Why I’m not a fan of the bathroom at Michael’s

Public restrooms are never an enjoyable place as we all know. However, I’ve recently become even less of a fan of the bathroom at Michael’s (the craft store). On a trip to Michael’s for some pre-Christmas craft supplies and I should have known better than to have several cups of tea before our journey, but it was one of those mornings when I needed more of a pick me up than usual.  You know late nights, restless sleep, oh and say a toddler.

So half way through the trip, off to the ladies room with Mazie. I headed for the handicap stall because Mazie was recently the lucky recipient of an American Girl doll bitty baby, which she insists on bringing everywhere with us, and the regular stall would be a bit cramped. Bad move.

As I’m sitting (well attempting to squat without sitting) in the far corner of the stall, my child decides it would be prudent to suddenly learn how to open the stall door and run out.  Again remember, multiple cups of tea here.  So of course I scream all sorts of you you get back here young lady’s, which does result in her return, but not of the guilty conscience.  She’s now empowered by the fact that she can indeed open the door and do what she wants.  So, again still squatting here, she now throws her new Abby doll (aforementioned brand new American Girl bitty baby) on the floor.  The public restroom bathroom floor people!

Which of course results in many more pick that up young lady’s.  Well now she’s mad and has decided (reminder still peeing here) that it would be a good idea to shove Abby under our stall to the stall next door, which of course is not acceptable to me nor to her, because now Abby is in the next stall and she’s not.  Thus, logic would dictate that she crawl under the stall…public restroom floor here people…to the stall next door.

Now I’m finally done ridding myself of the massive amount of tea I previously ingested, gussy myself up, and then throw open the door of the stall next door to retrieve my child and an Abby doll that both need to be sanitized head to toe.

Seriously people, can’t a mummy use the ladies room with a bit of dignity?  Anyhew and this is why I’m not a fan of the bathroom at Michael’s

You might not want to know what kind of underwear I’m wearing, but you (ladies) NEED to

Recently ordered a pair of these to see what the deal was. Well, I LOVE THEM! When I described them to people they instantly got this picture of grannie panties in their head. You’ll see from the pics below that these are not your grannie’s panties. The next thing folks said was, “oh they are like Spanx”. Now I’m certainly a fan of Spanx and they have their place, but these are no Spanx either. Although Spanx are perfect for sucking you into that slinky dress they are certainly not sexy to take on and off and frankly not all that attractive to dance around your room in.

As you can see (note: this is not me) these are quite sexy. They smooth out any lines, make you feel great, and have the added benefit of an additional layer of warmth as if it’s a cami and undies. I’ve not yet worn them in the summer, but I don’t think they would be too hot except on those 90+ days.

Check these guys out at Twin Syndrome on Etsy.

SAWA 2000

My mom often made Spritz cookies as part of her very extensive Christmas cookie making endeavor every year. Spritz cookies are traditional Scandenavian cookies most often made around Christmas time. The name Sprtiz comes from “spritzen”, which is German for “to squirt or spray. You have to use a cookie press, basically a cookie caulk gun. Tools for chicks.

I’ve always remembered them fondly, but unfortunately haven’t eaten them for years since discovering I was a Celiac (gluten intolerance). Recently, I’ve become more bold in my gluten free baking adventures, understanding a bit more about the chemistry needed to create tasty treats without the benefit of the gluten-y stuff. I saw a recipe recently for gluten-free sprtiz cookies in Living Without Magazine and begged my mom to pull out our old cookie press and pass it along to me. [Spritz cookies have since been dropped from her xmas cookie mania.] Below is a glimpse into the Spritz cookie making paraphernalia.

I am also delighted at just how 70’s the packaging and design is for this SAWA 2000 and the name is so futuristic.

Anyhew this picture is not great, but you get the idea. They turned out pretty well in terms of the overall process. The dough squeezed out nicely through the press. I wasn’t thrilled with the taste. I wanted them to be butteryer and sweeter, but I will experiment some more and try to perfect for Christmas next year. WARNING: It made a TON of cookies. I gave away half and we still had an army of practice cookies to ingest.

An attempt to organize and sort

As you can image or relate, toddlers tend to scatter toys and bits and pieces from one end of the house to the other.  In an attempt to control chaos and to teach Mazie about sorting/categories, I stitched up these simple draw string bags.  Robbie created the lettering designs for each category, which we transferred onto freezer paper (one shiny side, one matte side) to make an iron on stencil.  Basically, you trace a design on, cut it out and then iron the shiny side down onto fabric and it makes a little stencil or pattern.  A little fabric paint and here we go — some great little toy bags that help to organize, sort, categorize and spruce up the place.  Much more aesthetically pleasing than a whole bunch of maracas and doll house parts thrown about the floor.

The bags in action:

An unexpected bonus/consequence of these bags is the thrill Mazie gets in dragging the filled back behind her as if it’s a pull toy.

Loving this designer

Found this on Etsy this morning. A couple of my favorites.

The back, which I like almost more than the front.

I wish I’d spent more time with her as an adult

My paternal grandmother was quite skilled in the domestic arts. She was an active member of Eastern Star, sewed, quilted, knit, crochet, and cooked up a storm. She was a small round woman with soft squishy cheeks and hands and it felt like you could literally bury yourself in her bosom as a child. It seemed like her house always smelled of corn beef and cabbage and she made this hard candy at Christmas time that is a real bitch to make, but she did it every year.

She, combined with my maternal grandmother, taught me much of the basic skills I use today in all things handmade. However hindsight is always 20/20 and I wish I had taken more advantage to learn from her as an adult. She moved away when I was just entering college and thus didn’t get to experience her knowledge in these domestic arts in a way in which I can relate as an adult. She is the one who made my original Christmas stocking for me, featured here.

When my dad purged many of his belongings from his house in attempt to downsize, I was the lucky recipient of this sampler made by my paternal grandmother, Mimi. It now hangs proudly in Mazie’s room and though you might like to admire her handiwork as well.

A little detail

I don’t really have a propensity for cross stitch but am always drawn to it when I see it. How lucky was I to inherit this family treasure?

It’s the simple things in life

I’ve been interested in the hand knitted wash clothes phenomenon for quite some time but was inspired to give them as a gift from the Purl Bee tutorial. However, as a gift for a non-knitter I thought it would be more practical to make them out of a wash and dry yarn rather than a hand wash and lay flat yarn.  These were made with Mission Falls Marino Superwash.

I think it takes a special gift recipient to appreciate the work that goes into something so everyday, but made with love. These were a gift I’ve just given a lifelong and childhood friend for her wedding shower. I hope they bring a little bit of joy during those every day moments.

I think I’ll make some of these for us out of Euroflax.  Stay tuned.

My budding artist

As Mazie is getting a little bit older I’m working to get her more involved in crafting, cooking, and making things with her hands.   This year for Christmas Maze and I ventured to a paint your own pottery studio to create some utilitarian works of art for gifts.  We also made our own wrapping paper.

This image is of Mazie making the wrapping paper for Robbie’s birthday present, which was shortly before Christmas.  I discovered these paint pots by Crayola Maybe you all have them, but they were new to me and are wonderful for her age.  Paint is messy people let’s face it, but at least these are less enticing to use as a makeup brush like a regular paint brush is for Mazie, which was a major challenge during the whole paint your own pottery experience.

I know I’m a little biased, but admit it… this is good stuff from a toddler.

Here we see the artist in action and saying “cheese”.  BTW the bib is from Mimi the Sardine, which I posted about back in November 07 Also note in the background our very first (mine too, yes I’d never made a gingerbread house before) gingerbread house.  More to come in a post about our Christmas related things.  Yes yes I know it’s over, but give me some time I’m writing a blog while working and raising my child.  It takes time people. 

Aren’t you jealous?

I have always had a certain obsession with curly ribbon.  I love a colorfully wrapped present with a big pile of curly ribbon on top.  Thus I’ve amassed a fairly large stash of different ribbons to adorn gifts.  If truth be told , in recent years there has been a significant decrease in the use of curly ribbon on gifts in our house as our cat Cash is equally obsessed with the stuff…but he eats it…and then pukes it up.  Thus presents under our tree are no longer allowed to have curly ribbon.  All you have to do is crack the closet door and he can smell the stuff.  Over he runs with this cute but pathetic look on his face that says “oh please just let me play with it for a little bit, eat it, and then puke it up. I love it.”

Anyway, if you don’t live in our house and your gift will be quickly sheparded out, I will adorn it with lots of curly ribbon.  To contain the fray, Robbie (my husband as a reminder) made me this.

I LOVE IT!  It’s a simple board with pegs inserted and it didn’t take him that long, but I truly love it and one of my new favorite things.  I think it’s going to totally reinvent my curly ribbon life.  I bet you’re jealous that you don’t have one of these too?  Isn’t it great?

A snowy day

This December has been another record snowfall for us in the Boston area. We had a lovely snow storm just before Christmas and we decided it was time to take Mazie out to play. Although lots of fun we did give ourselves some parenting demerits because we’d not yet purchased boots for her. So we had to go with the old frugal New Englander method of wrapping her feet in plastic before we stuck them in her sneakers. I know great parenting, but subsequently many folks have told us that their parents had done the same and they have now turned out to be normal. And yes, we now have some lovely warm boots for her.

Anyway thought this was a perfect opportunity to share with you some warm hats I made for Mazie and I this year. Poor Robbie, both my attempts at hats for him flopped so he’s still wearing his oldy but goody store-bought hat. Hopefully third time will be the charm for him.

Mazie’s is a creation of my own. Basically a lot of stitches on long circulars and then quickly decreased in the first few rows to form the ruffle. Then knit like a simple hat. Mine is a pattern I found on Ravely by Rachel Lufer. My version turned out a bit pointy-er on the top than the actual pattern is. Rachel’s pattern is wonderful, however input from the peanut gallery is not. When knitting it the peanut gallery suggested to me that it might not be deep enough so I increased the crown a bit by inserting a few rows between decrease rows. The result: the hat is a little too deep and a bit pointy in the crown, but I love it just the same. Knit from some lovely but itchy handspun, I added a fleece band inside and it’s made it quite toasty and wearable. I definitely recommend giving this pattern a try, but not listening to input from the peanut gallery when making it.