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Monday, September 29th, 2008
Monkey Business!
Here they are, the pants that inspired all of mine.
I tucked in the
shirt to avoid the waistband getting itchy since they are 100% merino wool. But the fit is perfect.
My son
loves monkeys so much he stands in his playroom in front of the full length mirror looking at his bum and saying "monkey!"
Sunday, September 28th, 2008
Spring FALL cleaning
I know most people wait until Spring to do their big clean out, but in my
case it needed to be this fall.
So I was determined ....out with the old and in with the new!
Well,
not much money for the new, but at least I can give the ones that don't fit to charity.
As most of you know I've been living oversees for the last few years. This meant lots of clothes from
lots of countries. It also meant 3 sizes of clothes for both winter and summer.
1) I have
my pre-pregnancy clothes
(oh to be a size 6 again)
2) I have my maternity clothes
3) I
have those in-between sized clothes (I'm still in most of those now!).
In addition, my son also has lots of clothes from his first year that no longer fit. I'm having a hard time
getting rid of those....a really hard time.
So yesterday I decided to suck it up and try to make some progress.
Instead of having one large pile of clothes to give away and one small pile to keep for memories, I ended up with
a huge pile to keep and about 5 items to give away!
What to do?
Well, I remembered seeing a post
on another blog about memory quilts.....I think I have a couple books on this too. So I've decided to keep the large
pile in hopes of turning them into a very sweet memory quilt that I can cozy up with on those chilly days.
Sun, September 28, 2008 | link
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
One on One
Nine whole days alone with my son!!
It's a true test of life to come post divorce and honestly it has been just perfect.
We've gotten into
a routine that is not only fun but makes the most of our time left in the house and our beautiful yard.
We spent every
morning playing T-ball.
We spent every afternoon kicking the ball around....my son ends up laughing so much he looses track of the
ball!
Now that fall has arrived, we've also had lunch outside under our cafe umbrella watching the birds and
singing songs.
And the best part...my son cuts the grass!
Of all his outside toys I think he loves his lawn mover
the best.
I've been trying to keep the grass free from leaves and when my son sees me sweeping them up, he
runs around picking up one leaf at a time and bringing it to me saying "leeeeeeaf"!
I know
I will think back on this summer/fall, remember my son's smile, his joyous laughter and cherish the memories forever.
Thu, September 25, 2008 | link
Monday, September 22, 2008
Hanging
treasures
Taking a much needed break from all the knitted pants, I decided to make
a wall hanging for my son's room to store all his Little Cotton Rabbits...he now has 5...thanks to our brand new addition
Pippa the pig!
His room is painted sage green with crisp white trim. The furniture is dark
wood with chocolate brown curtains so I choose those colors for the project below.
I plan to keep the
same colors in his new room when I switch over to the safari theme so this will grow with him.
One of the many pictures I found on the internet and logged under my "ideas" folder.
Instead
of making the exact design in the photo, which is more suited to a girl, I've decided to knit an "S" in each
corner pocket and a big heart for the other pockets.
Hmmmm, there will be 9 pockets and we only have 5 Little Cotton
Rabbits....I think I see a Monkey a Panda, a Mouse and a Bear in his future!
Mon, September 22, 2008 | link
Thursday, September 18th, 2008
Pirates!
The minute I saw this sweater from the Adorable Knits for Tiny Tots book by Zoe Mellor, I knew I had to make it for my son.
Maybe it was because the boy in the picture looks kinda like
my son and I just knew it would be totally adorable.
Although I kept the shape the same as the original pattern, I thought the striped sleeves were a little overwhelming
for a 2 year old plus I wanted to use more "fall" like colors.
I used Rowan handknit cotton in
chocolate brown, scarlet red and cream.
I loved how it turned out....now if only it would
start getting cold here!
Monday, September 15th, 2008
We have pants!
A few weeks ago I bought a pair of knitted monkey pants for my son.
When they arrive they
were so very cute, but did not feel as soft as I thought they would. In fact I was concerned they might actually
be too itchy if worn all day.
So I went about making up my own pattern, and decided on Debbie Bliss cashmerino
yarn instead of 100% merino wool.
I got so into the first lamb pattern (it matches my son's Pottery Barn Chamois
Lambie bedroom) and how many colors and styles I could make....I made 3 different pants, with 3 more in the works.
The original idea for the Panda motif was not mine, but since I am only making one pair for my son to wear I
thought it was OK to "borrow" the idea.
The company that inspired me to make my own version has a custom
waiting list of HUNDREDS with only 5 orders completed each month, so by the time I got my hands on an original, my son would
be too big to wear them!
The pants pattern I created was knit and seamed in 2 pieces (we all know how I hate knitting in the
round).
There is also an Icord with eyelets around the waist band for a better fit especially with a diaper
or a tucked in shirt.
I liked the idea of being able to customize the leg length too since my son has a long rise
and shorter legs.
My version is soooooo soft and cosy, I can't wait till
it gets cold here so my son can wear them around the house like lounge pants...a.k.a. Hugh Hefner!
Mon, September 15, 2008 | link
Friday, September 12th, 2008
Red
Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!
Step 1 -
Sift all dry ingredients....sounds easy unless your sifter is
the size of mine.
My real kitchen sifter was used to bail out the fish while our pond was being
cleaned!
Step 2 -
Lightly beat the eggs, vanilla & vinegar.
I learned a few years ago that having
all the ingredients measured and ready to go BEFORE you start baking is the key to success.
Oh, and room temperature
ingredients are always best.
Step 3 -
Mix all the wet ingredients, scraping down the sides as you go.
Although I love
my KitchenAid mixer, it always seems to leave egg residue on the bottom if you don't scrape in between.
Step 4 -
After slowing adding the dry ingredients into the wet (scraping down the sides as you go),
and being sure not to mix the batter too much, fill each cupcake liners almost to the top.
Bake for exactly 25
minutes at 350F.
The cupcake travel kit that I am using came in this great set available on Amazon.
It includes a 12 cupcake pan and carrying case
that holds 24 cupcakes.
It's the perfect solution for parties, school events or bake sales.
I also got this cupcake decorating kit and silver covered chocolate beads.
It has the standard tips used for most designs and a easy to follow instruction
book along with 5 reusable pastry bags.
**If using a butter based icing, it's best to chill the icing a little
before you begin, otherwise your roses will melt off your cupcakes.
I'll be posting the recipe on the favorite recipes page later this weekend.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Fri, September 12, 2008 | link
9/11
 Some of you might remember me posting about my time in Manhattan.
Most of my
family was either born and/or raised in New York.
My favorite and beloved Aunt Mary started her Wall Street career
back in the late 60's after my father dragged her to a job interview with a brokerage firm.
I guess
that's where my love of the city started. Each and every story she would tell me over the years became my dream
too.
I even attempted to move to Manhattan when I was young and single back in the 80's. But it wasn't
until just after 9/11 that I moved to lower Manhattan just one block from Ground Zero.
I still remember
the leasing agent in the high rise on Chambers Street asking me if I minded an apartment facing the "pit" as
she referred to it. I was offended then and it still makes me mad when people use that word.
I never considered
that the apartment faced that direction until I stepped inside. What would normally be a million dollar view, was now
the least desirable view in New York.
I spent the first 2 months in Manhattan interviewing for jobs
on Wall Street. It was my 7 interviews with Goldman Sacs that walked me right past Ground Zero 14 times in 9 days.
It was surreal to say the least. What was so unexpected was the overwhelming resilience of the people and their
true love for the city.
Once I settled on a job with Citibank, just 2 blocks north of the towers, I
was overwhelmed with all the stories from my co-workers.
On the anniversary of 9/11, all of Citibank emptied out
onto the street at exactly the time of the first plane and stood in silence looking south. There were literally thousands
of people just standing there, some even holding hands. I remember seeing police officers, fireman and taxi driver just
frozen for those few minutes.
I quickly realized that half of the department I worked with had previously
been located in tower 7, which was the 3rd building to fall. Every person I knew at Citibank knew someone that had been
killed or injured on 9/11.
Over the years that I lived in New York, I grew to love Lower Manhattan so much.
It will always be my favorite city, favorite job and a part of my life I will never forget.
Thu, September 11, 2008 | link
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008
Blog
review - item #3
In keeping with September's theme to follow-up on
previous posts, here's a few shots of my completed knitting projects.
The first one is a kimono wrap sweater
for my niece from Debbie Bliss Essential Baby . It was knit with Baby Cashmerino in chocolate and pink. This is one of my favorite yarns, it's so soft and knits
up so tight, even small tension flaws are hidden.
The second sweater is from Zoe Mellor's book, Adorable Knits for Tots. I love the pattern but the suggested yarn is now my least favorite ever! It's Rowan Glace. Not only
is it slippery but every single tiny tension flaw is magnified. Unless you knit really really tight and consistently,
forget using this yarn. I'm hoping to wash it in really hot water to shrink it a tad and perhaps close up some of
the obvious tension flaws. Thankfully it's still too big for my son to wear so shrinking it might just do the trick.
In addition to the typical toddler sweater, I have a new knitting passion......knitted toddler pants!
I can't stop making them! I currently have 3 pairs ready to be seamed up and 2 more on needles.
I've seen many different versions including the most popular one from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and there's certainly at least 5 more really good patterns out there, but as usual I had to make my own pattern,
mainly due to my dislike for knitting in the round...a.k.a my attempt at the Baby Bobbie Bear pattern. I'm going to make one more attempt at completing the bear after that I'll send it up to Molly in New York who specializes in knitted Bears....I bet she can make something of it!
Tue, September 9, 2008 | link
Monday, September 8th, 2008
Wonderful
surprise
Over the weekend I received a wonderful delivery from my older brother.
First a little history: About 8 years ago my beloved father Pierre passed away from a rare brain tumor.
For a long time I was in a state of denial or maybe just plain depression and kind of "checked out"
when it came time to clean out my father's things.
I guess I thought as long as I avoided
seeing it all, I could still hold onto the memories the way I remembered them not as they were being loaded into a truck
and taken away.
So after his death, my brother's selected what items they wanted to keep and what items would
be put into storage for me to look at a later date.
Since I was living in a small loft at the time, there was no
way for me to take any real furniture or other large items. As the years passed and I got married and moved over sees
the storage unit remained.
Well now that I am back in the U.S., it seemed time to do a little digging into that
storage unit.
I really had no idea what would arrive as I never actually looked at most of the items that
were put into storage so when I saw my Dad's office chairs I was over the moon!
My father LOVED these chairs
and always had them in his home office. I can still remember sitting in those chairs when I needed to have serious discussions
with my Dad.
The chairs are original circa 1950's Knoll Wassily chocolate brown and chrome. Due to being in
storage for so many years they were a little worse for wear, but after a little TLC, I am sure they will be good as new.
The second big surprise were the 5 boxes marked with my name and "china".
As I opened the first
box and unwrapped each item, I instantly had flashbacks of my father's amazing talent....cooking!
Although
my father was a doctor by trade, his true love was French food and wine...passed down from his side of the family who still
live in the Normandy region of France.
I can still remember eating the most over the top meals on these beautiful
plates.
From Beef Bourguignon to Coq Au Vin, my father exposed my brothers and I to the world of culinary
gems at an early age.
I am smiling as I type this remembering how I was the only kid in the 5th grade who not only
brought their lunch to school, but had homemade pate' with Brie, crackers and grapes packed in parchment paper with a
little note from my Dad.
Of course at the time I was not very happy to be "different" from my
friends who got to eat the pizza, burgers and fries from the cafeteria, but looking back, I realise how much time and love
went into each and every lunch.
I am hopeful that this Thanksgiving holiday, I will be able to continue his
tradition and cook an equally amazing meal for my son, my brother's and their families.
Friday, September 5th, 2008
Top 5 for Friday
 As we go into the weekend I thought I'd let you in on the top 5 songs on my iPod.
1) Fix You - Coldplay
2) I'm Leavin' - Jesse McCarthy
3) Landslide
- Fleetwood Mac
4) The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani
5) Do It For Love - Hall & Oates
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008
Needle work
This was actually my first love before scrapbooking, cooking or knitting.
I made these 3 dragonflies while I lived in Singapore. The bamboo frames along with the contrasting mats really
turned an ordinary piece of sewn cloth into a work of art!
I hate to admit it, but for lack of a better location, they are currently hanging over the toilet in the master
bathroom.
I have other patterns waiting to be stitched (a safari animal group that I want to do for my son's
upcoming toddler* themed room next year after we move**) but since my knitting mojo has really taken center stage as of late,
needle work will have to wait.
* His current room is Lamb themed, but once he moves out of the
crib to his big boy bed, the lamb themed bedding set will be too small for the new twin bed. I think a safari animal
theme will really be fun....he LOVES anything related to Lions!
**Due to the upcoming divorce, I will be forced
to sell our new house and move with my son into a apartment in January.
Wed, September 3, 2008 | link
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