Flashback Friday

Sticking with the rules of Flashback Fridays, this is a shot of me pre-1985. I figured it was appropriate to post a pic of me looking as if I'm celebrating something special in honour of my recent graduation. A noise maker and mickey mouse ears?! That's a celebration get-up if I've ever seen one.

Keep 'em comin'

The positive thinking and prayers have paid off for one on the long list I posted a few days back. The test results are in for the 'important person' I mentioned and all is good! What a relief!

The little 8 year old men still need your positive thoughts. B goes in for surgery this Monday to remove the mass on his brain and H is still in intensive care. Things with H are very serious and it is hard to say how things will turn out but there is a thread of hope and we are all holding on to it, keep those prayers coming.

I did it!

I am officially a university graduate! It was an absolutely fabulous day. This picture pretty much sums it up:

A big thanks to my cheering squad!

YAY!!

Theme Thursday: Wildlife

A few years ago this creepy crawler was attached to our bbq. He was definitely one of the biggest spiders I've seen in the 'wild' here in Ontario. That's a playing card I'm holding up behind him and his web, it gives you an idea of the size of the little beast. Ick.

Check out some other takes on the Wildlife theme over at Stacy's blog.

Just call me Ella Fudd

Fabulous photo found here.

pparently Jeremy isn't a very effective scarecrow.

Monday morning I sleepily wandered into the kitchen, opened the curtains and glanced in the direction of my lovely garden; I was jolted awake by what I saw. A very fat (probably pregnant) rabbit was plopped smack dab in the middle of my lettuce chomping away. Needless to say, I was not impressed.

The poor bugger was terrified when I whipped the door open; he proceeded to run back and forth bashing himself off the bird fencing (it's plastic and no he wasn't hurt) until he finally managed to rip one of the bamboo sticks right out of the ground. Silly rabbit.

The nasty little creature entered Jeremy's home by chewing a hole in the plastic fencing - the fencing that took me a ridiculously long time to set up - I wasn't pleased. Jeremy has been fired, he is no longer acting as security, he's just a pretty (creepy) face amongst the veggies.

Thankfully I caught Peter R. when I did, he must have just broken in because there was barely any damage to my plants. My garden now resembles a high security prison, the rabbits won't be getting in and Jeremy won't be getting out. Why didn't I use chicken wire and wooden spikes to begin with? It took an eighth of the time the bird fencing took to set up and is much more secure.

Lesson learned, I know now to skip the bird netting and go for the chicken wire next year... that's assuming Peter (rabbit) doesn't find away past the new security measures.

This is... my favourite travel memory.

My husband and I were married in Mexico on February 1st 2007. We were wed next to the ocean on an absolutely perfect day surrounded by 39 amazing people: some family by blood, others family by choice, all friends.

Rather than spend just one day celebrating our marriage we took three weeks to do so. We started off by spending one week in Mexico where our wedding took place.

One of the pics from our pre-wedding shoot courtesy of Tammara & Grant from Tamms Photos.
This was taken at a beach near Tulum. There were fewer people on the beach that day than I could count on one hand. Amazing!

Then we headed to Jamaica where we spent two weeks at Sandals Whitehouse aka heaven on earth. Those were the best three weeks EVER; not once since then have I wished we had done things any differently. Three weeks of absolute bliss was the perfect way to begin our married life together.

Theme Thursday: Time

A Moment Frozen in Time... Square

I snapped this photo a year ago while visiting NYC with a group of 100+ teenagers. One of the perks of working in a high school: amazing field trips. I look forward to returning to NYC one day, I love it there!

Check out some amazing photos and other takes on this weeks theme over at Stacy's wonderful blog.

It's Not Fair!

I used one of my least favourite complaints more times today than I would like to count. Here I go again: it’s not fair.

In the last couple weeks I’ve heard more negative news than good, I’ve been handed one nasty bit of info after the other. The bad news can stop flowing anytime now.

My cousin’s little boy goes for surgery on June 16^th to remove a mass on his brain that was discovered a couple weeks ago. Thankfully the mass is in a ‘good place’ and the doctors are being very positive, they expect a full recovery and are hopeful that the surgery will put an end to the terrible seizures the wee man has been dealing with for the past few months. Scary stuff.

My feline nephew (Joanne & Paul’s kitty) Aristotle was diagnosed with cancer last week. The poor cat has an aggressive tumor on the side of his face and things are not looking good. Anyone who has an animal of their own knows how awful it is to see your pet in pain; I feel terrible for Joanne, Paul and the boys.

Waiting for major test results for a very important person in our world and although positive thinking is taking place the not knowing part stinks, we’re human and can’t help but worry.

I found out today that a little 8 year old boy I know, the son of my colleague, aspirated on Friday evening and was air lifted to a nearby children’s hospital. He has been in intensive care since Friday and has been heavily sedated since then. I don’t know any more details but I do know that he and his family could use some prayers sent their way.
 Update: Apparently there is light at the end of the tunnel, it has been determined that the doctors' worst fears have cleared. They are going to begin to slowly bring the little guy out of sedation, well wishes for full recovery would be helpful.

UPDATE June 4th:  Unfortunately things have taken a turn for the worse with the little man mentioned above. Please send extra prayers his way. 

Finally, the most recent piece I was delivered this evening that just threw me over the edge: my good friend’s mother passed away on Saturday. Amber my heart aches for you sweetie.

I’m not posting this for pity or with the hope of upsetting you but I would love some of your positive thoughts. Whether you prefer to pray or simply to send positive energy to others when they need a lift I ask you to please send some in my direction, I promise to dole it out to all the people surrounding me who need it.

Sometimes life really isn’t fair and this is one of those 'times' for far too many of the people I care about.

Sewing the Day Away

I found this super cute fabric about a month ago at Fabric Land. I eyed the pink ribbon immediately when looking for trims but wasted another hour digging around wanting to be sure I chose the right accent. I really need to learn to trust my gut.


I haven't sat at my machine in a couple weeks, it felt good to get back into the groove.
This was my first attempt at a purse of my own design and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

It's a good size for an every day purse and I like the shape but and I'm going to make a few minor changes: add a magnetic snap, shrink the pocket size and place the pocket on the back side of the interior of the bag rather than the front.

Ta da! Now I've got the itch again so you'll be seeing more soon.

This is...

This is my pet. She probably would not be impressed if she knew I was referring to her as anything other than a princess so let's keep the pet reference between us.

EC was rescued from a trailer park the mean streets of Detroit by Mike nine or ten years ago. Pure white with startling green eyes, she loves to cuddle and is easy to get along with so long as you live by her rules i.e do not, under any circumstances, touch her insanely long toe hair. It took some time for her to get used to having to share her dad but eventually she realized I wasn't going away and stopped peeing on my things. This cat has personality!

Flashback Friday Saturday

Better late than never right?

This photograph from my first Easter (1978) has always made me laugh. Check out the huge grin on my brother's face. My parents always went a little overboard to make sure special occasions were extra special for us. I'm bragging, not complaining!

That's me on the left, the head poking out of the mound of chocolate and stuffies. I'm sure I thoroughly enjoyed the 20 pounds of chocolate that the Easter bunny brought for me this particular year. Too funny! No doubt that's why John looks so happy; one of perk of having a baby sister: double the chocolate!

Theme Thursday: Flowering

I've been visiting Stacy's blog The Land of K.A. regularly for quite some time now, although I often leave comments for her and take full advantage of her awesome photography tips, I have yet to take part in her meme Theme Thursdays. That's about to change.

Stacy chose Flowering for the theme this week. Here's one of those 8 kazillion pics I snapped this past weekend. Can you name this bush? I tried googling it but had no luck.

Another shot from my front garden:

I prefer the cropped version. This might end up on the wall in the pink red room... it's still a blank slate and that needs to change very soon.

Be sure to check out Stacy's blog for more Flowering pics.

Gingham Skies

I'm finally taking time to play with my camera. This was a bit of an oops shot I snagged while testing out the built in colour filters on my Canon. Big fluffy clouds in a crisp blue sky were screaming to be photographed... the screen door ended up lending a hand by adding some fantastic texture.

Of course I ran it through Photoshop to defog - thank you Stacy, such a simple step that makes a world of difference for even the best SOOC shots - and I played with the contrast a little but that was it. I like it: blue, gingham and clouds are three things that make me smile, mix them together and you've got one happy girl on your hands.

Totally Worth a Sunburn

"Once the deck is done..." has been the intro to many conversations in the last few years. I have a zillion and one plans for our yard "once the deck is done."

A vegetable garden has been the one consistent plan I've mentioned over and over again. While visiting my parents last week I admired the new garden dad and Neve planted together, admired and complained about not having my own. I'm sure this was the 13 billionth time my dad has heard talk of my future garden, he stopped me in the midst of my whining and asked why I was waiting for the deck to be done, why didn't I just go ahead and plant the garden. My concern was where to put it, what if I dug up the grass and then decided "once the deck was done" that I had dug in the wrong place. My dad, being the kind man he is, managed to not roll his eyes at me when he suggested that if that ends up being the case we could simply purchase a few strips of sod to cover the bare spot. Duh, why didn't I think of that?

A brilliantly simple solution like the one suggested by my dad was all I needed to hear. Saturday I hit the garden centre, chatted with the pros, dug up a little plot in our yard - my father warned Mike today that it's "the perfect size to hide a husband" when he came by to check out the finished product - edged it, filled it with the recommended fertilizing soil and compost and sat back to admire my work. Yesterday I earned a hideous sunburn while planting and arranging bird fencing to keep out the rabbits. A pina colada was the celebratory drink when I finally made it to this point:

Of course our home isn't our home without a bit of WHAT THE? so the garden needed a little bit of strange to spice it up. Hence the handsome devil sitting in the middle of the plants.

I dug out the head that has been hiding in the garage for the last four years and stuck it in the middle, we've named him Jeremy (I do have a cousin named Jeremy but the head has no relation to him besides belonging to me). I made him (the head, not my cousin) a few years ago alongside my student when a fabulous art teacher offered to teach her to sculpt during her spare. Please do not judge the teacher's fabulousness based on my sculpting ability (or lack of). He's a wee bit creepy so maybe he'll act as a scarecrow. Don't worry, he has no teeth so he can't eat the veggies.

It's just a tiny garden but it's a start and I'm thrilled with it.

I'll be keeping track of what works and what doesn't here, so yes you can point and laugh or if you're not interested in my veggie tales (veggie tales... get it? insert laugh track here) feel free to skip any posts that you see labeled Jeremy.

I know you're all on the edge of your seats waiting for the big reveal.... I'm growing (or trying to grow) tomatoes, red peppers, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, lettuce and peas.

Our yard has been unbelievably bare up until this point. Now it's beginning to feel cozy and inviting.

Mike and I ooohed and ahhed over it last night after we rearranged things. It might not look like much but it looks a zillion times better than it did last year. After work today I sprawled out on that swing with a pillow and a book for an hour and a half. Bliss!

This is...

This is something I got but still haven't used... until today.

Isn't it sweet?! This lovely little hut was a gift from our friend Tanya. What you might not be able to tell from this pic is that it is actually a garden stake. The hut has been stashed in the garage for the last year... or has it been two? I think Tanya actually gave it to us the summer before we were wed. I wasn't hiding it away because I didn't like it, just the opposite actually, I was paranoid that it would be broken if I stuck it in the front garden and our backyard has not been the most inviting environment so I didn't want to waste it out there where nobody would enjoy it.

Yippee! Our yard had a makeover this weekend, I'll be posting more about that tomorrow, so when I was thinking about what to photograph for this is... today I figured the little hut was the perfect item! Thanks flossy p for coming up with a theme that reminded me of something I had hidden away waiting for the perfect moment to be revealed! The timing for this weeks theme couldn't have been any better.

My "It" Things Designer Contest

Have you been to the website MyItThings.com? Take a moment to check it out, it's a pretty cool site. Basically it's a social shopping network, there are some decent writers (bloggers) and loads of unique items for home, entertainment, tech, fashion and body being posted by the sites users. You can create your own page where you share your thoughts on bits you have and love or those you don't but want.

There are contests featured on the site too, mostly writing contests where any user who opens a free writers account can submit an entry, but design contests are featured as well. The prizes are pretty impressive, check out some of the past contests here.

EterKnity has recently entered the It Designer Contest. They chose five of their fabulous pieces for the contest, please take a minute to vote for their designs, your vote could be the one that helps them win an amazing opportunity to see their designs on the runway in a NYC fashion show.

Here's how to vote:

STEP A. Create an account on MyItThings.com

STEP B. Visit the contest main page and click on your favorite design items.

STEP C. Once you are on the individual (EterKnity) design page you will be able to rate it by clicking on one of the 5 stars located below the design name (1 star being the lowest rating).

The final score for each designer will be calculated from the combination of the total number of people voted, number of designs and the stars scored (i.e. each additional scored star will add 1 point to the total score).

Although wishing them luck and crossing your fingers and toes for them is appreciated it would be so much better if you would take the time to vote! Thanks everyone!

Flashback Friday

This is one of my favourite old photos. I'm guessing it was taken in 1978, maybe 1979. From left to right: my Great-Grandma Jessie aka Grams to my mom, my beautiful mom Lois, my crazy yet lovable Grandma Evelyn, I'm the little ghost sitting on my mom's lap and that's my big brother John next to me with the huge grin on his little face. Four generations of fabulousness baby!

A Rose With No Thorns

Another long weekend bites the dust. Not surprisingly the Victoria day weekend was damp and cold for the most part, it never fails. A nasty cold caught me off guard last week so I wasn't too upset when typical May 2-4 weekend weather rolled in on Saturday, being lazy didn't mean missing out on sunshine and gelato. Thankfully I had some lovely visitors to keep me from slipping into depths of sicko self-pity.

Cara came home from Van with her beautiful baby girl Rosie to surprise her mom for mother's day with a 10 day visit, and what a fabulous surprise it was. Lucky me also benefited from this perfect gift, I had finally accepted the fact that I would not see my new niece-by-love-not-blood again until August, then Cara emailed to say she was coming home. Yippee!

The little beauty is growing quickly, she is a solid little nut with the most adorable leg rolls.

A few things I noticed this visit: Rosie is holding her head up easily now but still struggling a little to control her body, she's generous with her smiles (each made me melt a little more than the last), much like her mommy she is a bit of a grump and needs some "me-time" when she wakes up, she loves watching tv (a new discovery that mommy wasn't too thrilled to unearth), she looks a lot like her daddy, still smells like a new baby (when will she lose that smell? are babies like new cars? is it a gradual thing or does it happen all of a sudden?) and she is a very social little being. Considering she isn't used to being passed from person to person she handled being mauled very well. Yes, I will admit I was one of the maulers. No, I did not put the hat on her little bean but I did snag the opportunity to snap a picture of her and it's one of my favorites from this visit.

My niece neve was thrilled to meet little Rosie and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that she was okay with me holding the baby as long as Neve could hold her too. When I asked what she thought of holding a real baby she replied "Whoa, she's heavy... and wiggly too."

Thanks for the wonderful visit Cara & Rosie! I miss you both already and can't wait to see both of you, and Herwig too, this summer.

A Star is Born

Woo hoo! I've finally figured out how to easily apply the interfacing and I've got the zipper down. I'm no longer using the Bend-the-Rules pattern, I've pieced together tips from various tutorials to find what works best for me and I'm please with the result.

So Sweet

These pictures certainly aren't great, it's time I make a light box I think... maybe tomorrow.

I've finally managed to add a wristlet the right way and I'm pleased with the result.

What do you think of the rhinestone decal? Personally I like it, super easy to apply and quite cute. I'm going to use this guy for a couple weeks to see how well it holds up - my concern is how long the rhinestones will stay put for.

Thoughts?

Laughing Quadruplets

If you need a laugh and haven't seen this video take a minute to watch it. These little peanuts are super cute and have contagious giggles.

Eye Spy

Vintage Fabric - Ladies
Originally uploaded by my-name-is-annie

Whip Up posted a link to a neat blog called True Up where a vintage fabric is posted each day. I instantly fell for this one here, I thought of my friend Cara immediately. See the two ladies at the top? One with long purple hair and one with short blue hair... That's what we looked like 10 years ago, the little marks next to their eyes look just like the stickers we wore in just about the same spot and were rarely seen without. Too funny.

Take Care Tantalizing Tuesday

Tantalizing Tuesday is retiring. Don't fret, pull yourself up off of the ground and wipe away your tears. I'll continue to post recipes every now and then that I believe you cannot live without but trying to come up with a weekly treat to share has become a chore so I'm saying enough is enough and kiboshing the whole thang.

I think I might hop on the Flashback Friday bandwagon and start posting pre-1985 pics on - you guessed it you clever person you - Fridays! I love looking at old pics and this will give me an excuse to create digital images of the old snapshots we have floating around.

Adios Tantalizing Tuesdays!

Prick!

While trying to stuff a needle through a pile of fabric the other day I thought to myself,"OW! Someone really should invent something to make this a less painful experience." I'm not kidding, I actually had that thought. Duh.


Apparently that's what thimbles are for.

I would have felt pretty silly after reading this post on thimbles over at the Purl Bee, but the article whispered that I was not alone in my ignorance of thimbles, at one point in time the author also thought that they were worn on the thumb and were meant for avoiding the sharp end of the needle. Gee whiz looks like someone thought of finger protection while sewing long before I did. Looks like I'm going to be thimble shopping in the near future...

Zip It

Not only does Etsy feature a kazillion beautiful handcrafted items but there are loads of fabulous supply sellers there too! How perfect is this for me? I can now kill two cravings with one bite: shop on Etsy and feed my addiction of sewing supplies.

I stumbled upon a super shop that has the cutest freaking name ever and awesomely cute bits and pieces for fab prices. Check out Kung Fu Cowgirl's shop seriously, don't you love that name? and tell me there's not one single item there that makes you squeal due to the cuteness factor.

I can't wait to work in an elementary school again so I can revert to my rave days and wear wonderfully silly things without looking like I am one of the kids. Working in a high school means dressing up or being mistaken for a student (yes it has happened on more than one occasion). Once I'm back with the little boys and girls I can accent my grown-up gear with lovely earrings like the ones pictured below and totally get away with it.


Back to the point of my post. Kung Fu Cowgirl rocks. I purchased a pile of zippers from the shop last week, 15 zippers (pink, white and blue) for $10 shipping included! I can't buy zippers that cheap from Lens Mill even. Needless to say I was stoked when I found this deal and I was even happier when the packaged arrived from the USA within 7 business days and contained some unexpected extras. I'm a thrifty gal and love when I'm thrown some extra bits without warning.

Check out the pig magnet, too cute! I was eyeing it in the shop and stopped myself from purchasing it because I was trying to behave myself and only purchase things I needed. Behind the magnet are some teeny tiny very sweet stickers and those who know me know that I love stickers!

Big thanks to Kung Fu Cowgirl for the fabulous goods!

This is...

a mosaic of things that make me think of my amazing Mom.

1. Sky Walker, 2. Fleur de Lis #4, 3. The Grand Damme, 4. Day 239, 5. Decorate, 6. Colorful tea cups, 7. Felty (decapitated) Sloth, 8. Young Lilac, 9. snow robin, 10. Untitled, 11. Shell pick 'n' mix, lightly arranged, 12. NZ097

Happy Mother's Day to the Mommi!

Thanks Three Buttons for sharing the mosaic making link.

Better Late Than Never

So this is a crazy ridiculously late Happy Birthday wish to my dad!! I did not forget his birthday but I did forget to post on his special day back on April 12th, for no reason other than the fact that I'm a bonehead... and he was sunning himself in North Carolina on the actual day so maybe secretly I was angry and punishing him. Bad dad. Here I am a month later saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the most magnificent man in my world. I love you dad!

A cute shot of the best parents on the face of the earth with their hot fudge brownie sundae birthday treats. The candles were cacti plopped on top of melting ice cream, quite funny to see in real time.

Unfortunately this is the only shot from the birthday pah-tay. I wish I could post a video of now three years old Neve in Mike's lap, little arms wrapped around his neck, gazing into his eyes saying in a hushed voice, "I love you Tickle Monster." Too cute.

Flashback Friday - Kickin It Old Skool

Three Buttons suggested we post a pic of ourselves pre-1985 so here I am in 1982 at just four years old. This was snapped in the backyard of the house I lived in until I was seven (or was it eight?). I have loads of fond memories from that yard, that house, that neighborhood *sigh*

This is...

the pair of shoes I would sleep in if I could... and I do.

I love the look of heels and wish I could wear them and love wearing them but OW. I much prefer my bare toes and grass is the best accessory.

Thanks Hip Hop & Banana Bread for this week's "This is..." theme.

The life of moi

I've had bags on the brain and really haven't posted about much else lately so here I am with an update on the life of moi.

Life with no school is amazing. This is a short list of things I have done since I finished school:
1. Finally visited Hannah's Tapas with Jess. Martinis and tapas = a perfect "end of my degree" celebration.
2. Try not to get too excited about this one. I organized my kitchen utensil drawers. Maybe not the most thrilling news but I swear less in the kitchen now.
2. On multiple occasions I've breathed in fresh air after work while standing outside in my yard rather than pressing my face up against the screen in my office wishing I was outside.
3. Walked. A 2.5 hour walk with mom on Sunday and a few other shorter jaunts on my own. We live near fabulous paths and I'm finally taking advantage of them.
4. Wandered through the mall just because! Do you know how long it has been since I've gone shopping without a plan? A long ass time. I miss window shopping and am enjoying it thoroughly! I spent 45 minutes in Michael's yesterday and managed to spend $0.00. This is an impressive act of self-control for me. I will admit that I did well at Michael's but heading into the Fabric store with the intent to 'just look' is a ridiculous and impossible feat so no more buying lunches, my weekly lunch bill is going to go towards fabric.
5. Signed up for the next level of Pilates, advanced level classes here I come.
6. Played with my sewing machine. As you can see from the posts below bags are on the brain! I spent two hours tonight surfing the net looking for funky bag handles and have decided that a trip to Japan is necessary. Not at all realistic but I'm allowed to dream dammit.

What do I have planned for the next little while?
1. More bags
2. Some volunteer work. I'm volunteering for a few hours on Friday after work to help the student I spend my days with finish off her community service hours... then it's time to sign up for some regular thang. Still have to figure out what that might be.
3. Making these - you know I have an obsession with bath goodies so why not save a few bucks and make my own? Amy Karol mentioned these on her blog and they sound super easy to make.
4. Celebrating mom & dad's birthdays.
5. Planning our summer trip out West.
6. Eating more gelato.
7. Hitting the gym at least two days a week.
8. Catching up with some peeps I've been missing.
9. Reading. This might not be for awhile yet, I am enjoying browsing websites and blogs but can't find it in myself to read at length just yet. I'll need a bit more time to let my brain rest.

And that is that.

Tantalizing Tuesday

A tried and true recipe that I'm asked to bring to every family dinner because who besides my man can say no to cheese and creamy mayo combined?

Simple Broccoli Salad

What you need:
2 broccoli heads cut into bite size pieces
3/4 cup mayo (fat-free works just fine)
1/2 cup sugar
4 tbsp white vinegar
1 cup grated cheese
Optional: chopped onion, bacon bits

What you do:
1. Whisk together the mayo, sugar and vinegar until it's smooth.
2. Stir in cheese and optional bits.
3. Add chopped broccoli - am I the only one who can't say those two words together without hearing Dana Carvey singing "Choppin broccoli"?
4. Let sit for a few hours or overnight. If you're in a rush then go ahead and gobble it up but it's better once it has had a chance to rest.

A Charming Handbag

I've got the sewing itch and I think it's going to take a whole lotta bags to scratch it sufficiently.

I'm thrilled with my latest piece. A big thanks goes out to Amy Karol's fabulous book Bend the Rules Sewing for this pattern. Making this one little bag has got the creative juices flowing, her techniques are so easy and totally transferable.

I'm loving this fabric and the fact that I now know a simple way to make square bottoms. Yay!

Rick Rack Paddy Whack

Another little bits bag.

This little orange baby was supposed to be my first wristlet. After sewing it all together, including interfacing to give it a little more shape this round, I triumphantly pulled the bag rightside out and then deflated a little when I discovered my mistake: the wristlet was between the exterior fabric and liner. Whoops. Oh well, learn from your mistakes right? I know what I did wrong so next time I'll get it right. I love the rick rack on this pouch but feel like it's missing something... hmmm OH I KNOW: a wrist strap.

I experimented a little this weekend and found a better, faster technique for creating these bags. Yay for my sewing machine and yay for finding something I like to do at home besides sifting through cyberspace.

I made another tiny bits bag this weekend for Tanya. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it so I'm going to have to make another one. I don't mind of course, I love the fabric and am looking forward to playing with it some more. I had meant to sew one up for her months ago when she, the superstar teacher that she is, found out that she was hired to teach in Moscow next year! When she's away she can look into her purse, see her pouch and think of me. The fabric is covered with nesting dolls, too cute.

Tanya pointed out that the little bits bags are the perfect size for a passport, of course they'll fit some other goodies too, maybe a hand held Yahtzee T?

This is my favourite book.

Choosing a favourite book for the "This is..." meme this week has been a difficult task which is part of the reason why I'm posting late, the other part is extreme lack of motivation in the blogging zone of my bean. I haven't posted anything worthwhile as of late, then again I'm not sure I ever really post anything worthwhile, more like random ramblings... See? Ramblings.

As I was saying, I had a difficult time choosing what to post this week so I've decided to choose three of my fav books rather than one because, as anyone who knows me well could attest, I am indecisive and cannot pick just one. Truth be told the first of my list below is a true favorite and the others are fabulous but there are many other stories that I have read that I love equally...it's like my girlfriends, I refer to all of my girls as "one of my best friends" because I love them all and I couldn't, nor would I want to, choose just one as the all-time best. Geesh I'm having a hard time sticking to one train of thought.

Here they are:
The all-time best Princess book ever written! I love Robert Munsch and can't wait to have my own classroom so I can read his books to the little nuts and then have them write him 8 billion letters with the hope of having him come to my school to read to the kids (and me). Love him!
I could read this story over and over and over again, and have... as a matter of fact I read it yesterday. seriously.

Of course I couldn't skip this one:

I loved all of the Harry Potter books, some of you may remember me talking about my days of mourning last summer after I read the final book but out of all the HP books number four is still the best in my mind. The story of Triwizard tournament blew my mind. Yes, slight exaggeration there, but it sucked me in and had me imagining that I was participating in Harry's place. Yes I am a dork and have no problem admitting it.

Deciding on the third was not easy but because it's still fresh in my mind after watching the movie this past weekend I'm going to choose:

The Kite Runner is an amazing novel, if you have not read it be sure to do so but pick it up when you have a few days of peace and quiet to enjoy it. Don't start reading it thinking it will be all sunshine and lollipops, the story made my heart ache and brought tears to my eyeballs over and over again. That being said don't avoid it because it might hurt a bit; in my mind if a story can make me cry and cause me to wish I could yank my heart out and massage the ache from it, it's a damn good story. I still have yet to read Hosseini's second novel, I'm saving A Thousand Splendid Suns for my first week of summer holidays.


High five to Three Buttons for choosing books for this week's "This is..." theme, one of my most fav things in the world is reading.

Maybe not the Littlest...

but certainly a Hobo.

My latest creation: The Hobo Bag.

This cute little sac's pattern was a freebie I snagged off of j caroline creative thanks to this post at how about orange... The tutorial provided along with the patter was excellent! I would definitely suggest this for any novice sewers, I had no problem following the pattern. I'm really happy with the finished product. It certainly isn't perfect but it's not terrible for my first attempt at sewing a 'real' purse. I particularly like the little bow on the strap (on the right side of this pic).

The instructions for sewing in the zippered pocket were really excellent, I was going to skip this step but I'm really happy I took the plunge, I'll use this method for future projects.

I fell in love with this Japanese designer fabric, I hope my mom likes it as much as I do!

29 Again!

Today is the birthday of the most fabulous woman in my world: my mom. Happy Birthday Mom!


She'll be thrilled that I posted this pic here, this is right before we headed to Pilate's this evening. Here she's showing off her latest fix, mom has a serious purse addiction, I must say I'm pleased with this lovely bag. Why? Well it was a gift from me to mom and I made it.
More on that later...

A cup of tea, a game of scrabble and an hour of stretching with my most favorite girl; I certainly enjoyed your birthday evening mom and hope you did too. I love you birthday girl!!

Tantalizing Tuesday

The last Girls Night In that Jess hosted was super yum. We went with an all appetizers menu and there were a multitude of delicious dishes.

I snagged a recipe off of Pioneer Woman Cooks (one of my fav cooking blogs) and it was a hit! Remember to keep your fingers out of your eyes when you're making these and be sure to scoop out all of the seeds or someone will be in for a fiery surprise. wow, I'm a poet.

Bacon-wrapped Jalapeno Puppies aka BLISS

This recipe came from here, thank you Pioneer Woman!

What you need:
fresh jalapenos (2-3 inches long)
cream cheese
bacon
toothpicks
cookie tray
wire rack

What you do:
1. Slice the jalapenos lengthwise and clean the little suckers out with a spoon.
2. Cut the bacon slices into smaller bits (big enough to wrap around the jalapeno once it has been stuffed). I found cutting my pound of bacon in half worked well, the Pioneer Woman suggests thirds but these would have been too small for my puppies.
3. Start filling the jalapeno halves with cream cheese, just scoop and stuff.
4. Wrap each jalapeno with a slice of bacon and stab through the middle with a toothpick to hold the meat in place.
5. Place the wire rack on the cookie sheet (the cookie sheet will catch the bacon drippings)
6. Place the puppies on the rack.
7. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes (or more depending on how crispy you like your bacon).
8. Chomp Chomp.

These are super easy and crazy good. Be sure to check out the Pioneer Woman Cooks blog for lots of recipes that are well written (funny) and easy to follow thanks to awesome photographed directions.
Check this Dump Cake out: maybe for your birthday mom?

This is... my latest discovery.

I actually 'discovered' this ages ago thanks to another blogger, unfortunately I have no clue who that other blogger is now so I can't credit them. I've been meaning to post about this site for quite some time and since today's "This is..." relates to a discovery it seems like the perfect time to share.

Pixelgirl Presents has the coolest FREE Desktop images & icon sets ever! I have little monsters for my icons now and I can't help but smile whenever I click on one.

Here are just a few of my recent fav desktop images from Pixelgirl: