Baseball + Chinatown

A couple of weeks ago we went with friends to a Dodger Game (my first -- and I loved it, weirdly enough) and then to China town. The weather was perfectly cool and it was a super fun day. John got some incredible pics!

Bah-bots!

I know a certain little boy. This little boy has a book. It's a book about airplanes. He loves this book so much that he is currently on his 3rd copy. He takes it with him everywhere and reads it all day everyday. And wants it read to him all day everyday.


He loves airplanes so much that we bought him a toy airplane. It is his favorite thing and it's dangerously adorable when he plays with it and makes airplane sounds. He runs the risk of being squeezed into bits.


He calls them bah-bots! and you've never heard anything so cute as when he spots one flying in the sky and yells "bah-bots!"



We found this airplane at this incredible toy store in Santa Monica called The Acorn Store (they don't have a website, so I've linked to their Yelp! page). If you are anywhere in the tri-county area you MUST go check it out. It's filled -- almost too full -- of the most beautiful wooden and natural and Waldorf toys. Many of the toys are made in Germany (like the airplane we got) and the quality is just not something you see in mass-marketed toys now days. Is it expensive? YES. Is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY. If you're selectively buying a small number of toys that are going to last a life-time, it is completely worth the money. These toys spark the imagination and will eventually become heirlooms. And the lady who owns the store is too sweet.

Sorry that this post turned into an advertisement for The Acorn Store, but I'm just SO excited about it. It was like a dream come true when I walked inside. I can't wait to go back!

Another Baby Boy

Some friends are having a baby boy in a few weeks. It's so exciting. I quickly sewed up this blanket and then wasn't able to attend the baby shower. So it's been sent in a package and hopefully has arrived at it's destination by now.




Love these fabrics! And look -- my favorite color combo!

Dress Up

Book covers made from papers from Paper Source. Easiest, fastest, cheapest decorating project ever.

Underneath this paper these books are Harry Potter. I also covered my Twilight Saga books on the bookshelf. My nerdiness is now a bit more undercover. :)

Speaking of Harry Potter -- The Half-Blood Prince movie is released in 18 days!!!

Cafe Curtains

I finally took down from the kitchen window the dirty, half-broken blinds that were always trying to fall down onto William or myself. Now there are pretty, airy, non life-threatening cafe curtains in their place!

I whipped these up in an afternoon after months of thinking about doing them. I always work up things like this in my mind to be a big deal. And then I finally do it, and it's not a big deal at all.



One funny thing about these curtains is that this fabric was originally intended to be made up into place mats. I even had them mostly all cut out. Six months later, I found store-bought place mats that I liked and then had a pile of rectangles sitting around. So, to do these curtains, I had to sew all those pieces back together again. Haha! Which means the bottom curtain is a bit silly, but we'll just call it character.

Sampler

Remember this? I started this little sampler back in February, and I think I finished within the month. Since then it has been waiting for a frame. I have the hardest time finding frames I like! New frames from the store are SOOO boring, but I never seem to be able to find anything cool at the thrift store or garage sales. They're all just as boring. I finally just got a plain old from Michael's. Simple may be best for William's room, anyway. That's where this will actually be hung...if we ever get around to it.

Ripples

Look at all that clash-y goodness!
Looking for an easy, mindless craft I could work on while also keeping William off the counters, out of the fireplace, out of the toilet and away from my purse, I settled on crochet. Crochet seems much easier to set down and pick back up than knitting -- especially something like this that's just simple single crochet.

I've been wanting to do a ripple afghan since seeing this one on Alicia's blog a couple years ago. I still like hers better, but I'm pretty happy with mine.

I used Vanna's Choice yarn (that's right...Vanna White) and a pattern from this book, also Vanna's. Who would have thought? There are actually a number of afghans I'd like to make from this book and I really love her color line. Also, even though the yarn is acrylic, it seems much softer and was much more enjoyable to work with than most nasty acrylic. Score!

I worked on this afghan for a collective 1-2 hours per day for about two weeks. It was super easy and quick and it's the perfect size for a snuggle on the couch with one's honey. And I looooove the way it looks with our couch! I just love that pea green color with the silver sage couch -- one of my favorite color combos! Those two colors along with white furniture are actually what my dream craft room/sitting room are made of. Yum!

Oh...come to think of it...that's the color scheme of this here blog, isn't it. :)

Excuses Excuses

So I have sucked at blogging lately. Again.

(As usual?)

The deal is...the photos are just so much work. To me, anyway. I take mediocre at best photos, so if I want something decent I have to wait for John. He either has take them for me or to help me set up the camera so I get good exposure, etc. I just can't wrap my brain around the ISO and aperture, etc. And then there's the post processing. And John's super busy. Etc. So there's my excuse for being such a lame blogger.

I really have been working on a lot of cool things in the past few weeks. There's the ripple afghan, a couple baby projects, cafe curtains, quilt, book covers, paper cutting. I've been busy! Plus plans for some baby gifts, some experiments in designing my own plush matroyshkas, and more crocheting. I'm also on a thrift/antique hunt for frames. I can't find any!! And I need several.

Also, I've been revelling in this amazing weather we've been having. It's like, insane how awesome it's been. Two weeks of overcast skies, some rain, and temperatures all under 75!!! I'm soaking up every second of it before the heat hits and then stays until Christmas. We love the cool, morning walks!

I may not have any craft photos, but I do have pictures of our weekend in San Diego last month. Enjoy!

William with his youngest uncle, Ryan.
Waiting in line for the bus.
Cute bugs.
Running down a big hill.
Sleeping through the new elephant exhibit (my favorite animals at the zoo!).
Checking out the chimps.
Will's first beach experience!
He loved the sand but was a bit wary of the water.
He's a kid now.
Our family, in feet.

7 Things For a Happy Monday

1) A cloudy, chilly morning. Maybe not so great for swimming lessons at 10:30am (imagine a pool full of screaming, shivering toddlers clutching at their mothers) but great for me none the less. "June Gloom" already? Sounds good to me!

2) Gardenias in bloom. Gardenias are one of my most loved things on this planet. They were our wedding flower!

3) Greek-style honey yogurt. And plums. Daaaang.

4) Paper cutting while the babe naps. Can't wait to show you what I'm working on.

5) Plans for cafe curtains in the kitchen!

6) Bootcamp class tonight. Yay! I haven't worked out since last Thursday and I've got so much pent up energy needing to get out!

7) Pushing Daisies is back! Well, sort of. It's still been cancelled, but ABC is finally airing the last 3 episodes that have been shot. The first one was on last Saturday night and the other two will be on the next two Saturdays! It makes me happy...but sad. After this it really will be over. :(