Brownie Landscape...

I do love baked goods. I have both cook books from the Magnolia Bakery. This is their brownie recipe. Six eggs and 2 sticks of butter... you bet it's good. Last time I was in New York we made an after-dinner cupcake run to Magnolia. The cupcakes were good, but the other desserts in the case looked way better. Every recipe that I have made from these books has been spectacular.



Here is Miss Elsie contemplating the brownie...

I have a problem...

I'm addicted to fabric.



I just can't pass up pretty things at the fabric store...



Now that I'm moving all my fabric to the studio, I realize just how much I have. I need to start sewing some of it up or it will not fit!

Mister Ewan's Room

The Little e's room is, for the most part, finished.



I recovered the seat of the rocking chair yesterday with a beautiful neutral linen. I am so pleased with the results. There is another piece in the house that I want to recover in linen, but I think I better pay someone to do that. It's a bit more complicated than a rocking chair cushion.



The casement windows look like they could be out of the nursery in Peter Pan. During the summer it is wonderful to have them all open. It's just like being outside.



We have a few more things to put on the walls... a clock, and some Tin Tin prints... I would also like to paint a large graphic on the blue wall. We are leaning toward a stylized thistle and lion... which is the tattoo the spouse would like to have done in honor of Mister Ewan. He already has an Elsie tattoo... but that's a post for another time.

Fixing Things

I made Miss Elsie a doll quilt for her vintage doll crib. In my effort to be thrifty and recycling-conscious, I put on this nasty lace trim.


The lace proceeded to pill and shrink eventually drawing in the edges and making the little quilt cup shaped. There is a fine line between thrifty and quality... and I crossed it. I cut off the offending lace and bound the quilt in some vintage seam binding from my stash.



Much better.... I have taken the remaining lace and put it in the yard sale bin. Someone else can have a go at it.

Little Leisure Suit

I made this suit for Ewan before we went to Hawaii. It is out of the softest tattersall plaid.



The pattern is from Ottobre Magazine. I have subscribed for almost 2 years and this is my first project.




Their designs are so cute and light years ahead of most pattern companies... Burda is excluded from that comment. The magazine comes with all the patterns all sizes printed on 3 sheets of paper stapled in the middle. It does require a bit of concentration to make sure you are tracing on the correct lines. I apparently selected the wrong hem line and the suit wound up with not much of an inseam and a lot of diaper showing.... so today I added some bands to the leg openings to create some length. This is my first little man sewing project, and I think it turned out pretty well.

Moving into the Basement... some more

I have most of my things in the basement space now.... and most of the spouse's things too..



but we have a lot of sorting and organizing to do yet...



I moved my desk down yesterday and got everything set up for my computer and assorted gadgets.



We still need to get shelves up and some type of storage cabinet for all my fabric. I really like these from IKEA, but I think they are too tall for the ceiling height. IKEA is supposed to open this summer here in Portland. I can hardly wait! Then I can just measure everything and see what fits.

Big E, Little e

It was not my intention to have two kids whose names start with the same letter, in this case, the letter "E". I'm not fond of theme naming one's offspring. We just happened to pick two names that we liked and they both, oddly enough, start with the same letter.



Elsie has been called Big E ever since she was a tiny thing... and the nickname has stuck. So she gets a big E for her door...



If the big sister is the Big E, then it's only fitting that the little brother is Little E...



.... so Ewan gets a little e for his door.



Their rooms are not finished yet and not ready for a grand unveiling, but hopefully this week I can finish them up. The pictures give you a sneak peak as to the colors, but both rooms still need pictures hung and drapes made... all the fun stuff. We are still trying to come up with a letter or letters for our bedroom. The spouse suggested "Mgmt.". It just doesn't have quite the same whimsy. Any suggestions?

Coming out of the fog...

I think I'm finally getting over this bug. I've had it for over a week! And it would figure... last night Mister Ewan decided to sleep through and I kept waking up with nightmares and stuffy nose problems. Tonight, I'm hoping for more rest.
I did run a few errands. One of which was a stop at Michael's to return some Christmas leftovers. They looked at me like I was insane returning stuff this late. But their return policy guarantees a merchandise credit with a receipt. So I took my merchandise credit and bought a few Easter goodies. I was so inspired by Mo's Easter chicks, that I picked up some myself. Although I couldn't find the white fluffy ones. I'm always behind on anything with white feathers (I missed the white feather trees at Christmas too).

I picked up these little pink chenille birds....



... and the last two plastic boxes of the glass eggs. They are so tiny and so dainty.



I had to hunt all around the yard for suitable branches. I did some yard cleaning last week and cleaned everything up. After several false starts, I decided on some weeping maple branches. They seem to be sturdy enough.



I need to get out some more of my Easter decorations, but I'm worn out for today. Maybe tomorrow.

Spring cold...

I'm terribly sick, so the blog will continue to be quiet until I'm over this. I have all sorts of things to report on, but no energy to take the pictures.... AND the sun is shining, so I feel even worse that I can't be outside taking advantage of things... I don't even have the energy to figure out the ripple blanket crochet stitch... I really, really hate being sick.

First Day of Spring!

Well... I waited a day too long to take pictures of the flowers outside. We had a pounding rain yesterday (sounded like hail on the roof) which pulverized most of the delicate flowers and knocked blossoms off the trees. So I just have a few pictures of some of the more hardy flowers...



I have finally found the macro button on my camera...



... that only took five years...


... but I'm having fun with it.



These hyacinth smell wonderful! I cut a couple for the house and they scented the entire first floor for three days.



I am taking a break from basement finishing to work away on the kids' rooms upstairs. Elsie is all moved into her new room and the little man (Mister Ewan) should be in his tonight. Yay! That means I will finally have my bedroom back after 6 months. Most of the painting is done. There is just some trim left to do... my least favorite part. I can't wait to post some pictures!

Back from Hawaii

We enjoyed a lovely ten days in Hawaii with the kids and my parents. It was so nice to warm up and see some sun. We were at the beach everyday and did lots of snorkeling and swimming and sand castle building.



This was my parent's first trip to Hawaii, so we did some of the sights (Dole pineapple plantation, the USS Arizona) but balanced it with plenty of relaxation.



Both houses had beautiful lanais from which we could watch the birds... one of my mom's favorite things.



I put some of my better photos on flickr





Now we are back in Portland and apparently spring has arrived during our absence. I will take some pictures tomorrow of all the flowering beauty. The nice weather is not supposed to last... rain is in the forecast for next week.... ALL week.

Mini Swap

Our Mini Swap package has arrived from Norway! Strikkelise and her children sent the most amazing things! Thank you so much!



Elsie spent a great deal of time learning where Norway is and looking at pictures on Strikkelise's blog.



She was thrilled to open the box and discover everything wrapped in pink!... the most perfect color in the world!



The Hello Kitty barrettes are a big hit. She immediately put them in her hair. She took them out to sleep, but has them back in again this morning.



All the goodies....


.... and some magazines for Mommy! Which I absolutely love... and may have to figure out how to purchase an international subscription. The pictures are so beautiful.

There are also these really, really cool metallic pencils. They are kind of fat, but have a triangular cross section so they don't roll off the table. Genius! When you go to the manufacturer's website, there are all kinds of triangular pencils!

Thank you, thank you!!!!

Sewing

The basement is now usable although still not organized. We are leaving for vacation to Hawaii on Monday.... Yay! It is cold and raining here in Portland with occasional sun breaks and snow.... which means it is cold and wet in general. Hawaii is warm and pleasant, so it should be a wonderful change of pace.
In preparation for the trip, I've been sewing up a few things. I made Elsie and couple of pairs of shorts and this great little top...




I need to make her one more in pink, of course. It is from the book on the left....



This is the first project I've made out of one of these books. All of the instructions are in Japanese, but the pictures have numbers that indicate the order you do things. I had to read it a few times to get everything right. The elastic length for the back was a complete guess, but it seems to work.... AND it sews up in about 20 minutes with no interruptions... about 45 minutes with a pretzel run, a glass of milk, and multiple diaper changes.

Painting, painting

In an effort to finish one project in this household, we are focusing all efforts on Miss Elsie's new room. My hands ache from holding a brush and roller. We put the final coats of paint on and did all the touching up yesterday. Today, the floor received two coats of paint.



The walls are, of course, pink with a brown floor. I will give the trim another coat of white paint tomorrow... and if it all dries in time, she will move in Tuesday night. The little lady is so excited! The room has an official cubby hole/guest quarters, large closet, and a little princess alcove. Once everything is together, I will post pictures.

I'm so anxious to get the kids' rooms squared away. Ewan will not fit in his bassinette much longer. I think we have 3 inches of space lengthwise. As soon as Elsie is installed, we can set up the crib and he can take over the nursery.... and the spouse and I can have our room back!

Prose to the Toes

Oh you little toes



You elude me



I squawk and growl at you



You wiggle back temptingly




Maybe someday I will catch you

First Bouquet of 2007

Spring is officially on its way!!!!
Here is the first bouquet of the year....



The daphne opens a little more each day and smells wonderful. I would love to buy a perfume that smells like it.



Apparently while I was gone last week, my hellebores came up and started to bloom, so I whacked off a couple of blossoms to enjoy inside.

Trip to the farm

The kids and I just returned from a week at the farm. It was so nice to get away.



It was feeling very spring-like there. Is was fairly warm and had rained for several days before we arrived making for some amazing puddles.



My sister and I were experts at puddle depth and mud consistency. However, we would occasionally leave a boot behind in the mud and return home with one boot and one very muddy sock.




The last day was very sunny, but windy. Elsie and I walked all over the place taking pictures and inspecting puddles. It was just warm enough and just enough sun to really feel like spring.... of course making me want to get home and do spring cleaning. Airing out the house, washing drapes and blankets, and putting away the flannel sheets is one of my favorite things. It's a signal that gardening season is coming and that the outdoor rooms will be back in use soon. I posted the rest of the photos on Flickr.




We were at the farm during Valentine's Day, so did not get to celebrate with the spouse who had to work, but was able to have a week's worth of nights of uninterrupted sleep. That clever man surprised me with these chocolate bars:



... and he made the chocolate bars to boot! These are not rewrapped store bought bars. He went to the local candy shop and bought the ingredients, took trial bars to work for people to sample, and then made three perfect chocolate bars with yummy ingredients. Of course, being a graphic designer, he made the fantabulous wrappers.
Thank you, honey! I love them.