Christmas meme.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
hot chocolate
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
Santa wraps them all!
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
colored lights
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
nope
5. When do you put up your decorations?
Day after thanksgiving, or as close to- My daughter loves the tree and lights so we like to get as much use out of them.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
ham with goop (a syrup that tops the ham made from brown sugar, orange juice and mustard...put on top the last half hour of cooking and it's a syrup!).
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
I think my neighbor told me but I didn't really believe her until the next year.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Yes!!
10. What kind of decorations are on your Christmas tree?
lots of ornaments, from my childhood, my husband's childhood, and ones we've gotten each other each year we've been together
11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
I love it for the first few times, then I'm done with it. Let's just say I grew up in Hamburg, NY, about 20 minutes south of Buffalo, NY...and we always had lots of snow. A foot at a time was normal. I now live in Maryland, where we get very little snow, but enough to get my fill.
12. Can you ice skate?
Not unless you want a trip to the emergency room afterwards.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
The Barbie dream house. I was maybe 8, and I woke up to find the house all put together in the living room. My dad had stayed up all night putting it together, and getting all the little pieces apart (food, cups, plates, furniture). I'll never forget that Christmas!
14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Seeing the look on my daughter's face when she comes down and sees the tree with lots of presents. It's priceless!
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
cut out cookies
16 What is your favorite holiday tradition?
baking with my mom, now with my daughter
17. What tops your tree?
a star
18. What is your favorite holiday book?
A Christmas Carol
19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
20. Candy canes?
Yum! I like the regular, white and red ones.

Tag!! You're it!

Happy Turkey day!!

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays, and I love spending time with family and friends between now and the new year. This year, the husband and I decided to do things a bit differently. Instead of driving up to spend the holiday with family, we decided to turn it into a little mini-vacation. I'm blogging today from the lovely hotel room in Williamsburg, VA that we are staying at for the next few days. Thanksgiving "dinner" was at 11AM, at one of the taverns in Colonial Williamsburg. The turkey, yams, and stuffing were amazing! I decided to try a differnet dessert, and got the Mincemeat Pie. It was horrible! Too many fruits/raisins/whatever. I now know that I really dislike it. We spent time at the hotel pool, took a nap, and went to TGI Fridays for dinner, and had a few drinks downstairs during the Managers Reception.

I'm thankful for many things this year! I'm thankful that I'm married to a wonderful, and patient man, who is not only a great husband but an amazing father. I'm thankful for my daughter, who is the best little girl I could have ever hoped for. She blows my mind every day, and I'm so lucky to be her mother. I have amazing friends, and family, who I could never thank enough for being so great. I'm thankful that we have a roof over our heads and a fridge full of food. It has been an amazing year and I hope the next one is even better.

Happy thanksgiving everyone!!

sofa/loveseat

Here is a pic of our new sofa/loveseat.
Sofa:


Loveseat:


Big, comfy, and stain resistant. Couldn't be happier!

Wine review

So many of you don't know that I'm really into wine. I'm definitely not a wine snob, I enjoy a $7 bottle of wine as much as a $30 bottle of wine. I'd say it's a little bit of a hobby that my husband and I started together. I was first intereseted in wine in Europe, when I went with Nathan just after we started dating. We did a 18 day whirlwind tour, doing the train/hostel thing, and I loved how you could get a little pot of wine on the table for less than the cost of water. After we got back, we tried a few more, had some wine tasting parties at our apartment, and even went to Ontario's wine country for our honeymoom. We knew we were in trouble when we came back from the honeymoon with 4 cases of wine. Since then, we've pretty much always had at least 5 cases of wine in our house, and finally got a 47 bottle wine chiller last year for christmas. I think I'll start adding in wine reviews here for my benefit, and if I really get into logging, maybe I'll start a wine blog. But that will come in time.

For now, here is my first wine review!
Ever year, the third thursday of November, is the release date of Beaujolais Nouveau. I went to a local wine shop, and they had the Georges Duboeuf, 2006. If you want more info on how Beaujolais Nouveau is produced, go here.



I poured a glass and was immediately hit by the fruity aroma. The first taste was very different from what I expected. It was jammy, bursting with fruitness, and a hint of vanilla, it was almost overwhelming. But after the second taste, I was able to appreciate the wine a bit more. Overall, I enjoyed it! I had expected it to be a lot sweeter, and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't. I will definitely buy the 2007 vintage next year to compare.

nice weekend

Friday night we got to go out!! Nathan and I headed down to Montgomery Mall, and did some christmas shopping, and had dinner. It was great to get out and get some of the shopping done without the kid. She's usually really good, but it's still easier without her.

Saturday after gymnastics, we went down to a furniture store in Rockville that is bankrupt and having a huge liquidation sale! We hoped to score some dressers or sofas. Unfortunately the dressers were all part of sets, none of which we could afford. The sofa's were another story! Our consultant helped us find a great sofa/loveseat set, that is made of microfiber, that is basically kid-proof! And it was at a fantastic price, including delivery, tax, and a fabric protection plan! Woo hoo! They were even able to deliver it the same day! So after a quick lunch, we went home and re-arranged our downstairs furniture a bit. The sofabed went into the office, and there was room for the new sofa and loveseat. They had a little trouble getting it in, but thankfully it worked! They look great, and are SO comfortable!

Sunday morning, I got up and headed out to Whole Foods to do some grocery shopping. I try to go there about once a month, to get some produce and meats, and of course hit the bakery! The corn bread is awesome, and I sometimes will splurge and get a little cake- which I did! I picked up the Strawberries and Cream cake, which we had last night for dessert. YUM! I had hoped to see one of my SP9 participants, but she wasn't working until later. After Whole Foods, we stopped at Noodles and Company to grab take-out for lunch. Celia refused to take a nap, so I left to finish up my errands. I ran back into WF, and got to meet up with one of my participants! It was really amazing how busy the place was! I got there, it was dead. Like a minute later, there were like 10 people waiting. So I waved bye, and headed to the wine store. I'm so excited I got to meet her!! (I'm not putting links here in case her SP is reading this and figures it out!) I just had to get a bottle of the Beaujolais Nouveau, that was just released last week. I got the meatloaf in the oven, and cracked open the bottle. I'll give a little review of that later, when I have the bottle in front of me. ;)

auction results

I forgot to mention the results of the silent auction for the cookies/cupcakes I made!

My chocolate chip cookies went for $33, for 3 dozen cookies- AND this was the most money any item went for!
The cupcakes (12 white chocolate, 12 Brooklyn Blackout) went for $25 for 24 cupcakes.

I was one happy camper! My baking day last sunday raised $58 for the local food bank. ;)

Thank you SP!!

I got home last night and noticed a box hanging from my mailbox as I pulled in the driveway! Sometimes the post office does that- will rubberband the box and hang it from the flag if they dont want to get out of the truck and walk it up to the door (no, we aren't far from the mailbox). So I ran down to the mailbox, grabbed the box and the rest of the mail, and ran inside. I tore it open and found some amazing things!! The first thing I did was read the card- a very cute card wishing a happy thanksgiving! then I pulled away the tissue paper to find a beautiful felted pumpkin bag!

It is realy lovely, and my daughter really wanted to grab it and run around with it but I wouldn't let her...this is mine! From there, I opened a bar of dark chocolate, with citrus! I was going to have some last night, but we went to Red Robin for dinner so I was totally stuffed.
Then followed two tins of tea bags, which look yummy! Earl grey and a hot cinnamon tea, I can't wait to try them both! I forgot to grab them on my way out of the house to bring them to work, so tonight when I get home I'll have some of the earl grey. And the sweet tarts...yummy! They are gone. ;)

Then, the yarn!! A beautiful skein of superwash nylon blend for socks. The colors are lovely- a pretty green and blue, and I will save it for a very special pair of socks for me.

Thanks pal, you are the best!! I will post pictures tonight, I promise! I couldn't find the cable to upload the pics off my camera- it always takes a day or two to find everything after the cleaning lady has been there. But truthfully, I would give up buying yarn in order to keep the cleaning lady. Yes, you read that right. ;)
And here is a cute pic of Celia helping me bake last weekend. She was mixing the dry ingredients. I was impressed at how good she was at helping, without being too much in the way. We had a lot of fun!!

Coffee swap answers!

Here are the answers for my coffee swap pal Chrissy!

1. Whole bean or ground?
Either is good! My cuisinart coffeemaker has a grinder in it, but I can override it and turn it off for grounds.
2. Fully-loaded or decaf?
Fully loaded please!
3. Regular or flavored?
Either is good. For flavored I usually like almond, hazlenut/chocolate, but not really fruity ones.
4. How do you drink your coffee?
With milk/cream and splenda
5. Favorite coffee ever?
I've like medium roast, not too bold but still has lots of flavor. I don't really have a favorite.
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do?
I'm always willing to try anything!
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee?
Cookies
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences?
Nope, not really!
9. What treats do you enjoy with your coffee?
cookies, or cake, or pie!
10. Yarn/fiber you love?
Anything soft, in great colors!
11. Yarn/fiber you hate?
acrylic. I use it for some things, but definitely prefer natural fibers
12. What's on your needles?
5 pairs of socks, two or three sweaters, a few scarves, two hats, and other miscellaneous things. I need to have many projects going at different stages.
13. Favorite colors?
Blues, purples and greens
14. Allergies?
Just smoke, anything else is great!
15. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest?
Nope! I'm excited to start shopping!

Heaven!!

This is what I look forward to every year! This is the best day- the day when I have my first sip of a Starbucks Gingerbread latte. It doesn't get much better than this! And no, I do not care how many calories it has...when something tastes this good, it doesn't matter.

spinning success!!!

Tuesday night I pulled out the wheel and started playing again. I took out the lovely roving that Susie sent me as a wheel warming gift- black with rainbow colors! It was lovely, soft, superwash merino. I started at around 8, and by 10, I had 2 bobbins with approx. equal amounts.


Then, last night, I pulled the wheel out again, and decided to ply! Here are the results- I'm so impressed with how everything turned out! I definitely had a harder time staying consistent with the merino, but I really love the resulting yarn. It was so soft too, that I didn't bother washing it- I couldn't wait to cast on!

I had so much fun that I pulled out the wool I started off with last week, and did another bobbin with approx. the same amount of yarn. This is how it looks plyed. I think I'm in big trouble here! I am loving spinning more each time I do it, especially now that I have a wheel. It is so much faster, and in 2 nights, I ended up with 2 skeins of yarn I can use! Yummy!!

Stitches East, I will be back next year!!

I left my house at 9AM on friday morning and made the trip over to Baltimore. By some miracle, 270, the beltway, AND 95 were all pretty clear the entire way!! I got up to the convention center, and drove around looking for parking. Finally, I was able to get a spot in a private lot at the cost of $20. I walked over to the Convention Center, and followed the signs. I had my printed out ticket that I had gotten online, so I could have as much time as possible for shopping (since I had to leave Baltimore by 12:15 at the latest, to get home in time to get Celia from daycare, and hit the road up to Buffalo, NY for the weekend. I hit the market, and was just amazed at how low key it was! There were definitely people, but not nearly as many as I've seen at the fiber festivals. Most booths had people in them, but they weren't so crazy. I didn't have to reach or squeeze in, or anything to get what I wanted, it was all right there.

The places I HAD to stop were:

Webs
Brooks Farm
Tess' Designer Yarns
Rosie's Yarn Cellar
Dancing Leaf Farms
Cloverhill
Blue Moon Fiber Arts (who I didn't know was going to be there!)
Here is a pic of nearly all of my purchases. A few are for my SP, and I don't want to give anything away, so I left them out of the picture!

Here are closeups of a few:
Brooks Farm Fourplay

STR!! Lightweight!!

More from Brooks Farm! And all on sale! Gotta love the "orphan" skeins! I even got 2 of the light blue ones!

Tess' sock yarn, which are in some favorite colors!


Let's just say I spent way more than I had planned, and I realized that while it's possible to see a lot of Stitches East in 2 hours, I won't do it again that way. It was too easy to just buy things without thinking about it, and didn't have time to process what I had already spent by the time I went to the next booth. I have already promised my hubby that I will not be buying yarn for a long time, unless there is no way around it (or if it's a gift...but I think I have gotten all the gifts I need to get now!). I managed to leave the convention center around 12:05, with 10 minutes to spare, and got home in plenty of time to get Celia and hit the road! The rest of the weekend was good, got to see some friends and family. The family part led to the spontaneous decision to join them on a trip to Las Vegas in january. Now that I won't be spending money on yarn for the next few months (til Maryland S&W), I get to save my money for the hotel and maybe some Roulette? Poker? Slots? Blackjack? Hmm....the choices!!

Special Offer!

About a month ago, a good friend lost his 14 year old sister to Leukemia. I've been wanting to do something special in her memory, and finally came up with an idea! I've designed three sets of stitch markers, which I will sell here and at my etsy store. For each set that is sold, I will donate $2 to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! Each set is $10, plus 1$ for shipping. To create the stitch markers, I used the SP9 signiture colorways for inspiration (with the consent of Susie). Each set represents a different colorway. To order the stitch markers, send me an e-mail! I'll send you an invoice, and will ship the next day!! I have a few of each set made up, so I can start shipping tomorrow!

Here they are!!

Foxtrot: Black and grey glass beads, with pink swarovski crystal accents.

ChaCha: Black, grey and blue glass beads, with blue swarovski crystal accents.

Waltz: Blue glass beads, with fuschia, blue, purple and teal swarovski crystal accents.