Last Minute Finishes

I did manage to finish a few knitting projects in time for Christmas this year!

This fuzzy green and white scarf made me think of Ireland...

...so it went to a work friend who made her dream trip to Ireland this year!

Knit during Bears football games at Bobby G's Chicago Eatery...

...this dishcloth was an impromptu Christmas gift to Bobby's daughter!

Kristine's been hinting that she wants a Weasley sweater...

...so I figured out how to make one for her tea mug!

Best Etsy Finds of 2012

Most of my lovely readers know that my BFF Heather lives across the country in California. I found the perfect present for her on Etsy a few months back and ordered it just in time for Christmas!

All incoming boxes are subject to kitty inspection...

Aren't these just too sweet?

Goodbye, Georgia mug, and safe journey to California!

Check out more cute stuff from GreySkiesBlue on Etsy!

The other awesome find on Etsy this past year--a baby black hole (with birth certificate) that shipped across the pond from the UK!

Perfect to cheer up my Georgia BFF after eye surgery!

Holiday Santa-tizer

Last year I got all ambitious for my co-worker's Christmas gifts.  This year... not so much.  But I had to be at least a little bit crafty, so with the inspiration of the "Hand Stanta-tizer" idea found through Pinterest, I came up with my own low-budget gift that kept the wonderfully lame Santa pun.

This is an oddly appropriate gift for work right now since the crud has been going around campus for the past few weeks!

Happy Turkey Day!

May your stuffing be tasty.

May your turkey be plump.

May your potatoes and gravy

Have never a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off of your thighs!

One More Week!

Home Stretch!

Even though I haven't been posting the Thanksgiving countdown regularly with fun holiday projects and photos like I did last year, the countdown has been happening since 50 days out on my office door.  I can't believe this is only my third Turkey Day post this year!  I blame it on the whirlwind month of October (due mostly to work...)  But we've made it to the home stretch--only 10 days till turkey feasting and a much-needed break from work!

Being Thankful

It's almost Thanksgiving time again!  The decorations went up at home this past weekend, and I've been counting down since October...

My Top 10 Reasons to be Thankful

1. My wonderful husband who loves me and supports me unconditionally (even when my logic doesn't make sense to him)
2. The strong faith Dave and I share and our wonderful church community
3. Our parents who are great models for us with their combined 70+ years of marriage
4. The proximity of our siblings and their families so we can get together regularly
5. Two best friends who would do anything for me and who have helped me through life's up and downs
6. Jobs that allow us to live relatively debt free and to save for our future
7. A home of our own with a brand new roof to keep us warm and dry (even though the HOA sometimes drives me crazy)
8. Plenty of food in the pantry and clothes in our closet
9. Sweet Skeeter who can make everything better by curling up in my lap and purring
10. All of the small things that make me smile: the yarn aisle at the hobby store, cheesecake, Sharpies and Post-its, a hot cup of tea, adorable baby animals, ice cream, etc.

I am truly blessed!

Halloween Awesomeness

Who needs to search Pinterest for ideas at Halloween when Julie throws the awesomest parties with the coolest treats and the best decorations?  All bow down to the Queen of Themed Parties!

The tacos are looking at you...

Sweet little cheeseball pumpkins!

The cupcakes had all been stabbed

Mini-Mounds bugs are too cute, but I'll leave the coconut for others

Peanut butter eyeballs... I could have eaten these all night!

Cute ornaments on her Halloween tree

A mummy walking a spider?  Adorable!

All Natural Yarn

Pretty Planner

Last year, by BFF sent me a gift certificate to order myself a pretty personalized planner for Christmas. This year I debated about the expense, but finally decided that if it made me happy, it was worth it to order another Erin Condren notebook planner.  I eagerly watched the package's progress via FedEx and was super excited to find it on my doorstep last Friday!

New colors this year, but the same cute box!

The design is called "Peacock" in green and teal

By the end of the night, all birthdays and anniversaries had been added

It's not big enough to curl up and nap *kitty pout*

Belated Flat-Fold Reveal

It's been how long since I posted?  And how many posts do I have floating around in my head?  All I can say is life is crazy busy, and when I get home, the computer usually stays off.

Anyway, back at the end of September, the other stitching Karen gathered a few of the local stitchers together for a flat-fold class.  What is a flat fold?  It's a way of framing cross stitch.  By the way, the piece I framed was lovingly stitched for me by HistoryDiva a few years back.

All of the pieces waiting to be assembled

A line-up of flat-folds from our class

The Knit Wit is temporarily at home on the mantle, next to a stack of
almost finished knit projects I need to keep out of reach of kitty paws...

The Countdown Returns

The Tomato Cafe & Tea Room

Dave and I just got back from a week-long beach vacation in Florida. Using the wonderful TeaMap Directory, I located a tea shop in Havana, about an hour north of our final destination.  We made a late afternoon stop at The Tomato Cafe & Tea Room on the drive down.  Dave tried a Gingerbread Creme black tea, and I ordered the Snickerdoodle black tea.

The verdict: Dave liked his tea, and I really wanted to like mine, too.  It smelled wonderful, but it tasted funny.  I realized the next day that the problem was the Florida tap water when I brewed one of my regular teas for breakfast and couldn't force myself to finish it.  Unfortunately, the Tomato Cafe didn't seem to have tea for sale loose-leaf or in teabags.  This probably won't be a stop on future road trips unless I bring bottled water for them to use for my tea, and sadly this has confirmed that I am a tap water snob...

Summer Stitching

Finishing the Sewing Room has allowed me to start a new
cross stitch project.  What is it?  Wait and see...

Using a double-strand of red chenille yarn makes a nice winter scarf

Finished in August: A fuchsia chenille scarf and a
child's fringed scarf in some purple remnants from previous projects

Knitting patterns: Crushed-Velvet Scarf from Simple 1-2-3 Knitting Scarves (red scarf), Easy Scarf in Faggot Stitch (fuchsia scarf), and I honestly don't remember the pattern for the purple remnant scarf because I frogged it so many times--I was trying to make a full-sized scarf from the remnant yarn, but I finally gave up, added a fringe, and dubbed it a "princess scarf" for some lucky little girl...

Pinspiration at Work

Surprise task of the day at work: Goodie bags!  Seriously, I spent half of my day creating goodie bags for the faculty and staff members who participated in the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program.  This program also happens to be one of my pet projects at work... check out the GOAL website for more info on this awesome tax credit program that provides scholarship funds for private schools in Georgia!

And back to the project of the day...

I started with a Pinterest search for ideas.  I've been fascinated with the idea of a gift bag topper since I pinned a Thanksgiving cookie bag topper last fall.  Coworker Sheryl used her mad computer skills to create our own "Thank you for participating!" topper, and I went shopping at lunch for the goodies and the baggies.  Add some temporary tattoos for school spirit and a some fluff for decoration (seriously, I felt like Rowan Atkinson in the gift wrapping scene from Love Actually for that last bit), and they were ready to be topped off and put on display!

Nom noms for the goodie bags and the pre-cut toppers

Now I know why I stockpile empty file folder boxes!

Scavenged items from around the workplace to complete the bags...

After bonding with the paper cutter, it's the stapler's turn

Coworker Mary decorated the baskets for displaying the finished baggies

A Little Help

Skeeter was very curious about my stash of buttons when I pulled it out last weekend to choose buttons to finish off a couple bibs I knit a while back.

I like this one... no, this one... wait...

Comfy!  How about all of these buttons are mine?

Seriously, don't you have friends with real children who can model?

The Roswell Teahouse

Earlier this month, I discovered TeaMap, an online tea room directory (with an app to match!)  Taking advantage of this new resource, I located The Roswell Teahouse en route to the restaurant where we were meeting Dave's family for dinner.  We arrived shortly before closing, and while I opted to try the iced Vanilla Peach tea, Dave ordered a pot of the Scottish Carmel Puerh.  We both liked his tea, and mine would have been more wonderful if it had been sweetened prior to being iced (unsweet tea, bleh).

The verdict: The price tag for hot brewed teas are a bit steep (around $5 for a one-person pot) compared to other tea shops I've visited, and Dave found the Scottish Carmel Puerh at ZenTea last weekend.  While I would not object to going back to Roswell to sample some of the other teas from their menu, I'm not going to go out of my way for a special trip.

Another Finish

Two cross stitch finishes back-to-back?

Are pigs flying?

Do the Cubs have a chance of winning the World Series?

Were the Mayans right about 2012? 

Naked hedgehog (aka before backstitch)

Look at that cute little face! 

Can you spot the difference?