Sunday, March 21, 2010

Change of plans.

I had planned to put in a small vegetable garden today, but when I woke up this morning, it was snowing. I ran outside to take some pictures before it all melted. Because that's what snow does in Texas.

Red bud in the snow

But the last time I checked, it was still snowing. Hello, spring.

In other news, a friend of ours has opened a new Etsy shop selling handmade wooden cutting boards.

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He gave us one as a housewarming gift a few years ago, and we just love it. It has become our main cutting board. Beautiful, functional, and durable. So if you're in the market for something beautiful and handmade for your own kitchen or a gift for the foodie in your life, stop by Wolfe Woodworks and take a gander. And if you don't see what you have in mind, convo Phil for a custom. I bet he could hook you up.



It's snowing even harder now. I think I'll snuggle in for the last winter nap of the season.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Happy birthday, baby!

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Eliza's birthday went off without a hitch. Her actual birthday was on a weekday, so we didn't have her party until the following Saturday. On her birthday we went out for a pancake breakfast, which is her favorite. When she sees pancakes on my plate, she starts rocking in her seat and going "Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!" because she knows I'll share with her. Actually, in the last few days, she's started doing that any time I'm eating, which means that we're going to have to start having healthy lunches at home rather than picking Daddy up and taking him out to lunch every day. What I deem good enough for me to eat and what I think is good enough for her to eat are two very different things, but they're going to have to converge.

E on her birthday

In between her birthday and her party, she started pulling up. I just realized that I don't have a still photo of this yet, although I did catch it on video. It's hard to get a picture of her doing things lately because she's very interested in having her picture taken, so if she sees the camera, she stops what she's doing and gets all excited about that.

First Birthday

The party was a small affair with family. My brother and nephew flew in, and we don't get to see them often, so that was nice. We had homemade chicken salad sandwiches on homemade bread with homemade lemonade. I didn't do a lot in the way of decorations. I ordered a cake to match the dress that I made, and we picked up some balloons to decorate the dining room. Eliza loved the balloons, and kept signing "lights" at them. I couldn't stand to give her sugar or anything that might stain the dress that I made her, so she ate a carrot zucchini muffin with cream cheese and honey icing and sprinkles on top instead of the chocolate cake.

First Birthday
Lights!

Afterwards, she got her first haircut. More of a trim, really. She was born with lots of hair and almost all of it fell out when she was about 6 months old, leaving just one little strip down the center of her head that we called her mohawk. When her hair came back in and started getting thicker, the mohawk started looking pretty silly. Her father was very attached to it, though, and said I couldn't cut it until after her birthday party. Silly Daddy. I didn't tell him that I had done it, and when he discovered it, he said that I had scalped her. But I think he's gotten over it. She also had a single curly hair over her ear that was past shoulder length, but I haven't seen it lately. It must have fallen out, and that makes me a little sad. Silly Mommy.

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Her one year pediatrician's appointment was on Tuesday, and the doctor said she couldn't be doing any better. He was impressed with how smart she is, and it was nice to know that someone who isn't family thinks so, too. Her vocabulary has been exploding lately, and it's so much fun to watch her grow.

Outside with Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa stayed through Wednesday, so we've been catching up on laundry and slipping back into our old routine the last couple of days. I cut out the fabric for another little dress, but I haven't sewn it yet. Not that she needs any more clothes! Grandma and I went shopping and it wasn't until I packed up some of her too-small winter clothes and hung up all of the new stuff that I realized just what a spring/summer wardrobe this little girlie has. I think we'll be good until fall.

Friday, March 12, 2010

I don't usually do this, but

Photo nerds, head over to Alexis Miller's blog to put your name in the hat for a camera giveaway. I know I'd love to win!

Friday, March 5, 2010

I made a dress!

I don't think I've sewn a garment since my mother made me learn to sew in junior high. Wait, there was one dress I made for E while I was pregnant, but it doesn't count because I could barely get it on her and she never wore it. So I was really nervous about this because it had facings and box pleats and I was sure it would be hard. But it wasn't. The worst part was figuring out that putting in snaps sometimes sucks (apparently previous experiences with snaps failed to teach me that lesson) and then having to take them out without ripping the dress and learn to make buttonholes on a new-to-me machine.

Eliza 1 year

You can't see it in this picture, but the hem facing is red.

The pattern is Oliver + S Birthday Party Dress, which is appropriate for an upcoming event, and the fabric is from Repro Depot. Because I'll take any excuse I can get to order fabric from Repro Depot.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Finished

I finished casting off the Pi this morning. It's smaller than I had anticipated.

Finished Pi

I carried on with the crochet cast off, even though I'm not sure I like it, because yarn became an issue. I had enough left for maybe one more round.

I may have gotten belligerent about it at the end, but whether I finished on time or not, the Olympics gave me my first finished knit of 2010*. In March. Can you believe that?

*Well, there is a baby sweater that just needs buttons, and this isn't blocked yet, so I guess those two are nose and nose.