The end of the year.....

How fast did 2009 go? I feel like it was yesterday that I embarked on my New Year's resolution of starting a blog. Where I fretted I wouldn't have time, I did find it hard to post at times, but also found it nice to get thoughts and new creatives down on 'paper'. I also feel like I made a whole lot of Blog-friends all across the country...from Rambler in Hawai'i, to Just Be Happy in Wasington, to If I Had A Hammer in Albuquerque, to Country Girl and Hollyrocks in Oklahoma, to Have you seen my Dragon in my own state of New York - albeit, she is up in the beautiful Adirondacks. I look forward to reading about their lives and comparing mine and my situations. So to all of you who've read me or popped by with a comment or two, THANKS....I look forward to starting out a new year and decade!

Cheers! Jennifer

Merry Christmas!

I'm heading to work tomorrow and then directly out-east for Christmas Eve dinner. Followed by an overnight at my parents - where my brother and his family from Jacksonville will also be staying. We each have a young daughter so we're both leaving notes at our respective homes to direct Santa to Babcie and Dzaidzi's house. My patience has been short these past few weeks, so I'm looking for the 'work' part of Christmas to be over, and the enjoyment part to begin. Witnessing the belief in Santa has been amazing....I am taking her lead.

Also wanted to include some pics of the snow we had last Saturday night - we don't have a sled, but improvised. :-)

Merry Christmas everyone. May the star brightly shine for you at this time of year.

Sunday Night....and still a lot to do....and other meaningless stuff

Hola- It's Sunday night after a blizzard almost did in Long Island. I say almost bc we did get about 18" of snow, but it started much later than the 10am prediction - hello 4pm?? And ended by 8am, when predicted for 11am. The snow just fell fast and furious. Hubby did all the shoveling - and I made up for lost baking time last weekend when I was taken out by a cold. So here I sit after a batch of Snickerdoodles, Chocolate White Chip, and Oatmeal Scotchies cookies - and then made a new recipe of Salsa Verdi chicken (and it was suprisingly good - I'm not a great cook).

The Giants: Grrrrr Philly and Dallas. But now I don't have to stay up until midnight for Monday Night Football. So aggravating.

Movies: As I wrote in a previous post, we were set to watch some movies a few weekends ago. We watched SAW - Surprisingly good!! Not too gory!! And another oe that my brain cannot recall. Last weekend we watched WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS - Is Cameron Diaz a bad actress to anyone else besides me? and HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU - which we both enjoyed - and agreed that we don't see the appeal of Scarlet Johanssen.

Twilight Book: I FINALLY finished it - I started it the week after Veteran's day and finished 12/17. I have to say, I didn't love it. I didn't find Bella to be a believable character - in fact, there was next to nothing on character build. I couldn't buy that all these guys in Forks were tripping over themselves when she seemed unfriendly, moody, and scowls all the time. The end finally had some action going, but it was not the "can't put it down" book that I heard it would be. I'll read New Moon and the others, but I'm in no rush. I did talk to a woman on the train one night and she had the same problem as me. Whew - I'm not alone!

Tomorrow starts a 2 day in-the-office week. Nice! I'll still be working from home, but thankful to not have to schlep into NYC.

I know, I'm just FULL of happiness tonight! :-0 Sorry....12 hours of sleep and a nice cup of cava should do me right. Happy Sunday Night!

It's 6:20am....Heading to the stores

I never thought I'd be going to shop so early. But, I have been awake since 5:15. The strange thing? I'm exhausted! My FT job has been busy busy, as always, and I'm not complaining because I really do like going to work and wish I had more time to spend there. I guess my boss recognized since I was promoted this week - although being who I am, and knowing how much I do NOT get done, I feel it isn't deserved. But, I count my blessing given the current state of the economy.

So - WHY am I up so early and heading out? Last weekend when I thought I'd get alot done, found me holed-up in the house with a cold. The weather turned bitter, so I felt it was OK to stay in - "I can shop next weekend". I also didn't bake because I didn't think the neighbors or my family would appreciate me passing out cookies made with a constantly running nose. I know - EEWWWWW. Which brings me to yesterday, when husband announed, 'did you know we're supposed to have a blizzard on Saturday into Sunday? Up to a foot of snow?'

Uh, NO I didn't not - because I've been a zombie this week getting home late and up extra early for work, and not paying attention to the news. Therefore, I'm going to be one of those crazy people heading to the stores at ungodly hours to make sure there are gifts for all - well, at least the kid and nieces and nephews.

Wish me luck!

Treasury: Sieber Designs

Aviva over at Sieber Designs included my Fall Flowers dress in her Treasury of "Best Gifts under $25". I was in Oklahoma City when she secured a spot, so I wasn't able to make a copy of it to post, but regardless, I wanted to say "Thank You" for selecting one of our items.

I also found some really nice things from her shop to post here. Take a look....and visit her to see more great quilting items! Thanks Aviva!

Saturday Church Fair, Gingerbread Houses, and Movie Night

First off - Happy December! I cannot believe were in the last month of the year. Is time flying for anyone else?? Last week I went to Oklahoma City for work. Just an overnight trip, but it isn't an easy flight to/from NYC. The one non-stop was sold out. Need I say more?

It's Saturday night after a busy Saturday day - I took the daughter to a Christmas Fair at the church and video-ed her dancing with Santa. I also managed some Christmas gifts that were exactly what I was looking for! A puzzle for my grandmother - and 'cats in a tree' picture - perfect for her! for $2 (brand new but old) and 4 hardcover suspense books for my hubby (all recently released and $0.50/each). I also managed a scarf for myself - the most expensive at $10 (but all proceeds go to the church). Afterward, Ryan and my niece Daisy made gingerbread houses. I bought a kit thinking it would be so easy - and quite the opposite. My mom resorted to cutting an orange juice container, slapping on vanilla icing, and giving the girls sugar wafers to add to the decorative candies. They are happy girls, but not necessarily 'centerpiece' results. :-) But we're going to use them anyway.

Lastly, I came home to a hubby that made dinner - it was Zatarans garlic and herb rice and chicken. He said "it's from a box" and I said "you cooked - we didn't order in - and it isn't frozen pizza - it's fantastic!" We're now gearing up for a movie and ice cream. Our options are 1) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2) SAW, or 3) I Love You, Man. We're going with SAW firsy and if we cannot take it- will switch to the comedy. We cannot believe there are something like 6 SAW movies! It must be doing something right...

Nursery Rhyme for Girls and a Turtle: New Light Blankets

Haven't done much new sewing, but I did manage to eeeeeeeeke out some new light blankets. Here is the nursery rhyme blanket in a raspberry pink print for girls and a soft cotton flannel turtle for.....well, both sexes! I have two other fabrics cut and once done, I can post more NEW NEW. Happy Saturday!

M-I-A....and "Twilight" book

I've been all-consumed with work. I took a few days last week to visit the brother's family in Indianapolis, and came back even more behind. *sigh*. The price to pay. Daughter and I had a great time tho. Each time I'm in a new area, I check out the homes. We could have a new, bigger house on a good piece of property and an 'easier' life - and then I come home and love my little house by the Ocean....and also my job, no matter how busy it is.

While I was in Indy, my SIL had the "Twilight" series books on her shelf. I was reluctant to read them bc I'm not really into the vampire thing, but through some blog friends like The Rambler who, like my SIL, said she too was reluctant and then devoured (sorry) the series, I gave in and started Twilight. I'm on page 80 and while it hasn't sucked me in yet (sorry - ha!), I'm not ready to toss in the towel.

Pics of Finished Memory Quilts: MIL Clothes

Wanted to post a few pictures of the completed Memory Quilts we made from a family's beloved MIL's clothes. We ended up making 9 wall hangings. Working with adult clothes is more difficult than children's clothes because the colors, fabric designs, fabric weights are vastly different. It took alot of placing to make sure the quilt flowed. This client wasn't particular about the flow, but rather, using as many different pieces as possible.

It's Getting Chilly! Need Little Girl's Undershirts.....

Now that Ryan is 3, with the weather turning colder, we went out to buy her undershirts. Last year I kept her in the fantastic Carter's long-sleeved onesies and I never worried about her being cold because not only did I bundle her up, but also had on the base-layer onesie. My mom always had us in undershirts - it was part of our 'underwear'. Imagine my frustration when we came up empty-handed, both in-store and on-line. Not only did we strike out, but the only undershirts available were cami-tanks in bigger sizes. Some stores had nothing...nada....zip....and some stores only had....GASP....padded bras!!! I thought my husband would die of embarrassment when I held one up. First of all, I cringe at the thought of a 7 or 8 year old needing a bra....and a padded one? Why can't little girls be little girls? Don't they already grow up too fast?

All those ladies out there and those with little girls...any advice??

Memory Quilt: Baby Quilt from Dad's Clothes

A sad story...my sister's friend's brother was terminally ill just as his first child was due to be born. He didn't live long enough to meet his son, but his sister gathered up a few pieces of his clothes and asked that we make a baby quilt from them for his newborn son. We only had 6 pieces of clothes with which to work, but that proved to be ok. And we chose a bright baby flannel for the outer border and back. This will be a great blanket for the baby and widow to have now and for the future. A sad story - but something memorable for his family.

Saturday Night Movie: "Catch Me If You Can"

We've never seen it and heard it is a great flick, so we're getting ready to watch. Over the past few weekends I've seen "Margot at the Wedding", "Babel", and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". I like Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman - I like that Kidman chooses indie films and I've seen a fair amount of her work. I'm not too crazy about DiCaprio, but maybe this film will change my view??

Memory Quilts: CLOTHES

We met a couple at the Fair Harbor Pine Walk Fair, who saw our sample Memory Quilt made from my niece's baby clothes, and asked about some wall-hangings made of her mother-in-laws clothes. She had passed away 5 years ago and they clothes were sitting in a box - no one wanted to throw them out, but also didn't know what to do with them. She felt it was fate when she happened upon the fair and browsed the vendors for 10 minutes before hopping a water taxi to Ocean Beach. When she dropped all the clothes, we went through her requests and specifications - at the fair she thought she'd like three quilts. At the drop-off, she ordered SIX!! Two weeks later, she upped it to NINE. While it is harder to coordinate adult clothes than baby clothes, the project has been fun and challenging! Here are the layout pictures of 7 - we spent days making sure the fabrics were all different and looked like a coherent piece when sewn together. By now, all the tops are sewn together and one is completed!

Saturday Night Question: Labor Day Edition

SO is anyone out enjoying a last-hurrah unofficial end of summer weekend? We're out in Fair Harbor on Fire Island and after a great low-humidity day between the bay and the ocean and the deck and the park. I even took a jog this afternoon that felt like it was going to do me in. BUT on the way back from Saltaire, I saw a sign for a band that was going to play tonight. We just came back from 2 hours of drinks and dancing on the bay to the righteous sounds of "Brother SO AND SO" because I cannot think of the name. Now, we're home and cooking dinner after the pina coladas and wine. So this is an easy question - more like 'what are you doing' than a question....so what ARE you up to this weekend? Relaxing? Reading? Traveling? Swimming? I'm about to start "The DaVinci Code"....if I can stay awake past 10pm. :-) Cheers!

Saturday Night Question: Towels - When to toss?

I was thinking of trying to do a regular Saturday night post since we're now old, don't have plans like we used to on Saturday nights, and usually at home. Plus, we find it hard to keep our eyes open past 10pm. So to add to our busy schedule, I thought maybe there are others home surfing the blogs when the kiddies are in bed? and if so.....I'd REALLY like to hear your thoughts on this pressing question:

Towel laundry....is there some secret trick to getting our towels to smell better? Don't have problems washing clothes, but do you ever wash towels, throw in the dryer with a dryer-sheet....only to get out of the shower to find the towel STINKS?? Does anyone have a secret on keeping towels smelling fresh? OR....when do I actually throw in the towel????

Giveaway Win: Leahkl

In July I won a fantastic little purple bird rattle through the Live Love Yarn blog when Rose featured the artist Leah KL from Australia. Leahkl on Etsy is a vintage chenille shop and she makes the most adorable little animals, dolls, and fruit and veggie rattles. It is a delayed THANK YOU for the adorable bird giveaway! Here are some of my other favorites...

HAIR: Back on Broadway

Saw the movie I don't know how many years ago and then the musical while in London in 1992. Bought the soundtrack and absolutely think it is a Desert Island Disc. My friend Jackie and I are planning a Tuesday night trip to the show - but we have to actually get the tickets. Maybe next Tuesday from the Seaport window? Regardless, Jackie this is for you...it is the song I will hit 'repeat' 4-5x and loudly play!!! How can you not love Treat Williams??

Burger King and SpongeBob.....

I saw this Burger King commercial and cracked up - I thought it was brillant. Hubby didn't know the song, but I remembered Sir Mix-A-Lot. I found it on U-Tube, but also the full length version. Here are both - "I like square butts and I cannot lie......." Classic.


The 30-second commercial....On second thought, I'm just going to try this one to see if it works. I hope so - SPECIAL THANKS to Rose and Rambler...couldn't have gotten it to work without your advice....thanks ladies!! :-)

How do I get a UTube to the blog?

Anyone know how to do it? Please help!

Glass Bead Earrings.....

I made a few earrings because I saw these green glass beads and couldn't live without them. I posted to the shop and within 24 hours, they sold. That was back in the winter. Imagine my surprise when in July, the woman who bought loved them so much she asked if I could make the same style in other colors. She wanted blues, but bought all three. Made my day!

Chenille Quilts

Thought I'd post some pics of our new chenille quilts.....

How angry am I right now??

VERY angry. I'm spitting nails. My blood is boiling.

I don't know why the concept of budgeting is completely lost on my husband. What part of 'revenues need to be more than expenses' does he NOT understand? We've been trying to cut down for YEARS, and I think of options, ask him his thoughts, try to agree on the course of action to be taken (which we usually do) and then he immediately ignores. SOOOOO you cannot imagine how freakin fuming I am right now over paying our credit card bill (which was way too high to begin with) and discover that he's got 4 separate charges for what.....you cannot guess and if you do I'll send you a prize....a god-damn computer game - Mafia Wars on Facebook. What are these $20 charges for? What does this do to better our financial situation? What 'necessary expense' did he spend on like toothpaste, toilet paper, socks? DO YOU KNOW WHAT I COULD DO WITH THAT $80 THAT IS NOW EVAPORATED???? If he were making 6-figures and I was working PT and we had overflowing savings accounts - be my guest - go right ahead - waste money on an on-line computer game, but NOT while I'm working FT with the majority of the bread-winning sitting on my shoulders....no siree bob. This does not fly with me.

And you want to know the worst part?? I saw the first charge on the bill and called him out on it - and I was told "I will not do that again, I'm sorry".....and here it happens 3x again - and once just 2 days ago......Did I mention how angry I am right now????

7 Things Award from Audrey's Country Crafts

Wonderful Audrey over at Audrey's Country Crafts blog gave me the "7 Things" award....I give 7 things about myself and then pass along to 7 others. Here goes -

1) I'm on vacation right now in Fair Harbor. It is a little town on Fire Island and my family has had a house here for 29 years. It is my favorite place in the world!

2) I made a bold move yesterday and walked up to a house that looks like it hasn't been lived in in years - to leave a note in case the owner wanted to sell. He was there! We chatted - the house is an utter dump - he is looking to sell - I made an offer - he considered - and I was turned down this morning. :-( I am sad, but I would have been eating ramen for the next 10 years.

3) I got to visit with the Indy family and the Jacksonville family this week. Yipee!

4) I made pasta for dinner and now I'm having a glass of wine in a quiet house.

5) I went swimmming in the bay with my 2.5 YO nephew Chase today.

6) I recognized an old old friend today as he was walking along the bay - I stopped him and we chatted. How come I'm getting so bold in my old age??

7) It's 8:37pm.....and I'm ready for bed. That is what all day in the salt air will do to a person.

The other peeps I'd like to share-the-7-awards-love with are:

BOWquet

Country Girl

Elegant Hobbies

MandMStudio

Life {the way I see it}

Ocean Creations

DenimNotes

AND for a parting shot, here is my 5 YO nephew with his Sea Robin catch.....He got up at 5:30 am to get on the boat to fish and sea robins were all he caught. But he was happy to have gone.

Vacation Week and other updates!

Yipee!! It is vacation week! Each year my brother and his family come in from Indianapolis to enjoy the beach house on Fire Island. This year it is a 3-week stint. And why not? The alternative is central Indiana - a far cry from the Atlantic.

Vacation week at our house wasn't supposed to start off with a second floor bathroom pipe problem, but alas, it did. I guess it is expected with an old house - the pipe literally wore out. The water leaked through the first floor into a nice puddle in the basement. Needless to say, a lot of $$, a messy house, and a non-working bathroom was not the 'happy' start to time away from work.

AND I almost forgot!! We did the local craft fair on Fire Island over July 4th weekend. We had wagon t-shirts printed up and they were a HUGE hit. In addition - there was a celebrity there and she bought my 'hippie-chic' dress for her little girl - I was thrilled.
OH - we now have a 3 year-old in our house. She is so grown up - she just blocked me from the bathroom because she can go potty ALL BY HERSELF. She actually told me to get out of the bathroom! Oh the things to come...

What a Monday: Preemie Memory Quilt, Girl Gift Set, and a Feature!

I couldn't wait to get home from work today to post the latest pictures and news. My sister so loved the Memory Quilts we're making that she quickly gathered up her daughter Daisy's preemie clothes and promptly dropped them off at mom's house for quilt construction. Daisy was born at 2 lbs so most of the preemie clothes swam on her. And with her time in the NICU, my sister was always washing the clothes - so Daisy really got alot of use out of her few outfits. Mom didn't have alot of clothes with which to make a quilt, but she did manage to get 20 squares. In fact, she even used Daisy's hats! The knit hat was made by our Grandmother and I had mixed feelings about cutting it for the quilt, but it is here - and quite a cool square you can see in the close-up pic:

My cousin in Minnesota needed a girl baby gift for a shower - so we put together this bright pink tulip set for her. It is a long-sleeve onesie, bib, flannel-backed burp cloth, and a receiving blanket. I love this tulip fabric and I think after this blanket was made, it is finito. Thanks for thinking of us Cuz!!

To cap off the day - Audrey over at Audrey's Country Crafts asked to feature our shop on her fantastic blog. Today we were posted - so please pop on over to her blog and check it out - and all the other amazing features she has. THANKS Audrey!

Long Beach Strawberries!

We have a narrow strip of ground between our fence and driveway. The neighbor planted strawberry plants that have come under the fence and filled this space. I'm happy bc now I don't have to plant with annuals every year and I don't have to weed - and look what we get to eat! (Second batch no less!)

I've Been Tagged: by Chocolate and Steel....

So Chocolate and Steel tagged me and I was kind of in the mood for one of these since I wanted to save the pics from my next Memory Quilt (a girl one!) for another post and I wasn't sure what to write about. And these are different Qs from the other times I've been tagged - yay! Here goes...hope you find it semi-interesting.

1) What is your current obsession? Orchids. I posted about my new obsession with them back in February and now that I've been reading up, there are soooooo many people in the same boat! I have a few new types I'd like to get, but alas, not yet. Here is a picture of the white phaleonopsis Hubby got me for Mother's Day:

2) What is your weirdest obsession? After reading "Chocolate and Steel"'s answers, she going to think I'm the worst person, but I have to say killing the goddamn snails and slugs that are sliming all over my plants and killing my flowering cherry tree!! I put down the pellets that kill them and that was great - until the 40-days-and-40-nights of rain we've had. Now it seems all the poison has washed away. My poor pansies rebounded and are flowering again, but tonight I pulled 2 snails from the pot and threw them into the street. UUGH I HATE THEM! What purpose do they serve??

3) What are you wearing today? A Mossimo black short-sleeved, collared jersey dress with a little waist tie (I got it at Target 4 years ago) and a pale-pink 3/4 sleeve Gap cardigan (I think I got it about 7 years ago). And I wear panty-hose to work because don't think it is appropriate to wear bare legs at work - I know, get with the program. The only way I go bare legs at work is if my skirt almost hits my ankles. Since I just took pics of the orchids, I decided to throw one in of the outfit...

4) What's for dinner? Regular and Banana Walnut Cheerios (the nanny feeds Ryan and hubby won't be home)

5) What's the last thing you bought? Gap kids clothes for Ryan and got a matching outfor for her cousin Daisy. BTW, there are amazing sales at Gap Kids!

6) What are you listening to right now? The hum of the ceiling fan and Dora The Explorer from the other room. I know, bad mom - I should be putting her to bed instead of blogging. :-0 She has been outside all day and she really wanted to watch Dora, so I caved.

7) What is your favorite ice-cream flavour? Vanilla (but would add caramel or strawberry sauce if it was available!)

8) What do you think of the person who tagged you? I think "Chocolate and Steel" makes the coolest jewelry....take a look at these favorites of mine from her Etsy shop....

9) If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be? All paid for? All the taxes too? I'm be where I am in Long Beach - right by the Ocean with a decent piece of property so I could have a greenhouse and garden. Oh, and a house big enough for me to have my own sewing room!

10) If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Jacksonville FL to visit my brother, SIL, and niece.

11) What is your favorite colour? Green - although Blue is a close second.

12) Which language do you want to learn? Polish because it is my hertiage and Ryan now knows it from having a Polish nanny - she even speaks it. My SIL is Polish so Ryan should be able to maintain it, but I want to learn it also.

13) What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? A sleeveless collared navy blue v-neck I got at Loft 3 years ago - it started me on my navy kick and I wish I could buy this same shirt in different colors. You probably think I don't have new clothes with my answers to this post! I do, just not as many with this economy....I DO pare down the closet and donate to goodwill. :-)

14) What's your favourite magazine? Country Living and Coastal Living (bc I would love to live on a farm by the Ocean!)

15) If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on? $20 to Starbucks card....$50 on some orchids I'd like to order.....$30 for a mani/pedi.

16) Favorite artist/s? Henri Matisse....and a painter I found on Etsy - Tracey Gurley - I LOVE LOVE her flower paintings.

17) What's your favorite season and why? I like all seasons and glad we have all in the northeast, but Spring is my favorite because the flowers start to come out and weather gets nicer.....

18) Describe your personal style? Easy and comfortable, but not sweats comfortable - cargos and sandals on weekends - easy dresses for parties - white pants in summer and jeans in winter are MUSTS. I also wear glasses and usually do the Sarah Palin hair with a clip - as I've had that for years - it is just an easy style for long hair! Hubby says I have the 'dirty librarian' look.....

19) What are you going to do after this? Put Ryan to bed and eat my Cheerio dinner while watching "Deadliest Catch" from Tuesday night.

20) What are your favourite movies? I don't see many movies, but I can watch "Thank You for Smoking", "Where the Heart Is", "She's Having a Baby", "Snatch", "The Sound of Music" over and over.

21) What's your favourite fruit? How to choose?? watermelon.

22) What inspires you? Just about anything now a days - I find all I want to do is sew - and sew things I haven't done before like summer tunics and dresses and skirts....

23) What music do you like this week? Allman Brothers Band - makes me think of outside late-afternoon BBQs by the beach

24) What is your dream job? Farming and sewing - but I also work in commercial real estate and have gotten back into that area at my current job - so I'm really happy now!

25) What is stopping you? I'd need 48 hours to my day

26) If you could change something in the world to make it a better place what would that be?
Acceptance of those not like ourselves.

27) What do you have planned for tomorrow? Work....it is the Friday I go into the office. I have every-other Friday off - so another reason to like my day job.

The rules :1. Respond and rework; answer the question on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own. OK - I didn't do this bc I didn't read the rules first...

2. Tag eight other people.

My Rambling Thoughts

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If I Had a Hammer

Life of a Bird

Have You Seen My Dragon?

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