yummy

not that i need yarn for another project, but those colors are just deliciously droolworthy.

(image via brooklyntweed)

bloomin'

i came home to this today. huzzah!

much better than accidentally killing it off.

fall is here!

fall can commence. i finally had the time to walk to the farmers' market on shaker square yesterday. it was fantastic. i bought a half-peck of apples that are GINORMOUS! one could almost be a meal in itself, and there's enough flavor to fill the whole honking-huge apple.
hurrah for fall!

pass the pizza please

yesterday we had family over to share in the pizza saturday. it was a lot of fun visiting with everyone — i can never get enough. Gavin didn't quite manage to drink all off the pink drink like he said he would, but he made a valiant effort. thanks to all for fitting us in and putting up with my wonky hostessing skills. we hope to find the time to get everyone back over soon.

library must-haves

i came across my copy of this when i was dusting. i had forgotten i had it. i still remember having it read to me, and getting excited about the ripe, red strawberry.
i thought i had a copy of this book somewhere too, but can't seem to find it. what children's books are on your must-have list?

hey mom, what's for dinner?

this is what i imagine the boy saying.

i read that this week he can now taste what i'm tasting. which has me thinking "i need to eat more spinach, and broccoli, and chipotle" (as if i didn't just want chipotle all the time anyway - baby or not).

i do realize i've still got more than four months to feed him before his big debut, but this was a reminder to make an effort to include variety in my meals, and not just the same old standbys that i tend to eat when mike is out of town and i can skate by on a plate of cottage cheese and spinach.

tonight's menu: spinach, salsa, a veggie burger (sans bun), and an orange

on the menu for tomorrow: roasted veggies (mmm... summer squash) and whole wheat bowtie pasta

afternoon sun

i love our west facing bay window with the sun streaming in and bouncing off the wood floors and making the plants (and me) all cheery and happy.

pizza saturdays

it's standard practice at our house to have homemade pizza on saturdays when we can. it's one of my favorite things about the weekend, and i look forward to it all week. mom used to make pizza nearly every saturday, and i remember learning how to make dough, and helping to chop toppings and "decorate" the pizza. i make mine with whole wheat crust, and we each get to decorate our own with our toppings of choice (veggies for me, pepperoni for mike). yummm.

whole wheat pizza dough
(makes enough dough for two round pizzas)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp dry active yeast (or one package)
1 T olive oil (mom used oil, but i skip it and don't notice a difference)
1 cup lukewarm water
3 cups flour (you can use all white, but i use 2 cups all-purpose and 1 cup whole wheat flour. more than that seems to make it too dense and hard to stretch on the pans)

directions: put salt, sugar, yeast and water into a large mixing bowl, and allow yeast to activate (about 4 minutes). add oil and flour and mix until it forms a ball. cover and let sit in warm place until double (45 minutes or so). *note: i use mom's trick of turning on the oven at 350 degrees for 1 minute and then turning it off - this makes a nice warm place for the dough to rise.* remove cover and divide dough into two balls. spread on pan and allow to rise (this is when i normally do my topping chopping). top, bake (20 minutes at 405 degrees is what i've found i like best), and enjoy!

halfway there

20 weeks and all is well! thanks for the t-shirt sis!

let's color!

i'm working on cover ideas for the coloring book. this is my favorite one.

update: this was the winner! we've got a cover - huzzah!

office —> room for the boy

now that we know we're having a boy, i've pretty much decided i want denim blue walls. the trim will stay white (as in the rest of the house) and i think it will look nice with the golden oak wood floors. i don't know that we'll really stick to any kind of color scheme, but i think this will compliment the red and grey that is sure to end up in the boy's room.

i'm already thinking about what can be made with the stack of old, worn out jeans i've been saving...

if i win the lottery

these boots are totally on my list. and maybe these too (with a nice thick pair of socks, of course.)

oh boy

that's the official word. we're having a boy!

the readathon

i've been working on materials for this read-a-thon happening in october. it's such a great idea. i'm hoping that one of my nieces or someone i know will be participating so that i can pledge.

hoping for flowers

i inherited this orchid from grandpa. i was pretty intimidated by the idea of trying to take on an orchid, but it seems happy in the front window with the rest of my little indoor garden. it's even got buds!

18 weeks and counting...

and totally looking forward to the ultrasound tomorrow. i can't wait to see what's going on in there with this (apparently) quiet little kid.

a day of meetings

meetings are really just about doodling anyway, right? i think this is what happens when the smell of dry-erase markers start to affect my brain.

fall = knitwear = where are my knitting needles

i checked this book out of the library last spring, and think i need to put it on my book wishlist. i don't know that i'm at the knitter's know-how level to actually make any of the projects, but the images are gorgeous and so inspiring... it makes me want to pull out the knitting needles and give it a shot.

chocolate mail

i love this idea. all you'd need would be one of these and one of those envelopes that has the minty flavored flaps. yumm. i wonder how many calories are in a stamp...

found via

courtesy of the world's most amazing sister...

i received a wonderful package in the mail today! maternity wear picked out by my wonderful sister. each carefully layered amongst pink and purple tissue paper and pinned with a little note (with color coordinating pins!!) could anyone possibly be more amazing? i think not! it was like getting a big box of hugs all the way from mississippi. i don't know how i got so lucky to get such a caring sister. thank you, missy!!!

evening handwork

after dinner and chores are done, and walks have been taken, and if there's no freelance work to tackle, this is what i've been spending my time on. it's been a work in progress for at least a couple of years. the intent is that it will look like a wreath underneath our christmas tree. i've decided to baste on the leaves and then continue with the embroidery floss around each leaf. i finally feel like i'm making some progress.

grey day

it really looks like fall today. grey and rainy. it makes being inside with a warm bowl of oatmeal seem all the cozier.

things i'm doing at work

these are cover concepts for a book that will be published in the spring. i'm not sure which one i'm voting for, which is good, because marketing almost always picks my least favorite.

TGIF!

a lovely pair of images on 3191 this morning. they make me think of fall and the farmers' market and baking... yay fall! yay friday!

daily dose of silliness...

next purchases?

i was looking at the selection of maternity clothes at old navy. unfortunately, there isn't a store with a maternity section anywhere close by, but thought since returns are free, it might be worth it to order a few things. what do you think? too risky? did you wear many layering pieces?

the highchair

we picked this up from craigslist today for a whopping $30. it has a harness/seatbelt that goes between the legs, but i think i might try to rig up something else that can be removed and thrown in the washer.

i know the purchase was a little premature, considering we're several months away from actually having a baby to feed and even farther away from having someone who'll be fed in a highchair, but it was such a good deal, and so nice... i just couldn't pass it up! maybe if i'm lucky it will be used by the cutest red-headed niece in the meantime.

wardrobe additions

i've finally reached the point where my wardrobe choices are numbered. so i hopped in the car and went to motherhood maternity to see what i could find. i tried on a bunch of stuff. the pants were fairly hopeless, but some of the tops worked out alright. my favorite purchase was the denim dress. it's light enough for these "end of summer" warm days, but i think it will still look good in the fall with a long-sleeved t-shirt and my brown boots.
other purchases: a short-sleeved faux wrap t-shirt (grey), a long-sleeved t-shirt with cute gathering (grey), and a turquoise button down