long while stewing, and this was more of me flying by the seat of my pants!

Quick Minutes

--2 garage sales in 2 weeks and leavin' town soon means getting rid of 2/3 of our belongings and organizing remaining 1/3

--nice weather...I must play outside!

--knitting group this wednesday night, sorry I missed it last week

--M2M "Girls Night Out" this friday! FREE FOOD!

--errands today

--small renovations Saturday (missing my friend M)

--family in town over weekend

Needless to say I am Very busy this week, don't be surprised if I have nothing other than a look at the sweet projects I'm working on for 2 friends.

EDIT: You won't believe it, someone wants to look at our house during garage sale/organizational disaster. With Stefan home over his "lunch break" (poor guy!), we got it all squared, packed, and ready, and clean in 1.15 hours!! We're keeping our fingers crossed.

The Translator

I am just tearing through my books I got from the library last week. I just finished #4, The Translator, (Daoud Hari) which is a memoir of a tribesman from Darfur who came to work with reporters from all over the world and eventually the BBC to cover the atrocities. I wanted to read this because I didn't really know the specifics of what is going on over there, and in the back of the book there is a section called, "A Darfur Primer" that was helpful in covering the history of the past 50+ years. At 179 pages, and a lot of action, it is a quick read, but not at all an easy one.
I encourage you to check it out at your local library or read about it online.

Amy Winehouse Biography

Well, as you could guess, I've been reading all weekend long and read The Creative Family in two days flat, then moved onto the next thing I'd been excited to read since Tuesday--Amy, Amy, Amy: The Amy Winehouse Story. It was only about 150 pages and it was also a two day read. I really don't read many biographies, unless they are about musicians I really like. The last one I read was about Ani D. (on "the list" there is only 1--about Nelsen Mandela).

The book was interesting, as I really didn't know much about her (or, rather, anything) other than the fact I have always thought she was our generations version of Billie Holiday. Unfortunately, that might be more true to life than I thought. She is dangerously addicted to hard drugs, like cocaine, and is often seen in public very inebriated. Just pop over to google news and enter in her name and you'll find a slew of awful stories from the latest drug binge to her cutting out of her plans for a new record in late 2008. When I was researching her after I finished the book (as I knew she won a lot of Grammys...the book was ended late November with her late night bra + jeans + bare feet = crazy "Wino" amy story), I just felt this overwhelming pity and sorrow for her. Without this post getting too long, I will just say that usually I have the opposite feelings towards the world's addicted. Because I took the time to research her life and what was behind her madness, her crazy tight-roping with life. I found a person under there, who had been really hurt in her past, and turning to the only person or thing or addiction that fed her swollen and bruised soul. This understanding has definitely begun to peel back my anger towards addicts and see that there is yes, a struggling body, tortured veins, sick heads; but there is also a struggling person, tortured spirit, and a sick soul. I found this blog entry and thought I couldn't have said it better myself.

Last Embroidered Piece

I think this one is pretty stinkin' cute, because it's so small. I got the ideas from this book, and I hope they go over well and raise some money for the Missions' Conference they were made for! I also now have an inexpensive way to decorate a future room--either a craft room or another child's room.

In other news, I had been taking a break because I couldn't put down this book. I gleaned a number of helpful websites and projects, and most of all, inspiration to be fully intentional with allowing my child's imagination to be the source of creative play. To help sum up what that means, I found a great quote from Mrs. Soule's introduction, "A large part of nurturing a spirit of creativity comes from being mindful, slowing down, observing, and looking around you at the beauty and inspiration all around".

It was a wonderful reminder, actually, why I chose to be a stay-at-home-mom; to allow my child to be the director of interests, projects, playtime, and for me to guide him in his imagination and learning process. Although I borrowed it at the library, this book will definitely be finding its way into my collection.

The Goods

Lukka and I spent about an hour at the library today. We got a bunch of board books for him and I decided I'm taking a break from the list for a few reasons. One, the book I've been dying to read was held for me and I finally got my hands on it today...then I just kept seeing more and more new books that I really wanted to read. Two, See above. I am very interested in this 142 page Amy Winehouse biography. Something like a Sid & Nancy story of my generation (that's still happening). Don't know who Amy Winehouse is? Scroll down and listen, fall in love with the millennial Billie Holiday. The top was a book with over 40 cute ideas for knit children's clothes/accesories. I am trying my hardest to get back into the knitting groove, and learn something other than squares and scarves!
The Art of Simple Food looks promising for I like things to be as simple as possible when I cook (read: can throw together within 10 mintes). The Translator by Daoud Hari I picked up because it is about Darfur...and honestly, I feel very out of the loop with what is going on over there. It appears to be the same sort of novel as They Poured Fire On Us From the Sky (Sudan) and A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (Sierra Leone) both of which I loved and gained a lot of knowledge from.

Kettle Embroidery

Second piece for Missions' Conference