Soap Bottle Love

55 Comments / January 31, 2010 February 22, 2011 / Sewing

Everyone having a good weekend??? A certain little someone is having a birthday today! {Pssst….run over there and wish her a Happy Birthday and maybe she’ll post that Spanish Rice recipe that I keep nagging her about!!!}

Happy, Happy Birthday Brigette!!!

While Brigette has been celebrating her birthday weekend, I’ve been wasting my time keeping myself busy making little hand soap/sanitizer bottle covers. (Otherwise known as avoiding the real work that should be done around here.)

Here’s a little close up of some of the details. Look at that ADORABLE little silver flower button that Mrs. Pebble sent to me a few weeks ago. (I Looooove Mrs. Pebble’s silver creations, and don’t worry, that button is far too valuable to languish away on a soap bottle — I just thought it would be cute there for now, until I find a proper home for it.) Also, ’cause someone will probably ask, the Little Red Riding Hood ribbon came from Sew Deerly Loved, although she appears to be out of it now.

What to do with all those little bottle covers? I suppose they’d make a nice gift in this cold and flu season. And it is almost Valentine’s Day, although I’m not really sure what kind of a signal it sends to give your loved one a bottle of hand sanitizer.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue.

You’re full of germs,

But I still love you!

Do you think it’s too mushy???

XOXO,
Anna

We Need A Cat Whisperer

52 Comments / January 27, 2010 February 22, 2011 / Around the House, Scruff

Last week, we experienced a little hijinx around here. It seems that someone has developed a fondness for my sweaters. ???? Every night when we came home from work, we found one of my sweaters in a crumpled pile on the floor, in a different room of the house. (And just for the record, I don’t leave them thrown all over the house — they sit folded on a shelf in our bedroom closet.)

We narrowly escaped disaster on Tuesday — that sweater was halfway to never being seen again. Given extra time, it could have been sucked into the abyss-under-the-bed. The first few days we just laughed, thinking it would be short lived. But, toward the end of the week, it was clear that someone, was enjoying this little game. In an effort to thwart the prankster, I closed the closet door on Friday morning before I left for work. Being smarter than the average cat, our little felon managed to get the door open. It deterred him enough though, that he only had time to pull a few sweaters off of the shelf — but no time to drag them around the house.

So. The big question is…who’s the guilty party? Paul?

Or TheEmptyNestChild???

At least this time, we know it’s not the monkey. He’s been safely locked away since the last event.

Feel free to provide parenting advice. ;-)

XOXO,
Anna

Curious Cables

54 Comments / January 24, 2010 March 8, 2016 / Knitting, Socks

A month ago, I read this post over at Karen’s and saw the prettiest cable socks ever! I commented and asked Karen if the pattern was available on Ravelry. Not yet, she said — it’s her own pattern and would I like to test it for her? Would I??? I jumped at the chance, as I’m a BIG fan of cables.

So, I set about test knitting and had the best time. I had big plans to be able to take the sock pictures in our pretty snow, but it’s been raining here and the snow is almost all gone. I was able to muster up enough for a little bitty snowman. With a little bitty hydrangea hat.

But I digress — we’re talking socks here! Karen’s pattern is beautifully written. It has several pictures (her socks are a much prettier blue than mine) and she writes the instructions for the cables three different ways — row-by-row, on a graph, and formula-like — so no matter what kind of “learner” you are, she has you covered.

The yarn I used is a Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock hand-dyed yarn in Cookies’ Deep Dark Secret colorway. I wanted a plain yarn so the cables would really stand out.

Thanks to MyDadLovesMeBestSister for being the sock model. We were taking pictures on top of this wall, then decided to hang her feet over the wall. When we did that, Mr. Snowman yelled “Wait for Me!” and jumped over the side. He managed to cling to the edge for approximately 7.3 seconds.

Poor little guy — he’s all melted now. But, the cables are still around and if you love them like I do, you can get Karen’s pattern here, on Ravelry. (And in case you’re wondering, I don’t get a bonus or anything — I just think these socks are darn cute!)

Oh, and I have one more teeny little recommendation for you. The Young Victoria. We saw it this afternoon and I loved it. It made me cry. Did I tell you, I loved it?

XOXO,
Anna

Brown Rice Pilaf

30 Comments / January 21, 2010 February 22, 2011 / Recipes

Well Hello Boys and Girls! How is your MiddleofJanuary going? Slow? It must be lovely for those of you in the southern hemisphere. I’m sitting here dreaming of your warm weather and sunny skies. It’s cold and dreary here and I’ve been occupying my time by spending too much time on the computer and not enough time making anything that I can show you. Sooo…..I’ll give you one of our go-to, very favorite side dish recipes. MeMum found this years ago and we all love it. (Remind me one day to show you MeMum’s recipe clippings — they’re just a teeny bit obscene!)

This brown rice pilaf is fun to make and it goes with darn near everything. And it beats the heck out of BrownRiceInABox ’cause it’s WAY more healthy.

Brown Rice Pilaf

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup brown rice
2 cups boiling broth or consomme
Salt and Pepper
1/3 cup chopped parsley or green onions
2 – 4 Tablespoons diced red or green pepper

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and onions until tender. Add rice and saute 3 – 4 minutes. Turn into greased, shallow 2 1/2 quart casserole dish.

Add boiling broth and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Stir well. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until rice is tender.

Stir in parsley and green pepper. Fluff mixture with a fork. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

And I’ll tell you a little secret.

Shhhh.

Come a little closer.

Brigette has a fantastic Spanish Rice recipe that is made in a very similar manner to this brown rice pilaf. You should run over to her blog and beg her for it — it’s the perfect side dish for a mexican dinner.

And with that I’m outta here! I have a sock that’s been patiently waiting for me all week. Have a good weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

Just Another Random Monday

37 Comments / January 18, 2010 February 22, 2011 / Chat

Things are slow here. Really, really slow. Sorry to be so boring! I’ll just list a few random unrelated things, in case you’re interested:

Thanks for all the great comments on my sister’s mouse house. If you liked that, you should check out Madre Karin’s latest post — she doesn’t just have a mouse house in her wall, she can accommodate a whole family!
Parsley, Beet and the Bots are in the house. WooHoo!!! I love these cool patterns from the Amazing Ms. Ric Rac. Jodie has wonderful service — she even threw in a few keychains, a birdcage kit and a bunch of mod fabric scraps, ’cause she knows I want to make another nine-patch quilt. THANK YOU Jodie!!! Now to locate a few extra pairs of Paddington Bear boots so Parsley and Beet can be stylin’.

Check out Jaquie’s great quilt raffle — not only is she donating the funds raised from her quilts, she’s matching the amount!
We went to visit TheFirstChild and SweetiePie on Saturday. While TheManoftheHouse was otherwise occupied, I snuck (is too a word!) down to see Cami. A bunch of Kaffe fabrics jumped in my bag because a) I don’t have a Kaffe stash and b) I’m suffering from some sort of delusion that I’ll actually make Kellie’s Joseph’s Coat quilt someday. Notice how I have two color families going on there — when I DO make the quilt, I can’t decide whether it will be green/blue or pink/orange/yellow. Decisions, Decisions.

I’m currently enjoying several new-to-me blogs:Sweetopia – as I read somewhere, you’ll get cavities in your eyeballs just looking at this blog
A Feathered Nest – Very, very Pretty! (found via Ms. Barefoot – thank you!)
Just Something I Made – Don’t go here. Really. It’s a huge Rabbit Hole!!!

Whew! That’s enough for tonight. I hope you’re off to a good start to your week!

XOXO,
Anna

Month: January 2010

Happy, Happy Birthday Brigette!!!

Brown Rice Pilaf