What I've Been Doing

Uh, okay so last time I checked we were still in early October and now it's suddenly November 5. What the? Somehow having a baby, having a nearly constant stream of visitors and then leaving town made the entire month disappear. Yikes. I'm totally weirded out about it being November.

John, Will and I are currently out in the beautiful Inland Empire staying with our fantastic friends, Ryan and Kelly and their four kids, while John and Ryan work on a job. We've been here for about a week and a half. It's been interesting living out of a suitcase with a 2-3 week old baby but we've been having lots of fun and these guys are more than hospitable and accommodating. It's never been so easy to stay away from home! So thank you Kelly and family, for the room and the delicious dinners and not minding that I've been mostly laying around and reading and nursing the always-hungry baby.

So, needless to say, there have been no crafts going on around here besides the tiniest bit of knitting (this little fox) but lots of nursing the babe and reading and trying to sleep when Will is sleeping.


My friend Nellie sent me Twilight by Stephanie Meyer for my birthday last month and I didn't start reading it until last week. I had heard very mixed reviews about it so I was pretty unsure what to expect, but, after reading a few chapters I really got into it. I finished it in a day and a half and then had to venture to the Waldenbooks in the fabulous Hemet Valley Mall to get the two sequels -- which I then finished reading in a day each. Even though they're "Young Adult" books and the writing seemed a bit juvenile at first I ended up really liking them, obviously. And want more please. Who knew that I'd be a little bit obsessed with a book about vampires? Who am I?

Yesterday we took William on his first of many, many road trips. Since we're out here in the desert already, we decided to go to Joshua Tree National Park . It only took us an hour and a half to get out of town -- having to first stop at Walmart for a road atlas and some blank video tapes (while I nursed the baby in the back seat of the car), Walgreens for emergency diapers (I panicked when I realized I'd only packed 3 diapers. I'm still working on getting this whole packing for a newborn thing down), gas, changing William's diaper and clothes in the back seat of the car while in line for the car wash, Starbucks and McDonalds. William slept the entire drive, only waking up to eat once, and then again when we made him wake up to try to take pictures. He wasn't very happy about that. Oh yeah, and of course as soon as I went to eat dinner.

In true road-trip fashion our meals were unhealthy and weird. Breakfast: Egg McMuffin for John and a donut and tallnonfat4pumpnowater Chai Latte from Starbucks for me. Lunch: A $5 "Hot and Ready" pizza from Little Caesar's, eaten in the parking lot of Vons (who can resist the power of a sign twirler on the corner?) Dinner: Big Boy Original Hamburgers from Bob's Big Boy. Clearly, my post-baby diet plan was foiled once again.

Here's some pics for ya'll.






I'm desperately hoping November won't go as quickly by as October did. I'm so not ready. Not ready for birthdays this month, flying to Utah for Thanksgiving (though I am really looking forward to it), William turning a month old, Christmas, or deciding what the heck I'm going to do for employment. Time is going too fast!

Happy November anyway!

Look What I Made

My favorite project for sure. Sweetest boy in existence.

Just Some Stuff

My view from the couch while my mom makes us dinner. It's amazing. Dinner is being cooked and I'M not doing it!



Isn't this too cute? My mom is making the baby a quilt and is working on putting the top together today. I just love these reproductions of 1930's fabrics -- I'm really excited for it to be done! And she just made us a dinner of stew and biscuits. We're in heaven over here.


My swollen foot with a sad broken-ish toe.
So, no baby, but there was some excitement last night. I somehow managed to kick the leg of my bed as I walked past. I have never been in so much pain in my life and I can't imagine labor being any worse. John actually thought I was in labor when I hobbled out to him trying not to cry. Wow. I just can't explain how much it hurt. We thought I broke it (I did hear a "crack" when it happened) and contemplated going to the E.R. But, John bandaged my two toes (the nail broke on one of them, and also managed to cut into it's neighbor), got me some Tylenol, and put an ice pack on my foot. Luckily, I was able to go to sleep pretty quickly and it only hurts when I walk now. So now I waddle and limp. I feel attractive and graceful. Also, I have no feeling in three of my fingers on my right hand. Come out baby!!!

Due Date

Well here we are. October 10. No sign of baby, but I'm being patient. He'll show up when he's ready.

There's really not much to say! My mom's here and we've been working on some different projects to pass the time. She bought me a rocking chair which came today. John put it together and I'm sitting in it now -- I'm so happy to have it!

Hopefully next time you hear from me it'll be a baby announcement!

A Bunch of Rambling and Talk of a Delicious Soup

I just had to write and share my excitement. It's COLD outside, people. Now, understand that by "cold" I mean "under 70 degrees". The fact is, it's 68 degrees. I know that in most parts of the world, 68 degrees is nowhere near cold but to me, here in this land of fiery temperatures for 98% of the year, it's downright chilly.

Evidence: I had to wear a jacket when I went for my hair appointment.
Conclusion: It is chilly.

This thrills me to no end. There are LEAVES on the GROUND, thanks to the breeze. I have all the windows open and...I am not sweating. That is definitely news worthy considering I've been a sweaty, gigantic walrus for the past several months.

Also, the google weather thingy says it might rain. It's blue-skied and sunny right now, but there are some fluffy clouds around the edges so...maybe?? I do hope so.

I made Bean and Bacon Soup (from Real Simple February 2005) last night for dinner. I've been making it for a couple of years now and it's absolutely my favorite -- with a big chunk of sourdough bread to dip in it. I always make a double batch and then freeze what we don't eat the first night -- this way we have 3-4 two person meals ready to go. And this is a soup that's always better the next day or two weeks later. It is so so good.

I want to make an apple pie right now. And wear boots and tights and a sweater. And go on a hay ride and rake some leaves. And then sit by a fire this evening and drink a hot beverage. With my family. I miss my family.

At least my mom is coming tomorrow! We pick her up from the airport at noon and I'm counting down the hours. This is only the second time she's ever come to visit while we've lived here so it's very exciting.

I have a couple of projects to finish but I'm not feeling very motivated. I need to sew two birthday presents for next month so that I don't have to worry about it then. At least the cutting is done. I DESPISE the measuring and cutting part of any sewing project. If I were rich I'd hire someone to do it for me, cause seriously, it drives me insane.

Alright, this is turning into a bunch of rambling. But I just had to share the good news -- 68 degrees! I'm going to go sew for a bit and then lay on the couch for a bit, now. Hopefully we're going to go see The Darjeeling Limited tonight -- but it's only playing in Santa Monica and Century City, so we'll see if I'm feeling up to the drive tonight. It'll most likely be our last childless Friday night and the last movie we go to for awhile so...we've got to live it up!

Have a fabulous weekend my friends! Hope it's fallish where you are.

Yellow Buttons

As promised, here are photos of the Vintage Car Coat that I finished last night. It still needs to be blocked a bit to even things out, but I'm really happy with it!

The pattern and yarn are from the package that Lisa sent me several weeks ago. I got the entire thing done except for the collar and the seaming and then of course ran out of yarn. I ended up having to order another ball from the UK but luckily it was neither too expensive nor did it take too long to show up in my mail.

So, that's all the excitement around here. Had a doctor's appointment this morning but no news. We're just patiently waiting! Time to lie down...

Hi, Did You Miss Me?

Unbaked pumpkin pie is one of my favorite colors
Hello, no baby here yet. He's not due until next Wednesday anyway so...I need to be patient. I'm really tired of the swelling and the being a beached whale and whatnot but, I'm happy to wait for him to come when he's ready. I just hope it's sooner than later. :)


Please take note of the best looking pie crust I've made to date. It's only taken me 14 years to get to this point.
We've apparently started a tradition of having a Pumpkin Party every year at the beginning of October. This was the 3rd year we did it and I hope to continue. Pumpkin is just too yummy to not celebrate! We had Ravioli with Sausage and Pumpkin Sauce (I forgot to take a photo but believe me, it's delicioius. Please try it!), green beans, baguette and of course, Pumpkin Pie. In previous years we've also carved pumpkins but, that just wasn't going to happen this year. And when you have your Pumpkin Party, don't forget to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.



I did decorate for Autumn though and it's so fun. It's 85 degrees outside and we have the AC on, but at least it looks somewhat fall-ish in here.

I've also done quite a bit of sewing in the past few days but unfortunately, don't have photos of it all cause my brain is pretty spacey lately.



First is this Bath Caddy for all the baby's bath things (we don't have enough cupboard space for anymore towels or toiletries) which will hang from the closet door. This pattern is from Amy Butler's In Stitches and the fabric is from superbuzzy.com. I was WAY intimidated by this project. It entailed using interfacing and canvas and boning and had about a million steps. Yikes. But I did it! Sewing certainly has taught me some good life lessons: don't get overwhelmed, take things one step at a time, take risks and to pay attention to details. They really make all the difference.

Exciting News: Our good friends, Cary and Erin, beat us to the punch and had their baby boy yesterday -- 11 days early! I finished the blanket for Quincy (hi, cutest name ever) last night and sent it out in the mail this morning, totally forgetting to take photos first. I used the same Scalloped Baby Blanket pattern from Bend-the-Rules Sewing that I used for this helicopter blanket but in these fabrics I ordered recently from superbuzzy.com. Just use your imagination. :) Congratulations, little family! We can't wait to meet the new guy!

Finally, I also finished another project yesterday but I can't show you until the end of January when my friend Nellie's baby arrives. It turned out so cute! I want to show it off right now!

Alright, well this pregnant lady needs to go lay around some more. 39 weeks! I'm definitely feeling every one of them right now.

Take care! Check in tomorrow for pics of the knitted Vintage Car Coat. Darling!