all about....

Hello, Saturday. Sunny, cold, eight inches of snow on the ground, cookies for my breakfast, Saturday.
Brian mentioned that he made these, and the next thing you know, I was too.  Another slice and bake...love that.  My kids think the best part is when they bite into a chip.  Clearly I did not put enough chips in them.  Also, my dough was a little too crumbly.  I ended up adding 13 tablespoons of butter instead of 11.
I also had a wonderful surprise last month that I have been meaning to mention.  Carolynn sent a box filled with the most amazing things. Homemade cookies in a vintage tin, homemade soaps (and the supplies to make our own felted soap), a knit washcloth, scrubbies that I LOVE and stitch markers.  All made by her.  Along with a signed Stephanie Pearl-McPhee book and some lovely buttons.  Thank you so much Carolynn!
Can you believe tomorrow is February 1st?! 
Enjoy your weekend, everyone.

snow day and a yarn basket

We are currently having a snow day. But not for the good snow.  Freezing rain...not even good for sledding.
Maybe you are, also.  And perhaps looking for something to do with your kids. Libby did this over the weekend with a friend, and they loved it. The idea came from the book Rosie O'Donnell's Crafty.U. Most of you probably have the three basic items in your home.  Yarn (yes!) glue (maybe) balloon (hopefully).
The older kids can actually do everything. Be forewarned though, it is a little messy. 
Inflate the balloon to the size of your liking. Place it on a bowl.  Cut strands of yarn. Oh, about 8-10 inches long.  (A worsted weight probably works best.  This yarn was variegated.)  Soak the yarn in a bowl of white glue. Place the yarn onto the balloon layering the pieces and leaving the bottom of the balloon bare.
And the hardest part?  Waiting for it to dry.  It actually took about 48 hours until it was hard enough to pop the balloon.  (Remember, we keep our home pretty cold.)
And, voila!  Something to hold Libby's headbands.  Just what we were looking for!  :)
Enjoy your day! 

on my needles

I mentioned a while ago that I started something for myself.
It is the Moorland Honeycomb cardigan from Classic Elite.  I have changed the pattern a bit.  I didn't feel like doing the 1x1 rib for 6" at the beginning, so I changed it to a 1" garter edge.  I am also going to make the neckline a little higher.  
Have you ever worked on something and thought that it was too small? Yep.  Me too.  I will be shocked if this thing fits me.
However, I started the right front.  And if nothing else, my sister will inherit another sweater.
Have a fantastic weekend!!!

chunky knit beanie

knitting

Guess what one big ball of Cascade Magnum will get you?
Two chunky knit beanies!  A hat that looks a little like Kirsten's Thorpe hat, minus the ear flaps, Erin's Rose Hill, minus the bobbles, Sarah's garter brim hat, only chunkier, and one that Keana made, the Banana Republic hat, minus the flap and button. A really quick knit to make you feel like you accomplished something.  I know a lot of you could wing this pattern, but I wrote it down to make it easy.
Yarn: Cascade Magnum.  Sarah, at Knot another Hat sells this, and her shipping time is amazing!
Needles: size US 15
The pattern will be over in the side bar, too.  
So, go ahead.  Get yourself some chunky yarn, and get knitting.  Your head will be so happy.
Have a fabulous Wednesday.

stripes and plaids

My current favorite scarf from Boden.  I am patiently awaiting my spring '09 catalog.  My sister thinks everything in there is cute.
A photo taken in November, wearing my plaid coat, that I don't wear nearly enough.  Plaid is good.  Especially on flannel pajama pants.
Enjoy your weekend.  Stay warm.
Next week, knitting.

pink

The color pink. There is so much pink located in one room, I didn't know where to begin and where to end.
So I asked the little girl, who owns all the pink, to pick her favorite thing in the room.

-"Don't count every hour in the day, make every hour in the day count." 
-anon   
Tomorrow, plaids and/or stripes.

yellow

The color yellow.  It caught my eye all day today.  Everywhere I looked, there it was.  I must have taken, well, I am embarrassed to say how many photos I took today.  Lets just say I took a lot of yellow photos.
We have a yellow bathroom.  Yellow tile walls and a yellow tile floor.  And two other rooms are painted yellow.
You can guess whose room this is.  Funny, she would love to paint it purple.
I think it is the happiest crayon in the crayon box.

Tomorrow, pink.

purple

The color purple. I had no idea how hard it would be to spot in our home. Libby's sigg bottle is purple. But that was in her lunch box, at school. I spotted a purple comb and a purple brush.  But didn't feel like photographing those.  And a purple ribbon from a swim meet.  But that was it.  And then I walked by my desk.  And there sat a plum colored pair of toast waiting to be given to a friend.

Pattern: toast
Yarn:  One ball Classic elite, charmed, heathered plum.   A super nice yarn, for a super great friend.

Tomorrow, yellow.

time well spent

Have you tried any of the Martha Stewart Collection available at Macy's?  Well, it just so happens that she has a cast iron pot perfect for making winter meals.  Perfect for making bread.  And the perfect thing to use your gift card on from a Christmas gift.  
I have seen a lot of bread floating around out there.  Sarah made some.  Erin made some.  And Molly made one that I have been wanting to try.  Molly even did it without a cast iron pot.  
Since I have never tried this before, and really wanted it to turn out, I followed the directions to a T.  And I treated it like a baby.  Seriously.
I slept with it next to our bed.  Because the directions say to let it rise in a 70˚ room.  Well, our downstairs is colder than that. (Much colder.) And since heat rises, I decided to bring it upstairs, with specific instructions to the kids not to jump on the dough.
The dough has to sit for 12-18 hours. After that amount of time, you punch it down, form it into a ball, and it looks like that.  Up there. (That whole timing thing always gets me.  But, starting it at 4:00 on a Saturday afternoon, seemed to be great.  I didn't touch it again until noon the next day. 20 hours?  Oh, I know, but things happen and that was the earliest I could get back to it. It was ready for dinner on Sunday night. Seems like a long time to wait for a loaf of bread, huh?  Really, you do little while waiting.  I promise.)
I resisted the urge to swaddle, and just folded the towel back over the top.  And let it sit for 2 hours.  
Popped it into the pot and then into the oven. When I removed the lid it looked like that.  Just like the recipe said it would.  You should try it.  You won't be sorry.  Just sorry you didn't have more.

Oh, and Leya is hosting color week.  Today's color is/was blue.  So grab your camera and try to find a little color in your week.  Tomorrow, purple.

enjoy your grind

I have been wanting to get to this space all week.  But to tell you the truth, I don't have much to say.  I've just been busy doing what I do.  Finding room for everything new.  Trying to get rid of a bunch of old.......without anyone noticing.   I've been baking cookies and blaring music. Cleaning closets and doing laundry.  Playing referee, psychologist and chauffeur.  Making meals and making coffee.  The daily grind is all good.  
I did start a new project early this week; something for myself.  

Is it too late to wish everyone a happy new year?  I think not.
Happy New Year........happy weekend!