Embroidery

Last week, I tried embroidering free-hand in preparation for my newest godson's baptism. My years of cross stitching made it fairly easy to back stitch Steven's name onto a bib I purchased at Wally World.  I wrote his name on a scrap of paper, and then traced it onto the bib while holding it up to a window (aka poor person's light box).  If I had to do it again, I'd probably use three or four strands of embroidery floss instead of just two to make the letters thicker, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Not bad for my first attempt at embroidery!

My godson Steven, baptized August 8, 2015

Recent Knit Gifts

I missed my friend's baby shower at the beginning of February and didn't want to post the knit set for Baby Nathaniel until I had gifted it.  His parents are both teachers, so the school bus button is adorably appropriate.

Bib and burpcloth set in Sugar 'n Cream "Aquarius Ombre"

The dishcloths were my project during the Olympics.  My buddy Kristine had been not so subtly hinting that she wanted dishcloths, she wanted them bigger than the ones I normally make, and she wanted them to be white. So I cast on 50 stitches (instead of my normal 40) in the closest-to-white cotton yarn I owned, and I knit a pair of box stitch dishcloths for her. Maybe now she'll stop bothering me about the scarf and the hat she wants me to knit...

Large dishcloths in Sugar 'n Cream "Summer Prints"

Finished and gifted to Kristine at IHOP stitch night!

September Blessings

Is it just me, or did September fly by?  It seems like summer never really got here before the temperature started cooling down, and before I knew it, it was October!  Before I think about everything going on this month, I wanted to take some time to think about all the ways Dave and I were blessed in September.

• Dave is officially a Big Blue employee!  Even though he was eligible for benefits right away, he has to work six months to earn vacation time.  Boo...
• I am working again!  A part-time job at a law firm in Buckhead fell into my lap at just the right time.  I enjoy the work because I'm getting paid to organize files, and it's only through the end of the year when their office moves.
• We had an awesome housewarming with lots of friends and family stopping by!  The new place is definitely better for entertaining (even if it is only temporary lodging till we're ready to buy a house out here).
• My sister's bachelorette party was a smashing success.  If you want to know more about it, Mary and Sarah both posted on their blogs.
• I had a successful first tasting party for Tastefully Simple!  Now that I've gotten the first one done to know how it goes, I can work on refining my presentation for future parties.  It's a challenge keep up with TS, the chores at home, and the PT job, but I'm enjoying it so far.

Never thought I'd work at a big building in Atlanta...

May Blessings

Yes, I'm running a week late on this post for May.  I've kinda been busy getting the house ready to sell, so without further ado, here are the blessings I'm counting from last month:

• Mother's Day brunch hosted by my sister Mary and her fiance Paul with lots of enjoyable conversation on the back porch on a beautiful afternoon (plus entertainment provided by one particularly adorable dachshund and her pink racquetball)
• My last day of work (May 17) and the beginning of voluntary unemployment, which for the first two weeks consisted of back-breaking work like painting, yardwork, packing, moving boxes into storage, and cleaning just about everything in our house.
• Girls' Night Out at the Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta and lots of fun comments about taking Hot Hamlet home in our trunk...
• A pleasant birthday afternoon spent stitching with the ladies at PINS and a birthday date night with my husband to see Star Trek: Into Darkness in 3D on the IMAX screen.  Yes, I am not ashamed to be a Star Trek fan!
• Brunch with my in-laws at Ray's on the River (my first time there) to celebrate the May birthdays of me and my SIL--any excuse to get together with family and to see our three adorable nieces!

Counting My April Blessings

I've learned that I can't keep up with a weekly blog post, so let's try counting my blessings monthly!

• Between the book club for In the Sanctuary of Outcasts, dinner at Spice Brick Oven Kitchen with college friends, and lunch at Mykonos Taverna with old book club friends, I had a lot of great "girls only" time!
• I spent a lot of quality time with my husband as well with a week-long trip to Tennessee, no more overtime at work every night, and only one Sunday working from home.  I've also gotten him addicted to Castle in time for the season finale in May *evil grin*
• Unfortunately, we've learned that Dave's new office is not far enough away to be considered a "hardship," which means we will not be able to rent out the townhouse if it doesn't sell.  The bright side is that home improvements are coming along slowly but surely (and within budget), and our realtor is optimistic that we may be able to sell for more than our appraisal value.
• Less than a month left of work for me!  May 17th is my last day, and then I become full-time housewife with the mission of getting our house on the market and sold as quickly as possible.  After four years working at the same school, I'm ready to graduate!
• After too many months of procrastination, I took my "To Finish" bag of knits to our monthly PINS group and wove in the ends of almost a dozen projects.  Now to motivate myself to hand wash them all...

Counting My Blessings #7

Yes, I realize it's been three weeks since I last posted.  I have no better excuse than I am a slacker, but I'm still thankful for all the blessings so far this month!

• With all of the chaos up in Boston following the bombings at the marathon earlier this week, I'm praying that the extended families of my BIL Robert and soon-to-be BIL Paul up in Boston are okay and thanking God that my family is safe and sound
• A relaxing week of vacation at a Bed & Breakfast in Gatlinburg spoiled me with no work, no chores, and lots of together time with my husband!
• A Friday night out with the girls last week to catch up with friends I haven't seen in a while
• Continued progress on getting the house ready to sell--the ceiling fans have now been swapped out, there's an epic case of spackle spots throughout the house (still motivating myself to prime and paint), and the new kitchen faucet is in the mail
• A resurgence of my former band geek thanks to the band director where I work asking faculty and staff to volunteer to play for the encore song at the spring concert next week; I thought it would be a fun way to end my (almost) four years as Donor Relations Coordinator before we move this summer

 

Green Acres Middle School Charger Band

Counting My Blessings #4

1. Last weekend was an Alpha Gamma Delta reunion for our Theta Delta chapter's 30th Anniversary.  It was a great to catch up, meet new sisters, and relive college memories.
2. Dave and I are done with our taxes, and we're getting refunds this year (which will probably go to pay moving costs)
3. My sister's fiance started a new job this week, and a good friend's husband starts his new job next week.  Both have been unsuccessfully job searching for months, so this is wonderful news!
4. Habemus Papam!  Pope Francis is the first Pope from our hemisphere and the first Jesuit to be Bishop of Rome.  I look forward to seeing how he guides and inspires the Church during his pontificate.
5. We finally know where we're moving this summer!  Now that Dave's job has decided where their office is going, hopefully they'll narrow down when we're moving so we know when to put the house on the market...

Counting My Blessings #2

This week has been a little crazy, but it's helped to be counting my blessings throughout the week to try to narrow down what will make the cut for the blog!

1. Dave didn't have to work last weekend (yipee!) because we had a family birthday party to attend for two of our nieces.  It was great to see everyone on his side of the family and to watch the girls having fun with their cousins.
2. Sunday was a monthly lunch date of a few friends from a now defunct book group (apparently we're a foodie group now).  There's nothing quite like stuffing yourself full of garlic knots and then laughing till your stomach hurts.
3. My hair appointment this week was long overdue.  It feels so good to have the cute Diane Lane haircut again!
4. Last night I attended the Thursday night cross stitch group for the first time in a few weeks.  My rear end was numb after a couple hours in those not-so-comfortable IHOP chairs, but it was nice to work on my project again.
5. My best friend's little girl turns 3 years old today!  It's hard living on the opposite side of the country, but through Facebook and text pictures, I'm still able to watch her grow up.  Happy birthday, Faith!

Aimee tries to make herself comfortable before
our lunch at Provino's.

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!

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!

Summer Baby Knits

It's about time I finished something! This morning I wove in the final ends on this bib and burp cloth set, and tonight I'll give it to the 9-month-pregnant mother (yes, it should have been gifted a month or two ago...)  The yarns of choice are Sugar'n Cream's "Over the Rainbow" and "Playtime" knit in stripes since they're very complimentary variegated colors.  And I couldn't resist the monkey-themed girls onesies to go with the hand knit items.

Absolutely *love* the button!

Early Birthday

It's a few days early, but I wanted to wish HistoryDiva a fantabulous birthday! I hope you have an awesome day (despite that horrible thing called WORK).  If I can figure out who made this cake, there will be one delivered to your doorstep next Tuesday...

Tastefully Simple

My friend Robin recently started as a Tastefully Simple consultant, and I hosted a party two weeks ago to help her get started.  The food (and cocktail-in-a-bucket mixes) I ordered arrived on Friday, and everything is awesome so far.  If you want to judge for yourself, you can order from her TS website.  The fall catalog is coming out on September 1st, and there are supposed to be some incredible items in it!

My sisters and my niece have fun with Smooshees before the party

The "First Order from My Party" award goes to Carrie!

Miss Skeeter inspects my order when it arrives...

A double batch of lemon cookies from the Lotsa Lemon Bar mix!

Noel's Brownies

Back before Easter, I found a random recipe online for Peep-Stuffed Brownies. In honor of Noel, I baked these today for book club and dusted them with red, yellow, and green sugar (Alpha Gamma Delta colors).

Cutting Peeps in half is harder than it sounds!

I molested the Peeps for the yellow sugar dusting...

Not as pretty as the picture from the recipe, but I'm sure they'll taste good!

Last Shower?

I was so excited to be finished almost three weeks in advance with knitting this baby set in "Country Side Ombre" by Sugar'n Cream.  I even had it hand washed and ready for the last (hopefully) baby shower of the year...

Then I noticed that the bib was as big as the burp cloth...

I realized I had used the wrong size needles (left is correct size)

But fortunately I finished up the new bib last night and had time to wash it!

Now it's off to the shower for Baby Boy DePetro!

Seuss Shower

I'm a bit delayed in posting, but here are pics from the co-ed Dr. Seuss baby shower earlier this month.  The most interesting part about the co-ed shower was how quickly the present-opening process can be with a guy.  It's also great when the dad-to-be likes to try on baby bibs, and his brothers are chucking packages of baby diapers across the room!

The last of the baby showers gifts (at least till the end of April)

  Finished with an adorable teddy bear button from Mom's stash

The coolest fishbowl cupcakes

A friend and her mother's "cake" creation

Baby Girl Shower

It's time for the next baby shower!  Baby Stubbs' nursery colors are lavender and tan, and my mother actually found a cotton yarn with a shade of both in the variegation (called "Bronze Blue").  I was deliberating between two purple buttons yesterday, but my BFF and I agreed that the purple hippo was too cute to pass up!

 

Speaking of baby girls, Dave and I have a beautiful new niece, Claire!  She was born early Thursday morning, and mama and baby went home yesterday.  If you're a semi-regular follower, you'll remember the set I knit for Claire in the fall.

Button Dilemma

My task for last night was to wash the bib and burpcloth sets for the next two baby showers--I'm very proud that I had enough time to actually wash them before I gave them away!

The only thing left to do is sew a button on each of the bibs, but first I have to choose the buttons.  Baby Girl Stubbs' set will be either a lavender heart or a purple hippo, and I'm leaning toward the cute randomness of the hippo.  Baby Washburn's set has so many colors, I can't choose between the dog, teddy bear, umbrella, happy face, or just a plain purplish-blue button.  They are not finding out the gender, and the nursery is decorated with the Dr. Seuss ABC set from Babies R Us.  Since the mom-to-be is Dave's friend, I may make him choose!

It Fits!

Lil' Miss Faith

My BFF sent me a picture yesterday of her daughter modeling one of the bibs I knit for her.  I've been knitting these for almost four years, and it's good to see that they actually fit!  You may remember posts of these bibs (and the matching burp cloths) from last year around this time...