Official Unveiling

Head over to the New Blog!

While I don't intend to close this space, I don't intend to update here either. Please update your links as necessary!

Moving

I'll be switching over to a new website service. This blog will stay up but will not be updated.
I'll share the new link when I'm ready.

The Quilt

Right around the middle of November, I decided to make a new quilt for IvyBug. Her favorite colors are purple, blue and pink so I decided the easiest thing to do would be to pick up pre-cut "fat quarters" in a variety of solids and prints.

After I wash and ironed all the fat quarters, I paired up the fabrics and cut them into squares for 9-patch blocks and sewed them together. Here's where I wing it. I don't measure much of anything aside from making sure the square pieces are the same size. I just end up with what I end up with and go from there.

I couldn't really place the pieces at home because I wanted it to be a surprise so I took photos, cropped them and came up with a layout on a word document and printed it out.I sewed the blocks together to form rows and then sewed the rows together. 

Here's where it gets interesting. I wanted to make a back piece that was a bit more artistic than willy-nilly but that didn't quite go as planned so again, I just winged it. Laid that out, layered that with the batting and the front piece. 

I decided long before that I would hand tie it instead of quilting it together. After I tied the quilt layers together, I trimmed the excess backing fabric and batting.

I had to scramble to find binding and I was able to finish the quilt the Saturday before Christmas.

Here's what the backing ended up looking like.

Seems to me like she really likes it.

December Dailies #4

Again, before I get into the Dailies, here's the quilt in it's finished glory. I'm really pleased how it turned out. I'm not 100% on the back, I wanted it to be a bit more artsyfartsy but I also wanted to finish it before Christmas so Imma chill about it.

On to the December Dailies!

17. Presents. Gifts. Under the tree.

18. Stockings... hung by the chimney with care in hopes.

19. Candy canes. Sad, little, broken candy canes.

20. Tree topper

21. Peace

Well, a piece of pie, yes.

22. Tradition

Food. Cooking. Experimenting with recipes. Here's one! Now, I really like spicy crackers. And these are not. I made the recipe that I linked but I'm not a fan. Sadness.

23. Scarf... It's to hot so let's rearrange the letters of scarf and add one in... CRAFTS. I crafted this goofy little (big?) hair bow a few years ago. I should make more. It's pretty.

Post 3, Post 2, Post 1

Read a Book

I'm not likely to finish another book before the end of the year.

I branched out with quite a few of the books I read this year. Mystery, adult fiction, a hint of sci-fi... 

Good Reads offers trends or whatever on the books that I've read. 17 Books; 5,912 pages (if they were physical books... I'd like to know how much time I spent reading. That'd be cool). Shortest book: Come Closer. Longest book: A Game of Thrones. Most popular: Gone Girl. Least Popular: Fridays.

I like graphics:

The one that I found on my very own is that I read a really disproportionate amount of books with the word "girl" in the title. Nearly 30%!

Take a look:

1.  A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

An amazing read. Long and very detailed. The show stays 90% true to the book. Love it! I've started reading the next in the series but I've stopped and stood still. I've gotten to the chapter where Theon is a little fuckwit.

2.  Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

Sarah is one of my favorite authors. Easy to read with out lacking sophistication in her writing style. This book focuses on a girl whose brother is incarcerated and she has to deal with the changes that occur within her family and her brother's friend. Anyway, I really think she has a great and realistic writing style.

I wish I had been able to attend her book signing when she came to Dallas this summer. But I don't own any physical copies of any of her books so I don't know what good that would've done.

3.  Panic by Lauren Oliver

Another one of my preferred authors. Panic is about a group of teenagers who live in a shit community. It's an I Dare You competition like fear factor or whatever and the winner gets money and can leave town. It's a bit of a page turner and one of the chapters had me thinking about Dazed and Confused.

4.  Six Months Later by Natalie D. Richards

A girl 'wakes up' after six months of living a life she doesn't remember. Mediocre/slacker student turned SAT/Ivy League University prospect tries to figure out what happened during her blackout.

I found this book to be an interesting read. 

5.  All the Bright Places by Jennifer NivenAll the 

This book brought me to a place I don't want to return to. Sadness, despair, hopelessness. I wanted to cry. Not for the characters, not for the book, but for me because I feel like someone gets it. I know that sounds self-centered but I could really see myself walking in either of the characters' shoes (and nearly wrote shoos). The book also had a theme of follow-the-clues and I think I really like that type of read. I'm going to put this as one of my top reads for this year.

6.  Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

An innernet famous but IRL shut-in goes to college. She writes fanfic and is coming to terms with not being quite so up-the-butt with her twin sister. I stopped reading the fanfic portions of this book. It seemed like a mishmash of Harry Potter and Twilight thrown in a blender under pulverize and hope for the best in an alternate universe and I just lost interest in that aspect of the book. The actual story was ok. Teen angst in the digital world of someone who can't let go of their love of a story. Meh.

7.  Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

I was really confused but intrigued by this book. A pair of sisters. One comparing herself to the other. Another pair of sisters who one has to come to terms with being, again, not quite so up-the-butt. A mental mystery... And throw in a random missing child to find and you've got yourself a ... well... book.

8.  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Saw the movie first so I kinda knew what to expect. Wife goes missing. Husband gets framed. This will pop up again. I am still not a big fan of reading from two perspectives and jumping around in time. Oh surprise... this will come up again too. I really liked this book so much. Who did what? The end though just kept on going. 

9.  If I Stay (#1) by Gayle Forman

Here's another case of "I saw the movie before reading the book." Girl survives a car wreck (her family does not) and is in a coma. While in said coma, she has to figure out if she wants to wake up. It's basically a story of her life slowly scrolling before her "eyes" - her family, her boyfriend, her love of cello. I was kindof bored by this book.

10.  Come Closer by Sara Gran

A short story of a demon possession. I really don't know how this book came to be on my Kindle. 

It really wasn't all that great. I only kept reading this because I was curious. I couldn't think of why I would choose this book to begin with and I kept trying to figure out why I even had it on my Kindle. I'm so confused.

A woman becomes possessed with her own personal demon. She tries to have it exorcised. Not successful and she is weak. I think we can all guess where it goes from here. 

11.  Anna and the French Kiss (#1) by Stephanie Perkins

Ugh. I know someone who actually pronounces the word... UGH. That's what I think of this annoying book. "Oh, poor me... My family is rich. My family wants me to live in Paris. Alone. As a teenager at an extremely relaxed boarding school made for the American rich snobs and I hate it." I should chunk this on a Fantasy shelf because that'd never happen. Oh, young love. 

Barf.

12.  The Giver (#1) by Lois Lowery

So many accolades! We have a book award! In a distopian (now utopian?) society, pre-teens are given community assigned jobs. Except one. This one is paired with a hermit who when he touches the kid with intent (sounds shady) transmits all of the memories in the world of things to the person (this kid) who will replace him.There is some twisted shit that goes on in this book and it made me pretty depressed. 

It was a book meant for younger readers so I obviously felt there could have been so much more explained and an extended plot but I guess that's what the series is for? I don't know. I liked the book a lot but I also hated it. Wow, Lena, such a great explanation. Shut up.

13.  Autumn Falls (#1) by Bella Thorne

No. No. No. Shame on you! Stop it.

Father dies. Leaves a magical book for daughter that grants wishes when they're written down. This was very stupid. The end.

14.  Fridays by Patricia Lee Gauch

Okay, we saw all of my posts on this one, right? No? Here: Part 1; Part 2 but just a blurb; Part 3 The Review. 

15.  Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

This book is a strange murder mystery. As a girl, our character's family was murdered and her brother (the only other survivor) was charged with the murder. With the help of a, for a lack of a better word, fan, the pair go in search of answers to who killed the family and why. This book had some parts that I chose to skip because it was stomach turning. Not a favorite book but it was interesting though. A good plot twist.

16.  The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Wife goes missing. Husband is suspect. Wait, didn't I just...? Well, this one is an outside perspective (as Gone Girl is an inside perspective) because a girl on a train witnesses this couple daily and the wife vanishes. I called the whodunnit about 3/4 through the way. It's another murder-mystery with a multiple perspective and weird time jumps. I liked the perspective and how it ended. A good read! Ha!

17.  Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

So I actually wrote a review on good reads. I did not like this book. Other people I know who've read it seemed to enjoy it so I thought I would. But nope. Here's my actual review. It's about these two boys who befriend a girl who is dying of cancer and they get harpooned into making a film for her. I don't like the writing style. I don't like the... well, you can read it in my review on GR.

* Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (a re-read not re-dated for the current year)

December Dailies #3

Before I get into my Dailies, here's what I've been working on! It's IvyBugs Christmas present. I just hope I finish it on time!

10. Wrapping paper

11. Green

12. A beautiful sight

13. Family

14. Christmas tree

15. Favorite holiday song - "Just hear those sleigh bells jingling..."

("Sleigh Ride")

16. Outside christmas lights

Here's week 1

Here's week 2

LOL MPM!

A lovely friend sent me the following image. Thank you Joy for thinking of me and giving me a little laugh!

Sunday - Hot dogs
Monday - Crispy Cheesy Chicken
Tuesday - Baked potato soup in the crock pot
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday & Friday - We have family visiting!
Saturday - We have family visiting! And OMG we are going to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

Find more Menu Plan Mondays at OrgJunkie

"Wordless" Wednesday: December Dailies & a MPM

Here is my second installment for my lovely December Dailies!

3. Red

4. Joyous

She loves playing on our phones. Previously, she's just sent lines of emojis. Then she graduated to using the microphone for speak-to-text. But now, she knows how to spell some words. I'm over the moon with her texts!

5. Today's temperature

This time last year, snow was everywhere. I'd like that to happen again but it's up in the 70s lately.

6. Shopping

7. Bright

8. Ornament(s)

9. Something you're reading

Here's week 1

I honestly can't NOT write something! Here's my MPM!

Sunday - Fondue

Monday - Cod (fish and chips)

Tuesday - Fondue again?

Wednesday - Hot dogs

Thursday - Steak and tatoes

Friday - Nachos

Saturday - YOYO (Lena and Ivy out)

Head over to OrgJunkie for more Menu Plan Monday links!

December Daily

AKA: Capturing December
AKA: Photo-A-Day
AKA: December Photo Challenge

Call it what you will, I'm taking photos! I participated in this on Instagram last year.

I found the original post! Capturing December I'm sure you can find a ton of different variations. There are hashtags all over the place and a ton of other people create their own. I like this version because it doesn't include the oh so popular BASIC prompts like selfie or OOTD.

So today, I'm introducing you to my little series for the month and then I'll be saving my posts for once a week. Maybe on Wednesday... Wordless Wednesday here we come!

Two for day 1: My view today

2: Favorite Christmas Movie

Friendship, Bracelets, Food

You know? I didn't have any friends when I was a kid. And those effing security questions remind me of that on a regular basis.

One "friend" broke up with me because I shopped at Walmart. Another broke up with me because my family is not rich. A third friend said I was her best friend but then turned around and said someone else was her best friend (it wasn't a threesome). And the last one ... We hung out a lot but then I got a boyfriend and she had other friends she was closer to. There was a 3 year difference in our age. After that, I stopped seeking out friends. Maybe it was that my mom said blood is thicker than water and to find my friends in my family. But that didn't work out. 

It wasn't until I was in college that I found friends. And after I got married, one friend invited me to do stuff with her. I hope she forgives me of this... I was going to put in a picture, but I'm too lazy to dig for it.

Nope. Wait. Found it!

It wasn't until her that I had what I wanted... She invited me out for a night of debauchery. A trip to Walmart to pick up supplies and a night spent in with a group of girls braiding friendship bracelets. 

No-telling how many years later, and I still have my bracelet that I made for myself.

At one of Ivy's birthday parties, she received a fancy clipboard friendship bracelet maker and already got me to make a bracelet for her. Sad thing is, after I told her I wouldn't add beads to it this time (to which she agreed to), she had a fit that I didn't put beads on it. Oh the drama.

But here's my Menu Plan Monday!

Sunday - Chicken and noodles soup
Monday - Leftovers
Tuesday - Pizza
Wednesday - Salisbury steak & mashed potatoes
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Crispy cheddar chicken & something
Saturday - Pick up

Find more MPMs over at OrgJunkie!

{6} All About The Girl

And I present to you a post about my Little Darling. It's been a good week or so of events and adventures.

We ran out of time (and nice weather) to take any "formal" year 6 photos but I think we captured her spirit with what we have. Fun on a playground!

One of the local aquariums had a Scout day. Patch and all! One of her troop members was even there.

Then all of a sudden, her first birthday event was here! She decided she wanted a party to celebrate with her friends from school and her troop. We hosted at a local indoor play area. I'm so not going to lie... having two parties and two sets of gifts... I went cheap on the cupcakes: boxed cake and canned icing (to which I added 1/4 cup powdered sugar to give the icing holding power). I got a big star tip and decided to try my hand and actual decorating. I was very pleased with the end result and the cupcakes tasted pretty good too.

I have always felt intimidated by even thinking about using piping bags and tips!

When I sent invitations out, I was expecting zero kiddos to show up because of the weird day and time. Even if it was the start of the holiday... you never know.

By two or three days before the party, we had a list of about a dozen kiddos planning to show up. And we even had quite a few siblings come too! Right after the party, we headed to Gramma's house.

Ivy has a huge heart for puppies and her favorite is Boo. We had to make a few specific things, but she was really happy with how we were able to have a Boo party!

Giving her banner a kiss!

All day long, folks!

Boo on her cake!

That dimple is a vortex. It's beautiful.

Ivy has been complaining that things were blurry. I figured it was inevitable that she'd get glasses... but I thought it would be a little bit later in life than 6 years old. I got mine at 8. She seems to currently be farsighted (as opposed to nearsighted like me and her father). The eye doctor says she only needs to wear them for reading and computer stuff up close, but not all the time. So my concern is that she won't wear them when she needs to and will wear them when she doesn't need to.

Her Nana (my mom) works in an office that sells glasses. And this kiddo is super excited to finally get glasses with a prescription in them. She's been picking up and buying fashion glasses. Silly girl!

I think she looks so adorable!

And then, it's Thanksgiving! Started the day with The Parade.

Here she is, dancing with the Rockettes.

It's really difficult to tell here, but she put down name cards at each place setting. I was about to ask her, but she did it all on her own! She even invited us all to go around the table and say what we were thankful for.

I'm thankful for YOU my little Bug. Thankful for YOU.

With all of the events of this past week, it's time to shut down!

And no, I refuse to participate in black Friday. And today I heard the atrocious term: gray Thursday. Um, NO.