what say you?

i was thinking about trying to design something for a valentine give-away on one of my favorite blogs (of course, i haven't actually contacted the blogger yet, so i'd have to do that...). i pulled some sketches out and came up with these little luvbugs. would you want to win a dozen notecards with these little guys? even if they're laser printed and not letterpress? what say you?

update: i emailed the blogger and her giveaways are full. ah well...

my new fav

roasting has become my new favorite way to cook veggies, especially winter veggies, and i've been trying different variations. tonight was a simple combo of butternut squash, red onions, and carrots with olive oil, rosemary, oregano, a little garlic powder, salt and pepper. i just cook them until they get soft and then the edges get crispy and yummy. easy peasy and super delish. i highly recommend giving it a try.

food experiment #3

so i know you've all been on the edges of your seats waiting to hear about my third food experiment for the year. sorry about that. a little bit of life got in the way. but here it is, the story of my minestrone massacre:

on sunday i tried to make my own minestrone soup. not that i've never had minestrone soup before. i have. lots of times. but it's always been out of a can. (oh lovely can of soup. so convenient to heat and eat when the boy will not be put down. and labeled vegetarian, so as not to confuse those of us who would prefer not to eat mystery broth). so i thought, "why not try to make my own from scratch? i've made soup before. how hard can it be?"

i looked up a metric ton of recipes (okay, it was more like three or four) and none of them had the same combination of veggies and such that were in my favorite canned variety, so i decided that i would simply look at the can, read the ingredients, and make it up from there.

so i did. and it wasn't a collosal failure, but it just wasn't the same as from a can. and i've really cozied up to that canned soup (any foodies out there, feel free to string up your bows and take your shots). my soup ended up looking a bit more stew than soup (too much stuff, not enough room in the pot for more broth), and it also didn't freeze particularly well. the potatoes got squarshy, the noodles got mangled, it was not pretty (and since i forgot to photograph the debut night, and the repeats looked terrible, i decided we could live without the visual).

however, i think even a mangled minstrone would be improved by one of these bowls, don't you?

faerie lights

just had to post a couple of these wonderful images.

found via here.

this week's food experiment to come tomorrow.

sock wars

sam and i are in full battle mode.
he does not want to wear his socks. i want his piggies to be warm and toasty, and it's cold in the basement. he pulls them off, and crawls away. i snatch them up, i snatch him up, and we sit down, and i put them back on. he thinks it's a game. i think it's a war. some days i think i win. some days i know he wins. most of the time it's a draw--he walks around with one sock on and one sock off. i guess i should be glad that at least half of his toes are warm and that so far (knock on wood) we are at least managing to still have pairs of socks. yay for small victories.
speaking of which, i see some naked piggies...
cute handmade socks found here.

monsters on my mind

it's been a while since i made anything for the boy (other than meals), so i was thinking about making him a stuffed monster for his birthday (even though he already has a plethora of stuffed toys). i've got more than enough scrap fabric, the trick is finding the time. perhaps if i start now i'll get it done in time for his second birthday.

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!)