love these days.

 

 

i got so much done yesterday and really started feeling like i have a plan for the rest of the year.  i can't express just how good that feels! abby is still adjusting a bit to having her time zones all screwy but we had a really fun day together despite some strange nap times that keep popping up. she's been really into playing with her crayons since we came back... i know what activity to start packing on our plane trips in the future. we made our first drawing to give to daddy, he loved it!

we had some rain yesterday so we didn't get our park outings started up again like i had originally planned but we still had a good time. abby has started doing these little bursts of running while walking laps between her room and the living room. it's pretty cute to watch her rev up and then try to slow herself down.

joe was home early yesterday and so the rest of the evening was spent chatting and planning for the weekend. it's nice to have the whole weekend with joe... we definitely need it to recover from our trip. it will be nice to get some things done and just relax. 

 some weekend goals...

trip to storage

start a pet project 

finish journaling the vacation 

get working on some halloween projects

late night knitting & dreaming

with lots of time in between to play with my two favorites!

love.

p.s. i hope everyone has a great weekend! anyone going to maker faire in nyc?

to do list.

finish it.

hang it. (or buy a new shelf, hmm.)

4 down. 32+ more to go.

i also need to:

totally re-commit to this blog (again)
get little miss back onto her schedule
finish our cali trip plans
get back on my diet

i want to:

start 3 new blankets
stitch up some new things for abby's room
start buying up vintage sheets again

goals.

28. i can't believe how fast 27 flew by... i'm sure it had something to do with being pregnant with abby and all the business to get ready for her arrival. last year i didn't do a list of what i wanted to accomplish - well strike that i did several lists of what i needed to accomplish, but nothing just for me and official.

so here it is. everything i really want to do and create in my life before next year.

1. throw a picnic party in central park
2. give 10 handmade gifts
3. refab the nightstand dresser for abby's room
4. 2011 weekly gratitude journal
5. finish abby's quilt
6. take a midwest flea/vintage road trip with my mom
7. learn to (really) crochet
8. start an art/inspiration wall
9. open an etsy store
10. take a trip to new orleans
11. see a broadway show
12. make abby some dresses/jumpers
13. 100 scrapbook pages (at least!)
14. walk the brooklyn bridge
15. get new glasses
16. make a huge granny square throw
17. take more photos of joe & myself
18. grow something
19. take a trip to california
20. make sushi at home
21. read at least one book each month
22. send snail mail to 5 friends
23. go to a taping of late night
24. volunteer
25. fill an art/inspiration journal
26. take more walks with abby & the pups
27. get back in shape
28. redefine my personal style

it's a little late in the game but i'm also going to try to stick to accomplishing 4 simple goals inspired by this project. there are a few things i want to get done before we enter 2011.

1. send out christmas cards. this has been a goal of mine since joey and i got married but i can never seem to get it done or even started on time. now with our family growing by one i dream of sending out a family holiday photo each year to our friends and family. i'm crossing my fingers that we'll have time to get a photo done by mr. charles dudley while we are in naples this next week to send out!

2. redesign the blog. it's way late in coming. i put up the text blog banner several months ago expecting it to be totally temporary. i've been mulling over the redesign and new direction of this blog for months and it's time to start fresh in the new year.

3. make abby toy storage... we already are overwhelmed with the amount of toys this little lade has. i LOVE this toy box from wooli on etsy.

4. start abby's 1st year scrapbook. i've been collecting supplies since she was born but other obligations have kept me from getting it started. i'm using this book from elle's studio as inspiration, i love the clusters and layering.

so lots to do in the coming weeks! those goals, plus decorating for abby's first christmas. saturday we are leaving for a road trip down to florida for thanksgiving to see the taylor's and our naples friends. it's going to be a much needed and appreciated vacation.

love.

plus one.

it's been a really great weekend with my little family of three. saturday we went shopping for some new fall/winter jeans, a jumper/activity center for abby, and a few other odds and ends. then we spent the evening listening to records and cuddling in our warm home.

today adding an hour in the morning helped me finally get us all dressed, fed, & out for church early! we were even able to stop for hot chocolate and coffee beforehand. abby wore her skinny jeans + flats. so cute.

after church we did our grocery shopping and dropped some things off at the salvation army & another church's book sale. it was so nice to get those random boxes out of my space. purging always feels great.

the rest of the day has been spent helping joe clean up his pile of randomness, discovering that we need to buy a new computer (and consolidate our two into one family machine), brainstorming crazy ideas for the future, and putting together the week's goals.

one of my big goals this week is to gather up and take care of the majority of my winter mending. i started today with this sweater that i got back in high school.


i love the sweater... it's long, warm, and so comfy. it has definitely seen better days. some of the cables are getting loose and a few of the buttons are missing.

there was this snagged stitch that i decided to tackle right away before it got any worse...

to fix it i pulled the stitch back into the wrong side with a crochet hook, snipped the thread so it could be tied, and then secured it tight...


it worked nicely. tomorrow i plan on going over the whole sweater to check and tighten all of the cables and then find new old buttons. i'm not really a fan of the current ones even though i have them all. i'm hoping i might find some nice ones in the vintage stash i inherited in my grandma's sewing chest.

this week:
joe + my mending for the season
send out a special delivery
go fabric shopping
finish + mail abby's thanksgiving cards
plan our christmas photo styling

i hope everyone enjoyed their weekend & extra hour!

love.

glutton for punishment.

today i was supposed to do laundry and start packing for our trip.
instead i spent several hours at anthro soho searching for a dress to wear to abby's baptism.
i found this...

i like it. it's my style. it was on sale. and it fits.
was it fun trying on basically everything in the store and hating how 99.9% of it looked on me?
hell no.

it was however nice to see some ex-co-workers... show off my little beauty.

then abby and i went to the new purl soho location.

{more photos on the purl blog}

i love it. big space with fabric & yarn in the same store. i bought a couple of echino (kokka fabrics) prints one of which i'm making into a nursing cover (yes i am adding ANOTHER project to my plate for tomorrow). the other will probably become a fall jumper for abby.

then i got a little crazy and decided that i would lose all of my extra 30lbs of abby weight in one shot by walking from soho up 5th avenue to 45th to see my joey. it was hot but an otherwise pleasant walk and my little cooing monkey had a great time watching the streets pass by and smiling at strangers.

we finally made it to daddy's and spent his last hour of work hanging out, not making too much noise + then got to walk with him home after quitting time.

bathtime.
a little overtired complaining.
and we are now all thoroughly exhausted + moderately stressed out about getting done tomorrow what we completely blew off today.

tomorrow is "get it done" friday:
drop off the dogs
laundromat
pick up a letter from st. ann's
make my nursing cover
pack up my craftiness, abby, joe, + myself

love.

revisiting & today's list.

i can't believe it's been over five years since my cruising days in south america. it was a strange time for me... inspiring and exciting but also very lonely. i was pretty much on my own, with new friends but without my joseph and very limited communication with the outside world.

this week has been unusually warm... yesterday it hit 92 degrees... and i've been craving the beach. i started today wanting to find some beautiful photos of the beaches i haven't seen yet and would love to visit but as i looked i couldn't help thinking about south america and all of the places i've been...

i'm not sure when we'll get back but revisiting south america together is for sure on our to do list. there are so many places i want to revisit and share with my joey. it's also very important for us to take abby (and any other little monsters that come our way) all over the world to experience life, history, and culture everywhere. traveling as a family is so important to us.

today i'm hoping to:

finish up some layouts and get them posted by tonight.
order some new fabrics i've been coveting.
practice a little crocheting (i've been teaching myself).
head to the grocery store to satisfy a few new cravings.

not a huge list but i have a BIG list started for this weekend. it's a three day weekend with joe and i'm crazy excited! power nesting is the plan!

love.