Finished Object : Boxie Bag!

I accidentally kind-of-sort-of took a nap around 8 pm tonight, so I had this random spurt of energy tonight. A random spurt of energy that's now making it challenging for me to go to bed at a normal hour for someone who gets up at 5:30. Good thing tomorrow's Friday, because otherwise it might be pretty rough.

Pattern : (No Guts!) Boxie Pouch
SoChick! Handbags & Embroidery {Melissa Strong}

I took full advantage of feeling productive and creative tonight and finished this little project. I've got a few more fabrics picked out for it and in the works already, and this one is going to a good friend (unbeknownst to her, I just love surprises, don't you?!). It's very "her," and I hope she loves it.

One of my favorite things about this pattern was the minimal supply requirement: two coordinating fat quarters, a coordinating zipper, some thread, and interfacing. I omitted the clasp on the tab, because I couldn't find any that were the right size. If you do, it's handy to hang your bag up!

Not going to lie, I'm particularly proud of the awesome zipper job on this little boxie bag. Zippers and I have never really gotten along, and this time, I think I mastered it. Hurrah! (And seriously, doesn't that zipper just match perfectly?! *happy dance*)

All I need to do is stitch up the lining, and it's ready to go in the mail. I should have enough time during my lunch break tomorrow to accomplish that, so hopefully she'll get it early next week!

Once I figured out what was going on in the tutorial, it's really quite simple to put together . . . provided you pay close attention to the directions and make sure the fabrics are facing the correct way while stitching them to the zipper (oops). Hopefully the next two won't take quite as long to complete, now that I've got one finished. It makes a good sized pouch, ready for a craft project, makeup, accessories, or anything else you can fit in and want to show off in a stylish way.

What's Up, July?!

I feel like this is slowly (or quickly, from my perspective) becoming a theme. . . Not having quite enough time to get everything done I'd like to, craft-wise, and therefore not posting much anymore. Maybe one of these days I'll have tons of finished objects magically flying off the needles and out of the sewing machine and I can do a few posts on those, but for now...

Anyway, it's hard to believe July is already half over. I've been at my job now for seven months, and again today someone told me it feels like I've been there forever. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, but I'll take it as a compliment. :)

I've been having lots of fun lately putting together some care packages for our youth. They went on a week long trip to the National Youth Gathering earlier this summer, and I figured they might enjoy some entertainment and emergency supplies while they were traveling. Oh dollar store, how I love you:

Out of all this swag, their favorite by far were the fake mustaches. They had a blast waving to people on the highway and seeing the looks on their faces. Anything to entertain a handful of high schoolers on a 13 hour bus trip, right?!

I also included lots of sugary candy, bandaids, hand sanitizer and wipes, kleenex, drink packets, glow sticks, gum, crazy straws, and snacks. It's always so much fun to put packages like this together, and I'm glad they enjoyed it. (They also had a great time the rest of the week, learning, praising, and serving!!)

Makes me happy...

These past few weeks have been full of blessings, both little and big. Here's a few highlights of why my life is awesome lately:

- honest-to-goodness date nights with the hubs, including delicious Mexican food and the new Superman movie

- taking my personal day this past Monday, complete with a massage, pedicure, lunch with the hubs, grocery shopping, vacuuming out my car, watching a movie, and knitting

- finding shoes on sale for $4 at Payless after work this week:

 - delicious chicken alfredo for supper tonight

- sheep salt & pepper shakers for our anniversary/my birthday

- fresh baked cranberry orange muffins

- birthday presents waiting for me to open next month

And this is how I'm spending my evening: a new novel, Scrubs season four, and knitting. Perfect.

Phew! What a month it's been...

Well, things have been quiet around the blog, and that's not necessarily a bad thing! Lots going on, and very busy days turn into very busy weeks, but I'm thankful for this weekend to relax and catch up on some things around the apartment (mostly, laundry. yuck).

The past three weekends have been full of family activities and events.

Weekend #1: Brother-the-Younger graduated from college (summa cum laude, whoo!!), so of course we made the trip back to my old stomping grounds to help celebrate. We enjoyed an absolutely delightful weekend with my family, a delicious celebratory dinner, and the chance to finally go home for the first time in over 6 months.

Weekend #2: Brother-the-Youngest graduated from high school! Not. Allowed. My baby brother is not allowed to grow up yet... because I'm not ready to admit that I'm getting older. He obviously didn't get that memo, haha! He's off to college in the fall, and I've already got some friends lined up to take care of him in college (he doesn't know that yet...). One of the most memorable events of that weekend: Brother-the-youngest trying coffee. His critique: "Very strange. It's like it's trying to be water, but just can't." Haha! This kid cracks me up.  My grandparents also came to visit us on their way home that weekend, so we enjoyed a nice dinner out with them and church in the morning. :)

Weekend #3: This was the weekend I've been looking forward to for almost an entire year. We finally got to meet our niece, and this may be the auntie pride speaking, but she's a cutie! D remarked that he's pretty sure she liked hanging out with me more than him, to which I responded that I'm E's aunt, and as such, I'm automatically cool. :) I've got some great ideas already for her Christmas and birthday presents... this kid sure is spoiled already... and not just by me!

Now it's back to work and house hunting, which is taking up most of our time (plus, you know, the 75 other things we have going on at the same time). Hopefully we'll find something and move in this summer! I'm excited and nervous at the same time. That's natural, right? The hardest part has definitely been trying to plan for our future while having absolutely NO IDEA what that holds. We could get a call that we decide to take in a year, or we could be here for 15 more years. And that makes it more challenging to know what to look for in a house and plan for the needs of our future family. What I do know is that God already knows what we need and what is in store for us, and he's taking care of us each and every step of the way. Not always easy for me to remember, but it's truly the most comforting thing ever!

Oh, P.S. I made this delightful Strawberry Almond Coffee Cake a few weeks ago (I substituted strawberries for the raspberries the recipe called for), and it was a hit! Just looking at this picture makes me want to make it again.

Just Kidding, May...

Today is May 3. Tomorrow is Star Wars Day! (Which is totally awesome, but beside the point...) Spring is half-way over. And today, I woke up to snow. Not just a dusting.. a full-on, winter-weather-advisory, cars-in-the-ditch-on-the-commute-to-work snow. I am wearing a sweater, wool socks, boots, and delightfully soft, comfy, and warm handknits. Missouri in May. Somedays, you just have to laugh and love the weather, no matter what it brings.

6:30 am. Look at all that snow falling from the sky!

As a result, today is a slow day. (Oh studious students, where are you?! Finals start Monday, and the library is eerily quiet...) But wait! I have reasons to make it better and find the joy and gratitude in today:

1. Leftover Kehde's for lunch. Because seriously. There's not much better than that. In fact, I told D last night that if/when he gets another call that we decide to accept, Kehde's has to move with us. It's not an option in my book.

2. Coffee and tea. Yes, please!

3. Warm, delightfully wooly knits. Comfort at its finest.

4. A relaxing weekend to look forward to, with only a few errands and chores planned, and maybe an event or two to attend.

5. A chance to work on some bigger projects at work without too many interruptions.

6. My renewed love of reading for pleasure. I've missed reading what I want, when I want. During the past two and a half years of grad school, and the four years of college before that, I found myself with little time to read anything other than textbooks and scholarly articles. And now that that phase of my life has come to an end, I'm SO HAPPY to have the time and energy to read fun things again! Last night I finished The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat and it was delightful. Witty, funny, painfully honest, realistic... everything that makes a good story great. (Plus, I'll be honest. I laughed out loud at all the fun poked at Lutherans throughout the novel.) The only problem is now I have that all-too-familiar "book hangover," where I'm not ready to move on to something else yet, but want to keep reading. :)

7. A tasty, relaxing dinner out with my husband. It's always nice to reconnect after a long week, isn't it?

Snowy Fridays in May maybe aren't so bad afterall...

Welcoming my Niece...

My little niece (but really, she's not so little!) was born over a month ago. I'd been planning and crafting since we found out my sister-in-law was expecting, and I finally finished up the last few things and got it sent off recently.

I've been waiting to post pictures of her awesome presents until I was sure the box arrived, and now I finally can post them!

I'm convincing myself I didn't go overboard, but seriously, how can you pass up all the cute fabrics and patterns out there for babies? I just couldn't...

Baby Surprise Jacket! My knitting group did this as a knit-a-long this past winter, and I had knit this with the intent of sending it for my niece to wear and enjoy the first few months after she was born. Ten pound newborns don't exactly fit in typical newborn clothing, but I wanted to send it anyway as a keepsake. And honestly, those crayon buttons are just the cutest thing ever. :)

Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Ravelry Project Page here.
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici Sport Self Striping, Boutique colorway

Then, there was the fabric buying spree. The animal ABC print was turned into a baby blanket, and the others became burp cloths. All of them were lined with various pastel flannel for extra softness.

Here's the finished burp cloths. Each of the cotton fabrics is lined with one of three colors: pink, purple, and yellow. You can never have enough burp cloths.

Meet Elijah. He's adorable, isn't he? I bought this yarn specifically for this pattern, and absolutely love the way it turned out! The pattern itself was pretty fiddly to knit, but you can't argue with the results!

Elijah by Ysolda Teague
Ravelry Project Page here.
Yarn: Bernat Baby Jacquards, Berries & Cream colorway

 And finally, a photo of all the goodies sent to E. I found a cute elephant outfit to coordinate with her new stuffed toy, and it should fit her all summer long. The cookie monster bib was too cute to pass up. But one of my favorite parts of the entire box is the book. During our annual Children's Literature Festival, I had the pleasure of hearing one of the book's authors speak. I had purchased a copy of the book, and after Marie Smith's talk, asked her to autograph the book for my niece. She was delighted to do so, and I hope E comes to love the book as she gets older.

Welcome to the world, E. Can't wait to finally meet you!

Technology...

Today, I learned how to use a slide projector. I can't be the only one amused by this..?