Showing Off

Pretty often I find myself entering contests on different blogs I follow. Well, a few weeks ago I actually won!!

Rosie, from The Fabric Shopper, was featuring an Etsy seller and a giveaway. Material Gal was offering Christmas fabric and I was the lucky winner of 3 yards of Riley Blake's Be Merry Christmas collection!! Here's a quick peak at my winnings...

I'm planning to make new stockings for the lot of us. Completed pictures to follow in, well who am I kidding, about a month. In the meantime, if anyone is looking for a great place to make fabric purchases online, Stephanie has a wonderful selection so pop over and check her out! Thank you again, Material Gal!!

Next up, as promised to K, here's the homemade crocheted coat that I picked up for the Niblet at this year's Woolly Worm Festival. A woman and her mother from the area work together to create each and every coat they sell. There were so many choices there that were so beautiful, but this one called to me. The Niblet looks really great in it...like a tiny little autumn elf!

And here are some pictures to enjoy from our recent vacation to the mountains of Virginia.

Here's the Niblet and her Papa having a bit of fun at our waterfall. (Ours, not because we have any amount of money invested in it, but simply because we stop there every year and have sort of staked our flag of claim over it.) A is decked out for the Sleepy Hollow party we attended that evening. I whipped up that cutesy little dress before we left last week from Tanya's tute on her blog, Trey and Lucy. Her instructions were so simple to follow and I literally stitched it together in the 30 minutes it took A to nap!!

Views from Clinch Mountain. In the past we've taken picnics up there and were hoping to again this year with A, but unfortuantely it was a little too damp to sit with the tiny one outside for too long.

So instead we admired the scenery, checked out an old house that Chris lived in while working on a grouse project several years ago and briefly considered searching for the new owner, buying up the place and moving our new little family into this tiny town looking out over the gorgeous Virginia mountains.

But alas, we're back home and I'm back at work. This'll have to do for now...

The Perfect Place for a Surprise

On the start of vacation (to our favorite place we come back to every year!) the Niblet turned 8 months old. Yesterday, she started copying noises that we make...and tonight?!

Tonight she started CRAWLING!!!

My goodness. It's been a busy weekend! All this has taken a toll on the Niblet too though. She's been a bit fussy today and we're thinking that probably she's ready to get back home to our own beds and our routine.

Who can blame her? There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed.

On our way... (finally updated)

Heading to the mountains now to enjoy the Woolly Worm Festival and possibly see a few snow showers...

Pictures and update of our time to follow!

......................................................................

Well, it was indeed a cold ride up the mountain. Actually, the ride up the mountain was pleasant...we were in the car, with heat and NPR's Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me! So it was very nice.

But the weather was cold. And snowy. But we didn't let that stop us. Oh no! We went to see woolly worms, by George, and that's what we did!!

I couldn't believe the turn out, even with the cold and snow flurries. I was briefly feeling like a bad mother for taking my Niblet out, but my mind was quickly put to rest when we ran into a friend from the local coffee shop who made rather short work of my concerns:

Me: Christa, am I bad and selfish for bringing her out? I mean, she seems to be enjoying herself. (Insert one Niblet kicking and laughing at Christa and her kiddos.)

Christa: Hell no!! She's having fun. And nevermind she's warmer than you right now with you wearing her around! (Goes back to playing with the Niblet and ignoring me. Do I even exist anymore??)

I did find the vendor from last year and made good on my promise to get the baby a hand crocheted jacket with a long, pointed Zelda hood. I have a few pictures of us, but thought you'd enjoy seeing what the view looked like, snow/frost topped mountains and colorful leaves.

Sweet Autumn

Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot

I look forward to this day so very much every year. The leaves are already starting to change around here and daily now I find myself driving through a small pile of droplets on my way out of the drive. It's refreshing.

I'm so glad you're here, Autumn. You make my heart a little lighter and give me strength...

Catching Up From My Absense (Edited; Not Sure Why It Partially Published)

Here's what I've been up to...

Finally visiting friends.










Hanging out with my favorite nephew, Sebastian...and loving Arwen loving on Granny!










Finally downloading pictures so I can show off her homemade 4th of July outfit.











Spending as much time as possible here... A loves the pool and that makes me haaaaappppy! (By the way, her first swim suit is my first swim suit!! I'll have to post pics of that little antique on the tiny one - nevermind that she'd nearly naked here!)











Enjoying ice cream for the Niblet's 6 month anniversary at our favorite ice cream shop...in her homemade 6 month celebration outfit! (6 months already!? Sheesh!!!)











Making a complete outfit for A!! (the skirt is from fabric I got from Chris' grandmothers stash!)












Spending family time at the local botanical garden. Butterflies and picnics...does it get any better?!




Enjoying weather that is fine enough to spend a quiet breakfast outside early on a Saturday morning... Mmmm, sweet potato pancakes. (Chris sometimes takes a bit of pancake with his syrup)

Nursing Headaches

We hired someone new for our department in June. She left at the end of July. We are absorbing her position as a cost saving measure. Read: Her job is being rolled up into my job. So, I have been busy at work lately. Really, really busy. I have 50+ hours worth of work now to cram into a 36 hour work week. While the challenge is nice, the work load as been a bit stressful this week. Mostly, because I also (sometimes unwillingly) support the sales guy at my office. Who happens to be an idiot with financial skills so crappy that I'm not sure he could use a calculator. No, there's no doubt. I've seen him with a calculator. Determining a sell price is completely out of his reach. In fact, if I could absorb his position too my time at work might very well produce significantly less headaches.

But I digress.

So, we were just at the drug store picking up a prescription. Chris went inside while Arwen and I waited in the car. I was peacefully enjoying my daughter squeaking and sqwaking in the back seat and a little Mitch Hedburg routine on the XM when I glanced over and noticed a couple walking out of the pharmacy. They were laughing and I thought to myself that that was nice. Then the guy patted his lady on the rear. And then again. And then he put his hand down her pants. Yes, he dug into the back of her shorts and crammed his hand down there to touch her bare arse. Because, I suppose, having the onlooker witness the pat on the rump was just not enough. C'mon fella. Really?

One. What the rock?! Get a friggin' room.

Two. Are you sure she really wants your filthy hands on her bum? Who knows what you picked up and handled in the drug store! I'm not a total prude, but that's just a little too much for me. Sick people frequent the drug store, you toad. Wash your hands first! Nay, refer to One then wash your hands and proceed to do whatever you'd like to her hiney.

I hate PDA. Actually, I don't necessarily mind little kisses or some hand holding in public, but bare skin fondling is not what I want to see on my lazy Saturday afternoon. Humph.

So, here I am now. Looking in the mirror at my daughter in the back seat and praying that I'm a good enough woman to teach her better than to accept behavior like that. Maybe I am a prude, but by God I have standards at least.

Ugh. Now the aggravation and judmental attitude have given me a headache. Thanks a lot dude. Better have Chris pop back inside for some Tylenol...

As a side note, I saw a guy toss his receipt on the ground this morning after he pumped gas. I didn't tell him that he'd left his tank open. I chalked it up to Karma for littering, not my pissy mood. :)

Pull Up A Chair, Niblet

I've been thinking about the upcoming cooler seasons lately (and by lately, I mean a couple days ago). Besides trips to the mountains and our week long vacation, I look forward to baking.

Admittedly, Chris does most of the cooking. He always has. Not because I can't cook, because I can. I make a pretty mean lasagna and, while it's not the most difficult meal to prepare, I taught Chris everything he knows about getting the veggies just right in stir fry. I have a couple other specialties, but in general I can cook whatever I want. But he enjoys it too. He likes to experiment with all types of herbs and spices, while my culinary creativeness only goes so far as pure vanilla extract.

Which is one reason I love baking. I love vanilla. It makes everything better. In my opinion, of course. But getting back to my point. I'm looking forward to fall and winter because I'm starting to get the baking bug. And baking just feels right when the temperatures are cooler. Fresh, from scratch blueberry breads and pumpkin loaves. Pumpkin pecan pies (for Chris, not me), gingerbread men, peppermint candy cane cookies, almond sugar cookies... Mmmm.

Baking can get messy though. Flour tossed about here and there, egg shells, sticky spoons, butter dribbles. It's very dirty business, baking. And I don't have an apron. I've never really been a fan of them, but I made my MIL one for her birthday this year and then my SIL one right after that. And I loved both of them so I thought I should make one for myself, but put it off. For several reasons, including I've been poking around for another pattern that I liked, but I've also had several other projects that I've wanted to get to first.

I've been on quite a bit of a fabric kick lately too and have slobbered over this Laura Gunn fabric trying to come up with something I could use it for. I love it, but I haven't really been making things for myself and I really am starting to feel guilty about the heaping pile of cloth I've been squirreling away lately. Then I came across this giveaway on The Fabric Shopper recently and my notion for making an apron for myself was rekindled. I mean, how awesome is this?




I love those lantern pods and I think it looks perfect on that apron. And the style of the apron? The gathers in the bust and tie around the waist?! Love it!!

Of course when I think of getting in the kitchen for some seasonal baking I think about having my Niblet with me, enhancing my experience and doubling the mess on the counter tops. I remember when my brothers were smaller, seeing them dragging a chair up to the counter to help Momma cook made me smile. It'll be awesome to have my sweet one in the kitchen with me...my own little helper!

So naturally I had to find some rockin' fabric to make Arwen her very own Niblet sized apron. (K, I know, I know...I'll blame this purchase on you. hehe) Here's what I picked up from Matatabi. She has some really amazing Japanese fabrics; here are the two I got. What do you think?

(Photos courtesy of Matatabi)