home sweet home.

yay! it's the holidays!

and now it's really feeling like it. i arrived back home to indiana yesterday and got to spend it with my dad in his new magistrate's office. it was so nice seeing him in his new position and loving it!

my parents waited for me to get here to help out with a bunch of the decorations so i'll be starting to work on them today. putting up our boxes and boxes of ornaments is my favorite part of every christmas and i can't wait to get them going. i'll be taking some pictures, knitting, and doing some scrapping out of my mom's ginormous stash so i'll share more soon...

till then enjoy the ones you love!

love.

anthro top 5. gifts.

even though i'm no longer part of the anthroplogie team i still get their catalogs and am in love with the stores and product. so i thought it would be fun to still include a couple of top 5's each month. and since this month is christmas i decided to share my current top 5 gifts from the december catalog! (hint hint, lol)

1. clothbound penguin classics



these are so gorgeous. Jane Eyre, Sense and Sensibility, Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights, and a ton more.

2. felted soaps

these smell so good! make great stocking stuffers!

3. watch-my-drink coasters

too cute.

4. monsters of the household variety


this book is huge, expensive, but so amazing. each page is beautifully illustrated, stitched, beaded. it's actually in the november catalog but we got one into the store before i left and i had to share it because it's just so great!

5. tree trunk mugs

love these too.

there was another decoration i was searching for but couldn't find online. they are these amazing reindeer made with multi-colored rope. i think they are one-of-a-kind's so you'll have to check out a store to see them. maybe if i head into a store before i leave for home i'll get a shot of them to share.

that's all for now. have a great sunday!

cozy and warm.

happy friday!

love making these. and they are so quick! i have just about all of them done for christmas presents. these are mine. can't show you the other colors i made or i'll ruin the surprise...

the pattern is on lion brand's website but literally it's just a knit stitch (a.k.a. garter stitch) 15 stictches per row for about 8.5/9 inches. you can go longer too if you want them higher up your arm. after binding off leave about a 9 inch tail of extra yarn... then use a large blunt needle to stitch them up leaving a hole for the thumb. i found it easiest to literally close them up around my hand to make sure the thumb hole was comfy... and luckily all of the girls i'm giving them too have about the same size hands as me so i know they'll fit. after they are closed hide the remaining tail in the knit (if you need to shorten it up you can, i just like to make sure i have enuogh tail to work with.)

turn them inside out and you have a comfy and cozy cuff!

my materials:

lion brand wool-ease thick & quick yarn
US 13 (9mm) knitting needles
large blunt yarn needle

now i just need to get on my christmas cards. i want them out by the 15th since i leave for indiana on the 16th. yay! only 5 days until i'm home with my favorites!

love.

one last late night etsy love.

thinking about all of the amazing vendors at last years brooklyn renegade craft fair reminded me of a little gifty i've been meaning to get for myself! for my birthday last month i bought a gorgeous 1962 royal safari typewriter. it's really quite amazing if i do say so myself... once i get my new shelves up in the stufio you'll see just how gorgeous it is. anyway.

last year i saw this company called final approach at renegade and i SO BADLY wanted to buy one of their unique luggage pieces but for some reason i just didn't. well everything happens for a reason and when my typewriter came the only thing that wasn't perfect was the case. just a little scratched and ucky but PERFECT for a custom piece!

after christmas i'll be buying an alchemy project from them and sending my case off to get beautified... check out some of their awesome work!






{final approach etsy shop}

now i just need to figure out my theme.

ok. bedtime.
sweet dreams.

my creative 2010.

so i've been meaning to post the layout i did for my 27 before 28. i cannot believe that in 2010 i will be turning 28 & becoming a mommy. totally crazy and exciting! i haven't photographed the layout yet but i thought i'd share some of the inspiration for the more creative items on my list....

so here we go!

knit a menagerie. these are by hansigurami. the book is called amigurami knits. i'm really hoping she re-opens her etsy shop and starts putting out new patterns too because i'd love to make these gorgeous crazies for the baby's room.

p.s. what i love about these is that they are knitted, not crocheted and it seems like the only amigurami out there is for crocheters... grr.



sew/create my own nursery decor. love these sets as inspiration. modern, clean, organic, and beautiful. {source}


knit a trophy head. {source}

i SO want one of these this year and it may take me all year as i've only ever seen crocheted heads which means i'll have to write my own pattern. it's for sure an extreme goal. but wouldn't like a knitted moose head with big antlers just be amazing.... *dreams*

other goals inclue:

giving at least ten handmade gifts in 2010.
making organic dog beds. (and attempt to make crystal use it instead of squeeze between us.)
getting my owl & toadstool tattoo.
making baby clothes & knitting an organic baby blanket like this one....

{source + pattern}

so yeah see any themes? this year is going to be all baby all knitting all the time. with my usual scrapbooking and other projects thrown in the mix. i also want to start a crafting clique with my nyc/nj girls. (well and a poker night... with some of the same company, lol.)

oh and miss elsie reminded me (via her blog) to check for next year's renegade craft fair dates. brooklyn's aren't up yet but last year the show was the 6th and 7th of june. if it's close to the same that means there will be a new little taylor just in time to come visit AND shop baby renegade style. get ready biotches!

ok. or i will be very very pregnant walking around buying too much stuff. lol.

love.

it's snowing!

yay! first snow!

joey and i took a trip to seacaucus/clifton today to do a little shopping. i finally got my butt into a michaels to get some supplies for these babies....


they are a really simple pattern from lion brand.

hopefully once i master this one i'll be able to graduate to these...
joey bought a couple new books... the road (which he's been dying to read) and let the right one in, which i think is his attempt to understand my love for vampire stories. we were supposed to pick up our christmas tree tonight but the weather just got too wet. we are going to try again first thing in the morning so that we have all day to decorate and hang out together. i love weekends!

time to get into my pink flannel pj's and get into a project!

love.

new craft.

yes i can happily say that i am a knitter now! this is a craft i've been wanting to learn for so long. my grandma was a crocheter and kind of tried to teach me a little when i was younger but it never really stuck. i've had dreams of making scarves, blankets, fingerless gloves.... and now those dreams are stitch by stich and purl by purl coming into reality. almost done with my first really simple garter scarf that i made as part of a class. the two tones of grey in there are for a little tougher scarf i'll be starting this weekend for joey. i'm hoping to hit up the craft store this weekend to pick up some more goodies and some circular needles to start my glove projects. one of my 27 before 28 (which i'll post another day) is to give 10 handmade gifts this year and this is the craft that is going to get me there.

oh and check out one of my favorite new additions to the house behind my knitting basket. it's a pillow from urban outfitters that has a german shepherd cross-stitched on the front. looks exactly like my bad roxy!

fresh start.

time to get back into doing everything that i love and one of the things that i genuinely love is this blog. more than a broadcast out to the world... this blog is for me. it's my way to really look back and document everything i've accomplished, how things in my life have changed, what inspires me.

over the past year i feel i lost a lot of myself. with working and stressing about work non-stop i left no time or energy to focus into my outlets that truly make me really happy and fulfilled. and, then i lost sight of my goals.

but now i'm happy to say i'm feeling bits and pieces of my passion and creativity coming back to me and i'm so excited for what the future holds. i'm ready to create with absolutely no pressure. make what i want to make, do what i want to do, and in the process bring a new little life into this world to re-experience all of what living really has to offer. my big goals are starting to resurface in my head and more importantly i'm regaining the confidence to believe that i can really accomplish anything i set my mind to....

like writing a self help book.

ha! kidding, just started sounding a little preachy there and needed to break it up.

so. long story still long, i'm making shit again and it feels amazing. i have a million and one projects in my book and head for the coming year and i'm sure i'll at least get a few of them done. i've started off by FINALLY making a daily december book which is something i've been meaning to do for years. the holidays always seem to get away from me and i end up wanting to spend the time experiencing rather than documenting it, but then later i get frustrated with the lack of photos and momentos. it's not quite done but i wanted to share the first bits...




the pages are just about done. so i'll share day by day as i actually complete journaling, photos, whatever. it's mostly BG's Eskimo Kisses, with a few Hambly pieces, Love Elsie, and other things mixed in. of course i ran out of adhesive which is why there are some paperclips still holding a few things together but that will be fixed today since i went on a run last night.

ok so there are more pics i took today of some things but the natives are getting restless (the pups). time for a walk.

love.