Sandy Gervais, fabric designer, has a new blog! Check it out! Her bio tells how she was “discovered” at a quilt show by Moda Fabrics and the rest, as “they” say, is history.
p.s. Gotta run or Don will catch me blogging (what an addiction!). The movers are here and I’m supposed to be helping pack and sort!
I do not know how to embroider. Nada. Zilch. Zip. But I want to learn after looking at these designs at Sublime Stitching. Such great stuff!
About five or six years and $$$ later, he’s earned it! We are sooo very proud of him.
I have to include this on my site - just so I don’t forget their web addresses! If you’re looking for great wool craft supplies, check out ornamentea and Felt-O-Rama. Pic above is the felted wool eggs (just in time for Easter!) from Felt-O-Rama.
Images from Better Homes & Gardens.
Image from Domino Magazine.
We often have people over for dinner and we either eat in shifts at the table, people take their plate to the family room or we set up the plastic Sam’s Club banquet and/or card table. Summer is nice because then I can set up a kids’ table on the deck. It would be nice to have a huge table to seat family and guests comfortably but that would take an enormous dining “wing” (we can get 20+ people over at once at times). We once had an outdoor 4th of July party with just under 100 people and our home was only 900 square feet at the time but we lived on nearly a half an acre so we put up doors on sawhorses and covered them with tablecloths, borrowed chairs galore, and voila we had seating for nearly 100 people! It was one of the most fun times ever. We served drinks in the kiddie pool full of ice. There were water fights and people brought their own grills and we potlucked like crazy. Sigh.
Dining guests aside, our kitchen table is getting too small for our family on a daily basis. It can seat six people but really fits 4 most comfortably. It’s been fine while the baby is in a high chair but I think we’re outgrowing it. The chairs are old and two have broken so now the last person to the table gets an uncomfortable and ill-fitting stool to sit on. This is going to sound crazy (unlike every other thing that comes out of my mouth, right?) but I am hesitant to even look at new tables because a) I love my table - it has a metal top that is so easy to clean, and b) it’s been our table for so long it has sentimental value, and c) the kids are just going to grow up anyway and leave so why do we need a big table?? There’s the crazy part. That should be 18 years into the future but I’m thinking about it now. Ding! Ding! Ding! Crazy! I think I need something to tide me over until Ben’s out of his high chair and I break down and get a bigger table: a bench. I love the kitchen table and bench idea because I figure kids can squish on a bench, right?
By the way, I saw a new zinc topped dining table recently - was it Pottery Barn? - and it has so got me thinking maybe a new table is the way to go. Eventually. I just have to let go of the one I love first.
I don’t quilt. But I sure love lookin’ at ‘em, and so will you. Click on the pic above to link to Moonstitches’ Flickr stream of the Tokyo International Quilt Show. Beautiful.
I emailed these instructions to Cole, my origami expert, hoping to receive something like this for Valentine’s Day. What mother wouldn’t love to display these? Are you reading, Cole???
Having 4 boys, I’ve been through a few strollers. My friend, Kathleen, is on the lookout for a double stroller and asked my advice (isn’t she sweet?). Anyway, her provoking question led me to reminisce about my favorite strollers and reconsider what I might do if I needed to do it all over again.
I can tell you that my favorite stroller HANDS DOWN is the one we bought 13 years ago when Cole was born - it was a single jogging stroller made by Kool-Stop called the Kool-Stride. It was purple and on clearance for $399 (I know, I know - it didn’t feel like clearance to me, either). This company has replaced the sun shield, the wheels when they got a new easier-to-install feature and the basket for us, as well as two soft grip tubings for the handlebars. It has held up extremely well and it is still my stroller of choice (and still looks great to boot!). I have loaned this stroller out while I needed a double and even now, I still regularly use this stroller to walk, jog, run or even go to the zoo with Ben. If you visit their website, here, they also have strollers for seniors/handicapped and started as a cycling company. They’ve been doing strollers, though, since at least 1996!
My second favorite stroller was my Kelty Deuce Coupe. I used this stroller for Gabe & Jack when they were both small and I needed a double. I remember the day I bought this clearly - blizzard conditions and I spun out over the median near Oakview Mall in order to get it but it was worth it (nobody was hurt!). Zany Brainy was going out of business plus I had a coupon and I got this stroller for somewhere in the mid $200s. When we were done with the double jogging beast, I sold it on ebay for a small profit (low $300s). It was wonderful - great colors, the elasticized net pockets held a ton, easy buckles, great for a tall person, and I did learn how to squeeze it through doors - with my kids still riding in it. I didn’t ever like stadium type double strollers (can you just imagine the hair pulling, candy sticking incidents?). I prefer side-by-sides. We loved this stroller and there have been a few times I’ve wanted it back. Kelty does make a very similar one now and it sells for around $400.
My current garage holds two strollers: 1) the original Kool-Stride and 2) a Peg Perego Venezia that I bought for Ben. It was also expensive (low $200s) but it had a pram option for a newborn and I keep this in the car for places where I know my jogging stroller won’t fit. It has worked well and held up, too, though little things have gone wrong like the logo sticker coming off, snaps no longer snap, and I can never figure out the straps. I do love how you can switch the handlebar to face toward or away from you so the baby can look at you or forward. I also love the swivel wheels but sometimes it’s hard to steer and I don’t like to lock them. We took this out on the ice at Chalco a few weeks back and had to ditch it roadside - it’s pretty much a city stroller. I wished I’d had my Kool-Stride with me then! I would consider Peg Perego for a double but only if I never, ever had to go over a curb or dirt.
Some strollers I’ve had and did not like: Graco, Evenflo. They fell apart quickly and wheels were not sturdy at all. I had liked the infant seat combo convenience but it’s really only necessary for such a short while. I never have liked the Duo Gliders - so many friends say they’ve fallen apart. I think you do get what you pay for! If I had to do it over again, I would like to try Phil & Teds. Maybe a Bugaboo - but I don’t see any of those in double. Maclaren is supposed to make great double models. I would buy another Kool-Stride in a heartbeat - although I did try a double of this stroller that I bought on Ebay and, although it worked, it was mammoth and hard to maneuver. The front swivel wheel on some of the new strollers intrigues me but I don’t think I’d like one for actually jogging (knowing how much I hate the swivel on my Peg Perego). I would buy the Kelty again and would consider a single jogger, too from them - if I still didn’t have mine from thirteen years ago!
p.s. Here’s a link to Cookie Mag’s top strollers - see what they have to say!
In my quest for beautiful kitchen islands, I ran across many photos and thought I’d share my favorites. The photos are from Armstrong, Thomasville, and Southern Living.
Never been done before. Stephenie Meyer takes the top 4 slots of the Top 100 Books of 2008 from the USA Today’s best selling books list (photo courtesy of USA Today). You can check out the article here. Personally, I’ll admit that I started reading them skeptically - I was pretty darn sure I would hate the books. I mean, come on, vampires?! As I turned each page, though, I kept annoying my hubby by saying, “Wow. This is really good stuff.” I couldn’t believe how much I liked the books! They’re not really good vs. evil books. More about free agency and choice. Loved them. Even hubby has read them and likes them as much as Harry Potter. Surprise! Other books on the list that I have read this year: Wrobleski’s “Edgar Sawtelle” and Grogan’s “Marley & Me” — both great. Now, off to read some of the REST of the top 100 books…I’m sure some of those are even better…without the teenage groupies.
I am loving this Christmas break. Lots of staying up late playing games and then sleeping in and staying in bed and reading. There is nothing better than reading for an hour after you wake up but before the day really begins. Normally, I would read scriptures and then hurry off to start the day but this Christmas break, Don and I have been waking up late and catching up on our fiction piles — such a nice treat. I am thoroughly enjoying the 2000 edition of the Best American Short Stories edited by E.L. Doctorow and Katrina Kenison. My favorites so far are a Utah author Ron Carlson’s “The Ordinary Son” as well as Amy Bloom’s “The Story” and Percival Everett’s “The Fix”. You can see more reviews at Goodreads . I do think it’s ironic Don is reading Twilight and going to donate blood to the Red Cross on his birthday. Makes me chuckle. He says he’s going to take it to read “in the chair” on-site. He’s closer to 50 than 30 today but I can guarantee you he doesn’t act like it. He will always be a boy at heart and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Yet another felted wool project from Betz White’s book. Really. Great. Book. Easy stuff and so satisfyingly rewarding when you’re done (because they’re so cute!). I need to make some more of these cupcake pincushions for Christmas gifts for my crafty friends. This was project #2 out of the book for me. The first was the felted hand puppets that you can see here. I took a third project from her blog which was the Cashmere Bunnies you can see here. As you can tell, Betz is amazingly talented.
If you are not familiar with Boden merchandise for your family, be sure to check it out here. I am in love with their design and fabrics. Their children’s clothing is fun - the boys stuff is full of spiders, monsters and soft fabrics - and the adult stuff has such flair. I love their marketing techniques. The catalogs include a running interview of the models with intriguing questions. I hadn’t shopped there for almost a year and they sent me a very funny, personalized letter that had Don and I laughing so hard we vowed to spend the $20 voucher they gave us immediately. Which we did. To pay for a portion of these sunglasses. That make even me look like a movie star so I wanted to keep them. But here you go. My biggest online giveaway yet. Just comment on this post — one comment per person, please — and you will be entered to win. Drawing will be held on December 10th at midnight, CST using random.org. Retail value $60 and they come in the cutest case - perfect for Christmas giving.
I am having a thing for Christmas stockings. There are some innovative ones on etsy and of course they’re all over magazines right now. I have been ripping pages out of magazines like crazy because I am in love with them. The pics above are from this month’s edition of Country Home magazine.
Yummy gummy homemade noodles. My mother makes the best homemade chicken noodle soup EVER. Thick, gummy noodles that my kids adore. They hadn’t eaten one of my meals in weeks and they gobbled this up declaring I was the best cook in the whole world. Cheap, easy, delicious. Hope you enjoy the recipe.
Nana’s Homemade Chicken & Gummy Noodle Soup:
Bring chicken parts (best with skin and bone) with one chopped onion and an optional clove of garlic (use whatever chicken you’ve got on hand and as much as you want) to boil in a large stock pot of water. Drain chicken, straining and keeping strained broth. Cool chicken in fridge until you’re ready to pull off the meat. For noodles: Beat 6 eggs (you can use the whole egg - we’re not fussy here) with flour adding one cup at a time until it becomes a very soft dough consistency. Being very generous with flour, roll out onto the counter into a rectangle shape. Roll up with lots of flour and cut into discs that will unroll as noodles (the dough will stick to itself if you didn’t use enough flour!). Seriously, be generous with the flour. Let the dough strips stay on your counter for about 3 hours or until you’re ready to make the soup. While you’re doing that, you can pick the meat off the chicken bones, ready to add back to the soup later.
About 20 minutes before you’d like to eat, bring the broth to a boil - add a little bouillon for flavor - if you want sliced carrots, add them now. Add the noodles, a few at a time, with extra flour on them, to the broth and stir occasionally as you add them so they don’t stick. Noodles will cook in about 20 minutes. Adjust heat as needed. The extra flour on the noodles thickens the broth. Return chicken to soup and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
