Yesterday was our (MeMum and I) annual visit to the kids’ old school to sneak a peek at their big yearly auction and dinner.  The theme this year was Springtime in Paris.  Our sneak-in-excuse is that we want to view all the things that are being auctioned.  There were lots of cool things to buy — items ranged from a real puppy (this year a golden retriever) to a trip to Paris.  MyDadLovesMeBestSister works at the school and she and CrazyBIL auctioned off a crepe making party at their house for high school kids.  Their auction  basket is in the picture below.  (I embroidered the little french chef on the towel for her.  ;-) )

As you enter the main room, you walk through a hallway.  The ceiling of the hallway was covered with upside down umbrellas and lights — it was pretty cute.  Once inside the main room, there was a big Eiffel Tower all lit in blue lights.

It was really dark in there this year, which made picture taking a little difficult.  We went earlier this year, to avoid the disapproving looks we got last year, but imho, it turned out to be a little too early.  The tables weren’t completely set yet.  I love seeing them with all the wine glasses for all the different courses of the meal.

I have to say, I was a little disappointed in the decor this year.  It wasn’t nearly as pretty as it has been in past years.  My favorite years have been when they select children’s books as their theme.  It makes for much more colorful and cheerful decor.

It’s really hard to see in the above picture, but if you look to the left, you can see the flower baskets that they had hanging over each table.  The baskets had lights, and it wasn’t until I got home and looked at pictures that I realized that they also had candle holders.  I wonder if they put candles in them for the evening — if they did, it would have made them really pretty.

No matter what the theme, they always have gorgeous flowers on display.  This year was all about spring and therefore lots of tulips.  I also took a picture of this little tray of chocolates — you know, in honor of my word of the year — chocolate.  ;-)

I suspect they’ll start planning for next year’s gala in the next few weeks.  I sure hope they go back to a children’s book theme!

XOXO,
Anna

So, at lunchtime, I grabbed the little Petunia I work with (she’s TheFirstChild’s age - eek!) and we ran over to the local cake decorating store. They had all the goodies we needed (they even had cool stuff for Saints fans), including this cool new stuff I’d never worked with called Disco Dust. I was just going to use sprinkles, but little Petunia thought this stuff was so cool and convinced me to try it.

Can you see the sparkles? Sometimes you can’t see it in pictures, but I managed to get a highlight or two. It’s like superfine edible glitter and it’s really fun to work with.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish making about 12 of those little Go Colts! flags.  And then eat a cupcake of course.  Never let a diet stand in the way of a cupcake!

Have a good weekend — and don’t forget to root for the Colts! ;-)
XOXO,
Anna

Happy, Happy Birthday Brigette!!!

While Brigette has been celebrating her birthday weekend, I’ve been wasting my time keeping myself busy making little hand soap/sanitizer bottle covers.  (Otherwise known as avoiding the real work that should be done around here.)

Here’s a little close up of some of the details.  Look at that ADORABLE little silver flower button that Mrs. Pebble sent to me a few weeks ago.  (I Looooove Mrs. Pebble’s silver creations, and don’t worry, that button is far too valuable to languish away on a soap bottle — I just thought it would be cute there for now, until I find a proper home for it.)  Also, ’cause someone will probably ask, the Little Red Riding Hood ribbon came from Sew Deerly Loved, although she appears to be out of it now.

What to do with all those little bottle covers?  I suppose they’d make a nice gift in this cold and flu season.  And it is almost Valentine’s Day, although I’m not really sure what kind of a signal it sends to give your loved one a bottle of hand sanitizer.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue.

You’re full of germs,

But I still love you!

Do you think it’s too mushy???

XOXO,
Anna

We narrowly escaped disaster on Tuesday — that sweater was halfway to never being seen again.  Given extra time, it could have been sucked into the abyss-under-the-bed.  The first few days we just laughed, thinking it would be short lived.  But, toward the end of the week, it was clear that someone, was enjoying this little game.  In an effort to thwart the prankster, I closed the closet door on Friday morning before I left for work.  Being smarter than the average cat, our little felon managed to get the door open.  It deterred him enough though, that he only had time to pull a few sweaters off of the shelf — but no time to drag them around the house.

So.  The big question is…who’s the guilty party?  Paul?

Or TheEmptyNestChild???

At least this time, we know it’s not the monkey.  He’s been safely locked away since the last event.

Feel free to provide parenting advice.  ;-)

XOXO,
Anna

So, I set about test knitting and had the best time. I had big plans to be able to take the sock pictures in our pretty snow, but it’s been raining here and the snow is almost all gone. I was able to muster up enough for a little bitty snowman. With a little bitty hydrangea hat.

But I digress — we’re talking socks here! Karen’s pattern is beautifully written. It has several pictures (her socks are a much prettier blue than mine) and she writes the instructions for the cables three different ways — row-by-row, on a graph, and formula-like — so no matter what kind of “learner” you are, she has you covered.

The yarn I used is a Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock hand-dyed yarn in Cookies’ Deep Dark Secret colorway. I wanted a plain yarn so the cables would really stand out.

Thanks to MyDadLovesMeBestSister for being the sock model.  We were taking pictures on top of this wall, then decided to hang her feet over the wall.  When we did that, Mr. Snowman yelled “Wait for Me!” and jumped over the side.  He managed to cling to the edge for approximately 7.3 seconds.

Poor little guy — he’s all melted now. But, the cables are still around and if you love them like I do, you can get Karen’s pattern here, on Ravelry. (And in case you’re wondering, I don’t get a bonus or anything — I just think these socks are darn cute!)

Oh, and I have one more teeny little recommendation for you. The Young Victoria. We saw it this afternoon and I loved it. It made me cry. Did I tell you, I loved it?

XOXO,
Anna

This brown rice pilaf is fun to make and it goes with darn near everything. And it beats the heck out of BrownRiceInABox ’cause it’s WAY more healthy.

Brown Rice Pilaf

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup brown rice
2 cups boiling broth or consomme
Salt and Pepper
1/3 cup chopped parsley or green onions
2 - 4 Tablespoons diced red or green pepper

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and onions until tender. Add rice and saute 3 - 4 minutes. Turn into greased, shallow 2 1/2 quart casserole dish.

Add boiling broth and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Stir well. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until rice is tender.

Stir in parsley and green pepper. Fluff mixture with a fork. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

And I’ll tell you a little secret.

Shhhh.

Come a little closer.

Brigette has a fantastic Spanish Rice recipe that is made in a very similar manner to this brown rice pilaf. You should run over to her blog and beg her for it — it’s the perfect side dish for a mexican dinner.

And with that I’m outta here! I have a sock that’s been patiently waiting for me all week. Have a good weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

• Thanks for all the great comments on my sister’s mouse house.  If you liked that, you should check out Madre Karin’s latest post – she doesn’t just have a mouse house in her wall, she can accommodate a whole family!
• Parsley, Beet and the Bots are in the house.  WooHoo!!!  I love these cool patterns from the Amazing Ms. Ric Rac.  Jodie has wonderful service — she even threw in a few keychains, a birdcage kit and a bunch of mod fabric scraps, ’cause she knows I want to make another nine-patch quilt.  THANK YOU Jodie!!!  Now to locate a few extra pairs of Paddington Bear boots so Parsley and Beet can be stylin’.



• Check out Jaquie’s great quilt raffle — not only is she donating the funds raised from her quilts, she’s matching the amount!
• We went to visit TheFirstChild and SweetiePie on Saturday.  While TheManoftheHouse was otherwise occupied, I snuck (is too a word!) down to see Cami.  A bunch of Kaffe fabrics jumped in my bag because a) I don’t have a Kaffe stash and b) I’m suffering from some sort of delusion that I’ll actually make Kellie’s Joseph’s Coat quilt someday.  Notice how I have two color families going on there — when I DO make the quilt, I can’t decide whether it will be green/blue or pink/orange/yellow.  Decisions, Decisions.



• I’m currently enjoying several new-to-me blogs:Sweetopia - as I read somewhere, you’ll get cavities in your eyeballs just looking at this blog
  A Feathered Nest - Very, very Pretty! (found via Ms. Barefoot - thank you!)
  Just Something I Made - Don’t go here. Really. It’s a huge Rabbit Hole!!!

Whew!  That’s enough for tonight.  I hope you’re off to a good start to your week!

XOXO,
Anna

In an attempt to lighten your day a bit, I’ll show you the cute little mouse house at MyDadLovesMeBestSister’s house.

As you may recall, they’ve just added an addition onto their house.  In what used to be the old kitchen, MyDadLovesMeBestSister decided to put in a little mouse house in the wall near the floor.  It’s like a fairy door, but doesn’t just open to the wall.  There’s a mouse in there — with his pretty wall paper and fine furnishings.

My CrazyBIL put the light switch on the inside of the laundry chute above the mouse house.  Pretty clever, huh?

There is still a little decorating to be done, but I think it’s adorable.  And it makes a neat nightlight for when the lights are all out.  I’d love to have something like this in our house - although, mine would have to be a fairy house.  (Just for you Miss Dotty!)

Also, I was talking to TheSecondChild today — he’s moved back to Nashville (that’s Tennesee, not Indiana) where he’s frantically still looking for a job.  We were joking about all the things he should be doing and he said “Maybe you should blog it.”  So, there it is.  I’m blogging it.  Anyone know anyone who needs a Vanderbilt graduate who majored in Chemistry/Finance (he’s brilliant of course, ’cause I’m his mother) in Nashville TN?  (’Cause he’s just a wee bit stubborn and insists on staying there.)

Hey!  Maybe I should have a blog contest!  That’s it — the first one to find my kid a job will win…um…well, lots of crafty stuff, naturally — you know, fabric, books, a bunny pincushion — what else do you want???  Maybe it should be a Make Your Own Blog Contest to Find My Kid a Job!!!

Oh, and Good Luck — I hope you all win LOL!

XOXO,
Anna

Today is my youngest niece’s birthday.  MyDadLovesMeBestSister had a family dinner for her tonight and she made a delicious Sweet and Sour Shrimp dish.  I should have taken a picture!  Anyway, YoungestNiece  is 13 today.  A Teenager!  Can we please have a moment of silence for MyDadLovesMeBestSister and MyCrazyBIL?  They have three teens in the house now.  Yikes!

Oooommmmm.

Thank you.  Although, I don’t think they really need it — their teens are cherubs.  YoungestNiece’s Christmas present was to change over her bedroom from little girly pink to more sophisticated black and white, with blue.  She has a cute pink pottery barn fabric basket holder, and in order for her to keep using it, I decided to make new baskets for her birthday.

I used the old baskets as a pattern and the fabric is from Michael Miller’s Plain Jane line.  (Super Big Thanks to Brigette for finding this for me!  And speaking of Brigette, she’s posted a few new recipes — one of which is a fabulous looking White Chocolate Bread Pudding — you might want to go check that out!)  I stuck some labels in the little label holders, and of course I had to tease her.

Here is what they look like, hanging on the basket holder.  The holder will be hung on the wall - for now, it’s just leaning against the wall.

And just because we saw the little cutie tonight, here’s a new pic of Teddy Rose.  He’s growing like a weed, but still sleeping like a baby.  Currently in the new birthday chair!

Ok - I’m off.  My doofy self left my purse at the birthday house, so now I must brave the cold again and run to get it.  Hope your week starts of right!

XOXO,
Anna

So, my clean start refers to a new ironing board cover.  I luuuuuv fabric with words on it and this Authentic fabric is right up my alley.

When I saw that this fabric was available in home decorator weight, I knew it was a match made in heaven.  The only way it could be better is if the black fabric with white letters would have been available in this weight.  This white option will probably show the water stains a little more, but, oh well.

This was one of my quickest-ever projects - 30 minutes, start to finish.  4 easy-peasy steps: 1) smooth out the old cover on the top of the wrong side of the fabric, 2) cut the fabric an inch or so wider than the old cover, 3) fold the edges of the fabric around the edges of the old cover, and 4) sew a simple straight stitch along the edge of the fabric, being careful not to catch the drawstring in the stitching.  (My ironing board took 1 1/2 yards of fabric and it’s enough to make two covers.)  So much easier than sewing a casing and then threading the string through the casing!  Do you like it as much as I do?

And loookieeee!  We got more snow!

It snowed most of the day today.  Isn’t it pretty?  Good thing we don’t live in the gingerbread houses — we’d have to climb out of the second story windows!

Have a great weekend!
XOXO,
Anna