Saturday, October 31, 2009

let the wild rumpus start!

max (probably up to no good, as usual)


flapper girls (birthday girl on the left)

coraline! (complete with alternate reality doll)

max and me!

photos from last night's halloween/birthday party
dinner at chili's followed by many rousing rounds of mafia! at said birthday girl's house
fun was had by all! (and my makeup held up pretty well, all things considered)

oh, and also josh let me tell his hair cut story. which is hilarious.
"i made a mistake didn't I?!?"
love it :)

i can't wait to see everyone else's costumes 


happy halloween!

halloween sisters:
halloween sistsers


vampire hubby!


Thursday, October 29, 2009

coffee mug

i'm working like crazy right now to get make stuff for my shop (thanks for all the encouraging words)
. but for now i'd like to introduce you to my new best friend and constant companion:

my coffee mug!


i love it. it's huge, it's from my sister-in-law's trip to london and it is constantly filled with tea.
to be specific, either herbal peppermint, honey vanilla white tea chai, or sleepytime (chamomile, spearmint, lemongrass) (all by celestial seasonings, all with a touch of honey.)

my asthma has been horrible since we moved and tea makes it all better :)
(not really, but it helps)

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

a purse for sarah

an old friend from high school (who i saw recently) sent me some material in the mail to make her a purse and this is what i came up with:

detail shot:
(can you see the little studs at the bottom of each pleat?)

i really hope she likes it!

ps- brad, this is an open invitation to send material anytime for me to make a purse for "caitlin"

Monday, October 26, 2009

i almost forgot to show you!

my finished hat










simple pleasures

after a wonderful weekend with the perfect balance of friends, crafting and quality time with my hubby (at last!) i'm happy to say that today has not brought me off my "happy high".
i often make mental lists of life's simple pleasures to keep me going (and to look back on when i'm having a not-so-great day) so i though i'd share a few (of my many) simple pleasures today:


~ purring kitties


~ perfect fall days (sunny, crisp and colorful)
fire tree

~ public libraries
(and book stores)


(
i did not realize until just now that they all start with p)


care to share some of yours too?

Saturday, October 24, 2009

envelope full of love!

,i checked my mail last night and look what was waiting for me:

a package from my bestie sarah!
contents= new noah and the whale album.
homemade card just for me.
homemade banner just for me.
(sister banner to the blue one she made for herself)

it already has a home!



i really miss her (and her hubby too!)
and i'm getting a package ready to send right back.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

knitting season

let me show you what i've been up to:
hand warmers!
(josh says they're impractical, but i think they'll be perfect for kansas winters)

daisy stitch hand warmers from the purl bee
(i'm really loving the fall colors right now)


my second pattern:
heavily inspired by a pair i saw at target.
(i couldn't find a picture online so i had to go by memory)


and last, but not least, a hat to match them all!
(well, it's not done yet)
the clam shell hat from fiberwild.
we'll see how it turns out :)

ps- does anyone want the black.white.red pair? i'm not going to keep them
(i originally made them just for a trial run)
i'd be happy to send them to you!

Monday, October 19, 2009

the perfect(ish) day

after running errands, taking cache to the vet and other blah blah boring every-day-things, i spent the perfect afternoon outside basking in the beautiful weather! (mid-70's, cloudless sunshine with a slight breeze)

i had the perfect set up.
kittens, favorite (torn up) hoodie, knitting supplies close at hand, and a good book
(this photo was taken before i brought out snacks too)
arie loves hanging out on the deck with us


my guys also spent some time together :)


Saturday, October 17, 2009

favorite things

i'm spending an evening at home, doing a few of my favorite things:
~ reading a good book (with my purring kittens)
~ hanging out with my hubby!
~ nice long, hot bubble bath (with a glass of wine)

this will be followed by a sunday doing a few more favorite things:
~ pancakes! (finishing the pumpkin butter from last weekend)
~ church
~ an afternoon at the library

the rest of my day is pretty much up for grabs

ps- thanks, friends, for all the encouraging messages and thoughts this week.
life is good <3

pps- saw where the wild things are this weekend and was sadly dissappointed.
(key word being SADly)
(josh loved it)




Thursday, October 15, 2009

missing michigan

i'm only working about 10 hours a week right now, and i'm getting bored.
i don't really feel like there is much in my life giving it any meaning right now, but i am thinking that this might also be springing from the fact that last year i was working 50-60 hours a week (and now i'm not) and it takes me a while to adjust to changes.
that being said, i knew moving would be hard, and i'm ok with that. really. i miss my family A TON and my friends (cough*sarah) A TON!
but i expected that.

i didn't expect to miss my violin students this much.

so as of this week i am really trying to put myself "out there" and get some students!

i thought i was looking forward to a break, not working so much, but there is a healthy balance i'm missing right now.

PS: ben, come to kansas so we can play together again! i miss it (and you)




bookcase(s)

we got some last week:

and i also got around to hanging (almost) all of our picture frames:

what once contained all wedding photos now holds a print of an antique map
(in orange/red/yellows) that i cut up:

maybe not the best photos, but you get the point.
i love our little apartment.
it feels like home :)




Wednesday, October 14, 2009

weekend update III (finally)

finally, the photos from last saturday!

it got very cold so we all donned our coats and hats for the day:


josh took them on a tour of the campus while i worked for a couple hours.

we then spent the evening in aggieville at the 8th annual chili crawl. (we barely got tickets!) you take your ticket to 10 different bars and restaurants and get a small bowl of chili at each location and then go to coldstone for dessert.

we decided to rate each location, so we came prepared with our own score cards:


this was not one of our favorite places:

while jon and josh were busy watching the michigan game, alicia and i ended the evening by stealing josh's keys and decorating his office.

yes, that is "the hulk" wrapping paper on his bulletin board (and maze and blue streamers hanging on his bookshelf and desk) i think he got a kick out of it when he found it on sunday :)


Monday, October 12, 2009

weekend stories part II

here's how we spent the rest of our friday:

maiden voyage of the moped!



i was really trying hard to start it here:
alicia had much more luck:



sight-seeing and shopping around the city

aggieville shops:








that's right, is super mrsa!
a toy store downtown sells stuffed germs and diseases.
awesome.

stopped by sonic for happy hour ("happy time")
and walked around downtown

one store had a sign that said,
"unattended children will be given espresso, lots of sugar, a new puppy and then returned to their parents"

Sunday, October 11, 2009

weekend stories part I

i had such an incredible weekend. i was sad to see sister and father-in-law (alicia and jon) leave this morning (at 6 am)
i have so many things to share (photos and stories) from the weekend, so i'm going to break it up a little.

first up, our visit to tuttle creek!
we went
down to the lake friday early-evening and the weather was beautiful!
sunny, cloudless, and crisp.
i got a little lost getting to the water, but luckly it was a gorgeous drive so we didn't mind too much
it was the perfect way to end our tour of the city


alicia did some frog-catching (she did catch one but then immediately dropped it on a rock)
and we all did a lot of poking things with sticks and turning over rocks


i love these guys!
look how happy manhattan made them:

and mother-in-law, don't worry, i'm sending you a disc with all these photos so you can have them too :)

Thursday, October 8, 2009

internets

we've been without internet now for quite a few days, but it's back now!
the kitties are getting along much better, but more importantly sister and father-in law are on their way here to visit for the weekend. i am so excited!

so until the end of this wonderful weekend, i leave you with a photo of cache:




Friday, October 2, 2009

pumpkin season

after seeing so many gorgeous pumpkins around lately i was inspired to get some and carve them to pieces last weekend. i picked out two beautiful pumpkins, which i found very difficult because i wanted to buy them all! (i would line our apartment in a variety of bright pumpkins and various gourds if i could)

unfortunately things didn't turn out so well.
sitting outside for hours is what got my allergies all out of control (but they're all better now). and then this happened:
since i've never actually carved a pumpkin i had no idea what to expect, which is that it's hard work (and i deceived myself by believing my skills with an exacto knife would help) but it was still very enjoyable anyway. but in less than a week it shriveled up and died!!

i carved swirls all over and most of them fell out after about 3 days.
you can even see the battery-operated candle inside.
oh well, it looked good for a little while....
i also toasted the pumpkin seeds (which i haven't done in years!) and you can see that i already cut the lid in the second one in preparation for more carving! but instead i think i will get out the paints and do some kind of faux carving. this way i can stay inside (and save myself) and not do any carving (and save the pumpkin)
i also think i'll buy another one, cause i really did have my heart set on two....

more updates (about the kittens) coming soon!