Our House in the Middle of Our Street

Wow. Already a week without a post! I have been doing a LOT of crafting, some for my Style School Online Class from Red Velvet Art , some for a few babies I know that are being born, have been born, or are getting older! Here is sneak-peak #2. Here is my Valentine's kitschy wall ornament. One of my favorite projects to do: a Modern Inspiration Wall, complete with a section for Goals, Current Projects, Inspiration, and a Secret Pocket! (That middle open space will be filled with another project from the class, but I have yet to finish it!) I have a love of all banners and bunting, and this one is no exception. I have fallen in love with making pom-poms [ these are what I use] and I loved Rachel Denbow's garland she made for a friend and was heavily inspired by it. I wanted one to be in girly, Valentine's colors, since Anikka's birthday is February 17! It is perfect, and I think we'll use it for many, many, birthdays to come! (sorry, I have yet to figure out a...

Yesterday's home tour was the "upstairs"; the third level where our bedrooms, bathroom, and playroom are. Today is our 2nd level. We actually have a tiny porch, which will make us very happy in the spring, where our bikes are hung from the top, Lukka's sand table is covered under snow, and our outdoor table & chairs are. Once you enter the front door, you have to go up two flights of stairs to get here! Hard for groceries & laundry (no Washer/Dryer in the place!), but okay for the tons of money we're able to save by living here. *** This room is the most 'multifunctional' (read: cluttered!). It has our dinner table, our huge office desk & computer, and our couch that could not be fit upstairs, no matter how hard we try. It's okay, it worked out since we love to watch House and Lie to Me on hulu every week! Here is one view right when you walk into the kitchen. The little wooden stove has found a cozy corner under our huge (craigslist ...

Well...this might be the only day in 365 that my house is this clean, so I had to take the opportunity to blog our "New House" tour! Since we live on the 2nd & 3rd story of a big ole' house, the lighting is not always great, in fact, because we have old windows, and some rooms with only one, it can seem really dark, even in the middle of the day. I have tried to keep it as "real" as possible, so I didn't turn on any extra lighting, these pics were all taken at 11AM, too! (Right before nap time, which is why they are so blurry; trying to get kids into jammies, read a story, nurse a baby, etc. etc. leaves me just a second to pop into each room & snap a photo!) Enjoy! *** Here is one view of our "playroom" or the living room. This is where our kids' toys & books are, two couches, and our dvd player/television, my spinner, and a rocking chair. It's a random room, but probably where we spend most of our time, since it is very cozy. ...

Sheesh, I know it has been a few weeks ( ahem ) since Christmas, but I had a lot of people wondering if I could take a picture of the kids' sweaters I knit them, following my :something to read, something to wear, something to play with: rule. I just had to finish them first... I made Lukka's extra large and with bulky yarn, on size 11 needles. It is a 100% wool that is brown & greens (he might even fit this until he's four, he's so skinny!). He loves it, but thinks it's warm. That's the idea, Lu! Here you can see the detailing a bit more, the collar is the reason I chose it --it's a simple sweater with easy K1, P1 rib around sleeves and bottom, and an overlapping collar! Here is a side-view of Anikka's sweater (turned cardigan). I loved this yarn even though it was only 70% wool, it was The Yarn Bee and was a beautiful blend of pink, purple, blue, and cream. I also thought it needed a pom pom on the hood, and that is my favorite part! Here...

photocredit Our little church and people around the world are grieving for Haiti. Grace Chapel is very invested with these people, who are the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. We have a sister church down there, and also support an orphanage. Last night there was a prayer vigil held for the victims of the earthquake that struck earlier this week. We send people every few months to Haiti to support these people with medical aid, support, and love. Friends of ours, Ben & Renee , professional photographers with strong love for Haiti as well, have poured their hearts out in the photos they've captured of the Haitian surroundings and mostly, the people, children, that live there in dire poverty. It seems the poorest of the poor never get relief from tragedy. I will link over to their post on Haiti ; " Pray for Haiti, Send Aid if You Can ". The GLOBAL ORPHAN PROJECT is one that they have encouraged to send through, since 100% donations that usually go to orphans are no...

My first day's project in my second online art class, Style School . It was supposed to be a floral wreath but not much one for flowers, I tweaked it a bit. More project previews to come...! (We have such bad lighting in our new rental house, the wreath is a grainy brown yarn & the pom poms are cream, brown, and teal.)

photocredit I'm going to let you in on a secret. I knew before I watched this movie, I would think it was cute. It has a killer soundtrack and two of my favorite actors and an IKEA cameo. I don't mind telling you that the only reason I will watch Elf is for Zooey Deschanel (still waiting on her full-length cd!) and I've got a thing for female scratchy voices. I love listening to them! Enter in the awkward Joseph Gordon-Levitt ( 10 Things I Hate About You ) and some karaoke and you've got a movie that has been nominated for 2 Golden Globes. But let's be honest.... photocredit I really just wanted to see Zooey's wardrobe. She's got killer taste! photocredit Girls--of course you'll want to see this movie! It's a cute comedy with a very good ending, narration Pushing Daisies -style, and a really interesting format (side-by-side "reality" & "imagination" for example). Even Stefan liked this movie, and he generally thinks my ro...