martha stewart crafts

I've been "with" Martha since my freshman year of college. I was hot glue gunning pinecones to Styrofoam balls in my dorm room instead of hitting the parties. I was dreaming of the day I'd have huge pottery batter bowls to fill with ornaments. I wanted to grow my own hydrangeas and be surrounded by cinnamon Chow Chows. Martha was all about the projects that hardly anyone could do -and I loved it. True craft porn. ahhh.
Fast forward to today and her show has dreadful celebrities and sweepstakes and the truly gorgeous crafts and skilled cooking are on occasion. I still tivo her and can get through an hour episode in about 7 minutes.
The happy antidote to this complaining is the repackaged Martha Stewart Crafts show that just debuted on DIY network. All of those lovely crafts her art school editors have come up with, shown back to back every day. It's fantastic! I don't mind a bit that these are all snippets from past shows - it's like seeing an old movie over again. Let's make stuff!

it's so over

The rain is finally over. I haven't blogged in days and I think I have the rain to blame. I love the rain - I live for the rain - I am a Portlander but damm - four days of rain? It zapped me from the desire to blog. I can only thank Marfie over and over for being my soul sister and getting up at 6am to pound out a workout while drenching wet. We deserve some cocktails!
Kecia at A Year of Simple Living said I make the ordinary extraordinary on my blog. I have to admit that the past few days have just been ordinary with no zeal for the extraordinary. It's all about keeping afloat right now - having my bed made before I leave for work, putting away 8 loads of laundry, getting dinner done by 6pm. I just couldn't make it extraordinary.
I think I am almost on top of things. If I can just get those camera batteries charged before falling into bed tonight . . . blogging will be back on. So many firsts for Little Miss this week. They must be recorded.

playing with fire

I was so excited about Little Miss sleeping all night in her crib and finally sharing her room with E that I played with fire a bit and took a picture of her in the middle of the night. Neither of them blinked - they both sleep so soundly. We figured out that Little Miss needs to be wrapped up a bit to sleep through the night - her long body was pretty packed into the bassinet so she's used to sleeping a bit scrunchy. The wide open of the crib was a bit of a start to her. But I think we've got it figured out and now just have to adjust to having our bedroom back to ourselves.

Speaking of sleeping, E woke up at 4:30am yesterday, literally yelling, "I'm so hungry!" So Tall House, Double Cup brought him downstairs for five pancakes, two slices of bacon, juice, yogurt, and apples. Later in the day, for the first time since he was 2, E actually took a nap. wow.

e's stripey hat

I am really getting into hat production - it goes so much faster than sweaters! E has a new winter coat from Land's End in bright orange and since there is only a short window of life that bright orange really looks good on a person, we are taking full advantage. E reports liking it but wasn't very interested in posing for me as he had just scored some licorice from Jonesie.
This is a super simple rectangle knit hat that's sewn up the back- all merino wool from KnitPicks. Not too scratchy but super warm.

we miss wisconsin

I told E yesterday morning that it was time to head back to Portland

- I was a bit worried it would be hard for him to leave. He said he was both sad and ready to go home - which I think we all feel. We enjoy our trip every year but after a week, we all sort of want our house, our cat, our routines. But still, we miss Wisconsin and our family.

A special thank you to E and Em's great aunt Peggy for coming up with cousin Kallie each year -it is so special to have them for the holiday.

Lots more pictures of our trip on Jonesie's blog.

little miss loves her jonesie

Little Miss is in love with Jonesie. She doesn't even mind his scratchy beard.

I have a very similar picture of me with my Papa - I am so happy we got a similar shot with Jonesie.

happy thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from E and Em!

knitting, reading, . . . . hunting?

Jonesie said it was the first time I had ever been hunting but I vaguely remember sitting on a cold, cold log in the middle of the woods circa 1984, listening to 99 Luftballons on my walkman, in an effort to bond with my dad. This attempt was much more successful.

I am deathly afraid of guns so I only hunted with my camera.

In two hours of freezing cold, we only saw the elusive but highly sought after gray squirel. So we decided to make friends with the deer instead.

Happy Thanksgiving!

snowflake hat

We are living the life in Wisconsin right now. I finished another sweet hat for Em - red and white stripes out of snowflake yarn.

She's been very cooperative in being completely bundled up within an inch of her life to protect her from the cold.

Her sweet rosy cheeks are very kissable!

don't fidget a feather

E's theater troupe performed on Friday. They did "don't fidget a feather" - a story I didn't know. E loves acting and "emoting" as his theater troupe leader says. I love seeing him totally engaged in it. Here is a video of him emoting as a cloud.

We celebrated the event by dinner out a E's favorite - Burgerville. And as we pulled up, I saw a girl carrying one of Tall House, Double Cup's Safe Sax bags (if you aren't in the know, THDC has a little side business making and selling these bags). I was so excited to see someone on the street with his bag that I hailed her down and took her picture. She was a good sport and loved the bag. I wish I had thought to take her name and contact info to send her another one.

We are off to Wisconsin to visit Nana and Jonesie. We are all hoping for snow, sleep, and sips of good wine. I'm also bringing my graph paper and the IKEA catalog with the goal of coming home with my new plans for the laundry room.

bathtime babies

E and Em took their first bath together - so very sweet. Em can't get enough of her big brother.

i try to wait but it's so hard

I try to wait until after Thanksgiving to put up all my Christmas pretties but it's so hard . . . there are so many beautiful things and this year I couldn't resist when I walked past this wreath at New Seasons. They have great contacts with individual florists and crafty-types and this has to be one of my favorite things purchased from them . . . .
I think it says "festive winter" more than "christmas" so it doesn't seem out of place. I did put the pumpkin in the yard debris so holidays aren't competing on the front porch.
Tall House, Double Cup brought all of my Christmas boxes (and boxes and more boxes) out of storage over two nights and we made a fort in the dining room so right after Thanksgiving I can dig in. But it's hard not lingering in the room to get a peek at my beauties. I was trying to convince myself that I would get a head start on decorating if I put out my seed pod creche last night but sanity ruled and I put the dinner dishes in the dishwasher instead. Not as glamorous but just as vital.

a new romance

We've been holding out on E and Moo's romance, but yesterday, a new hope was born - Little Miss and Sammy. Here is the skinny on their blossoming love . . .



Girl tries to eat boy's hand.

Boy goes in for the big kiss.

Boy congratulates himself on his smooth moves.

bath girl

I love babies after their bath - so sweet and warm and yummy smelling. Baby Em loves her bath and delights herself by flinging water out of the sink. She's such a tall drink of water that she barely can fit in the kitchen sink but I can't give it up just yet - it's fun to cook and putz around the kitchen while she's soaking in her spa.

the elusive photo

I caught both kidlets in a mellow moment and convinced E to try a photoshoot for the annual Christmas card. He wasn't thrilled but willing. We didn't get a clear winner but I usually love the outtakes even more. We have some more chances to try again before I start making up the cards. I couldn't resist the Japanese maple background. So pretty!

bend the rules

It was so fun fun fun to attend the book signing for Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing. I am a longtime fan of her blog Angry Chicken. If there is a thing like crafty porn, she provides it. Plus, what a dear to agree to a picture!

I brought my first attempt at one of the projects from her book - and she rewarded me with a sweet gift - pretty cards, postcards, and even a needle holder.
I've never been to a book signing where the author brought the fans a gift. What a dear. I wish we were best friends. But instead, I'll just make more projects from her book.

the roof is on fire

I am dying to blog about my touch with greatness last night - Amy Karol's book signing at BOLT - oh my. But no time yet to download pictures.
But I did want to blog on Grif's fantastic 5 birthday party. It was at a jumpy gym and the kids literally jumped around for over an hour. E was so sweaty and red and happy. When the kids went to the party room, E yelled, "Let's get sugared up!" (where did he get that?) and glowed with pride when Grif told him, "Evan, I will open your present up first." I had no idea how much that means in the preschool world. Then Grif said, "Don't tell me what you got me." E thought carefully and said, "It's a good thing I already forgot."
When we got in the car to head home for bed, E clutched his Spiderman party bag and pronounced, "That was the best birthday party ever."
Good job, Marci!

she rolls over AND takes bite

It was a huge day for Little Miss. First, she rolled over from front to back for the first time - all in an effort to better eat a toy . . . . and then she ate her very first real food! Here is a video of Em trying out whole grain rice cereal. I was so excited to feed her - I can't believe we are already at that stage. And while I dreaded each new step E took because it meant that he was growing up - I now know that every month, every year is the best - it only gets better and better. It's all such a treat.

martha stewart christmas part two

I love this tin stamped ornaments - super bright colors and patterns - sort of like the things you see at Mexican flea markets. I might fall for a couple of them.





I would love love love to do a complete red and straw tree some year - very Swedish and clean. Martha has a couple of straw touches this year.









While I held off on any decorations, I did get some very pretty ribbon and wrapping paper from the Yuletide line. I have dreams of gorgeously wrapped presents - my wrapping dreams don't usually meet my reality but I can hope . . . .
I took a picture of the purple line as well - it's not really my thing but someone out there must like it because she has a whole line of purple Christmas.

Martha has a new Macy's Christmas line. My next stop is the mall to check it out. Looks much nicer online than the Kmart collection. Stay tuned.

martha stewart christmas part one

The Martha Stewart Christmas collection at Kmart comes out every year right after Halloween. The stuff varies from fabulous to really bad quality - but I always love to check it out and see what's new.





I have to admit, I've wanted these faux jelly candy swags for years - they are so squishy and great looking - from a distance. Up close, they are pretty scary. I think I'll hold back for another year.




There's a new collection this year - Yuletide - which is definitely Scandinavian inspired and my new favorite.

Lots of rosemauling details - and some schmultz that you'd see at the local craft fair.
More details on the next post.