christmas sweets

Hello there. These last few weeks have been busy at work and busy at home. I've logged plenty of hours in the kitchen--mixing, rolling, baking, icing, sprinkling. I had four generations of family over to help prepare the Christmas sweets this year! I've never been able to do that before, but with the new house we finally have enough room. Hooray!

We actually didn't go overboard with Christmas baking and making this year, but we definitely made enough to share. We made butter cookies, peanut butter cups (the best!), butterball cookies (I'm noticing a butter theme here), fudge, chocolate-covered pretzels, and Italian Cream cake.

butter cookies

Christmas pretzels

[these disappear as fast as they're made]

Italian Cream Cake

my sweet love-

roasting marshmallows in our living room

I've also kept busy with Christmas crafting, but I'll save the photos for after Christmas. I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise. I love surprises!

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Remember this? I was spot on for winter. 

Here's hoping I was right about the rest of the year, too.

crafting

Lately my mind is buzzing with projects that I want to make right now. Nevermind that I've got several Christmas projects that I haven't even started. No, now is the time to make myself some bunny slippers, knit myself a cardigan, and crochet stars for Christmas package decorations. I may end up with nothing to put in those packages, but rest assured that they'll be gorgeously decorated empty boxes.

I've been logging plenty of crafting hours, which means I get to spend lots of time in my upstairs craft room. It's so cozy up there! I've also been listening to a ton of podcasts and thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you.

Patient Zero - Radiolab Fascinating exploration of the history of HIV and SIV. This podcast episode made me long for my days as an anthropology major when my favorite professor deemed everything "fascinating." I think she'd like this.

Unintentional Spinners - Just One More Row Um, so, I have this urge to add another craft to my repertoire. It started when I watched women spinning yarn at the state fair. This podcast episode only added fuel to the fire. The hosts of this show, Brittany and Dana, always sound like they're having so much fun (and they have lovely twangy voices). I've promised myself not to start spinning until after Christmas.

[Every episode] - The Moth The Moth makes me happy. If you don't listen to it yet, you should start. It's real people telling true, unscripted stories, and it's always compelling.

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Are you a podcast listener? What are you favorites? 

I'm always looking for new ones to try!

it feels like home

apple peeling out on the deck.

garlic planting. hoping for a harvest come june.

in the evenings, japanese maple shadows dance across our walls.

{so hard to capture in a photo...}

squash bread makes the new place smell like home.

a beautiful day in the neighborhood. yeah, it feels this idyllic in person, too.

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I can only show you snippets of our days lately. If I showed you more, you'd see that nearly every room of the house still has boxes to unpack. You'd see me sneaking off to read The Hunger Games or knit Christmas presents or watch the first season of The Sopranos with K. We're settling in slowly. 

It's funny the things that have changed. Things that I never could have anticipated. For instance, I can see the sky so much better in our house than I could from our apartment. I never knew how much I missed it, but lately I've been watching the clouds by day and marveling at the waxing moon by night. What a show.

new place

We are in our new house and loving it. We've got a lot of unpacking to do before we can really settle in, but it's not as daunting when I can take knitting breaks in front of the fire.

yarn along: planning

I just don't know about this week. Work is crazy-busy, leaving me feeling scattered at the end of each day. My personal life is stressful--sick relatives and family fights. And this morning at the bus stop an angry drunk man got up in my face and yelled horrible things. It's all enough to make me want to crawl into bed and hibernate all winter.

But I can't.

So, I'm planning for the future, for those glad times that are hopefully waiting out there for me in the not-too-distant future.

This week I'm knitting some wrist warmers for myself in anticipation of delightfully chilly autumn days. We've had such a warm streak of weather lately that it hasn't felt like fall at all. It's been so warm that I was surprised to see the trees turning gold and sidewalks filled with russet leaves when K and I were out on a walk last night. There's a cold front moving through tonight that is supposed to bring rain. Cool days will soon be here and I'll need some wrist warmers to ward off the chill while still keeping my fingers free. You know, in case I need to mace anyone at the bus stop.

And of course, I'm planning for our new house. It seems unreal that we'll be living in a place of our own in just over two weeks. Design*Sponge at Home is full of inspiration and my copy is full of sticky notes marking decor I love. It's overwhelming to think of decorating a whole house, but certainly exciting.

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I'm yarning along today with Ginny. What are you making/reading this week?

news...

People told me that when I found the right house, I'd just know, but I didn't believe them one bit. I thought they were glassy-eyed optimists who'd just as soon try to convince me that if I really look hard enough I'll find a leprechaun and pot of gold at the end of every rainbow. For real, people? I was firmly convinced that the house I found would be something I settled for--good enough, but not "the one." It's not as if there's a house soulmate out there for everyone. Of course I had my hopes, although I didn't have a lot of conviction that those dreams would materialize.  

But then I walked into the house above and fell in love so hard. Fireplace? A big kitchen? Plenty of room in the dining room for that long table we want? I skittered from room to room with a giddy feeling in my stomach, knowing that I would feel incredibly lucky to live there.

And I am so damn lucky sometimes I can't believe it. Because if everything goes as planned, K and I will be moving into our new house next month. We're so excited to make the space our own, to settle in, build fires, cook meals, and live lots of new adventures. I can't wait to share it all with you!

dream home

I've been thinking a lot about my dream home lately--the place where I want to spend my life and build a family. Yes, I've got a laundry list of wants and needs and wouldn't-it be-cool-if-we-hads. But when I really try to picture my dream home, here is what I see.

It's spring, and we've just planted vegetables in the yard. The flowers are starting to come up. They are old-fashioned varieties of roses, peonies, and lilacs that have been growing here for many years. We've planted herbs near the patio, just out the back door, for quick snipping around dinnertime. It's still quite cool in the evenings, so we spend time curled on the couch with piles of books and yarn. During thunderstorms we watch the rain out the wide front windows until the weather gets too scary, and then we hide out in the basement till it calms down.

Summer comes with its hot and heavy days. The kitchen is busy with canning and jamming vegetables from our garden and fruit from our trees. We've got summertime craft projects spread out across the long dining room table. Suppers are quick salads and grilled vegetables eaten outside on the deck. Evenings are spent on the porch swing with iced tea. When the mosquitoes drive us inside, we break out a board game and stay up too late playing.

Autumn is my favorite season of all. We pull quilts from the cedar chest and pile them on the beds. Windows stay open all evening long so that my porch-swing-knitting is accompanied by the sounds of Dinah Washington records. We carve pumpkins and line them up on the porch steps. We build the first fire of the season and feel so cozy in our living room. We cuddle under crocheted afghans for movie nights with a big bowl of kettle corn and hot apple cider.

During winter we put our stack of firewood to steady use, and our home is filled with the rich smell of wood smoke. We linger under the covers longer every morning, scurrying out in woolen slippers to put the kettle on. The Christmas records play regularly after dinner as we make wish lists and homemade presents. We bake more cookies than we could ever possibly eat and pack lots up to give away to neighbors and friends. The kitchen is the place to be this season. When it snows we clamber outside to make snow angels in the front yard and build an igloo in the back.

I am looking forward to many seasons in my dream home. I know that everything on my laundry list of wants is not going to be checked off, but I'm looking for a house that captures that feeling of home that I want. And a big kitchen would be nice, too! We're still on the hunt...

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What's your dream home like? Is it a cabin in the woods? A cottage at the beach? Do you live there now? I'd love to here about the place where you dream of spending your days. 

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P.S. I've been listening to this song over and over. It's perfect for dreaming! (found via Cast On)

today

Today feels good. Life is full.

K and I spent the morning slowly waking up over coffee, scrambled eggs, and the newspaper. We still enjoy holding the printed pages in our hands, even if all the news seems bad. The sections I read end up in a messy wad. When K's finished reading the paper looks as if it's just been delivered.

Mid-morning saw us out house-hunting. We finally found one today that we could picture ourselves living in, which certainly doesn't mean we'll end up buying it, but still...exciting. I found myself sitting in the kitchen there in yellow chair at a tiny yellow formica table. I mentally added a lamp and imagined the coziest late-night tea parties. Nightcaps would also be appropriate. It seemed like a place to share secrets and talks about the future. Yes, that sweet kitchen is still on my mind.

This afternoon I've talked to my mom, dad, and sister. Being in touch with them makes me so happy. They are the reason that buying a house in my hometown feels right. I love Louisville for many reasons, but what anchors me here are those three people. I am lucky enough to also have a large extended family living here and K's family is only a short drive away.

Right now three pots of beans simmer on the stove. Granola sits cooling on the kitchen table, tempting me each time I pass by. I grab a pinch of cinnamon-scented oats and pecans and debate mixing up a batch of dough for granola bread. Right now K is taking a break from doing laundry--the fourth and final load is in the dryer. He is re-reading a book he has read probably five times before. Some well-loved books never get old.  And here I am, happily blogging for the first time in a week. I am glad to be here chatting with you.

Lately I've been looking for balance in my life. My new job takes much of my time and energy, but I find it very fulfilling. I've never felt (or expected to feel) so professional in my work. The people I work with are all incredibly smart and fun, a winning combination in my book. Even though I do like my job, I'm trying not to let it sap all of my creative energy. I want to devote some time each day to crafting, whether it be designing crochet projects (I can't wait to show you the mitered crochet cross block), knitting, or sewing. So far I've done well, but I haven't yet figured out how to fit blogging into my routine. I love blogging in the morning, but mornings now are busy with getting ready and going to work. So, bear with me as I figure out this new routine.

I am looking forward to tonight. We're making Japanese curry for dinner and I'm planning to watch a good hour of trash TV. I can't resist it sometimes.

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What's going on in your life today? 

Kitchen Curtains

Don't get me wrong, I love our kitchen. It's spacious, looks like it belongs in an old farmhouse, and gets lots of light. The problem is that we've got a west-facing window that lets in so much sunlight in the evening hours that it's difficult to be in the kitchen at all. It's the time of day when we're making dinner, so the room is already warm from the stove, and the excess sunlight makes the whole room feel like an oven. It's also hard to see! The sun is so bright that K and I find ourselves shielding our eyes and ducking our heads into shadows. We needed to remedy this situation.

"I'll make curtains!" I said, but for the longest time I didn't know how to make curtains. Once I got my sewing skills up to par, I began looking for some fabric. Of course, I couldn't find any that I liked in the fabric stores. Then while combing through a thrift store for vintage pillowcases, I happened upon an old twin sheet in a print that I actually liked. It was what I was looking for--a light background with pops of blue. I bought it for 53 cents(!), gave it a good washing, and set about sewing up some curtains.

The curtains are simple, but lovely. They're just two straight panels to block the sun, and I made some tiebacks to use during the daytime. They keep out the heat and direct sun, but allow some light to filter through so that we can still see.

K noticed a drop in the temperature of the room right away, and I realized that now when we have guests over for dinner, they can sit in any of the chairs at our table without having to wear sunglasses. The curtains are a great success!

(I couldn't figure out a good way to show you the curtains, though, since clear pictures are well lit and curtains by definition block out light. These pictures are the best I could render. I hope they'll do.)

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I've got some leftover sheet fabric from making these curtains, and you can bet that I already have ideas on how to use it. I'm just itching to make a beach blanket like the one in Handmade Home. These blankets are so gorgeous and would be wonderful for picnics, reading in the park, or just lazing about. I can't wait to hit up some thrift stores in search of more vintage linens. Re-purposing old fabrics might just be my new hobby.

A New Living Room

The pillow is not actually bigger than our couch

3 hours of driving (round-trip)

+ 3 hours at ikea

+ 3 hours of hot, sweaty putting-things-together work

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our new living room

Lots of black, white, and gray for now because I want this stuff to last us a while, and this way we can reinvent it with pops of color.

In addition to the new furniture, we also stream-lined our living room. We got rid of some space hogs, like the sawhorses that were serving as a computer desk, and did quite a bit of rearranging. The results are so wonderful. We have a lot more space to move about and laze around.

I'd like to get some art on the walls. Right now we have lots of maps up, which I love, but there is still a lot of blank wall space. When I say "blank," I mean covered in busy vintage wallpaper. Since we're renters and not planning to take down this wallpaper, I like to treat it as a neutral. Those blue and yellow flowers go with everything, I tell you.

K and I both have some plans for making our little living room a place to call home. I'm planning to make some throw pillows with the doilies from our wedding, and some curtains would be nice, too. K is getting some woodworking lessons from his dad and plans to make a magazine rack and coffee table. I'm so glad we're making this space our own. We had only planned to live here for a few months, but now we're going to be here for another year, so we're making it as comfortable as we can.

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All the pictures are from Ikea's website except the pillow. I couldn't find it on Ikea's site but I did find it at http://elledeco.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html.