sunday morning + menu

Every Sunday morning after coffee has been drunk and the newspaper read, I pull a few cookbooks off the shelf and make a menu for the week. K helps me choose which recipes to try. Together we make a grocery list and then head out early to shop before the store gets crowded. Lately we've ended up at the grocery at the same time that the firefighters make their weekly food run. It was really cute to see so many firefighters picking out Valentine's Day cards and buying chocolates today. It made me laugh to see the contrast of those tough guys in uniform holding such lovey-dovey cards.

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This is the menu we made for this week:

Sunday


Spinelli's pizza (part of--but definitely not the winner of--the Great Pizza Challenge!)


Monday and Tuesday


Mushroom tortellini soup + spinach salad


Wednesday and Thursday

Spinach rice casserole


Friday

Baked sweet potatoes with black beans

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What's on your menu this week? Anything you're really looking forward to? I'm most excited about the soup and salad night.

this moment: flower in winter

a moment from this week i'd like to remember.

i spent some quiet time in the library with a hook and thread.

see more moments here.

daily reminder

This little phone nook vignette is a daily reminder to live this year with intent. 

I love changing this shelf up to suit my mood. (You might remember my crafty collection). I was feeling pretty contemplative and wintry when I made this, but I'm ready for more color as I look forward to spring. I think my next vignette will be joyful!

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The photo is K when he was tiny. He looks like he's pondering something, doesn't he?

weekend snippets: i *heart* craft

it has been so long since i've done a weekend snippets post! i've fallen into the habit of trudging into each new work week and forgetting the weekend all too quickly. not anymore. i'm here to savor those weekend days so that the good, relaxing feelings continue into the week. 

this weekend i tried to convince myself that i enjoyed reading "mrs. dalloway." look how cozy it is with quilts and a cup of tea, i told myself. i was not convinced. instead i decided to watch "smokey and the bandit"  with k and make heart garlands. 

and look how productive i was as i watched burt reynolds and sally field drive from texarkana back to georgia with a load of bootleg coors! i made these three mini heart garlands as gifts.

then i saw how sweet the heart garland looks on my tea cabinet and realized that i've got to make one for myself. 

i wrote out this week's menu on the board in our kitchen. there's a restaurant nearby that posts its menu on a chalkboard outside. it always looks so good. i thought posting the weekly menu would help me remember what we're making and get me excited to cook.

i spent some time yesterday working on a sewing project that involves buckwheat hulls. i'll post photos when it's done.

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what moments would you like to savor from the weekend?

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Berry and Stone Baby Beanie

What a morning. It's cold, dark, and rainy here, which makes me want to scuttle back under the covers and only venture out for cups of tea and yarn. 

Yesterday when I asked my yoga teacher how she was, she answered: "Good on purpose." I like that. I certainly wasn't good on purpose yesterday. I was tired, cold, a little sad. Gray skies will do that to me. 

So in an effort to adopt a good attitude in spite of dreary weather, I'm not curling back up. I've got errands to run and homework to do. 

One of the errands is to get this little baby hat in the mail. I made it for a baby in K's family, his cousin's new daughter, Emma. I hope it will keep her warm on these cold winter days. What a winter to be born into. I bet she'll be hearing stories all her life of how snowy it was when she was born. 

What stories were you told about when you were born? 

My parents always said that I was born on such a cold January day. Dad had to miss a U of L basketball game the night my mom went into labor. When they arrived at the hospital their doctor couldn't be reached--he was at the game. I was born the next morning. My grandma Alice brought an Italian Cream Cake for my mom, whose birthday is only two days after mine. I like picturing my parents snug in a warm hospital room, eating cake while cold winds swirled outside. 

I also like seeing all the snuggly things people made to keep me warm during the cold months. Mom still has lots of crocheted blankets packed away to pass on to my kids. I hope this hat will someday remind Emma that no matter how cold it was when she was born, she was warm.

Wishing you a "good on purpose" day!

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Hat Details

Name: Berry and Stone Baby Beanie

Pattern: Moriarty two colour crochet beanie (free pattern found here)

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease

Hook: H (5.0 mm)

Made for: Emma Grace

This hat works up very quickly. The website has easy to follow photo instructions. This was my first time crocheting in a spiral. I really like the results!

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Also, there's a really cool giveaway I thought you all might like. Rachel of Smile and Wave is giving away a spot in her sewing e-course, Modern Patchwork. You can learn how to make gorgeous vintage-y quilts and pillows. Wouldn't that be fun? Go here for details on entering.

love note

find this sweet crochet heart pattern here.

Warm me up

a rare blue sky in winter

This winter seems like it doesn't want to quit. There has been so much snow all over the US and there's more to come.

We had some brief hours of sunshine over the weekend, which were lovely and such a tease because it's gray again already.

I've collected some links that will make you think warm thoughts and maybe even be a bit less grumbly that there's more winter ahead.

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Wouldn't you love to go on this dreamy sleigh ride?

I love to take hot baths, but have trouble relaxing for very long. I want to do something. This tub caddy would be perfect.

If I had a nickel for every time I said, "I wish I were having a fondue party in a teepee right now..."

Brighten up your evening hours with some spindles and candles.

Can someone please invite me on a winter picnic? Drinking beer and wearing mittens are two of my favorite things. I don't know why I didn't think to put them together sooner.

Now is the perfect time to make (or buy) a cozy rug.

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What's keeping you warm lately?

I've been trying to go to bed early. I take a book and a crochet project and snuggle under lots of blankets.