crafts + recipes + existential dread
Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway! I will do another one soon, so if you didn’t win don’t worry — you’ll have another chance in the near future. I relied on Random.org to pick the number for me and this is what it came up with:
The name associated with Comment No. 8 is {drumroll, please} … Kati! Congratulations and I hope you enjoy the book! I will get it mailed out this week.
Many bloggers have hosted fun giveaways this week during the Ultimate Blog Party and I thought it would be fun to do a little something for my readers, too. I had a few ideas of prizes I thought you’d enjoy, but ultimately decided on the book Blogging for Bliss by Tara Frey. It profiles some of my favorite blogs and the women who write them. The book is inspiring, without a doubt, whether you’ve just started blogging or are a seasoned pro.
So… how do you win? Easy, easy! Just leave a comment on this entry. For a second chance to win, subscribe to my blog and leave a separate comment telling me you did so.
I will not accept submissions after 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, April 18th. (That’s why this is a weekend giveway!) Comments left after this time will be ignored and I will not include them when I randomly pick a winner.
I’ve had a lot of fun meeting other bloggers via UBP and I hope you have, too. Good luck!
My friend Mar over at Tiny Things Go By tagged me. The rules? Simply post 10 honest (and maybe interesting) facts about yourself and then tag seven other bloggers. So, without further adieu…
1. I can’t stand reality TV. I think everyone knows this about me already, though. This December 2009 article in Vanity Fair pretty much sums it up for me.
2. I love birds and have become slightly obsessed with anything bird-related (especially cute little birds). I love this pillow from Pier 1, for example. I think I’m going to try to make myself a copycat version.
3. One of my favorite things about living in Boston was walking around the city at night when it was snowing. There was something so calm and beautiful about it that I’ve never experienced anywhere else. Maybe it was the time, I don’t know, but it certainly has a special place in my heart.
4. I hope that someday I’ll have time to work on my fiction writing again, but I worry that the years I’ve spent writing concise copy will make it difficult to “write down the bones.”
5. Sometimes I think about getting chickens. I really like the idea of fresh eggs, and I love the fact that chickens eat ticks. But I have enough living things to care for at the moment.
6. I keep “emergency chocolate” hidden in the house.
7. While I really love funky shoes and fun sock, most often you will find me barefoot at home.
8. You will never, ever, ever, ever find me wearing sweats in public (unless, I suppose I was actually at a gym taking a class or working out). I just can’t fathom the people who wear their pyjama bottoms out to the mall. I kind of want to knock some sense into them. I mean, is it really that hard to pull on a pair of jeans? Get it together already!
9. My senior year in college I managed to convince quite a few acquaintances that I was moving to Prague after graduation. At the time, I didn’t have anything planned. I told them I just planned to take six months or so to write. Coincidentally, a semester-long Czech language and culture class was offered! Of course I took it. (Now though, the only things I can remember how to say in Czech are: “Do you have any milk?” and “Do you have any beer?”) I still am surprised so many people believed me.
10. The summer after college graduation I didn’t go to Prague. Instead, I went to Dorset, VT and worked as publicity intern/house manager for a theatre festival. One of the acting apprentices unofficially voted me “most likely to skip town in the middle of the night.”
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If you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged! Leave me a comment with the URL of your blog post if you decide to participate!
One of the things I’ve learned about blogging in all the years I’ve been doing it, is that it’s easy to think people are perfect. Sometimes you get the impression that a writer just has it all together because let’s face it — as writers we pick and choose what we write about. It’s not difficult to sculpt a personality that resembles your true self, but is maybe just a little bit more organized and together. So. Lest anyone think that of me, allow me to present you with the current state of my kitchen. Take a deep breath and don’t let the little ones around. It ain’t pretty:
My husband has been working on painting the kitchen at night after the kids are in bed, so everything has been pulled off the counters and the tops of the cabinets. As you can see, I’ve started putting a few things back up. But naturally, I decided to switch things around and quite a few of the tchotkes up there used to be in other parts of the house. I’m taking this opportunity to do some rearranging, as well. Until now we’d kept the chips on top of the refrigerator (and I’ve always hated it; while convenient, it’s very ugly). So I’ve put my canisters up there and I’m going to find room in a cabinet for the Doritos you see on the kitchen table.
I really do love this coffee color, though. It sure beats the “builder’s beige” we’ve been living with for six years. (We’re not convinced it was even paint — I think it was just primer.) At any rate, I’m pulling out my blue, white, and yellow decor for the spring and summer. Maybe in the fall and winter I’ll go back to the gold, dark green, and burgundy. But for now I want to freshen things up. The curtains will be going. I found a couple fabrics that I like and I just want a second opinion before I make a purchase. And as much as I’d love to get the TV off the bar, that’s a battle that I’ll never win. I hate having the TV on while we eat dinner but… sometimes bribing the kids with a movie is the only way they’ll eat what I’ve made. It’s a small price to pay. At least we’re all still at the table, right?
I just hope that a certain baby will cooperate and let me continue putting stuff away. I’d forgotten how little you get done with a 10 month old (especially one who doesn’t like to nap). Wish me luck!
As the weather gets warmer, having fish for dinner seems like a logical choice since it is light and healthy. I made crab cakes on Good Friday and wanted to share a delicious sauce that I threw together to complement them. Head over to Sugar & Spice to check it out!
As a general rule, I try to stay away from major shopping areas on Saturdays. Especially Saturday afternoons. But occasionally I forget and venture out into the wild world of WalMart, and then I regret it. Like yesterday. Drew took the boys to the Lowe’s Build & Grow clinic in the morning and I enjoyed a quiet hour and a half while Laura was napping. Since she still doesn’t sleep great at night, I absolutely cherish her morning nap (when it happens).
After she woke up I called Drew and we all met for lunch. My burger was great and so was the new mango-raspberry sorbet at Friendly’s. So far so good! Some guy even let me leave the parking and pull into the lane of traffic — unheard of! I really should have quit while I was ahead, especially when I got all the green lights. But no. I was greedy and decided to hit a few stores. I dropped off four bags of clothing donations before going to Jo-Ann’s. It actually wasn’t too bad in there. I was scoping out fabric possibilities for new kitchen curtains (my wonderful husband has been painting for me and the kitchen is this yummy coffee color). I have two 50% off coupons to use this week, so I’ll go back to buy the fabric later.
Then it was off to Burlington Coat Factory, where things started to go downhill. I’m desperately trying to find something non-hideous to wear for both Jake’s 1st communion and my niece’s baptism. Everything seems to be matronly or way to sex-ay for these types of events. I thought I’d lucked out with an outfit, but when I tried it on at home? Gah!!! The style of the top was great, but the color was awful. And the pants? I thought they were wide-leg and they were. Oh, they were! I didn’t realize they were big bell-bottoms. So I need to return that outfit now.
But Walmart, as usual, was the piece-de-resistance. I hate shopping at Walmart, but I do it anyway. If I go super early in the morning, the experience is much better. There are fewer people there ramming their shopping carts into me and I think most of the crazies are still sleeping. Let’s start with the parking lot shall we? Now, this is a plague that not only affects WM, but most other parking lots out there. I just tend to notice it more at this particular location. The plague I’m talking about is people who can’t maneuver their ridiculously big vehicles. I cannot get over more right when there are parked cars right there and you can’t make a proper left turn! Advice: If you are too small to effectively pilot your Canonyero, perhaps it is time to consider a smaller car. And it all just went downhill from there. I’ll spare you the rest of the details.
I was exhausted by the time we got home. Luckily, Drew had just opened a bottle of wine and had a glass waiting for me. ♥ ‘Cuz he just knew.
It just doesn’t feel right typing up the trivial blog post I’d planned for today when all of Poland is mourning the loss of their president, his wife, and many top officials who were killed in a tragic plane crash at a Russian airport. And let’s not forget all the other passengers on board the plane who also perished. Those who have known me for a while know well that I am passionately Polish and I feel a strong connection to the country even though I have yet to travel there. I can’t help but wonder what this means for the future of the country, politically. And while yes it could very well have just been an accident, the conspiracy theorist in me can’t help but raise an eyebrow. It will all be sorted out in time (though hopefully it won’t take too long).
For now, I offer my thoughts and prayers to a nation that is buried in sorrow.
So I’ve been blogging for nearly 10 years at this URL (I actually started writing online in November 1999 when they were still called online journals!). I’ve never participated in a Blog Party but I thought it would be fun to do this year. I’m really looking forward to discovering some new blog and hopefully making some new friends 🙂 If you’ve stopped by from 5 Minutes for Mom, hello!
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Carol and I’m mom to three sweet children. Jake is 7, Noah is 4, and Laura is 10 months old. I’m originally from Massachusetts, but I now called New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley my home. I’m a freelance writer, which allows me the flexibility of working out of my house and setting my own hours. I’m not sure I could ever go back to working in an office! I typically ramble about my day-to-day life. That includes a lot of posts on crafting. I knit, crochet, and sew. I also enjoy sharing recipes and writing about food. I co-owned a wine boutique for a couple years and was editor for a popular wine blog, so I tend to slip in some vino-related posts too.
This morning I’ve been reading over some of the amazing prizes people are giving away – the generosity is amazing! Here are some of my favorites (I’d love to win any of these):
US20 – $50.00 in jewelry from Cookie Lee
US28 – A Guy and Eva Jewelry Necklace
US4 – A total of four prizes! Three different pairs of earrings to three different entrants and one show stopper bracelet.
US36 – The winner will receive 2 year-long magazine subscriptions…one to Taste of Home and one to Simple & Delicious.
US42 – One winner will receive a copy of American Food Writing: An Anthology With Classic Recipes
US10 – Young Living Essential Oils Stress Away Roll-On
INTL 2 – Win a custom WordPress blog by Uniquehorn Designs.
I’m also interested in US18 – Goodie Basket for Mom, US57 -A beginners yoga kit, US91 – One $20 gift certificate to Green Mountain Coffee,
There are so many great prizes that it’s hard to choose!
Well, it’s about that time to take N. to nursery school and get on with the day. I hope you’ll stop by again. Please leave a comment so I can drop by and say hello to you as well! You can also follow me on Twitter and subscribe to my RSS feed.
Have a wonderful Friday!
If you celebrate Easter, I hope you’re enjoying the holiday with your family! I thought I would share a few photos of the amigurumi bunny I made for my niece’s first Easter (since she can’t exactly have a chocolate bunny).
A couple months ago I purchased Super Cute Crochet by Nicki Trench. This was the first animal I made from the many adorable patterns in it. I probably should hook up a couple other examples from the book before I start giving my opinions on it, but… While I find that generally the instructions are good, there are a few things I feel are lacking. First: there are no instructions that describe how to sew the pieces together. I winged it and feel that I did an okay job, but I wonder if there is a better way? Also, specific to this pattern, there were no instructions detailing how to make a pom pom. Yes, I know this is something really basic and no I had no problem quickly finding a how-to online. However, if I’m going to shell out money for a book I like it to contain all the information I need to complete a project. That aside, the bunny was fun to make and I’ve promised the boys to move on to projects of their choosing (the alien, naturally). Here are a couple more photos of Em’s Easter Bunny:
See? She likes to read blogs, too. 🙂
Who is designing clothes out there and really… what are they thinking? Yesterday I was shopping for some new spring tops and a dress (or skirt and blouse) I can wear for Jake’s 1st Communion. Everything out there is either super ugly or the fit doesn’t even make sense. The fabrics are all really clingy. (Note to designers: in case you haven’t noticed, clingy fabrics do not flatter most of the American population. Please choose other material.) After throwing up my hands in disgust in the Kohl’s dressing room, I decided it was time I stopped complaining and did something about it.
I have a sewing machine. I have reasonable sewing skills. Maybe it’s time I just start making my own clothes. I doubt it will save me money, but at least I get to choose the fabrics and if something is made poorly, I can blame myself and probably fix it. And wouldn’t you know? Jo-Ann’s was having a three-day sale: Simplicity patterns were just 99 cents! So I picked out a few to start with:
Hopefully it won’t be too complicated. I’m also thinking of refashioning some of my jeans into capris. A have a bunch that are torn, ripped, frayed, and generally embarrassing to wear in public. I think I might lop them off of the bottom and hem them to calf-length.
Something has to be done because my t-shirts are threadbare and the (affordable) selections out there are pretty awful.
I also picked up a few toddler-sized patterns to make some cute outfits for Laura:
And the best part of it all was how much I saved:
Seven sewing patterns and a divided container for the boys’ Perler beads (also on sale) cost me only about $10 and I saved over $90! I figure that even if I make only one article of clothing from these patterns, they will have more than paid for themselves.