from the archives

someone at work found this great old book that they published back in the 60s, and i decided i needed to scan a few of the pages for my own archives. i really love the style of the illustrations, and especially love the clothing (how much fun would it be to be dressed up like the lady in the second image -- red hat, red shoes, white gloves -- fabulous!)

i really believe i NEEEEEEEEEEEEED this

perhaps it's been kicked into high gear from watching one too many seasons of project runway (is that possible? maybe), but i've always had a hankering to design my own clothes. i remember designing a whole mix-and-match summer wardrobe, which my mother (in her infinite wonderfulness) actually sewed for me (thanks mom!) and recently, when i was going through a bin of clothes to hand down to my niece, i noticed a real tendency to sew, cut, resew, tie-dye, iron-on and reconfigure my clothing. most of the items had been, at the very least, re-hemmed to fit me. there was at least one skirt that had gone through several incarnations in length.

also, i'm not exactly a cookie-cutter-i-can-wear-things-right-off-the-hanger-type person, and when i shop for clothes i have very (very, very) specific ideas about what i want (and can rarely find it with a pricetag i'm willing to pay). it would be nice to have the confidence to be able to build those non-existent garments myself - or when i see things that i like, but want to change this about it. or that. or have it taken in here - i could just whip up my very own perfect version.

so, i'm adding this book to my wishlist. even if i don't have the time right now to actually sew. maybe if i could design and sew, i'd spend less time looking around the internet for the perfect little denim jacket. maybe.

early christmas presents

they're here! they're here!

yesterday when i got to work i found two advance copies of the book looking all official-like and shiny and new -- one of my dreams come true!

i'm not a spinner, but...

...when i saw this book at the local library, i just had to pick it up. there's something so very intriguing about the yarn in these photos. i'm not sure that all the outcomes are quite my style, or something that i'd wear, but looking at the photos and reading the various ideas was rather inspiring. i also kind of keen on this post, and am wondering if i could make something like that.

feeding the chewing impaired

armed with this recipe, this book, and a fridge full of leftover veggies, i set out tonight to make my own butternut soup experiment (fun!) i think it turned out pretty well. about as good as the vegetarian version of the soup we had at missy's while we were in mississippi (maybe). i'm not sure i'm quite as good a chef as my sister, but one can always hope.

here's what i did, if you're feeling so inclined:

• in a pan lined with foil and squirted with a bit of with cooking spray (i love olive oil pam), roast one butternut squash (cubed), one small zucchini (cubed), about 6-8 oz mushrooms (cut in chunks), one small green pepper (cut in small pieces), at 475 degrees until soft
  
• while that's roasting, heat your soup pot of choice, spray with pam, and cook up your onion (one medium) and garlic (about one clove)
  
• add your roasted squash (be sure to test a few yummy pieces, but not too many)
  
• add one can of vegetable stock (or homemade if you have it - i do not)
  
• use your blender to give it whirl so it's thick and delicious looking
  
• add a little water if you want it thinner (i added about a cup or so)
  
• toss in the rest of your roasted veggies
  
• add salt and pepper to taste
  
• enjoy!

this soup might have benefitted from some herbs or whatnot, but it was really just what i was hungry for as it was. plus, it was the perfect fall dinner for my currently less-than-stellar dental situation.

feel free to experiment and let me know how it turns out.

ps - sammy had some of the butternut part with his dinner and thought it was quite yummy. he did, however, request that he get some saltines to eat with it.

just a few

just a few spreads from the book. we're trying to get it out to the printer next week (would be this week, but i'm not sure how to set up the color management yet-blaarrgghh!)

there are things i would've changed or done differently if i were going to do this project again, but i think, on the whole, it looks just fine. i hope buyers think so too.

next up

sam and i normally read picture books during the day, but at bedtime, the three of us (when mike is home) go for something a little different. we recently finished the chronicles of narnia, and are about to finish up harry potter and the deathly hallows, so next on the list is the neverending story. we might be going a little heavy on the fantasy, but i'm excited to read this again. it's been a long time.

book of the week

almost forgot this week's pick! bartholomew and the oobleck has such a great lesson, and really, how can you miss with dr. seuss?

on a somewhat related note, i could not find a copy of the neverending story at our library!??! trauma! i do think this is a must read, and probably one for the personal library, so i'm hoping to pick up a copy soon. and hopefully this book too.

book of the week

this is our choice for book post of the week. i really thought the illustrations were fun (i'm a sucker for good illustrations), and the story was short, but cute (and rhymed - i'm also a sucker for rhyming). i think this falls into the "borrow again" category. not quite a "we should own this" book, but still worth checking out.

another good read

this week's library treasure is this book. a sweet story about the joy of sharing, with cute and colorful illustrations that made me think about some of the afghans that lived at our house when i was growing up. we may end up adding this loaner to our permanent library.

monkeys and stuff

on our last trip to the library, we returned this book, which we particularly enjoyed. it had really cute illustrations and, of course, monkeys. what more could one ask for?

we've got a whole new stack of books for this week. and we've already found a couple goodies.

libraries are chock-full of treasures!

on a related note, sammy is becoming more monkey-like every day. today he had his first taste of smashed bananas. he LOVED them. afterall, what little monkey doesn't?

yippee!

i printed out the second proofs of the coloring book yesterday afternoon. it was exciting to see my by-line on the title page, especially knowing that there are already 350 back orders. some 350 kids are going to be coloring on drawings i made! yippee!! 

storytime

we've got a good selection of children's books, but we're starting to run out of new stories, so i'm trying to institute a weekly trip to the library. last friday the three of us walked up and got seven books—one for each night of the week. we picked a few old favorites (caps for sale, where the wild things are) and a bunch of stories that were new to us. my favorite of the new-to-us titles so far has been pirates don't change diapers. it had fun illustrations and the story was cute.

mike's become our bedtime reader. it was his idea to have a matinee book, a feature presentation, and an encore. the matinee is always the feature from the previous night, the feature is a new book, and then the encore is always goodnight moon. sometimes when sam has already dozed off, we still read the stories because we want to hear them. it's a lot of fun.

i'm also compiling a list of books to look for at the library. on the list now:

• the fantastic mr. wani by kanako usui
• mr. grumpy's outing by john burningham
• fairy tales by berlie doherty
• there's a nightmare in my closet by mercer mayer

if you've got a favorite book from your bedtime routine, let me know. i'm always looking for suggestions!

another cover approved

this was priority #1 when i got back to work yesterday. i'd had a working sketch before the holidays, but basically had to finish the illustration and pull the layout together yesterday so it could be reviewed today. the cover meeting was this morning, and my favorite version won out hands-down. huzzah! gotta love when that happens!

p.s. — this is the other cover from this author. it was a really good seller, so we wanted to make sure it was visually linked to the new title. hence the similar illustration for the new title.

out of the box

today i started putting the books that came from mom's house and the new ones from aunts and uncles (thank you!) onto the shelves in the baby's room. i also took out the piggy bank and found the wooden stacker toy that came from granny and grandpa's house (it always gives me warm fuzzy memories). i think we've got a pretty good book collection going, but i'm excited to add to it.

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?

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!

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.