Home again

Me with the four generations at my Mama's

Ryan & his Pops

Nana practicing her Christmas show

Meat Pie. A family tradition.

We are home after a whirlwind trip, feeling a little sluggish but very happy to have made the journey down south.

We saw lots of family, including the two very sweet, pink, and small but mighty babes Isabella and Avery.

We stayed in the "Nana Cabana," Ryan's grandma's post-Katrina home, which has been rebuilt with much love, creativity, and a very talented eye for detail.

We ate. And ate. And ate. I had two Thanksgivings, one at Nana's and one the following day at my Mama's. My favorite meal, though, was the crab & prime rib feast Ryan, his dad, and I drove an hour for. I am still dreaming about the all-you-can-eat crab legs with melted butter, grilled prime rib, and free Bud Light! Yeah! Only in Mississippi, baby.

As if all this wasn't enough, I also had the honor and privilege of seeing the movie Twilight. Sigh. All I have to say is the characters Bella and Edward are spot on and the overall "feel" of the movie brought the whole saga back in vivid detail, as if I were right in the middle of reading the books. I love that story. I'm planning on going to see the movie again so if you haven't seen it call me. I also want the movie for my birthday, Ryan, if you're reading this. Please. I mean it.

That's all for now, folks. I'm off to nap.

A bright streak

Mom modeling her new apron

Rhonda rescuing Mom from a quilting pickle

View from the loft

Hello! I am touching down briefly here, as I just drove home from a fabulous beach weekend with Mom & Rhonda (thank you Rhonda) and am gearing up for our next trip tomorrow.

We're heading about 50 years back in time to Mississippi, where we both have grandmas. I am looking forward to good food, a quick stop in New Orleans, the chance to check out the recovery progress from Katrina, and mostly to catching up with all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and new babies.

I hope your holiday is one fantastic bright streak filled with family, friends, bounty, and gratitude.

(Thank you Kenna, for sending us the impressive footage!)

GOOP

Get in the holiday spirit and get your Gweneth fix all at the same place!

Ms. Paltrow has launched a new site to "nourish the inner aspect." Find all sorts of pertinent categories to dive into, including MAKE, as in make tasty treats for Thanksgiving. This week's newsletter presents all sorts of goodies for turkey day.

Sign up here to receive the GOOP goodness!

Happy list

-most recent CD mix from Kenna - it fills my heart and home with familiar goodness; we both can't get enough - love Tanya Donelly. Thanks, bro.
-extra fancy Vietnamese Cassia CINNAMON from Penzeys
-brooches I made while watching Oprah to keep my wraps in place, in style
-vacation photo book hot of the press from Kodak
-Christmas menu ironed out: sweet goat cheese wontons with pistachios & honey, crab hush puppies, prime rib with red wine gravy, maple-glazed spiced carrots, and cheese cake (we don't eat raw fruits & vegetables in this family)
-quiet kitties, which = quiet and CALM home
-beach weekend with mom & Rhonda next weekend
-trip down south for Thanksgiving to visit the grandmas, see the cousins, meet new little ones, and maybe eat here; we might also get to fly with Matt, Ryan's cousin in Eugene, who's making the very same pilgrimage we are
-home-made Christmas gifts and a drawer full of simple holiday goodies quickly piling up
-husband home from more field work

Ah yes. There is, indeed, much to be grateful for, as usual.

Thank you Emily, for posing the question! What is your happy list today?

Who knew!?!

Good news, people. Did you know you can have your shoes polished, old-school style, in the men's shoe department of Nordstroms?

I walked in today at lunch and left 10 minutes later with shiny mary janes, just like new! The cost is $2.50 and its like getting a pedicure, only in a manly way.

What an affordable luxury. The guy even put a protective shield over my socks so they wouldn't get polished, too. I'm taking my red ones in next week.

Cloth napkins revisited

As a follow up to my previous post about transitioning over to cloth napkins, I must admit an embarrassing fact.

Before I went & sewed up a storm, I decided to check my linen cupboard to see just how many napkins we already have. Yes, I did come across the salmon pink ones we received for our wedding. They're actually known as coral and are quite nice. But I found a few more, in addition.

Here's our stock:
- (10) coral cloth napkins (and 10 silver napkin rings - forgot about those!)
- (8) batik ones my mom made for us, along with a beautiful matching autumnal quilted table runner that is so perfect for the season
- (4) natural-colored napkins my Oma sent to us a while back with corresponding place mats; we could use those for the day-to-day

That's 22 napkins we've had in the household and could have been using this whole time. What was I thinking? I guess my point here is that I won't be making any napkins using that neat pattern any time soon, unless I get inspired for Christmas ones.

But with all this talk about not using disposable napkins or paper towels any more, I am also wondering if we could forgo kleenex in exchange for handkerchiefs. Has anyone out there made that leap? The laundering aspect of that makes me a bit leery.

Something fun to ponder.

Favorite Thanksgiving movies

In no particular order:

01 Planes, Trains and Automobiles
02 Home for the Holidays
03 Scent of a Woman
04 Pieces of April

Am I missing any classics?

The day we bought our last paper napkins

A while back, my pal Abby mentioned that she & her *new* hubby were planning on switching to cloth napkins. Great way to cut down on all that paper waste, I thought. Then I went & forgot about the idea. (Abby has a ton of great ideas she's always sharing - I need to start writing them down!)

Fast forward to today. I ran out to Target to pick up a closet organizer for all my fabric (see image above) and remembered we were out of paper napkins and paper towels. So I added them to the cart. When I got home I was putting away my paper purchases and wondering how the two of us end up going through so many paper products every month, when I remembered Abby's goal.

Then I looked at all my fabric I had just color coordinated. Hey, wait a minute, I said. We can have our very own cloth napkins, too! I did a quick internet search and came up with a great tutorial by one of my favorite blogs on how to quickly whip up some cloth napkin action. They even sell "spectrum bundles" of fabric in three different color groupings (citrus, ocean, and warm)! Love that.

Anyway, I think I'm going to whip me up some handmade napkins tonight! And, confession, I believe I scored some salmon pink napkins at my wedding shower (now what were we thinking when we registered for those?!) that I will have to add to the collection. Because a cloth napkin is a cloth napkin, regardless of color, right?

There are no words

...but a thrilling YES WE CAN. Portland is alive right now with celebration. I know much of the world is, too.

Sleep well. We're in good hands.

Thank you, thank you. Yes we can.

Yes yes yes

As a follow up to my earlier post, I vote yes for these cinnamon cookies.

Go make them immediately if you know what is good for you! They are crispy, light, cinnamon-y, and an all-time favorite right now.

My day, what a day. Indeed.

Hello and happy Monday.

I'm having a good one so far, I am happy to report. I've taken a much-needed break from the ol' sewing machine and allowed myself to refocus. Don't get me wrong, I love the girl (aka sewing machine). But we talked and both agreed we needed some space.

So here's what I've been up to instead:

- Worked out after a two week reprieve.

- Took Greyson to the vet, where all the ladies, including doc, fell in love with him. I went home beaming like a proud kitty mama ought to. And, admittedly, even though I knew how adorable he was before our excursion, I think he's a little cuter now after so many compliments. I just have to be honest about that.

- Grocery shopped at Trader Joes. Chuckled remembering this post about the TJ's in my old Boston neighborhood.

- Whipped up (or am in the process of) magic in the kitchen. On the menu: more french onion soup (new recipe, less labor intensive, possibly more delicious); more olive oil bread - this time in mini loaf pans and let me tell you, they are smelling up the house something amazing; pizza dough for dinner later this week; and, cinnamon cookies. I have a sneaking suspicion these are going to be as tasty as rumors claim. The dough is currently in the fridge chilling. I'll report back on this.

Now I am going to turn on Rachel Ray and start our vacation photo book from our late-summer road trip. There are over 1000 pictures to weed through. Wish me luck.

The Goods, part I

Goldfish quilt

Holiday stripe baby kimono

Here you are. This is a peek of what I've been working on with extreme focus and intent and contentment for the last week or so (to see the others visit my *new* etsy shop).

There's more where this came from. I have two quilts in the works that are very fun, involving apple trees and abstract sun flowers. I'll bring those to the table as soon as they're done!

What crafty projects are you working on? Do tell.

View

This is what I see this morning as I peer out our living room window. Isn't it pretty? I love the yellow. So dramatic.

I am happy to report I have zero plans this weekend. No giving sewing lessons (although those were very fun & productive sessions), no jury duty on my day off (that was a circus). Just time. To sew. To finish reading an excellent book (which, sadly, I read the ending of; I couldn't help myself). To possibly take a free cooking class at William Sonoma.

I'll be back later to post the sewing goodies I've been working on of late. Happy November!