Sugar Scrub Love

Thanks to my little Claire Bear I've managed to save up tons of baby food jars. They have proven useful in so many ways! One of my favorite ones is for holding sugar scrubs. I found a ton of great recipes for the handmade variety over at In Between Laundry. There are 24 different ones to try. So far, I've tested out two and I really do love them both. They both smell really decadent and they leave your skin feeling super soft. A word of caution about using them in the bath though. They contain olive oil, which is super slippery so be sure to really wash the tub out afterward. Aside from that they make really great gifts for yourself or someone else. This batch went to my Aunt Diane. Happy Birthday Annie :) I hope you enjoy them!

Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek at some crochet patterns in the making. I've recently finished sketching them up. I'm still working out the colors... I've got a bit of a theme going on. Can you guess what it is? I'll give you a hint. It's not a bakery but yummy treats are definitely part of the theme.

I'm super excited to get started on these. I'm a little bit nervous too. I'm not yet sure how they are going to turn out. (I'm hoping a bit better than my crappy drawings!!) I'm still new at this pattern writing stuff. However, I'm confident and I've got loads of enthusiasm on my side. I can't wait to show you more :) Wish me luck!!

Progress

Oh afghans, how I love and loathe you sometimes. It feels like I've been working on these babies forever. My progress has definitely been S  L  O  W but it's progress nonetheless. I'm happy that they are coming along so nicely. What I love most about these are their colors. But there's something to be said about the stitch pattern (simple and repetitious) and the design (sparse little stripes of color) as well. This is a pattern I will definitely come back to again and again and again.

However, I'm starting to get a bit impatient. For one, I want to see these beauties in all their glory but I'd also like to get started on a few more projects I've got cued up. Some of them I stumbled across while online (a house key hanger and some place mats) and some I have yet to create. It won't be long now before I'm sharing some patterns of my own. I'm so excited to finally start writing them out :) If only I could learn to stitch in my sleep...

BLOGS I LOVE

KNITTING, CROCHETING, SEWING, ETC:

 Tiny Owl Knits
Attic24

Brooklyn Tweed

Lion Brand Notebook

Manhattan Craft Room

Patchwork Chickens

Spud and Chloe

The Purl Bee

V and Co. 
Gleeful Things

Easy Makes Me Happy

PARENTING/CRAFTING, ETC:

Crappy Pictures

I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar

In Between Laundry

Lovin The Mommyhood

Simple Beans

A Bit of Sunshine

COOKING, ETC:

Cybele Pascal - The Allergy Friendly Cook

Oh She Glows

The Everyday Vegetarian

Vegan Housewives

I just thought I'd take a few minutes to share the blogs I love. 

I hope you like them as much as I do!

Yippee, Nora is Three

Yippee, Nora is three!! It was so great having a day to celebrate her. She is such a smart, chatty, energetic, lovable little girl. I am so proud of all that she is and all that she has yet to become. These days the most pressing thing seems to be time and how fast it is all flying by. I find myself wondering where all of it has gone! It reminds me of something I read the other day, 

"I read once that there's a good probability that everything that's ever happened is stored somewhere in the universe, one's personal history-all history...folded away in pockets and black holes of time and space."

What a beautiful thought!! I really hope that is true. While I may not want to relive it all, I would love to go back to days like this and live them again and again... But I also appreciate progress and change and growth as well. That part of me is excited to see what each new day will bring. I can't wait to see who Nora will become. It is definitely bittersweet. 

I have found that the most sane thing to do is to live in the present and to savor and appreciate it! So, here's to the present and what's going on in the here and the now. Here are some of Nora's current favorites:

Nora’s Favorites: 3 yrs old

Completed on March 29, 2012

1. What is your favorite color? Pink
2. What is your favorite toy? Pretend dinner (sandwich making kit)
3. What is your favorite fruit? Oranges and tomatoes
4. What is your favorite TV show? The Wonder Pets
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  I don’t know.
6. What is your favorite outfit? My green ruffle dress
7. What is your favorite game? Um, I like making sandwiches .
8. What is your favorite snack? Lollies
9. What is your favorite animal? Isa the Iguana
10. What is your favorite song? I don’t know.
11. What is your favorite book? The Savanna (jungle animal book)
12. Who is your best friend? Isa the Iguana
13. What is your favorite cereal? Oats w/ banana and syrup
14. What is your favorite thing to play outside? Play on the pourch
15. What is your favorite drink? Milk
16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Isa the Iguana
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Sausage
19. What did you eat for dinner on your birthday? Spaghetti
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Big like Gamma

March Roundup

Well, it's official. I've taken on too much. Right now I've got four works in progress. Yep, that's right, four. Plus I have yet to start on my Easter stuff for Nora and Claire. I'm just waiting on the patterns. I've only got one week left to make them so I'm hoping there is enough time. I realize that it is a bit crazy to even take them on. Six projects is a bit much... 

But who am I kidding? I'll take them on. That's what stitch markers are for after all. Plus it's not like I have a deadline for most of this stuff. I'll just have to prioritize (and maybe look into a twelve step program while I'm at it). If there's any one to blame for my crochet a.d.d. it's Pinterest. I think I'd better stay away for a while! I've found way too many cute patterns there and I can't seem to wait to make them all :)

Meanwhile I've been busy writing some stuff of my own. I'm all finished with the cupcake cozy pattern and I've almost perfected a cupcake amigurumi as well. I also made an Isa doll for Nora but she still needs a tail and some spikes. Nora reminds me almost every day. I'm glad she keeps me motivated though. Maybe one day soon I'll open up that Etsy shop... that is, if I don't get carpal tunnel first.

Best Aunt Ever

Today Aunt Jo-Jo came over to take Nora on an extra special birthday outing. Claire and I desperately wanted to get out too so we decided to tag along. Can you guess where we went? That's right, Build-A-Bear. But instead of a bear, Nora decided to make a penguin :) I was so sure she was going to make a chick (since she picked that one out on the website prior to going) but with the penguin it was love at first sight. So she stuffed him, bathed him and named him (Oh is his name, ha ha ha) and has loved him ever since. But what she loved even more was spending time with aunt Jo-Jo. She is so lucky to have such an awesome auntie (and I'm super lucky to have such an awesome sister) <3 It was great spending the afternoon together.

Ps: Did you notice little Claire in the rent-a-stroller? She had so much fun in that thing! I kept cracking up looking at her b/c she was steering it like a pro. Oh my kiddos just crack me up! They make my life worth living times a million :)