Tales of a Crafty Mama

Small Joys 12/11/05

Just a few small things that have been bringing me joy lately...

1. Thai food. Man, I love this food. I could eat Thai food every day and not get sick of it. My faves are Tofu Phad Thai, Panang Curry, and Beef Fried Rice. Mmmmm. We had some for dinner tonight and I am craving some more but its all gone.

2. Audrey's laugh. She just started what we think is laughing. It doesn't quite sound like a real, deep throated laugh or a giggle yet, but we can tell that she's trying and its so cute!

3. I am currently studying the book of John in the Bible, using this study guide and it has been so good. I didn't purposely set out to study a gospel during the Christmas season, but it is so cool that I am. It is great to be reminded of who Jesus is, especially during this season when its so easy to be caught up in busyness.

4. Speaking of Christmas...our decorations are making me happy. Its so fun to have a house that feels Christmasy. In years past we never decorated until school was out in late December just because it was too stressful to drag everything out in the midst of finals. Now I wish that we had made that effort back then because it just puts me in a good mood.

5. Scrapbooking books, especially this one and this one. If I scrapbooked as much as I read about scrapbooking, I would have pages and pages done. I am such a little nerd; I could spend hours looking at other people's layouts, picking apart the details like-they used this specific paper, this specific font, etc. Oh, I am such a nerd!

6. Going on walks. Lately I have been really into going on walks. Before I had Audrey I hated going on walks by myself. I always made Erik go with me so that I wouldn't get bored. Going on walks with Audrey is essentially going by myself because its not like the girl can carry on a real conversation yet-she is usually sleeping the whole time. But for some reason having my little buddy with me makes all the difference.

7. Burt's Bees products- especially their lipbalm and their baby lotion. Audrey smells sooooooooooo good when I put that stuff on her!

8. I love watching Christmas movies, but my fave is White Christmas. We always watched on TV growing up- I was and still am a big fan of musicals. After watching it my sister and I would always pretend that we were in the movie and we would always fight over who got to be Judy, the tiny waisted blond. Why we didn't want to be Rosemary Clooney is beyond me; I think she's the cool one now.

What small things have been bringing you joy? Please share!

P.S. Yes, Amanda, the sweater is very similar to the Martha Stewart one that I never did finish. The only difference really is that it is made of more bulky yarn and is a pullover, not a cardigan.

Ah, Christmas

I spend more time reading other people's blogs than writing in my own...its pretty sad really. I actually spent a good half an hour the other night writing a post that got deleted when my computer went into hibernation. I was really bummed out because I was quite proud of how funny it was- I wrote about Erik and my adventures rescuing our Christmas stuff from our rodent infested storage unit...maybe you'll hear about it another time. 

We bought our Christmas tree two days ago. In years past we have spent hours looking for a tree. Our first Christmas, when we lived in Seattle, we literally spent all day one Sunday driving up and down Aurora looking for the perfect tree. We ended up buying a Charlie Brown tree from a used car lot. Other years we have spent too much money for the experience of cutting down our tree. Why does it cost more money to cut your own? Then there were the two years without a real tree; one of which I bought a little rosemary bush to compensate, but it didn't really work, the other of which we bought a little fake tree with lights. Those were depressing Christmases.

This year after a minor argument over whether or not we needed a tree (which I won because "its Audrey's first Christmas and she needs a tree"- a poor excuse considering the kid is not even three months old yet), we decided to forgo the cutting (too cold and muddy with a baby) and just buy one from a random lot someplace. The first place we stopped was a winner- "Joe's Trees"- owned by a young couple with a kid. I couldn't believe how quickly we decided on a tree. We were only there about 15 minutes. I don't know if it was the cold, the baby, or how mature we have gotten in our old age (we are in our late twenties now), but choosing the tree just didn't seem like that big of a deal this year.

So we brought the tree back to the house and got everything all decked out...

• Stockings hanging over our gas fireplace
• A Christmasy smelling candle
• A basket of Christmas cards- only three so far (c'mon, people!)
• Lights around the windows that have paper snowflakes on them
• A little fake tree with lights on it
• Lots of cheesy Christmas music that I love, including our fave...Roger Whittaker.

Ah, Christmas. It just makes me happy.

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In other news...

I have been doing a lot of crafts lately, some of which I can't share yet because the recipients of them might be reading this. One thing that I can share is I have been working on knitting a sweater for Audrey. I got the pattern from here. It is an easy sweater to knit- just four pieces that you sew together at the end-no increasing or decreasing. I am using some bulky charcoal gray yarn and I really like how it is turning out. Hopefully it fits her before the weather gets too warm because its going to be pretty thick. I will post a picture as soon as I figure out how to do it.

I have also been making a lot of soup. I made a good potato soup last week adapted from a recipe in The Joy of Cooking. I really liked it, but Erik said that it was a little too "brothy", so next time I might try adding some more vegetables.

Potato Soup

Saute half of a chopped onion and chopped garlic (to taste) in butter and 1/4 c. chicken broth. Stir in 4 1/2 c. chicken broth, 1 1/2 c. white wine, and 2 lbs. chopped potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Stir in 1/2 c. half-n-half, salt, pepper, and 1/2 lb. chopped and cooked bacon. Serve with shredded chedder cheese.

Then tonight for home group I made another good soup from a recipe I got from my mom-in-law.

Ravioli Stew

Saute one chopped onion, garlic (to taste), and 2 chopped zuchinni in olive oil. Add 2 cans of chicken broth, 1-2 cans chopped italian tomatoes, 1 can Great Northern beans, salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. Let simmer. Just before serving add frozen cheese ravioli (however much you want). Serve when ravioli is cooked with shredded parmesan cheese.

Small Joys 11/28

Lately I have been thinking about all the small things in life that bring me joy. I thought I would share some of them with you...

1. Audrey (of course!) I know that I am a little biased here, but she is seriously the cutest baby on the planet. Erik and I are still in awe that something so amazing came from us. As soon as I figure out how to post some pictures, I will show her off.

2. Right after I had Audrey, my sister brought home this yummy drink called Perfect Protein. I am addicted to it now- its so good!

3. The fun birthday presents that I got last week...money to spend at my favorite scrapbook store-Treasury of Memories, the new Sara Groves CD, my new funky blue purse (will post a picture later), a Pottery Barn Home book, some cute earrings, and a fun new knitting book Knitting to Go. I was so spoiled this birthday, but more than anything I felt so blessed to get such meaningful gifts-things that showed how much the givers really know me. That always means more to me than just getting presents for the sake of getting presents.

4. These fun tights/legwarmers/pants for Audrey called Baby Legs. I heard about them from my friend Holly. Audrey has two polka-dotted pairs- blue on blue and pink on pink. They are so cute and very practical.

5. Our new 2006 calender- Happiness by Robert Doisneau. It is our second year of getting it and I love it. If only I could take pictures this good...

6. I have been having a really fun time finding books to read to Audrey. My current favorite is Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton. "With a BAA and a MOO and a COCKADOODLEDOO everybody promenade two by two!"

7. Dreyer's Reduced Fat Peppermint Ice Cream. Now I know all of you who know me well know how much I love ice-cream of almost any flavor. Yet I definitely think that this one is my FAVORITE!

8. CHRISTMAS!! This is the first year since I have been married that I am not in school or working during the holiday season, and I am so excited to finally be able to go all out. Decorating, music, crafts, baking...oooo, I am sooo excited!

9. Time alone. I had no idea that I needed it so much until Erik watched Audrey yesterday so that I could have two hours by myself. It felt so good to just go and be me for a little while. I spent the first hour at the scrapbook store, drooling over pretty paper. I know its a little pathedic, but its relaxing and inspiring to me. Then I went to Barnes and Noble to look at books. I only got two things- our calender and this fun book for Audrey for Christmas. I mostly just had fun walking around looking at different books...craft books, cookbooks, theology books, classic books...

10. Last week I found these really cool greeting cards. Something about them inspires me to create more of my own art. I really like the detail and the way the artist designed them.

What small things are bringing YOU joy this week?