Everything Erin

And I Ran....

2009-02-08T17:18:00.003-06:00

2 weeks ago, I ran the Groundhog Run 5k. The run is held in North KC in the Hunt Midewst SubTropolis, one of the largest (if not the largest) underground office facilities. The nice thing about the undergrond is even though it was 10 degrees outside, it was about 65 indoors. Here's a picture of the chaos that was:

I ran for my best ever time of 34:31. I had been training at a 12 minute mile pace, so to beat that felt good. I actually ran the first mile in just over 10 minutes! Next up will be the Trolley Run in April.

2008 in Review

2009-01-11T18:31:00.030-06:00

Well, I guess it is time to put up a new post. It is 2009, after all. Thought I'd post some pictures from last year that never made it onto the blog.

January & February brought snow (and the related snow shoveling) March brought the beginnings of spring blooms... In April we visited the Liberty Memorial and the WWI Museum... We took the elevator to the top for some outstanding views of the city... We also visited the Kauffman Garden in April, the trees were painted blue (maybe for the Royals?) May brought flowering trees... ...And a short trip to Palm Springs In June, we took the Jeep off roading... ...where it got nice and dirty!! We also had some landscaping work done and got new patio furniture July was Paris..

In August, Jeff competed in his first Triathlon
...and we visited my family in Minnesota
In September I started knitting again, with some help
October brought a day trip to Des Moines to meet up with a friend. We visited the Botanical Gardens while we were there.
We also had a beautiful weekend for camping. Here is Jeff trying to get a football game on our battery powered TV.October is also when we started our bathroom renovation

Which wrapped up in November
And we wrapped up the year with a wonderful Christmas

You say it's your birthday....

2008-12-05T15:48:00.004-06:00

Yep, I'm another year older. Wow, do I look like a little boy in that pic or what? Good thing it was a pink jumper!

Day 5: Versailles

2008-11-09T16:16:00.018-06:00

Moving right along with our Paris trip....

On our 5th day we took a trip out to visit Versailles, which was a 30 minute train ride outside of the city. The palace was immense and a bit overwheliming with all the ornateness. My favorite part was the grounds, which seemed to go on as far as the eye could see.

Inside the palace, we toured the private apartments of the king and queen.

It seemed like the beds were so small!

We also went through the hall of mirrors.

We couldn't go inside the chapel, but I got a good photo.

Once outside we walked down to the great canal, then over to the Petit and Grand Trianon, "smaller" palaces (if there is such a thing).

It was a lot less crowded there, probably because most don't make the 20 or so minute walk, although they did have bikes for rent.

The Petit Trianon was a favorite of Marie Antoinette, who had a little hamlet village recreated on the property.

This was called the Temple of Love.

Once we got home, we rented the movie Marie Antionette because it was filmed on location at Versailles. We enjoyed seeing the palace again through the movie.

Day 4: The Marais, Notre Dame and Eiffel Tower

2008-10-05T12:33:00.016-05:00

It has been 2 months since my trip, but I'm only on day 4!! To speed it up, there will be less text and more pictures.

On our 4th day we ventured through the Marais, visiting the Place de la Bastille, the Promenede Plantee and the Place des Vosges. We walked through the Ile St-Louis and Ile de la Cite and toured the Notre Dame. Later that evening, we went up to the Eiffel Tower. We only went up to the 2nd level, as the 3rd was closed.

Day 3: The Louvre, Tuileries and Arc de Triomphe

2008-09-20T10:14:00.016-05:00

Day 3 started at th Louvre. We walked around the beautiful museum grounds and the Tuileries before heading into the museum.

Inside the museum, we visited the "must see" exhibits.

We could only get about 20 feet away from the Mona Lisa, and even then I had to hold the camera up over my head to get a photo.

Later that evening, we visited the Arc de Triomph, one of my favorite things we did. We planned to go in the evening to watch the sunset and see the Eiffel Tower lights go on. What we didn't realize when we headed out about 8:30pm, is that the sun doesn't set until very late - it was nearly 10pm before the sun dipped down. But that was ok, we enjoyed hanging out on top of the Arc.

After we came back down from the Arc, Jeff was standing on one of the uplights that lit the Arc in the evening.

As we walked home down the Champs-Elysee, we crossed the Seine on the Pont Alexandre III bridge, and I took what has to be my favorite photo from our trip, this view of the Eiffel Tower.

Paris Day 2: Invalides and Sacre Coeur

2008-09-13T09:10:00.011-05:00

After walking through the Rodin garden we headed over to the Invalides, where the main attraction was Napoleon's Tomb. Jeff was fascinated with Napoleon and we couldn't get over the scale of the room and how massive the tomb was.

They also have a very good WWII museum on site and beautiful gardens. It was interesting to get a European perspective on the war, and to understand what happened in Paris when they were occupied.

Later in the day we went to Monmarte to walk around and visit the Sacre Coeur. Monmarte was a lot of fun - small, winding streets with lots of shops and food vendors. Did I mention how hilly it was? We stopped for some crepes before making the final climb up to Sacre Coeur. There were a ton of people all around Sacre Coeur, its got great views of the city and its a beautiful church.

The metro stop near Sacre Coeur is one of the few remaining in the original Art Nouveau style.

Paris Day 2: d'Orsay and Rodin

2008-08-19T21:47:00.017-05:00

After a good night's sleep, we got up about 9am local time to begin our day. I had read online that there were several good bakeries and cafe's near our apartment on the Rue de Bourgogne, and we were hoping to get a nice breakfast before heading out to some museums. Unfortunately, we learned that not much in Paris besides museums are open on Sunday. But that was ok, since I had heard the cafe at the d'Orsay, our first museum of the day, was good.

Now, I have to mention here that if you are going to visit Paris, buy a museum pass. This was invaluable to us. Not only did it get us in to most monuments and museums in the city, is also lets you go bypass the lines. When we got to the d'Orsay, the "regular" entrance had a long line, but the "pass" entrance had no wait at all. Nice!!

The d'Orsay museum is a renovated railroad station that now is an art museum. I think I liked the building more than the art. They have a wide variety or exhibits, from impressionist paintings to art nouveau furniture.

By the time we got up to the level with the cafe, I was starving. We were seated and our server brought the menu. I asked about breakfast and learned what the Parisian version of breakfast is: Coffee, juice and a croissaint. I certainly have no issues with croissants, but I was looking for a bigger breakfast!! No wonder the French don't get fat. Since I'm not a coffee drinker, I had a chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) instead and Jeff had the chocolat frappe (basically chocolate milk blended with ice). Judging by how quickly he drank his, I'd say Jeff was just fine with his breakfast. I have to say the French chocolate is very tasty!!

The nice thing about the cafe at d'Orsay is that is right next to the outdoor terrace and we got some nice pictures of the Louvre across the Seine.

We left the d'Orsay and headed over to the Rodin museum. I was most interested in the sculpture garden on the property, said to be quite lovely. Once again, our museum pass got us right past the line and into the gardens. As we walked through the gardens we also got great views of the Eiffel Tower and the Invalides.

Up next: Day 2 continued...Invalides and Sacre Coeur

Paris Day 1: Getting oriented

2008-08-12T18:02:00.009-05:00

Our apartment was on the 5th floor with a terrace and it overlooked the Saint Clotilde church, so we had such pretty views. The terrace wrapped around the corner to the bedroom.

Once we got unpacked and picked up some groceries from the market on our block, we promptly took a nap. Now, eveyone says to stay awake all day so you get adjusted to the time change (7 hours!!), but we bonked. Ahhh, peaceful sleep. After a couple hour nap we decided to go exploring our neigborhood.

We stayed in a part of the 7th district near the Assemblee Nationale, which is home to the lower house of the French Parliament.

We began walking down the Seine, along the Left Bank and passed the d'Orsay Museum.

The bridges over the Seine were so pretty.

We evenually found our way to Notre Dame.

After walking that much, we decided to take the Batobus for a cruise back. The Batobus is a hop-on hop-off boat shuttle and it makes a circular path around the Seine. We floated by the Louvre, Champs-Elysees, and the Eiffel Tower. We hopped off at the d'Orsay museum and walked back to our neighborood.

By this time it was about 7pm and we were pretty hungry. We stopped at a cafe and had some dinner. Jeff had an omelet, which he devoured, and I had a croque monsieur, which is basically an open faced grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Mmmm, the cheese was fantastic. Since we were enjoying the food so much, we had dessert. Chocolate mousse for Jeff and creme brulee for me. I can honestly say it was the best creme brulee I have ever had!!!

We walked through the park on the side of the church near our apartment, and took a picture to cap off our day:

Up next: Day 2 - Museums, museums and more museums (subtitle - don't the French eat breakfast???)

Paris Day 1: The arrival

2008-08-09T10:43:00.005-05:00

After much anticipation, and a very long flight we finally arrive in Paris. Actually the flight wasn't too bad, but I didn't get much sleep on the plane so by the time we landed I had been awake for about 20 hours. Now if you know me at all, you know I'm a girl who needs her sleep. I can be pretty crabby if I don't get enough. However, we were just so excited to finally be there the tiredness didn't seem to affect me (you can ask Jeff later what he thought!).

We waited in a short line to go through immigration, where they looked at our passports and waived us on. But wait...no stamp? I was expecting to start filling up my brand new passport with stamps. Alas no, apparently they don't do that anymore. Well, they did when we returned - woo-hoo, a stamp from Cleveland.

So now we need to get from the airport to the city. I did some research beforehand and it seemed like the best way to go was to take a train to the city and then switch to the metro and get off at the stop nearest to our rental apartment. Jeff prefers cabs, but looking at paying 50 euro for a cab versus 16 euro for a train ride, I opted for the less expensive option.

We begin to head through the terminal to the train station, and soon discovered our gate was at the farthest point you could get from the trains. It felt like we were swimming upstream through a sea of luggage. After fighting our way through a particularly crowded section it appeared we were coming to an open section. As we broke through the last throng of people we came out and were face to face with a row of armed guards. Not armed in the sense of "I've got a pistol in my holster", armed in the "I'm carrying a sub-machine gun" kind of way. Apparently there was some type of threat or incident in this section of the terminal and they weren't letting anyone through. There were airport represenatives talking to the crowd, but my French is pretty poor and I couldn't understand what they were saying. While Jeff and I were talking about trying to find an alternate way to the trains and a kind person in the crowd overheard us and spoke English, so she gave us some directions.

Now, I should have taken this as a sign and just grabbed a taxi at this point. But determined to save a few euros (have you seen the exchange rate???) we press on. We had to backtrack, cross underground to go to the other side of the terminal and finally - the train station. But everyone is taking a train of some sort, so lines were incredibly long. The ticket machines only take euro coins, and while I had brought some euros with us, alas, no coins. So we wait and buy a ticket into the city and a carnet of metro tickets so we can get around during the week. We get down to the train platform and there are two trains there. The sign says both trains go to Paris so we get on one of them. Not until after departure did I realize the other train was the "express" and we were on the regular train which added about 10 extra stops to our ride. At this point, Jeff deserves an award for most patient husband because he HATES public transportation. No, I don't understand why. You'll have to ask him.

But once on the train, we relax and I think we are finally starting our Paris adventure. Well, we are, but not in a good way (yet). I had mapped our route on the ratp.fr website and the directions seemed simple. Take the RER B from the airport, switch to RER C at the St. Michel station, get off at our stop near the Invalides. What I didn't realize until we got off at the St. Michel station is that there is construction going on and we could not switch trains. They had information people to help, and they directed us to go outside and find the bus running on the interim. So we exit to find no bus and to be pretty lost at this point.

Jeff (still being very patient, I must say) says we are done and must find a taxi. I'm all for that with the tiredness starting to set in. But guess what, we can't seem to hail a taxi. We try and flag them down. Nope. We go to the taxi stand where we see 3 taxis lined up. Nope, all empty. Frustrated, I get the map out and we get our bearings and decide to walk. Fortunately after a couple of blocks we see a taxi waiting, and we finally have transport to our apartment.

Up next....the apartment and the rest of day 1...

I'm back....

2008-08-09T10:40:00.002-05:00

Well actually, I've been back about 2 weeks but this is the first chance I've had/felt like posting. Since we've been back I started my new job and came down with a nasty cold that is still hanging on. Nothing like trying to learn a new job while you are sick. The trip was fantastic, I took over 400 pictures!! I'll post more on the trip soon (I hope).

Au Revoir!!

2008-07-18T14:00:00.000-05:00

Back in about a week!!!

Rain has been good for the garden

2008-07-17T19:35:00.007-05:00

We had a pretty rainy spring, which did my garden very good! Finally getting around to posting a few pics:

Sewing Sunday

2008-06-02T09:22:00.007-05:00

This pretty apron is the "Emmeline Apron" from Montessori By Hand. I've had this green fabric for a while and was inspired by these fabric combinations to make my own. The great thing about the apron is that it is reversible - two in one!! The reverse side is a polka dot print that didn't photograph too well, but you get the basic idea.

Making the apron was appropriate since I did a bit of baking this weekend (too bad I made the apron AFTER the baking was done!!). Friday night Jeff's parents came over for dinner, and we celebrated his mom's birthday. I made these Carrot Cupcakes from the latest issue of Everyday Food (find recipe here.

Coat Sew-Along

2008-05-31T11:33:00.006-05:00

Well, I've signed up to sew my most ambitious project to date - a winter coat. I've wanted to sew a coat for a while, I've had some fabric for over a year now and the pattern too, I just haven't gotten up the nerve to start it out. Then I read on Marji's blog about a blogging sew-along she was putting together. It appealed to me because it is structured to spread out the work between now and September. So in June we will fit a muslin, July, cut and interline fabric, etc. I figure this way I won't get to overwhelmed and not ever finish. Plus there are tons of other sewing experts whose blogs I regularly read that are participating as well, so I will be asking a lot of questions. Marji has set the blog to private, so only members can see the posts, but I'll post my progress here as well.

I will be sewing Simplicity 4403, view A (the one on the far right)

My fabric is this wool houndstooth fabric I picked up from Cy Rudnick's fabric during their going out of business sale. It was such a steal - only $6 a yard, and the regular price was over $30/yard!!!

Now, I just need to pick up my other items, lining, buttons etc. I'll keep you updated!

Getting My Sewing Groove Back

2008-05-26T17:26:00.005-05:00

After making so many bags for other people, I just found I wasn't motivated to sew. So, I took a little break from sewing and boy did I need it. Now, I'm feeling creative again, but wanted to start with something fairly easy. I've had this pattern (Simplicity 3877) sitting around for a while now. It only took me a few hours to make this afternoon, and while it needs some tweaking (neckline is a bit too wide, almost falls off my shoulders when I'm wearing it) I'm very happy with the result. I even wrote my first review on PatternReview - check it out here

Is it spring yet?

2008-02-19T18:24:00.011-06:00

Boy, I'm tired of this cold weather. One day it is almost 50 degrees, the next 11. Crazy midwest weather. At least it provided some good picture taking opportunities.

My poor little potting bench just looks so lonely!!

Long weekend = project progress!

2008-02-19T18:04:00.008-06:00

I decided to take Monday off since it was a holiday for Jeff. I used the extra time to get some projects finished off:

First up is a custom order for a diaper bag/changing pad. I'm really happy with how this turned out.

Then I finished a tote bag for my friend Erin. I'm going to have to make a bag for myself out of this giraffe print. I love it!!

Speaking of bags for myself, I'm tweaking a new design. My neighbor liked my regular tote bag, but wanted the strap long enough to wear cross-body. I whipped one up for her (forgot to take pictures) and liked it so much I made one for myself in a cool Michael Miller print I picked up.

This is a project I finished months ago but am finally getting around to posting pictures of. I knit a hat for Jeff as one of his Christmas presents, it was my first foray into knitting in the round and using double pointed needles.

Jeff wears it all the time, so I think its a hit. I think I'll knit one for myself, maybe in a pink/green combo.

Want. One.

2008-02-15T14:11:00.006-06:00

Image from print addict

Not that I need a new hobby or anything, but I think I may have to buy myself a Gocco. What is a Gocco? Well, it is a really cool compact screenprinting system from Japan. You can take almost any image, make a photocopy, use the Gocco to create a screen, then print your image on whatever you'd like.

For a clip of the Gocco in action, visit etsy labs for a tutorial.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2008-02-14T16:28:00.004-06:00

I'm not a big v-day person, but that won't stop me from having some sweets. Our talented friend Erin opened up Dolce Baking Co a few months ago and Jeff picked up this little cake to have as dessert tonight. Can't wait to dig in.

Progress

2008-02-10T16:04:00.001-06:00

Wow, is it February already? I cannot believe the first month of the year has already gone. Luckily, I do have some finished objects to show for my work, and I've actually done well with some of my resolutions!!

First up: Yoga Pants/Burda World Of Fashion/November 2007
I saw so many great reviews of this Burda WOF pattern that I bought the issue on ebay (see also: resolution # 1, only buy patterns with a project in mind). Now, this was my first WOF pattern and I was a little nervous. You need to trace out the pattern from the sheet first, then make your project. So I jumped right in and tracing wasn't all that bad.

Once I had the pattern pieces laid out, I tissue fit them and discovered a few alterations were needed. With I gift card I got for Christmas, I bought Fast Fit by Sandra Betzina and found it useful for this project (see also: resolution #3, learn to make pattern alterations).

The construction was super-easy, and thanks to the serger I'm using it was also very fast. This FO also fit into resolutions #2 and #4 as well. Not too bad. Maybe I should post more resolutions online!!!

I've also had a few more bag orders completed and delivered.

Here's a peek at some orders in progress.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-05T09:29:00.000-06:00

Well, we are a few days into 2008, and I was thinking I should work on some resolutions. Not the usual resolutions you see, like eat better, workout, etc. I never seem to do those anyways. No, I want to make some sewing/crafting resolutions. I figure if I put them out here in black and white then I may be more apt to work on them. So, here goes:

1. Only buy patterns or fabric with a specific project in mind.
Last year I bought a LOT of patterns (note to self, just because the pattern is on sale for 99 cents doesn't mean you should buy it!!) and built up quite a fabric stash.

2. Sew more garments for myself
I have lots of patterns (see #1) but I seem to stick in the accessories realm. Time to make some wearable items!

3. Learn to make pattern alterations
This is the biggest reason I haven't ventured more into #2 above. The few garments I made fit me so poorly that I just quit trying.

4. Conquer my fear of knits
Again, did not have good results sewing on knit fabrics. My wonderful mother-in-law (Hi Kay!!) has loaned me her serger which I hope to use in this task.

5. Learn more about this blogging thing-y
I think there is so much more I could do with this blog. For instance, I'd like to have a sidebar with photos of my current projects. I know it is just a matter of doing some research, so I pledge to work on that more. Hey, I figured out how to make bold headings for this list. That is a start!!

6. Become better at digital photography
There are so many beautifully photographed blogs out there (see Heather Bailey and Anna Maria Horner ) and I'm just snapping pictures with my little camera and slapping them up on the internet. I'd like to learn some more about using light boxes and having better composed photos.

Ok, that is probably a good start. We'll see how good I do....

Holiday Favorites

2007-12-21T09:52:00.000-06:00

This Christmas, I've been thinking a lot about holiday traditions. Maybe I'm just getting older, but I'm less focused on gifts/presents nowadays and more reflective and thinking about family and the holiday rituals I enjoy. Meg's blog got me thinking about this when she started her holiday swap. One of the requirements was to describe one of your family's traditions around the holidays and share it with your swap-mate. I really struggled to come up with anything, so I didn't sign up.

A few weeks after that, I was visiting with a friend about how I felt I didn't have any traditions and how bummed I was I didn't sign up for the swap. She reminded me that I do, in fact, have many traditions (isn't that what great friends are for?), One of them being the cookie baking marathon that she and I do together each year. So, after that conversation I became more obsersvant of my life, and realized that yes, I have some holiday traditions.

So, here are a few of my favorite holiday things:

These felt ornaments are at least 30 years old. My Grandma G. gave them to my parents when I was I child and they passed them on (I think I demanded them!!) to me when I got married. They were all handmade my a friend of my grandma's and the detail work on them is incredible. They make me smile when I hang them on my tree each year.

The only holiday show I watch each year is the Charlie Brown Christmas. I love the music and the message, and Jeff and I take time to drink our hot chocolate and watch it each year.

Speaking of hot chocolate, we enjoy it all the more thanks to my Waechtersbach Christmas tree mugs. My regulary dinnerware is plain white, so it is a lot of fun to get out these special plates and mugs.

I'm happy I took some time to pause this Christmas season and think about a few things that are really important to me. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday!!

Now, Why Didn't I Think of That?

2007-12-06T10:02:00.001-06:00

One of the blogs I regularly read is Heather Bailey , a talented fabric designer who has a beautifully photographed blog. For several months now, she has been hinting about something called trash ties that would be coming soon.

Well, she launched her new site for Trash Ties and of course I had to order some. I just love hair products and will have to try these out. Order by Dec 10th for Christmas delivery and use the coupon code ILOVETRASH to get 15% off

Happy Birthday to ME!

2007-12-05T15:01:00.001-06:00

After all, what is a blog for if you can't shamelessly promote your own b-day?

Photo from Sprinkles Cupcakes

Last Friday of November Favorite Thing

2007-11-30T14:17:00.000-06:00

I never read any Jane Austen in school. I actually didn't read Pride and Prejudice until after I had seen the 2005 movie version of the book. Once I saw it, I loved it. I read the book, watched the BBC miniseries and eventually my husband bought me the DVD. I know many on the internet are divided over which version (or which Mr. Darcy, more specifically) is better. Now, I am a huge Colin Firth fan but I loved the more recent version. I think it depends on which you saw first. So rent it, or read the book...whatever you choose I hope you love it too!!

Friday Favorite Thing (on Saturday!)

2007-11-24T08:24:00.001-06:00

This week, as I was getting ready for Thanksgiving I made my grandma's recipie for cranberry relish. Growing up, grandma would always make this for me because she knew it was a favorite. After I got married, she sent me recipes for all of the things I loved that she made. This week's Friday Favorite is dedicated to Grandma G!!

Grandma's Cranberry Relish

1 package fresh cranberries (12 ounces)
2 - 3 apples (your choice, I like Braeburn)
1/4 cup crushed pineapple
1 cup sugar

Chop cranberries and apples in food processor. Combine in lage bowl with pineapple and sugar. Done!! It is best if made several hours before hand, will keep for a few days (it never lasts when I make it 'cause I eat it all up!)

Friday Favorite Thing

2007-11-16T07:51:00.001-06:00

In an effort to have more frequent blog postings, I decided to have a recurring theme. You know, some blogs do "Flickr Fridays" or "Flashback Fridays", we'll I'm going to do Friday Favorite things where I'll post some of my very favorite things, hence the title!!

My first Favorite Thing are my Ugg slippers. I know,Ugg's are SO out, but I love these slippers.

This is actually my second pair, my first pair lasting about 3 years before I pretty much wore them out. From around November to March, if I'm at home, I'm wearing my Uggs. O.k., there was that one time I wore them to the grocery store, but that is it, I swear!! Don't judge me :) My feet are always so cold, and these slippers keep them nice and warm.

My Big Adventure

2007-11-14T18:42:00.000-06:00

Today I participated in my first craft fair. My office has an annual holiday bazaar where associates and others can come in and sell their wares. I didn't know what to expect, or if people would actually pay money for what I made. I'm really pleased with the turnout. I made up a few samples in a shoulder bag and a tote, along with a couple smaller sized cosmetic bags. I brought in the fabric I had so folks could customize their bags with their own fabric choices. That turned out to be the big draw, most people went over to my fabric stash and oohed and aaahed, and that allowed me to get started on the selling. Here's a snapshot of my "booth"

Getting ready for the sale wore me out!! I worked on my samples all weekend along with my marketing materials (name, business cards, etc.) I've only gotten about 4 hours of sleep the last few nights getting ready. Jeff joked about the "sweatshop" I was working in.

I got orders for about 12 bags, so the work in the sweatshop will continue so I can have them ready by Christmas.

I also set up a storefront on etsy, check it out here I've only got one item on there now, but I hope to get more listed soon. In case you were wondering, KikiBoo is the name of one of my cats, so yes, I named my business after a kitty!!

Kauai Photos!

2007-09-03T11:46:00.001-05:00

I added a slideshow to the sidebar with some of our vacation photos. There are too many to add to the blog...if you'd like to see them all go here

San Francisco

2007-08-12T15:07:00.000-05:00

Getting ready for our upcoming trip, I was reflecting on our last out-of-town getaway to San Francisco. We went for my birthday in December of last year (wow - 9 months since a vacation...I NEED to get out of town!!) and had a wonderful time. Since I was looking through our photos, I thought I'd share a bit of our trip to SFO.

One of the most fun things we did was take the ferry over to Sausalito to see the town and drive to Muir woods. We started out at the Ferry Marketplace, a beautiful re-done bulding with many local merchants selling food. We were there so early no one was open yet!

Most of the ferry activity was boats bringing people TO San Francisco, so our trip only had maybe 10 people on it.

The ride over gave many photo opportunities of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Muir Woods was so quiet and peaceful, I could have sat there for hours!!

Since we rented a car in Sausalito for the day, we ventured around to a great lookout over the Pacific.

And took the obligatory picture in front of the bridge.

We bought a trolley pass, so spent plenty of time going up and down the hills of the city.

A guide book had mentioned some off the beaten path stops not everyone knows about. One such place was Macondray Lane. Walking up to it, Jeff swore I was lost, but when we turned the corner and saw this little magical enclave of houses, he knew I was right. What a beautiful place. Wonder what the houses cost there??

We also walked down Lombard Street (easier than walking up!!)

Upon a friend's recommendation, we visited the Japanese garden at Golden Gate Park.

What a great trip! It was fun reliving it here for you.

Busy Weekend

2007-08-12T14:28:00.000-05:00

Or, 2 Shirts, 2 Skirts and a headband!

With vacation coming up, I thought I'd see if I could sew a few things for my trip. After many hours of work, I'm mostly pleased

This is a pattern I've had for a while but been hesitant to try because it uses knits. Knits don't like me. I do fine with the seams, it is the finishing (hems, neckline, etc) that gives me the most problem. I had this really soft knit I got for like 2 bucks at Hancock's from the remmnant table I thought I'd try. It went together really fast and was fairly easy, but the neckline hem is wavy, like most of the knit projects I try.

I saw this shirt popping up on so many blogs I had to try it. I read that it ran big, and I didn't want it to look like a tent on me (not very flattering) so I cut it a size smaller than my usual. It is plenty snug, so it was a good thing I used some leftover fabric I had. I'll try reworking again. I think it will be very cute when I get it right.

This project started out being inspired by the fabric. I thought it was very Lilly Pulitzer-like print that would make a good skirt. I used a pattern from the book Sew What Skirts and made a wrap skirt. Very happy with how this one turned out.

My second skirt was again inspired by fabric. I saw this madras plaid at the store and thought it looked like a JCrew skirt I had seen. I also used the Sew What Skirts book on this one.

Since I had fabric leftover, I thought a headband would complete my preppy look. Heather Bailey has a free pattern on her website that makes really cute, easy headbands. A few minutes after cutting, viola...a headband.

I also had a great helper during my sewing marathon. Why do cats like fabric so much?!?!?

SWAP Package!!

2007-07-04T19:00:00.000-05:00

I received my Favorite Things swap package from Karen in Scotland. She sent me some great stuff - Shower Gel in Show Fairy (Smells FANTASTIC!!) and Melting Marshmallow Moment (don't you love that name?) bath melt from a UK company called Lush, some divine chocolate from her favorite company Montezuma's, some very pretty post-it notes and the best thing of all, a softie she made herself. It is a building made of felt with windows and doors stitched onto it, and a poem on the back that says "A house is made of walls & beams, a home is built with love and dreams." Karen is an architect, making her "building" all the more special to me. Thanks Karen!!

We actually sent each other similar type things...I sent her some of my favorite bath products which like Lush are also from a company that doesn't do animal testing, and post-it notes. How funny! I really enjoyed my first SWAP experience and look forward to joining another. Thanks Kelly for setting this up.

Garden Pics

2007-06-19T20:22:00.000-05:00

I love this time of year when my garden is in bloom. The peonies were done a while ago, here is a shot of them:

My irises did not do well this year, I think it is time to divide them. My hydrangeas (my FAVORITE flower) are doing well.

My first Swap!

2007-06-04T12:51:00.000-05:00

I'm really excited about it. I've been lurking around in blogger-dom and came across a great blog from Kelly http://according-to-kelly.blogspot.com/ . She is hosting a Favorite Things swap and I signed up. If you'd like to join, hurry - sign ups end June 8th.

Easiest. Cookies. Ever.

2007-04-21T14:04:00.000-05:00

Mmmmm. Peanut butter cookies! My mother-in-law gave me the best recipe for peanut butter cookies. I'm serious, it couldn't be simpler:

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Peanut Butter

1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla

Mix ingredients until thoroughly combined. Scoop onto cookie sheet (love the scoop thingy!), use fork dipped in sugar to do criss-cross shape, bake at 325 degrees for 13 - 15 minutes. Cool and enjoy.

Catch up time!!

2007-04-14T13:09:00.000-05:00

I know, it has been a while since I've posted. About 2 months to be exact. But that doesn't mean I haven't been busy working. Here are a few pictures of some finished projects:

This bag is the "Chelsea" from Amy Butler. I made it up in some of Amy's new fabrics from her Lotus line. http://amybutlerdesign.com I love her fabrics and patterns. This bag is supposed to be reversible, but I liked the blue fabric so much, I decided I probably wouldn't ever turn it inside out so I added some pockets and a fabric loop to clip my key ring on to.

I also worked on some projects from Amy's book, In Stitches. I actually got to meet Amy last summer, she was here for an event at my local fabric store. She was very nice, autographing copies of her book and posing for pictures. Here is a picture of Amy and I. Now, I'm tall (about 5'10) and you can see Amy is several inches taller than I am!!

Here are some projects from her book:

This is the CD Holder, but it is really the perfect size to hold patterns!!

Here is the Short Pleated Apron
I gave this as a gift to my sister. She had us over for Easter dinner, her first dinner party so I made her an apron for the occassion.

I also used up some more Amy Butler fabric on this tote bag pattern from Burda 8112.

The tote is actually much bigger than I expected. Guess I should have looked at the finished measurements! It will be nice to take to the farmer's market this summer. My kitty, Samantha, sure does like it! I also finished the knitting needle holder from McCalls 4728.

Of course, I have several more projects in the works....stay tuned!!

It's COLD outside

2007-02-04T12:43:00.000-06:00

I wish this cold weather would let up. I'm tired of it!! Here's a picture from a snow we had about 2 weeks ago. It hasn't been warm enough to melt it all away yet. The plus side to staying in is I've finished some projects. The knitting needle holder, apron and pajama pants are done. I even finished knitting a scarf I started 2 years ago! I'll post picures soon, when my photographer's assistant is available to help me :)!

Project Inventory

2007-01-07T12:39:00.000-06:00

I think I am becoming an "accumulator". I have many more projects/fabric than I have time. A quick tour of my list of to-do's include:

Valentine's Day cards to be made. Yes, I learned my lesson from Christmas cards. I am (A) starting early and (B) making fewer - only immediate family members will get cards.

My local fabric store just got in the new Heather Bailey line of fabrics for Free Spirit named "Freshcut". I got a gift certificate for Christmas and promptly used most of it up buying fabric for:

This great stripe/pattern combination to be made into pajama/lounge type pants. I'll use the stripe for the main part, and the pattern for the cuffs and possibly some detail around the waistband.

Apron - love the retro colors and bubble paisley. I plan on using the pattern for an apron in Amy Butler's In Stitches book.

I really liked this patterned fabric, so I picked it up with no particular project in mind. When I got home I remembered I had a pattern to make a knitting needle holder I wanted to try so I could get my knitting stash organized (a whole other project list there!!

Those are just some of my recent acquisitions. Older projects languishing include:

A dress for an event I have in February. I picked up Vogue 8313, thought it would be a perfect "little black dress". We'll see... So far most of my sewing has been simple bags, home dec projects, etc. This will be my first garment I'll wear in public. I picked out a black crepe for the body, and black georgette for the contrast top. I've never sewn with a sheer before, but I've been reading up on sewing the seams/hem so we'll see.

I also have a stack of beautiful wool fabrics I'd like to try making a Chanel-style jacket out of. The January issue of Threads magazine has inspired me to try it out.

Christmas Dinner

2006-12-30T07:57:00.000-06:00

I had meant to post this earlier, but things got crazy at work last week and I had to cut my vacation short to go in and deal with some issues. But, I'm off (hopefully) for the weekend and have some catching up to do.

Christmas Day my mom, stepdad, sister and her fiancee came over for dinner with my husband and I. We had a great time and everyone loved the food. The table settings were pretty simple, it looks plain in the photograps, but the placemats were a real pretty ruby red sheer fabric over a shiny satin. I got them on clearance at Pier 1 last year.

I tried to keep the cooking simple. Got a ham from the Honeybaked Ham company, so all I had to do was make sides.

Menu

Honeybaked Ham
Twice-Baked Potato Boats
Green Beans with caramelized shallots
Rolls
Chocolate Ganache Tart

Dessert was by far the best part. I got the recipe out of Every Day Food by Martha Stewart, November 2005 issue. Here's a shot of the finished product:

All in all, a good day was had!

The best thing a girl can find under the tree...

2006-12-25T21:13:00.000-06:00

Is a blue Tiffany box... My sweetie gave me a beautiful heart necklace for Christmas, what a surprise!!

Christmas Kitty

2006-12-17T22:08:00.000-06:00

Had to share this too-cute picture of my cat Katie. She loves sitting under the Christmas tree.

Christmas Cards

2006-12-17T22:00:00.000-06:00

This year I had the bright idea of making my own holiday cards. Last summer I was down at Paper Source http://www.paper-source.com and picked up a card making kit. I sent a few out and everyone loved them. I decided to keep up the creativity and made a few cards here and there and thought "Hey - why not do this for Christmas". Well, making one or two of a card is fine, but 30? Whew, I'm glad I'm done. They were pretty simple, just time consuming, I cut out large circles, used my sewing machine and some silver thread to sew a design on, then used an eyelet to make it look like an ornament. On the inside I stamped a sentiment in silver, and I tried to emboss it, but I could not get the embossing powder to raise. It just kept brushing off. So, I cancelled the embossing and went with it. It's a little faint on the inside, but still readable. Got them mailed off on Saturday. If I make cards again next year, perhaps I should get an earlier start.

2006-10-15T18:15:00.000-05:00

First attempt at posting a picture...
And I have links!!

Sunday Afternoon Thoughts

2006-10-15T17:56:00.000-05:00

I decided to start a blog because I was so inspired by all the other crafty folks out there and their creative projects. When I figure out how to edit links, I'll add some of my favorites.

I haven't decided what the focus of my blog will be. For now, it will be my random thoughts, ideas, projects, etc. I've dabbled in all sorts of crafty endeavors, you could say I'm a mile wide and an inch deep. I'd like to expand past my scarf knitting and tote bag sewing into knitting and sewing garments. I've got a ton of photos I'd like to do something with as well as some bead projects I've picked up. I seem to have a short attention span and don't stay with one theme for very long.

For now, until I get some of the technical things figured out (how to post pictures) this blog will probably be pretty boring. As with anything, it will take me some time to get a plan and rhythm going.

First Post

2006-10-09T16:18:00.000-05:00

Trying out this blogger stuff....