Falling Down Stairs and No Coffee

No, the lack of coffee didn't make me fall down the stairs. And let me just say that all parties involved are fine.

Yesterday, at work, while holding the toddler for whom I nanny, I slipped and fell down three stairs. She landed on me. I scraped and bruised my back pretty well, and I'm sore today. Needless to say, I will be very cautious going up and down the stairs from now on.

Last night I had to work until about 11, and Bug was with me, but didn't want to sleep in his pack n play, so by the time we got home he was a sobbing mess. We got him to sleep around midnight. So I ended up oversleeping (for the second time this week!!!) and didn't get coffee before I left for work today. And I didn't have time to stop on the way, so I had to wait. By the time I got the kids in the stroller and Bug to walk the four blocks to the DD, I REALLY, REALLY needed my coffee. Mmmm coffee.

Yesterday I worked on these:



And Bug worked on this:

15 Hearts!!!

I'm calling this a milestone! I have 15 hearts on Etsy, and have made 5 sales. I think it's great!

I've also been on a stamping kick lately, so a lot of my cards are stamped, rather than drawn. I think it's good to have variety. Though I think some of my photos leave a lot to be desired, so I'm going to bring my "inventory" to our yard sale (not to sell) to have a friend take photos. So then hopefully my things will be better represented. That's my theory, anyway.

Yes, we're having a yard sale tomorrow. I love clearing out things that we no longer use, with the idea that we won't bring more useless things into our house. That's the premise, anyway. I don't really follow it, but it's a nice idea.

Last night I made the brown rice risotto from the Apples for Jam cookbook. It was absolutely fantastic. Absolutely worth the 1.5 hours it took to make. And I kind of felt that the butter and parmesan cheese calories/fat were cancelled out by the BROWN rice. Right? :O) I also made the chicken with lemon and butter, which in retrospect I wouldn't make together with the risotto, given the amount of butter used in both recipes, but they were delicious. Tonight we're having the buttermilk fried chicken, and spaghettini with parmesan bread crumbs. I know, I know, it's not healthy. But it's good, and what's wrong with a little indulgence every once in awhile?

Things I'm Loving Right Now

(Inspired by this post.)

1. Toddler-speak: sausee (sausage,) ki-ee (kitty,) and my all time favorite: Mommy! spoken with such gusto it comes out in a yell! :O)

2. Trucks! Big Trucks! (Actually, that's what my son loves, but since he loves them, I love them.)

3. Apples for Jam. I LOVE this cookbook! I just got it and am loving it to death. Turkey breast with dried apricots and pancetta. Yum.

4. Fabric. I can't get enough!!! I want more!

5. Applique. I'm getting better!

6. Tote bags made from reclaimed fabric! They're awesome!


7. Handmade baby pants! Beep beep!

8. Sleeping babies! Shhh.


9. Playing in the sun!


10. The sun, and warmer days!

Boom.

My son dropped a (very heavy) ball off the couch, and said, "boom." I'm constantly amazed at how much he has learned, and how much he repeats. Sometimes it reminds me that I need to watch what I say, or do. Ahem.

I'm very inspired by Soulemama's latest post (I think that's going to be a running theme for awhile!) Anyhow, she took an old comforter, and covered it with a new quilted duvet cover. I've been thinking for awhile now that I would like new bed linens, and I think this might have made me (jealous) inspired enough to make my own. Especially since we have a king size bed and let me tell you, those linens are NOT cheap!

Saturday I went to a fabric swap in Lexington, and it was great! It was put on by the Lexington Needle Arts Guild. I came home with two full bags of fabric and trim! Yey for free!

Tomorrow I get to work from home, since the neighbors of the people I nanny for are having a giant tree removed, and it will be very noisy and disruptive. So I plan to bake cookies with the kids, and have found this recipe to try. I'll post our results tomorrow!

Rained Out! :(

So sad! Our game was rained out! But we went, and we sat (under cover, thankfully) for an hour and a half, with beer and hot dogs, and erm, loverly ballgame music (seriously, who picks this stuff out???) Afterwards, Jaimie and I went to Diesel in Davis Square for hot chocolate and a sandwich--I was starving (and maybe a little depressed?) after all my doctor appointments that day--and just talked. It was a very nice ending to a, well, pretty crappy day.

Today we're off to KinderMusik, then a fabric swap, then back to the house for a bit before I have to work tonight. Jes is taking the raindate tickets and a friend to the ballgame tonight, so hopefully it won't be rained out again!

On another note, I'm very inspired by this post from SouleMama. I would really like to make some new outfits for Bug, but I'm having a hard time finding little boy patterns. Does anyone have any leads on (easy/simple) shirt patterns? I picked up a couple for girls, but those are actually to make as presents for some friends' babies (and good practice for me!)

More Shoes! And Should I Buy Fabric???

I made another pair of shoes last night! They're so cute! I'm totally addicted to this pattern.

I also want to buy fabric. I think I might be addicted to fabric. But I don't have enough time to sew everything I buy. Or money to pay for everything I want to buy. Sigh. I received a tip for a fabric/notions swap this Saturday, so I am all over that. And I regularly hit up the thrift stores.

Baby pants. I have a pair to make for a friend, then some to make for my store. But first a Red Sox game tomorrow night! (Which will be a welcome treat after my marathon three doctor appointments tomorrow morning.)

Shoes!

I finally got it right! It took a few tries, and some friends over for moral support, but I got it right! I have finished two pairs of 0-3 months shoes, and now I'm off and running! I have the fabric cut for two more pairs, and the first two are in my shop! Yey! I even made matching drawstring bags to go along with them, so hopefully someone will like them!

Today we're off to storytime in Porter Square, then by the pond to check on Duck the goose and her babies. We'll probably stop by the house long enough to grab the two cards I sold this morning (!) to get them in the mail.

Mayfair, Flowers, and Ducks, Oh My...

Mayfair was Sunday, so we went with a friend to check out all the local talent, eat street hot dogs, and spend money! A perfect way to spend the rest of Mother's Day!



Spring (and my allergies) has sprung, my dears. It has finally decided to warm up (just a wee bit) and colors have exploded. Here are some of the flowers we saw on our walk to the park today:



The kids made friends with a duck today, who really enjoyed the pretzels Bug fed him. I don't know if pretzels are duck food, but this duck certainly thought they were! BTW, our goose--who we have named Duck--has hatched her babies. So now every time we walk to the train station we have to check on Duck and all of her Duck babies (which are really goose babies--goslings? Or are those baby swans? Oy!) Anyway, they're all fuzzy and still in their nest, but you can hear them from across the pond, and every once in awhile you can see one poke their little head up.



In other news, I was able to do absolutely NOTHING for my shop this weekend. I'm so bummed! I have some great ideas for kids' pants, which I think I have finally perfected through trial and error from making pairs for Bug. I also really want to try applique, but want to try it out--again on Bug's clothes--before I put anything in the shop. It's so difficult, because while I absolutely LOVE to create/sew/paint/be crafty/etc., I also work full-time (45 hours a week.) Unfortunately, I don't think there's much I can do in the way of my crafty stuff at work, because, well, I'm at work, for one, and it's not all that portable, for two. So I bring what I can, like my laptop for shop and blog updates, and smaller projects (maybe applique will be portable enough, if I plan it out the night before?) OK, enough whining. :O)

Tonight I want to finish sewing up the baby shoes.

Mother's Day

I woke up this morning to the sound of my husband rolling out of bed to get our son, who was laughing at his toys in his room. As I lay in bed, listening to their conversation, and smelling cooking potatoes (Jes' specialty,) I couldn't help but think of all the things I'm thankful for.

Later, I put aside my Real Simple magazine to lay with my son and watch Sunday morning cartoons, while Daddy put the finishing touches on my Mother's Day breakfast in bed, which included a card and pot of roses. I'm looking forward to enjoying the sun with my family, possibly planting some things in my garden, and maybe getting some sewing done. All in all, I hope for a lovely day, for me and for you.

Ah Quiet

I love naptime. I really do. I love when the kids have exhausted themselves so much they fall right asleep, and the house becomes so silent you can hear the clock ticking. I'm at work now, so I also hear the bosses' pet parakeet eating, which is fine as well. At least he's not talking, since my head hurts a little. I'm getting over a a bit of a cold, so I'm stuffy and sounds are a little amplified for the time being.

I'm back into knitting. My friends and I attended our knitting group's anniversary party Tuesday, and I actually got in some knitting time. And now I can't stop...I have plans to go the the tent sale at WEBS in Northampton in two weeks. Yes, I'm going to travel two hours--again--to go to a yarn store. And this time there's no Yarn Harlot. But this time I won't have to work at 5 (I'm scheduled to work at 7) so we can take a little more time.

It's raining today, so we're going to walk to the library in a bit to read some stories. I love that we can count on the library as a source of entertainment no matter what. It's heated in the winter, and cooled in the summer. And as an added bonus, ours has a thrift shop in the basement, so on certain days--if I feel like braving it with my two toddlers--I can check out the store. Which, I have yet to do while having both kids yet, but maybe someday I'll be brave enough. Today? I'm feeling thrifty. And needing some new tops.

Rethinking Things...

I'm coming up on my one-month anniversary of my shop opening, and I've made one sale. I have a lot of views, so I suppose if I had an actual storefront, or was visiting craft fairs, I'd have lots of lookers (which is good.) But, the lack of sales is making me rethink how I want to present myself and my store. So I've taken some of my more mediocre items down for now, and am either revamping them or scrapping them altogether, and slowly replacing them with the reworked items. I did a bit of advertising (I had a showcase, but at $7 a pop, that could get expensive, so I don't think that's the way to do it for now.) I've joined Craftster, and am trying to post there daily, which will at least get my name moving, and I keep this blog, which hopefully inspires some of you (does anyone read my blog yet? Beuller?) to hop on over to my little store. I keep a sketchbook, and constantly try new ideas, some of which work, most of which don't, or if they do they might be acceptable to keep or give to friends, but I don't think they'd be things I'd sell.

I'm also trying to set clear goals for myself and my business. So I thought I'd share what I had so far. I don't have a timeline, but here are my general ideas:

1. To be able to generate enough income to stay at home with my son.
2. To be a known and respected (artist? I'm stuck on this one.)
3. To further my sewing skills. I'm really into sewing right now, and have basic patterns down. But I'd like to do more intricate work. I really like it. I find it meditative. But I don't want to enter a flooded market. I think I want to focus on children's clothing. Maybe boys', since a. I have one, and b. there's not a lot of good boys' clothes out there.
4. To further my painting skills (what's that you say? I can paint? It's true. I have a degree. But I also have a toddler and a full-time job, so I don't get to paint right now, unless I make it a priority, which I haven't.)

And now, five things about me:

1. I'm terrified of the dark. I'm serious. I'm a total, complete, chicken in the dark.
2. I'm an absolute romantic at heart. Little surprises thrill me.
3. I love to have a clean house, but I think I'd sell my soul if I never had to clean the house again.
4. I hate dirty floors. If I haven't vacuumed during the day, I have to wear shoes or slippers. Just socks won't cut it.
5. I love the idea of being an artist, but I don't think of myself as being a creative person.
Bonus: I'm a serious blurker (blog + lurker = blurker.)

Tag, you're it.

In Which I Craft a Little

This weekend was awesome! I got to spend a lot of time in front of my sewing machine, as well as make cards for my shop (update after photo-op!)

I found this great tutorial on Whip-Up for pincushions, which I desperately needed--the tomato was getting a bit ratty. I also made a little needle book in which to keep all of my little needles, as well as my embroidery thread (I don't have a lot.)



In addition to those, I made two purses (nearly identical--one is for me, one is a present,) two clutches, and another pincushion. They're all going away (except the aforementioned purse.) I used this tutorial from Tiny Happy, and a salvaged tablecloth from Goodwill, plus some fabric I already had on hand.

Downtown

Today we ended up downtown, due in part to missing storytime, and in part to the fires in Harvard Square (our usual backup hanging-out place.) So we spent the day at Boston Common, visiting my favorite fabric store, and having lunch with my friend Jaimie. Because I'm awesome, I left the camera at home and we have no pictures.

But, I did receive my order from Superbuzzy, which was very exciting! Three yards of fabric--some cotton canvas, and some plain cotton. I plan to make baby shoes and zip purses, hopefully for my Etsy shop, but some will end up being presents for various people.



Speaking of gifts, I managed to finish presents for two different people! (I'm feeling very accomplished, so indulge me!)

A clutch and matching pincushion:



I also made a mother's day clutch, but didn't photograph it...

For my shop, I made these sachets:



Some are pink, some are green, but all have a coordinating ribbon and tiny baby-themed charm. They are all filled with lots of lovely dried lavender!