Some Curtains

Sorry I can't seem to get a good picture of the living room :( More to come tomorrow...



This is a close up of the grommets on the top of the living room curtains... I love how they look! Plus, they make the curtains sooo easy to open and close!











This might be my favorite one! I love the way the two fabrics go together... I think we even have enough of the stripey to make chair pads for our dining room chairs...









Pretty, huh? Crazy how the Virgin Mary poster completely goes with this room since I've had it for awhile now... We just need to re-frame Her.

There's still the bedroom... I'll save that room for my next post :)

Pay It Forward

While reading Katrina's blog, Snapdragons , yesterday, I happened upon another swap of sorts... I like this better cause I have a year to think of something fun and crafty to make for three of you! Yippee! So, here's the rules as I understand them; be one of the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment on this post and you win. What, you ask? The winners get something home-made and crafty from me within the next year, but you have to promise to post the same on your blog and follow suit for 3 new people. Sound fun? Comment away :) Hurry!

Oh, and since I don't like to post without a picture, here's my first try at digital scrapbooking... The paper, ribbon, etc. is from a free set at shabbyprincess.com. She has tons of adorable stuff!


Cute, huh?

Swaps and Stuff

Well, I think I finished everything to send to my partner... And look, I knitted :)

Can you see the "N"? I don't know about knitting, tho... My wrists HURT! I wonder why it's more straining than crochet? Hmmm...

Anyways, now back to something for me... I just need to make the back, which I think I've decided to do in a kinda random stripey pattern, then the sides and the straps... That's not much, right? By the way, can you tell that I made two of the squares with a bigger hook? I'm hoping when it's all made, you won't be able to notice :(

Babushkas

Another thing I love are Babushkas! Momma posted about hers today, so I promised to add a pic of the one she bought me over here for ya'll to see... Aren't they pretty???


Plus, look here, I want one!

So Sorry... Again :)

I don't know what it's been so hard for me to keep up around here! I guess buying a new house, hosting a little bro's bday, taking 3 cousins overnight and working full time takes alot out of you! Phew :) Now, look what all of this (yes, that's all IKEA)...

turned into...

This is my "entertainment center". I absolutely love this furniture!!! It looks so classy :) I also, as you can tell, like books spread around my house. These bookcases were originally supposed to have glass doors, but I'm happy that we ended up getting the door-less ones... Everything looks so pretty displayed on them!

Here's my RED furniture... I absolutely L-O-V-E it!!! How crazy that the flowers in the painting above the t.v. match the couches perfectly! We got that for Christmas 2 years ago from my momma and step-daddy, and everything seems to work around it. I can't wait to see what this is all going to look like with the curtains. Which, by the way, mom-in-law asked if momma and I would like to help, so up the road we'll go to have a day of sewing this Saturday... I'll be sure to post pics!

So, anyways, that's most of the stuff we bought... There's still some pillows to be made for the couch, and I'll show you a pic of the dining table we bought when it's all spiffed up and extended... Oh, and my curio full of precious moments!

Yipppeeeee!!!

I got a package... I got a package... I GOT A PACKAGE!!! My first swap and I got s-p-o-i-l-e-d!
Look at all this gorgeous stuff!!!

The prettiest yellow sugar 'n cream yarn... i haven't even seen that yellow! And the variegated one has the prettiest pastel aquas, yellows and blues... So cute!!! as you can see, there's also this cute little hand-made needle carrier (I'm always losing my needles! How'd she know that???) and a book of crochet dishcloth patterns... and that's not all!

The prettiest hand-knit cloths! An apple, California and a cool diagonal pattern one... I love them! The red matches my kitchen so perfectly! Plus... Mmmmm... peanut butter M&Ms (have I told you how much I love these???) and CHOCOLATE COVERED ESPRESSO BEANS! So yummy! Am I gushing? I think I'm gushing :)

Here's a close up of the super-cool
California Cloth...


Thank you sooo much Emma!!!

Yikes!

I can't believe it's been a week since I've posted... We've been crazy busy at home! Biff has been visiting, she had to go back a bit early for a job interview (say some prayers!) but she should be coming back tomorrow night. On the home front, I don't want to show pictures until it's 100% done, so here's a sneak peak of my Indian Woven Rug that I l.o.v.e.!!! It has all the colors of my house all in one spot!


Oh, and can you say CUTE!!! My twin nephews, Mihran on the left and Vahan on the right... Vahan was sleepy :)

I've Been Tagged...

Oh, Lordy... 8???

Okay... Hmmm...

1. I've always liked older men... When I was 4, I was in love with Tom Selleck... Ask Momma, I would sit in front of the TV and think Magnum P.I. was wiggling those eyebrows at me :) Then from the time I hit I can't even remember when it seems like I've been in love so long... George (do I have to give a last name) Clooney... Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm... When all my friends were in love with Leonardo DiCaprio (no thank you) I thought I had found my 40 something year old prince charming... THEN, hubby! Yep, 8 years difference, which he doesn't like me to point out, since when I was in kindergarten fingerpainting he was almost in highschool... Yikes!

2. If you've read Biff's Blog comments lately you'll know that we have weird ESP moments... Another? We used to show up to school dressed exactly the same... All the time... Like, enough times that our friend Grumpy Tadhg (yes that's his name, the Tadhg part, very Irish) was convinced that we would call each other the night before to plan it out and make them all think we did it on accident.

3. I can't go a morning without coffee... really grumpy before I get any... really grumpy...

4. I, unlike my momma, would never like to live in the country... I told hubby that when we bought a house, it had to be within 10 miles of a Target... And I wasn't kidding!

5. I, also unlike my momma, have a brown, or better yet, black thumb... Why am I a serial plant killer??? Why??? I love plants, they just don't love me back :)

6. I love music, and play 3 instruments... piano, flute and piccolo... and dabbled in 2 others... cello and violin. I would love to own a cello and really learn to play it, the sound is so rich and haunting to me. Listen the #1 track here...

7. My brothers are 21 and almost 15 and they still call me sissy.

8. Ok, better make this a good one... Funny story... When I was little, my granny sat me down with the gigantor JC Penny's catalog and told me to look through it and pick something out for grandpa for Christmas... I looked and looked and couldn't find anything!!! Why? "Because... Grandma, there's nothing dirty in here!" Haha :) Papa was a mechanic and always had grease and dirt all over his clothes, I was confused, I guess, because I thought he bought them like that. We still laugh about that to this day!

Now you know some random facts about me... Hmm... Who to tag???

It's Growing!

First off, thanks so much to everyone for the sweet comments. I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to reply individually (kinda busy with my new house!) but know that I really appreciate them all!

Now, the girly ripple... it's growing... pink stripe after pink stripe... and I LOVE IT!!!


Here's a close up of the stitches...



FUN!!!

Pancakes

Mmm! Who would have known that this $1.08 box of WALMART pancake mix...


Would turn into these absolutely delicious, fast disappearing, fluffy fluffy fluffy pancakes?!?!?!?!

I'm sooo pleasantly surprised :)

Girlie Ripple

Here's my progress on the pink ripple for hubby's coworker. I've done 2 color repeats and you can tell the light pink is much pinker in person than in the pic. I ended up using #16 in Jan Eaton's book, "Pink Ripple". I think I like it :)

My Best Friend

Yeah! My bestest friend has a new blog! It's called Domestically Challenged. Go check it out! I'm sure we'll have funny stories to tell back and forth!

I'll start... One time I was over at her (I call her Biff) and her mom's (who you will now know as Momma Lynnie) and I was checking my email or downloading music or something on her computer, her kitchen was in sight from the desk, but a little to the left. So anyways, all the sudden I hear, "HELP! I DON'T KNOW HOW TO COOK!!!" and I look over and here's all this black, black, black smoke pouring from the top of the oven. She had decided to try to cook frozen chicken nuggets in Momma Lynnie's ancient cast iron skillet... set on high heat... Oh, poor Biff... I think I ran over and put the whole pan in the sink and that started laughing so hard that I cried... Then we probably went and got some Chinese food (which I'll tell you about in another post). Much yummier than charred frozen chicken nuggets :)

But then, recently, she redeemed herself. I don't know if I've mentioned how much I like peanut butter... therefore, my fave candy is reese's peanut butter cups. For my lingerie shower she made brownies... brownies with a whole layer of reese's peanut butter cups in the middle... Oh... my... God... the were almost better than sex... almost :) Next time she comes to town, we'll make some and I'll post the directions... and then I'll make Baklava... or lemon bars... for her and post those, too... Mmmm... she'd better come soon!

Oops :)

I forgot that I have to post for the contest at the Dishcloth Swap...

1. Someone who crochets - Me, obviously :) and Mary B.
2. Someone who's never made a dishcloth before - Madonna B.
3. Someone who has been knitting\crocheting for less than 2 years - Jodie Someone
4. Who has been knitting\crocheting for more than 5 years - Pat S.
5. Someone who is from a non-US country - Stephanie L.

Catch Up

Ok, so I have lots to catch you guys up on! Have I mentioned that I have a new... beautiful... big house??? lol :) Here's my favorite room...


My kitchen! In it:

• the best appliances we could upgrade to... I kid you not, my microwave has a brain... There are these special "sensor" buttons for heating things like leftovers, baked potatoes, beverages, etc. and all you do is stick the "whatever" in the microwave, hit the one button and then the microwave cooks it until it senses steam and then figures out how long to count down until the food is warm! So far, I've reheated coffee and pizza and both were the perfect temperature... So cool :)
  
• Also, I fought for the diagonal laid tile backdrop, I think it gives the kitchen that "umph" that makes it look more expensive (since we couldn't afford granite). I can imagine spending many happy years cooking and conversing with family and friends in this room :)
• A glass of diet coke... always a glass of diet coke within reach
• My treasured Le Creuset dutch oven and tea kettle. Hubby thinks it's so funny that when we watch FoodTV, they use the same pot that I have in my kitchen :)

Also, these pretty flowers that hubby got for yours truly the other day... I love these stargazer lilies, they smell soooo good!

Now, for yarn update :) I got lots of fun yarn today! One of hubby's coworkers is having a baby girl and I haven't gotten to make a baby blankie for a little girl yet, so...


It's Caron Simply Soft in Watermelon, White and Soft Pink. I think, soon, it will become a pretty ripple blankey, maybe the Warm Waves pattern from Jan Eaton's 200 Ripple Stitches? I'll post pics as soon as I get started!

Home!

Yeah! My internet is back up!

Man, it's been a busy week. We moved into our house on Friday... I think I walked like a 90 year old woman until at least Monday :) Moving from an upstairs apartment to a two-story house is not the most fun thing to do... In Central California... In June... I think we all lost 5 pounds just in sweat (pretty mental picture, huh?). See, all sweaty when we got to unlock our house for the first time!


Thank God for my big, always there to help family. Step-Daddy worked like a mad man all morning, but he had to work that night, so he went home around 2 to get a little sleep, my little big bro (18 months younger, but about 8 inches taller) hurt his back about an hour in and was out of commission, mommy got all the little stuff and all our clothes (I have LOTS of clothes), little little bro helped a ton... We'd been going all day, and I actually helped hubby get the bottom of our very new, very expensive, very breakable, very heavy, china cabinet down the stairs and into the truck and I thought I'd cry if I had to try to get the top, and then... to the rescue... Uncle Philly and Aunty Tammy! Praise God :) They helped get that down to the truck and then helped hubby unload it along with other very heavy things, including my piano... Phew!

It was a long, hot, sweaty day, but oh... my house... it's so pretty!


And my hubby, he's a machine! A handsome, energizer bunny machine! Our house is all unpacked (the only things that are left are things I need to do :) ) because he's so anal retentive that he HAD to get it done when I went back to work... All the boxes (that are left) are in their respective rooms and the house seems so clean and open and... BIG! Quite a step up from our not even 900 square foot apartment... I'm in love!

Sorry I've been so busy, but hopefully I'll get some crafty or yummy stuff done this weekend to share :) Oh, and more pretty pictures of the house!