Thursday, March 21, 2013

{phfr} I refuse to take pictures with snow edition

{pretty}

I am refusing to take pictures or call that fluffy white stuff outside "pretty" right now.  But, after a week of staying inside while the weather man tells me that the high is 25 but if that it feels like 6 right now with windchill, and says things like "don't put those winter jackets away just yet" the house isn't feeling particularly "pretty."  Except my kitchen now and then and the living room and dining room for a brief span of time when no one is awake to appreciate it, much less take a picture of it.

So I'm sharing with you my fruit baskets, because they make my kitchen so much prettier, and at the moment, feel like one of the most useful kitchen instruments that I own.  Otherwise, those apple eating bandits that can easily put away a 2.5 bag of apples in a day, would rob me blind and decimate our fruit and veggie supply long before shopping day.

See that snow in the background, mocking me, behind the picture waiting to be reframed,
whose frame a certain toddler pried off the wall and shattered?  



The spices make the "pretty" category right now too, because oh my goodness,
they're organized at the moment this picture was snapped, and I'm clinging
to organization at the moment like a drowning man to a life boat
(apparently I'm also clinging to cliches this morning).

{happy}

Not everyone in the house has a beef with the snow.

Some people are perfectly content to stay inside and be cuddled.


And some people like to heckle Ma if she takes to many pictures.
Like in the photo below.
But at least he's pretty darn cute while doing it!


Mr. Giraffe, on the other hand, refused to cooperate with my "smile" instructions.

Mr. Giraffe is a bit of a secret at our doctor's appointments where I am firmly instructed to not let The Boy have anything in his bassinet, ever, or he will most certainly suffocate with it.  
I tried to take giraffe away.  I really did.  And do you know what happened?
He screamed and screamed and screamed until Mr. Giraffe was returned to the crook of his little arm
where he cradles his little lovey and peacefully drifts off to dreams, while I check on him frequently to make sure that the giraffe has not attempted to sneak up anywhere near his face.

Sometimes, when he's really soundly asleep, I slip Giraffe down by his legs.  The tirade that begins when he wakes, Giraffe-less, however is immediate and unrelenting.

He's my first baby to be attached at all to a stuffed animal at this age and I have to say, they're pretty sweet to see together.

{funny}

See, the next picture isn't apparently funny, but Paul's reaction had me smiling.

I was experimenting with a new recipe this week.  It came out looking like this:



"Delicious!"  I thought, as I evaluated my new cherry concoction.  "And light and fluffy, like the perfect cake!  Definitely a winner!"

I served it proudly after dinner where the girls wolfed it down as if they hadn't just eaten a hearty dinner.  Paul, on the other hand, ate it and began to chuckle to himself.

"What do you think?"  I asked him.  "I need the truth if I'm going to figure out if it's cook book worthy!"

"Well," he said, still laughing a bit.  "There's no way I can think of saying this that doesn't sound bad." Paul is nothing if not honest when it comes to evaluations of cooking (remember the quinoa incident of 2010?).  "It is really, really tasty.  But it feels like eating play dough."

So... I've come to a realization after nearly two months without pretty much any food that makes baking easy, or food made by anyone other than myself,  I've forgotten what regular baked things taste/feel like.  Because apparently after repeated baking disasters, play dough and "fluffy cake" are the same thing in my mind.  And I guess that means that particular cheery filled recipe still needs a bit of tweaking!

{real}

I have been feeling like a one man assembly line super star of late.  I finish the orders that I'm shipping out each day.  And then I turn my attention to my new possibly impossible goal.

Quilts.

There are monster quilts.


And more monster quilts:


And quilts that are so cute that it's a good thing we don't have a baby girl in the house because I would never, ever be able to part with the fabric.


And quilts to brighten babies room.


Quilt after quilt after quilt.  I have a goal.  I want to make 50 of them by the time the craft fair rolls around in May.  Which is what?  A quilt a day?  On top of orders and on top of other things for the fair and my shops?

Insanity!

But I am having fun.  And I have 15 quilt tops pieced together now.  I'm going to try to finish the next 35 by the end of the month and then I'll have a month and a half to quilt and bind them.

But as I began to pull ahead of the quota for the day last night, new ideas began to come to mind.  100 quilts?  Could I sew 100?

No.  No you can't.  But quilting insanity has definitely struck here.  And I'm hoping that I can at least meet my goal of 50 by the middle of May!

Want more pictures (possibly taken outside in a world not covered by snow and with a camera that doesn't make the picture taker constantly exclaim, "What on Earth is wrong with you?!?!?!")?  Head over to the link-up at Like Mother, Like Daughter for more Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real fun!  

12 comments:

  1. I think we have similar taste in some things! I saw that bear flannel at JoAnn's a few days ago and fell in love, but ended up going for their 60%-off flannel instead. Those quilts are beautiful!

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  2. Did you get an invitation to the craft fair?

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  3. Not yet. I'm clinging to the fact that they haven't refunded my fee! Right now my idea is that I'll start working like crazy like I'm in and if I'm not I'll just list everything in my stores and sell them there. Fingers crossed! I'm going to email them if I don't hear soon!

    And Katherine, I need to get on and write a review but I love Patrick's Bunny! I can't wait to give it to him!!!!

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  4. Regarding the -45 temperatures which feel like -100: I hate to say I told you so, but when you announced you were coming to Michigan, didn't I tell you to bring some warm weather? And in your usual busy-ness, you forgot to pack it.

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  5. I'm glad we're going to be in Michigan in December, because I will be going to that craft fair and buying one of your quilts. *LOVE* them.

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  6. Oh wait, the craft fair is in May?! Arg! Maybe if you opt for the Dec craft fair and you opt to make more quilts ; )

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  7. There's one in May and one in December and I'm really, really hoping I get to do both. I think I'm going to try to crank out as many quilts as I can and just keep sewing between May and December and hope I get selected in December!

    And I love your profile picture! It's so pretty!

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  8. I for one am impressed by the amount of quilts you're making! wow--good job! :)

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  9. Now, before I looked properly at the picture and read 'Mr Giraffe' I thought you meant Patrick, because my GOODNESS the child is tall!

    Love the quilts - they're adorable.

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  10. Oh my such beautiful fabrics!! I wish you all the best at the craft fairs. I bet they sell like hot cakes.

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  11. That is one darling, happy baby!

    I wish I had a small fraction of your quilting efficiency!

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  12. Good luck with the craft fair! And thanks in advance for the review; I hope Patrick loves the bunny, too! :)

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