Happy Blogiversary!

Today is my second blogiversary! Makes me feel like eating some cake and ice cream. These past two years have been so much fun. Two years is a pretty long time for a blog I think. My son wasn't even alive or conceived. And now he's about to turn one this coming month!

So, I finally got around to making these tasty baked doughnuts I wrote about. Yummy! I'll definitely make these again. They were a hit. Unfortunately I deleted my photos on accident. I wish I had them to post because they were pretty. I didn't have a round cookie cutter so I used a flower one instead. One tip I'd recommend is that you put your parchment paper on a lighter-colored pan. I made two separate pans--one with my Pampered Chef stone and the other with a much-loved and well-used cookie sheet. The cookie sheet doughnuts burnt on the bottom so much so that I cut the bottoms off since the tops were fine.

And, my wonderful Ginger Blossom fabric arrived! Isn't it lovely and beautiful? I'm going to sew a purse with these pretties. Can't wait to show you.

My Brick quilt is 90% finished. I'll post pics soon.

Fast Friends

Iam happy we broke down and got Aspen a puppy. The puppy has bonded far more with our yellow lab than us individually. But this site makes me happy because ever since Taylor died, Aspen has sulked and been a lonely boy. Suddenly he's a spry and active dog. He's acting like a puppy himself. The wonderful part is that he is keeping Mylee (puppy) so busy that she isn't chewing on any shoes or furniture! I hope it continues.

And to be filed under the "kids say the darndest things" category, on the way home from school MiniMe said, "Mommy you know what is a wonderful idea? If we go home and you go get my princess dress to put on me and get me Hello Kitty snacks while I watch my movie." Just what kind of diva are we raising???

Have a great weekend everyone!

Egg Tragedy and Fabric Blankie

I'm trying to catch up on my ABC along here. Let's see, by doing two letters today I will be caught up. Hooray! I'm kind of cheating because this egg picture isn't mine but belongs to Francisquini but I had myself a such a good laugh that I wanted to share this Egg Tragedy with you. So there is my "E" for the month. I just love the expressions on the surviving eggs--especially the one smiling.



And now for "F" which is my own. This Fabric blankie is the result of the Mini Project I mentioned in my last post. Well, I'm not sure what I was hoping for when I handed it to my girl. She has a favorite blankie that I've written about here. Her enthusiasm lasted about three minutes and this blankie has been left behind. She instead takes her mini stroller around the house with her baby and Pinky inside. Oh well, it is pretty nonetheless. I've learned my lesson--quit trying to recreate the Pinky infatuation with something new. I have just wanted to make sure we have something else she loves in case we lose Pinky. But the pressure is on to never lose Pinky. Ever.

Anyway, I used leftover Freespirit's Freshcut Heather Bailey fabric and made up the pattern as I went along. The hardest part was cutting the squares!

First Haircut and Mini Project

How's this for cute? Aren't MiniB's eyes huge as saucers? Yesterday was his first haircut. I saved a lock for his book. He was adorable and terrified but no tears were shed. Here he and MiniMe are post haircut:



I'm still working on my brick quilt but MiniMe's Pinky blanket gave me some inspiration for this new MiniProject. I had a bit of Freshcut left from my brick quilt. I'll post more images as I progress. This is my own pattern so I'm making it up as I go along.



Here is the back. Sorry for the overexposure on this one.



I'm on a sewing kick. I'm on a knitting hiatus. I realize that knitting the 20 felted bags for my trunk show really did a number on me. My right wrist and finger hurt a bit when I get to casting on. Ouch. Overuse injury.

D is for Doughnuts, Diets, and Dates

Have you checked out this baked doughnut recipe making the rounds on some blogs? I LOVE doughnuts. They are on my list of what I'd eat if I only had one meal left. Better to go out unhealthy, right? Deep dish, Chicago-style, pepperoni pizza and doughnuts. Sushi and caramel cheesecake are pretty wonderful too.

Speaking of wonderfully bad food, I think every single recipe I come across sounds even more delicious because I'm watching my diet and trying to lose these last 5 lbs. of baby weight. I have one month until MiniB turns one-year old! I was hoping to be down by now. I really want to buy the new Martha Stewart's Cookies book but I know that would destroy my mission. If you've bought it, let me know if it is any good.

I went on a date with MiniMe yesterday to see Horton Hears a Who. It was adorable. I don't want to give anything away but I was so proud of MiniMe. When the movie was over she was asking me so many questions about the kangaroo (Carol Burnett character). Does she have friends Mama? Why was she so mean? It is funny what sticks with kids. She also really liked the JoJo character. I personally thought Jim Carrey as Horton was hilarious. I highly recommend you take your kiddo(s) on a date to this movie!

Brick Quilt

The cutting is done and the bricks are all laid out. In case you don't remember, I'm going to make Amy's Lotus Brick Path quilt but use Heather Bailey Freshcut fabric. It has taken a couple of months of me working here and there--evenings and naps. I can't wait to start sewing. I'm not even done but I'm scoping out my next project.

Have you witnessed the beauty that is Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossom? Take a look here for pics of her new collection. Here is one picture for you to see.



Check out her Portabello Pixie blog--I'm rather hooked!


And in case you are wondering, "hey, thought this was a knitting blog." It still is. I'm knitting the Flutter-by socks. Here is Sock #1.



This is a wonderful pattern! I love sock knitting. It is a good break for me between purses. I knit this one in Florida. I've cast on the second but have a trip next week to Seattle for work so I'll get to it on the plane. I can't imagine a plane ride with no kids. Just my iPod and knitting. H-E-A-V-E-N. I love my kids but you know how it is to travel with two wee ones. Exhausting. The second you walk on a plane with a baby, the eyes of the passengers already seated have that look of desperation that you know they're saying inside, "please let this not be your seat." It's kind of funny.

Have a great Thursday!

D is for....Doggie (also known as I'm back to not sleeping)

When we lost Taylor last summer, I needed the time to have a household of one dog and to mourn my little guy. I didn't notice a decrease of dog hair because Taylor was a Lhasa and didn't shed. The dog food bills weren't less because he was so little, what he ate compared to our Lab was inconsequential. There wasn't less barking. Taylor liked to growl more than bark. Instead I noticed that when I sat at my computer, there was no little creature sitting at my feet. When I stepped out of the shower there was no little dog curled on my rug. My shadow was gone and I miss him terribly. Though life was somewhat easier with one less responsibility, I still felt a longing for my little companion.

So, after much discussion, we decided to get another dog. Wouldn't you know that MiniB is 10-months old and I sleep beautifully now since I stopped nursing a couple of weeks ago? Fast forward to last night where every other hour I am standing in below freezing cold and wind begging this pup to hurry up and pee instead of sniffing every leaf. I can't complain. I did this to myself. She's my dog so I take full responsibility. B wanted us to wait on another dog much longer than I was willing.

I've finally settled on a name--I think. Mylee or Myleigh or Mylie (not sure of the spelling yet). For a while she was GiGi. That was after we called her Happy for a bit. I might change her name again. She's a puggle. She was the most mellow of the lot of girls but now she's beginning to show her personality. What is so interesting is that she has taken on some Taylor traits. Taylor would sit down on your spot on the couch the second you got up for water though he seemed totally content where he was before. Mylee does the same. There could also be 10 pillows on the floor and Taylor would always go for the three pillows that were stacked and teetering at near impossible Lhasa Apso heights. Myleigh attempted the same feat. Taylor would take his food and eat it at the carpet. Mylie too. It's funny. I'm sure these traits are common to all dogs but Taylor was so quirky that I'm seeing bits of him and it is good for me. As I type, Mylie is snoring right next to me in bed. Just like Taylor used to.