Happy, happy Christmas!!

We just got done traveling for 8 days and are home again! I am gearing up to start enjoying this quiet time over the next week or so. Wishing all of you lovelies a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Happy Birthday, sweet Jesus! I love you beyond measure!!

Leon, doing his best Santa impression :)

A sneak peak

Here's a sneak peak of some of the making I've been up to for this Christmas season. This is going to be for E. Ravelry notes are here.

Hooping!!

Even though it's December, we are still hooping up a storm over here. Here are a few pictures of how amazingly easy it is to make your own hoop. The detailed instructions, (and how I learned how to make a hoop,) are found here!!

First you need to buy irrigation tubing. The higher the PSI the heavier the hoop. I get the 160 psi at 3/4" diameter. Grab a few, (or a lot!) of the 3/4" connectors. The connectors look like this:

You'll also need something to cut the tubing. I use a hack saw but I think a pipe cutter would work a lot better. Then measure the tubing so it comes right up to your rib cage. About 42" in diameter is a great beginner size. Cut your tubing then stick one of the ends in some boiling water. This will make it pliable enough to stick the connector in.

Then, stick a connector in that end. Boil the other end for a few seconds and then join the hoop together.

I usually tape that seam with duct tape, just to give it a little bit more security. Now you have a hoop!

You can buy some colored electrical tape and tape that hoop up. Have fun with it! And hoop away!!

Happy hooping!!

Thanksgiving 2011!

For Thanksgiving a few weeks ago, we hosted our first ever vegan Thanksgiving. It was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be and even my dad liked it! (He ate all of the Tofurkey left overs...) My sister, Jennifer, who is also vegan was such a huge help in the kitchen. I love baking and cooking with her. She did the Tofurkey and the green bean casserole. I made a pumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole, corn bread muffins, & mashed potatoes. It was all so yummy and cruelty free!! We were all so thankful that we got to spend that time together and just hung out for a few days. In not too long, our little family will be making the trip back to IL to spend a little time before Christmas with my family.
Here are some pictures of all the yummy food!

Now, I think I need to go cook! All those pictures are making me hungry!

It's That Time Again!!

That time where I get quiet around these parts. Time to savor this quick holiday season with my lovies. Time to keep chugging away at the making going on around here. Time to savor each moment and love, love, love.
Here's one of the projects that's already under the tree waiting. It's the Meret beret by Wolly Wormhead. I do love their patterns!

This hat was made about two weeks ago as a gift for a friend. It's the first hat I had done in a while, since last years colder months, and I'd forgot how much I like making hats. We just have so many that I hadn't made any in a while.This one took a while longer than most, since I did two repeats of the lacy pattern. But yes, I love how it turned out and that color!! Oh that's my favorite color right now.

Here's the ravelry link.


Also, time for some linky love. Here's some links to what I'll be up to during this next month!

This sweater is the easiest kid sweater I've made ever! I love it so much that I've made it 5 times in the two years that I've been knitting. I also love how easy it is to customize. I just finished E's last week and will be starting on A's shortly. They are their big mamamade gift for Christmas.

I am loving all the Christmas ornament goodness over at Craft Snob. So. Good!! I will be making at least a few of them with the littles and will hopefully be back over here to show them off.

Have you heard this yet? Oh, Florence.

I'll also be making our wrapping paper with the girls this year again out of recycled paper bags. These will only be for the gifts we bring to Illinois next month, as we use fabric for our gifts here at home. Christmas will be here before we know it! Go get crafty!!

jewelry making

Lately, I've been on a jewelry making kick. I had forgotten how much I LOVE making jewelry. Similar to sewing, making jewelry is very quick and I can make something out of nothing in less than an hour. I usually don't make jewelry though, because I only wear what I absolutely love. I am not one to go to jewelry parties or spend money on jewelry. I will, however, (and enjoy,) make jewelry for other people or special occasions. I think the last time I made jewelry was for my wedding, three years ago!

Instead of making something knit for my brother and sister-in-law, (which I totally should have, since they are in Alaska and all,) I decided to do something different for them this year. This little charm necklace and earring set was made for her and has since safely made it all the way up there. She loves chucks and has two kitties, so the charms were appropriate.

And this little ^guy^ is mine. I love mustaches and all of their awesomeness. And I'm spreading that love today, too. I've got another "care" package on it's way to IL with a mustache bracelet and some other goodies going to an Aunt today.
Have I mentioned just how much I LOVE giving and gifting. It fills me up <3

for the love of Cowls!!

This year I have grown to love cowls. I think I might love them even more than scarves. I started with a very simple pattern and have been hooked since then that I've even made four more since. I think they are going to be great gifts for others and they knit up so fast! Here are some of the others that I have either made or really like: Super Bulky Cowl; My granny square inspired cowl; the first cowl I ever made; & this is one that I really want to try.

lady art time

When it gets cold out, we create more inside.

We usually do this while E naps, A and I hanging out, drawing together. After E wakes up, she usually joins in, too. I love seeing the vast difference in a 4 year old and 2 year old's drawings.

This is what I came up with today. It really sums up what I've been feeing over the last few weeks months.

This Moment

Joining Soulemama this afternoon with a favorite moment of mine from the week before, (or right now!)

Mini Muffin Tin Love

I found this little mini muffin tin at the thrift store last week and we are already getting so much use out of it! First I made recycled crayons like these, then we used them for collaging the next day. It's just perfect for tiny little hands.

Faux "Cheez" Sauce

That's right, it's so good that it deserves three pictures!!

Two nights ago, I was craving comfort food. Specifically, Kraft mac n cheese. But, I wasn't even going to go there. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't since Aaron was at school and my car hasn't been so reliable lately. So, I decided to find a vegan recipe for the old mac n cheese. I had everything this recipe called for so I decided to give it a go. Here is the recipe!!

So, it's awesome. So. AWESOME. So awesome that I've had this sauce over grains for three days straight. I used sweet white miso and dried onion flakes instead of onion powder. That was about it for the alterations in the recipe, (that and the fact that I only have a tiny food processor, so, I made smaller batches without really measuring. It turned out so yummy though!)

The sauce was made to put over macaroni noodles but the first night I used some DeBoles Gluten Free Rice Pasta. Not that we are going gluten free around here, but sometimes, pasta makes me feel so bloated and I wanted something a little bit lighter. Then, yesterday, I had the sauce over brown rice and steamed broccoli. The way I steamed the broccoli was awesome, too! During the last 5 minutes of cooking time, I threw the broccoli on top and put the lid back on, which steamed my broccoli! I think the sauce would taste great over potatoes, drizzled in wraps, and bread, too. Maybe even a big pot of cheezy soup!

Halloween 2011

This year, I made the girls' halloween costumes. They turned out great, aside from the fact that I started E's Alice dress a few hours before we were out the door. She even went without it hemmed or buttons sewed on. Do you think she minded? Of course not! Especially since she finally has a big girl dress like her sister.
A's Dorothy dress was made about two months ago, and has gotten a ton of use out of it already. She adores dressing up as Dorothy and can go days without taking that dress off.
Our Halloween was nice and quiet. We went to a few houses, then went to a little barbecue at our friend's house. It's actually quite nice having a diabetic kid on Halloween, we didn't have to do near as many houses.
The pattern I used for their dresses is McCall's M4948 and was great to do really slow the first time. I had never sewn a costume from a pattern, so that was fun going through and figuring all that out. The second dress flew by, partly because I had already made one of them and partly because I was on crunch-time.
So, here they are:

Crocheted Rag Rug

A few months ago, I crocheted this rag rug for the girls' bathroom upstairs. I used old sheets, pants and extra fabric. The pictures are a little dark, but the rug really did turn out great and just completes this little room. It's only a few feet in diameter, but perfect for this space.

Want to make your own rag rug? The tutorial I used can be found here!

Happy Halloween!!

Photo credit here!

Happy Birthday E!!

The last two years with you have been amazing! I love this little girl with all my heart and am incredibly blessed to be her mother. Here's a small picture timeline of my big girl!
Just 3 weeks before she came earthside

Brand new

Six whole months of awesomeness

One year old

18 months of love

And now she is two!! Happy birthday, love!

On the Brink of Two:

Sweet E's birthday is tomorrow! 2!! Here are some pictures I took tonight of her last night at 1.