Butter & Sugar

I had a nice relaxing birthday yesterday. It started on Saturday with a massage using a gift card I've had for nearly a year. Then on Sunday I got to go read and drink a chai all by myself for an hour. I met up with Ruth (my birthday twin) to get our nails done and have a milk tea. As per tradition, we had dinner at Yamato (our 6th birthday celebrated there) and cake back at Ruth and Eric's.

I just had to show two of my favorite birthday presents:



I've wanted one of these for years and finally got one! This is a pot de beurre (butter pot) -- it keeps butter spreadably soft and fresh for a month. It's like, the best thing ever. Here's the one I got. And here's how it works. Thanks French people!



And this is a sweet little sugar bowl that Ruth gave me. It is too adorable. And you know, I really need more reasons to use sugar.

Thanks for the bday fun, my friends!

In other news, it's back to being hot again. It's 93 degrees. Blech. I'm pretty disappointed. Hopefully Autumn will come and stick sometime soon.

The Felting of the Fox

So, last August while I was on bed rest with nothing but crafting to do, I ordered all of these little critters from Crafty Alien. For one reason or another, it took two months for her to send them to me which meant that my plan of getting them all done before the babe showed up didn't happen. And now here we are a year later and I'm just now finishing a couple of them (I did get the owl done before Will was born).

I was going to do a tutorial on felting but...I forgot and only took a couple of pics. So, it's probably not terribly helpful, but I'll post the pics anyway.

All the pieces knit up and ready to go.

Soak for 5 minutes in hot, soapy water. Then roll and squeeze each piece around in your hand until the individual stitches disappear.

All of the pieces are now felted. Stuff with batting and shape as desired. Allow to dry overnight.

Attach parts and applique face, etc. Allow to roam free.

Will loves the owl but it took him a few minutes to warm up to the fox. He seems to like it here.

Ok, so I'm pretty bad at following directions and have to read things a million times to understand what they're telling me. And even though I read the instructions many times, I still missed a step or two. Haha. So, this fox has plenty of mistakes. The white belly was supposed to be appliqued onto the body pre-felting, which I did not do. And the tail wasn't supposed to be stuffed. Haha. So the tail is like...as big as the body and the fox can't stand up at all. It's pretty comical.

I still have kits for a squirrel and a raccoon but felting the fox and the deer in the same night kind of burned me out. So we'll see when I get to those. However, the raccoon kit has gone MIA. Typical.

Maybe Kind of Flakey?

A list of miscellaneous thoughts. I promise to post something crafty soon.

1) Okay, so remember how I was training for a 5K. And was like, dudes, I am GOING to run a 5K. No. Matter. What. Don't let me flake out. I'm running it. Seriously. And then I got shin splints. And then I started my training over again but this time made sure to warm up and stretch really well before and after running.

Well, then I got shin splints again. Took a break. Started again trying to run differently along with lots of warming up and stretching. Got them again. So, I'm out. I've done a lot of research on the topic and found a lot of really great exercises to strengthen the shin muscles and blah blah blah. The thing is -- I don't like running. It's not something I have a passion for or a drive to do. It's not something that I want to do so much that I want to spend a lot of time specifically working on those exercises to just be able to run. Call me lazy, maybe. But, I'd rather just find something else to do.

2) Also, remember how I was going to have my etsy shop up by February? And then by July? And then, "any day now". Well, also not happening. I have a few things done, but I feel like it'd be pretty lame to open a shop for a whole 5 items. And it was stressing me out so much thinking about it constantly and feeling like a failure because I wasn't making the kind of progress I wanted to on it.

So, I'm just chillin' and am going to see what happens. I have no deadline any more. Truthfully, there are other things in my life right now that I need to focus on. Other things that I need to make a priority at the moment. I'll open the shop eventually, but I'm not going to make myself feel bad about it anymore.

3) This week the weather has finally cooled down! I'm SOOO happy. I can't even express my joy. It's actually pretty disturbing, and also not very balanced, but the weather actually has a great impact on my entire life. When it's hot I just feel like I don't care about anything. I'm unmotivated, uncreative, lazy, and don't care that I'm those things. Or don't care enough to actually do anything about it, anyway. When it's cool and overcast and winter-y I'm like, stoked on life and get a million things done. I just feel so much better. It's like backwards Seasonal Affective Disorder or something.

Every morning this week I've gotten up at 7am and gone walking, done some strength exercises, showered and dressed all before starting work at 8:30. It's been incredible -- cool and foggy and gray in the morning. I've been amazingly productive and motivated to make and meet goals. And I just feel so...right. Like, at peace. Maybe I'm silly, but it's how I feel. I'm crossing my fingers that the weather stays and continues to get more fall-ish. I need it.

P.S. By "cooler" I mean in the 80s. In the mornings when I go walking it's in the 60s. Doesn't sound all that cool, I know, but compared to last week when it was 85 by the time I got up in the morning...it's downright winter-y.

4) I just found out that there is another baby in our circle of friends that is on it's way. Yahoo! It seems like every time one baby is born, someone else gets pregnant. It's been non-stop babies for the past year. Fun! Who's going to be next??? :)

P.S. No, definitely not me, thanks.

A Little Lassi

Whenever I eat at an Indian restaurant, I like to get a lassi -- usually mango. Lassi is sort of a smoothie made with yogurt. And apparently, second only to chai, lassi is the most popular drink in India. Good to know.

I found a recipe for Mango Lassi in a recent issue of Mothering and had to try it. It is delicious! Although it's actually really not the same as lassi you'll get at an Indian restaurant -- which I'm sure isn't super authentic anyway. Here's my version:

Mango Lassi

1/4 cup plain, non-fat yogurt
1/4 cup low-fat milk
4 ice cubes
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup mango, cubed (I use Trader Joe's frozen mango and just throw in whatever looks good)
1 tablespoon honey (I've never measured, I just squirt some in there)

Blender it until smooth. This is a good serving for one. Double or triple or whatever for more peeps. I've also thrown in half a banana before and it makes it kind of more creamy or something. Both ways are good.

I have this and a piece of whole wheat toast for breakfast most mornings now and it is a great way to start the day! Enjoy my friends!

Speaking of...

So I was looking up information on the afore mentioned Bluebird Restaurant and kept running across some really great photos of where I grew up. I decided to share them with you here. These are things that all have a great deal of nostalgia for me. Enjoy!

All photos from Google images.

Bluebird

You may or may not be aware, but I have two of the very best sisters in the world. They are my best friends and I miss them every single day. One of my dreams is to someday be able to call them up whenever to meet for a hot chocolate or a trip to the mall or to watch movies.

One of my sisters, my sweet Beth -- whose praises I could sing all day long -- happens to work at a restaurant in our home town that opened in 1914. (That's almost 100 years ago! I love old things!) They have amazing rolls. Also, they still have the original soda fountain counter and they sell chocolate. It's pretty perfect.




So anyway, while we were up there last month, I visited Beth at work and she gave me free food. And some of that free food was served on what quickly because an obsession.




I had to have one of these plates. My very future happiness rested upon having one in my possession. Let's talk about why:

#1. Birds.

#2. Hello, scalloped edges.

#3. Name of home town.

#4. I think that about covers it.

Much to my dismay, however, I found out that they did not sell the plates. In fact, the servers themselves had to pay for replacements if they accidentally broke one. I was heartbroken. I was convinced that I would never again feel complete without one of these sweet little plates.

That evening, Beth -- being the nicest, coolest, most wonderful sister ever (and not just for this, but for everything she does) -- appeared with not one, but four of these plates just for me! I managed to get them all home in checked luggage without incident and now they are in my cupboard waiting for the perfect little dessert to be served upon them. In the meantime, I get so happy when I see them there on the shelf. It gives me a little reminder of my Bethy, my beautiful home town, and home.

A is for Apron (Also, Happy September!)

This book is fantastic and I want to make nearly every apron.
I started with this one...




A bridal shower gift for my now-sister-in-law Christi.

The next pattern I'm going to make has 3 layers, a pom pom trim, satin ribbons and cupcake fabric! It's adorable.

This is the first September that I have greeted with slight trepidation. This September means it's only 2 weeks until I turn 27 -- which puts me most firmly into my "late 20s", it's a month and a half until my baby turns 1 (how in the?) and it means that my goal of being back to my pre-pregnancy weight by that 1 year mark is going to pass me by unfullfilled.

But, I do love autumn and am waiting with eager anticipation for it to cool down. I hate weather over 75 degrees with a passion and long for some overcast skies and rain. It's still probably 2+ months out but I'm going to keep on hoping. And my new weight loss goal is Christmas (good motivation is being able to prove to my younger brother that I am indeed not perpetually 5 months pregnant).

So, with that, Happy Labor Day and welcome September!!