LOLbulldog

My brother's best friend, er dog, takes issue with the strangest things. The fact that he got angry with the iron warranted a LOL caption. Enjoy

5th grade fun!

Niece's party was less structured, but just as much fun as nephew's. The kids all had their snacks at their desk and some craft projects traveled the room so the kids just stayed put. I got to see her desk and her cluster of friends...crazy adorable.

Sam and friend...


A Venn diagram of gift preferences. The librarian in me LOVED this.


Sam was dying to make this ornament. We were at the very end of the craft circuit, so you can imagine how hard it was to wait out the suspense. I got her here focusing so intently that her tongue is out, Michael Jordan style...but I somehow missed a photo of the finished product. Aunt fail.


Sam has a painting in her room that Jose and I wanted to buy from her. She set the price at $6,000, which is just out of our reach. This was a drawing of hers on display at school that she offered up for a mere $1,000. I took a picture instead, insisting that I would just print copies for myself :)


To commemorate the day, we did a self-portrait. She declared it a great Facebook pic, and I completely agree. She's such a good mini-me.

4th grade fun!

It just so happens that the holiday parties for both my nephew's 4th grade class and my niece's 5th grade class happened during my visit home last week. Lucky for me, the kids like me and invited me to attend :) I'm here to tell you that I was entirely amused from the minute I walked in until the minute I left. Those kids are my favorites. In the whole world.

Jake's class had a really organized party - the teacher had six stations set up with a different activity at each one. I got too caught up in helping with activities to photo-document each one, but I did manage to get my favorites.

What holiday party would be complete without ornament making? Here's Jake working on his:

I'm certain that every parent/aunt/uncle/grandparent thinks their kid produces the best stuff, but for real - this was the best ornament there. LOVE.

The cookie decorating station was a favorite. There were sugar cookies that kids would top with icing and then a giant marshmallow. Red and green M&Ms and piping bags with icing were used to decorate the cookie like a snowman.

Fun kid story: Jake walked over to one of his classmates who was using all green M&Ms and all green frosting and said "you going all green this year, buddy?" and clapped his hand on his back like a grownup asking about some home improvement project. Super. Double. Extra. CUTE.

The finished cookie:

The teacher told me that she got this idea from Pinterest. I wasn't surprised since Pinterest is the best. The kids were all super focused on making their snowmen, and I didn't hear anyone complaining about their sugar cookie topped and decorated with sugar. Win, win, win.

Mamaw's fudge

I don't really have a name for this stuff...I just call it "Mamaw's chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallow fudge". Not very catchy, is it? I could call it "mmmmm, wow!" or "ohmygod", but for now we'll just call it "Mamaw's fudge". This is the stuff that I think of when i think about the holidays, because Mamaw took any special occasion as a reason to make it. She had a crazy sweet tooth, as evidenced by this made-up candy.

So how do you do it? It's super easy. Here we go.

Ingredients:
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
a dollop of peanut butter
1/2-3/4 bag of mini-marshmallows

Melt the chips in a double boiler, or in a medium sauce pan over low heat. Add a dollop of peanut butter when the chips begin melting. Melt both, stir together well. NOTE: I hate when people use measurements like "dollop" or "smidgen", but really, just use as much or as little as you'd like. I probably use 2-3 tablespoons per 10 oz of chocolate.



Once the chocolate is melted, add in marshmallows and stir until coated. I feel like I've added enough marshmallows when there isn't much remnant chocolate left in the mix.

Historically I've poured the mixture in a glass pan, let it set in the fridge, then cut it into squares for serving. This year I decided to use the cupcake tins since they worked out so well for my birthday candies. Worked like a charm. Also, I usually double the recipe because it's for a party or some gathering of peoples. My double batch at Thanksgiving yielded 14 cupcake cups.

Since this is such an insanely sweet treat, I wasn't sure if the Lopezes would be into it, but they were! On day 3 my brother-in-law called dibs on the last piece and I was so incredibly happy. It's tough not to be able to share Mamaw with my new family, so it was nice to share this piece of her.

Christmas socks for my FiL!

If you know me, then you've definitely heard me say that I have the best in-laws in the world. And it's true. I mean, I really seriously want to challenge anyone that thinks theirs are better to give me a call so we can put all the cards on the table and figure it out. I would bet Berger and Puggie that I'd win. So yeah, I'm pretty sure.

Earlier in the year I made my MiL some cotton ankle socks that she could sleep in (special request), and as we were getting things together for Christmas, I decided that I really wanted to knit my FiL some socks. Why? Well, the reasons are many:

1 - I knew he would appreciate them. He's definitely a sentimental kind of guy, and the fact that I spent 30+ hours on these socks would be completely lost on some, but not on him. Bonus: I dyed the yarn as well.

2 - We're taking a family vacation to Alaska next year. Can you think of a better place to wear hand-knitted socks? I mean, I'm sure there are a few (Antarctica, Russia, the North Pole), but Alaska and comfy socks seem like a perfect combination. And he will be visiting his friends in NY, his other kids in MN...he'll have plenty of cold places to wear them.

3 - There's nothing I can buy him that he doesn't have or can't get himself. But...he can't knit. So I spent lots of time dyeing the yarn, tweaking the pattern, and knitting them up to show my love.

And if you don't mind my saying so, I think they turned out pretty well!

If you're interested in duplicating it, I just made a few adjustments to the Yarn Harlot's Earl Grey pattern. One that you'll notice right away is that I didn't do the cable. I like it, but I wasn't feeling it with this yarn. So I ended up with a very hip stripe down either side of the foot. Additionally, I did cast on 70 to begin with, but when I did the gusset decreases, I stopped at 72 so that I could do the round toe. I hate the kitchener stitch.

ROLL TIDE!

I love sharing the tradition of Alabama football with the people I love. This year I'll be watching the Iron Bowl with Jose's whole family, which is really exciting. And scary. I'm kindof a serious watcher, but they've all been warned.

Speaking of the people I love - I wanted to share some pics of my little Bama muffins. They don't look like this anymore, but they are still seriously cute, and very into cheering for the Tide.

meet Boss

I snapped a bunch of pics of my brother's best friend...his Bulldog, Boss. He's a super cute dog, so it was hard to narrow down the ones to post. Don't you want to just pinch his face?

When Boss is super tired, or when he gets really irritated, he plops down on the tile hearth. It cools and soothes him. He has a tough life, with a big backyard, treats, and constant attention. He spends a lot of time on the hearth.

Here Boss is shown conquering the boy child. With his superior strength and agility, it wasn't really a fair fight.

The girl child likes to wrap Boss in soft blankets. This is part of his rough life as well.

What a buddy...

Abitita shawl=complete

My first (and probably only) knitted Christmas gift is finished! A few weeks ago I posted some photos showing my progress...just before I ripped it all out. The yarn subtly shifts colors as you knit - I started with the dark end and didn't like the look at all. It was a ridiculous amount of work to re-do, but I think it looks much, much better this way!

Here's hoping this little number keeps Abitita warm on those (rare) chilly Puerto Rican nights. The likelier story is that it will keep her warm in chilly, air-conditioned restaurants. Brrrrr!

P.S. If you know Abitita, you have to keep this secret for a few months!

Sam and Jake hit T-town

Last month I headed home for a quick visit with the fam and a rendezvous with old friends at the New College 40th anniversary weekend. I borrowed my niece and nephew on Saturday afternoon and took them to some of the celebrations. I built-in some time to play on the quad with them...I really can't get back there enough, and being there with the muffins was extra special.

They were very excited to be on the quad.

I was very excited to see and hear Denny Chimes.

The kids were fascinated with the walk of Captains.

This kid loves Greg McElroy...

Niece and nephew with baby Addie!

Kids coming back from playing frisbee on the quad. I told them to look both ways at the crosswalk and they totally did!

It was hot and muggy, and they still had a good time. Such muffins!

Best kids ever. They were very cute as babies, but they just keep getting better with age.

WIP Wednesday: the Abitita shawl

I started a shawl with color-changing cotton (yarn and pattern available at Yarn Tree Studio in Raleigh). The shawl is meant to be a gift for Jose's Abitita, and as I started knitting (pulling yarn from the inside) and the color was really dark for the first third of the shawl, I started having my doubts. Taking a leap of faith, I pulled the whole thing out (I was on row 52 of 114).


I started over, pulling yarn from the outside, and I it's like a breath of fresh air. Definitely the right decision! Now I'm pretty much back to where I started.

P.S. If you know Abitita, do not ruin her Christmas surprise :)

another jewelry remix?

While vacationing with the in-laws in Charleston, I wore the remake of my grandmother's beads to dinner as a bracelet. My MiL complimented the piece and I explained that the majority of the beads came from a necklace of my grandmother's that had broken years and years ago.

The project reminded her that she had a set of silver beads that remained from a necklace of her mother's that was also broken. She sent them to me and told me to make them into something for myself. The problem: I want to make sure it's perrrrrfect. I have had several ideas, but none that have completely overwhelmed me. So I'm calling on all of my crafty folks for help. I want to hear all of your ideas...big, small, or incomplete. Bring it!

care packages

There are lots of reasons to love my mother-in-law. She's a great cook, she's hilarious, she's generous and she loves animals almost as much as I do. Last week when we decided to adopt Puggie, she offered to add toys and treats for both dogs to the box of mayorcas and coffee that she was already sending to me. So this week's reason for loving the MiL is: care packages.

First, I have to say that the US Postal Service lost the package. It took many calls and lots of tracking to even find out where the package was. It arrived an entire week late, but the contents were just fine...actually better than fine, they are super great!

The entire box-o-fun:



My favorite of the toys, clearly marked for Berger, but both dogs have had fun with it:



The most ironic of the toys (and this illustrates her hilariousness), a toy that actually looks like a Pug, wearing a shirt with a picture of a Pug:



My favorite thing in the package that wasn't for me - Puggie's fancy collar:


Aaaaand the Tiffany portion of the box:


In conclusion, I'm sorry that your mother-in-law drives you crazy. Mine is pretty fabulous.

pomp and circumstance

maria and me, 2005

Today my fabulous sister-in-law Maria is graduating with her MBA. Additionally, she has a great job lined up with the maker of my favorite cereal. Winning! We're so proud of her that there are no words, which is sad since this is a blog and a blog is made of words.

So a big congrats to Maria...and I hope she enjoys the scarf I knitted her in anticipation of her new chilly climate!

the scarf, all boxed up and READY TO GO!

Universal Yarn - Classic Shades
bought at Knit in Charleston, SC
pattern - Curvaceous

MiL Socks

Last month we took a trip with the in-laws to Charleston, SC. The first order of business (after dropping Berger off and grabbing lunch) was visiting the local yarn shop, Knit. My mother-in-law had requested that I make her a pair of socks...I was excited because I thought I could use up some of my stash...but she didn't want wool socks and wool and wool/nylon is all I've got. So we set out to find a good cotton blend. German-made Opal is what she picked:

I had a suspicion that this would be self-striping,
but the entire label is in German, so it was anybody's guess....
















the finished product...
















one of my guilty pleasures is gift wrapping...
just couldn't help myself...